104 Wilderness Survival
◎The wolves' faces were serious and silent.◎
Ye Zhizhi staggered and walked into the snowstorm like a penguin.
She didn't feel too much cold. The only inconvenience she felt was that her whole body was wrapped in layers of animal skins, and it was very difficult and slow for her short legs to move.
But after she got used to the walking, her short legs began to move, her steps becoming faster and faster. From a distance, she could see a round, short figure moving through the forest.
Ye Zhizhi sniffed the cool wind and snow and ran all the way following the scent of the wolves. It took her half a day before she finally saw the backs of the wolves.
They stood on both sides of the territory's border, with the Wolf King and the Silver Wolf as their center, motionless, with snowflakes accumulating on their bodies, melting into their fur, making it slightly wet.
Ye Zhizhi didn't sense any danger, and the wolves weren't very alert either. However, she sensed a serious emotion from the back of the wolf standing in the snow.
Ye Zhizhi took short steps and rushed over quickly, passing directly by the wolf's limbs, got to the front, stood at the wolf mother's feet, and tried to tiptoe.
Let me see what happened!
The silver wolf noticed the cub immediately. It lowered its head and sniffed, carefully observing her condition. Not only was she not cold, but her face under the hide was red and warm. So it ignored her and only moved its front legs slightly to block the rustling wind and snow for her.
Ye Zhizhi stood between the wolf mother's front legs, raising her head slightly. She smelled the scent of a strange wolf.
Outside the territory, a scrawny she-wolf with messy hair stood in the snow. At its feet, two equally scrawny wolf cubs huddled together, shivering as if from fear or cold.
It was obvious that the two children were not having a good life and looked pitiful.
Ye Zhizhi saw Zong Er standing next to them, lowering his head, looking at the wolf king's eyes with fear, but also pleading.
The wolves had serious expressions and were silent.
Ye Zhizhi smelled a scent similar to that of the two little wolf cubs and Uncle Zong Er. She immediately recognized that they were Uncle Zong Er's wife and cubs outside. Judging from their situation, they were not living well outside and were almost unable to survive, so they came to live with Uncle Zong Er.
But in the wolf pack, Uncle Brown Two has no right to keep them. Only if the wolf king agrees to accept them will they be qualified to enter the tribe's territory.
Therefore, these frail adults and two children can only stand outside the territory and dare not take a single step inside without the wolf king's permission.
Ye Zhizhi didn't think too much about it. She just thought that her three farms happened to have enough food and could afford to raise three more wolves, one big and two small. And it just so happened that no new wolf cubs were born in their tribe.
However, the wolves didn't seem to want to accept them.
Ye Zhizhi looked at the two wolf cubs. They were born this year, but were not well raised and lacked food, which resulted in them being skinny and having dull and messy fur. They were obviously far inferior to the healthy wolf cubs that grew up at the same age.
She looked so pitiful and pitiful.
"Oh?" Ye Zhizhi asked, not understanding why the Wolf King father was so slow to make a decision.
Anyway, there was plenty of food, and since they were Uncle Zong Er's mates and cubs, they had some connection and weren't completely unfamiliar wolves. Ye Zhizhi remembered how Uncle Zong Er's three wolves had joined the wolf pack, helped the pack reclaim territory and seek revenge, and had also made many contributions to the pack.
Ye Zhizhi thought about their efforts, but he didn't think that they had already received far more rewards than they had given.
That year, the Wolf King came to them and was willing to accept them into the wolf pack, give them a place to live, and even allow them to reproduce, on the condition that they must make significant contributions to the wolf pack.
And participating in the wolf's revenge was also giving them an opportunity.
You have to know that in this forest, not all wolves are strong enough to survive alone outside.
It is actually the lone animals that have a hard time. They have no territory and no companions, cannot find enough food, and have to be wary of equally powerful predators that may treat them as prey or steal their food.
Brown Two, Brown Three, and Big Black formed an alliance and wandered together. They were already quite powerful, but they still had a hard time in the jungle before they met the Wolf King, and they couldn't even hold onto their small territory. Unless they were a particularly independent lone wolf, no wolf would miss the opportunity to join a powerful pack.
Even if he loses his life for it, it is still a gift to the wandering wolf.
Because after they succeed, they will have a safe place to live and no longer have to wander around. Even if they are injured while hunting in the future, they don’t have to worry about being targeted by other predators. They can have a safe territory to recuperate. Their companions will protect them and provide them with food until they get better. If they are lucky, they can even live to old age in the wolf pack.
Being able to die naturally of old age is a great luxury for animals.
