Domestic Zone: You already have a system, why join a chat group?

Chapter 24 Howling Wolves at the Moon

Outside Shifo City, the night was as dark as ink, and the mountains and fields were silent.

Ye Erniang, carrying the infant A Ning in her arms, darted swiftly through the forest.

Although her lightness skill was not as fast as Yun Zhonghe's, she was superior in her agility and silent turns. Even while carrying a baby, she moved with ease among the rocks and trees until she entered a secluded valley surrounded by mountains on three sides, where she slowed down and stopped.

Ah Ning in her arms was already wailing and crying uncontrollably, his face covered in tears and snot. She wasn't annoyed; instead, she lowered her head, revealing a loving smile, and gently patted Ah Ning's back, softly rocking him and singing a nursery rhyme:

"Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, to Grandma's bridge, Grandma calls me her good baby... A bag of candy, a bag of fruit, Grandma buys a fish to cook. The head isn't cooked, the tail is burnt, it sizzles in the bowl, and eating it makes my stomach pound..."

On a dark and windy night, the mountain wind whistled through the leaves, and coupled with the baby's cries and eerie nursery rhymes, passersby would probably be so frightened that they would wet themselves.

"You damned madwoman! What are you yelling about in the middle of the night instead of sleeping! Hurry up and kill that brat! You're making my ears ache!" A furious and savage curse came from behind a huge, sheltered rock in the corner of the valley.

Yue Laosan came out cursing, seemingly having been woken up from his sleep.

Ye Erniang ignored Yue Laosan and gently patted A Ning's back, coaxing her softly, "Good baby, Mommy is patting you, good baby, go to sleep quickly, Mommy will play with you until tomorrow night before I kill you, I can't bear to part with you now."

"Where did that fourth brother go? The eldest brother said we're meeting here tomorrow. If we don't see him, the eldest brother will get angry and we'll be in big trouble!" Yue Laosan was already used to Ye Erniang's rambling and incoherent manner. He suppressed his anger and asked in a muffled voice.

Ye Erniang's lips curled into a cold smile: "Of course she's off to seek her pleasure and have her fun. That slut dared to steal my son when I wasn't looking. I'll make sure Fourth Brother teaches her a lesson!"

Upon hearing this, Yue Laosan snorted coldly and stopped asking questions. He turned around and planned to go back to the boulder to continue sleeping. This crazy woman was truly shameless, stealing someone else's son and insisting that he was her own.

"Awoo~"

"Aww—"

"Awooo—!!!"

Just then, from the distant mountains, several mournful and long wolf howls suddenly rang out, one after another, rising and falling, spreading far and wide in the silent night sky, like weeping and lamenting.

The wolf's howl instantly dispelled the last bit of sleepiness Yue Laosan had managed to regain. He sat up angrily and began cursing loudly in the direction from which the howl came:

"You sons of bitches! Even you beasts dare to disturb your grandfather's sleep! Shout again! Shout again and I'll slaughter you all and make soup!"

His shout was full of energy and echoed through the valley, startling Ah Ning, who had just calmed down from Ye Erniang's coaxing, and she burst into tears again.

"Yue Laosan!" Ye Erniang suddenly looked up, a cold glint in her eyes, her tone as icy as a viper's hiss: "If you dare to disturb my son again, don't blame your older sister for turning against you without hesitation!"

"Fine, I won't be polite then! Do you want to fight?" Yue Laosan was already furious, and upon hearing this, he became even more enraged. His large, fan-like hand suddenly shot out, his five fingers like hooks, and he swiftly reached for A Ning in Ye Erniang's arms, intending to snatch the annoying little brat and smash her to death, ending it all and preventing her from crying incessantly and disturbing everyone's peace of mind.

Ye Erniang was faster than him; with a turn of her toes, Yue Laosan's grab missed.

"Crazy woman! Give me the child!" Yue Laosan's anger flared even more after his first attack failed, and he turned to strike again.

"Shut up! You idiot!" Ye Erniang's expression suddenly changed, and she shouted sharply, "Did you hear me?!"

"What the hell are you listening to! Stop interrupting!" Yue Laosan was in a bad mood and didn't care, but he was a seasoned veteran with rich experience in the martial arts world, so he subconsciously focused on listening.

Apart from the howling of wolves, there was no other unusual noise outside the valley, only the howling of the night wind and the rustling of the forest.

Thinking he had been tricked by Ye Erniang, Yue Laosan's anger intensified, and he glared at Ye Erniang.

"Idiot! The wolf howling has been going on since it started, and it's getting closer!" Ye Erniang cursed angrily, immediately becoming alert. Upon hearing this, Yue Laosan also realized something was wrong. He quickly grabbed the alligator snips leaning against the rock, his eyes wide like copper bells, and nervously looked around.

The two stood back to back, completely focused, raising their inner energy to its peak and amplifying their senses to the extreme. Sure enough, the mournful howls of wolves grew more and more numerous, closer and closer, gradually merging into one, as if they were surrounded from all directions.

Suddenly, all the wolf howls disappeared at the same moment.

All sounds are silent.

The valley, which had just been filled with terrifying howls, was now quiet and unsettling, with only the soft rustling of the night wind through the withered grass, the two of them breathing heavily and their hearts pounding like drums.

"Gone...gone?" Yue Laosan swallowed hard, lowered his voice, and asked uncertainly.

Ye Erniang did not answer; her pupils suddenly contracted in the darkness!

On the hillsides surrounding the valley, at the edges of the forest, behind the rocks... countless pairs of emotionless eyes lit up, reflecting a ghostly green light under the moonlight, forming a continuous expanse, like will-o'-the-wisps burning all over the mountains.

The sheer number of them was incalculable, as if the entire mountain had come to life.

Seeing this, even Ye Erniang and Yue Laosan, who were known for their ruthlessness and were dubbed the Four Evils in the martial arts world, couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.

They had seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood, fought against martial arts masters, and killed countless good and evil people, but when had they ever witnessed anything like this?

Those eyes are chilling to look at.

"I'm afraid we've offended some mountain god..." Yue Laosan licked his chapped lips bitterly, cold sweat seeping from his palms as he gripped the alligator scissors.

Ye Erniang was equally flustered and instinctively hugged A Ning tighter in her arms: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid... Mommy's here, Mommy will protect you..."

"Aww!!!"

Another howl rang out, and the next moment, all the wolves on the mountainside raised their heads and howled loudly at the bright moon in the sky.

The howling of wolves echoed through the moon, their roars like a tidal wave, sweeping across the valley.

Before Yue Laosan and Ye Erniang could even guess what had happened, the gray wolf at the front of the pack suddenly charged at them.

Then came the second one, the third one...

All the eerie green eyes on the entire mountain range moved at the same time, as if a dam had burst and a flood had poured out!