Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, a whole year had slipped away.
William had grown quite a bit taller. Compared to before, the muscles on his body had begun to stand out after long-term training. Perhaps it was the effect of sticking to those "three sets of one hundred" and the ten-kilometer long-distance runs—William now looked far more solid and well-built than he used to.
Unfortunately, because of the northern climate, he spent most of his time wrapped in thick layers of fur. With all that on, it was hard to tell what his physique was really like.
Over the course of this year, William had learned many things from his father and mother. Judged by the standards of an excellent hunter, the only thing he truly lacked now was experience.
The three little kittens had also gradually grown up. Though they were not yet adults, they were, after all, Shadow Lynx, and their ferocity had begun to show. Still, they remained quite friendly toward William's family, who had raised them.
Throughout the year, William got along well with the three kittens. The largest one was named "Alpha" by William—it was the slightly darker lynx cub from back then. The one with lighter, whitish fur was named "Snow White" by Henry. The last one, and the only girl among the three, was called "Sunny" by Sophia.
The three Shadow Lynx had fully融入 this big family. They had been trained by William and the others since they were young, gradually gaining an understanding of humans. Among them, Alpha was the smartest—he could already hunt small prey on his own. Once, he even caught a plump wild rabbit, which made William happy for a long time.
Alpha was closest to William. Snow White followed Henry around like a little tail, while Sunny was everyone's darling. The Shadow Lynx often roamed and played together outside, and over time, everyone came to know that the Reynard family was raising three Shadow Lynx.
This news gradually spread.
William had also begun to show his Shapeshifter talent. Just recently, he had finally succeeded in entering Alpha's body and becoming a true Shapeshifter. His first success was still clumsy and unfamiliar, but Reynard had already promised to help him find a teacher. Presumably, he would soon receive proper, efficient training.
William had now been specially approved by his mother to hunt alone. Henry, with his rough-and-tumble personality, was very dissatisfied about this. But when he thought about his own performance, he could only feel helpless. Henry was indeed a bit reckless—last time, he had actually dared to try hunting a wild boar and ended up being chased so badly that he had to climb a tree to save his life.
Although Henry eventually seized an opportunity and killed the wild boar with Reynard's timely assistance, the incident still made their mother worry about him even more. That wild boar, though smaller in size, had been unexpectedly fierce. After all, wild boars could sometimes be even more troublesome than other carnivorous beasts.
No wonder folk wisdom from William's previous life ranked dangers as: "First the boar, second the bear, third the tiger."
By comparison, William was much more mature and steady. A year of self-discipline had forged his strength. The stealth and tracking techniques he learned from Reynard were already well mastered, and skills like setting traps and fishing also came to him very quickly.
How much can one accomplish in a year? In truth, not that much.
William could only say that he had learned archery and some combat techniques. When sparring with Reynard, his cheap old dad had never gone all out, yet even so, William had never gained the slightest advantage. Whether in technique or raw strength, he was outclassed by more than just a few streets.
Long-term training did have its effects. William's physical fitness had increased severalfold—he could easily crush his former self. Even so, he was still just a rookie who hadn't left the newbie village. An eleven-year-old body that hadn't fully grown—how much of a threat could that really pose?
South of the Great Wall, noble boys began learning combat from sword instructors from a very young age. While practicing archery, they also had to study other subjects. William, however, could only learn from his parents.
After much reflection, William could only conclude that Reynard's path didn't suit him. His father wielded a massive warhammer, but William wanted to learn blade techniques. Yet in this frozen land of ice and snow, there were hardly any blades to be found—who could teach him? Left with no choice, William could only practice during his spare time, combining what he remembered from his past life.
At this moment, William was out hunting, with Alpha following behind him. One man and one cat slipped into the forest and vanished from sight. Alpha was an excellent helper, and their cooperation was extremely smooth. Even though Alpha was still young, a predator's instincts had already begun to awaken.
William was heading somewhere a bit farther away. The animals there were far more plentiful than those on the mountain. Beside the frozen white Ru River lay many hidden treasures—plump fish often hid among the broken stones along the riverbank.
Crossing a low hill east of the Ru River led into the forest. There were many suitable prey animals inside—rabbits, foxes, deer… Of course, there were also wolf packs and snow bears. Because of that, William had never dared to explore too deeply.
