By the third day, the wolf pack had descended the mountain. The first to bear the brunt was the old Zhao Residence that was halfway up the mountain. However, all of the people inside had been moved to the Yu Family's residence. Without the smell of food around, the wolf pack detoured around the houses halfway up the mountain and the Liu Family's newly constructed residence and rushed straight towards the Yu Family's next door neighbor, the Qian Family.
The Qian Family's courtyard had about a hundred or so ducks in there. Although it was a disaster year, raising ducks wasn't the same as raising chickens. Chickens required a lot of fodder whereas ducks only needed to be let out to a pond, and they could forage food for themselves. Little fish, shrimp, and snails were all a part of their regular diet. Madam Mao was planning on raising these hundred ducks until autumn and then selling them.
It was currently the fifteenth of September and the moon was bright and radiant. Yu Hai climbed onto the top of his own wall and could clearly see the besieged Qian Family. The Qian Family had also dug some pit traps around them, which served their purpose. There were a few wolves caught in the pits. However, there were too many wolves in the pack. The ravenous starved wolves attempted one after another to scale the walls. Some even tried to use their bodies as a battering ram and slammed themselves against the Qian Family's dilapidated wooden gate....
The Qian Family's ducks in the back courtyard screamed to the high heavens. Their walls were not as high as the Yu Family's and a few strong wolves managed to twist themselves in midair and jump onto the top of the walls.
Yu Xiaocao was laying on the roof as she anxiously watched what was happening at the Qian Family's residence. She quietly asked, "Father, are you sure that Uncle Qian and his whole family aren't at home right now?"
"Mhm! The day before yesterday, your Uncle Qian had told me that he was planning on taking the family to his wife's maternal home in the evening. Last night I saw that all of them had left the village." Yu Hai held a bow and arrow in his hands as his eyes glittered with the shimmering light from the moon.
Yu Xiaocao finally relaxed. When she heard the ducks let out a scream, she remarked in regret, "It's too bad Auntie Qian's flock of ducks will be destroyed. I'm pretty sure they're about to become the wolves' evening meal!"
Although Yu Hai couldn't see the back courtyard of the Qian Residence, he guessed, "Shouldn't be too big of a loss! When your Uncle Qian left, he had opened up the gate to the pond. When the ducks get scared, they should run towards the pond. I'm sure some of the ducks will be eaten by the wolf pack but probably not all of them."
Yu Xiaocao climbed to the highest part of the roof. With the light of the moon, she could faintly see the messy ripples on the lake. It was probably all caused by the ducks heading into the water. Yu Xiaocao relaxed again.
Zhu Junyang calmly sat on top of the roof and saw the worry disappearing from Yu Xiaocao's face. He teased, "You're unable to defend yourself, so why are you worrying about other people?"
Yu Xiaocao turned her head around and looked strangely at Zhu Junyang, who was sitting on the beam of the roof as if he was on flat ground. Then she looked at her own position, awkwardly hugging onto the roof. She curled her lip and said, "What do you mean by this?"
"If the wolf pack can't find any food at the Qian Family's place, they will naturally change their target. The Yu Family is the closest neighbor to the Qian Family. What target do you think they'll go for next?" Zhu Junyang expressed his disdain towards Yu Xiaocao's intelligence. She was normally a very sharp little girl, so how come her brains seemed to have disappeared right now? Was she really scared silly by the wolf pack?
Who was their next target? It was quite obvious! Yu Xiaocao smiled bitterly as she watched the wolf pack finish battering down the Qian Family's gate and run around in the back courtyard. A portion of them were already dashing over in the direction of the Yu Family's residence.
"Prepare! Everyone get into position!" Zhu Junyang commanded his dozen or so bodyguards. All of them climbed up bamboo ladders to get onto the wall. Each of them was energetic and healthy as they prepared and aimed their bows and arrows.
