My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 196 Injured
When wolves return to their den, they go in with their rear ends first.

With his buttocks facing inward and his head facing outward, he backed up into the cave.

This way, they can see the situation outside the cave and prevent enemies from sneaking up on them from behind.

Although these wolf cubs were still young, they were also walking backwards into the cave.

But now, terrified by the dog, they whimpered and cried incessantly, huddled together in the hole.

The wolf den is only that big.

Everyone was pushing and shoving, trying to get back in, but for a while, no one could get back in.

His clumsy little appearance is extremely endearing.

The lynx peered into the den for a while, then turned to the others and laughed, "Goodness, there are quite a few wolf cubs in this den. There are still three left in the den, and counting the ones that were just taken away, there are seven or eight in total."

"No wonder the mother wolf went to eat the meat in the trap. With so many wolf cubs, it must be difficult to raise them."

When a wolf is giving birth to its pups, it has an enormous appetite; one wolf can eat the equivalent of three meals for other wolves in one meal.

And they get hungry quickly.

Wang Qingzhong also said, "It seems these wolf cubs need to be weaned. If they aren't weaned, the mother wolf won't go out to find food."

"What? You've taken a fancy to these wolf cubs?"

"No, I just like these little trinkets; they make me happy."

Lynxes are always venturing into the mountains, and they've caught wolf cubs before, so they know they can't tame them if they bring them back.

These little guys are so adorable when they're young, but they're not so cute when they grow up.

They howl incessantly every night, and we have to worry about them running out and hurting people.

Moreover, dogs can easily be led astray and develop a habit of jumping on people from behind.

If blood is drawn, it will be even more troublesome.

It's just asking for trouble.

He then got up from the ground, dusted off his hands, and said, "With wolf cubs around, this wolf den can't be sealed off."

"Well, if we can't block it, then so be it. Anyway, all those big wolves have run away. As long as we can drive them away, that's fine."

Old Wu nodded.

Wang Qingzhong didn't say much.

Because they all know it.

The wolf cubs in the mountains should not be touched lightly.

Otherwise, they'll just be asking for trouble and bringing disaster upon their own village.

Wolves are extremely vengeful.

If all the big wolves were here, wiping out the whole horde wouldn't be a problem.

The problem is that the big wolves have all run away now.

In this situation, blocking the wolf den and killing the wolf cubs would constitute a complete feud.

Who knows, a wolf might be following you from behind, ready to ambush you at any moment.

The village will not have any peace either.

However, even after the man decided to give up, the dogs continued to bark restlessly, and Xiao Jin even tried to crawl into the wolf den.

Chen Ling held the two cubs down and stood at the entrance of the cave watching them. The three wolf cubs retreated further and further into the den, their cries gradually becoming very faint.

The wolf den seemed to grow ever more secluded and deep.

"This hole is very deep, it must be almost twenty meters deep."

Chen Ling squinted and stared for a while.

"Twenty meters is normal. This is just a small wolf den. Of course, wolf dens in the mountains are not very deep. On the northern plains, there are wolf dens that are two hundred meters deep. The wolf dens deep inside the wolf dens are very large and can easily house twenty or thirty wolves."

"The lynx said."

"However, the people there go to extremes. After catching wolf cubs near the wolf den, they throw them to their deaths right in front of the male and female wolves, and the wolves dare not come near again."

"Huh? Aren't they afraid of the wolves seeking revenge?"

Wang Qingzhong was startled.

"Don't worry, the villages on the plains are large and the population is large. Most importantly, there are very few places for wolves to hide. If we chase them with guns, they will eventually be scared."

At this point, Lynx smiled at Wang Qingzhong and Lao Wu: "Try doing this in the mountains, and I'm afraid no one will dare to go out alone anymore."

By this time, the three wolf cubs had completely retreated into the depths of the wolf den.

They had no interest in staying any longer.

On their way back, alerted by several dogs, they spotted the trapped female wolf again, accompanied by a large male wolf, watching them from a distance.

After being discovered, it retreated into the mountains with the male wolf, limping in fear.

They quickly disappeared without a trace.

This gave Wang Qingzhong and Lao Wu a cold sweat.

