After a sigh, Andrei continued, "That old man, Rabilovitch, after some deliberation, decided to fund the construction of a small hut for Zoya behind the village, letting her and Lauren stay there first, and only move them in once he’d convinced the villagers."

"Zoya followed the old man's suggestion and was about to leave. Rabilovitch asked her to stay, but she said she couldn't leave Lauren wandering alone on the steppe."

"The next day, every villager learned about the incident. Although some felt guilty, as expected, everyone was selfish; to prevent disaster from befalling them, they still refused to allow Lauren into the village, and by extension, Zoya, who stood by it."

"Zoya was deeply saddened to hear the result. Unwilling to live outside the village, enduring criticism daily, she refused Rabilovitch’s pleas, choosing instead to wander off with Lauren. From then on, the woman and the dog vanished into the vast grasslands... Some say that during a summer night storm, Zoya and Lauren were seen setting sail in a small boat against the hurricane and never returned; others maintain that Zoya went out to sea alone. In any case, no one ever saw her again..."

Hearing this old story, I let out a soft sigh, while Liang Qian seemed visibly moved, wiping her eyes.

Daxiong, however, slapped the table and stood up, raging, "How many of those hunters are still alive? I must beat them up."

Andrei coughed twice and said, "Sit down. This happened thirty years ago. Many of those people are now too old to move, and besides, their hearts are filled with remorse now."

I nodded, saying, "It seems the villagers' enlightenment has improved these past few years..."

Andrei shook his head and replied, "It's not quite like that. Actually, something happened last year that changed the villagers' perception of Lauren."

Daxiong, realizing there was more to the story, sat down with renewed interest, urging, "Tell us quickly, tell us!"

Andrei took another drag of his cigarette and said, "Didn't you just see the little girl feeding meat to Lauren?"

Hearing him say that, I asked, "You saw her too?"

Andrei nodded. "That little girl's father was a wine merchant in our village, specializing in taking the village's specialty wine out to sell in the nearest city. He was quite a diligent young man, and he didn't keep the money he earned to himself; instead, he arranged for electricity lines to be brought to the village from outside; otherwise, we still wouldn't have electric lights."

"But that young man died last year, mauled by a brown bear in the dense woods below Mount Dora," Andrei sighed at this point.

"The villagers had long advised him to buy an iron-plated truck, but to save money, he insisted on using reindeer-drawn sleds. One night, while passing through the dense woods, they were attacked by a brown bear. His wife and daughter were both in the sleigh, as they were supposedly going to the city to buy new clothes."

"To protect his wife and daughter, the young man pulled out his hunting rifle to fight the bear, resulting in him being fatally wounded. His wife and daughter were saved by Lauren, who was drawn by the scent of blood. By then, Lauren was the leader of the steppe wolf pack. It arrived with a large contingent of wolves, killed the bear, but did not harm the remaining women and child, instead lingering near them until dawn before leaving."

Liang Qian exclaimed upon hearing this, "No wonder the little girl asked if Lauren still remembered her. But if Lauren saved her, then why just now..."

Andrei sighed, "Lauren might have saved them because she saw a shadow of Zoya in the woman and child. But when it returned to this village, all it could remember was hatred. Do you understand?"

We all nodded, then let out a long, collective sigh.

I thought to myself that animals were indeed simple; humans treated it so poorly, yet it still went on to save humans. Compared to people, it was this black mastiff that possessed more loyalty—a true irony regarding the human heart.

After a while, Liang Qian asked, "Professor Andrei, do you think Zoya could still be alive now?"

Hearing her, Andrei shook his head, saying, "The chances are extremely slim, especially if she went to Relic Island."

Liang Qian continued, "Then why did you say those mermaids smelled like Zoya? Dead people don't have a scent."

Andrei smiled faintly. "You underestimate a dog's sense of smell too much. Even after decades, as long as those mermaids had handled Zoya’s belongings, Lauren would still ask about her."

Knowing Liang Qian’s kind heart, wishing Zoya were still alive upon hearing such a tragic tale, I offered contextually, "I also think that girl—oh no, that old woman—must still be alive."

Liang Qian gave me a sidelong glance for correcting myself.

