Chapter 109: Uncle Ma Gets Angry
The wolf pinning Gu Zhang down was just a hair’s breadth from tearing out his throat. Gu Qing and Er Lang raised their knives, ready to strike.
Gu Fei raised her gun, aimed at the wolf’s head, and fired several shots in quick succession. BANG! BANG! BANG!
The wolf’s body went rigid. It slid off Gu Zhang and collapsed to the ground, its eyes wide open, with only a single breath left in it.
Gu Fei rushed over. "Dad, are you all right?"
Gu Zhang couldn’t speak.
Gu Fei saw that the flesh on her father’s neck was a mangled, bloody mess.
She quickly took out the golden sore medicine she had bought at the pharmacy and a clean cloth strip she had prepared earlier, tossing them to Gu Qing. "Get Dad inside the circle and put this on his wound!"
Gu Qing’s hands trembled as he took the medicine vial, quickly helping his father into the middle of the circle.
Gu Fei only glanced once before turning back.
’This is no time to let my guard down. Uncle Ma said there were five or six wolves.’
Gu Fei put her gun away. Gripping her long knife tightly, she remained vigilant, scanning her surroundings.
Just then, a commotion erupted behind her. Gu Fei figured a wolf must have gone over to that side as well.
She didn’t move.
’Uncle Ma is over there, along with the Commander’s son’s other guard. They’re both skilled fighters, so I don’t need to worry.’
’My job is to guard this side.’
The women in the center were huddled together in a tight knot. The sight of Gu Zhang’s mangled neck terrified them, but at least they didn’t scream out loud.
Only Aunt Liu, Mrs. Chen, and his eldest sister remained relatively calm.
Mrs. Chen helped Gu Zhang lie down, opened the medicine vial, and generously sprinkled the powder on his wound. Then she wrapped it with the cloth strip, with his eldest sister and Aunt Liu helping at her side.
Once the wound was wrapped, Mrs. Chen asked Gu Zhang with a tremor in her voice, "Husband, are you going to be okay?"
Gu Zhang gave a weak wave of his hand, his heart filled with the lingering terror of his near-death experience.
’He had felt the wolf about to tear through his windpipe. Luckily, his daughter had used something to hit the wolf a few times, and the strength in its jaws had instantly gone slack.’
Two wolves had also gone after Uncle Ma, but he and Chen Hu worked together and killed them both in short order.
After catching his breath, Uncle Ma suddenly crouched down, pressing his ear to the ground. He listened for a long while before standing up and turning to the group. "The other two wolves seem to have left."
"I don’t know if they’ll be back. This won’t do. We can’t last the whole night like this."
He said quickly, "Everyone, hurry and bring over the firewood! We need to light a ring of fire around us."
The women huddled in the middle didn’t move. Uncle Ma bellowed, "What are you standing around for? Go get firewood! The wolves are gone for now, so hurry up!"
There was plenty of firewood piled nearby, which each family had gathered to burn during the night. It was already the end of the tenth month, and it would be unbearably cold in the wilderness without a fire.
Uncle Ma walked around, directing people where to build the bonfires.
A few of the women fearfully skirted the wolf carcasses on the ground, carrying firewood with trembling hands.
Uncle Ma didn’t stop until a complete circle of bonfires surrounded them.
He suddenly spotted Bao’er and glared at him menacingly. "Was that you screaming just now? Did you not hear what I said earlier?"
Terrified, Bao’er shrank behind his mother.
Ms. Qian quickly said, "Uncle Ma, he’s just a child, he doesn’t know any better! Besides, when the wolves came, who wouldn’t be startled? It’d be strange if he *didn’t* scream!"
Uncle Ma’s face was cold. "Is he the only child here? Why didn’t the others scream? Why only him?"
"I gave specific instructions beforehand! You, woman, you failed to watch your child, and now you’re making excuses!"
"If he hadn’t screamed just now, the wolves might not have attacked!"
Ms. Qian felt utterly wronged. "How can you blame this on Bao’er? Besides, the wolves were killed, weren’t they? Nobody died, so what’s the big deal?"