Chapter 311: Growing Barriers and Silent Tensions

Purslane, or ‘Horse-Ear Greens’, is a great dish, whether you toss it in a cold salad or stir-fry it while it’s still young and tender. In summer when the sun’s out, people pick the edible purslane, snip off the roots, wash it, blanch it quick, then lay it out to dry. Once it’s cured, you can seal it up and store it away for a long time. Xia Qing’s territory had plenty of edible purslane too. She dried a lot of it last summer.

After years of disaster, nothing says sincerity like sharing food—especially food marked by the green lantern.

Xia Qing accepted the purslane Zhao Ze’s mother brought and discussed, “Auntie, just a few days ago, intruders slipped into my territory through this valley. If Captain Tan hadn’t spotted them early, all the crops I worked so hard to grow might have been ruined. I feel like this valley between our two territories is a gaping weak spot, a big security risk. We should really seal it off before the autumn harvest.”

The lands are divided by a river running through the valley, so to block the path from the Northern Barrier into their territories, Xia Qing would need to coordinate with Section Four. Only after they’re on the same page can any action be taken.

Zhao Ze’s mother stared at her, eyes wide. “When did this happen?”

Xia Qing briefly explained what had happened. The case involving Jiang Xiong Squad sneaking into Section Three hadn’t been settled yet, and no official notice had gone out, so none of the local lords knew about it.

Zhao Ze’s mother immediately agreed with Xia Qing’s plan. “She’s right. Our crops are almost ripe—the sooner we close that gap, the better we’ll sleep at night. It’ll keep out not just people but wild animals too. Remember last time? If you hadn’t killed those water rats that swam over, who knows what shape our territory would be in now.”

Having agreed, Zhao Ze’s mother came up with a plan on the spot. “I’ve got two big evolved kalopanax trees—their thorns are long and tough. Tomorrow, I’ll have Zhao Ze take some people to cut them down.”

It’s satisfying dealing with straightforward folks. Even Xia Qing, usually so stoic, managed a hint of a smile. “Great minds think alike. I’ve got kalopanax trees too. I’ll chop down two big ones and bring them over.”

Kalopanax, also called thorn sprouts, are edible if their devastation element levels are low. Sadly, all the kalopanax in Xia Qing’s territory are marked by the red lantern. Their evolved thorns are over twenty centimeters long—sharp and sturdy—perfect for making a fortified fence.

After coming to an agreement, Xia Qing, always quick to act, went home and unlocked her garage. She swapped the rotary tiller’s attachment for a digging shovel and drove off to uproot the trees. They happened to be near the evolved cotton plants, which needed to be cleared out anyway.

The moment Xia Qing started up her rotary tiller, Old Goat leapt onto his usual seat. Er Gou, the wolf, trotted over and sat nearby, gazing at Xia Qing with puppy-dog eyes.

“You want a ride too? Hang on.”

Xia Qing swiftly removed the tiller’s rain cover and fastened a seat onto the left-side guardplate of the track. Waving Er Gou over, she called, “Come on up, Er Gou. We’re off to dig up trees.”

Er Gou hopped onto the seat, tail wagging and rubbing his head against Xia Qing’s arm with delight. Not to be outdone, Old Goat gave an approving “baa” to let Xia Qing know she’d made a smart choice.

With a wolf on her left and a goat on her right, Xia Qing was brimming with contentment as she set off with the tiller to harvest the kalopanax.

Tang Huai, busy digging up bugs in Territory Two, immediately recognized the noisy machine and started cursing under his breath. “Zhou Xun, go see what that damned woman is up to now. She’s driving me nuts with the racket.”

In no time, Xia Qing brought down two kalopanax trees, both over six meters tall. She sawed them into sections, loaded them onto Old Goat’s cart, and had him haul the wood to the edge of the valley. Technically, she could’ve used the gas-powered tiller for the job, but Old Goat was far more cost-effective.

Truth is, Old Goat actually enjoys farm work, especially when his strength alone gets the job done.

Since these trees were freshly uprooted, their roots were still alive. It wasn’t safe to plant the trunks as fence posts right away. Otherwise, during the next devastation rain, the already unstable red lantern kalopanax could mutate aggressively. With those thorns, an all-out evolution would be deadly.

