Andrei shook his head, saying, "It's a long story; I'll tell you when we get back." With that, Andrei turned and started walking back.

Seeing him leave, I asked, "What about this place... are we just leaving it?"

Andrei didn't turn back, his low voice responding, "It's fine. Since Lauren doesn't intend to harm the villagers, there's no point in us staying. They’ll leave on their own by midnight."

He took a few more steps forward and added, "Oh, right, have your friend come see me tomorrow for a rabies shot."

Watching the wolves still crouched in the central square while the villagers dispersed, a strange feeling settled over me. I wondered if these people weren't worried the wolves might cause trouble later?

But since everyone else had gone, I had no reason to linger either.

Liang Qian tugged at my arm and said, "It's so cold here; let's go back."

I quickly took off my coat and draped it over Liang Qian, even though I was only wearing a shirt underneath.

Then I told Liang Qian, "Let's watch a bit longer. We need to see what these wolves intend to do."

With that, the four of us remained standing there, observing the wolves.

It was then I noticed one other person hadn't left: the woman in black.

She stared blankly at the black wolf, an indescribable light in her eyes.

Seeing me looking at her, the woman in black turned her face and said, "You should all go back. This doesn't concern outsiders like you."

Da Xiong stepped forward then, blurting out, "What's your deal, lady? Even if it's just a spectacle, you have to interfere?"

The woman in black shot Da Xiong a glare and retorted, "This is not a spectacle you should be watching."

Seeing the woman in black displeased, Liang Qian pulled at me again, saying, "Let's really go now."

I looked at Liang Qian, sighed, and then nodded.

But just as we turned to head back, a soft sound came from the midst of the wolf pack.

We quickly turned around and saw a small girl, dressed in a fur vest, slowly approaching the black wolf from the other end of the square, holding a bowl of meat.

The surrounding wolves, seeing the little girl's action, all stood up, emitting low, menacing growls.

Yet, the little girl seemed entirely unconcerned, clutching the bowl tightly with her small hands as she moved closer to the black wolf.

Occasionally, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, appearing to be crying.

Though the surrounding wolves continued to threaten the girl, not a single one lunged; the black wolf had already turned its head, fixing its gaze upon her.

Unexpectedly, the black wolf made no move, standing perfectly still, its blood-red eyes looking somewhat profound, as if deep in thought.

The little girl drew nearer and nearer. At this distance, I could clearly make out that this was the same adorable girl who had asked me for chocolate earlier. What was her connection to this black wolf? Why was she bringing it meat?

Seeing the black wolf watching her, the little girl wiped her eyes again, but a smile touched the corner of her mouth as she spoke a sentence to the black wolf.

I quickly asked Da Xiong what she said. Da Xiong translated, "The little girl said, 'Lauren, you really do remember me! I am Zhuoli.'"

As Da Xiong was translating, I saw the black wolf slowly walk toward the little girl, issuing low, warning growls through its mouth.

At that moment, the woman in black shouted and ran toward the little girl.

Da Xiong, understanding what the woman in black was yelling, also rushed forward, saying, "The little girl might be in danger!"

The two dashed into the pack, drawing the dissatisfaction of the gathered wolves, their ferocious barking incessant, yet not a single wolf attacked them.

I watched as the black wolf drew closer and closer to the little girl, who extended the bowl of meat in her hand.

The black wolf let out a sharp bark, swiped a paw, and knocked the bowl of meat onto the ground.

A bloody scratch also appeared on the little girl’s hand.

But the girl didn't cry. She merely held her hands clasped before her chest and spoke a phrase in Russian.

I guessed she must still be reminding the black wolf of who she was; they must have known each other before.

However, the black wolf seemed utterly merciless. It stepped back slightly, then leaped forward, knocking the little girl to the ground before biting down.

My heart lurched, as I saw fresh blood begin to flow down the girl's tender arm.

To my astonishment, the little girl did not cry out but continued to stare directly at the black wolf, muttering something.

Da Xiong and the others startled and rushed to the spot, only to be followed by a string of frantic white wolves.

Da Xiong, quick-witted, saw the black wolf preparing to bite again and lunged forward, intercepting the attack just before the woman in black reached them.

The black wolf was incredibly agile; seeing Da Xiong dive, it sidestepped.

Da Xiong missed his lunge, nearly face-planting.

But thankfully, he managed to stabilize himself in time, avoiding crushing the little girl beneath him.

