My sister broke off her engagement to marry someone richer? My older sister married me and became in

Wind was whistling through the large hole in the roof.

Snowflakes with tips fell along the crossbeams onto the muddy ground.

Old Zhao's legs wobbled, and he fell to his knees in the mud with a thud, clutching the scattered dry grass with both hands.

"It's over...it's all over!"

"This is God's way of taking us away!"

"The front door is blocked, and the top of our heads is cracked open; we're stuck in a coffin!"

The two young apprentices collapsed to the ground, huddled together, heads in their hands.

"It's a death sentence either way!"

Xiao Zhang grabbed the crowbar from the ground, turned around, and rammed it into the doorway.

"I'll fight these bastards to the death!"

"Tearing it to pieces is better than freezing it into popsicles!"

Lu Qingshan strode forward and slapped Lu Qingshan hard across the face.

The crisp sound of flesh echoed in the mud-brick house.

Xiao Zhang was slapped and thrown sideways, half of his cheek swollen high, and the crowbar in his hand clattered into the mud pit.

He lay on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

Lu Qingshan tightened the leather belt wrapped around his right arm with his other hand, and the muzzle of the short flintlock pistol drooped low.

"Have you howled enough?"

Lu Qingshan's voice wasn't loud, but each word struck the frozen mud wall.

"The person hasn't even breathed their last, why are you crying like that!"

Xiao Zhang pushed himself up from the ground, dazedly touching his burning cheeks.

Old Zhao sniffled and looked up at Lu Qingshan.

"Section Chief Lu... The roof has such a big hole, all the wind is blowing in."

"We have no food or water, and our hands and feet are numb with cold. How...how are we supposed to hold this position?"

Lu Qingshan bent down, picked up the crowbar, and stuffed it back into Xiao Zhang's arms.

"The one who brought you out can bring you back to the forest alive."

"Now all of you stand up!"

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work."

Old Zhao wiped the cold sweat from his face and pushed himself up with his knees.

"Section Chief Lu, you give the order, we'll do as you say!"

"Move all the rotten planks scattered along the wall over here." Lu Qingshan pointed to the collapsed corner of the wall. "Fill all the mud cracks under the doorway with burlap sacks."

"Don't leave a single gap for ventilation."

"Yes!" Da Liu responded, pulling up the two dazed apprentices beside him. "Listen to Section Chief Lu, get moving!"

Seven or eight men busied themselves moving the rotten wood and stuffing the burlap sacks they carried into the door cracks and the lower half of the wall plaster.

The draft under the dugout gradually stopped.

Occasionally, two scratching sounds of wolf claws scraping against each other could be heard from behind the door.

The one-eyed old wolf king on the roof slowly shrank back and disappeared into the wind and snow outside.

The howling sound from all around did not diminish.

Long and short howls came from all directions, sharp and piercing.

Old Zhao leaned against the earthen wall, his hands clasped to his chest for warmth.

"These beasts are incredibly cunning."

"They're not going to charge head-on; they're trying to wear us down."

"It's minus forty degrees outside. We'll wait until we're too cold to hold our tools, then they'll come down and scavenge the meat."

Xiao Zhang's jaw was chattering loudly.

"Section Chief Lu, I can't feel my hands and feet... It's so cold."

Lu Qingshan walked to a corner and kicked aside several dilapidated wooden crates.

"Old Zhao, bring me the small oil bottle you have on you."

Old Zhao was stunned for a moment.

"What? That little bit of engine oil is for preventing freezing, why are you moving it?"

"Stop talking nonsense and move it." Lu Qingshan turned around and looked at him.

"And take out all the bottles of medical alcohol from the first aid kit that I asked someone to get earlier."

Old Zhao didn't dare to delay and worked with Da Liu to tidy up the place right in the middle of the dugout.

This spot is directly opposite a hole in the roof, about the size of a water vat.

The wind and snow were rushing down through the hole.

The falling snowflakes accumulated into a thick layer on the ground.

