Chapter 125: Wolf, Surgery, and The Price of Healing

With Doctor Wang’s help, Xia Qing carefully lifted the wolf with the injured spine onto a wooden board. Just then, the sound of banging echoed from the North Buffer Forest.

Xia Qing hadn’t expected Ji Li to show up this quickly. She immediately pointed to the wounded wolf on the board and explained to the alpha wolf atop the ruins, “It’s badly hurt. We need to move it somewhere else for treatment.”

But this time, the alpha wolf didn’t even glance at where the noise came from. It had its eyes locked on Luo Pei and flat out ignored Xia Qing.

This wolf could tell who was the strongest in the group, and Xia Qing, who it saw as too weak, simply didn’t register.

In a matter of seconds Ji Li walked into Xia Qing’s courtyard. He greeted Luo Pei first, then turned to Xia Qing. “Is this the wolf on the board?”

Xia Qing nodded. “That’s right. I already gave it a Calming Capsule. Sorry for the trouble, Brother Ji.”

“Awooo—”

Just as Ji Li bent down to pick up the board, the alpha wolf on the ruins suddenly let out a low, menacing growl. At the same time, two more wolves appeared on the east and west sides of Xia Qing’s courtyard, ready to fight.

Ji Li paused and looked at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing hadn’t expected the alpha to act out either, but things had reached a point where it really didn’t matter whether the alpha liked it or not. She stepped forward. “I’ll carry the wolf. Brother Ji, help light the way ahead.”

With that, Xia Qing lifted the thick wooden board as steady as could be. Good grief, this wolf was even heavier than Boss Sheep—easily over two hundred pounds.

When she found herself holding the board and the wolf pack still didn’t attack, Xia Qing turned to Luo Pei. “Luo Ge, I’ll leave things here to you then. Boss, I’m heading out for a bit. I’ll bring you something tasty when I get back. Keep an eye on the house and look after your friends.”

“Baa—” Boss Sheep perked right up at the mention of treats.

Ji Li led the way, Xia Qing carried the injured wolf in the middle, and Wei Chengdong brought up the rear. As they left Territory Three, the alpha wolf followed close behind.

With three people and two wolves trailing the North Barrier, they quickly reached the North Buffer Forest of Territory Seven. Ji Li told Wei Chengdong to head back, then led Xia Qing onward alone. Xia Qing didn’t bother checking if the alpha wolf had followed—she just thanked Wei Chengdong, lifted the board and followed Ji Li into Territory Seven.

Last time, Xia Qing had only stood for a short while in the North Buffer Forest of Territory Seven, glancing from afar at the neat rows of greenhouses built on the farmland beneath the forest.

This time, she followed Ji Li through both the forest and the greenhouses, stepping onto hard pavement and finally reaching the door of an ultra-modern operating room. Her eyes barely took it all in.

“What are you standing around for? Hurry up and get the wolf onto the surgery table.” Zhang San’s unhappy voice snapped at her.

“Right.” Xia Qing was about to bring the wolf inside when two people in crisp white scrubs came over and gently lifted the wolf off the board, supporting its back and waist.

The wolf, who’d been calm until now, suddenly opened its eyes and stared at Xia Qing.

Sensing its unease, Xia Qing reached out to pat its head, her voice gentle and comforting—just like she would with Boss Sheep. “Don’t be scared. Once Third Brother fixes you up, we’ll go back and have something good to eat.”

Zhang San, already suited up for surgery, let out a cold scoff. “Eat sheep?”

Xia Qing was left speechless.

“Quit hanging around. Go wait outside.”

“Yes, sir.”

Once the door to the operating room closed, Xia Qing messaged Luo Pei and Wei Chengdong to tell them they could relax and go home, then asked Hu Zifeng to watch over the territory.

Ji Li brought over a chair and quietly tried to soothe Xia Qing. “No need to be so nervous.”

Xia Qing nodded. “Brother Ji, go take care of your business. I’ll just wait here. I swear I won’t wander off.”

After Ji Li left, Xia Qing sat in the chair and listened to Zhang San’s cold and confident voice inside the operating room as he called out surgical instruments one by one. It reassured her, as if she were family waiting anxiously in the hallway.

Before the cataclysm, Zhang San must have been an outstanding doctor. She wondered if his temper had always been like this.

A smile tugged at Xia Qing’s lips. She glanced at a surveillance camera not far away, then leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes to rest.

In the monitoring room, one screen showed Xia Qing’s face in close-up. The person watching smiled. “She might be young, but she’s got composure—and a good sense of boundaries.”

“Wait until you see what she’s like fighting those evolved sheep. She’s got a real temper,” Ji Li told the night-shift friend. “I’m heading for a shower and disinfecting. Let me know if anything happens.”

The well-built friend rolled his eyes. “What are you fussing around at this hour for?”

“He’s got wolf scent all over him. If his princess smells it, she’ll go nuts.” Before Ji Li could answer, Yan Long walked in.

The moment Princess Cat was mentioned, Ji Li’s whole expression softened. The two others in the room couldn’t stand it and teamed up to shoo him out.

When Ji Li was gone, a square-faced man at the monitor pointed at the knife strapped to Xia Qing’s waist. “That knife set? My dad made it. I kept asking for it, but he wouldn’t give it to me. Turns out it was for that girl all along.”

Yan Long just stared at Xia Qing’s calm face on the screen and said, “She’s got potential.”

Huo Zhun lounged back in his chair and grinned. “Pity she’s just a Strength Evolver. But she’s got a clear head—she knows exactly what she’s good at. Of all the nearby lords, maybe only Qi Fu grows better crops than her.”

Xia Qing thought she’d be in for a long wait, but before dawn the surgery was done. Ji Li showed up at her side soon after.

Zhang San opened the OR door and waved her over. Once they stepped into a side room cluttered with bottles and jars, Zhang San tugged off his scrubs and asked, “Where’s the grass?”

Xia Qing quickly composed herself, then pulled out the four stalks of grass the alpha wolf had brought her.

Zhang San looked them over and grunted. “Just these?”

Xia Qing knew how this worked. “Just these. Third Brother, how much are we short?”

Despite his grumbling, Zhang San placed the grass gently on a tray—you could tell he was actually quite satisfied.

He named his price, clearly pleased. “One hundred fifty thousand.”

One…one hundred fifty thousand?

Xia Qing swallowed hard, barely managing to calm herself. “Third Brother, I don’t have enough points. Can I pay with supplies instead?”

“That works.” Zhang San’s tone softened.

Xia Qing offered the most straightforward way she could think of to pay him back. “Once those three hundred spinach seeds finish dormancy, I’ll plant them all by your instructions from the guide. Half the spinach leaves and seeds I harvest, I’ll give to you. Sound good?”

Standing in front of a shelf of countless glass jars, Zhang San fiddled with the liquids inside without turning around, but his tone turned gentle. “Your spinach seeds break dormancy on July 23. With the current climate, your cultivation setup, and your abilities, if you plant all three hundred seeds you’ll get about eighty plants big enough to produce seeds—that’s pretty good. Spinach has male and female plants. Let’s say fifty are female. Half the seeds from those should be about two thousand. Give me two thousand Greenlight spinach seeds and we’ll call it even. Just pick the spinach leaves as you see fit, but don’t damage the seedlings.”

“Deal.” Xia Qing agreed right away. “Anything extra counts as my thanks for waking you up in the middle of the night.”

By the prices Xia Qing and Zhang San had last used—one spinach seed was worth a hundred points. Two thousand seeds would be two hundred thousand points, a full fifty thousand more than what Zhang San had quoted.

And spinach leaves? Was her idol going to eat a few salad leaves for points now?