Transporting the two adult North American grey wolves back to the shelter.

Chen Wen placed them inside the storeroom.

Aside from some mice, no other animals could get in here.

Moreover, since the ermine joined, even the mice found it hard to come in. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

It’s considered a very safe place.

After settling the grey wolves, Chen Wen took a break.

Then he returned to the shelter and drank some warm tea, with a bit of salt added.

He’s accustomed to boiling the pot of water and keeping it warm nearby the bonfire.

After drinking some hot tea, only then did Chen Wen continue with the transport.

On the way back, Chen Wen pondered how to handle the musk ox.

This thing is very heavy, and there’s no way he could carry it all at once.

After some thought, Chen Wen planned to transport the musk ox in four trips.

He decided to butcher the musk ox on the spot.

On the first trip, he’d use the musk ox hide to wrap the edible internal organs and bring them back to the shelter along with the hide.

On the second trip, he’d bring back the four legs of the musk ox, as well as the head and neck.

On the third trip, half of the body.

The fourth trip would be for the last half.

The entire process would take at least eight hours.

Factoring in weather changes, it was already nearing noon.

Chen Wen estimated he would need at least ten hours to finish.

And the last trip would definitely have to be carried out in complete darkness.

To avoid making himself look too miraculous, Chen Wen planned to make some torches after completing the second trip.

He would use the torches to light his way.

...

With his decision made, Chen Wen got to work.

He returned to the slope where he hunted the musk ox, armed with weapons.

"How’s it going? No animals have approached, right?"

Seeing the three animals calmly sitting beside the musk ox, not looking like they had just been in a fight, Chen Wen breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the wolf mink came out and said, "To say there’s no problem at all wouldn’t be accurate. I just smelled a scent of our kind. Though there was only one, and we scared it away, it will definitely come back. You better act quickly."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wen hissed slightly.

The rampant wolf mink certainly complicated Chen Wen’s survival on this trip quite a bit.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "Next, I will handle the musk ox and butcher it on the spot. The scent will be stronger. But the good news is that the current strong wind makes the scent harder to track. You keep watch here. If any wolf minks come near again, try to trap it. If I come, I’ll deal with it!"

The wolf mink nodded.

Teaming up with the old wolf, it didn’t worry about one or two more of its kind arriving.

"But speed up a bit,"

the wolf mink reminded Chen Wen, "Though the strong wind scatters the scent, it also spreads it farther. Should a more powerful animal come from afar..."

Chen Wen nodded, indicating he understood.

Standing before the musk ox, he took out his hunting knife, preparing to handle the ox.

"The hide must be preserved. This hide can be used as a blanket, and with the black bear hide as a mat, this winter won’t freeze me out."

As Chen Wen spoke, he began cutting off the hide.

The musk ox’s fur was very thick, and the hide was absurdly so.

It was only while cutting that Chen Wen realized just how lucky he was to encounter an injured old ox.

If the musk ox wasn’t injured, the stone spear would struggle to pierce deep into the muscle.

But butchering the musk ox was relatively simple.

With the hunting knife, it took Chen Wen just a few minutes to cut off a rather complete hide.

"Damn thick!"

Chen Wen felt the weight of the musk ox, unable to resist swearing.

But he was also quite excited, knowing that once tanned, it would be incredibly warm!

At the same time, the fat on the old ox’s body was also quite tempting for Chen Wen.

The fat was not particularly abundant.

Yet, once frozen as the weather worsened and cooked in winter, it would be absolutely delicious!

"First, let’s get the internal organs out. You all help too."

Chen Wen called the animals to come closer.

The musk ox’s internal organs, straightforward ones like the heart and liver, he’d certainly keep for himself.

But the stomach and intestines, Chen Wen wasn’t planning to deal with.

He decided to leave them directly for the animals, who wouldn’t mind the mess.

Especially the wolf mink.

As long as it wasn’t poisonous and chewable, it was edible for it.

So, upon hearing Chen Wen’s call, the wolf mink immediately gathered around.

"It’s almost noon. I’m going to remove the musk ox’s organs and you all can share them. It’s not much, but it should fill you up. Don’t touch the meat just yet. Once we’re back, we’ll divide it slowly. I can assure you, everyone gets a share!"

Hearing Chen Wen’s words.

The animals were elated.

Especially the wolf mink.

Its gluttonous nature ensured it was extraordinarily loyal when its appetite was satisfied.

At this point, even if Chen Wen asked it to brave danger, it wouldn’t hesitate!

As Chen Wen sliced open the musk ox’s belly, a substantial amount of internal organs gushed out.

Particularly the digestive organs, large and complex.

Chen Wen removed the challenging organs, slicing them with the hunting knife and placing them to the side.

The animals, seeing so much meat, immediately pounced on it with great appetite.

The wolf mink grabbed the ox’s kidney, chewed roughly, and swallowed it quickly.

The old wolf, experienced, focused on the fattier ox intestines.

The red fox, with a smaller appetite, started on the other end of the intestines.

In short, the three animals ate voraciously.

Chen Wen’s mouth twitched, turning his face to focus intently on the remaining internal organs.

After removing them, Chen Wen swung his axe, chopping off the musk ox’s head and neck.

The musk ox’s head was rather large, with a short neck.

Overall, it was quite heavy.

After wrapping up the internal organs, Chen Wen easily included the musk ox’s head.

"I’m heading back. Don’t just focus on eating; keep an eye on the meat. I see scavenger birds in the sky already."

Chen Wen said, glancing upwards.

By now, a bird resembling a crow was already above.

He ignored the little creature.

It wouldn’t dare come down now.

If it did and got caught by the red fox or wolf mink, it would turn from diner to dinner.

After reminding the animals, Chen Wen began transporting the package of internal organs and ox head wrapped in hide.

Heavy!

Yet he managed.

After bringing this food back to camp, it was already afternoon.

The weather continued to worsen, though the wind hadn’t intensified further.

However, snowflakes started drifting down from above.

It really seemed like a snowstorm was coming, but if the wind didn’t stop, the snow wouldn’t fall for long.

Nonetheless, the arrival of this snow made Chen Wen more cautious.

He needed to accelerate his pace of food storage.

Otherwise, when the mountain gets snowed in, hunting would become challenging.

...

After the first trip, Chen Wen ate some jerky and promptly started the second trip.

Using his axe, he detached the musk ox’s four legs, not minding the three overly full animals.

He quickly began the second transport.

Next came the third trip.

Once the third trip was complete, it was almost night.

Chen Wen lit a torch, stepping over the thin snow, starting the fourth trip.

This transport could be considered quite dangerous, from an outsider’s view.

Late at night, when everything around was pitch black, transporting food was indeed extremely risky.

If any animal approached and suddenly attacked, Chen Wen wouldn’t even have the chance to react.

But for Chen Wen, the fourth trip was the safest.

Accompanied by the three animals, he soon transported the last half of the beef back to the shelter.