Chapter 12: Snowmane, Frost Wolf

Although it was almost certain that the Snowmane was asleep.

When Xia Hong climbed down from the tree, he made as little noise as possible.

Once on the ground, he first moved cautiously toward the south.

He stopped only when he reached a large oval stone, two or three meters in diameter.

After observing his surroundings, Xia Hong dug by hand a snow pit shaped like a human body beside the stone.

After digging it, he climbed in and tested the size.

Confirmed it was fine, he walked fifty meters away from the stone and pulled out a black wooden stick he had been carrying on his back.

This was no ordinary small stick.

Small Torch: One is generated for every ten units of wood burned in a firepit; portable and strongly attracts cold beasts.

I brought this before leaving—never thought it would actually be useful.

“Whether this works or not depends on this thing!”

Xia Hong glanced back at the Icestone Tree, stuck the Small Torch into the ground, then pulled out a firestone and struck it twice hard—immediately sparks flew.

The tip of the Small Torch turned white; the sparks struck it and ignited at once, sending up a crimson flame over half a meter high—identical to the flame that had burned the strange creature in the cave.

The moment the flame appeared, Xia Hong sprinted toward the stone.

Reaching the stone, he quickly slipped into the pit he had dug, then manually shoveled snow over himself to bury his body.

After burying himself, only his eyes remained exposed above the snow, motionless as he watched the torch.

Xia Hong still trusted the system’s items.

After all, the image of that strange creature screaming in agony as it burned still lingered in his mind.

But just how strong the firepit’s attraction to cold beasts was—he still didn’t know.

Would the Snowmane be drawn here?

Xia Hong’s question was answered quickly.

Tap… tap… tap…

Soon, light, cautious footsteps came from behind.

The footsteps drew nearer; though Xia Hong dared not turn to look, the cautious tread itself was enough to confirm it.

Sure enough, when the Snowmane, its back covered in ice spikes, passed no more than ten meters from him, Xia Hong held his breath, not daring to move his eyeballs.

The Snowmane’s eyes were still embedded with two black arrows—likely too painful to pull out.

Unable to see, the Snowmane moved slowly, pausing after every few steps.

Yet strangely, the closer it got to the torch, the more excited it seemed, gradually increasing its pace.

Only when it reached the torch did it suddenly stop.

It leaned its face close above the torch; though its skin touched the flame, it showed no sign of burning—instead, as the firelight enveloped its body, its breathing grew calmer.

It even seemed… somehow…

Like it was enjoying this?

On the snow, Xia Hong’s two eyes were filled with confusion and disbelief.

The Snowmane’s face had actually worn an expression of pleasure.

But as he observed the Snowmane’s body more closely,

Xia Hong’s expression shifted from confusion to solemnity.

The men at the Big Rock camp hadn’t just blinded the Snowmane—they’d also slashed and pierced its body with arrows and broadswords.

Though fifty meters away, Xia Hong saw clearly: the bleeding wounds on the Snowmane’s body, under the firelight, had stopped bleeding and were healing at a visible rate.

In fact, Xia Hong had a strange feeling.

The Snowmane’s aura was even slowly rising with the firelight.

Could this torch heal cold beasts?

And make them stronger through cultivation?

In an instant, Xia Hong felt a storm raging inside him.

He had only intended to use the torch to lure the Snowmane into moving.

The Snowmane was already wounded; if it couldn’t rest properly on the tree, its wounds would keep bleeding until it collapsed and died.

Then he could pick up the leftovers.

Instead, he’d just given it warmth.

Now he couldn’t even pick up the leftovers—he’d healed it, and put himself in danger.

At this point, Xia Hong no longer cared about picking up leftovers; he only prayed the torch would go out soon, that the Snowmane would leave, and that he could escape.

But then, another unexpected event occurred.

Roar…………

A low, hoarse beast roar suddenly came from behind.

The Snowmane, mid-enjoyment, instantly turned, its expression sharply alert.

Thud…

A cold beast shaped like a wolf leapt down from a tree, landing less than ten meters from the Snowmane.