From the moment they officially became members of the wolf pack and the female wolf Brown Three gave birth to three cubs, the exchange between them ended.
Ye Zhizhi, however, measured things from a human perspective and always kept this kindness in his heart.
Little did they know that the wolf pack had a strict hierarchy, and the behavior of the lowly Brown Two had offended the authority of the wolf king.
Although their wolf pack system is also very special, they are not entirely maintained by blood ties. They are more like an alliance, living in the same territory for generations, and the pack is ruled by a wolf king who is trusted by all members.
When there are not enough members in a wolf pack, not only the alpha wolf, but other wolves in the pack also bear the responsibility of reproduction.
But the prerequisite is with the permission of the alpha wolf.
Now it wasn't simply a matter of whether or not to accept a new member. Brown Two had challenged the authority of the Wolf King. Without leaving the pack, he had bred with wolves from outside without the King's permission.
It would have been fine if he hadn't appeared in front of the wolf pack and wasn't discovered, but now he showed up with his family, which was a naked provocation to the wolf king.
Under normal circumstances, the wolf king would not only not accept these three wolves, but would also drive Brown Two out of the pack, and in more serious cases, he might even bite him to death.
The wolves knew very well that if they were driven out, it would be difficult for them to survive without shelter from the wind and snow and without enough food, especially the cubs.
Zong Er didn't want to leave and was still begging for the Wolf King's mercy.
"Woo--" Brown Three and Big Black looked anxious, both wanting to plead for Brown Two, but fearing the authority of the Wolf King, they ultimately did not come out.
They have settled down in this tribe. These are the most secure and comfortable days they have ever lived. They don't want to leave and continue their wandering life.
Zong San also couldn't understand why his brother would do such a thing.
But Brown Two had no words to express his grievances. He had never expected things to develop like this. When he first established a partnership with the female wolf, the female wolf had her own tribe, and the female wolf also expressed the idea of letting Brown Two live in her tribe. However, Brown Two regretted it. He did not want to leave his current tribe. After hesitating for a long time, he finally returned to the tribe.
This period was short-lived, and Brown Two even wandered outside for a while before returning to the pack. He later lost contact with the mother wolf and didn't even know she had given birth to cubs.
The female wolf is the direct descendant of the wolf king of the tribe.
Who knew that during the rainy season, an internal power struggle broke out in the female wolf pack, and the old wolf king was driven off the throne by the strong wolves in the pack. The old wolf king was defeated and died, and the wolf king's other direct descendants died or were expelled. Those who posed little threat became the lowest in the pack.
This direct descendant naturally had a hard time in the tribe, so the mother wolf made a quick decision and brought her cubs out as soon as the rainy season ended.
The mother wolf had nowhere to go, so she came to Brown Two. Although she was very careful and cautious, only two of the three cubs she brought with her were left.
However, no matter what the situation was, the wolf pack could no longer accept them.
But before the wolf king could express his decision, Ye Zhizhi clearly felt that the breath of one of the wolf cubs was gradually weakening.
Ye Zhizhi howled anxiously. She raised her hand with difficulty and pointed at the wolf cub. It was about to die!
The wolf cub leaning against the other side seemed to have sensed that its wolf brother's breath was weak. It kept nodding its little head and making childish, anxious howls.
Tears glistened in the mother wolf's eyes. She lowered her head and licked the wolf cub continuously, letting out a sad howl from her throat.
Ye Zhizhi didn't quite understand why the Wolf King seemed unwilling to accept them. She thought they were worried about not having enough food. Ye Zhizhi quickly moved to the Wolf King's father and pointed in the direction of the three farms. They raised so much prey, so raising a few more wolves would be more than enough!
The wolves looked at the two cubs.
Animals are always more tolerant towards their cubs, especially when they are from the same group. Pity appeared in the eyes of the wolves, but they still stood still, waiting for the decision of the wolf king.
The wolf king lowered his head and looked into the cub's clear eyes, his anxiety and worry obvious.
The silver wolf looked at the sad mother wolf and the wolf cub whose breath was gradually weakening. It seemed as if its past memories were awakened and its emotions were fluctuating. It looked at the young and howling cub, walked forward, lowered its head and rubbed against it.
Its cubs are still alive.
The silver wolf looked at the wolf king with hesitation in his eyes.
The wolf king looked back for a moment, then turned to look at the two wolf cubs, and relaxed slightly.
Ye Zhizhi tilted her head towards the silver wolf, but her gaze continued to look at the two wolf cubs. One wolf cub had closed its eyes, and the other wolf cub seemed to be aware of her gaze and turned its head to look over. Its wet eyes met Ye Zhizhi's, full of pleading.
