However, strange and bizarre things seemed to have nothing to do with him—at least, that was the case for the first sixteen years of his life—as if all the adventures that should have belonged to a young man were secretly hiding away, quietly waiting to erupt all at once after he entered the forest on a certain day at the age of sixteen, giving him a huge surprise. And then, he arrived in another world.

This was his first full moon since coming here.

It wasn’t the fifteenth of August, but everything felt somewhat unusual. The reason was that Little Grace seemed especially excited, and both Storm and Angus were acting a bit strange as well. From morning, they had been howling fiercely at the forest, and distant wolf howls echoed back and forth, one after another, only stopping around noon, as if everyone was coordinating something important. Little Grace smiled brightly all day, occasionally making “ah ah oh oh” sounds while talking to William Carter, but unfortunately, he couldn’t understand a word.

Having lived here for more than twenty days, William Carter had basically learned that among all the fierce beasts living together in this forest, the wolf packs were among the most powerful groups. Strictly speaking, their individual strength was only average among the beasts, and if he wielded his Damascus knife, William Carter could take down one or two. But their advantage was that, among social animals, they were the strongest. If any creature was fiercer, it would usually be solitary.

Not far from the cave, there lived a strange and ferocious-looking leopard in the woods, agile and with teeth like sharp blades. On the side near the stream, a huge reptile had appeared before, looking like a giant lizard he’d seen on nature shows, its whole body a frightening greenish-blue. William Carter had encountered each of these two beasts once. The first time, Storm was with him, and when they met the leopard in the woods, Storm immediately took a fighting stance, letting out low, menacing growls. The leopard didn’t seem interested in a fight and left peacefully. The other time, Little Grace took him to the stream, and on the way, they ran into the giant lizard. Little Grace grabbed him and ran, only stopping once they reached the meadow, and the lizard didn’t follow. The two giant wolves were probably the leaders of the wolf pack, which was why they roamed alone. When some smaller gray wolves appeared, William Carter noticed their respectful attitude toward Storm and Angus.

A large-scale wolf pack response like today was something William Carter was seeing for the first time in twenty days. What could it mean? By evening, this question finally began to show signs of being answered.

“Ah... Yi...”

After dinner, Little Grace, using the two words she had just recently learned, pulled him outside. The two giant wolves stood at the cave entrance and let out another howl, followed by a chorus of responses, near and far, like waves crashing, echoing under the setting sun, lingering for a long time—truly astonishing. Then, they headed into the woods.

Night fell quickly, but the forest was dotted with glowing lights. It was late spring, early summer, and the weather was warming up. Quite a few strange glowing insects wandered through the woods. As they passed through the deep forest, gray wolves from all directions joined in. At first, they all glared at William Carter with fierce eyes, but once Storm and Angus signaled, they calmed down. Still unfamiliar with the forest, William Carter was led forward by Little Grace, but he still tripped and stumbled from time to time. Fortunately, Little Grace was surprisingly strong and quick to react. Whenever William Carter showed signs of falling, she would come over to support him, and sometimes even lift him up around the waist, which made William Carter quite embarrassed.

The number of wolves gradually increased, like countless small streams merging into a river, all rushing toward their destination. The full moon, like a jade plate, rose through the gaps in the trees into the clear night sky. The wolf pack, like a pilgrimage procession, shed their usual ferocity and moved quietly and smoothly through the forest, with only the leader wolves occasionally letting out a call that echoed far through the woods. It seemed that other beasts deliberately avoided the wolf pack, as none appeared along the way.

They arrived at their destination about three hours later. During this time, William Carter regretted more than once not bringing his flashlight. Although its battery was running low, leaving it behind was a waste, and now was exactly when he needed it. Fortunately, Little Grace, who had been running back and forth taking care of him the whole way, showed no sign of fatigue, highlighting the vast difference in their stamina; otherwise, he would have felt truly guilty.

The destination was a special clearing in the jungle, about the size of a soccer field, covered with uneven little mounds, lush green grass, and countless glowing insects swirling and dancing among them, making it look like a fairyland in the forest. But as he got closer, William Carter realized these were not ordinary mounds at all, but the ruins of countless man-made structures, which, after a long time, had been covered by grass and turned into what they looked like now.