56 Wilderness Survival
◎She always felt like there was something over there that made her feel uneasy.◎
The mountains and forests are beautiful under the setting sun. The colors of each frame are more vivid than those in oil paintings. The clouds rolling in the mountains are also gorgeous. The beauty is magnificent and shocking.
Ye Zhizhi had no intention of appreciating it.
She had previously thought the phrase "Ten Thousand Mountains" was merely an exaggeration, never dreaming it could actually describe the world. Now, she looked around in bewilderment, unsure of where to find her way out.
The mountain wind was so strong that it made her clothes rustle and her hair fly in disorder.
Ye Zhizhi raised her hand to push her hair back. She lowered her eyes to hide the disappointment in them.
Looking out from Chaoxue, she saw a continuous mountain range all around. She thought that was the limit, but she never expected that one day she would be able to use the phrase "sitting in a well and looking at the sky" to describe everything she had seen.
The jungle below her feet seemed to shrink, including the direction of the nest. Beyond, a mountain range stretched as far as the eye could see. She could even see, far in the distance, amidst the mist, peaks taller than the one beneath her, looming and rising into the clouds.
If she hadn't had a brief memory of human society, she would have suspected that she had been reincarnated into primitive society and become a little savage.
…She now unconsciously has this realization.
Ye Zhizhi even had a feeling that the short memory of less than three months was just her imagination. Perhaps it was influenced by the memory of her past life, and the text she had read was imprinted in her mind, resulting in a wrong perception.
Otherwise, whose primeval forest is so big?
The distance from the den to here seemed very short, but it took the wolves seven days to take her running around. If she wanted to walk out of this endless forest by herself, wouldn't it take her one or two years?
Considering the extreme weather in the forest, she might be stopped halfway before she even gets out.
Ye Zhizhi had never imagined she was so far from human society. Logically speaking, no matter how far the woman who had abandoned her in the jungle went, she couldn't have walked very far on foot. The wolf mother had picked her up and carried her in, all the way to her den. Even if she calculated the distance, it couldn't have taken more than half a month...
Ye Zhizhi's thoughts were in a mess.
“Ahhh——”
Suddenly, anxious calls came from below, bringing Ye Zhizhi back to her senses. She held onto the tree trunk and looked down. From a distance, she saw Yin Yi clinging to the trunk with all four limbs, motionless, with only his head raised, howling at her.
When Ye Zhizhi heard Brother Wolf's voice and saw his appearance at the moment, he immediately threw all his thoughts behind him.
"Aoao!" Ye Zhizhi responded quickly, telling Brother Wolf not to move and she quickly climbed down. She still remembered that Brother Wolf could not climb trees, and it would be bad if he fell down.
Ye Zhizhi howled from time to time and soon crawled to Yin Yi's side.
She lowered her head and looked under the tree, and was shocked to see that Brother Wolf had climbed so high. He had never learned to climb trees!
Now Brother Wolf is hanging on the tree and can’t get down?
Ye Zhizhi looked at her own small body and then at Brother Wolf, who was dozens of times bigger than her. She couldn't take Brother Wolf away like her father, the Wolf King, took her.
If we go to find the wolf king father, it will take half a month to go back and forth.
Ye Zhizhi stared at her wolf brother with a sad face.
Yin Yi, however, seemed very calm. He tilted his head to rub against the wolf girl and looked at her seriously for a few times. After making sure that she was fine, he relaxed his hooked claws slightly, slid his huge body down a bit, and then exerted force with his limbs and bounced onto the thick horizontal branch below.
Ye Zhizhi exclaimed in her heart, although she was not very skilled yet, she inexplicably had the illusion of being the Wolf King father. Brother Wolf had already learned to climb trees!
Yin Yi slid along the way, jumping on the branches from time to time. His body was obviously very large, but against the backdrop of the trees, he looked very petite.
Not to mention Ye Zhizhi, she is just a small flea on this huge tree trunk.
The three wolves that failed to climb up raised their heads and looked at Yin Yi with their eyes shining.
My brother has already learned to climb trees! How impressive!