The cold beast had blue mane fur, a body length of about two meters, a ring of backward-facing spines around its neck, a mouth full of fine fangs, and bloodthirsty pupils that first locked onto the torch, then growled low at the Snowmane before it.

“It’s a Bone-Spine Frost Wolf!”

Xia Hong recognized the cold beast at once.

The two most common cold beasts outside Redwood Ridge were the Snowmane and the Frost Wolf.

Both had appeared.

Xia Hong felt a heaviness in his chest—he’d never imagined, on his first outing, he’d encounter both at once. He didn’t believe it was luck.

Clearly, as Redwood Ridge expanded, the cold beasts’ range of movement was growing too.

The Great Xia camp was only about five kilometers from here.

If these cold beasts wandered a little farther, they could storm the camp at any moment.

If they accidentally found the camp, it would be a catastrophe for the current garrison.

Thud…………

A loud crash pulled Xia Hong’s thoughts back.

The Snowmane and the Frost Wolf were now locked in combat.

Clearly, even blind, the Snowmane refused to give up the torch.

And the Frost Wolf was determined to claim it—so naturally, they clashed.

The Snowmane’s body was larger than the Frost Wolf’s.

And as Xia Hong had seen, after spending time near the torch, the Snowmane’s wounds had nearly healed; in their clash, it held its own for the moment.

But once again, Xia Hong gained new insight into the intelligence of cold beasts.

After two collisions, the Frost Wolf immediately changed tactics.

It used its agile frame to dodge left and right around the Snowmane’s charges.

Sometimes it even crouched and slipped beneath the Snowmane’s belly.

Each time it successfully dodged, it slashed with its claws and the spines around its neck, leaving deep gashes on the Snowmane’s abdomen.

The Snowmane, whose wounds had just been healed by the torch, quickly became covered in fresh injuries; greenish blood poured from its belly wounds, staining the surrounding snow within moments.

And it wasn’t over.

Soon after, the Frost Wolf suddenly stopped moving its claws.

Not only did it stop—it moved in an extremely slow circle, retracting all claws, walking only on its padded soles.

The Frost Wolf had realized the Snowmane was blind.

Xia Hong’s exposed eyes on the snow were now filled with shock.

If the Snowmane’s earlier feigned death and luring of enemies was a surge of wisdom driven by survival instinct,

Then the Frost Wolf’s behavior now clearly showed:

Cold beasts were truly intelligent—and their intelligence was far from low.

This completely shattered Xia Hong’s previous understanding of animals.

Finally, after circling several times, the Frost Wolf seized the perfect opportunity—its four paws exploded with force, lunging from behind to pin the Snowmane down, then biting its neck.

The Snowmane writhed and struggled on the ground; its tongue—the same one that had devastated the Big Rock camp—came out again.

But the Frost Wolf was simply too fast; even while biting the Snowmane’s neck, it adjusted its position to dodge the Snowmane’s spiked tongue.

After wildly stabbing over a dozen times without hitting, the Snowmane changed tactics—its tongue softened, trying to coil around the Frost Wolf and strangle it.

But the Frost Wolf’s neck was ringed with spines, their sharpness no less than the Snowmane’s tongue—impossible to wrap.

The two cold beasts wrestled on the ground for over a hundred breaths.

In the end, the battle concluded with the Snowmane bleeding out and dying from exhaustion.

The Frost Wolf rose, spat out two mouthfuls of greenish blood, its fierce expression fading into a hint of triumph as it turned toward the still-burning torch.

It walked to the torch, placed its head directly over the flame, its face showing the same expression of pleasure as the Snowmane’s had.

But soon it turned its head to scan the surroundings, becoming alert again—glancing first at the Snowmane’s corpse, then back at the torch.

Without hesitation, the Frost Wolf tilted its head, seized the torch in its jaws, and dashed into the deep snow of the dense forest.

With the Snowmane dead and the Frost Wolf gone, the snow around fell utterly silent.

Only a pair of eyes beside the large stone now held stunned disbelief—and delight.

(End of chapter)