The black wolf sprang onto the platform of the village stockade, watching the few people below with perfect stillness, making no further moves.

Da Xiong ignored everything else and quickly scooped up the little girl.

The white wolves behind lunged, but they were driven back by a single, sharp hiss from the black wolf.

Da Xiong was bewildered but had no time to question it. He hurried back with the girl, the woman in black closely following him.

The pack of wolves silently watched the three pass through their midst, refraining from any further attack.

When the trio returned through the pack, the woman in black snatched the girl from Da Xiong’s arms. "I need to treat her immediately."

Looking at the girl's bloody arm, none of us said anything more.

I only noticed that the moment the girl was taken away, she kept her eyes fixed on the black wolf on the high platform, biting her lower lip fiercely.

Seeing that the wolf pack had calmed down, we didn't stay any longer and walked back to the Rabinovich house.

Pushing open the door, I saw Andrei sitting alone at the square table in the main room, quietly smoking.

Clearly, he had been waiting for us to answer the questions we had before.

So, the three of us brushed the rain off ourselves and sat down around the table with him.

Andrei took a deep drag of a self-rolled cigarette, a specialty of the Chukotka Peninsula, exhaling a plume of thick, slightly yellowish smoke.

The smoke slowly diffused under the dim yellow electric light overhead, morphing into various ethereal shapes.

Then, Andrei slowly began, "First, I must tell you that most wolves in Siberia are grey or white; there are no black wolves whatsoever. The black wolf you saw was not a wolf, but a Siberian Husky."

"A Husky?" We all paused, stunned.

We clearly shared the same doubt: why could a Husky command an entire pack of wolves across the steppe?

Andrei noticed the confusion on our faces and asked, "When have you ever seen a wild wolf move with such agility, possess such intelligence, or show such leadership?"

I thought to myself, indeed, I hadn't. I’ve studied wolves extensively; a pack rarely exceeds twenty members—forming such a large contingent is difficult.

Because wolves are pack hunters, if the members are too numerous, one hunt isn't enough to feed them all.

So I asked Andrei, "Then what exactly is the background of this Lauren?"

Andrei nodded at me appreciatively and said, "Correct, his name is Lauren. It was given to him by the most outstanding hunter our village ever had. That hunter’s name was Zoya."

Liang Qian immediately asked, "A woman?"

Andrei nodded, "She was indeed a woman, and once the most beautiful girl in our village. Her ancestors were all the finest hunters in our community, so she inherited that bloodline. At twelve, armed with two Huskies, she could kill five or six brown bears; her marksmanship had reached a level of supernatural skill."

Without waiting for our murmurs of awe, Andrei continued, "Heaven favored the Zoya family too much; not only did it bestow upon them the bloodline of excellent hunters, but the purest strain of Husky in the village was monopolized by her family alone. Back then, Zoya's family was the most prominent in our village; everyone respected her father, Bimo, and would remove their hats for him. Rabinovich wasn't the village chief before; Bimo was."

Hearing this, I knew something unfortunate was bound to follow.

Andrei fell silent for a moment, then spoke, "But, no one expected disaster to strike that family. They owned a snow-white Husky named Syvye, a famous dog known near and far. During a severe wolf plague years ago, Syvye fought ten wolves single-handedly, killed the entire pack, and returned unscathed—exceptionally brave."

"This was inseparable from the training of the Zoya family. They often pitted captured wolves against their Huskies to develop this capability. However, due to this training, the Huskies gradually developed a degree of wildness."

"That autumn, it was Syvye’s mating season. Zoya’s family selected the purest male dog from surrounding villages to breed with Syvye. But Zoya’s family discovered that before Syvye could be mated, she was already pregnant."

"The family was astonished. Through investigation, they found that the puppy in her belly was sired by a wild wolf they had brought back."

"The family suggested terminating the pregnancy, but Zoya refused. She believed that as long as it was a child of her beloved Syvye, even if it were a wolf cub, it would serve their family faithfully."

"A few months later, Syvye gave birth to twelve puppies—eleven were white, and only one was black, and that black puppy had red eyes."

"Zoya's family was shocked; they considered it an ominous sign. After all, both the steppe wolves and Syvye were of the pure white strain; how could a black puppy be born?"

"Zoya’s family took the black dog from the litter, intending to starve it to death, but it was secretly saved by Zoya."

"As that puppy grew, truly unfortunate events began to befall the Zoya family..."

Saying this, Andrei sighed heavily.