Andrei sighed, "It’s getting late, let's all sleep... Those white steppe wolves should be gone by morning."

Seeing Andrei’s weary expression, I knew recounting such a sorrowful story must have been truly exhausting.

So we said no more, watching Andrei walk out the main gate.

I actually still had one lingering question: since Andrei hadn't been in the village for the last few years, how did he know about the little girl?

I later learned that the young man was one of Andrei's most cherished students back then...

Once Andrei cleared the courtyard gate, Daxiong seemed to have a sudden realization. He jumped up and ran after him, shouting, "Hey! Professor, give me the rabies vaccine first, I'm scared!"

I shook my head speechlessly, watching * emerge from behind the door after stubbing out his cigarette, walking straight toward the room, his thoughts unknown.

Liang Qian also stood up, brushing away the tears at the corner of her eyes, and said, "I'm going to sleep too. You should sleep early..."

I nodded, watched her enter her room, took a deep breath, and suddenly had a very strange thought.

If I could make Lauren my pet, how dominating would that be? Such a loyal pet truly deserved affection.

Shaking my head, I felt I must be hallucinating from staying up too late, so I returned to my room and fell asleep under the covers.

I didn't sleep soundly that night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw a scene of a group of aloof white wolves standing firm in the wind and rain—a scene imbued with a touch of melancholy.

The gale howled all night long. By the next morning, the fire in the hearth had died out, and we were all woken up by the cold.

Daxiong was the first to sit up from the cot, shivering, clutching his drooping pectorals with the blanket, sneezing, and cursing, "What the hell? It's freezing!"

I was startled awake by his voice, frowned, and sat up, immediately breaking into shivers myself.

At that moment, I saw * already standing at the window, breathing heavily.

The window was open, allowing the cold wind to constantly creep in, and outside, everything was a vast expanse of white.

I could hardly believe my eyes, because no matter how cold it was last night, I thought it was just a light rain. Yet, this morning...

Seeing us awake, * turned from the window, rubbing his hands, and said, "You aren't mistaken, it's snowing!"

Coming from the south, * had only served in coastal areas during his military service, so he surely hadn't seen much snow, hence the slight excitement on his face now.

And I, having studied in Beijing for years, miserably rubbed my forehead and said, "I thought we’d get a few days of good sunshine; I didn't expect college to arrive so suddenly."

Squatted down, picked up a few pieces of firewood near the fireplace, tossed them into the hearth, and reignited the fire, making the room a little warmer.

Then he threw a few fuzzy things from the table to me, saying, "These are deerskin parkas, gifts from the village chief. Put them on."

Daxiong snatched up a coat, sniffed it, and commented, "No weird smell, pretty warm. A fur coat like this would cost tens of thousands in any mall in Beijing, right?"

I sneezed again, rubbing my nose, and retorted, "Come on, just finishing this work... at best, it's just raw material."

Daxiong patted me and said, "Xiao Chuan, I know you don't like snow, but have you considered that snow means we can finally go to Relic Island soon!"

I froze, realizing he was right. Although staying here wasn't bad, the numerous mysteries on Relic Island were far more captivating to me.

So, I quickly put on my clothes and asked *, "What time is it?"

Checked his watch. "Six-thirty. I stepped out earlier and saw the chief’s boat was about to depart, so I came back to notify you."

Daxiong whined, "So you opened the window to blow us awake?"

Smiled faintly. I never said that; I was merely appreciating the snowscape.

Daxiong sighed and flopped back onto the cot, wrapping himself tightly in the blanket, saying, "I haven't had enough sleep. You can go."

I nudged Daxiong. "The journey * is taking is quite perilous; it wouldn't be a bad idea for us to see him off."

I paused, then added, "Wait a minute, since it's snowing, we can all go once the sea freezes over. Why does * need to go first?"

Daxiong rolled over. "Do you think it’s a refrigerator? Seawater flows; it needs to be at least minus twenty degrees Celsius to freeze, plus it takes a month!"

I thought about it; he was right. I must have been half-asleep.

Was already shouldering his backpack and said to us, "You don't need to see me off. More people mean a bigger target and easier detection. I'm leaving..."