Yu Xiaocao stayed on top of the tall roof and tied up a piece of meat on a bamboo pole. As if she was fishing, she dangled the bait outside the walls.
The first wolf to arrive was obviously the alpha of the pack. It still remembered the pits outside of the Qian Family's residence and stopped right outside of the Yu Family's walls to observe the surroundings. It also howled a bit at the rest of the wolf pack, which was right behind it. Most of the wolves stopped right next to the head wolf, but there was no shortage of stupid wolves who had been starved silly. When they smelled the scent of meat in the air, they ignored the alpha wolf's warning and rushed over in the direction of the meat.
A large and muscular gray wolf leapt up very high and opened its large mouth wide as it soared towards the meat that Yu Xiaocao was dangling. Xiaocao deftly lifted the bamboo pole a bit and the gray wolf snapped onto nothing. It fell towards the ground. Just as its paws touched the ground, a sharp 'crack' resonated in the air. Its feet had stepped onto thin air and the wolf fell deep within the previously dug pit. Within the pit were sharpened bamboo stakes and they pierced the gray wolf's soft underbelly. Immediately, the scent of blood filled the air.
There were two other starving wolves that wanted to fight over the meat. By the time the gray wolf fell down, they had already jumped up, so they weren't any more fortunate than the first wolf. Three wolves had been caught in the traps and had all been injured more or less. The pits were large and deep, yet the mouth of the hole was small. It would be too difficult to climb out even if they wanted to!
Yu Xiaocao shifted her position on the roof. She dangled the piece of meat above another trap. This time, she deliberately hung the meat very low and it almost touched the ground. Some of the gluttonous wolves that had retreated earlier were now becoming interested again.
Yu Xiaocao turned her head around and revealed a proud smile at the young royal prince, "How about that? Looks like my ability to fish wolves is quite good, eh?"
Zhu Junyang reminded her, "Keep an eye on the ground. Be careful that your cleverness doesn't turn into a tragedy…"
Just as the word 'tragedy' left his mouth, he saw the meat that was being dangled by Yu Xiaocao being bitten onto by a skinny old wolf. Although the old wolf had gotten a bite of the meat, it still couldn't avoid falling into the prepared trap. As it fell into the trap, the old wolf refused to let go of the meat in its mouth. Yu Xiaocao had been caught off guard and had been dragged by the weight of the old wolf towards the edge of the residence's wall. In a moment, almost half of her body was about to fall out.
Yu Hai, who had been observing everything from the side, almost had his eyes pop out of his head as he hollered, "Cao'er, quickly let go of the bamboo pole in your hands, let it go!!"
Everything was happening in the blink of an eye. Yu Xiaocao wanted to let go of the bamboo pole, but it was already too late. She could feel that the center of her gravity had already shifted away from the roof. She was facing the prospect of falling into the center of a pack of hungry wolves on the ground.
If she fell like this, she might be like the old wolf and fall into the pit trap. Her body would end up pierced by the sharpened spears in the trap. Or she could fall into the clutches of the wolf pack, and end up torn into pieces…
In her moment of desperation, Yu Xiaocao didn't forget to ask the little divine stone, [If I fell into the pit and became injured, can you guarantee that I won't be mortally injured? Or what if I fall into the wolf pack, can you make the wolf pack not rip me to pieces?]
[To stop you from injuring your vital areas is something I can do. However, if you fall into the middle of the wolf pack, I'm pretty sure I don't have enough time to do anything before they tear you apart. These starving wolves aren't like Big Gray and easy to tame…] The little divine stone still earnestly replied to her during this crucial moment.
[Then I'm screwed! Looks like, Little Glutinous Dumpling, you're about to get a new master…] Yu Xiaocao felt very regretful about this ending. She had only transmigrated over for two years and she hadn't enjoyed enough the feeling of being loved by her parents and siblings. She still hadn't had the chance to taste the sweetness of romantic love. Was she just going to tragically die in the mouths of these wolves?