"Luckily, we didn't touch the wolf cubs."

Halfway there, Lao Wu headed towards Liangkou Village.

Chen Ling and the other two quickly returned as well.

But this happened today.

It's inevitable that the conversation will continue.

Lynx then talked about his experience catching wolves a couple of years ago, and Wang Qingzhong also shared a lot about their local area.

It broadened Chen Ling's horizons.

Even after experiencing the internet age, the stories from the mountains and fields still sound fascinating to him.

Moreover, there are some things that ordinary people simply cannot access.

As darkness fell, after dinner, everyone lit a fire and continued chatting around it.

As the fifteenth of the tenth lunar month approaches, the moon becomes full, and the moonlight in the mountains is beautiful.

The golden monkeys had not yet left.

According to Professor Han, even when they are traveling, they eat and play at the same time, and they can't even walk a kilometer a day.

Now that they have food and water here, and no one harms them, they naturally stayed.

As Chen Ling listened to the story, the little monkeys gathered around him and played with Heiwa, just like before.

"Don't move."

Chen Ling peeled an orange, first stuffing two segments into his own mouth, then placing one segment on each of Heiwa's and Xiaojin's heads.

The two dogs tossed their heads and, just as the orange fell, quickly ate it.

"See? Don't move."

Chen Ling chuckled and told the little monkeys not to move. He then placed a petal on each monkey's head so they could imitate him.

As a result, one by one, they either fell on their noses or on the ground; they just couldn't do it.

However, they found the game interesting.

They tugged at Chen Ling's sleeve, begging him to play with them a couple more times.

Everyone says monkeys are very clever, and after spending most of the day together, the little ones are indeed smart.

Learn things quickly.

Han Ninggui couldn't help but laugh when he saw this: "This reminds me of a story."

"It is said that there are often mountain spirits and wood spirits in the deep mountains and marshes. They love to eat monkey brains. When they are happy, they will call out the monkeys on the mountain and put fragrant and sweet fruits on the monkeys' heads."

"Monkeys are naturally active. If any monkey can't resist eating the fruit or it falls down, its brain will be eaten first."

His story is quite ordinary.

It's something you can't think about too much; monsters, monkey brains—while not exactly frightening, they do give you a bit of a creepy feeling.

"After all these years, teacher, you still aren't good at telling stories."

The lynx chuckled and teased, then said to Wang Qingzhong, "Qingzhong, tell us one. Of all the stories about wolves we were talking about, yours was the most interesting."

"That's right, as our guide, you should at least tell us some local stories."

The other three people next to Han Ninggui also chimed in.

Indeed.

Chen Ling, the second brother-in-law, often traveled to villages in the three nearby provinces and had heard and seen a lot of stories.

"Alright, then I'll tell you a story about a gluttonous ghost."

Wang Qingzhong cleared his throat and began to speak softly.

The story goes that there used to be an old man living in the mountains who made a living by collecting medicinal herbs. Whenever he had collected enough herbs, he would carry them to the town to sell at the market.

Because it is far from the town, requiring a 20-mile walk through the mountains, even though the mountain people are used to traversing mountains and have fast walking speed, they inevitably have to walk at night.

In those chaotic times, people generally dared not travel at night.

But they had no choice because they needed to make a living.

Carry something for self-defense, and if you get scared, sing a couple of folk songs.

The people here like to sing folk songs.

First, young men and women fall in love.

Secondly, singing it gives you courage.

The mountains are home to a variety of wild animals, including wolves, insects, tigers, leopards, and others whose names I don't know. Sometimes, when people hear folk songs, these wild animals will stop harming them.

It serves to drive away wild animals.

Another point worth mentioning is that their folk songs often begin or end with an "Oh hehe hehe...".

Wang Qingzhong said that the laughing ghost that the old man encountered was very likely related to the "Oh hehe hehe..." in the folk song.

The mountain road stretches for twenty miles, with people living at both ends.

So, when you first leave, or when you're almost in town, you always run into a lot of people.

The most frightening part was the road in the middle, a mountain path of about five or six miles, where there was no one around.

The mountains are high and the forests are dense, gloomy and creepy.

It would be better if we went before dark.

