The hope he had preserved in the deepest recesses of his heart these past few days was now completely shattered. He felt life no longer held any meaning. A large cloud drifted past, and the sky darkened – it turned out to be a rain cloud. Yun Ye laughed hollowly twice. What did it matter to him whether he collected his clothes or not? What did rain have to do with him whatsoever?

The rain did eventually start falling, though not heavily. Yun Ye felt that even heaven was grieving for him – he was truly too pitiful. A warm breath came by his ear, filling Yun Ye’s heart with emotion. Who was comforting him by his ear? He decided to say thank you in person. Turning his head to look, he instead saw a gaping maw bristling with white teeth lunging toward his throat.

Like lightning, Yun Ye shoved the steel shovel in his hand toward that gaping mouth. With a “crunch,” the gleaming white teeth bit tightly onto the steel shovel. Yun Ye seized the opportunity to roll up quickly, gripping the shovel handle tightly and thrusting it forcefully outward. With a “woo” of anguished wailing, a great spray of fresh blood spurted out. Only then did Yun Ye discover that before him was actually a gray wolf. Its massive mouth had been completely torn open by the entrenching tool’s serrated edge, its jaw hanging down limply. Facing such a fierce beast, not killing it completely would only create trouble for himself.

He hurriedly swung the steel shovel heavily, chopping at the gray wolf’s neck. The wolf’s head separated from its body in one blow, dangling from the neck connected only by a layer of wolf hide. The wolf’s body also convulsed and fell to the ground.

From start to finish, the whole affair took merely twenty seconds, yet Yun Ye felt as if he had fought the wolf for an entire century. His heart pounded “thump thump,” and his throat felt as if it were on fire, burning with searing pain.

This was clearly not a lone wolf. Its glossy, sleek fur proved its nutrition was good – only a wolf pack could provide it such excellent nourishment. Yun Ye had experience with wolf packs. Without a word, he turned and ran toward the direction of the wild horse herd on the grassland. Just as he had run less than three hundred meters, he heard several shrill wolf howls from behind.

Yun Ye quickened his pace. At this moment he completely forgot his sorrow. Could it be that life’s meaning lay in running?

The sky is boundless, the wilderness vast, heaven like a domed tent covering the four wilds.

The solitary Yun Ye wandered this grassland along with the horse herd. Fortunately this pasture wasn’t large – otherwise he would have long since run himself to death. The horse herd also seemed reluctant to leave the rich tender grass. Five days had already passed with no sign of their departure. Yun Ye didn’t dare leave this collective – the wolf pack in the distance still lingered nearby. If not for the stallion king being too magnificent, they would have long since surrounded them for a feast.

Yun Ye had been trying to catch a wild horse as transportation, but aside from a face full of dejection, he gained nothing. That lasso rope braided from prairie grass had already broken into four or five pieces. That damned horse had broken the rope and run off – fair enough – but it actually ate the rope as fodder, fully expressing its contempt for Yun Ye’s overambitious ideas. Unable to catch a horse, he could only rely on his two legs to wander the wilderness.

His physical strength was declining severely, his legs weak. Yun Ye knew this was the result of three days without salt replenishment. If he didn’t find salt soon, this wilderness would be his burial ground. The wolf pack had gradually expanded from two or three to seven or eight. The horse herd could no longer protect him. He had a clear understanding that once the wolf pack began attacking the horses, without the horses’ running ability, those wolves wouldn’t mind swallowing him down as a delicious snack in passing.

The horse herd began to grow restless. A small horse was bitten on its hind leg by a wolf and let out a miserable wail. All the horses began to move. At this moment, a high-pitched whinny made the herd quiet down. That jujube-red stallion king charged toward the wolf pack like lightning. Two massive hooves stomped viciously on the culprit’s body. The other stallions also launched an attack on the wolf pack.

The wolf pack had clearly been too overconfident. They watched as three wolves were trampled into meat pulp under iron hooves. Seeing the situation turn bad, the wolf pack turned and fled toward the depths of the wilderness. The horse herd pursued relentlessly. In an instant, the enormous battlefield was left with only Yun Ye standing foolishly in the middle, his mind still debating whether or not to flee.

The wolves trampled to death by horses looked quite pitiful, so much so that from three wolf corpses Yun Ye only managed to cut off two relatively intact wolf legs. Turning his head, he saw no wolf pack, and the horse herd was also nowhere to be seen. Yun Ye looked toward the direction the herd had pursued, said a word of farewell, then turned east. He knew clearly that there was a great river waiting for him there.

Yun Ye heard that great river’s sigh – the rolling eastward-flowing waters never ceased.

The Yellow River! Seeing her, a sense of intimacy arose spontaneously, like an old friend. In this moment when there were no cities, no relatives, her appearance gave Yun Ye at least some comfort. Drinking a few mouthfuls of water, she was so sweet. The entire great river rolled with surging waves, yet was clear and crystalline, like flowing liquid jade.