Seeing that Brother Lang was doing it with ease, Ye Zhizhi followed suit. Her pace was slower, and by the time she got down the tree, Yin Yi was already waiting for her.
The four wolves came forward, lowered their heads and sniffed and rubbed Ye Zhizhi, as if to confirm her safety.
Ye Zhizhi approached each wolf one by one, rubbed their heads, and his depressed mood improved a little.
"Ahhh!" She's fine.
The wolves finally felt relieved.
The wolf girl climbed so high and so fast that they couldn't see or smell her, but they were worried that she would be swallowed by something in the tree.
Ye Zhizhi jumped onto Yin Yi's back and signaled them to leave quickly.
After the sun sets, the temperature on the top of the mountain begins to drop rapidly, and the wind here is very strong, so it is not a suitable place to spend the night.
As they walked down, the sky gradually darkened.
When the moon was hanging high above the branches, they finally found a place to stay, which was a sheltered spot on a slope.
The moon is bright in the sky.
The bright light poured down on the treetops and also fell on the exposed wolves, coating their fur with a faint silver glow.
“Ouch—”
The wolves stood on top of the rocks, looking up and howling at the moon.
The loud and high-pitched wolf howls echoed throughout the forest and could be heard from far away.
There is a full moon tonight.
Ye Zhizhi, who was standing next to Yin Yi, looked up, and a faint light appeared on her little face.
She knew the meaning of the wolves' howling: it was to announce their presence to the forest and drive away any nearby dangers.
After the wolves finished howling and wandered around for a while, Yin Yi took Ye Zhizhi and lay down.
The other three wolves lay in three directions, resting, but their green eyes and erect ears were always alert to the movements around them.
Ye Zhizhi lay under Yin Yi's belly, sandwiched between his two forelimbs, with her little head resting on his right forelimb. She wrapped herself tightly in animal skins, leaving only a pair of bright eyes exposed, looking at the night sky through the fur.
A faint melancholy surged in his heart, and Ye Zhizhi's mood became depressed.
I miss Wolf Mom.
Suddenly, I wanted to hide under the wolf mother's belly. That unique sense of security was something that neither Yin Yi nor the wolf king father could give me.
I really want to go back to Chaoxue, back to the familiar place, I want to go home...
Yin Yi seemed to sense the wolf girl's mood and leaned over to lick the animal skin wrapped around her head.
Yin paused for a moment, a strange expression twisted under his steady and reliable fur, his tongue sticking out, ah, this pungent smell, how could the wolf girl bear it on her body?
The wolf girl is so pitiful as she still hasn’t grown hair. It seems like she will always be bald!
Ye Zhizhi had no idea of Brother Wolf’s rich inner thoughts, and she quickly cheered up.
Because she thought, even if she climbed to the top of the tree, she could only see everything within her field of vision. What if humans were just behind her? Then it was normal that she didn't see any signs of human activity.
What's more, perhaps there are still people living deep in the mountains and forests! Regardless of the country, there are many places that have not yet seen signs of urbanization. This forest is so vast, with so many steep peaks, that it just happens to block out any trace of human life.
The more Ye Zhizhi thought about it, the more she felt it made sense, and her mood brightened. After all, she was free to move around now, so she could slowly explore the jungle. One day, she would find a way out, and she wouldn't be alone; there were wolves helping her...
Yin Yi was still sticking out his tongue, and in a blink of an eye, the wolf girl's breath became lighter. Although he didn't know what was going on, he was happy as long as the wolf girl was happy. Yin Yi subconsciously wanted to lick her, and then licked her mouth full of the pungent smell.
Yin Yi: “…”
The place where they rested was quite close to the top of the mountain. The sound of the whistling mountain wind almost covered up all other noises. Ye Zhizhi fell asleep listening to the howling of ghosts and wolves in the wind.
At dawn, Ye Zhizhi saw Yin Yi's fur was damp from the cold dew, but he still held her tightly under his abdomen, preventing her from getting even a drop of it. Yin Yi still remembered that the wolf girl couldn't stand the cold because she had no fur.
