Chapter 2: 14. Lonely Wandering in the Jungle (4)

  Many years later, I saw the wolf again in the zoo. The wolf in the cage was running back and forth restlessly, looking very ferocious. But when I looked at its sleek gray fur and plump body, I knew that if you threw it back into the forest for a few days, it would be starved to death.

  A wolf that has grown fat cannot run.

  Many years ago, that thin and gaunt gray wolf, which was obviously a skilled runner and hunter in the forest, stared at me blankly.

  I stared blankly at it too.

  We were all stunned.

  Because the distance is less than 1 meter, we can all feel each other's breathing sound, and in our eyes, we can also see each other's shadow. Human wisdom is relatively advanced after all, so I reacted first, thinking of ways to deal with it. After all, I'm not that kind of self-righteous university student from a big city who thinks they're something but aren't, having been hammered for so long and still being so fierce, even the most timid soldier has some courage and daring.

  Later I knew that our troops were training alone in the woods when they encountered wolves, it was not my first time, but this close, absolutely my first time.

  I definitely can't take the initiative to attack, compared to this animal I am absolutely not a bare-handed combat opponent. Even with a machete, it's not a match, and it's better to use a dagger, which is what we commonly call a "claw". Old scouts know that it's short, sharp, and extremely lethal. During the Southern Border Defense War, our military district's scout battalion even applied poison to the blade, I don't know if this violates some Geneva Convention or not. I said this, you can't use this as evidence, otherwise there would be no way to write about it. Compared to a dagger, a machete is too clumsy. If I swing my arm and miss, this wolf will definitely attack my vital parts - whether it's the neck, head, or chest, I don't know, it depends on its habits and mood at the time. If it were a dagger, I would still have some confidence in my reaction speed, and with one swift motion, I could give it a taste of its own medicine, then face off against it, anyway, can't die so simply. But with a machete, it's different! I wouldn't be able to pull back the long blade in such a short moment to strike again, the knife only has one edge, and I couldn't guarantee that when I swing back, the blade would definitely face it and cut its skin - which is also extremely tough, not easily broken. At most, I could just push it away and enrage it further, making it attack me again. In that situation, isn't a machete just like a stick? And even worse than a stick! More importantly, if I miss with one swing, there's no way to pull back in time! It's impossible to have such speed!

  What should I do?

  I felt fear really start to rise in my heart, and then spread throughout my body. My whole body was numb, and the back of my neck was cool one after another. It just looked at me like that, and there was a strange sound in my throat that was low and growling. I knew it was warning me. Then it started to turn towards me, took a few steps back, front legs standing and hind legs arched, the whole thing was a standard pose we used to run special obstacle courses when we just crawled over the low barbed wire net and were about to jump over the chest-high firewall.

  It must jump higher than me, farther than me, pounce more fiercely than me, faster than me, and more accurately than me.

  Otherwise it would not be called wolf.

  It will certainly open its bloody mouth in the air, revealing its real wolf teeth and biting my throat accurately. Then those sharp white teeth will bite through my throat, and my blood will gush out instantly, even spraying out. The teeth will not loosen at all, but will bite deeper into my flesh until I can't even kick my legs.

  Otherwise, it would not be called wolf's fang.

  It's all over! It's going to collect me!

  I'd rather be swept by Dog Head High than be with him.

  Absolute despair! Absolute terror! Absolute bleakness!

  In short, it's death.

  My left hand grips my machete, my right hand holds my orchid. My left hand is violence, my right hand is love. This is the typical standard element of the most popular and highest-grossing American movies nowadays.

  But it's not filming a movie.

  Because it is not a cutscene, nor a 3D screen, nor a computer screen.

  There is a real wolf less than 2 meters in front of me.

  Many years later, when I was writing a TV series, I thought about using my own plot for the character of a camping enthusiast. But then I thought better of it - such a dramatic plot would be wasted on those lousy directors and pretty-boy actors. I'm not afraid of that director seeing this now, because he's not my brother, and besides, he still owes me two episodes' worth of script fees, so speaking ill of him doesn't count for much. Now that I think about it, it's better to use this plot myself - if a TV series is made later, we can talk about it then. If some director tries to find a black sheep to fill in the numbers, I will resolutely refuse. How to film or how to train wolves isn't my problem - you should learn from the Americans on this point. They can even tame bears, can't you guys even handle one wolf?

  It was really too dramatic, so much so that afterwards I myself felt it was like a dream.

  I am waiting for the wolf to pounce and devour me.

  The wolf is brewing this fatal blow. Unlike bears, wolves are the kind of thing that will attack any visible living thing whether they are full or not, otherwise they feel uncomfortable and must bite to death to be comfortable. What is called a wolf's ambition? It's this logic.

  I had only one chance, and that was when it was in the air my machete blade just happened to be aimed at its belly. I tried to slash open its belly skin, knowing that the belly is the weakest part of any animal, absolutely unlike its body which was so rough.

  But it's difficult and very challenging.

  The wolf is on my right side, the knife is in my left hand, and I am facing it head-on with my body sideways.

  My right hand has only orchids, love can't stop wolves.

  If that wolf comes, there's a hunting rifle, but I don't have a hunting rifle. All I have is a thick-backed mountain knife with an opening blade that isn't particularly sharp, and then there's the wild orchid, and also my over 100 catties, I don't know how many days it can eat, or if it doesn't even eat human flesh, just bite me to death, anyway, it can't stand seeing me alive.

  If it pounces on me, can I pull out the knife with my left hand and chop it?

  And I'm still kneeling, which is a very uncomfortable posture, not the best wolf-beating posture from a mechanical point of view. Of course, from any angle, my kneeling is not a wolf-beating posture at all. I'm simply here to feed the wolves.

