“What do you think?” Song Chuyi looked him straight in the eye.
Ji Yu saw a pair of clear, snow-bright eyes, utterly calm. He released his grip and ordered the others to ready their bows and crossbows, prepared to shoot the she-wolf at a moment’s notice.
The mother wolf had already caught the scent of her pup. Keeping her eyes fixed on Song Chuyi, she crouched, ready to spring into action. She was enormous, and it seemed that just a few bounds would be enough to bring her right to Song Chuyi’s side.
Despite the bitter cold and deep snow, the palms of those gripping their bows and crossbows had begun to sweat.
Song Chuyi walked forward a few steps. When she was still ten meters away from the mother wolf, she lowered the little ball of fluff from her arms and set it on the ground.
The little fluffball stirred, then immediately scrambled to its feet and scampered through the thick snow towards its mother.
The mother wolf was clever. Seeing that Song Chuyi had released her pup, she made no attempt to approach any closer. Instead, she lay down where she was and waited for it to come to her.
Covered head to tail in snow, the little fluffball bounced around happily in front of its mother, no longer showing any of the fear and unease it had displayed earlier.
The mother wolf lowered her head and gently licked her pup, nudging it with her muzzle.
The little snow wolf had gone a full day without food. The mother wolf drew it towards her belly, and the pup nuzzled around until it found a teat and began to suckle.
“Woooo…”
Amid the howling wind and driving snow, the mother wolf raised her head and let out a long, mournful howl. Then, with a heavy thud, she collapsed onto the snow.
“Sir, is the wolf… dead?” Longgu Buwang broke the silence.
Song Chuyi nodded and gestured for everyone to lower their bows and crossbows.
Seeing that the wolf’s belly was no longer rising and falling, the others lowered their weapons as well.
After the little snow wolf had eaten its fill, it crawled out from its mother’s embrace and nudged her head, as if asking whether it was time to go home. But when its mother failed to respond even after a long while, it clamped its teeth around one of her forelegs and tugged with all its might.
It tried again and again. The little snow wolf seemed to realize that something was wrong. Unwilling to give up, it climbed onto its mother’s back, seized her by the scruff of the neck, and pulled backwards with all its strength.
The posture looked as though it was trying to tear into her flesh, but anyone familiar with the habits of such animals would recognize the gesture. This was how a mother wolf carried her pups. The little creature probably thought it could get its mother to leave by carrying her away in the same manner.
The little snow wolf let out a plaintive cry. It climbed down from its mother’s back, crawled underneath her belly, and fell silent.
“What a foolish little thing.” Song Chuyi sighed. “Buwang, does the caravan have any goat’s milk or dried meat?”
“We have both,” Longgu Buwang replied. “I’ll go and fetch some.”
Ji Huan led several men towards the snow wolf. He reached out and stroked its fur. “As expected of a snow wolf. Its coat is so smooth and silky that it slips right through your fingers. It’ll surely fetch a good price.”
“We’ll bury the wolf in half an hour. No one is to touch it before then,” Song Chuyi ordered.
“Why?” Ji Huan asked in surprise.
“Does the caravan not provide you with enough food and drink?” Song Chuyi countered instead of answering.
No matter how much gold the wolf’s pelt might fetch, the money would belong to the owner of the caravan. Arguing over what should be done with the wolf was pointless.
“I have overstepped,” Ji Huan admitted.
Song Chuyi patted him on the shoulder and returned to the carriage. She sat beside the brazier and warmed herself for a while before hearing a knock at the carriage door.
“Come in.” Song Chuyi straightened up and sat properly.
The carriage door opened, and Longgu Buwang ducked inside carrying two bundles. “Sir, I’ve brought the dried meat and goat’s milk. I’ve also brought a few scrolls.”
“What books are there?” Song Chuyi asked.
“The Zhuangzi and the Discourses of the States. Which would you prefer to read?” Longgu Buwang placed the bundle of bamboo slips on the small table.
Since she had nothing else to do, Song Chuyi opened the bundle and selected several scrolls of the Discourses of the States.
“I thought you would read the Zhuangzi,” Longgu Buwang remarked.
Song Chuyi smiled faintly and ran her fingers over the first volume of the Zhuangzi. Her teacher’s words still echoed in her ears, every single one remembered with perfect clarity. She had long since committed this book to memory and could recite it from beginning to end without missing a word. Why would she need to read it again?
It seemed only yesterday that she had been grinding ink for her teacher. Yet today, she had already weathered countless vicissitudes, and everything had changed beyond recognition. The transformations of the world, the passing of ages, could all happen in the blink of an eye.
“Sir?” Longgu Buwang called softly.
