State Banquet

One hit.

Two hits.

Three hits.

The sharp rock struck the gray wolf king’s head again and again, tearing through its fur and smashing its flesh into a bloody pulp. Lin Yu could even see the white skull exposed at the center of the wound.

Yet, to Lin Yu’s surprise, even in this state, the wolf king hadn’t lost its ability to resist. It was still desperately struggling backward, trying to break free.

The fourth hit—Lin Yu, now red-eyed, shifted his aim and drove the sharp rock straight into the wolf king’s eye.

The rock shattered the eye, splattering disgusting fluid and blood everywhere.

The attack was devastatingly effective.

The wolf king let out a howl of agony, its limbs thrashing wildly. Its body erupted with a burst of immense strength, but the overwhelming pain rendered it useless—its movements were nothing more than frantic, uncoordinated spasms.

After two or three seconds, its struggles weakened, and the entire beast slumped into exhaustion.

Seeing the tactic work, Lin Yu followed up by raising the rock and smashing it into the wolf king’s other eye.

This time, the wolf king’s howl was pitifully weak. It no longer had the strength to resist and collapsed limply onto Lin Yu’s leg.

With the wolf king down, Lin Yu didn’t immediately finish it off. Instead, he turned his head to check on Qing Mo.

The surrounding gray wolves hesitated, none daring to approach. When Lin Yu’s murderous gaze swept over them, they even took a few steps back.

Clearly, their leader’s gruesome fate had left them thoroughly intimidated.

Assured of Qing Mo’s safety, Lin Yu exhaled in relief. He picked up the dinner knife he’d deliberately thrown aside earlier and drove it through the wolf’s ruined eye, deep into its brain.

Ending its life for good.

Covered in wolf blood and his own, Lin Yu stood up, gripping the knife. Limping, he made his way toward Qing Mo.

Leaderless, the remaining wolves backed away rapidly before finally turning tail and fleeing into the distance.

When Lin Yu reached Qing Mo, he plopped down beside her. After catching his breath, he turned to her with a smug grin and asked,

"How badass was that?"

Qing Mo didn’t answer his plea for praise. Instead, her lips trembled, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. Without warning, she threw herself into his arms, clinging to him tightly.

"You scared me to death."

Her soft body shook with quiet sobs as she cried, tears and snot smearing against him.

Lin Yu felt the warm, plush weight in his arms and, after a moment’s thought, decided not to push her away.

No need to be so heartless.

He’d just won a game of rock-paper-scissors with the Grim Reaper—he deserved a break.

Shifting slightly to lean more comfortably against the tree trunk, Lin Yu let out a tired sigh and allowed Qing Mo to keep holding him.

Honestly?

This was kind of cozy.

And she smelled nice too.

Qing Mo’s crying gradually subsided, though she kept her face buried in his chest. Her voice came out muffled as she asked,

"Was all of this part of your plan?"

"Huh?"

Lin Yu didn’t immediately follow her question.

"The way you fell earlier," Qing Mo lifted her face, looking up at him from below. "You had that rock hidden in your pocket the whole time. Did you plan everything from the start?"

"Faking the fall, luring the wolf in..."

"Nah."

Lin Yu shook his head, answering honestly.

"I took the rock just as a precaution."

"An extra layer of security."

"But then I realized this wolf was way too tough."

"To avoid getting dragged down with it, I had to take a gamble."

Qing Mo nodded in understanding. She sniffled before burying her face back into his chest.

Once her emotions had settled, Lin Yu nudged her away.

"Alright, that’s enough."

"Any longer and I’m charging you."

Qing Mo let out a rare, petulant huff and retorted,

"Go ahead."

"I’ve got more than enough money."

"Enough to buy your entire lifetime."

Lin Yu smirked and shot back,

"It’s percentage-based."

"One minute costs 0.1% of your total net worth. Do the math yourself."

The absurdity of his words tugged at Qing Mo’s lips, though she didn’t reply. Instead, she stubbornly clung to him, refusing to let go.

"Come on, get up."

Lin Yu sighed in resignation.

"While the snow’s still light, we need to get back to the road and wait for help."

"If we wait too long and the blizzard hits, we’ll freeze together—then you’ll never get rid of me."

Only then did Qing Mo reluctantly peel herself away.

"Let me check your foot."

Lin Yu gently lifted her injured leg onto his lap. The moment he saw her ankle-high heeled boots, it all made sense.

No wonder she fell out of the tree.

Making her climb in those?

That was just cruel.

Unzipping the boot, Lin Yu carefully pulled it off, revealing Qing Mo’s slender, straight calf and a pair of white cotton socks steaming faintly in the cold.

Suddenly—

Lin Yu’s nose wrinkled, and he recoiled slightly, grimacing.

"Damn, that’s rank!"

Qing Mo’s naturally cool, elegant face flushed red. She glared at him indignantly.

"Liar!"

"My feet don’t smell!"

Lin Yu chuckled but didn’t tease her further.

To be fair, it wasn’t entirely his fault—while the visible "steam" from her socks was just condensation from the freezing temperature, the scene was eerily similar to those exaggerated comic panels where feet are drawn so smelly they emit fumes.

Shaking off the joke, Lin Yu carefully removed her sock and examined the injury. After a moment, he relaxed.

"Just a regular sprain. It’ll heal in a few days."

"But for now, you won’t be moving this foot much."

Once he finished, he picked up the sock to put it back on.

As he did, his gaze lingered on Qing Mo’s delicate, pale foot. For some inexplicable reason, he swallowed hard.

Her feet were… strikingly pretty.

Petite yet not bony, with smooth, fair skin, rosy rounded toes, and slender, well-defined joints. When curled slightly, they looked adorably plump.

A pair of truly exquisite feet.

Or, as certain degenerates might say—

Fine dining.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t just her feet. Every part of Qing Mo seemed flawless. The memory of last night’s tantalizing glimpse made Lin Yu sniff sharply.

Before certain rebellious thoughts could take hold, he hurriedly slipped the sock and boot back on.

Once done, Lin Yu stood up first.

Suddenly—

A wave of intense dizziness washed over him. Recognizing the familiar lightheadedness from blood loss, Lin Yu knew he couldn't delay any longer.

He had to get back to the road—now.

If he was going to pass out, it had to be somewhere safe.

"How are you?"

"Can you still stand?"

Lin Yu looked at Qing Mo, who was sitting beneath a tree, and asked.