Ye Zhizhi touched Yin Yi's fur, and the cold air seemed to penetrate into her heart through her fingers. She sniffed. She had always found temporary caves or under rock walls to block the night dew, but she didn't expect that the night dew would make the wolf so embarrassed.
Yin Yi didn't know the wolf girl's sensitive mind. He shook his hair and shook his body hard. The dew flew all over and hit Ye Zhizhi's face directly.
Ye Zhizhi: “…” Brother Wolf, who is occasionally careful, is actually extremely careless most of the time.
She wiped her face, walked away, ate some fruits and two pieces of dried meat.
Ye Zhizhi counted the remaining dried meat. She had been eating it sparingly these days and could still make it until she returned to Chaoxue.
She was very happy, and after having enough rest, she called the wolves to go home.
The journey back was smooth. We basically didn't encounter any danger, and we won the few fights we had occasionally.
But it took them longer than it did to get here, because halfway through the journey, Yin Yi and the others took a detour and ran somewhere else.
If Ye Zhizhi hadn't discovered that she had been walking for so many days and still hadn't seen any familiar territory, she would still have been kept in the dark.
She thought Yin Yi and the others had just changed their way back, but who knew they didn't want to go back to their den and just wanted to wander freely in the jungle, like a cool adventure wolf.
Ye Zhizhi looked at the food he had eaten clean and the medicine powder that was almost finished, and looked at Yin Yi silently.
She has been eating the fruit for three days in a row. Although the dried meat is not delicious, it is still meat!
After staying with the wolves for a long time, Ye Zhizhi also became a carnivore. She could eat with relish even tasteless dried meat or strong smell of barbecued meat.
She has eaten so much in the past three days that her face is red, and now she is craving meat.
Under Ye Zhizhi's gaze, Yin Yi folded his ears back and moved his eyes away guiltily.
What, what? Wolf doesn't know. Isn't the purpose of going out to play to have fun? Why go back so early? Yin Yi was so angry and howled.
Ye Zhizhi knew that Yin Yi and the others loved to run outside since they were free, but they also often returned to their nest to learn. Was it because they had been outside all these days that their hearts became more wild?
"Ahh~" Ye Zhizhi was not angry, it was just that they had been out for too long this time, almost more than twenty days. If she estimated correctly, the rainy season would be here soon.
They also have to go back to their nests to prepare for the coming rainy season and winter, and come out next time!
Yin Yi seemed to understand what Ye Zhizhi meant, and he did not go anywhere else for the rest of the journey, but returned to Chaoxue obediently.
Two days later, Ye Zhizhi finally saw the familiar territory and recognized it as a hill near the territory.
They didn't return to their nest immediately. After being out for so long, they had to bring some gifts back, so they went hunting first.
Ye Zhizhi was extremely lucky this time. While she was hiding in the bushes, a wild pheasant fell from the sky and landed right in front of her.
The man and the chicken were both confused at the time, but when the pheasant saw the little wolf cub who was not even as big as it, it wanted to peck it arrogantly. Naturally, it was pinned down and subdued by Ye Zhizhi.
This is what happens when you underestimate her.
Ye Zhizhi looked at the unconscious pheasant and was already thinking of various ways to eat it.
But then she thought, this was the first prey she had hunted completely alone, even if it was a bit dramatic. She wanted to give it to Wolf Mother as a snack! She would just eat a roasted chicken leg, slurp.
Ye Zhizhi ran back to the nest excitedly carrying a wild pheasant. Before she entered the cave, her howling voice was heard.
She smelled the wolves were in their den, and Ye Zhizhi ran straight towards the wolf mother.
"Aoaowu——" Ye Zhizhi pounced on the wolf mother who was walking towards him, threw the pheasant away, hugged the wolf mother's front legs, tilted his little face up, and howled to express his joy and longing.
Ye Zhizhi's eyes were filled with tears. She missed the wolf mother so much! Did the wolf mother miss her cubs?
The silver wolf let out a low cry from its throat, lowered its head, and licked Ye Zhizhi's little face, as if in response.
Ye Zhizhi was immediately overjoyed and rubbed his body with joy.
