The sound was as faint as dust, merely the delicate touch between metals, like the soft scraping of steel against a hard stone. In the stillness of the night, it was like a low, melancholic melody, faint yet enough to draw its attention.
It slowly raised its head, which had been resting on its front paws, its sharp eyes gleaming in the darkness. It listened quietly, its ears twitching slightly as it caught the faintest sounds, while its nose inhaled deeply the scent of the night.
The night rain falls gently, like the fingertips of an elf playing an ancient melody.
This rain awakened the earth's dormant essence, allowing it to mature and flourish in the moist air.
The fresh scent of grass mingled with the sharpness of thorns, the sweetness of blackberries, and the weight of the earth. Worms wriggled in the soil, decaying leaves released a faint fragrance after being moistened by the rain, and the little mice darting through the bushes brought their own unique aroma.
It keenly captured all of this.
Her keen sense of smell detected the unique scent of her brother's fuzzy black fur, mixed with the strong smell of blood from the squirrel she had just hunted.
Countless squirrels darted and leaped among the branches overhead, their tiny paws constantly digging into the bark, making soft, rustling sounds. Their damp fur shimmered in the sunlight, and the boundless fear in their eyes seemed to pierce her very soul.
This is her fourth day as a wolf.
As time went by, she gradually adapted to this new way of life. She began to learn how to communicate with the wolf pack, how to hunt, and how to survive in the wilderness. Those instincts and skills that were once unfamiliar have now become second nature to her.
For a moment, she even had the illusion that she really was a wolf.
That feeling of freedom and unrestraint captivated her...
The night was as dark as ink, and the noise outside was like a surging undercurrent, sometimes coming and sometimes going.
Suddenly, the sounds returned, like a whirlwind sweeping across a wasteland, like a tide violently crashing against the rocks on the shore.
She stood up abruptly, her ears perked up like two sharp swords, catching every subtle sound around her. Her tail instantly rose, like a taut bowstring, full of power and alertness.
Just then, a wolf's howl pierced the silent night sky! The sound was long and high-pitched, like an ancient call, penetrating through layers of darkness and striking straight to the heart.
In the quiet, damp night, such a chilling howl sent a shiver down her spine, even for a wolf like her.
"If my memory serves me right, this is the territory of the Faceless God," she thought. "I've scaled those terrifyingly high walls and arrived at the domain of the god most revered by the disciples of Xuanhua Palace..."
"They say that everything we are is from a faceless god."
"Our bodies, our souls, our lives. We should offer them unconditionally to the Faceless God whenever necessary."
"But I don't want to do that, I don't want to sacrifice my life!"
"Because I am not a believer in the Faceless God!"
"I am the princess of the Great Xia Dynasty!"
"I am Zhao Zhilan!"
I pulled myself out of my thoughts and looked into the distance.
The world after the rain was quiet and damp, yet they were unwilling to step out of their hiding place.
They hid in the dark, damp, rocky cave, huddled close to the warm fire, as if it were their only refuge.
At that moment, her younger brother suddenly emerged from the dense bushes, which reminded her of her long-gone brother, the strange creature with white hair and blood-red eyes.
"My brother?" Zhao Zhilan couldn't help but think, "No, that's this body's brother, not me, Zhao Zhilan!"
The two memories had already confused her thinking!
Looking up, the wolf brother in front of me had eyes as deep as a pool of shadows, and the fur on the back of his neck stood up like thorns, making him look tense and alert.
She also began to notice those subtle sounds, those signs that foreshadowed impending danger.
The scraping and slapping sounds rang out again, accompanied by the gliding noises, as if some creature were swiftly slapping its soft leather feet across the stone surface.
A gentle breeze carried a faint, fishy odor, making her feel uneasy.
She knew nothing about the smell; it was completely unfamiliar to her.
This smell carries a hint of danger.
At the same time, it also brings death...
"These...are they those so-called servants of the gods?" Zhao Zhilan wondered. "Or...disciples of Xuanhua Palace?"
She wasn't sure, but a voice in her head guided her, "Does it feel like turning back into a human? Then move forward..."
Upon hearing this, she rushed toward the source of the sound, her younger brother following closely beside her like a shadow, inseparable from her.
Before my eyes, a slippery and rough stone mountain emerged, like a huge gray jelly, both cold and hard and full of unknowns.
She bared her sharp teeth and bit down hard on the rock, but to no avail.
Upon closer inspection, a towering gate stood majestically, with a steel snake tightly coiled between the black pillars, like a guardian deity, exuding a cold and dignified aura.
She slammed into the door, which trembled at her impact, and the steel snake groaned as if warning her against any rash actions. However, the door only shook for a moment before returning to its original stillness.
Through the crack in the door, she saw a long stone cave, like a passage to an unknown world, stretching all the way to the distant stone plaza. However, no matter how hard she tried, she could not pass through the narrow gap.
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