Chapter 1064: A Feast After the Storm

If she waited until Fire Phoenix and the Cataclysm were done fighting, would she still have a chance to earn favor with the One-Eyed Tiger on Hill Thirty-Seven? She knew the answer—no.

Opportunities like this don’t come twice.

If she couldn’t build favor with him directly, she’d have to work indirectly. Xia Qing scrolled through her Evolution Forest social circle, quickly settling on a partner. After telling Er Yong and the others, she slung her Black Blade over her shoulder, left Buffer Forest, started up the rotary tiller, and headed home. Standing in her yard, she called for the Elder Wolf.

“Number Four! Number Four…”

She called out nearly ten times before the old wolf, grumbling, poked its head from the tangled Scourge Grass in the ruined den. It glanced down at her—hair plastered wet with sweat, little strands sticking to her face, looking every bit the frail human.

Xia Qing beamed and gestured as she made her offer to the proud old wolf. “Number Four, the Devastation Rain is finally over. Would you like some roast chicken tonight?”

The old wolf wasn’t as easy to please as when it first arrived, staying perfectly still and locking eyes with her, waiting for better terms.

“If you want a treat, I’ll go roast chicken. But can you run over to Hill Fifty-Five and bring back the Queen and the Crippled Wolf?”

She hadn’t even finished before the old wolf darted back into the grass without a second’s hesitation.

Still smiling, Xia Qing called out, “If you bring the Queen and Crippled Wolf over, you’ll get to sleep all day tomorrow and the day after. I’ll handle catching bugs, feeding the fish and chickens, and I’ll even make you barbecue. How about it?”

Soon she heard a rustle and shuffling from the ruins. The lazy old wolf finally left its territory.

The Scourge Grass was far too dense for Xia Qing to see him, so she called out in the direction of the noise, “Watch your step—the forest’s still slippery. Just climb up the peak on Hill Fifty-Two and call a few times. That’ll be enough to get the Alpha and Crippled Wolf here.”

Without a word, the old wolf padded up to the Northern Buffer Forest, beeped at the northern gate sensor, and slipped out.

Xia Qing brought Old Goat out from the house and took him to the pasture shed. Then, with Er Yong and Guan Tong, she helped pull back the rain covers on the greenhouse, airing out the crops after three stifling days.

This fifty-hour stretch of Devastation Rain left Section Three’s main losses in Greenhouse Eleven, where the Green Lantern sweet potatoes got shredded by the bird swarm. The worst-hit, though, were the greenhouses that hadn’t been protected by Yi Stone: the Green Lantern mung beans and the late-stage Green Lantern cotton.

Xia Qing only planted cotton for the batting. No real need to shield them with Yi Stone anymore.

After airing out the greenhouse, Er Yong and the others set to work clearing out Scourge Grass inside Section Three. Xia Qing drove out to the Ninth Planting Center for a look-around, called Zhang He to check on Hill Fifty, and by the time she returned home, it was already pitch black.

The two esteemed guests she’d invited had already arrived, relaxing in her living room—air conditioner buzzing, munching cucumber, using her big TV to watch some videos.

Old Goat finished cleaning his hooves and wandered over to sit on the tatami. He had no complaints about the Alpha lounging in his hammock chair.

Xia Qing greeted them brightly. “Queen, Broken Back, we’re having chicken tonight—another disaster behind us, another reason to celebrate.”

The Alpha simply watched her with cool, gold eyes. Broken Back grinned, flashing its adorable snow-white little fangs.

Xia Qing headed upstairs, indulged herself with a long, satisfying shower, changed into fresh comfy loungewear, and headed into the kitchen. Humming a tune, she set rice to steam, boiled water, then dunked the thawed chickens for a quick scald, plucked the feathers, cleaned out the insides, and hung them in the oven.

Because the chickens had been frozen, Xia Qing didn’t let the wolves eat the raw organs. She cleaned the hearts, livers, gizzards, and kidneys, then tossed the intestines to the snakes in the courtyard snake box.

Once the savory scent of barbecue spread, the Alpha showed up at the kitchen door, watching the oven. Broken Back, meanwhile, was still intently watching a tutorial video—”Learn to Read Medical Scans with the Experts.”

This video featured Zhang San, Zhang Song, and several experts Xia Qing didn’t know. It was a mashup of clips where they explained CT scans while treating both humans and animals. Zhang Song had his assistant cut together all the best bits, adding detailed explanations and captions to help Xia Qing really nail the concepts.

Xia Qing was far from finishing her lessons, but Broken Back had already watched it a good few times.

Once the roast and stewed meat were done, Xia Qing set them aside to cool. While she prepped her own dinner, she struck up a casual chat with the Alpha. “Queen, did that black Giant Python run off to Hill Fifty-Five during the Devastation Rain?”

She glanced at the Alpha, surprise flickering across her face. “It did go? Couldn’t crawl out from the underwater river, could it?”

The Alpha cocked its head, looking pleased with itself.

Xia Qing grinned. “That was smart, Queen, telling me to block off the river exit ahead of time. That Black Loach has got to be fuming. Any idea why it went to Hill Fifty-Five? Looking for Devastation Grass, maybe?”

The Alpha showed no reaction. Seemed it didn’t know what the black Giant Python was after either.

After she finished up the mashed eggplant and cold spinach, Xia Qing carried Old Goat’s feed into the living room, then set bowls of meat for both wolves right beside it. When she brought the last bowl out to the yard, she saw Number Four was already waiting.

After three days of barely eating, even the old wolf was hungry.

“Dig in! Thanks for bringing the Queen and Broken Back over for me.” Xia Qing set the meat in front of him—a half roast chicken, a handful of dried breadworms, two boiled eggs, bits of chicken and Yellow Lantern antelope organs, and of course, a few High Evolution Element spinach leaves.

The Elder Wolf, Alpha, and Broken Back all got the same meal.

Xia Qing’s share was half a chicken, a plate of steamed eggplant, a bowl of chili-fried cucumber strips, and a salty preserved egg.

After the hearty meal, and answering a few of Broken Back’s professional questions, Xia Qing picked up the remote and switched videos. “Queen, remember the Evolved Tiger we ran into at the Western Evolved Forest the day the Devastation Rain started? Wasn’t it hurt…”

She played back her own footage of treating the One-Eyed Tiger, pausing at the shot of its old injury. “See here? This tearing wound came from a barbed arrow—something humans use. Check this out…”

Combining pictures and video, Xia Qing carefully explained to the wolves how the One-Eyed Tiger’s hip was injured. Her deduction: whoever shot it was wearing a protective suit and about her size, which explained why it had attacked her.

Broken Back looked thoughtful while the Alpha yawned.

She played more, skipping ahead to the tiger’s mouth and wound packed with grass and straw, explaining the herbal effects. Then she brought out the medicine Zhang San had prescribed. After explaining why she couldn’t leave the territory, she asked if the two wolves could deliver the medicine to the One-Eyed Tiger—building a good relationship would make herbal trade much easier later.

The Alpha yawned again, settling on the couch to stare blankly at the curtain. Broken Back, however, seemed fascinated by the medicine. It sniffed and pawed at the bottle, then glanced at Xia Qing.

She paused, then asked, “Broken Back, do you want to drink this medicine?”

Broken Back slowly grinned, baring its adorable little white fangs.

Xia Qing was speechless.

So if the two wolves had zero interest in helping the Evolved Tiger—it fought the Wolf Pack, after all—how was she supposed to swap for the herbs?

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