Chen Xiaobei finally let out a long breath. Perhaps the wolf's howl was just a greeting.
Sun Gui chuckled, "Damn, that scared the hell out of me."
After saying that, he turned to Sun Jian, "Big Brother, let's go."
But Sun Jian shook his head.
"No, we can't go any further. By rights, wolves shouldn't be out at this time of day."
Chen Xiaobei didn't know much about the behavior of wolves.
When he was young, he heard many stories about wolf packs attacking the herds of sheep and horses of herders at night.
So, they probably belonged to the type of wolves that are active at night.
"Big Brother, the wolves are already gone, maybe they're scared of us," Sun Gui disagreed.
Sun Jian shook his head again, looking serious.
"No, we can't risk it. Let's go back first. We'll come back in a couple of days after we're properly prepared."
When he heard they were going back, Chen Xiaobei was of course happy.
But on the surface, he had to act a little more pretentious. "Big Brother Sun, I don't think there's much to worry about, after all, the wolf has already run away."
Sun Jian shook his head again, his face full of seriousness.
"I was careless. I didn't expect there to be wild wolves on this mountain, and I didn't bring the repeating crossbow."
A repeating crossbow, this was a very advanced weapon in the age of cold weapons. It could shoot continuously, with a great killing power, which was indeed very suitable for dealing with fierce wild beasts.
After saying that, Sun Jian waved his hand, signaling the group to head back the way they came.
The return journey was much quicker.
Just after passing two intersections, a wolf's howl echoed from behind them, followed by another.
Sun Jian's face changed slightly, and he quickly shouted, "Everyone, hurry up, we must have disturbed the wolf pack."
Sure enough, the howls behind them increased again, and soon there were three or four more howls. From the sound, it seemed to be from different wolves.
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei secretly felt relieved. Fortunately, Sun Gui wasn't leading the group.
Thank goodness they hadn't continued forward; otherwise, he might have met his end here today.
They sprinted back for four or five intersections.
Ahead was a steep slope, about four or five meters high, and very steep, almost a straight drop.
When they arrived, they had tied the rope to descend.
Now, climbing up again, they, of course, needed to tie the rope.
Sun Ce took a bundle of rope from one of the men, slung it over his shoulder, and shouted loudly before charging up the slope at full speed.
Watching Sun Ce's skill, akin to running on walls, Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but secretly admire him.
Even if he trained for a lifetime, he probably wouldn't reach this level.
Sun Jian climbed to the top of the slope and found a rock to tie the rope to. Just as he was about to toss it down, he saw a gray figure appear in the distance.
Oh no, that's a wolf.
While tossing the rope down, Sun Jian shouted loudly, "The wild wolf is coming, everyone, hurry up!"
Sun Gui responded and grabbed the rope, quickly climbing up, while the others scrambled to follow.
Indeed, facing a wolf pack, everyone felt a sense of fear.
Chen Xiaobei was even more scared, his heart pounding. But there was nothing he could do; he couldn't beat the others to the top and had to climb last.
Luckily, the wolf was far enough away. As Chen Xiaobei climbed, the area behind him remained calm.
While climbing, Chen Xiaobei felt a chill in his heart.
When danger arrived, Sun Jian and Sun Gui didn't even say a comforting word to him, only caring about saving themselves first.
These people are selfish. This time, he joined them because of the money, but from now on, he wasn't so sure.
However, Sun Jian and Sun Gui didn't see anything wrong. They stood there, watching intently as a few wild wolves appeared in the distance. But that was it; they didn't move closer.
Looking at the steep slope, Chen Xiaobei suddenly felt a sense of relief. If climbing the slope was so difficult, it must be hard for wolves and other wild animals to get up here too. This might explain why there aren't any fierce beasts around the mountain temple.
After watching the wolves for a while, Sun Gui grumbled, "That really scared the hell out of me. Next time, I'll swallow you alive."
"Swallow alive?" This immediately triggered a memory for Chen Xiaobei. That's right, Liu Ruomei's steward, Liu Ce, had once mentioned that if Chen Xiaobei could catch a live wolf, he'd give him a hundred or so silver taels.
Looking at the wild wolves in the distance, that could be several hundred silver taels. Chen Xiaobei swallowed his saliva quietly.
Sigh, walking ATM.
But right now, he didn't have enough confidence to capture a wild wolf alive, so he had to give up on this moneymaking opportunity for the time being.
Once they got back to the mountain temple, Chen Xiaobei feigned fear, "Big Brother Sun, those wolves are too terrifying. If it weren't for your quick decision, I would have probably been eaten by the wolves."
Sun Jian laughed heartily, patting the curved knife hanging from his waist.
"Don't be afraid, I'll risk my life to protect you."
Chen Xiaobei seized the opportunity to say, "Big Brother Sun, let's rest for a few days. It's too scary, I really can't go back out there."
Sun Jian stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and laughed, "Alright, alright, let's rest for a few days and see."
"Since you said so," Chen Xiaobei quickly excused himself and went back home.
As he walked away, Sun Gui couldn't help but say, "Big Brother, I think we shouldn't take this burden up the mountain anymore. He can't fight, and if we encounter a wolf pack, we'll have to protect him."
Sun Jian thought for a long time, then sighed, "We'll go back, bring more people, and scout out the situation first, see how many wolves there are."
By the time Chen Xiaobei came down the mountain, the sun was already setting.
The straw hut at the foot of the mountain was almost done, and Li Dong was leading the team with the final touches.
When he saw Chen Xiaobei, Li Dong looked very proud, pointing at the straw hut as if claiming credit, "Xiaobei brother, how is it? Any suggestions?"
Chen Xiaobei smiled and waved his hand, "No suggestions, it's very good. You all keep working, I'll head home first."
After walking a few steps, Chen Xiaobei suddenly noticed that Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiao'er were by the river catching fish.
Seeing her brother suddenly appear, Chen Qiao'er ran over excitedly, shouting and hugging his leg, pouting her little mouth as if to show off, "Brother, brother, we caught a few big fish, praise sister-in-law!"
Before Chen Xiaobei could respond, Cui Hongyu already smiled, "Qiao'er, you only caught a few fish, what's so great about it?"
Chen Xiaobei walked up to the wooden tub, took a look, and was shocked to see three or four big fish, each over a foot long.
There were also a few half-foot-long fish.
"Husband, I want to put these half-foot-long ones in our fish pond. Otherwise, with just the small fish fry, when will they ever grow up?"
Her words enlightened Chen Xiaobei.
Yes, he was only worried about the big fish eating the small ones, but overlooked the problem of the small fish growing up. Natural growth is too slow.
He needed to figure out a way to get some feed.
Hearing his idea, Cui Hongyu looked surprised.
"I've never heard of feeding fish. Can we still make money like that?"