Legend of the Female General

Chapter 69: The Trap

The wind howled past their ears. After running for an unknown length of time, the horses finally came to a stop.

Shen Hong clung to his horse’s belly. They had galloped wildly, the mountain path jolting them relentlessly, not daring to pause even once. Only now did he feel his stomach churning violently, as if he might vomit at any moment.

They had reached the mountainside. Looking back, there was no sign of the wolves pursuing them.

One of the recruits gasped, “W-we’re safe.”

Shen Hong stared blankly at his waist. He had brought a bamboo pole with him, but now it was in He Yan’s hands. The thought of He Yan made his face pale again, and he trembled as he asked, “…What about He Yan?”

There had only been one bamboo pole. The only pair of mandarin duck blades had been lost—one by Shen Hong, the other lodged in the alpha wolf’s throat. He Yan had no weapons left. Those three wolves had been ferocious—how could he have escaped alone?

“Should we… go back and check?” Shen Hong mustered his courage to ask.

“Are you out of your mind?” Zheng Xuan glared at him coldly. “Those wolves are still out there. We barely made it out alive—do you want to go back and die?”

“But He Yan is still back there! He’s alone—he won’t make it!” Shen Hong’s eyes reddened at the thought. He believed He Yan was a good person—they had just been eating pine nuts together moments ago.

“Didn’t he tell us to go down the mountain and find the drillmaster?” another recruit beside Zheng Xuan said. “Let’s report to the drillmaster and have him send help.”

“No.”

Shen Hong looked at Zheng Xuan in disbelief. The latter’s expression remained unchanged. “If we tell the drillmaster, he’ll know we crossed the mountain.”

“He just saved us! If it weren’t for He Yan, we’d already be dead!” Shen Hong raised his voice.

“And you know that even the three of us almost died! He’s alone against a pack of wolves—he’s as good as dead!” Zheng Xuan’s voice was even louder. “Crossing the mountain is a violation of military orders. The punishment ranges from flogging to execution. Do you want to throw more lives away for a dead man? Shen Hong, is that what you want?”

Shen Hong was stunned by the outburst. By nature, he was timid and conflict-averse. Had his family not fallen into misfortune, he would have spent his life as the young master of an apothecary, living peacefully without hardship. Now, faced with sudden danger, he was already panicked. The mention of possible execution sent a chill down his spine.

He still had a mother to care for. If he died, his family would have no male heir—how would they survive?

“I… I…” Shen Hong stammered, unable to form a response.

“Once we’re down the mountain, we act as if nothing happened. After sunset, we’ll report to the drillmaster that He Yan ignored warnings and crossed the mountain alone, and that we couldn’t find him,” Zheng Xuan said emotionlessly.

Not only was this cutting off He Yan’s last chance of survival, but it was also framing him for violating military orders. Shen Hong shook his head, but the other two, fearing punishment, immediately agreed. Zheng Xuan stared at Shen Hong. “If you want to go and tell on us, go ahead. See if the drillmaster believes you—or us.”

With that, he ignored Shen Hong’s expression and spurred his horse forward. Left with no choice as dusk fell over the mountain, Shen Hong could only follow.

As night deepened, the forest grew almost pitch-black.

The horse had lost its way on White Moon Mountain. He Yan gripped the bamboo pole and glanced back, relieved to have finally shaken off the wolves.It was the first time He Yan had seen such a relentlessly pursuing wild wolf. She curled her lips, recalling the wolves she had encountered back in Mo County. At that time, Mo County was suffering from famine, and wolves within a hundred-mile radius had been hunted and eaten. None were as brazen as those in White Moon Mountain. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but feel that Zheng Xuan, with his upturned eyes, truly lacked brains—how could he have thought of catching wolf cubs to raise? Wolves were simply untamable creatures. What could be tamed were domestic dogs that wagged their tails at people, while wolves would only bite through human throats.

The horse circled in place, refusing to move forward.

The surroundings were dense woods, all looking identical. Earlier, while evading the wolf pack, she hadn’t been able to leave any marks on the trees. She feared she had already crossed the mountain ridge and had no idea where she was now. If Shen Hong and the others failed to inform Liang Ping in time, once night fell, the forest would become even more treacherous. Without a fire starter, encountering wild beasts would be dangerous, and she might have to spend the night on the mountain.

With a sigh, she dismounted, planning to search for a wind-sheltered cave nearby. Just as she stood up straight after getting off the horse, a sudden sense of unease struck her.

She couldn’t quite explain why—perhaps it was the instinct honed from years on the battlefield. Subconsciously tilting her head, she felt a dark shadow sweep past overhead. Something grazed her neck, drawing a faint trace of blood.

The startled horse reared up, and He Yan, failing to hold the reins tightly, watched as it bolted forward without hesitation, vanishing into the depths of the forest in the blink of an eye. Turning back, she saw the dark figure that had just lunged at her crouching in the grass, its emerald-green eyes gleaming.

It was the same wolf from earlier.

He Yan studied the wolf, then glanced in the direction it had come from, suddenly realizing what had happened. Among the wolves earlier, there had been a clever one—knowing it couldn’t catch up to her on horseback, it had taken a shortcut. White Moon Mountain wasn’t He Yan’s territory, but it was the domain of its wild beasts. The wolf must have been lying in wait for a long time, biding its chance to strike when she let her guard down, ready to sink its teeth into her throat.

In fact, the wolf had nearly succeeded.

He Yan touched her neck, feeling a burning sensation, and her hand came away stained with blood. Seeing its first attack fail, the wolf bared its fangs and lunged at her from behind.

Rolling on the ground, He Yan dodged its claws, her heart growing anxious. Now that the horse was gone, she had no choice but to fight the wolf—armed only with a stick.

If only Shen Hong had brought a set of throwing darts when they came up the mountain, she thought bitterly. Gripping the stick, she charged forward, aiming for the wolf’s head.

The bamboo stick struck the wolf’s skull with a loud crack, snapping in half from the impact. The wolf’s head jerked to the side, bleeding slightly, but it only let out a furious howl before pouncing again.

"What a useless stick!" He Yan cursed, sidestepping the attack. The wolf, however, was cunning—instead of attacking head-on, it circled behind her, aiming for her throat. After dodging several times, she failed to evade one strike, and the wolf clamped onto her. She drove her elbow into its belly, forcing a pained yelp from the beast, but it threw its full weight onto her, pinning her down.A man and a wolf wrestled fiercely, rustling the fallen leaves and undergrowth in the forest. He Yan struggled to keep the wolf's head pinned down, preventing its jaws from reaching her. The thought crossed her mind—would she have to bite the wolf herself? Just as the idea formed, she suddenly felt the ground give way beneath her feet. Before she could react, her body plummeted downward with a loud "thud." The next moment, she and the wolf crashed to the ground together.

The sky became a small circle above her, and the tree branches seemed much higher now. Beneath her feet was uneven, muddy ground—and a wolf that had just scrambled back up.

She and the wolf had fallen into a trap together.

(End of Chapter)