Chapter One: Wolves Attack on a Snowy Night

Northern Qin County, Green Mountain Fort.

Outside the window, the northern wind lashed the glass like a knife. Though it was the dead of night, the world was startlingly bright.

“Not good, there are wolves!” On the outer ramparts, perched atop the high walls of the fort, the warrior Hawk kept his silent vigil. His eyesight was always sharp—he could see a hundred paces even in darkness, and now, after ten days of heavy snow, the mountains were shrouded in a thick white blanket. Even at night, everything was visible. In the distance, he saw wolves constantly crossing over the ridges, drawing ever closer to the fort.

Hawk took out an ox horn and blew into it. A piercing call echoed over the entire fort. He blew three times before stopping.

The peaceful fort was immediately roused by the signal. One by one, candles flickered to life inside the stone houses. Everyone who heard the horn understood—the fort was in danger.

The grown men wasted no words, tumbling from their warm beds, dressing quickly, and grabbing their most trusty weapons before hurrying to the ramparts. Their wives remained behind, anxious, tending to the children and the old.

In a stone house on the eastern edge of the fort, a young woman dressed hurriedly, worry etched on her face as she looked at her husband. She couldn’t help but admonish him, “Be careful out there!”

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.” He answered briskly, throwing on a cloak of animal hide, seizing the long spear propped against the wall, and stepping out into the night.

Qin, the young woman, was troubled for her husband’s safety. A deep unease gnawed at her heart, making it impossible to return to bed. She lingered in the room for a moment before lifting the curtain to peer outside. The howling wind and snow stung her face, making her shiver. She knew then that this would be a sleepless night for everyone in the fort.

“Mother—” A small head peeked out from the window of the next room. It was a little girl of four or five, her hair soft and fluffy, eyes round and black as grapes, her features delicate and sweet.

Seeing this, Qin hurried into the next room and scolded, “It’s freezing. Close the window at once!”

The little girl stuck out her tongue playfully, shut the window against the whirling snow, then nimbly climbed onto the bed.

Qin approached, worried, and felt her daughter’s hands and feet. Finding them warm, she relaxed a little. She glanced at her young son, fast asleep and unmoving, his little bottom sticking up under the covers. She couldn’t help but smile as she went to tuck him in.

Seeing her two children, Qin’s tightly wound heart finally began to ease. She sat by the bed and spoke gently, “Yu, it’s still early. Go back to sleep for a while.”

“Mother, I want to sleep with you!” The little girl, Yu, seized Qin’s hand and whined, wanting her mother to lie with her.

Qin had little choice but to shed her outer garment and slip under the covers. Yu cuddled close, reaching up to touch her mother’s eyes. “Mother, you have to close your eyes and sleep too,” she insisted.

Qin stroked her daughter lovingly and slowly closed her eyes, intending to pretend to sleep. But a childish voice piped up, “Mother, you can’t trick me!”

“You little rascal,” Qin muttered, nestling into the warm bed as sleep gradually overtook her, carrying with it all her worries for her husband.

Once she sensed Qin was truly asleep, the little girl in her arms opened her eyes and glanced at the window. Her father was still out there, and though she was just as anxious as her mother, she knew she was powerless against the wolves outside.

In her previous life, Gu Weiyu had lost her parents early, growing up alone and dying before reaching adulthood. In this life, she was called Gu Weiyu, with loving parents, an adorable younger brother nicknamed Little Stone, and kin who cherished one another. This was everything she had ever yearned for.

Glancing at the sleeping Qin and Little Stone, Gu Weiyu closed her eyes and drifted off.

She was awakened at dawn by an urgent cry. “Sister-in-law! Something’s wrong—come quickly, Brother Yun is hurt!”

Startled, Yu looked at the dull gray sky outside and hurriedly pulled on a robe.

She slid off the bed with agility, grabbing her frantic mother’s hand. “Mother, I want to see Father too!”

Qin was at a loss, but the small, warm hand in her own steadied her a little. She looked down at her young daughter and then at her son, still sleeping soundly, and, biting her lip, she led her daughter quickly outside.

“Sixth, how badly is your Brother Yun hurt?” Qin couldn’t help but ask the boy who’d brought the news.

“I just saw a lot of blood, Sister-in-law. I don’t really know more than that,” Sixth scratched his head awkwardly.

Qin’s face blanched, her body swaying as if she might fall. Gu Weiyu squeezed her mother’s hand tightly. “Mother, Father will be all right!”

“Yes, your father will be fine!” Gu Weiyu’s words rekindled hope in Qin’s heart.

“Sister Wu, could you look after Little Stone for me?” Qin called as they passed the neighboring stone house. A middle-aged woman poked her head out. “Don’t worry, Si Hua, leave Little Stone to me.”

Sister Wu had already heard the commotion from her house and knew something had happened to Brother Yun. Of course she agreed.

When Qin and her daughter reached the front of the fort, they saw her husband lying in a stone house, his body bloodied and torn. Qin threw herself over him, sobbing uncontrollably.

It was Yu, the little girl, who remained the more composed. She ran on her short legs to her father’s side and scanned his body with careful eyes. When she saw that his left arm had been bitten off halfway by a wolf, her heart sank. No matter how calm she tried to be, tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision.

Beside Gu Yun stood a young man, his head bowed with guilt. “Sister-in-law, it was the crossbows—they failed us. The wolves were too fierce. If Uncle Yun hadn’t saved me, I—”

In winter, with no food in the mountains, the wolves became desperate and savage. Nu, who had only just come of age, had never before endured such bloody chaos. He would have been lost if not for Gu Yun’s intervention. But because he’d been distracted, Uncle Yun’s arm had been torn off by a wolf.

Yu wiped her tears and glared at Nu, her eyes unkind. Qin only wept harder. Nu was just a boy, newly grown—what could she do to him?