As her body slipped towards the outside of the wall, Yu Xiaocao's heart was full of despair. She tightly closed her eyes and two tear drops slid down her cheeks…
Just as her entire body was about to slip out, she suddenly felt her ankle jerk and her body swayed. For a second, she was at a ninety degree angle from the outside wall and her nose became intimately close with the tiles. The tears in Yu Xiaocao's eyes spilled out. Her nose hurt a lot ah! These tears were from being struck on her nose, okay?
"Don't cry! You little coward!! With this prince around, how could you possibly fall out?" The young royal prince's voice sounded from the direction of her feet.
Yu Xiaocao turned her head around and saw that her foot was caught by the young royal prince. She could clearly see that fellow's face, which was begging to be smacked, under the clear light of the moon. When he saw Yu Xiaocao look over, Zhu Junyang deliberately wiggled the hand on her ankle. Afterwards, Yu Xiaocao was just like a dead fish as she swayed back and forth in the air.
"Be careful!" Yu Xiaocao suddenly felt the hand on her ankle tighten and her body being lifted a few meters. A stinky smell wafted over and, in the corner of her eye, she saw a row of tightly packed teeth rushing by her. The teeth were about two centimeters away from her head and stopped for two seconds before it quickly disappeared and dropped. Yu Xiaocao stared at the culprit. Apparently, it was a fierce wolf that was rushing towards her and ended up falling into the pit below them.
Yu Xiaocao blew her top out of fury. Because of all of the blood rushing to her face, her face was bright red. She screamed at the young royal prince, "Are you using me as bait ah?! Don't you know I almost died because of you?! Quickly bring me back up!!"
As for the ultimate fate of the previous bait, it could be seen in the pit. That old wolf was still clutching onto it even as it was pierced to death.
Zhu Junyang also felt cold sweat dripping down his body from shock. If his reflexes weren't as fast as they were, that little girl's head would have been bitten off by that wolf. He hurriedly used all of his strength, and hauled Xiaocao back up with one hand on her ankle and the other grabbing the back of her clothes. After she was back on the roof, he gently placed her back where she used to be sitting.
Seeing tears stream down Yu Xiaocao's face, Zhu Junyang rubbed his nose out of embarrassment when he saw the tears streaming down Yu Xiaocao's face and quietly said, "Alright, don't cry! It was my fault earlier...aren't you perfectly fine?"
Yu Xiaocao leveled a glare at him and then rubbed her own nose——it hurt so much! However, she silently rejoiced that she didn't break her nose earlier. This era didn't have any methods to reshape a person's nose. If she broke her nose, she'd be ugly for the rest of her life, alright?
Zhu Junyang pinched her sharp little chin and pushed aside her hand as he attentively inspected her, "What's wrong with your nose? Did it hit the wall and become flat? Looks a little bruised but there's no blood. Should be fine!"
"Go away!!" Yu Xiaocao pushed aside the young royal prince's hand that was pinching her chin. What was he doing? This move was too much like a playboy taking liberties with a respectable young woman. Men and women should not touch hands when they give or receive things. Even though this old woman's body is only ten years old, we're already past the age of being able to share the same table, okay?
Zhu Junyang was just about to say something when he was interrupted by Yu Xiaocao crying out in fear, "Damn it! That wolf pack is ramming the gate again!! These repulsive creatures, they're definitely going to try to do the same thing and bring our gate down to rush in!!"
Zhu Junyang calmly and unhurriedly rubbed her hands. The soft and smooth feeling was unfamiliar to him. He looked at his own fingers, raised his head to look at the direction of the gate and softly said, "Don't worry, it's not a big deal! Your family's gate is very sturdy and the bar holding it closed was switched into a metal rod. The wolf pack doesn't have a chance against it!"
Following that, he raises his voice, "Get ready group one, we're going to shoot these wolves dead. Take aim and fire!"