  The wolf's front legs were shrinking, I knew it was gathering its last strength.

  I grip my mountain knife tightly, I am a soldier, a Chinese army scout, not a mud-made one. The Liberation Army warriors are forged in steel, the Red Army predecessors are not afraid of distant expeditions and difficulties, the Liberation Army warriors are not afraid of fighting against wolves, I would rather die in the action of wrestling with wolves!

  I clench my wild orchid, I love Xiao Ying, she is my dream. Because the wild orchid has her fragrance, here, this small bunch of white orchids is her invincible true love. Love is power, and I would rather die than be apart from her!

  I'm not afraid of you anymore, come on and bite me.

  The wolf's eyes are absolutely radiant, the wolf's body is absolutely full of energy, the wolf's movements are absolutely fierce, the wolf's mood is absolutely unstoppable, and when the wolf sees a living thing, it's just this kind of wolf-like behavior.

  The wolf is going to pounce on me.

  My breath stopped, ready to draw my knife, and then it's either a backflip or a front flip or a side flip, I haven't decided yet, let's see if I can still do flips at that time, I'm not sure either. Miao Lian taught me to be flexible when facing the enemy, Chen Pai instructed me to fight with no hesitation, I remember it all, you guys say am I a good soldier?

  Just as the wolf was about to pounce, I heard a few howls.

  Damn it! I've encountered a pack of wolves! I can already imagine the scene where they pounce on me, definitely biting me to death and tearing my body into pieces. The ones fighting over my arms aren't happy because those who snatch my thighs get more meat. Then, I saw the grass beside me move.

  Damn it! Then, I saw that the grass beside me was moving in several places. I didn't even have the courage to curse in my heart. Waiting for death, I never thought that a hero from our village would not die on the battlefield but become wolf food. Then, I saw three wolves appear less than half a meter away from me.

  Three little wolf cubs as fluffy as small grey balls of wool.

  They frolic and howl, one biting the other's tail, that one biting this one's ear, rolling around like little wolf dogs.

  They rushed into the scene, not knowing whether it was a battlefield where PLA soldiers were fighting wolves or a scene where PLA soldiers were feeding wolves. They didn't know about the arrival of war atmosphere and the warming up of bloody smell, all they knew was to frolic, drink water, frolic again and drink water again.

  Within arm's reach between us.

  They even came up to my knees, just like puppies pouncing on me. They still don't know what I am because they can't hunt yet.

  I looked at the little wolf first and then at the big wolf.

  The big wolf looked at the little wolf and then looked at me.

  I can take down a few of these little wolf cubs without any problem, they're about the same size as two-month-old puppies. With one kick and one hand, I can take down at least two with my big chopper knife without hesitation. Damn it, if I can't even handle a few little gray wolves, then I'm not making a profit! My eyes locked onto the little wolf cub, revealing a fierce glint, as I slowly raised my mountain cleaver.

  The big wolf's threatening howl disappeared, and even the stupidest wolf knew that the little wolf cub was in danger. Then I saw the big gray wolf's voice change inside its throat. It wasn't a threat, but a plea. The sound was very small, but even an idiot would know it was a plea. Its gaze didn't have any ferocity, only maternal instinct, which is something all animals possess. When I was little and my dad hit me, my mom used to look at him like that too.

  I'm also stunned, should I hit this little wolf or not?

  The big wolf looked at me pitifully and then crouched down on all fours, hanging its head like a dog, still looking at me with a pitiful expression.

  This time I understand. Come on, kill me and spare my child.

  The little wolf cubs didn't know the danger, they kept rolling and playing in front of me, drinking water and splashing water. One of them even ran to the big grey wolf's nose and licked it.

  I saw tears in the eyes of the big grey wolf.

  Tears? Wolf's tears?

  It's really crocodile tears.

  A single drop, so big and murky, but it fell onto his gaunt cheek. His eyes looked at me with a pitiful gaze, and the low, mournful entreaty in his throat was also pitiful, intermittent, as if afraid of provoking my anger. My left hand holding the knife stiffened in mid-air.

  Should I hit it or not?

  It kept staring at me, even crawling forward a bit, just like a trained wolf dog. It meant that I should get closer to you, so it's more convenient for you to hit my head.

  I looked into its eyes. A mother's eyes, pleading with me. My knife slowly lowered. It sprang up again, my knife rose once more, and it hastily crouched down, like a well-trained police dog. It yelped and wailed, as if to say, don't misunderstand, I'm taking the child away.

  My knife was put down again. It slowly looked at me getting up, with no fierce light in its eyes, and I carefully looked back, so I didn't raise my knife either. It called out to the three little wolf cubs in a low voice, and they rolled over like grey furballs, rolling around its legs, climbing on its body, and falling down clumsily like little bear cubs. Only two months old!

  I couldn't help but laugh a little.

  The wolf looked at me vigilantly, and I quickly raised my knife. It saw that I had no malicious intent, so it softly called out to the little wolf cubs to slowly back away while still looking at me. The two little wolf cubs rolled around, following it all the way into the forest. Then I saw it turn around and leave with the two little wolf cubs.

  Disappeared in the depths of the jungle.

  My hand holding the knife suddenly went limp.

  The knife fell to the ground with a clang, and I also fell, my whole body went limp, at this moment I felt scared, my whole body was trembling like a leaf, even the skin on my bald head was trembling, tears were streaming down my face, and my nose was running.

  Then I lay there shivering, my right hand still tightly grasping the orchid. I put the orchid in front of my nose and smelled its fragrance. My hand was still shaking, so the orchid was also shaking.

  Xiao Ying's fragrance.

  Then I saw the sky turn dark.

  This day is longer than a century for me.