Chapter 314: Hidden Currents Among the Squads

The thing Xia Qing hated most about the Sufeng Squad was their willingness to use any means necessary to reach their goals.

The grudge between Sufeng and Qinglong should’ve been their own business. No matter how fierce the fight, the hardworking lords toiling in their fields shouldn’t be dragged into it.

Trying to keep her anger in check, Xia Qing asked, “Where’s Qian Lin?”

“Already silenced,” Chen Zheng explained. “If Sufeng went so far as to use that kind of pesticide, you can bet they’d already come up with a plan to escape punishment. Keeping Qian Lin alive wouldn’t help. Captain Xie’s going to use this chance to team up with the army and take out the Jiang Xiong Squad first.”

“The operation’s being led by the military—they’re in charge of territory defense. This time, they won’t bother going through the Territory Management Department. The snatch will probably happen this afternoon or tonight,” Chen Zheng continued quietly. “With a bit of luck, the case of Zhang Xi invading Sector Three gets handed over to the military as well.”

Having the case tried by the military was definitely in Xia Qing’s favor. The Territory Management Department took orders from Deputy Base Chief Tang Zhengrong. The Jiang Xiong Squad just followed Sufeng’s lead, and Tang Zhengrong would probably tell the Territory Management Department to downplay it—only punishing Zhang Xi and the two others who broke into territory.

With Jiang Xiong Squad out of the picture, Sufeng would lose an important crony, making them less of a threat to Xia Qing’s top trading partner—the wolves. But letting Sufeng off that easily was out of the question.

Xia Qing asked, “Qian Lin scattered the pesticide in the valley between Hill Forty-Nine and Hill Fifty, right?”

Chen Zheng nodded.

“That valley’s exit is near Territory Seven and Territory Fifteen. Once we’ve caught the Jiang Xiong Squad, have Captain Hu mention this in the lords’ chat channel. Make sure Third Brother hears about it.” Sufeng’s underhanded move meant there was no way Zhang San would help them heal Kou Fanming after he got struck by lightning.

Kou Fanming had followed Tang Zhengsu even before the calamity struck. Now, he was one of Sufeng Squad’s core members. If he couldn’t recover, it’d be a huge loss for Tang Zhengsu.

Chen Zheng grinned. “That’s exactly what our boss said, too.”

Xia Qing was surprised. “Captain Yang’s back?”

“Last night, Captain Xie finally managed to reach our boss. They’ll be able to get back to us today—by tonight, Luo can use the medicine,” Chen Zheng said, smiling as he talked about Yang Jin returning.

Xia Qing couldn’t help but share the good mood. She’d even started planning to visit Wei Chengdong, get his photo added to the surveillance system and keep him from accidentally triggering the cameras when he comes for spring water at night.

But today, Xia Qing had other priorities. She needed to head out to Valley Two in Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine before autumn harvest began.

Unlike Valley One, which runs northeast, splitting Hill Forty-Nine as if torn apart, Valley Two was worn down from the mountaintop by running water. So, the further northwest you go, the shallower the valley becomes.

Valley Two was also much narrower than Valley One. Its streams were smaller, and the vegetation less lush. Standing on a hillside, Xia Qing couldn’t spot any large fruit trees down below—which was exactly why Valley One had been her first stop before.

A valley with no big fruit trees didn’t mean there weren’t any berry bushes or useful herbs. That meant it was still worth exploring.

For this trip, Xia Qing decided to bring a partner—Er Gou the Sick Wolf. That way, if she discovered any harvestable plants, she could let Er Gou stay on guard while she got to work.

Together, girl and wolf entered Valley Two from Wild Boar Valley and made their way northeast. Xia Qing checked their surroundings and noticed the Red Squirrel wasn’t following. She figured there probably weren’t any nuts in this valley to tempt it.

After walking for about fifty meters, Xia Qing’s eyes lit up. “Er, look—isn’t that tribute chrysanthemum?”

Growing five meters ahead, tucked between some rocks, were two clusters of snow-white, many-petaled little flowers. The spot was so hidden, you’d never see them from the hillside.

Of course, Er Gou didn’t answer—he had no clue what a chrysanthemum looked like.

After checking the air for any toxins, Xia Qing stepped three meters forward on stones that the creek had washed clean, taking a careful look.

The two clumps were blooming beautifully, their color pure and bright. Even through her protective mask, Xia Qing seemed to catch a faint whiff of sweet fragrance.

Still, Xia Qing didn’t rush to pick them.

She and Er Gou had already sprayed themselves with bug spray, so the buzzing bees weren’t a worry. But from experience, she knew that thick plants like this were prime territory for poisonous snakes.

Since you couldn’t spot any snakes just by looking, Xia Qing pointed at the flowers and asked her companion, “Er, are there any snakes near those chrysanthemums?”

Snakes gave off a fishy smell that Xia Qing couldn’t pick up, but a wolf’s nose was another story. Maybe Er Gou could smell one.

Hearing Xia Qing’s question, Er Gou closed his mouth, pulled his tongue in and fixed a serious gaze right at the chrysanthemums.

Judging by Er Gou’s reaction, there had to be a snake nearby.

“Step back, Er—let me handle it!” Xia Qing moved forward, using her long blade to slap at the grass and stones near the flowers a few times. Suddenly, three big snakes shot out of the undergrowth, going straight for her face!

After glimpsing their markings, Xia Qing twisted her blade, using the flat to smack the snakes aside rather than kill them outright.

Judging from the dark, triangular patches symmetrically running down their bodies, these were five-step pit vipers—the main ingredient in Zhang San’s herbal prescription for Shizhong.

Shi Du had been searching for low-devastation-element pit vipers in the Evolved Forest, but luck hadn’t been on his side. Today, Xia Qing found them by accident.

After being swatted away, one snake tried to strike again while the other two made a break for it. Xia Qing stepped on one fleeing snake, grabbed the attacker, tossed both into a cloth bag, then quickly caught up and bagged the third.

No time to check the element levels now—she’d have to do that later.

Snakes guarded their own turf. Once Xia Qing had cleared out the ones hiding by the chrysanthemums, the area was finally safe. That called for a little celebration.

Xia Qing pulled out her Lethal Element Detector. The result was a yellow light, but the devastation element content was just 0.7%, which was actually excellent.

Not wanting to wipe everything out, Xia Qing left most of the chrysanthemums behind so they could go to seed, planning to return for the seeds later. Next year, she’d have her own harvest.

Moving on, Xia Qing stumbled upon more clusters of white tribute chrysanthemums, but, sadly, they all registered as red lights. A little further on, she got a lucky break: sixteen yellow-light radix peucedani, twenty green-light white atractylodes, and thirteen yellow-light white atractylodes.

Radix peucedani and tribute chrysanthemums weren’t worth much, but green-light white atractylodes—especially ones over three years old—could fetch as much as two hundred credits per catty.

Chances are, before the disaster, Valley Two had been used by locals to plant medicinal herbs.

It’s the tenth year since the disasters began, but the valley still has low-devastation-element herbs growing here. Clearly, Valley Two is perfect for these three herbs to thrive. The white atractylodes’ berries were ready for harvesting, and while the radix peucedani still had unripe fruits, it could be picked alongside the chrysanthemum seeds.

After autumn harvest, Xia Qing planned to clear away the weeds, shrubs and wild tung trees from the valley, making more room for medicinal herbs. Next spring, she’d spread seeds and turn Valley Two back into an herb haven.

Returning home, Xia Qing tested the pit vipers she caught—none had a devastation element level over 1%. Even happier, she grabbed her walkie-talkie and called Shi Du.