“Ouch—”
The wolf king changed his mind.
No matter what the reason, the wolf king finally decided to temporarily accept the three wolves into the tribe, allowing them to spend the winter in the tribe and leave after the spring.
Brown Two and Brown Three were extremely happy. They immediately picked up the wolf cubs and ran towards their territory and rushed into the cave.
The Wolf King, Silver Wolf and other wolves were walking through the wind and snow at a moderate pace behind them.
Ye Zhizhi sat on the wolf mother's back, looking at Uncle Zong Er and the others running away, hoping that the little wolf cubs were all okay.
Yin Yi, who was walking nearby, turned his head to look at the fully-armed wolf girl, and sighed in his heart again. Although the wolf girl still had no hair, she was smarter than any other wolf. She could think of putting on the fur of other animals, and now she was really no longer afraid of the cold.
After the snow falls for a while, they can come out and play.
The wolves returned to their den, shook off the snow and wind at the entrance of the cave, and then slowly walked in.
The two wolf cubs and the mother wolf were already huddled in Brown Two's den, licking the cubs constantly to keep them warm.
Ye Zhizhi looked at their shriveled stomachs from afar and saw that their ribs were clearly visible. He knew that what they needed most was food.
So he dragged a hard roe deer out of the grain storage cave and gave it to the she-wolf.
In the entire tribe, only Ye Zhizhi could use a small amount of the wolf's food reserves without being scolded. The other wolves did not even dare to go in without the permission of the wolf king.
Of course, it is also because in the eyes of the wolves, Ye Zhizhi is the one who has the most food and is most willing to share in the tribe.
Although the three major farms are usually looked after by wolf packs, in the wolves' cognition, except for the prey they throw in themselves, the rest belong to the cubs.
Therefore, the cub who made the greatest contribution received some privileges from the Wolf King and the Silver Wolf, not simply because she was the cub of the Wolf King and the Silver Wolf.
After Ye Zhizhi gave the roe deer, she saw that the wolf cub still had a very weak breath. The mother wolf would not have any wolf milk for a while, so she thought about it, cooked a pot of broth from her own food, let it cool down, and sent it over.
The mother wolf was cautious about Ye Zhizhi, the strange wolf cub, at first, but she showed goodwill and offered them food, and he was also the wolf king cub of her pack, so she tacitly allowed the wolf cub to feed her cub.
The more energetic wolf cub realized that this was food for it and swallowed it eagerly. As for the one that was too weak to swallow on its own, Ye Zhizhi patiently fed it a small bowl. After feeling that the wolf cub's breath was no longer weak, he left with the eaten fruit shells.
The mother wolf looked at Ye Zhizhi's departing figure for a while, then lowered her head to continue licking the fur of the two wolf cubs.
There were new members in the nest, and Ye Zhizhi's attention was focused on them for a while, especially the two wolf cubs.
The weakest wolf cub was very resilient. After Ye Zhizhi fed it meat broth for two days, it had recovered significantly. The mother wolf had a full stomach and recovered after two days, and soon she had milk.
After Ye Zhizhi was sure that the wolf cubs were alive, he did not go over to help.
Although they were all living temporarily in the cave and in the same den as them, Ye Zhizhi knew that the wolves did not accept them and only treated them as guests because the wolves were missing a ceremony before.
If the wolf pack accepted them, they would exchange scents with each other, but they didn't.
For this reason, within two days, Brown Two took the mother wolf and her two cubs to the corner of the den, which was the den of Xiao Hei and the others.
Xiao Hei and his friends failed to successfully occupy Yin Yi and his friends' den. Later, in order to stay away from Yin Yi and his friends' den, they chose the most remote corner, far away from the wolf pack's den.
Ye Zhizhi wondered if Wolf King Dad hadn't realized yet that their territory was now well-stocked with food?
She decided to give her father, the Wolf King, a little shock.
So Ye Zhizhi asked Yin Yi and the others to go to the farm to catch prey. Since the temperature was so low now, the food could be frozen and kept for a long time.
When they went out, the snow was already knee-deep.
The wolves rushed out howling.
The wolves are instinctively familiar with every blade of grass and every tree in the territory. As long as the wolves don't run out of the territory, the wolves will not stop them from playing. They will only think in their hearts that they are young wolves, full of energy. They still want to go out and have fun even when it's snowing so heavily outside. Unlike them, they are old and can't have fun anymore.
The wolves that stayed in the cave pricked up their ears, listening to the movements of the wolves outside, which could not be covered by the wind and snow. After a while, wolves came out one after another.