"Put yourself down on the ground," Lu Qingshan ordered.

Da Liu stopped what he was doing and stared at Lu Qingshan.

"Section Chief Lu, is it really true?"

"This dark, sticky stuff is useless on the snow."

"Down." Lu Qingshan uttered a single word.

Da Liu gritted his teeth and together they flipped the iron bucket over.

The black, sticky engine oil gurgled and emitted a foul odor, splashing onto the white snow and frozen ground.

Two bottles of medical alcohol were also poured on it, and a pungent smell spread.

Lu Qingshan pulled out the short-handled axe from his waistband and strode to the collapsed wooden beam.

He swung his axe and chopped a section of dry, rotten old red pine into pieces.

Pine wood is rich in oil and contains a lot of pine resin fragments.

Lu Qingshan grabbed several handfuls of red pine chips and scattered them around the engine oil.

He lifted his foot and kicked the oil stains and sawdust into a semi-circular shape, with the opening facing the wooden door.

Xiao Zhang leaned closer, hunching his shoulders, and asked.

"Section Chief Lu, are we going to light a fire here to keep warm?"

"But the wind is too strong here; the flames are blown out as soon as they appear."

"What if a gust of wind blows back and sparks hit us, setting our clothes on fire?"

Lu Qingshan put away his axe and wiped his gloves on his fur coat.

"Who said I needed to keep warm?"

Xiao Zhang's mouth was open, and he couldn't close it for a long time.

"Not...not for warmth?"

"Then why bother cleaning up this pile of oil?"

Lu Qingshan didn't respond to his words.

He raised his finger and pointed to the deepest part, the one most sheltered from the wind.

"You lot, all of you, retreat to that corner."

"Old Zhao, have them hold the crowbar horizontally in front of them."

"No one is allowed to move an inch without my order, let alone make a sound."

Old Zhao pulled Xiao Zhang back.

"Listen to Section Chief Lu, retreat now!"

Several people huddled in a corner, their backs pressed against the frost-covered earth, barely daring to breathe.

Lu Qingshan was the only one left in the center of the dugout.

He pulled over a broken wooden stump and sat behind the semi-circular oil ring.

The short flintlock pistol in his right hand rested flat on his knee.

The blue-tailed creature crouched low at his feet, a muffled whimper escaping its throat, its two front paws firmly clenched into the soil.

The wind whipped up snowflakes that pelted Lu Qingshan's sheepskin coat.

The eyebrows were covered with a thick layer of frost.

Time slowly passed.

The howling of wolves outside gradually stopped.

This silence is more agonizing than howling.

Old Zhao leaned against the corner of the wall, his head drooping to his chest, his lips turning bluish-black.

Old Zhao's voice was so soft it sounded like a mosquito humming.

Xiao Zhang raised his swollen arm and pushed Lao Zhao hard.

"Old Zhao! Wake up! Section Chief Lu is still sitting!"

Xiao Zhang turned to look at Lu Qingshan.

Lu Qingshan sat motionless on the wooden stump, covered in snow that was half an inch thick.

If it weren't for the white breath still coming out of its mouth and nose, one would really think it was a clay statue.

call.

A whirlwind poured down from the hole in the ceiling.

Fine dust mixed with bits of dry grass fell down in a flurry.

Bluetail suddenly pricked up its ears, revealing two rows of sharp teeth, and drool dripped from its chin onto the ground.

A slight creaking sound came from the broken red pine beams on the roof.

When Xiao Zhang saw those wolf faces clearly, he felt a lump in his throat and was so frightened that he almost dropped the crowbar in his hand.

Old Zhao was startled awake by the noise, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

"Coming...coming!"

Before the words had even finished,

The largest male wolf above kicked the frozen wood with its hind legs and, using the momentum of its descent, pounced straight down through the hole.

Two male wolves followed and leaped out, their two front paws reaching forward.

The stench of wild animals, carried by the rushing wind, assaulted Xiao Zhang, who was huddled in the corner.