He saw that horse herd again. The stallion king, utterly indifferent to his presence, was drinking water beside Yun Ye. In its eyes, the creature called human was just like those wild sheep – no threat whatsoever. Indeed, Yun Ye’s performance these past few days wasn’t even as good as a wild sheep’s. Aside from adding a bit of comedy to the horse herd, he posed no danger at all.

His Majesty the Stallion King, having drunk his fill of water, walked to the stone wall and stuck out his tongue, licking the wall with loud “slurp slurp” sounds. What a perverted horse! Was this how one exercises one’s tongue? No wait – Yun Ye suddenly realized. Horses are also living creatures; they also need minerals, especially salt!

Yun Ye quickly ran over, stuck out his tongue and lightly licked the stone wall. Bitter and astringent, yet salty – what was all this? “Ptooey ptooey ptooey” – he quickly spat it out.

The stallion king looked at him with displeasure, then continued sticking out his tongue to lick with loud “slurp slurp” sounds.

This was crude salt with too many impurities – it couldn’t be consumed directly. Yun Ye used his steel shovel to knock off several chunks of dark brown crystals and carefully ground them into powder on a boulder by the river. He put it in a stainless steel mess tin and dissolved it with water, then took out his dust mask and placed it over the flat-bottomed pan’s opening, pouring the murky liquid into the pan. The liquid in the pan became somewhat clearer. He rinsed the mask in the river water, folded it double, added charcoal powder, and filtered it once more. At this point, the liquid in the mess tin became clear and transparent.

Yun Ye then poured this liquid onto that huge, smooth stone by the river. As soon as the water was poured on, it was evaporated clean by the stone that had been baked scorching hot by the sun, leaving only a thin layer of white powder on the stone. A light taste – the flavor of pure salt. From noon until nearly sunset, Yun Ye collected about three pounds of salt in total. This was enough for him to eat for several months.

As the sun set in the west, Yun Ye lit a campfire and placed the wolf leg he had smoked days before over the fire to roast. Before long, the fragrance of roasted meat permeated the sandy beach by the river. Sprinkling on some salt, this was supreme delicacy for Yun Ye. He didn’t dare use chili peppers anymore – he needed to save some to refresh himself at critical moments. After hesitating for a long time, he finally took out a potato and buried it in the ashes beneath the fire. Eating meat all day was an extreme test for his body.

Seeing the dandelions growing abundantly by the river filled him with delight. These things cleared heat and detoxified – they were excellent ingredients. He pulled up several plants, washed them clean by the river, and planned to fry them in mutton fat. Perhaps the fragrance of fried wild vegetables was too intense – those horses nearby stared with their big eyes at Yun Ye, seeming very much to want to eat, but they feared the fire and didn’t dare approach.

His Majesty the Stallion King was naturally fearless, swishing his tail as he walked over. Yun Ye knew at a glance that His Lordship had come to collect protection money. Who told him to rely on the horse herd’s protection during this period? As an underling, he naturally needed an underling’s awareness. After the wild vegetables cooled, he quickly placed them on a large leaf and presented them to the stallion king. Can’t afford to offend the boss, after all.

The stallion king sniffed them. Probably quite satisfied with the salt’s flavor, he ate them down in two bites. Yun Ye suspected he was seeing things, because the horse’s eyes actually showed an expression of enjoyment. After eating in two bites, it stared at Yun Ye again. No choice – Yun Ye could only continue roasting wild vegetables. After eating four rounds, it probably felt it was nothing special, snorted loudly through its nose, and returned to the herd to continue being king.

Yun Ye carefully scraped aside the ashes. The potato inside was roasted fragrant and soft. Breaking it open, he took a big bite. The scalding hot yet sweet taste made Yun Ye so happy tears nearly flowed down.

Lying in his sleeping bag, beneath him was soft river sand. Not far to his right was the slowly flowing great river. As for the left side – forget it – a herd of horses was releasing foul-smelling gas one after another, their horse faces wearing an expression of breezy innocence. Looking at the stars filling the sky, the Milky Way hung across the heavens like a black curtain studded with brilliant diamonds, twinkling and winking at him.

His wife had always longed to have a diamond, and he had promised to give her one when he became successful. Now this could never be realized. Yun Ye took out from his bosom a rhinestone hairpin. Under the firelight’s reflection it scattered orange-yellow radiance. This was something Yun Ye had specially asked his jewelry-making friend to design for his wife – silver as the frame, yellow jade as the setting, rhinestones inlaid to form a lotus flower. Though not valuable, it excelled in its uniqueness. It had originally been a birthday gift for his wife, but because he had to rescue two missing foreigners, this gift could never be delivered. Yun Ye gripped the hairpin tightly, his heart throbbing with pain. Heaven, you’ve finally taken everything from me. Yun Ye murmured to himself…