But the old man encountered bad weather, which delayed him.

In order to make it to the event, we had to travel at night.

When he reached the darkest part of the road, he was probably a little scared, so he lit a torch and started singing a folk song.

After each song, the ending is, as usual, an "Oh ho ho ho ho..." at the end.

This ending has the meaning of greeting someone.

Normally, when others hear this, they can sing "Oh ho ho ho ho..." and then start the next song.

As the old man sang the last part, he heard bursts of laughter coming from the roadside. The laughter was very clear and loud; it was impossible to mistake it for an echo.

Because the laughter was strange, a sharp "hehehe," which was very eerie at night, making one's hair stand on end.

Hearing the laughter, the old man was so frightened that his legs went weak and he tripped, dropping his torch to the ground.

By the light of the torch, he saw a dark shadow squatting by the roadside. When the torchlight shone on it, it raised its head, revealing a strange blue face. It chuckled and jumped into the forest and disappeared.

Later, when I went to town and told people, I found out that it was actually the Laughing Ghost.

The Laughing Demon is a creature that likes to eat people, and it laughs loudly while eating them.

But sometimes this thing can be mischievous.

When it hears people laugh, it laughs along, perhaps because the "oh ho ho ho..." in a folk song sounds like laughter, and it laughs along with it.

This old man was lucky to escape with his life.

It just didn't happen when it wanted to eat people.

But from then on, he never dared to walk alone at night again.

After the story was told, the young man next to Han Ninggui turned pale.

The others were fine, but they were a little uneasy at night.

Han Ninggui frowned slightly: "The 'laughing ghost' you're talking about sounds more like a mountain demon. The Classic of Mountains and Seas says that a mountain demon laughs when it sees someone laughing..."

What he really meant was that this thing was fictional.

Before he could finish speaking, a series of long howls came from the surrounding mountains.

"Ouch——"

Just as I finished recounting the strange events in the mountains, I suddenly heard wolves howling.

This startled everyone. The two dogs beside Chen Ling jumped up and barked incessantly.

The golden monkeys also picked up the baby monkeys and carried them up the trees.

The wolf howls were very close.

Soon, pairs of bright green eyes began to dart about in the mountains and forests.

Shadows loomed in the moonlight.

Clearly, their target is here.

The young man next to Professor Han shuddered in shock: "The wolf is coming?!"

"Damn it, what's wrong with these bastards? I didn't provoke them during the day." Lynx stood up with a grim expression.

Once a wolf is released from a trap, it rarely retaliates.

Moreover, once their lair is discovered, they will move away as quickly as possible.

Wolves are clever and cunning, but they are also afraid of being wiped out by humans.

"Don't worry about that, just grab the gun."

Professor Han took out two guns from the tent, one for himself and one for Lynx. Judging from their posture and demeanor, they seemed to be quite good marksmen.

Chen Ling also took out a hoe and a bow and arrow, leaning on the wooden handle of the hoe and carrying the bow and arrow. Two large dogs squatted beside him, making him look like a general holding a Guan Dao (a type of halberd).

Wang Qingzhong then took out a steel fork, applied hunting poison to the tip, and then applied it to Chen Ling's arrowhead as well.

He then said to Chen Ling, "Stay by my side for a while. Don't run around or be reckless. Wait until the gun is worn out before using the arrow..."

I naturally need to take good care of my brother-in-law, but I'm worried that he's young and impulsive.

At this moment, the young man in Professor Han's group was quite frightened.

Having just heard so many stories about wolves, and now encountering one myself, I'm trembling all over.

Moreover, seeing everyone picking up weapons, he himself didn't know what he could do.

Seeing this, Wang Qingzhong said, "You stay by the fire, and when the wolf comes, throw the torch at it."

Wolves are among the very few wild animals that understand tactics.

They are cruel, cunning, and intelligent, but they also share the common weakness of wild animals: they are afraid of fire.

"Wang Wang Wang-"

Heiwa and Xiaojin could no longer restrain themselves; their fur stood on end, and their eyes became ferocious and menacing.

If Chen Ling hadn't been holding them back, they would have rushed up and fought the wolf pack to the death long ago.

The dogs are barking, and the wolves are howling.

