But Xu Ying’s gaze was more drawn to the wild wolves surrounding them—perhaps a lingering instinct from her apocalyptic days of battling zombies. Whenever she saw such beasts now, she felt an itch in her hands, a desire to swing a few blades.
Wait a minute… wasn’t there a wolf that seemed to belong to this man?
Xu Ying’s eyes shifted beside him and saw a wild wolf crouched close to the man’s side.
The wolf looked old, its fur mottled with streaks of gray. Several wounds marred its body, fresh blood dripping down in slow, steady drops, staining its coat red.
Yet despite its battered appearance, the wolf stood tall, its back straight, lips pulled back in a snarl, growling fiercely at the pack of wolves across from them.
The two sides stared each other down, neither willing to back down.
Beside the wolf, the man tightened his grip on the broken machete in his hand. His arm muscles tensed, veins popping under his skin.
Sensing his intent to fight, the pack leader howled a command. In an instant, the rest of the wolves lunged forward.
The old wolf by the man’s side also leapt out, joining the fray.
Chaos erupted. The man swung his machete swiftly, slashing at the oncoming wolves.
“Old Gray!” he called out.
But age had dulled the wolf’s strength. It couldn’t match the younger, fiercer wolves. Within moments, Old Gray was knocked to the ground, panting heavily, new wounds bleeding onto the earth.
The man’s expression turned frantic. He rushed toward the fallen wolf, but the circling wolves seized the opportunity, leaping at him.
One wolf managed to sink its teeth deep into his thigh.
Yet the man didn’t flinch. His dark eyes gleamed with a cold, murderous glint, his clenched teeth grinding audibly like a lion ready to tear apart its prey.
With a roar, he raised his machete and swung it violently at the wolf.
Xu Ying watched his pale face and couldn’t help but think of the first time she met her mentor in the apocalypse—he too had been besieged by a frenzied mob over something as trivial as a cabbage.
How different was this man’s situation now? Those starving humans had been no better than wolves.
Without hesitation, Xu Ying pulled out two brand-new machetes from her space.
She sprinted toward the man, raised one machete, and brought it down in a swift arc at the wolf biting him.
With a clean snap, the wolf’s head flew off its body.
A crack appeared in the man’s stoic expression—he looked at her in disbelief.
This woman… she’s a tiger!
“Here.” Xu Ying tossed the second machete to him.
Don’t underestimate this blade. It wasn’t just any knife—it was forged by an ability user in the apocalypse, razor-sharp beyond normal standards.
She had used this very machete to chop down both first- and second-tier zombies.
The man’s dark eyes locked onto hers briefly. Then, gripping the weapon tightly, he charged at the wolves.
With a single powerful strike, the blade cleaved a wolf’s head clean in half.
Blood sprayed onto his face, his expression turning even more savage. He swung again.
One after another, phosphorescent arcs flashed through the air. With each swing, a wolf fell.
Feeling the tide turning, the alpha wolf let out a mournful howl to the sky before leaping away. The rest of the pack scrambled after it, disappearing into the woods within moments.
Panting heavily, the man staggered back toward Old Gray, his injured leg dragging behind him. Dropping the machete, he knelt and scooped the old wolf into his arms, eyes filled with despair.
“Old Gray…” he murmured hoarsely.
Xu Ying hurried over, concern in her voice. “Hey, big brother, are you okay?”
The man didn’t answer. Instead, he ripped a strip of fabric from his own clothes and began wrapping it around Old Gray’s wounds.
But no matter how tightly he tied it, the blood quickly soaked through. Seeing this, his hands trembled helplessly, fingers fumbling clumsily like a child’s.
He raised his head, his blood-streaked face pale and hollow. His lips moved slightly. “Please… take a look for me. Thank you.”
Xu Ying was startled by his broken expression. “I’ll watch him—go quickly!”
The man nodded stiffly and, despite his limp, sprinted toward the hillside.
Not long after, he returned with a handful of freshly gathered herbs. Sitting down beside Old Gray, he crushed the herbs roughly in his palm and pressed them straight onto the wounds.
Xu Ying’s jaw dropped. He’s way too rough!
“Brother, how about… I do it?”
Hesitating for a moment, the man finally nodded and handed her the herbs.
Xu Ying took them, found a flat rock, and carefully ground them into a paste. While his back was turned, she secretly pulled out a small packet of healing powder from her space and mixed it in.
Returning to the man, she squatted beside Old Gray.
The wolf’s eyes were half-closed, its chest rising and falling weakly. When it sensed her approach, its body tensed warily.
But the man gently stroked its head. “It’s okay, Old Gray.”
At his words, the wolf relaxed again, collapsing weakly against the ground.
Xu Ying gently applied the herbal paste onto its wounds and wrapped it snugly with the fabric, tying it off in a neat bow.
She sat back, admiring her handiwork. “Perfect.”
The man stared stiffly at the bright little bow wrapped around Old Gray. His lips twitched uncontrollably. “…Thank you.”
Xu Ying said nothing.
Instead, she turned toward him and reached out to pull up his pant leg.
In the apocalypse, she’d treated countless wounds—this was second nature.
But the man jerked back violently, eyes wide. “Y-you… what are you doing?!”
A flush bloomed across his bronzed skin, spreading all the way to the tips of his ears.
This girl—first she fought like a tiger, now she’s trying to undress him… is she completely shameless?
“I’m treating your wound. You were bitten on the thigh. How are you going to apply medicine without taking your pants off?” Xu Ying frowned, puzzled.
Then she caught the red creeping up his ears and raised an eyebrow. Oh… he’s shy?
“Fine, do it yourself. I won’t watch.”
She tossed the herbs into his hands and deliberately turned her back.
Peeking once to make sure she wasn’t looking, the man hurried behind a tree, awkwardly dropped his pants, and applied the paste to the bite.
He didn’t even notice how the bleeding stopped instantly the moment the medicine touched his skin.
When he emerged again, pants pulled up and expression composed, the flush on his face had faded. “Thanks. What are you planning to do with these wolves?”
Xu Ying thought for a moment. “Hey, brother, which village are you from? And… what’s your name?”
She was planning to take the wolves and sell them, but just in case he reported her, it was better to ask around first.
The man’s gaze turned strange. “Same village as you.”
Xu Ying blinked. Same village?
Despite his rough appearance, he seemed around her age. Yet she had no memory of seeing him before.
“You know me?”
He hesitated, then nodded. “…Yeah.”
“Then who exactly are you?” Xu Ying pressed.
The man looked at her, his dark eyes deep. “I’m Grandma Huo’s grandson.”
At those words, Xu Ying instantly realized.
In her past life, she’d heard of an old woman named Grandma Huo who lived at the far end of the village. They said she had adopted a strange child and called him her wolf cub.
People gossiped that she’d found him as a baby in the mountains—beside a wolf pup. Some even whispered he wasn’t fully human…but a child of wolf monster and a human