Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Guosheng's face broke into a big smile.

"That's great! We don't need to find anyone else for the construction team; Old Sun, the one who renovated our health center last time, will do. His team is reliable and their prices are fair. I'll call him right now."

He picked up his phone, scrolled to the number, dialed it, said a few words, and hung up.

"Alright, Lao Sun said he'll come over tomorrow to take a look at the venue, and we'll discuss the details in person."

When Chen Ping came out of Zhao Guosheng's office, the sun was already setting in the west.

There were fewer patients in the corridor. Zhou Jie and Sun Xiaoyan were giving an IV to a little girl in the infusion room, while Wang Tao was handing her things and muttering something to himself.

When I got off work, the food in the cafeteria was laid out on the table.

Braised fish, stir-fried pork with green peppers, stir-fried vegetables, tomato and egg soup—Aunt Li's cooking skills are still as authentic as ever.

Everyone gradually arrived and sat around the large round table, with only Cui Ying and Zhou Xiaohe's seats remaining empty.

Wang Tao picked up his chopsticks, glanced at the two empty seats, and asked, "Hasn't Sister Cui Ying and Xiao He returned yet?"

Chen Ping took out his phone and dialed Cui Ying's number.

It may display "Unable to connect".

He dialed again, but still couldn't get through.

He took the phone away from his ear, glanced at the screen, and frowned.

"The signal is bad in the mountains, so I might be back soon." Li Fang held her bowl and picked up a piece of stir-fried green peppers and pork with her chopsticks.

Wang Tao chimed in, "That hill isn't high, and the road is easy to walk on. Nothing will happen. Dr. Chen, you eat first. Maybe they'll be back by the time you finish."

Chen Ping didn't say anything. He put his phone on the table, picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of food, chewed it twice, and then put it down again.

He picked up the soup bowl, took a sip, and kept his gaze fixed on the direction of the doorway.

A few minutes later, he picked up his phone and dialed again, but still couldn't get through.

Wang Jianguo put down his chopsticks and slowly began to speak, "Although this mountain isn't high, the path is slippery, and it's cool now with moss on the rocks. Cui Ying is a city girl with a child; I hope she hasn't sprained her ankle or anything."

Chen Ping stood up and pushed his chair back. "You guys eat, I'll go check on things."

Zhao Guosheng looked at Chen Ping and nodded. "Go ahead, be careful on the road. If you don't see anyone by the time you reach the foot of the mountain, call us."

"Um!"

Chen Ping hummed in agreement, walked out of the cafeteria, stood in the courtyard for a few seconds, looked at the hillside behind him, and then strode outside.

Chen Ping left the health center; it was already getting dark.

The western hilltop still had a last touch of dark red, like a piece of burnt-out charcoal.

Most of the shops on the street were closed, except for the barbershop, whose lights were still on. Sister Zhang was squatting at the door, brushing shoes, when she saw Chen Ping hurrying past and called out, "Dr. Chen, where are you going so late?"

Chen Ping didn't have time to answer, and took big, hurried steps.

We left the street and started up the mountain road.

The mountain isn't very high, and its slope is gentle. During the day, it looks like a small earthen slope, but once it gets dark, it's a different story.

The shadows of the trees swayed, and the wind blew, making the pine trees all over the mountain rustle, as if countless people were whispering in the distance.

Chen Ping turned on his phone's flashlight, the beam sweeping through the bushes. Under his feet was a gravel path, making a clattering sound as he stepped on it.

He walked and called out, but he didn't hear Cui Ying's voice. Instead, he startled a few birds, which fluttered away from the treetops.

After walking for about twenty minutes, he stopped to catch his breath; sweat was already beading on his forehead.

He dialed Cui Ying's number again, but still couldn't get through.

He took the phone away from his ear and was about to continue walking uphill when he suddenly heard a voice coming from the hillside to his left.

It wasn't a human voice, but another kind of sound, deep and muffled in the throat, drawn out like a roar squeezed out from between teeth.

Chen Ping's scalp tightened, and the hairs on his body stood on end. It was the sound of a wolf.

He had heard recordings of wolf howls played by professors at university, but actually hearing that sound in the wild mountains was a completely different matter.

He turned off his flashlight, picked up a thick tree branch from the roadside, and groped his way in the direction of the sound.

The hillside wasn't steep, but the bushes were very dense, and the branches stung my face when they scratched.

The sound was getting closer and closer. In addition to the howling of wolves, there was a sound he couldn't distinguish, like the sound of clothes being dragged and rubbed on the ground.

Emerging from the bushes, a small clearing came into view.

The moonlight peeked out from behind the clouds, illuminating the open space in a white glow.

Chen Ping spotted it immediately: a wolf with its back to him, crouching low, tail outstretched, shoulder blades raised, tearing at something on the ground.

Its fur was grayish-brown with a dark stripe down its back. It wasn't very big, about a size larger than a country dog, but its mouth and paws gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

Then he saw Cui Ying.

Cui Ying lay on the ground, pressing her entire body onto the small figure.

Her thin down jacket was torn in several places, and the down inside was turned inside out, white and gray mixed together, stained with dirt and blood.

She held Zhou Xiaohe tightly in her arms with both arms. Every time the wolf bit, she trembled, but she gritted her teeth and didn't make a sound. Her hands were gripping the ground so tightly that her knuckles were embedded in the soil.

Zhou Xiaohe curled up in her arms, burying her face in Cui Ying's chest, trembling like a leaf, but she didn't cry, probably because she was too scared to cry.

Chen Ping felt something rushing from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, like a burning sensation.

He didn't shout or yell, he just grabbed the thick tree branch and rushed forward.

The branch swung around and struck the wolf's back, snapping with a crack.

The wolf was knocked to the side and swayed, its four legs digging at the pebbles a few times before it regained its balance. It turned to face Chen Ping, baring its teeth and letting out a low, threatening growl. The skin at the corners of its mouth wrinkled, revealing pink gums and two rows of white, sharp teeth.

Chen Ping threw away the half-broken tree branch in his hand, bent down and picked up a stone. He neither ran nor hid, but stood facing the wolf directly.

He knew he couldn't turn around now, or the wolf would pounce.

He stared into the wolf's eyes, making "hoarse" sounds, raised the stone above his head, and stepped forward.

The wolf took a step back, then another, its ears flattened, and its tail tucked between its hind legs.

Chen Ping hurled the stone in his hand, which struck the wolf's front leg. The wolf howled, tucked its tail between its legs, turned and ran away, disappearing into the bushes. Its gray-brown figure flashed twice in the moonlight and then vanished.

Chen Ping didn't have time to chase after her; he rushed to Cui Ying in three steps at a time.

Cui Ying remained in that position, her hands gripping the ground tightly, her back arched, like a bridge that had been weathered but had not yet collapsed.

"Cui Ying!" Chen Ping squatted down and reached out to support her shoulder.