After leaving the outer woods and entering the inner forest, Wu Sicheng would whistle and imitate bird calls every now and then, but there was no response.

The two men and two wolves pressed on forward with all their might, finally reaching the place where Wu Sicheng had fainted before nightfall. He used his memories from before he lost consciousness to search for the direction the fugitive had fled in.

The snow was still falling before he fell into a coma, and although the thin layer covered the footprints to some extent.

In the dense forest, there is a thick layer of leaves and very little grass. When you step on it, the leaves bounce back up after you leave, leaving no obvious trace.

After searching for a while without finding any useful clues, and with a whole day gone by, the two had no choice but to give up on this lead.

It was already dark. This time, Wu Sicheng went first and An Moxue followed behind. Fortunately, it wasn't the beginning of the month, so it wasn't pitch black. Only dappled, sparse moonlight shone into the forest, so moving forward wasn't a problem.

After dark, all around was silent. The occasional gust of wind that brushed against the tips of the grass as I ran and jumped made a soft, rustling sound in the forest. The sound was so faint that it made the forest seem even more serene.

The occasional sound of a broken branch being stepped on was particularly noticeable, as if one had committed some unforgivable sin, making one feel uneasy.

Occasionally, the hooting of an owl would sound, like a child crying, like a woman crying, long and mournful, or even more like a vengeful ghost demanding a life.

An Moxue's hair stood on end. Luckily, there were two little ones beside her, whose occasional howls made her less afraid.

...

Wu Sicheng, who was in front, stopped and turned around to call her: "Mo Xue, flashlight."

An Moxue walked over and handed him a flashlight. "This is where the three of us separated during our fight. One of us fled in the direction we were chasing, and the other fled in this direction. Let's look in this direction." An Moxue looked in the direction he pointed, but could only see a hazy darkness.

The two searched carefully. The trees were much sparser here, and there was more and taller grass and bushes under the trees. Following the direction in which the grass and bushes broke and fell, they finally found a clue.

This was An Moxue's first actual tracking, just like what her father and Old Ma had told her before, but the actual feeling was different. Before, it was like reading on paper—what you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand. This was An Moxue's truest thought at this moment.

Seeing that she was following him closely, Wu Sicheng assumed she was afraid of the dark. He tentatively took her hand, but when she didn't say anything or object and her face remained tense, he felt a little excited and tightened his grip on her hand.

An Moxue, however, was focused on learning how to track people and didn't pay attention to this.

The first person had no clues, but this one has! This person in front of me is a seasoned expert, giving a practical lesson. This is an opportunity I can't miss.

She loved the snow as much in the morning as she hated it at night; a snowfall covering the criminal's tracks was tantamount to helping the criminal escape.

Wu Sicheng held An Moxue's hand in one hand and a flashlight in the other, comforting her, "Moxue, don't be afraid. The dangers in the forest aren't so scary. As long as you understand the patterns, you can avoid most of the risks. For example, at night, most creatures return to their caves, and only a few come out to forage, such as owls and bats. In the North, there are no snakes in the forest at this time of year; they're all hibernating in their caves."

"This is the first time I've ever experienced something like this in my life. It feels quite novel and a bit exciting, but the hooting of that owl just now was really creepy."

"I've gotten used to ignoring your feelings. I'm sorry, Mo Xue. Next time you're scared and I haven't noticed, you must tell me, okay?"

"I'm actually quite brave; there's very little I'm afraid of."

“Yes, most people wouldn’t keep two wolves.” As if they knew she was talking to them, the two little ones howled twice in response. The instinct of living beings to seek advantage and avoid harm is very strong. After dark, without An Moxue’s prompting, the two of them never left and stayed closely by An Moxue’s side.

“And I feel that these two are much smarter than ordinary wolves. Look, as long as you talk about them, they will respond.” An Moxue looked at the two little ones as Wu Sicheng spoke, and the two little ones circled around them as if in response.

An Moxue said proudly, "Of course, this is the White Wolf King's child. How can it be the same as an ordinary wolf cub?"

"What?" This time Wu Sicheng was genuinely astonished. "How did you get these two wolves?"

"It was just by chance that I went up the mountain last time and happened to encounter a battle between wolves and boars. In the end, both sides were badly injured. The white wolf king died after giving birth to his cubs and I received his dying entrustment."

"It's not on the outskirts of the forest, is it? It must be deep inside. How could you be so brave? It's too dangerous." Wu Sicheng asked a question, but his tone was full of certainty.

"I'm perfectly fine, and besides, all those years of martial arts training weren't for nothing." An Moxue rolled her eyes at him, but unfortunately, his gaze was entirely focused on finding clues, so he didn't notice. The eye roll was actually directed at Hei Ye.

The two searched for clues while talking quietly, until their tracks disappeared into a larch forest. The forest was covered with a thick layer of pine needles, soft to the touch, and the trees were as thick as three or four people could hug.

It was already late at night, and An Moxue was worried about Wu Sicheng's health, so she tentatively asked, "We have no clues, and it's so late. What should we do next?"

Wu Sicheng shone his flashlight on his watch; it was almost midnight. "Let's stop looking. Let's rest and continue tomorrow. Let's find a place to rest."

Hearing him say that, An Moxue finally breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that he would risk his life by continuing to search. His physical condition was not good at the moment, otherwise she would not have insisted on coming along. If he fainted again, she would be the one in trouble.

What An Moxue didn't know was that without her, he would definitely continue searching. He was already forcing himself to stay upright, just thinking that he couldn't let the girl he liked worry anymore.

An Moxue pointed to the tall trees, "Shall we climb the tree?"

Wu Sicheng was amused by her this time, "You can climb trees too!"

An Moxue could hear the teasing in his tone, but she pretended not to understand. "I know martial arts, so what's so strange about me being able to climb trees? You're really making a fuss over nothing."

Listening to her serious nonsense, Wu Sicheng felt that the girl he had met was really cute. What a treasure she was! His chest was overflowing with joy.

“Yes, yes, you’re right. I was just ignorant. I apologize to Comrade An Moxue. You said sleeping in trees is fine in the summer, but it’s already winter. If we stop now, it will be very cold at night, so we can’t sleep in trees. We need to find a sheltered ravine, dig a cave, and light a fire outside. You can come with me now.”

"Fine! You're the boss, so you call the shots."

Wu Sicheng shone his flashlight into the distance, searching for a favorable position. After shining it around halfway, he took An Moxue's hand and walked forward.