The golden monkeys in the trees also let out angry cries.

The mountain forest was in complete disarray under the cover of night.

The wolf pack approached stealthily, soon getting within twenty meters of them.

In this situation, nothing else matters.

Professor Han and Lynx, guns in hand, pointed them at the pairs of green eyes and pulled the triggers.

"Bang bang bang..." A series of gunshots rang out.

Unfortunately, because everyone had been facing the firelight for a long time, it was difficult for them to see things clearly in the dark at first glance.

Professor Han and his colleague had significantly different accuracy.

In addition, in the mountains and forests, wolves can hide behind bushes and tree trunks.

Therefore, the shooting did not cause any damage to the wolf pack.

They easily evaded them.

The wolf pack grew increasingly unrestrained, howling as they approached.

Like besieging prey.

They are about to tighten their encirclement.

But that's it.

A whooshing sound as it cut through the air.

An arrow shot out swiftly.

Chen Ling had excellent eyesight and wouldn't just wait for the wolves to come; he drew his bow and aimed as soon as the pack appeared.

Now that the wolf pack is approaching on its own, the firing range has been shortened, and the accuracy has been greatly improved.

He naturally wanted to seize the opportunity.

The arrow struck one of the wolves squarely.

The wolf let out a miserable howl.

The wolves' movements were immediately halted. They growled fiercely and hesitated about ten meters away. Their cruel eyes and gleaming white teeth were clearly visible in the moonlight, sending chills down one's spine even through the trees in the forest.

"Lynx, I've released the dogs, don't fire yet."

Chen Ling called out and waved to the two dogs.

Heiwa and his brother couldn't wait any longer and immediately pounced on it with howls, looking even fiercer than wolves.

The lynx's two dogs followed closely behind; these two hunting dogs have now become loyal companions.

They all rushed over together.

There aren't many wolves tonight.

This is nothing compared to the wolf pack that sneaked into Chenwangzhuang last time.

There were only a dozen or so.

But the mountains here are high and the forests are dense, and the wolf pack can use the terrain and trees to dodge and hide. Even though Heiwa and his four dogs rushed over aggressively, they didn't get any advantage.

They seemed to know how formidable Heiwa and Xiaojin were.

They didn't engage the two of them head-on at all, but relied on their numerical advantage to engage in back-and-forth exchanges, with one advancing and the other retreating, coordinating to harass them.

As Heiwa fiercely pounced on a wolf, the wolf rolled on the spot and circled around the tree. The other wolves also bared their sharp teeth, trying to bite Heiwa all over.

Such interception and harassment annoyed Heiwa to no end.

Xiao Jin and the lynx's two dogs also had the same experience.

The wolf pack was very cautious; they wanted to separate Heiwa's four dogs and defeat them one by one.

This surprised everyone.

"What a cunning bunch of beasts."

Lynx clenched his fist and roared angrily. At that moment, he saw that his red dog was injured, with blood gushing from its front leg, shoulder, and neck.

"Ouch——"

Fortunately, just a moment later, a pitiful wolf howl rang out.

However, Heiwa and Xiaojin adapted to this style of play.

He suddenly became ruthless.

Ignoring everything else, it let the wolf pack surround and attack, specifically targeting the wolf at the front, pinning it to the ground and tearing it apart.

Their fighting prowess is undeniable; once they bite, the wolf is doomed.

After killing one wolf, it goes to kill the next one.

Soon, both of them were covered in wounds.

Especially Little Gold, whose speed was limited by the mountains and forests, and its fur was quickly stained red with blood.

This was the first time the two dogs had suffered such a huge loss.

Chen Ling was immediately heartbroken. He put down his bow and arrows, grabbed his hoe, and rushed over.

"Hey, Lingzi..."

Wang Qingzhong tried to stop him but failed, and became very anxious. He quickly grabbed his steel fork and followed.

This guy, if his brother-in-law gets hurt by wolves, how is he going to explain it to his sister when he gets back?

He followed, and the lynx hurriedly followed behind.

As the wolves approached, they raised their heads and howled. Suddenly, a dark shadow leaped high from behind a rock on one side of the forest. It was another large male wolf, which stood upright and pounced.

