Chapter 37: Rainy Night Wolf Assault

Li Chaosheng walked back into the house without changing his expression, as if nothing had happened. He could not possibly explain how he had learned that the pack had gone back to report. Still, Li Chaosheng took advantage of the old temple keeper’s time cooking to ask Du Yi some questions about hunting.

Upon hearing this, Du Yi led Li Chaosheng to his storeroom to look at his weapons: a firewood chopper, a steel fork, and a homemade hardwood bow. These items were normally kept in the storeroom and only used when going out to hunt. Li Chaosheng also saw a huge hunting trap made of high-grade steel, the kind that could snap a wolf’s leg in one clamp.

Looking at those weapons, Li Chaosheng pretended to be interested, and he and Du Yi moved into the bedroom. Normally Ah Hong would not allow those weapons inside the house, but since there were guests today she said nothing. Li Chaosheng feigned interest, nocked arrows and drew the bow to test it a few times. The bow and arrows had good power, but Li Chaosheng’s aim was a bit off.

Du Yi stood beside him giving pointers, but Du Yi’s shooting skills were not great either. He was much better with traps.

Night fell quickly, and the old temple keeper’s meal was ready. It turned out he had not been boasting and the food was indeed delicious. First, the two gamecocks were used without waste: one was wrapped in big leaves, covered in mud, and made into a beggar’s chicken.

The other gamecock was cleaned, its feet removed, and stuffed with scallions and herbs. Then it was placed inside a pig’s stomach, sealed with bamboo skewers, and boiled over high heat. The meat was tender, fragrant, and left an unforgettable aftertaste.

The remaining pork, ribs, and marrow bones went into a large pot to be stewed over fire, making a bone-splitting meat stew. Finally some meat slices were cut and stir-fried with greens, and the meal was complete.

With the food on the table, everyone ate heartily. Even Ah Hong took extra bites of the chicken and praised the old temple keeper’s cooking without end.

Crack!

While they were eating inside, an abrupt gale began outside, followed by a torrential downpour. Li Chaosheng looked out, instinctively touched the hilt of his knife, took a sip of wine, and his gaze sharpened.

Whoosh~

A gust of wind blew, and with a swoosh the window and the front door were flung open. The gale poured in and Ah Hong’s expression suddenly froze and turned sour.

Du Yi stood up and cursed, saying, “This damned weather, the wind is really strong!”

After he said that he went to close the window, but as he looked outside his expression suddenly froze. The old temple keeper saw Du Yi’s unease and hastily rose to ask, “What’s wrong?”

He looked outside as well, and upon seeing what was out there the old temple keeper grabbed the hilt of the soft sword at his waist and said, “Brother Li, Zhou Bo, prepare for battle!”

Li Chaosheng immediately stood up and looked out. He saw that the courtyard fence had been entirely knocked down, and countless oil-green eyes lit up in the yard. Those were the eyes of vicious wolves.

By the faint moonlight he could make out snarling wolves one after another. The wolves stood in the rain, glaring viciously at the house, neatly lined up to the number of ten or so.

Tread tread tread…

The wolves stared fixedly at the house. Then, from a distance, a wolf the size of a tiger appeared outside the yard, accompanied by two wolves noticeably larger than the others, their oil-green eyes fixed on the house.

The old temple keeper said, “It’s the wolf demon! Such a dense aura of demon qi!”

Li Chaosheng gripped the ghost-head blade and stood up, saying, “They come with ill intent!”

The old temple keeper then said, “Never mind whether they are good or not, we do not want to go looking for trouble. Brother Li, guard the outer room door. Zhou Bo, guard the inner room windows. Du Yi, we will guard here.”

“Alright.”

Li Chaosheng and Zhou Bo readily agreed. Li Chaosheng grabbed the ghost-head blade, picked up a wine bowl from the table, took a sip and spat it onto the ghost-head blade with a spray, then walked toward the outer kitchen room.

Zhou Bo then took five sections of steel pipe from his pocket. The pipes had screw threads and Zhou Bo twisted the five pipes together into one long, cold gleaming spear.

The two men took their positions. When Li Chaosheng stepped outside he found the wolf trap steel clamp on the ground nearby. After a moment’s thought, Li Chaosheng pried the clamp open and placed it at the back door!

Whooo…

The gale howled and the rain poured down. Forty or fifty wolves packed the small yard so full it was like a crowd. The little hens raised in the yard had been torn apart by the wolf pups, leaving a floor of feathers. The wolves still had blood dripping from their mouths after eating the chickens.

Du Yi hurried down, grabbed the steel fork and the firewood chopper, then thought better of it and picked up the bow and arrows. He drew an arrow and aimed at the tiger-sized wolf, but his hands trembled. Though he was a hunter, he usually hunted foxes. He had never been besieged by so many vicious wolves.

Awooo awooo awoo…

A chorus of wolf howls rose, and the entire yard of wolves joined in. The old temple keeper drew the soft sword from his waist and shouted, “Be careful, these beasts are going to attack!”

Li Chaosheng stood at the doorway with his blade held horizontally. His face showed not fear but a certain excitement. Today he could slaughter to his heart’s content.

Although Li Chaosheng was cautious by nature, he had a bloodthirsty gene in his bones. Without bloodthirst he could not be an executioner. Those who worked as executioners were not virtuous people. Good men, saints, could not be executioners.

Awooo awooo awoo…

After the pack’s howl, the central wolf demon let out a great roar, and thirty or forty vicious wolves leaped together toward the little house standing in the night. The house seemed so tiny at that moment.

Only those who have experienced thirty or forty wolves charging at once would know how overwhelming it feels. It is such a surging momentum that the fainthearted might soil themselves from fright.

The pack bared its teeth and charged like a coordinated army. Facing such a wolf horde, even a tiger would tuck its tail and flee, not daring to provoke them.

Awooo awooo awoo…

The pack roared and surged forward. Three wolves charged directly at Li Chaosheng, forming an encircling strike. Two wolves leaped to attack Li Chaosheng’s face and chest, while a third sped around behind him, preparing to attack Li Chaosheng’s anus.

**Vicious wolves have this killer move: whether you are a water buffalo or a swift horse, it bites your anus with its mouth and then drags your intestines out alive. If you do not die immediately, you will surely die later!

Seeing the wolves pounce, Li Chaosheng shouted loudly, “Good, come at me!”

He then swung the ghost-head blade, and with one stroke he cleaved a wolf cleanly in two. The ghost-head blade was swift and Li Chaosheng strong. One vicious wolf became a lost soul beneath Li Chaosheng’s blade.

After cleaving one wolf, Li Chaosheng turned his body. The ghost-head blade that had just been swung down, now moved upward from below, and sliced the second wolf in half at the waist.

Plop! Plop! The two halves of the wolf carcasses fell to the ground. The wolves were not fully dead and still struggled with mouths open, biting desperately. After a couple of bites they could no longer move and their breaths ceased. Even in death they displayed ferocity to the fullest.

Awoo~

Having killed two vicious wolves, Li Chaosheng watched as the third wolf seized its chance and lunged toward Li Chaosheng’s anus.