Li Xi didn't even look up, her voice cold and clear: "Wait."
"But the weather is getting colder and colder, and we have no food or water. How can we stand it?"
Li Xi raised her eyes, her clear eyes gazing at Chen Quan.
He said calmly, "Either leave or wait, you choose."
Chen Quan immediately shut up; he wouldn't leave the young master's side at this moment.
He could hear the hissing growls of the wild beasts around him, but he didn't have the lightness skill or the strength to escape their gaping maws.
Chen Quan dared not complain anymore and could only stay obediently.
The dense forest was very cold and gloomy at night, with the roars of wild beasts constantly echoing around.
Chen Quan's teeth chattered. "Young Master, the roars of that beast are getting closer. Let's go."
Li Xi closed her eyes to rest, as if she hadn't heard him.
Chen Quan couldn't help but say again, "Young Master, there are many man-eating beasts in this dense forest. Let's hurry up and leave."
Li Xi remained silent.
Chen Quan panicked and reached out to push her, "Young Master!"
Li Xi opened her eyes and stared at him coldly, "Try touching me again."
Chen Quan immediately froze.
He swallowed hard, his gaze towards Li Xi now tinged with fear.
He muttered to himself that next time he must find an excuse not to come out with the young master. Wouldn't it be better to be with his wife and kids in a warm bed right now? Chen Quan was on the verge of tears.
He was about to say something when a dark shadow suddenly leaped down from the tree and pounced on them. He was so frightened that his face turned pale, his body stiffened, and he dared not move.
Li Xi drew his sword and with a single strike, cleaved the oncoming black shadow in two.
"Hiss—" A series of hissing sounds came from all around.
Chen Quan's legs went weak. "Young Master, let's hurry up and leave."
She sneered, unmoved, "It's coming soon." Then she grabbed Chen Quan and leaped up into the tree.
“Stand still and wait for me. Come down when I whistle.” She jumped down.
He took out powder from the cloth bag at his waist and sprinkled it on the pack of wolves whose eyes were glowing green.
"Hiss—" Several screams came from the wolf pack, followed by several howls.
Chen Quan gasped in shock; the powder was incredibly potent. "Young Master, where did this powder come from?"
"This is my Lan'er's exclusive formula. This powder is made from poisonous creatures such as snake grass, centipedes, scorpions, spiders, and toads, and it can drive animals mad," Li Xi said proudly.
This powder won't kill them, it just makes them feel unwell.
There is an antidote, but she should at least get something in return. She looked at the bushes not far away.
The wolf pack howled in pain, and sure enough, two tall and imposing alpha wolves appeared before Li Xi.
It seemed to be the leader of a wolf pack, a male and a female. Li Xi didn't care and continued to speak, not caring whether they could understand her or not.
"Since you've shown up, you must have guessed that I have the antidote?" She waved the antidote bottle in her hand to attract their attention.
"Hey, don't even think about rushing over and grabbing it. Only I know how to concoct the antidote. Besides, do you think you can outrun the sword in my hand?"
Li Xi continued her alarmist talk, saying that although wolves cannot speak human language, she had heard that the intelligence of the alpha wolf was about the same as that of an eight or nine-year-old human child, and that it could understand both good and bad words.
"Actually, my requirements are very low. Just be well-fed and well-housed with me. Oh, you might not need that, but who would complain about having too much food?" Especially for this group with strong reproductive capabilities.
The weather is getting colder, and everyone's probably worried about food for the winter. The older ones might survive, but the younger ones might not.
Li Xi noticed that the two wolves were just staring at her, their dark eyes seeming to see right through her soul.
“I know you can understand. Putting everything else aside, I’ve raised dogs before, and dogs are similar to wolves. It’s just that I might have a lot of demands; you’ll have to obey my commands. Of course, I won’t hurt you; I genuinely want to live in peace with you.”
She then pulled a bag of dried meat from her backpack and tossed it to the alpha wolf opposite her. "Try our human food, you'll never forget it."
Seeing that they were unmoved, Li Xi picked up a piece of beef jerky and started chewing it, saying, "If you won't eat it, then I will."
Li Xi ate as she talked, finishing one and then grabbing another. She gradually became addicted, and although she hadn't eaten dinner yet, she was now starving.
The two wolves, seeing that Li Xi had eaten a lot of jerky, began to hesitate.
The male wolf finally couldn't resist licking the jerky, and the female wolf followed suit.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Xi poured out all the jerky from her backpack. The wolves that hadn't been drugged rushed over and devoured the jerky in a whirlwind.
She was dumbfounded; these wolves could eat so much! She hadn't prepared much jerky to begin with, and they had eaten it all.
"Are you still going to care about your brothers?" Li Xi looked at the pack of howling wolves and was momentarily speechless.
The alpha wolf then remembered this matter, stepped forward and nudged Li Xi, signaling her to handle it.
Li Xi pulled Chen Quan down and ordered him to fetch water. She poured medicinal powder into the water and gestured for the alpha wolf to let its underlings drink it.
The alpha wolf howled, and the wolves that had been drugged endured the pain and licked up a lot of water.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the wolves that had been drugged were all fine. They all ran away, fearing that Li Xi would strike them with his sword again.
Li Xi had successfully completed her mission, but when she turned around, she found Chen Quan still watching her.
She said, "What are you looking at? Do you want to follow them?"
Chen Quan snapped out of his reverie and coughed lightly. "I was just wondering if the young master had left me any dried meat. I didn't eat dinner, and now my legs are a bit numb!"
"Um, would you like some cornbread?" Li Xi rummaged through her backpack, only managing to pull out two cornbread buns.
Before going up the mountain, she promised Chen Quan that she would leave him half a pound of beef jerky, but she had just shown off a pound of it and given the rest to those wolves.
"Fine, that's fine too!" Chen Quan didn't mind, giving her a reproachful look. He reached out and took the steamed bun, already knowing that the young master was unreliable.
"Wait a minute!" Li Xi rummaged around again and pulled out a small wine bottle. "This is the last sip of wine, it's for you!"
Chen Quan took the wine and downed it in one gulp. His body, which had almost stiffened from the wind while he was in the tree, instantly felt much warmer.
"Young Master, do these wolves really obey your commands?" he asked curiously.
Li Xi smiled smugly, "Of course, you don't even know whose fist is stronger." But she wanted to use a gentler approach.
"That's true." Chen Quan nodded. It's always better to have a strong fist; otherwise, he wouldn't have followed Li Xi. "By the way, young master, when do we set off?"
"First thing tomorrow morning," Li Xi said.
The forest was still enchanting late at night. The two wolves led Li Xi and her companion to their usual cave to spend the night.
"Young Master, aren't you afraid of going into a wolf's den..." Chen Quan was somewhat frightened. Was he just handing himself over for a kill?
"It's alright, I'm here," Li Xi said, patting her chest.
This put Chen Quan at ease. The cave was very clean, and the air inside was very fresh, with no trace of wolf smell.
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