At this time, the pheasant at Ye Zhizhi's feet moved, and it woke up from its coma. When it opened its eyes, it saw the little wolf cub that knocked it unconscious.
This little wolf cub is quite strong! As the pheasant jumped up, it met the eyes of a ferocious beast that exuded a chicken-like aura.
Pheasant: "..." As soon as it opened its eyes, it found itself in the terrifying wolf's den. Its body stiffened, not daring to move.
Ye Zhizhi noticed the movement behind her. She turned her head and saw that the pheasant she caught had woken up and was standing behind her, with its head lowered and its neck stretched out towards her.
So self-conscious!
Ye Zhizhi sighed inwardly, then raised his hand high, grabbed the chicken's neck and pulled it towards the silver wolf.
"Aww!" Mother Wolf, this is a snack for you! I caught it myself!
Ye Zhizhi raised her head and puffed out her chest, her eyes sparkling.
The silver wolf lowered its head and licked Ye Zhizhi.
In the end, the pheasant was shared affectionately by the mother and daughter. The silver wolf accepted the cub's filial piety and ate most of it, leaving only a chicken leg.
Ye Zhizhi lit the fire again and started roasting the sizzling chicken legs.
The silver wolf, having finished its snack, lay down not far away, looking at the busy cubs with a focused gaze.
The Wolf King, who was thrown aside as if forgotten, said: "..."
This cub has clearly left the nest, so why does its presence still feel so strong?
The wolf king came over and lay beside the silver wolf, also looking at the cub turning around, as if studying it.
After a while, a circle of wolves appeared in Ye Zhizhi's living area, staring at her intently with their animal eyes.
Ye Zhizhi: “?” She turned her head to look from time to time, confused for a long time.
Hadn't the wolves seen her doing these things a long time ago? Hadn't they already lost interest? Why were they still watching with such gusto?
This reminded her of the days when she first started researching and studying things, and was often surrounded by wolves.
Silver Little Gray hadn't seen Sister Wolf for a long time, but after not seeing it for a while, it had grown a lot and was no longer suitable to follow Sister Wolf around in this living area. Sister Wolf disliked its presence being too strong and hindering her work, so she wouldn't let it follow. Silver Little Gray, lying next to his father, felt aggrieved, but soon he started wagging his tail high and looking at Sister Wolf happily.
Ye Zhizhi was confused for a moment, then ignored the wolves and continued to fiddle with her herbs and roasted meat.
She has so many things to do and not enough time.
Of course, after her sizzling chicken drumsticks were cooked, she satisfied her craving and devoured the entire two- to three-pound drumstick without leaving a single morsel. Still not satisfied, she decided to catch a few more pheasants. It turned out that animals domesticated in large numbers were the most palatable; chicken was much more delicious than venison or roe deer meat!
It would be perfect if I could have a meal of pork!
The wolves didn't watch Ye Zhizhi for long. They soon went out hunting to prepare food for the upcoming rainy season.
This year's rainy season and winter were ordinary.
There were no herds of animals trying to seize their territory, and no other unexpected situations occurred. The only difference was that their food supply became more scarce.
Silver One and four of the wolves had grown up, Silver Little Gray was almost full-grown, and the three smallest pups were also growing rapidly, which meant they needed more food, otherwise it would not be enough to fill these bottomless pits. Even with her breeding farm, food was still scarce for the wolf pack.
To Ye Zhizhi's surprise, no new wolf cubs were born this year.
Ye Zhizhi felt that her father, the Wolf King, was really no good! He had already separated her from the den, but her wolf sister had not yet come out.
After the accident, Ye Zhizhi felt that it was quite normal. She thought about the current structure of the wolf pack. With their current territory, they really could not accommodate more members. When the three wolf cubs grow up next year, there will be no cubs in the pack except her.
The resources here cannot support a pack of wolves with big appetites. It seems that her breeding farm still has a long way to go. In order for the wolf sister to be born as soon as possible, she has to work hard to raise more prey.
Next year, she will open a few more farms. By then, she will be able to raise not only twenty wolves, but even thirty or forty!