As elders, they have to keep an eye on these overly active young wolves. If they play too much and get buried in the snow accidentally, they can dig them out.
Wolf King: “…”
A smile and helplessness flashed in the silver wolf's eyes. With these cubs in the den, it was always noisy, but the wolf didn't hate it. Instead, he liked this atmosphere very much.
The female wolf in the corner was shocked and couldn't believe it.
Usually during the rainy season and winter when food is scarce, wolves lie in their dens and do not move unless necessary, trying to minimize physical consumption and reduce their demand for food.
This tribe is so amazing! They even have so much energy to run around!
No wonder Brown Two, who had been persuaded by it to leave his original wolf pack and live in its tribe, later changed his mind and returned to his original tribe. It turned out that his tribe was so wealthy!
But judging from the territory, it doesn't look like it has abundant resources.
The she-wolf was puzzled.
Ye Zhizhi, Yin Yi and others rushed to the nearest farm.
The animals all hibernate in the dug tunnels. The snow is not very thick at this time, so the wolf claws directly dig out the snow.
Ye Zhizhi felt that he could accept such a temperature, so he took off one layer of his fur cloak, which made his hands and feet more flexible. Then he crawled into the cave and pulled out the pheasants and rabbits that were so frozen that they had little ability to resist.
Ye Zhizhi's hands, wrapped in snakeskin gloves, were cold, but he was laughing loudly.
Who understands the joy of digging a treasure hole and finding prey in both hands?
This is an absolutely addictive bonanza.
And there are three large farms that are causing trouble for them.
The people and wolves were very excited, and even the increasingly violent snow and wind could not dampen their enthusiasm.
Before they had finished digging up all the prey from the two farms, they already had much more food than in the storage caves.
However, joy turns to sorrow. When Ye Zhizhi woke up one day with a stuffy nose and sneezes, he knew it was over.
She actually fell ill.
So Ye Zhizhi, who was lying in the silver nest, was taken back to the boulder nest by the silver wolf who noticed something unusual.
It sensed the cub's abnormal breathing and body temperature.
Compared to wolves who would look for herbs to treat themselves or relieve pain when they suffer external injuries, for diseases that come from inside the body, wolves tend to recover naturally by reducing activity, resting more, and maintaining body temperature.
Simply put, when wild animals get sick, they rely on their own immune system to overcome the disease.
So when Ye Zhizhi was sick, Silver Wolf had no other options except to let her sleep more and warm her up to maintain her body temperature.
Ye Zhizhi didn't know what herbs could cure the disease, and he didn't dare to eat anything random.
She had picked up something that looked like medicine when she was scavenging, but who knew what it was used for, and it must have expired after so long.
Ye Zhizhi also had to endure it. Fortunately, her physical condition had improved and her condition did not become more serious. After lying next to Wolf Mother for a few days and feeling much better, she ran to the living area to boil water for herself.
It’s better to drink more hot water.
Ye Zhizhi was thinking this, and then she noticed something approaching her.
She looked down and saw a little brown wolf approaching her cautiously. When it noticed that she turned her head to look at it, it seemed to stop for a moment timidly, then stared at her and approached her tentatively.
Ye Zhizhi tried hard to restrain his breath so as not to scare the other person.
Until the furry head rubbed against him, Ye Zhizhi tried his best to show kindness and touched it gently.
After raising it for a while, the little brown wolf's body became much rounder and looked less thin. As if it sensed her friendliness, it looked at her with its wet eyes, and then wagged its tail happily.
Another skinnier little brown wolf stood not far away, looking like he wanted to get closer but didn't dare.
The little brown wolf that almost died looked very energetic. Ye Zhizhi waved her hand, and the little brown wolf ran over happily, also looking at her with bright eyes.
Ye Zhizhi also rubbed his head.
Then he turned his head away and sneezed.
She is still sick, so these two fragile little wolf cubs should not get too close to her.
Ye Zhizhi asked them to stay away from her.
The skinny little brown wolf quickly lowered its head and ran away with its tail between its legs, while the other little brown wolf looked at Ye Zhizhi for a while.
Ye Zhizhi noticed some emotion flashing in the little brown wolf's eyes. Before she could look again, it had already turned around and ran away with its wolf brothers.
Ye Zhizhi held the hot water and thought, she must be sick and her eyesight is blurry. Such a little wolf cub doesn’t understand anything yet.
The next day, the two wolf cubs did not come to find Ye Zhizhi. She observed them carefully and found that the two wolf cubs went to find other wolves. They were not shy. It seemed that they knew that the attitudes of other wolves in the pack were very important to them, and they timidly tried to please other wolves.
