Chapter 1132: Night Watch in the Valley

Xia Qing, the Wolf Pack, and the Bear Pack kept watch inside the valley. But even after the sun climbed straight over the valley, slipped through the Wolf Pack’s territory, and finally vanished behind the peaks, the Snake Pack never launched a fourth invasion.

Maybe Xia Qing’s presence had something to do with it. After losing three giant pythons in the second and third waves, the Snake Pack probably wouldn’t risk another large-scale attack today.

Once the sun set, temperatures in the valley dipped below fifteen degrees. Snakes are cold-blooded, after all. They rely on the environment to regulate their body heat. The chill slows their metabolism way down, so when it gets cold, snakes hunt for warmth or go dormant to save energy.

Wolves and bears are warm-blooded and have night vision, so a drop in temperature or light won’t put a dent in their fighting power.

In other words, everyone could call it a night and rest.

But Xia Qing wasn’t the leader, so giving that order wasn’t her place. Ten minutes later, the Alpha stretched out lazily and left the valley, leaving just two wolves behind to stand guard.

Xia Qing called Little Monkey across the river and gave her instructions. “Goofball, stay here in the valley and look after your little bear friend. I’ll come by once the sun is up. If the cub feels unwell, pour this medicine from the packet into the drinking bowl and make sure he takes it.”

After this, Xia Qing tucked the packet of medicine into Little Monkey’s pocket and double-checked, “If Goofball gets hungry, where should you find food?”

Goofball wasted no time taking off his little backpack and pulling out a chunk of sweet potato.

“Perfect. Goofball, you’re so clever,” Xia Qing praised with a grin. Then she pointed at the cub snoring on the far side of the valley, asking, “If your bear friend feels really sick, what should you give him?”

Right away, Goofball dug the medicine packet Xia Qing had just stuffed into his pocket out with his tiny black paws. He’d drunk plenty of this same kind of medicine during his stay in Section Three, so he knew it made sick bodies feel better.

“Excellent! Goofball, you’re the pride of the Monk-faced Monkey clan—an evolved monkey right at the top of Blue Star’s food chain!” After making sure he understood, Xia Qing rewarded him with a small packet of dried breadworms and headed off toward the cave on Hill Sixty where the wolves were recovering, ready to check on the wounded.

Bears are tougher than wolves, so the Wolf Pack had more casualties today. Still, their numbers were larger, so in the end, the casualty ratio between bear and wolf was about the same.

Xia Qing went from wolf to wolf, checking on the injured—including the Handsome Huge Wolf—then left Broken Back Wolf with a basin and two packs of medicine. She told him to give it to the wounded when the moon hit the right spot, then contacted Huo Zhun to plan their return.

Broken Back Wolf’s claws weren’t the most agile, but his medical expertise left Monkey in the dust—honestly, even Xia Qing felt outclassed. Just stepping inside that recovery cave, you could see he’d thought of everything: cleaning, damp-proofing, ventilation. Even Third Brother would have to admit he did a good job.

As soon as Xia Qing stepped out of the cave, Lame Wolf bounded over, eager for her to play. He’d been transferred to the western front after the second battle, guarding the river with the younger wolves, so it had been a while since they’d seen each other.

With time on her hands, Xia Qing played a game of tag with Lame Wolf, then wandered over to the hickory tree—its branches heavy with nuts. Afterward, she made her way to Hill Fifty-Nine, let five fully recovered honey badgers that Huo Zhun and Zhang Hongda had brought back go, then hopped in the helicopter to head home.

Broken Back Wolf hitched a ride on the helicopter too, heading back to Hill Fifty-Five to check on his territory.

The emergency disaster alert for Section One of the North was still active, but all the snake-catching teams had made it back before dark. Xia Qing’s group was the last to return.

Once she parted ways with Huo Zhun and Zhang Hongda, Xia Qing headed to Wolf Valley to check on the injured wolves. Two of them had fractured ribs and lung bruises from being squeezed by a mid-sized python. Thanks to the evolved wolves’ tough bodies, all they needed was painkillers and two weeks of rest—no splints required.

