Chapter 168: Bartering with Wolves and the Green Medicine

After the two injured wolves finished the pangolin’s innards, the alpha didn’t come out to eat. The wolves that brought back the prey gnawed some meat off the pangolin’s belly, then dragged the half-eaten carcass outside. It looked like they planned to dispose of the body.

Xia Qing hurried outside, holding a small piece of pangolin scale, and began to negotiate with the alpha wolf, who was lying in the sheep shed. “Your Majesty, could you let me handle the leftover pangolin? I really need its scales. This piece here, see?”

The alpha wolf stayed put, so Xia Qing kept up the flattery. “Clever and beautiful Queen, I truly need those scales. Please, I looked after your two brothers pretty well, didn’t I? Won’t you let me handle what’s left of the pangolin?”

Still unmoved, the alpha wolf remained in the sheep shed, but the injured brain-evolved wolf crawled forward a few steps, lifted a front paw, pointed at the basin, then tapped the hollowed-out pangolin.

“Got it! Right away!”

Thinking she understood, Xia Qing quickly scrubbed the basin, filled it with spring water, and placed it in front of the injured wolf. “Here, have some water.”

The brain-evolved wolf sniffed the basin, then pointed at it with its paw again and tapped the pangolin.

So, not spring water?

Now Xia Qing finally caught on. “You want medicine? The same kind of green stuff from yesterday?”

The brain-evolved wolf gazed calmly at Xia Qing, then tried to push the pangolin toward her. It couldn’t budge it, but its meaning was clear.

They were handing over a hollowed-out pangolin worth two hundred thousand points, so a little spinach juice was hardly too much to ask. Xia Qing nodded. “Alright, let me get rid of the pangolin first and then I’ll get your medicine. Sound good?”

The brain-evolved wolf nudged the pangolin’s heavy tail, signaling its agreement.

Truly… these wolves had become spirits.

Carefully, Xia Qing hauled the hollow pangolin over. Seeing no objection from the pack, she quickly brought it into the house and sealed it up, then hurriedly sprayed deodorizer all over herself, the room, and the yard—she even made sure to spray the soles of her shoes.

Only then did she strap on her heavy pack full of goods worth three hundred thousand points and head toward the barrier outside the North Buffer Forest to make her delivery.

Afraid Tang Huai from Territory Two might overhear, they’d chosen the barrier north of the highland in Territory Three for exchanging goods between Plot One and Territory Three. It was a detour, but far enough away that Tang Huai’s Level 5 hearing couldn’t pick up a thing.

Chang Li had come along with Hu Zifeng’s squad, and everyone here was already acquainted, so there was no need for small talk. Hidden by the tall trees, Hu Zifeng quickly transferred the two big vacuum bags from Xia Qing’s pack into his own, then sent three squad members to escort them back.

Afterward, Hu Zifeng led the team and Chang Li into Territory Three to search for and clean up any lingering scents, scales or bloodstains left by the evolved pangolin.

Guan Tong naturally took the sprayer off Xia Qing’s back while Chang Li asked, “Miss Xia, does this contain something that can mask scents?”

“Just call me Xia Qing, Sister Li.” Xia Qing always liked this calm, skilled squad medic. “This deodorizer’s something I got from swapping with Territory Seven. It works great. I plan to spray every place that might have a scent, just to be safe.”

“Mm, medicines from Territory Seven always work well.” Now using Xia Qing’s name, Chang Li, who was a year older, said, “Xia Qing, there’s nothing unusual in the air here. How about we head back to the village and look around where the wolves went?”

Xia Qing brought them to the entrance of the village, where Chang Li, Chen Zheng, and Chen Cheng—the three Scent Evolvers—took the lead. The team sprayed their way from the village entrance all the way to the abandoned breeding center, and finally into the first gorge. That was the route the wolf pack had taken the pangolin. Along the way, they found five scale pieces about the size of fingernails, but no bloodstains.

That was because the pack moved carefully and had ways to eliminate their scent, so they’d left little trace behind.

Once the route was done, Xia Qing and Hu Zifeng put together a plan to cover wolf movements with scent-masking spray for the next few days, then split up.

Chang Li and Hu Zifeng’s squad continued to track the wolves up into Area Three of Mountain 49, while Xia Qing returned home to spray the village herself.

When she got back, Xia Qing found the injured brain-evolved wolf staring right at her. Its expression was perfectly clear—it only meant one thing:

Where’s the medicine?

Xia Qing eyed the alpha dozing in the sheep shed and replied, “I just went to cover the route Your Majesty took when you brought back the pangolin. I’ll prep the medicine now.”

She left the sprayer behind, picked up a basket and went to pick leafy greens.

The spinach in the terraced fields was still small; there weren’t many leaves to take. Xia Qing only harvested a small handful and headed home. She noticed her own mind was clearer and Boss Sheep more energetic; they no longer needed any more spinach leaves.

So this whole handful was for the wolves.

Back home, she juiced the spinach and added two drops of Zhang San’s medicine. Pouring about thirty milliliters of the green liquid into the basin, she set it in front of the sheep shed. “Medicine’s ready—help yourself.”

To Xia Qing’s surprise, it wasn’t the wolf with the broken leg or the injured brain-evolved wolf that came over, but the alpha herself.

The alpha sniffed at the basin, then started lapping up the green liquid. Xia Qing was surprised, but didn’t stop her. The alpha did look out of sorts—she must have been near the territory during yesterday’s fight and caught the brunt of those ultrasonic attacks.

When the alpha had finished half the spinach juice, Xia Qing warned, “That’s enough. Any more would be too much.”

The alpha wolf looked up at Xia Qing. It was only then that she noticed the alpha’s eyes weren’t as bright and clear as usual—she really wasn’t feeling well.

Working up her courage, Xia Qing pressed again, “This stuff is strong. If you drink too much, Your Majesty, it won’t be pleasant. Let another wolf have some.”

Getting the message, the alpha returned to the sheep shed and switched out with the wolf with the broken leg for the rest of the medicine.

To Xia Qing’s delight, the wolf with the broken leg was walking out on all fours. Though both hind legs were still splinted and his steps were a bit clumsy, she was overjoyed.

When this wolf first showed up at Xia Qing’s place, the femurs in both hind legs had been completely snapped and deformed. To be able to stand after just half a month really showed the wolves’ incredible healing power—and just how skilled Chang Li was as a medic.

She hoped Qi Fu, who was also being treated by Chang Li, would recover soon.

Xia Qing had no idea how the wolves judged that the spinach juice was medicine, but both licked the basin perfectly clean. She rinsed it thoroughly and filled it with spring water, leaving her VIPs to rest while she carefully sprayed the whole village with deodorizer one more time.

Even after all that spraying, Xia Qing still didn’t feel at ease.

It wasn’t that she doubted her idol; she just wasn’t sure if the deodorizer worked on anything but animals.

When Zhang San first traded her the deodorizer, he’d said it only masked sheep scent from wolves. Yet after she’d bathed Boss Sheep with it, the alpha still managed to track him down and snuggle up with the sheep anyway.

So far, all she could confirm was that the deodorizer, when sprayed on crops, would make them less attractive to insects. Whether it confused Scent Evolvers or Evolved Dogs—she wasn’t so sure.

If only it would rain right now. Once the rain washed everything away, all the traces and scents would be wiped clean. But it would have to be a normal rain—Xiang Rain was out of the question. Her little spinach seedlings needed nurturing, especially since there were barely any leaves left on them.

“Rumble—”

Just as Xia Qing was wishing for rain, a clap of thunder sounded.

Crap!

She didn’t care about masking scents anymore—she leaped up and dashed for the fields.