Ye Zhizhi saw them first run to the side of the second brown wolf mother. When Ye Zhizhi noticed it, the second brown wolf mother seemed to have accepted the two wolf cubs and let them chase and play in front of her.
Ye Zhizhi thought it was a good idea. With the help of cub diplomacy, after one winter, maybe the wolf pack would accept their existence.
After Ye Zhizhi recovered from her illness, the two wolf cubs became her followers, always following her around.
But most of the time, Ye Zhizhi was sparring with Yin Yi and the others on the flat ground to gain more practical experience, while the wolf cub was running around under the feet of other wolves, imitating wolves' sparring from time to time, and biting and pouncing. The skinny wolf cub could never beat his wolf brothers, and was always howling when he was pounced on, looking very adorable.
Ye Zhizhi found that her strength was getting stronger and stronger. When she was sparring with Yin Xiaohui, she ran behind Yin Xiaohui and suddenly had an idea. She grabbed its hind legs and pulled and dragged it, forcing Yin Xiaohui to the ground.
Ye Zhizhi himself was stunned, and even the wolves looked at him in surprise.
They couldn't believe it. How could such a small cub actually knock down a wolf that was so many times its size? So the wolves came over curiously and asked Ye Zhizhi to try and see if he could knock them down.
Ye Zhizhi thought that since she didn't have fangs or sharp claws, it would be a good idea to give full play to her strength advantage. So the wolf pack became a good training object for her, which could not only exercise her strength, but also her strength-using skills.
This winter, even though the wolf pack had three more wolves, they did not starve. Each wolf was well-fed with smooth fur and a strong body.
When the wolves leave their den and go out hunting, they are in stark contrast to the other predators who have been starving after a whole winter.
When Ye Zhizhi followed them out, she saw such a stark difference and felt very proud. Her farm was indeed very useful. Look how well the wolves were being raised!
In the spring, it was time to decide whether the three wolves should stay or go.
After a winter spent in the wolf pack, the two wolf cubs, now plump and adorable, looked incredibly capable. The newly rejuvenated mother wolf proved her prowess during solo hunts. Indeed, the mother wolf's ability to safely guide the two cubs back to their territory showed she was quite capable.
Animals are not completely heartless. It must be said that the presence of the two wolf cubs makes the den more lively. Watching the two little wolf cubs grow up slowly under their noses day by day, the wolf pack cannot help but be moved.
Moreover, their presence did not affect the wolf pack's food distribution. Ye Zhizhi's farm played a huge role, and their food was more abundant, even with a surplus. In this situation, the wolf pack could absorb more members and strengthen the pack's strength.
Perhaps because of this, the wolf king finally decided to accept them, and the wolf pack accepted Brown Two's partner and two wolf cubs, and they became official members of the pack.
Of course, the status of Brown Two's family of four also fell to the bottom of the pack. Brown Two had done something wrong, so it was impossible for him to go unpunished. He was convinced that the wolf king was kind enough to allow him and his wolf cub to stay in the pack, and they had no objection.
Ye Zhizhi was not so sensitive to the hierarchy of the wolf pack. After all, before, the wolf pack was roughly divided into only three levels. The first level was the wolf king and the silver wolves, the second level was all the adult wolves, and the third level was the old and the young.
But as a youngster, the difference in treatment wasn't actually noticeable. This was mainly because she was too weak at first, and only had frequent contact with silver wolves. The brief interactions with other wolves she encountered were mostly kind. Especially in the early days, when she couldn't eat meat or share food, she didn't feel much. Even observing the wolves' eating order seemed normal to her.
When she was strong enough to eat meat, she also did not participate in the wolf pack's eating. Her meat was kept separate, and Silver Wolf and Silver One would share their own food so that she could eat more meat.
Now, Brown Two and the others are on the fourth floor, ranked behind the old wolf. It was like this in winter, but at that time, Ye Zhizhi was thinking that the three wolves were not considered wolves in the tribe. It was good enough that they could share food with them, and they could not ask for more. The wolf pack is not like humans, who would rather eat coarse food and drink for their guests than give them good food.
Now that they have become members of the tribe and also eat the last piece of meat, Ye Zhizhi just thinks that this is normal. The wolf pack originally respects strength, and the mother wolf and Uncle Zong Er are at the bottom of the tribe in terms of strength.
But no matter what, it's a good thing that the tribe has new members.
Ye Zhizhi was very happy. This time, she did not leave the territory immediately. Instead, she first built the breeding farm. As the number of wolf pack members increased, the pressure of supporting the family increased, so she had to do a good job in breeding.
She looked at the growing wolf pack and thought to herself that she should find a more fertile territory.
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