Chapter 623: The Sage by the Lake

"Give it all!"

Enna gritted his teeth, hung his bow on a tree branch, drew the short dagger from his waist, and jumped down from the branch.

As he landed, he staggered a step and almost fell.

This is the opening!

A wolf lunged from the side; Enna reacted quickly, immediately sidestepped to dodge, and then slashed!

The blade's tip slit the wolf's belly, warm blood spattered onto his hand; that wolf let out a miserable cry, fell in the snow, twitching, its intestines sliding out of the wound!!

Another wolf lunged and bit his left arm!

Enna gritted his teeth, stabbed the wolf's neck; the blade tip protruded from the other side, and the wolf's blood flowed down the hilt, staining his whole hand red.

The wolf's teeth were still embedded in his arm, but it had no strength left to bite.

After throwing the wolf off, he staggered back a few steps.

The wound on his left arm was deep; blood dripped down his fingers, fell onto the snow, and spread a small red stain.

He panted heavily, looking at the remaining wolves; the Wolf King stood at the front, its yellow eyes fixed on him.

His eyes were full of a determined-to-win expression!

And at that very moment.

Enna didn't notice that his blood had flowed onto the ring.

That silver ring that Yu Lin had given him was now soaked with his blood and suddenly glowed with a faint light.

That light was very faint, as faint as the first ray of dawn on a winter morning, but it indeed lit up.

Enna didn't have time to examine it closely, because the Wolf King issued another command and the remaining wolves lunged at him together.

It seemed he was about to meet disaster, when a miracle occurred!

A wolf lunged at Enna, tracing an arc in the air, about to bite his throat.

Suddenly, a large clump of snow on the tree branches above loosened, the whole mass fell and struck that wolf squarely, driving it into the snow where it struggled but couldn't get out.

Another wolf lunged from the side; Enna sidestepped, the wolf missed, couldn't stop its momentum, and slammed headfirst into the nearby trunk with a dull thud, then went limp, its neck bent at an unnatural angle, motionless!!

Yet another wolf had already bitten the edge of Enna's clothing, about to tear it, when a gust of wind blew past and directly forced it to release its grip!

Enna's blade, however, did not miss.

He stabbed a wolf in the chest; the blade tip pierced the ribs and struck the heart directly.

That wolf didn't even utter a sound before collapsing at his feet.

He then swung his blade at another wolf's neck, severing its spine; the wolf's hind legs gave out, it collapsed on the ground, its front legs still trying to crawl forward, crawling a few steps before stopping completely!!

Blood spread across the snow, dyeing a large area red.

The wolves' corpses lay scattered across the ground, some still twitching, some already stiff.

Enna stood amid the corpses, covered in blood, gasping heavily.

The wound on his left arm was still bleeding, but he felt no pain; his mind was filled only with kill, kill, kill!

Finally, only the Wolf King and three wolves remained.

They retreated a few steps, standing in the distance, their eyes glinting in the darkness.

The Wolf King looked at Enna, at those scattered corpses, and at the blood-soaked man who still stood.

Its lips curled back, revealing its teeth, and it let out a low growl full of reluctance!

It couldn't understand why Enna was so lucky—always able to dodge attacks!!

But now...... run!

Then it turned and ran deep into the pine forest.

The three wolves followed behind it, their gray forms flickering among the tree shadows before disappearing.

Enna stood where he was, watching the direction they fled, his knife still gripped in his hand, his hand still trembling.

He stood for a long time, long enough for the cold wind to dry his blood into a black crust.

Only then did he bend over, hands on his knees, gasping heavily, white puffs of breath blowing out from his mouth in clouds.

Then he straightened up, lowered his head to look at that ring.

The light on the ring had faded, returning to that plain silver ring, stained with blood, glimmering coldly in the moonlight.

He wiped it with his sleeve; the blood came off, and the ring remained as it was—no ornamentation, very plain, as if nothing had happened.

He whispered softly: "Is this the good luck Yu Lin spoke of……"

He shook his head, not wanting to think further.

Whatever it was, he had survived!

He began to collect the wolves' corpses. Nine wolves, seven large, two small.

He cut a few branches from the forest, wove them with vines into a simple board, and piled the wolf carcasses on top.

After thinking, he also stripped a whole wolf pelt.

Then he found a spot not far away, scattered some wolf blood, threw in some bits of meat and entrails, to mask the scent so other carnivores wouldn't follow the smell.

After doing all that, dawn was approaching.

He didn't sleep; he simply sat leaning against that big tree, holding his short dagger, watching the grayish light on the horizon gradually brighten.

The snow had stopped, and the wind had eased.

After dawn, he set out on the road to find the Sage.

He walked slowly; although he had already applied medicine, his left arm wound still hurt, each step tugging at the injury, making him grimace in pain.

By around afternoon, he saw a lake.

The lake was large and frozen solid.

By the lakeside was a small village, not big, with a dozen or so wooden houses, their roofs covered in thick snow, and chimneys puffing smoke.

Several holes opened on the lake surface, and someone was fishing.

From time to time someone lifted the fishing line, hauled up a silvery flashing fish, and let out a cheer.

Enna walked in from the village entrance, the snow under his feet packed down, making a creaking sound.

He passed several wooden houses, went to the far end of the village, where there was a small wooden house, smaller than all the others, with smoke also rising from its chimney.

Standing at the doorway, he did not go in right away.

Because the door was closed, someone inside was speaking, the voice low, unable to make out what was being said.

He stood there waiting, the wind blowing over from the lake made him shiver from the cold.

After a while, the door opened, and two people walked out from inside: a middle-aged man and a young woman, both wearing thick leather clothes, their faces reddened from the cold.

They glanced at Enna, nodded, and walked past him.

Enna waited until they had gone far, then stepped up to the doorway. He raised his hand, about to knock, when a woman's voice came from inside.

"Please come in."

The door wasn't shut, just left ajar.

Enna pushed the door open and went inside.

The wooden house was not big, smaller than Enna's home.

A wooden table, two chairs, a bed, and miscellaneous items piled in the corner.

The hearth fire burned brightly, split firewood crackled in the stove, sparks flew out, landing on the stone slab and hissing out.

A middle-aged woman sat before the hearth, weaving a piece of cloth; white and gold yarn interlaced flew up and down in her hands, the stitches fine and even.

Her hair was dark brown, braided and hanging down her back; her face had a few wrinkles, but not many, and her eyes were bright, as if they could see into one's heart.

She wore a dark long dress, a shawl draped over her shoulders, felt boots on her feet, with simple floral embroidery on the shoe uppers.

Without raising her head, she merely jerked her chin toward the opposite chair: "Please sit."

Enna walked over and sat opposite her.

He leaned his bow against the chair back, placed his quiver at his feet, put his hands on his knees, and sat upright.

"Honored Ge Fu, I…" he began.

The woman lifted her head and glanced at him:

"I know why you've come."

"You are not the first to come inquire of me."

"Please wait a moment."

Enna stared for a moment.

He hadn't even spoken, yet she already knew?

He wanted to ask how you knew, but the words died on his lips.

As a sage, one ought to have abilities beyond ordinary people.

He merely nodded and waited.

Ge Fu picked up the yarn again and continued weaving.

The hearth fire burned, the firewood crackled.

Outside the window the wind howled, snow pellets struck the pane with a rustling sound.

Enna sat there, waiting quietly, without urging.

Until she finished the last bit, she handed the strip of cloth in her hand to Enna:

"I ask you to give this to him, as an offering of my highest respect."

"??? You mean who?"

"The Great One."