When Xia Qing walked in, the two wolves were so exhausted they couldn’t even bare their teeth. Er brightened up and gave his tail a friendly wag when he saw her.

“During the Snake Pack’s third invasion, I collected five Yi Snakes. Gave three to Third Brother, so there are two left. Once he extracts the good stuff and makes it into medicine, Er, you should take some too—it’ll boost your resistance.” Xia Qing ruffled Er’s head and checked that neither wolf was having trouble breathing before swiping open Section Three’s northern gate.

She distracted Old Goat, who was fuming, with a tasty cucumber, slung him over her shoulder and marched home. After quickly feeding the cows and chickens, taking a shower, and changing into fresh clothes, she called her Idol to report on the battles by Python Lake. She added, “I asked Broken Back Wolf—he said there are way more snakes crawling out of Python Lake this year than last.”

Zhang San sounded relaxed and in a great mood as he explained, “With humans out of the picture, just about every species in the Evolved Forest is breeding far better than before. Snakes breed like crazy. That’s why they’re invading the water at Hill Fifty-Five through that underground river—for more territory and food. You helped the Wolf Pack push the Snake Pack back to Python Lake, so more and more of them are crowding in. More snakes in the lake, more climbing out. Makes perfect sense.”

Finished with the explanation, Zhang San reminded her, “Competition between the snakes, wolves, and bears for food and territory keeps the ecological balance, boosts their survival, and drives evolution. The natural push and pull is what keeps the Evolved Forest healthy and stable. Don’t get too involved in their rivalry—keeping balance between bears, wolves, and pythons in the north helps control runaway microbe evolution and breeding.”

Lying on the sofa with the air conditioner humming, Xia Qing replied, “Got it. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

As if!

Zhang San gave her a few more reminders before changing the subject. “That evolved male bear with the brain upgrade you saved today—is that the one Hui Six Base was after?”

Xia Qing knew what her Idol wanted to know. “That’s right. When I treated his wounds, I took out the tracker in his hind leg and smashed it.”

Hui Six and Fire Phoenix were probably still tracking that signal. Xia Qing wouldn’t have dared bring it back until she’d destroyed it for good.

There was a brief pause before Zhang San asked, “Aren’t you part of the Wolf Pack?”

Xia Qing had to admit, today had gotten more complicated than she’d expected. “It was that white-faced little monkey. He noticed the bear was hurt and asked me to treat him.”

How exactly did he ask?

And how did you treat him?

And how did the Bear Pack agree to let you treat their giant bear?

Zhang San was done asking for explanations. “Did you get it on camera?”

Xia Qing replied, “I only filmed the battle. None of this was recorded.”

She kept the medical side off-camera because these deals between the Bear Pack and Wolf Pack had to stay secret—otherwise people would find out about the Wolf Pack’s Yi Stone.

Broken Back Wolf had watched the video. Once he understood how valuable the Yi Stone was, he didn’t want any humans except Xia Qing knowing the wolves had it.

After hanging up, Xia Qing did a loop around her territory and went straight to bed. Old Goat joined Yellow Calf in the sheep shed for a while, then headed back indoors, making himself comfortable on the floor beside Xia Qing’s bed.

Xia Qing stretched out a foot, ruffling Old Goat’s fur, then listened to the familiar rustling downstairs and rolled over to get more sleep. She needed to be fully rested for tomorrow’s big battle. With Er guarding the injured wolves, Xia Qing had hired three people from Hu Zifeng’s Squad to watch the territory tonight. She could finally sleep easy.

That sound on the first floor came from Little Fei Mao. Xia Qing had brought home a big bundle of bear fur for him. After washing it, she’d hung it in a net to dry in the living room.

Little Fei Mao must have noticed it was dry and was now busy dragging those powerful tufts of fur into his den.