After everyone in the village had eaten, they began preparing to rest.

However, before they could fall asleep, the eerie howls of wolves echoed through the valley.

The sounds were distant but unmistakable.

“Woof! Woof woof!”

Da Huang, the dog, barked frantically toward the entrance of the valley.

Sensing something was wrong, Shen Qingwan immediately instructed Lu Wenguang to take the children and their parents into the mule cart.

Only after ensuring their safety did she head toward the source of the howls to assess the situation.

The sky had already darkened, and though the moonlight provided some visibility, it wasn’t enough to see far.

Shen Qingwan put on her night vision goggles and soon spotted several figures sprinting toward them, with a pack of wolves in hot pursuit.

To her surprise, the three people at the front were none other than Zhao Caihua and her family.

She hadn’t expected them to catch up, let alone bring wolves with them.

That afternoon, they had moved quickly, leaving Zhao Caihua’s group far behind.

She hadn’t imagined that they would find a way to follow—and even drag danger along with them.

“A pack of wolves is coming our way! Everyone, grab your weapons and prepare to fight! As for you people—if you don’t want to die, get up and get ready to defend yourselves!”

Shen Qingwan shouted to the villagers of Dahe Village before turning to address the refugees.

Upon hearing about the approaching wolves, the refugees panicked—some fled immediately, while a few brave ones stayed behind to fight.

However, most had already bolted.

Shen Qingwan didn’t run because she knew they couldn’t possibly outrun the wolves.

The wolves had likely descended from the mountains due to a lack of prey and changes in their environment.

Unfortunately, they had encountered Zhao Caihua and her group.

Fearing for their lives, those people had naturally run toward the larger group, dragging the wolves along with them.

Shen Qingwan had thought that driving them away earlier had solved the problem, but now they had brought an even greater disaster upon them. If not for them, the wolves might not have come this way at all.

“Send the elderly, women, and children to the back. Everyone else, get your weapons ready!”

Li Zheng, the village head, issued orders while keeping a tense eye on the situation.

Hunter Zhang and his son quickly prepared their bows and arrows.

“Ah! Help! Li Zheng, save us!”

“Waaah! Help! The wolves are right behind us!”

Zhao Caihua and Granny Wu screamed as they ran toward the group.

Shen Qingwan, standing at the front, blocked their path. Granny Wu trembled in fear.

“Shen Qingwan, let us through!”

Zhao Caihua lunged forward, trying to shove Shen Qingwan aside.

Without hesitation, Shen Qingwan kicked them both to the ground.

Just as they were about to get up and curse at her, the wolves pounced, sinking their fangs into their shoulders.

Granny Wu wailed in agony, but no one went to save her.

By now, the villagers understood—the wolves had been brought here because of them.

Zhao Caihua frantically scrambled forward, but a wolf soon latched onto her leg, dragging her back.

Lu Datou wasn’t spared either—one bite to the neck, and he was dead within seconds.

The wolves were clearly ravenous, but after killing the three, they didn’t immediately feast.

Instead, they turned their glowing green eyes toward the rest of the people in the valley.

It was obvious—the three corpses weren’t enough to satisfy them.

“Light the torches!”

Shen Qingwan commanded.

Li Zheng quickly ordered the villagers to ignite their torches. The wolves flinched at the flames but soon resumed their slow, menacing advance.

Shen Qingwan counted—over thirty wolves.

This was a large pack.

Their glowing eyes in the darkness made them all the more terrifying.

Shen Qingwan could tell they were strategizing an attack.

Perhaps because their group was large, the wolves spread out, attempting to divide and conquer.

She carefully scanned the pack and locked onto the leader.

The moment the lead wolf signaled an attack, Shen Qingwan raised her crossbow and fired.

The arrow struck its neck, and the wolf collapsed, howling in pain. However, it wasn’t dead yet.

The other wolves, seeing their leader injured, became even more aggressive.

Shen Qingwan continued firing arrows.

When the wolves leaped at her, she switched to her dagger and fought them off at close range.

Hunter Zhang and his son worked together seamlessly, shooting down the wolves lunging at Shen Qingwan.

The villagers in the front wielded machetes, engaging the wolves in a fierce battle.

The refugees, on the other hand, had all retreated.

Shen Qingwan fought like a ruthless killing machine, slicing through the wolves with precision and speed.

“Er-gong, watch out!”

Old Man Lu shouted as a wolf pounced at Lu Wenguang.

Old Man Lu rushed forward with a sickle, but it wasn’t sharp enough to pierce the wolf’s thick hide.

The beast immediately redirected its attack toward the old man.

Just as the wolf was about to bite Old Man Lu’s throat, Xiaoyu sprang from the mule cart.

Raising her wrist, she flung several silver needles at the wolf’s head.

The beast collapsed instantly.

Old Man Lu, shaken, turned to his granddaughter.

He suddenly remembered—those needles only rendered the wolf unconscious temporarily.

“Er-gong, kill it now!”

Lu Wenguang reacted quickly, smashing the wolf’s skull with his hoe.

Seeing that his sister’s needles worked, Xiaochen climbed out of the cart.

“Grandfather, I’ll help too!”

Old Man Lu, seeing both children out in the open, immediately shielded them.

“Get back up there! It’s too dangerous down here! You can attack from the cart!”

Xiaoyu nodded and pulled Xiaochen up onto the cart.

They say young calves aren’t afraid of tigers—this was a perfect example.

Bai Yong’an, relieved to see the children holding their own, let out a sigh of relief.

In no time, over half of the wolves had been killed.

The remaining ones, seeing the brutal resistance, hesitated.

Once the injured lead wolf regained its strength, it let out a low growl, signaling a retreat.

The remaining dozen wounded wolves quickly fled with it.

Before leaving, they even dragged away the corpses of Zhao Caihua and Granny Wu.

Shen Qingwan, watching them disappear, sheathed her bloodstained dagger.

She was quite satisfied—these wolves had inadvertently helped her get rid of a major threat.