Checking the fish trap he had set by the river earlier, William found the harvest quite decent. Two big fish and several small ones were trapped inside, still alive and flopping.
This fish trap was something William had made himself, based on fishing tools from his memories. Though simple, it was very effective. He took the two big fish, tossed one small fish to Alpha, then placed fresh bait into the trap and sank it back into the river.
Alpha seemed to really enjoy eating fish. He swallowed one eagerly, chewing as he went. Bits of fresh red flesh scattered onto the ground, but he didn't waste a single scrap—his rough tongue licked everything clean. Watching Alpha eat while making happy "wuwu" sounds, William fondly rubbed his head.
Perhaps liking fish was a cat's natural instinct. Looking at him like that, aside from being bigger, wasn't he just a big cat?
After Alpha finished eating the small fish, he continued following William to check the traps set earlier. In the forest, a simple rope snare had only caught one rabbit—there were no other gains. Seeing the rabbit still struggling, William couldn't help laughing.
"Hahaha! We can add an extra dish tonight."
He ended the rabbit's life cleanly and efficiently, then took it along as well.
Just then, Alpha seemed to notice something. He suddenly dashed forward. William watched as Alpha sprinted ahead—there was a snow-white rabbit in front of him. The rabbit was well hidden; even William hadn't noticed it, but it couldn't escape Alpha's eyes.
The rabbit made several sharp turns, trying to shake Alpha off, but Alpha's burst speed was far faster. Even though the rabbit narrowly avoided a few pounces with lucky turns, in the end, it failed to dodge in time and had its neck snapped by Alpha's jaws.
The bite force of a Shadow Lynx was astonishing. Long ago, William had already stopped letting Alpha nibble on his fingers while playing. Though they might not be as ferocious as icefield wolves, they were still among the most fearsome top predators of the far north.
Alpha carried the rabbit back, clearly asking for praise. William rewarded him with a small fish. With that, they gained yet another rabbit on this trip.
Living off the mountains, William originally planned to gather some edible mountain fungi and then leave. At that moment, however, he faintly heard human cries for help echoing from deep within the forest. After a brief hesitation, William headed toward the source of the sound. His steps were swift—even carrying more than twenty pounds, he moved with ease. Alpha followed closely behind.
One man and one Shadow Lynx hurried toward the cries.
After running more than a hundred meters, William and Alpha finally found the source. Two people were surrounded by a wolf pack, though thankfully they had cleverly climbed up a tree. It was clearly an old tree, sturdy enough to support their weight—otherwise, they would have already become wolf food.
The two looked about the same age as William. Upon closer inspection, he realized they were a boy and a girl. Even if they managed to endure the wolves' encirclement, the bitter cold of the night would be their greatest enemy for survival.
William felt extremely helpless. Even knowing the two were in danger, he couldn't think of a way to rescue them for the moment. Turning around and leaving was something he simply couldn't do. Even if he wasn't some great saint, standing by and doing nothing would weigh too heavily on his conscience.
But what could he do?
Reynard had once said: when encountering a wolf pack in the wild, stay calm and don't panic. Slowly retreat, look for cover, and never make sudden movements. Once you've created enough distance, accelerate and escape. Wolf packs usually won't stay in one place forever. If you have safe shelter, just wait patiently.
Clearly, those two kids had no such experience. If they could just quiet down and wait, the wolf pack would eventually leave. But how could William warn them? Any attempt might provoke the wolves instead.
Gods above, let them stay quiet!
Didn't they know how dangerous this forest was?
Wolf packs were not easy to deal with. They were cunning and skilled in cooperation. If there were only one or two wolves, William might dare to try something. But after counting carefully, there were at least a dozen wolves beneath the tree. Facing such numbers without knowing better would be courting death.
William could only hide in the shadows with Alpha. He couldn't help but sigh—if only Alpha were a bit bigger. A grown Alpha would surely be able to deter the wolves. For now, Alpha's intimidation wasn't enough, and William wouldn't let him take such a risk.
Perhaps William's prayer worked. The two people stopped crying out, and the forest finally grew quiet. Seeing this, William let out a sigh of relief. He decided to wait here until the wolf pack left, then lead them out of the forest. He didn't seek gratitude—only a clear conscience.
Finally, after a long contest of patience, the wolves grew restless. A while later, they began to leave one by one, and the crisis slowly started to fade…