Chapter 131: A Step Closer

Shen Yijue took the flashlight from Mo Qi and scanned the surroundings; it was nothing but trees everywhere. Because of the recent rain, everything was damp, and a thin layer of mist was beginning to rise between the mountains and forests. No wonder they had taken the wrong path earlier.

“Let’s go back and try again,” Shen Yijue said, holding Mo Qi’s hand and leading them retracing their steps.

After walking for a while, at the edge of the flashlight’s beam, a pair of eerie green eyes stared coldly and mercilessly at them.

Mo Qi’s heart jumped in alarm. She gripped Shen Yijue’s hand tightly and whispered, “Wolf!”

“Don’t be afraid.” Shen Yijue stepped forward, placing himself between Mo Qi and the wolf, shielding her behind him.

Mo Qi knew wolves were cunning and alert animals. If you showed fear, they could sense it and would see you as no threat, making them more likely to attack without hesitation.

She tightened her grip on Shen Yijue’s hand and bravely held the wolf’s gaze.

The wolf looked about the size of a typical Huskie. Standing above them, it confronted Mo Qi and Shen Yijue; it had taken a step forward but then cautiously retracted its paw.

It was assessing the fighting strength of these “two prey.”

Shen Yijue released Mo Qi’s hand and whispered, “You slowly back away. I’ll handle it.”

“No way!” Mo Qi refused outright without hesitation. “The two of us together are better than you alone.”

“I’ve learned some basic combat,” he replied.

“I won’t hold you back!” Mo Qi glared at him through clenched teeth. “Wolves have iron heads but fragile waists. If it attacks, aim for its waist.”

Shen Yijue was about to speak, but Mo Qi cut him off, “You just said you wouldn’t make decisions on your own anymore!”

“Follow me.” Without another word, Shen Yijue quickly scanned the ground nearby and spotted several fist-sized stones. He silently calculated the distance, confident he could grab them as soon as the wolf lunged.

The wolf stood still, its eyes dark and steady on the two of them.

Neither side yielded; both stared calmly into the other’s eyes.

After over twenty minutes of standoff, the wolf seemed to conclude it couldn’t overpower these “two prey.” With a low growl, it turned and vanished into the darkness.

Though the wolf left, the two remained vigilant. Only after some time passed, confirming the wolf was truly gone, did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.

At that moment, a light drizzle began again. Mo Qi realized her palm was drenched in cold sweat. She had forced herself to stay calm in the tension, but now that the danger was gone, she finally felt the sense of having narrowly escaped death.

---

Shen Yijue said, “Since wolves are here, this must be their hunting ground. Let’s leave and find a safe place to spend the night. We’ll look for a campsite at dawn.”

“Okay.” Mo Qi nodded in agreement. Shen Yijue’s outdoor experience was clearly more extensive.

The rain continued to fall, and Mo Qi’s hair was damp, sticking to her forehead.

Shen Yijue brushed her bangs aside, took off his shirt, and draped it over her head. He now regretted having discarded his suit jacket earlier when they first climbed the mountain; at least the jacket would have kept her warmer than a thin shirt.

“No, I’m not cold,” Mo Qi protested.

Her hand reaching for the shirt was stopped by Shen Yijue, who looked at her with a smile and said, “Mo Qi, I’m really happy right now.”

He truly was. At a life-and-death moment, Mo Qi chose to face it alongside him. Such an emotional bond was rare—even among lovers, or some family members.

This showed that his place in Mo Qi’s heart was far more important than she let on.

Mo Qi understood why Shen Yijue was happy and couldn’t help but smile, though she stubbornly denied it, “Being with you is definitely safer than running away alone. I’m just making the best choice for myself. So you can be happy all you want.” Then she rolled her eyes.

Shen Yijue, in a good mood, didn’t argue with her stubbornness. “Let’s go.”

Holding their flashlights, hand in hand, they walked in another direction. After more than an hour, they emerged from the dense forest into a small clearing.

“There seems to be a small stone hut ahead,” Mo Qi pointed toward the end of the flashlight’s beam.

“Let’s check it out.” Shen Yijue led the way through the underbrush, and sure enough, not far ahead stood a small stone house.

He took Mo Qi to the hut’s entrance and said, “It might have been left by a forest ranger. I’ll go in first; you wait here.”

Mo Qi nodded. Shen Yijue pushed open the worn wooden door and checked inside. Finding no danger, he called Mo Qi in.

The stone hut was tiny, cramped with just a wooden bunk bed and a dilapidated chair.

There were no blankets on the bed, but luckily the roof didn’t leak, so the straw on the bed was still dry.

In one corner, Shen Yijue found a candle and a lighter.

With rain falling outside, dry wood was impossible to find. They tore some straw from the bed to light a fire and smashed the broken wooden chair to use as kindling.

Once the door was closed and the small fire lit, the hut warmed considerably.

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Mo Qi, chilled to the bone and covered in goosebumps earlier, crouched by the fire, feeling as if she were alive again.

“Your shirt is wet. I’ll dry it for you before you wear it again.”

“Just put it by the fire; it’ll dry by morning,” Shen Yijue said, casually tossing the shirt aside. Then he helped Mo Qi up. “There are still five or six hours until dawn. You should rest first.”

“You too,” Mo Qi wanted to say but couldn’t bring herself to.

It was too dark outside to see, and she had been too busy making the fire earlier to notice, but now, by the firelight, she saw a large bruise covering Shen Yijue’s back.

He must have scraped himself on that tree while protecting her when she slipped.

Wolves have an incredibly keen sense of smell; they probably tracked them by the faint scent of blood.

“I’m sorry,” Mo Qi’s voice trembled as she reached out to touch the bruise. It was impossible not to feel pain for him.

“It’s nothing. Go to sleep,” Shen Yijue said, turning and half-embracing her, gently patting her shoulder.

Shen Yijue was wearing socks so dirty their original color was unrecognizable. His suit pants were caked in mud, and his upper body bore fresh wounds. His usually impeccably groomed hair was plastered across his forehead from the rain.

Mo Qi had never imagined Shen Yijue could look so disheveled—and all because of her.

“Shen Yijue.”

Seeing Mo Qi’s guilty expression, Shen Yijue lowered his head and kissed her lips. “I told you, I will never let you go. Even if we hurt each other, I’m going to fight to the bitter end. So you’re not going anywhere for the rest of your life.”

Faced with such determination, even Mo Qi’s sharp tongue fell silent.

“Go to sleep.”

Mo Qi nodded and climbed into bed with Shen Yijue.

The bed was lined with dry straw. Shen Yijue, injured on his back, could only lie on his side. Mo Qi nestled into his arms, wrapping around his waist and closing her eyes.

If it were him, maybe she could trust him one more time.