Chapter 1123: Tensions in the Valley

The Bear King sniffed the Yi Snake, then tore it into chunks with his powerful front paws and passed the pieces to his hungry companions. As a member of the bear pack, Goofball got a piece as big as his paw.

From this, Xia Qing realized Goofball’s status in the bear pack wasn’t very high.

Still, the Bear King didn’t get angry that Xia Qing only gave him one snake. This showed he followed a prey-sharing rule like the wolf pack—he accepted that whatever Xia Qing caught was for her to distribute. That reassured her.

After filling up, the Alpha rinsed his protective suit in the river while the other wolves washed up too. Even the handsome huge wolf, who had wounds and medical tape stuck to his fur, didn’t skip out.

Then, the Alpha stood watch from a high vantage point while the wolf pack dragged their fallen comrades away for burial. Wolves carried off other kinds of snakes that could be used as food.

Xia Qing guessed those wolves were probably taking the snakes back to the den for the injured wolves. Normally the pack wasn’t too fond of regular snake meat, but these were desperate times and any food was a blessing.

Across the river, the bear pack finished dividing the meat, started cleaning the blood off themselves, handled their prey, and dragged off their own fallen.

Lame Wolf led two wolves to the bear pack’s side of the river and dragged back two wolf corpses. Two massive bears also crossed over to the wolf side and hauled away one of their own bear’s bodies.

There wasn’t a word exchanged between bear and wolf throughout this. The Wolf King and Bear King stood on their respective Royal Platforms, calm and silent, keeping a close eye on the valley and occasionally glancing north toward Python Lake.

After packing up her backpack, Xia Qing was about to tell the Alpha she needed a quick trip back to her territory when Broken Back returned to the valley and came straight to her.

With a mix of gestures, Xia Qing explained the danger of the Yi Snake’s scent. But Broken Back looked completely calm, so she asked, miming, “Broken Back, did you already know those white snakes make you and the bears angry and want to fight?”

Broken Back grinned, bloody fangs on display.

Xia Qing continued her gesturing, “Over there with Lame Wolf’s little sister, Little Wolf, and Little Wolf’s little sister guarding the river—no white snakes snuck in?”

Again, Broken Back bared his teeth in a grin.

Xia Qing nodded. “Got it.”

Getting top-quality prey to grow strong always comes with danger. Lives will be lost—there’s no way around it.

The wolves born this spring weren’t allowed to fight in the valley because they were still young and couldn’t control their emotions. Next year or maybe the one after, even Little Wolf will be standing in this valley hunting Yi Snakes.

Only the wolves who can keep their cool and survive in battle will get the good food and become the pillars of the pack.

Those who fail will be weeded out.

Now that she understood this, Xia Qing stopped lecturing. She pointed at her backpack and told Broken Back, “I need to take the two wolves with internal injuries to Territory Seven for treatment. Let Er come with me, okay? When the treatment’s done, Er can stay in Wolf Valley to help take care of them. I’ll come back here to keep hunting Yi Snakes and keep the pythons out.”

The Alpha and Bear King kept their eyes on Python Lake. Xia Qing was sure the pythons would attack again soon.

So she’d be the one to hunt Er’s share of Yi Snake.

Broken Back took a few seconds to think, then finally flashed his bloody fangs.

Xia Qing waved at Goofball across the river, telling him to stick with the cub while she took Er home. She promised they’d be back soon.

After Goofball leapt back across the river, Xia Qing slung on her backpack, called out a quick goodbye to the Alpha, then took Er to check the western river leading to the lake.

With the snakes driven off, the wolf pack was back on alert. Flathead, nice and full, was locked in a rowdy scuffle with another honey badger.

The wolves only glanced at Xia Qing when they noticed her—they didn’t react otherwise.

But a little yellow weasel came bounding over, dragging two freshly killed Devastation Snakes towards her.

No doubt about it, that little weasel was Baldy from the weasel family.

