Liu Guangqi was indeed very clever, but wolves are cunning by nature and quite intelligent. They had their eyes on both the roe deer and Liu Guangqi.

Seeing its prey trying to run away, it immediately gave chase. Two legs can never outrun four. Before long, Liu Guangqi was caught by the wolf.

Seeing the wolf closing in, Liu Guangqi could only hurriedly climb a tree. If he had had time, he would have definitely found a tall tree, but in his haste, the tree he found wasn't tall. Not only was the tree short, but there was also a hornet's nest in it.

In his haste, Liu Guangqi bumped right into a hornet's nest. Hornets usually don't come out at night, but since Liu Guangqi had knocked down the nest, a swarm of hornets flew out.

Relying on memory and instinct, the wasps flew straight up, resulting in Liu Guangqi being stung by a swarm of wasps and screaming in pain. Even with the severe stings, Liu Guangqi dared not come down from the tree. If he did, he would become the midnight snack of a pack of wolves below.

To survive, Liu Guangqi could only cling tightly to the tree trunk, no matter how much pain he was in. The wolves below were having a much better time. They dragged the roe deer to the ground and began to enjoy their meal. Even while eating, they would occasionally bare their teeth at Liu Guangqi.

Sometimes they would even jump up to see if they could knock their prey down from the tree. Unfortunately, wolves can't climb trees, so they could only watch helplessly as Liu Guangqi howled above them.

In order to get more food, the wolves actually started to cooperate. One wolf stepped on another, trying to get Liu Guangqi off.

And the wolf population was growing. Those that had eaten were alright, but the hungry wolves howled even louder. Seeing that their companions had almost finished eating, the remaining wolves quickly went to eat the offal that others didn't want. Having something to eat was better than going hungry.

The dozen or so wolves were quite comfortable, since they had food to eat, but Liu Guangqi's situation was not so good. Not only did Liu Guangqi have nothing to eat, but he was also in great pain, as a swarm of wasps were stinging him.

Even if Liu Haizhong and his wife were standing there now, they wouldn't recognize Liu Guangqi. Liu Guangqi's face had been completely disfigured by the wasps. Other parts were alright, but the exposed areas were in a terrible state, the extent of the stings unknown.

If it weren't for the dozen or so wolves below, Liu Guangqi would have climbed down from the tree long ago. A man and a dozen wolves were locked in a standoff in the wild.

One side wanted to save its life, while the other wanted a good meal; the two just stared at each other like that.

Seeing the situation becoming increasingly unfavorable, Liu Guangqi could only try to save himself. At this point, Liu Guangqi had no sense of morality whatsoever.

He kept calling for help from the tree, completely ignoring everyone else. If someone came to his rescue, he might get eaten by wolves.

Unfortunately, Liu Guangqi courted death by running up the mountain. There might be people in the desolate wilderness during the day, but at night there wasn't a soul in sight.

Liu Guangqi lay there on the tree, howling incessantly, blood flowing from his body down to the ground. Smelling the blood, the wolves became even more frenzied, piling up on top of each other, trying to bite Liu Guangqi off.

Seeing the wolves stacking themselves on top of each other, Liu Guangqi could only grit his teeth and climb up until the tree trunk became precarious. Only then did Liu Guangqi stop and desperately hug the tree trunk.

Liu Guangqi climbed another half meter up the mountain, but during the climb, he was bitten on the feet and buttocks a couple of times. Even though he had moved up a little, the wolves below were still trying to find a way to attack him.

Liu Guangqi didn't want to climb any further, but the tree trunk was too small, and he couldn't climb it at all. So they remained stuck there. The wolves were fine, but Liu Guangqi's wounds were multiplying. His wounds were bleeding profusely, and his condition was deteriorating.

Especially since it wasn't just a pack of wolves attacking Liu Guangqi, but also a swarm of wasps. A single wasp is nothing, but the attack power of a swarm of wasps should not be underestimated. The venom had already slowly seeped into Liu Guangqi's body.