So Xia Qing and Zhao Ze’s mother agreed: each would bring two kalopanax trees and pile the branches and trunks in the valley to block the way between their territories. Once the wood dries out, they’ll turn it into a sturdy thorny fence.

With the two trees moved to the valley, a fifteen-meter-wide buffer zone was cleared near the evolved cotton plants.

Hazard one: the cotton plants that emit flammable gas. Now with a buffer zone, even if they ever catch on fire, it won’t spread into a massive blaze.

Hazard two: an easily hidden passage through the valley leading into Section Three—now sealed off.

Of course, the most effective solution would be to just uproot all of the evolved cotton. But Xia Qing was reluctant to part with it—she wanted to see what tricks Territory Two would try next and maybe use the opportunity to squeeze the Sufeng Squad for some payback.

Over in Territory Two, Tang Huai complained to Qian Lin, “Xia Qing cleared the area around the evolved cotton plants.”

“She picked today of all days? That’s awfully convenient.” Qian Lin eyed Tang Huai suspiciously, ready to act that very night.

Tang Huai rolled his eyes dramatically. “Listen, just because I’ve got enhanced hearing doesn’t mean I know every move she makes. She didn’t go muttering her plans while she worked! How the hell would I know?”

Inside, a Sufeng Squad member whispered, “Lin, are we still going through with the plan this year?”

“Let me check.” Qian Lin shot Tang Huai a subtle glare and gave his guys a meaningful look. Then he stepped outside with his phone—clearly intending to report everything, Tang Huai included.

Qian Lin’s squad stuck close to Tang Huai and started talking loudly, making it obvious they weren’t letting him overhear Qian Lin’s call.

Tang Huai just gave another eye-roll, crossed his legs, and whistled a tune, showing he couldn’t care less what Qian Lin was up to.

Soon enough, Qian Lin returned, face clouded. “Cancel everything. Abort the mission.”

After Qian Lin’s squad left, Zhou Xun sidled up to Tang Huai. “Boss, Qian Lin’s just a level-four strength evolver. He’s nowhere near as strong as you. Don’t you get pissed at how he treats you?”

Tang Huai swung his legs lazily and mimicked Zhang San’s voice, “Of course I’m pissed. What do you think I should do about it?”

Zhou Xun balled up his fists. “Take him out.”

“You do it, then.”

Zhou Xun was speechless.

Tang Huai shot him a glare. “If you don’t dare to do it yourself, then don’t keep running your mouth. Go mind your business.”

But with night falling and no one left watching, Zhou Xun had no intention of doing any more work—he wasn’t an idiot. He chuckled. “Boss, what do you think Vice Captain Xu is really up to?”

“Want to find out?”

“Of course.”

“Then go ask Xu Pin yourself.”

Zhou Xun was at a loss.

When everyone was finally gone, Tang Huai got up, stretched, and whistled a tune as he wandered over to the edge of the northern wild grass wall, trying to eavesdrop on Section Three.

The grass had started to regrow where the stingers had chewed it back, so Tang Huai couldn’t see into Section Three. But he did think he heard Xia Qing shout “Er Gou!”

Tang Huai knew Xia Qing’s evolved goat was called Old Goat, so likely this “Er Gou” was an evolved wolf. He wished he could rip open that wild grass wall and peek into Section Three himself.

After dinner, a round of news, and a farming broadcast, Xia Qing checked all five cameras around her territory. Then she turned to Er Gou. “Come on, let’s make another patrol. I just can’t shake this uneasy feeling.”

Er Gou—full from dinner—got up from his spot on the tatami, silently saying he was ready to go. Old Goat lounged nearby, squinting and unmoving, making it clear he wasn’t interested at all.

Truth is, Xia Qing hadn’t planned on bringing him. Old Goat was too conspicuous—a big white goat glowing in the night.

The night passed safely. The next evening, Xia Qing went on patrol again. At ten, she told Er Gou, who was sleeping in the middle of the territory, to report in if anything happened. Just as she lay down at home, her phone rang.

The moment Xia Qing looked at her phone, she sat up straight.