Back when Shen Ningning was carried off by the wolf, Grandma Qin had been so terrified that she was left half-paralyzed and unable to walk properly.
But Aunt Qin and her husband were still afraid she would climb out of the pit and return home.
So they simply tied her up here, giving her no food or water.
They saw her as a burden. To them, it was better she died sooner rather than later.
Shen Ningning ran to the iron chain. She grabbed it with her small hands and pulled with all her might, her little face turning red from the effort!
"Oh no…"
She didn't budge the chain and ended up tumbling backward.
The Black Wolf King grew anxious and leaped into the pit.
It nudged Shen Ningning back up with its head, then tried to help by tearing at the iron chain with its sharp fangs.
But no matter how hard it bit, it couldn't break the chain.
Shen Ningning tilted her little face up, her bright eyes darting about as she desperately tried to think of a plan.
"Langlang, can you carry Grandma up the way you carried me?"
The Black Wolf King let out a roar.
At its command, the wolves waiting at the mouth of the pit all moved to help.
They grabbed Grandma Qin's collar with their teeth, but they couldn't pull her up!
With one hard tug—RRRIP!—Grandma Qin's clothes tore!
Her clothes had given out!
'This is a disaster.'
They couldn't just bite down on her arm.
The wolves stared at the large rock she was chained to, pacing anxiously around the edge of the pit.
The Black Wolf King let out a couple of soft whimpers.
"Oh, right! I can go into the Immortal Realm and see if there's anything that can help!"
Shen Ningning's eyes lit up. In a flash, she vanished into her space.
This startled Grandma Qin. When the little girl suddenly disappeared, she looked around and called out loudly.
"Ningning!"
The Black Wolf King sat calmly beside Grandma Qin, watching her. It reached out a paw and patted her on the head, as if to say:
'Calm down.'
Inside her space, Shen Ningning searched through the grand hall for a weapon.
This hall was filled with all kinds of weapons: swords, spears, staves, and more.
The little girl usually never went in here, because she didn't know how to use any of them…
"Gunpowder?"
She walked to a shelf and looked at the paper label stuck to it.
'What does gunpowder even do?'
She really didn't understand. She didn't know many words.
Besides, the gunpowder had a pungent smell.
The little girl silently shook her head and walked away.
In the end, she could only pick out a treasure sword that looked very sharp.
"Langlang, how about this!"
The Black Wolf King lifted a paw, its calm yellow eyes filled with an unmistakable look of helplessness.
The little girl froze for a moment, then realized her mistake and gave a sweet, embarrassed smile.
"Sorry, I forgot. Langlang's paws can't hold a sword."
With a couple of grunts, she tried hacking at the iron chain herself for a while.
Of course, she couldn't cut through it.
Shen Ningning sat on the ground, dejected. Grandma Qin stroked her head and comforted her, "Ningning, don't worry about Grandma. As long as you're safe, that's all that matters. Your aunt was right. Grandma is old, and living is just being a burden. I can't drag you down."
"Grandma is not a burden! You're the person I love most in the world!"
Shen Ningning stood up and retorted, "I'm just not strong enough to cut it. Grandma, you wait for me! I'll go find someone to help. I will definitely get you out of here!"
After suffering so much, Shen Ningning wouldn't be defeated so easily.
The little girl entered her space and brought out a handful of red fruits, placing them in Grandma Qin's hands.
"Grandma, don't cry. Quick, eat these red fruits. They were grown in Ningning's Immortal Realm. The treasure sword from just now was also from the Immortal Realm. It has everything inside. I can provide for you!"
"Okay, okay…" Grandma Qin wiped her tears.
But Shen Ningning was in a bind. She didn't know who to ask for help to save her grandmother.
Besides her grandmother, Granny Chen was the only person in Xiangyun Village who was kind to her.
But she couldn't ask Granny Chen for help. After all, Granny Chen was old and not even as strong as Langlang!
The other villagers all disliked Aunt Qin and avoided the Qin Family, so they certainly wouldn't meddle in their affairs.
Seeing Shen Ningning's predicament, the Black Wolf King gave an order to his sons.
"AWOO!"
His command was clear: If they saw any humans in the forest, they were not to eat them. They were to tie them up and bring them here to help.
The young black wolves nodded repeatedly, then scattered in all directions to find a living person.
Shen Ningning decided to take a basket of eggs to Xiangyun Village to see if she could find anyone willing to help.
But before she even reached the village entrance, she saw a large carriage from a nearby hillside as it rolled into Xiangyun Village.
She recognized it. It was the carriage of Landlord Du—Aunt Qin's brother-in-law.
Shen Ningning's bright eyes instantly dimmed. She turned and walked away, abandoning her plan to find help in Xiangyun Village.
Because whenever Landlord Du visited, she would be chased out of the house, leaving Aunt Qin alone to entertain him.
Just as Shen Ningning was wondering who else she could ask for help, a wolf's howl suddenly echoed from within the forest.
The Black Wolf King quickly let out a few yips at Shen Ningning.
It seemed the wolves had found a "helper"!
The little girl's expression turned to excitement. "Let's go take a look!"
She climbed onto the Black Wolf King's back, and they raced back toward the Wolf Cave.
However, when she saw the "helper," her fair little face was filled with astonishment.
"This person is all bloody! Did you guys bite him to death?!"
A youth, drenched in blood, lay face down in a stream.
His blood flowed downstream with the current, looking particularly jarring under the sunlight.
The wolf Shen Ningning called Wolf Three trotted up to the little girl, yipping and hopping as if asking for praise.
They hadn't bitten him; the boy had already been lying there, covered in blood, when they found him.
Wolf Three even used its front paw to prod the boy's head.
The meaning was clear: he was still breathing and could help.
"Sigh, he's so badly injured. He probably doesn't have the strength to save Grandma right now. Let's take a look at him first."
Shen Ningning slid off the Black Wolf King's back, walked over, and with the help of the wolves, turned the boy over.
"Wow! What a handsome big brother…"
The boy looked to be about ten years old. He was tall for his age, with a handsome, pale face and thin, bloodless lips. Beneath his slightly arched, cold brows, his long eyes were shut tight, framed by thick, dark lashes.
His clothes, however, were soaked through with blood, their original appearance completely obscured.
With practiced ease, Shen Ningning took out a piece of ginseng from her space and placed it in the boy's mouth. Then she crushed some herbs and crudely bandaged his wounds.
His well-defined, lean body was covered in sword wounds.
The places where Shen Ningning applied the medicine soon began to seep blood again. His injuries were truly severe!
The little girl thought for a moment. "This isn't working. I should take him to soak in the Spiritual Spring!"
Soaking in the Spiritual Spring would be better for his recovery. The spring Shen Ningning had led out was not far from the Wolf Cave.
With this in mind, Shen Ningning turned her head, about to ask the Black Wolf King to come over and help her carry the boy.
Suddenly!
The boy's eyes flew open! He seized her by the wrist and pinned her small body beneath him.
Shen Ningning's face turned pale with fright, and she let out a soft, startled cry!
The wolf pack roared in fury, surging forward to tear the boy to shreds.
"Don't move!" The boy's eyes were blood-red and fierce. He spoke each word with chilling precision, "One step closer, and I'll kill her."
In his hand, he held a sharp piece of rock, pressing it against Shen Ningning's snow-white neck.