Chapter 222: Second Red Xiang Rain: Hazard at the Sunflower Field

Xia Qing thought it over and finally understood.

From the Wolf with the Spinal Injury’s perspective, Boss Sheep was different from the other two wolves. If the other wolves wanted some dried meat, it would help out, but if Boss Sheep wanted food, it had to check with Xia Qing first.

Ever since the conflict over the medicinal juice, when the Wolf with the Spinal Injury ordered Boss Sheep to fetch the snake outside—a move that had really ticked Xia Qing off—maybe that event had made the Wolf with the Spinal Injury more cautious?

Xia Qing walked over, took off her gloves, dug a piece of rations out of Boss Sheep’s pouch, tore open the vacuum bag and stuck it into its mouth, then gave it a good rub on the head. “Eat up.”

Compressed rations were incredibly dry. Xia Qing topped up the water basin for the three wolves and the sheep with spring water before she went back to clearing out the Xiang Grass and poisonous bugs.

All the Xiang Grass in the yard got yanked up by Xia Qing and tossed onto the bamboo rack. Once they left the ground, those roots could cling to a bit of dirt but couldn’t really do much else. After the Xiang Rain, she’d dry them in the sun and burn them to get rid of them for good.

Once the yard was clear, Xia Qing opened up the garage and fitted the rotary tiller with its rainproof cover and weeding wheels, then fired it up.

The sound of the rotary tiller brought Boss Sheep running full speed—it hopped right up to its special seat. Xia Qing fitted its protective mask and tightened the rain cover before using the tiller to clear the roads choked by Xiang Grass.

Wherever the tiller went, evolved poisonous insects and snakes hiding in the Xiang Grass scattered in every direction. A few bold ones tried to jump up and attack Xia Qing and Boss Sheep, but the rain cover stopped them cold.

When the main roads through the territory were done, Xia Qing started circling the fields, clearing the Xiang Grass along the edges of several greenhouses. Once the Xiang Grass got tall, it blocked sightlines, and all sorts of evolved bugs and snakes could hide there—definitely a safety hazard.

It was even worse during the red-grade Xiang Rain—the Xiang Grass grew like crazy. If they waited until the third bout of Xiang Rain to clear it, the roots could very well have invaded the greenhouses. That’s why, ever since Hu Zifeng’s squad took a break, they’d focused on clearing Xiang Grass from around the greenhouses.

All the Xiang Grass within two meters of the greenhouses was already pulled up. Farther out, the tiller just mowed it down—after the Xiang Rain, they’d plow it up and burn the roots.

Machines made quick work of it. Xia Qing made several passes—click, click, click—and cleared a huge stretch in no time.

Xiao Jiang, the endurance evolution expert, eyed the rotary tiller hungrily. “That rain cover’s definitely one of Qing-jie’s creations. She’s got serious skills.”

Guan Tong, who’d learned some blacksmithing from Xia Qing, had stars in his eyes. “I’ll weld a cover like that for our territory’s tiller when I get back.”

When the tiller passed by the pasture shed, Boss Sheep nudged Xia Qing with its head, wanting some grass. Xia Qing stopped, checked the portable toxin detector, then removed its protective mask and let it hop down to eat.

Seeing Boss Sheep finally get off the ride, Xiao Jiang dashed over. “Qing-jie, take a break. I’ll finish cutting the rest of the grass.”

“Don’t go to the low-lying spots—they’re flooded.” Xia Qing warned him, then handed off the tiller to Xiao Jiang. She grabbed her umbrella and basket and headed toward the farm shed. As soon as she pulled off her mask, a mouthwatering aroma hit her.

Xia Qing hadn’t expected Er Yong, who’d always kept a low profile, to be such a talented cook.

Wearing an apron and holding a wok, Er Yong called out, “Qing-jie, come sit for a bit! Just two more dishes and we’ll eat.”

“There’s rations, flour, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers here. Cook whatever you like. I’m going to go patrol the greenhouses.” Xia Qing set the basket next to him, put her mask back on and left.

Now she got why the shed was empty—that smell could make anyone cave in and sneak a bite early.

Xia Qing stopped by each greenhouse. When she reached the highland, she found Hu Zifeng pulling Xiang Grass off the hillside by the greenhouses, so she joined in. Using the private channel, Hu Zifeng first updated her about the Zhang San and Li Si incident, then asked in a hushed tone, “During the Xiang Rain, is it still possible to get some spinach juice for Luo Ge?”

Xia Qing knew exactly what Hu Zifeng was worried about. He was afraid that harvesting the spinach juice would leave the plants unstable, causing a Xiang Evolution. But the spinach terraces were protected by Yi Stones—even if they stripped the spinach bare, the risk was pretty low. “It’s fine. We’ve got a few hundred spinach plants on the terrace. Even if half evolve, there’ll be plenty left for eating.”

Luo Ge’s body really couldn’t take any kind of setback. Hu Zifeng nodded, keeping her kindness close to heart as he pulled weeds with extra effort.

A heavenly voice came in over the walkie-talkie: “Qing-jie! Brothers—it’s time to eat!”

Braised pig’s head, soy-braised elbow, pig’s trotter stew, stir-fried cabbage leaves, dried meat with bamboo shoots, tomatoes with sugar, smashed cucumber salad… every single dish looked so delicious it nearly brought Xia Qing to tears.

Damn it, compared to Er Yong’s cooking, anything she made was absolute garbage.

If Er Yong weren’t a core evolver in the Qinglong top-ten squad, Xia Qing would’ve tried to strike a deal with Yang Jin and hire him as her personal chef.

After dinner, Hu Zifeng and the five who’d been up since last night headed to the lounge to catch up on sleep while Xia Qing and the other five set out to patrol the farmland. The drizzle of Xiang Rain kept falling until midnight. At the exact moment when everyone was dead tired, a calm and stern voice sounded in the Lord’s Channel: “Second round of red-level Xiang Rain beginning. All Lords remain on high alert.”

Everyone in every territory mobilized to face the second red Xiang Rain.

Thankfully, this round lasted only forty minutes. As soon as Tan Junjie’s broadcast signaled the end of the red Xiang Rain, Xia Qing had just let out a breath when Zhao Ze came rushing on the channel, panic clear in his voice, “Captain Tan! Sunflowers in Territory Four have mutated dangerously! Two people are injured and we need support!”

“Received. I’ll arrive within three minutes.” Tan Junjie responded calmly.

Kuang Qingwei let loose in a fury. “My two sunflowers mutated and turned deadly—shooting out seeds like a damn machine gun! Tore my rainproof shelter full of holes—half the shed’s wrecked!”

Tan Junjie issued a stern warning, “Territory Six Lord Kuang Qingwei, control your emotions. Does Territory Six require backup?”

Kuang Qingwei paused a few seconds, barely holding down his irritation and frustration. “No injuries in Territory Six, no support needed.”

After responding to Tan Junjie, maybe to cool his anger, Kuang Qingwei asked in the Lord’s Channel, “Guess it’s my fault for sending most of my people to the cornfields. How’s everyone else holding up?”

With Luo Pei’s corn seeds, plus the ones they’d traded for in the Safe Zone, Territories Three, Four, Five and Six—all those with Buffer Forests—planted huge fields of corn and made them their main area of patrol.

Qi Fu was probably too busy to talk. Shi Du replied, “We had two sunflowers mutate dangerously too, but we’d already ringed them with iron plates, so no one got hurt.”

Xia Qing pressed her button. “I fenced mine in with iron plates too, and I’d already weeded out the sunflowers with high Xiang Element counts—so no dangerous evolutions happened here.”