“Hmm.” Song Chuyi noticed that the binding cords on the bamboo slips of the Zhuangzi had grown worn and frayed. She asked, “Why do you like reading the Zhuangzi?”
Longgu Buwang replied, “Zhuangzi’s carefree spirit and freedom from worldly constraints are truly something to aspire to. Although there are some of his views I disagree with, I particularly enjoy Free and Easy Wandering. I also like The Old Fisherman, Robber Zhi, and a few others.”
Zhuangzi possessed an extraordinarily rich imagination, and his writing was powerful yet full of variation, making it far more interesting than the plain, tedious arguments found in many other works. Regardless of whether scholars agreed with his philosophy, the sheer grandeur and unrestrained spirit of Free and Easy Wandering alone were enough to captivate countless readers. There was certainly no shortage of people who enjoyed reading the Zhuangzi.
“Which chapter do you like best?” Longgu Buwang asked.
“The Great and Venerable Teacher,” Song Chuyi replied.
Longgu Buwang frowned, expressing his dislike tactfully. “I’ve read that chapter before, too, but I’ve always found it rather elusive. I can’t quite grasp what it means.”
“When you’ve encountered more of life’s trials and tribulations, you’ll come to understand its value,” Song Chuyi said.
Longgu Buwang nodded, then asked with keen interest, “Sir, how did you know the snow wolf was going to die?”
Song Chuyi had just unrolled the bamboo slips when her movements came to a brief halt. “Wolves are loyal animals that stick together. They generally live in packs, though occasionally a lone wolf will become separated from the others. I’ve always believed them to be remarkably intelligent. If this mother wolf had even the slightest strength left to fight, she wouldn’t have let out that mournful howl to show her weakness, nor would she have approached us head-on. Besides, she was certain her pup was still alive, which means she must have been following those hunters all along.”
An adult snow wolf would have had no trouble dealing with five men, especially when it had already bitten and injured two of them. Yet it had continued following them without attacking. The only explanation was that it no longer had enough strength to deal with the mere three men who remained. For an animal to be that weak, it must have been on the verge of death.
The snow wolf had shown its weakness because, most likely, it simply wanted to see its pup one last time.
Had it encountered people who didn’t understand its intentions, it would probably have been hunted down the moment it appeared.
“Come to think of it, that doesn’t sound very intelligent after all,” Longgu Buwang remarked.
“This has nothing to do with intelligence. When all other options have been exhausted, it is simply the only choice left.” Song Chuyi spoke with a trace of emotion. Since death was already imminent and it no longer had the strength to fight back, it might as well go somewhere close to its pup and die there.
Song Chuyi’s concern for the snow wolf was not purely an act of compassion. She wanted to raise the little snow wolf.
Snow wolves were highly perceptive creatures, and they knew how to repay kindness. Once you earned a snow wolf’s loyalty, you would have its loyalty for the rest of its life. This was something humans could never match, and precisely what attracted Song Chuyi to them.
Whether her plan would actually work remained to be seen. But at least, in Song Chuyi’s own eyes, it was better than doing nothing at all.
Since they had some free time, Song Chuyi took the opportunity to explain the Zhuangzi to Longgu Buwang in detail.
With her hands tucked into her sleeves and her eyes closed, Song Chuyi recited the text of the Zhuangzi at a leisurely pace. Her explanations were concise and clear, occasionally illustrated with examples. At first, Longgu Buwang busied himself flipping through the bamboo slips to check the text against her words. Gradually, however, he became so absorbed in her explanations that he set the slips aside and listened with rapt attention.
The more Longgu Buwang listened, the more astonished he became. Song Chuyi was like a living library, reciting passages from the text without missing a single word. She illustrated her explanations with examples and drew on classical works to support her arguments. What was more, the texts she cited were not always Daoist writings. One moment she would quote Confucianism, the next Mohism, and then Legalism…
Longgu Buwang had read these works himself, so he could naturally recognize that the passages she quoted seemed to be entirely accurate.
When Song Chuyi finished explaining a section, Longgu Buwang eagerly poured her a cup of tea. “Sir, you’re so young, yet so learned… You must have put in a great deal of effort behind everyone’s backs.”
He was referring to Song Chuyi’s earlier remarks about the theory of genius.
Song Chuyi looked at him. “You’re a promising student. But even if people around my age secretly worked themselves to the bone, they might still know less than I do. This shows that even among those we call geniuses, there are different levels of ability.”
When she said people around my age, she cast a pointed glance at Longgu Buwang.
Trying to outtalk me? You wouldn’t even know what killed you before you were dead, Song Chuyi thought to herself. On the surface, however, she wore a warm, genial smile.
Outside the carriage, Ji Huan called, “Sir, it’s been nearly half an hour. Where should we bury the snow wolf? And what should we do with the pup?”