However, plans cannot keep up with changes. Winter had just ended and the snow had not yet begun to melt, but the five wolves, Ye Zhizhi, Yin Yi, Yin Xiaohui, and Yin Xiaohui, all came out.
What she understood from the wolves was that they had grown up and should go out and explore more and not rush back to their den.
Ye Zhizhi had originally thought of expanding the farm before leaving, but now that things were looking this way, there was no rush. She and Yin Yi and the other five young wolves were out there, so the food in the den wouldn't be so tight for now. She'd just wait until they came back.
Ye Zhizhi thought of her plan to explore the jungle to find a way out, which was exactly what she wanted.
This time they went out, not like before, where they just explored near the woods. The longest they went out was only about ten days. According to Ye Zhizhi's idea, they would come back between rainy seasons, which would give them at least half a year, enough time for them to explore an area.
To this end, Ye Zhizhi made more thorough preparations. Not only did she prepare a large amount of dried meat and medicinal powder, she also got a bunch of tinderboxes and this time she also bundled up a large bundle of dried branches and leaves. This way, she could start a fire even outside, and it would also give her enough time to dry the new firewood.
In addition, she was wearing a set of animal skin clothes and cloak, and she also brought another set, wrapped in an animal skin blanket, which was bulging and many times bigger than her.
This was Ye Zhizhi's precaution. Originally, she only wanted to bring a fur blanket, but then she thought, she had been out for too long, what if she couldn't make it back in time? Moreover, there was a big temperature difference between day and night in the mountains, and the weather was still very cold. She needed a change of warm clothes to prevent unexpected situations. Otherwise, if she accidentally caught a cold outside, it would be a troublesome thing. For some reason, she brought another whole set with her.
Ye Zhizhi packed up almost all of her belongings from the cave and took them with her, slinging them onto the wolf's back. Yin Xiaohui helped carry her largest cold-weather suit, while she carried a large pack close to her body. Xiaobai helped carry a few odds and ends, and the group of wolf-human cubs set off.
Ye Zhizhi thought she was about to embark on a six-month adventure, but she didn't know that in the eyes of the wolves, this trip was much more than that.
Ye Zhizhi has always felt that the wolves in the tribe are very powerful, and the strength of the wolf pack is the result of thousands of trials and tribulations. They will go deep into the jungle after they grow up completely.
This trip will take more than ten days, half a month, or even more than half a year. Perhaps it will take three or four winters before they return to their dens and their pack. Some wolves will die in the process and will never come back.
Although this journey was more perilous than any other, the wolves who left this time, including Ye Zhizhi, were unanimously recognized by the pack as strong enough to make the journey. Even Silver Wolf did not stop them, believing that his cub would return alive no matter how many dangers it encountered. And when she returned, she would become incredibly powerful.
Ye Zhizhi didn't know at this time that the wolf pack had behaviors similar to training, nor did she know that this jungle was far more dangerous than she realized.
After she and the wolves ran out, they looked at the snow and ice and didn't know which direction to go.
They walked up a high slope and stood on the exposed rocks. From here the view was wide and they could see the scenery in all directions.
Ye Zhizhi stood beside Yin Yi, recalling the scene she saw on the peak last year. It seemed that there were fewer mountains in this direction, and there seemed to be many plain-like areas.
She hesitantly pointed in that direction and let out a tentative cry, "Go this way?"
Ye Zhizhi turned his head and stood on tiptoe to try to look outside, but he did not see the fearful looks on Yin Yi and the others' faces when Ye Zhizhi pointed in that direction.
When Ye Zhizhi looked back, their eyes had changed from fear and hesitation to eagerness to try.
"Ouch?" Why not change direction? She felt like something over there was making her feel uneasy.
But before Ye Zhizhi could finish her words, Yin Yi and the others rushed forward with a roar, running in the direction she pointed.
Ye Zhizhi's eyes widened slightly, and she hurriedly chased after him carrying the huge package, "Don't forget her!"
【Author’s words】
My dear, we are going in the opposite direction! We will soon have new friends to meet you.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