Xia Qing opened her backpack and waited as the weasel dropped the snakes in a crack in the rocks three meters away, then poked its small head out and nervously stared at her. Speaking softly, Xia Qing placed four eggs under a nearby stone and said, “Baldy, Devastation Snakes are my favorite. You’re so clever! Here—these four eggs are your reward in trade.”

After Xia Qing walked away, the little weasel scampered under the stone and started eating its eggs. Only then did Xia Qing circle back to where it had been hiding to fish out the Devastation Snakes it had killed.

Baldy was smart—not a single bite mark on the big swelling on the snake’s head. Xia Qing carefully put the Devastation Snakes in her bag and carried on.

Nearby, Little Wolf tilted his fluffy head and seemed deep in thought as he watched all this.

Xia Qing led Er past the den-guarding wolves who were busy eating snake, then ducked into the cave and carried out the two wolves who were still out cold from the anesthesia and had internal injuries. She returned to the helipad on Hill Fifty-Nine.

Seeing that Xia Qing was unhurt and carrying the two injured wolves with Er by her side, Zhang Hongda popped open the cabin door to help, but Er growled at him fiercely.

“I’m fine, I can carry them,” Xia Qing told him, sending Zhang Hongda back to the chopper. She and Er boarded, gave the order to take off, then gave her companions a quick briefing: “The wolves, pythons, and bears clashed. These two wolves are injured and need to go to Territory Seven for treatment. We’ll land at Section Three on Hill Forty-Nine. Once I’ve dropped off the wolves, I’ll return to Hill Fifty-Nine.”

“Understood.” Huo Zhun piloted the helicopter at top speed toward their territory.

Dazhi reported in: “Sister Qing, since we left, six Devastation Snakes have been spotted between Hill Forty-Nine and Fifty—a lot more than the spring crisis. Third Brother can’t reach you and wants you to call him back right away when you get out.”

“Got it.” Xia Qing dialed Zhang San, disaster response chief of Section One in the north, and quickly summarized: “…The snakes from Python Lake north of Hill Sixty might attack again—no idea when. There are at least fifty Devastation Snakes that I’ve personally seen, though who knows how many have already been eaten. Three wolves dead, seven injured. One bear dead, unclear how many injured… Alright, I’ll be there in twenty minutes. I’ve got two more wolves with internal injuries coming in… Thank you, Third Brother.”

After hanging up, Xia Qing immediately called Hu Zifeng. “Captain Hu, please have someone from Section Three drive my car outside the North Gate. I need to transfer two injured wolves to Territory Seven.”

After her calls, Xia Qing sat quietly, gazing at the rolling mountains below and idly stroking Er’s fur beside her. She didn’t say another word.

Huo Zhun and Zhang Hongda looked calm like Xia Qing on the outside, but inside they were anything but.

Dozens of Devastation Snakes. Over ten wolves and bears hurt or dead. No wonder things got so intense. And now the big boss of Territory Seven is suddenly easy to negotiate with? Wasn’t he just cursing online the other day, insisting he wasn’t a vet?

Especially for Huo Zhun, who’d been kicked out by the boss two days ago while asking for medicine, Xia Qing’s skills were downright awe-inspiring.

After they landed in Section Three on Hill Forty-Nine, Xia Qing told Huo Zhun and Zhang Hongda to guard the chopper. She let Er rest in Wolf Valley and drove the two injured wolves straight to Territory Seven.

There’s a timid little yellow calf living in Section Three. Xia Qing didn’t dare let unfamiliar wolves stay to heal up in her territory.

And Old Goat? That’s no ordinary sheep. He’s a true companion to the wolf pack.

Xia Qing never thought much of it before, but after seeing the regular sheep Tang Huai raised, she finally realized just how extraordinary the sheep in her own territory was.

Wolf Valley has caves, fresh water, and wild boar, plus Er keeping watch. Once the anesthesia wore off, the wounded wolves wouldn’t be able to cause trouble. Xia Qing had complete faith in Er’s ability to calm the animals.