If Liu Guangqi hadn't leaned against the tree branch and gritted his teeth to hold onto the trunk, he would have fallen long ago. Even so, Liu Guangqi slowly lost consciousness.

The situation of another unfortunate fellow, Yan Jiecheng, was also not optimistic. One of Yan Jiecheng's legs was suspended by a rope, and his entire body was suspended in the air. Although there was no danger, the prolonged restraint had made Yan Jiecheng's condition very bad.

The leg that was being hoisted up had long since lost all feeling. Seeing the ferocious beast staring at him from below, Yan Jiecheng could only cry for help. But like Liu Guangqi, there was no one in the mountains. Even if Yan Jiecheng screamed until his throat was hoarse, no one would come to his rescue.

Fortunately, dawn broke, and once it was light, the wolves and other wild beasts gradually left. Early the next morning, the Liu and Yan families began searching for them. No one expected them to be on the mountain, so no matter how hard they searched, they couldn't find them.

It wasn't until Wei Hua and his group went up the mountain that they found Liu Guangqi in the tree. Perhaps hearing voices, Liu Guangqi subconsciously let go and fell from the tree.

This sudden change startled the neighborhood committee and Sha Zhu. No one expected a person to fall from the tree.

The huge commotion nearly scared them to death. Liu Guangqi let out a scream and then fainted.

Seeing that Liu Guangqi had swollen several times his original size, the street office staff could only rush him to the hospital. The rest of the people continued to go up the mountain to see if they could find anything.

Although everyone was mentally prepared, they still had to go up the mountain to take a look. When they arrived, there was nothing but bloodstains on the ground; at most, they could see some leftover entrails or bones.

Yan Jiecheng, however, felt as if he had found a savior. Having been fished all night, Yan Jiecheng just wanted to get down as soon as possible and then go to the hospital to check his leg.

"Wei Hua, please put me down quickly. I've been hanging here all night, and my legs have long since lost all feeling. Please, please put me down and take me to the hospital."

Upon hearing Yan Jiecheng's words, Wei Hua did not immediately put Yan Jiecheng down. If he did so now, Yan Jiecheng would likely turn around and accuse him again.

"Yan Jiecheng, it's not impossible to put you down, but you must tell me clearly where our prey went and why you are here?"

“We saw a lot of blood and bones along the way. Besides you, who else came up the mountain with us?”

"Hua Zi, why waste so much breath on him? Anyway, nobody knows he was hanging from a tree. Let's go back first and come back later. Given the Yan family's character, if you let him down now, he'll turn around and accuse you in no time."

"He might say in a couple of days that you tricked him into going up the mountain and then hung him from a tree."

"Hua Zi, although Xu Damao and I don't get along, I agree with Xu Damao this time. Let's leave quickly and let Yan Jiecheng fend for himself."

Sha Zhu and Yan Jiecheng don't get along, so Sha Zhu has no intention of saving Yan Jiecheng at all.

"Let's leave before those people from the neighborhood committee arrive. That way, even if something happens later, we can pretend nothing ever happened."

“Hua Zi, I agree with Sha Zhu. This guy was hanging from a tree because he accidentally triggered a hunting trap. His purpose in coming up the mountain at night is obvious; he was probably jealous of our frequent hunting trips and wanted to take advantage of us.”

"The best way to deal with this kind of thief is to let him hang himself. In just two or three days, he'll either starve or die of thirst. Instead of wasting time rescuing him, you should go back to work at the factory."

Upon hearing that his men were about to abandon him, Yan Jiecheng immediately began to beg for mercy. This deep mountain forest was usually deserted except for those who came to check on their prey.

Once they left, he would be left to die there. At this point, Yan Jiecheng had no choice but to give in. Before the comrades from the neighborhood committee could arrive from elsewhere, Yan Jiecheng spilled the beans, telling them everything.

For example, he recounted how he and Liu Guangqi followed them here, how they stole things under the cover of night, and even their encounter with wolves and leopards.

The local government officials were surprised to find wolves in the mountains, especially since these two had encountered one. They didn't know if they were lucky or unlucky.

They were unlucky to have survived a wolf pack, yet their situations were equally dire.