That wolf leaped incredibly high, almost taller than a person, and went straight for Chen Ling's throat.

Before it even made a bite, the stench of the wolf's mouth hit you, ferocious and chilling.

"What a beast, he even knows how to ambush."

Chen Ling hadn't expected there to be a wolf hiding behind the rock. Startled, he gripped the wooden handle of his hoe and swung it at the wolf's head.

His strength and speed have never been a threat to a lone wolf.

"boom--"

A dull thud was heard, followed by the wolf's scream.

The blade struck the wolf's head, creating a gash. Blood gushed out at a visible speed, quickly covering the wolf's entire face, making it appear even more ferocious and cruel.

"Damn, that's a hard head."

Chen Ling couldn't help but mutter to himself that he hadn't struck the right spot in his haste.

As everyone knows, wolves have heads of bronze, bones of iron, and waists of tofu; their heads are the hardest part of their bodies.

Despite his strength, he couldn't split the wolf open; he only managed to knock it over. After getting up, the wolf retreated while barking fiercely at Chen Ling.

Seeing the situation, Heiwa and Xiaojin immediately seized the opportunity and launched a fierce counterattack against the wolf pack. The lynx's two dogs were also very clever. Just like the wolf pack had done before, they barked and bit the wolf's legs and tails, helping Heiwa and Xiaojin harass and intercept the wolf pack, making the wolf pack less and less able to fight back.

Suddenly, chaos erupted in the mountains and forests as dogs and wolves fought each other.

The lynx came over with a shovel, and seeing that its dog had behaved well, it felt both gratified and heartbroken.

"These guys know we have guns, so they don't dare to charge in head-on. We need to take this opportunity to scare them..."

"Although we don't know why they came tonight, wolves are very patient. Once they've set their sights on us, even if we drive them away today, they'll come back again. We have to beat them until they know we're not to be trifled with before they dare not come back."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling and Wang Qingzhong both nodded in agreement.

Professor Han and the others followed, intending to fire their guns, but it was dark and they were worried about accidentally hitting the dogs, so Chen Ling and the other two decided to go themselves.

So the three of them took hoes, pitchforks, and shovels, and began to work together with the dogs to fight the wolves.

With Heiwa and Xiaojin's strength, a bite from them would either kill or seriously injure them.

In addition, there is human assistance.

The more the wolves fought, the more frightened they became.

Before long, several wolves died.

The wolf pack couldn't withstand the attack and retreated while fighting.

The wolf is gone!

Chen Ling glanced around, but before he could hold out for two minutes, the wolf pack slunk away into the forest.

"It's good that they're gone. We're not afraid of anything else while spending the night in the mountains, except for these wolves, they're really troublesome."

Han Ninggui sighed.

"Yes, wolves are something you can't guard against at all."

Everyone agreed.

The young men in Professor Han's team, seeing the blood everywhere and the dead wolves lying in pools of blood, some with their intestines spilling out, couldn't bear the shock and ran to the side to vomit profusely.

"Young kid, he's inexperienced."

Lynx chuckled and then said, "Don't let the fire go out tonight. Everyone take turns keeping watch, and remember to turn your backs to the fire."

This back-to-back arrangement refers to placing the fire between the people and the tent.

If you're facing directly into the darkness, like just now, your eyes need time to adjust from light to darkness. You won't be able to see things clearly in the night immediately, which will put you at a disadvantage, and you won't have time to react if you encounter danger.

After everyone agreed.

Chen Ling squatted by the fire, using the firelight to check Heiwa and Xiaojin's injuries. Today was much worse than in Chenwangzhuang; the two were covered in blood and wounds everywhere.

Especially on the back of his neck and abdomen, there were wolf bite marks all over the place, the teeth marks were very deep, and blood was constantly seeping out.

If they weren't so thick-skinned, they would probably have been torn to shreds.

At this moment, she simply licked her wound quietly, occasionally wagging her tail and looking up at him with a fawning gaze.

It seems he felt he hadn't performed well today and had embarrassed him.

"Stop licking, let me wash you first and then apply some medicine."

Chen Ling sighed, stood up, and led them to the stream in the distance.

(End of this chapter)