Chapter 328: The Wolf’s Trade: When a Door is More Than a Door

Xia Qing opened the surveillance app on her phone and immediately set down the bag she was using for bean pods. “Old Goat, Er, Queen, and Crippled Wolf are here!”

With that she dashed out ahead, sprinting toward the Northern Buffer Forest.

Underneath the toon tree where Green Lantern rested, Alpha and Crippled Wolf halted, turning their golden eyes toward the sound of approaching footsteps.

Fine droplets of rain clung to both wolves’ thick fur, glittering like tiny pearls. Crippled Wolf still wore his protective suit as he emerged from the mountain, while the Queen’s fur was speckled with grass and dirt. Yet somehow, Crippled Wolf’s suit managed to stay spotless—how he pulled that off, Xia Qing would never know.

Looking into Alpha’s extravagant golden eyes, Xia Qing almost swore she could see the Yi Stone waving at her. She greeted them cheerily. “Queen, welcome back! Crippled Wolf, that suit looks amazing on you.”

“It’s been a while. How’s the fur on your back—has it started growing back yet?”

After exchanging pleasantries, Xia Qing beckoned the pack—three wolves and a sheep—to head home with her.

As they walked beneath the eastern surveillance camera, Xia Qing noticed Crippled Wolf thoughtfully staring up at it. She gave a stern warning. “Crippled Wolf, those cameras on the bars cost me a fortune. If you mess around and break them, I swear I’ll shave every last hair off your body.”

Crippled Wolf kept his gaze on the camera for a moment longer, then looked away and followed Alpha into the village without another glance.

Even so, Xia Qing still didn’t feel at ease. She wanted to contact Yang Jin right away and exchange for that stealth paint as soon as possible—give the cameras a coat and help them disappear into the background.

Patting Old Goat, who was huddling under the umbrella with her, Xia Qing explained, “Those five cameras? I traded every fish in our reservoir to get them. Old Goat, can you tell your wolf friends not to mess with my cameras?”

Old Goat just squinted and kept walking. Xia Qing couldn’t tell if he understood or not.

When the girl and her sheep companion got home, the three wolves were already under the porch eaves, shaking rain from their fur. A line of little swallows huddled in fresh mud nests under the eaves, their tiny heads poking out, peeking curiously below.

Old Goat, having stayed dry, sauntered over and dipped his hooves in the water basin by the eaves. He scrubbed them clean, then wiped them on a pile of dry hay nearby, before lifting his head and standing motionless with half-closed eyes.

Xia Qing got the message—Old Goat was waiting for his praise. “Did you just wash your hooves, Old Goat? Let me see how clean they are.”

Old Goat lifted a front hoof for inspection.

“Wow, they’re spotless! Even cleaner than when I scrub them myself. How do you manage to get the mud off so quickly? You’re so clever. I’m so proud to have a companion like you!”

Old Goat looked pleased, nudged open the door with a hoof, and was the first to go inside.

Er Gou dipped his unsocked paws in the basin, then glanced at Xia Qing when he found stubborn mud stuck between his claws and fur.

“Er Gou, you’ve got fur and tough claws, so it’s not easy to get them totally clean. This afternoon I’ll make a wooden basin with a brush built into the bottom—then you can wash your own paws properly.” Xia Qing helped Er Gou wash all four paws clean, changed the water, and made sure Alpha and Crippled Wolf washed up, too—giving each of them a round of praise.

All that flattery left Xia Qing parched, so the first thing she did once inside was grab a drink. Then she waved her hand at her companions. “Old Goat, come here and I’ll brush your coat.”

Old Goat loved being brushed and immediately trotted over. After giving him a good grooming, Xia Qing naturally brushed Er Gou, who was waiting nearby, then the Queen, and finally Crippled Wolf in his protective suit.

Mission accomplished!

As she helped Crippled Wolf out of his suit, Xia Qing felt something hard and round in the side pocket. Her eyes instantly lit up. “Your back fur’s coming in nicely—give it another month and no one will ever notice. Looking sharp, Crippled Wolf!”

It was only after she brushed his coat that Crippled Wolf pulled a walnut-sized Yi Stone from his suit pocket and placed it in front of Xia Qing.

Xia Qing, who’d been waiting for this, couldn’t suppress her grin. “So, what does our handsome Crippled Wolf want for the Yi Stone this time?”

Before Crippled Wolf could respond, Alpha stepped forward and positioned himself squarely in front of Xia Qing.

“The protective suit? Got it. Queen, just a moment!” Xia Qing dashed upstairs, brought down a full set of dog protective gear, and set it in front of Alpha. “Would you like to try it on, Queen?”

Alpha clearly had other plans—he picked up the bag containing the suit, carried it to the tatami mat, and claimed it as his own. Xia Qing didn’t mind at all; she’d been waiting days for this exact moment.

But as she reached for the Yi Stone, Crippled Wolf blocked her hand with his massive paw.

She blinked in confusion. “Weren’t we trading it for the protective suit?”

Crippled Wolf padded over to the door, pressed his big paw down on the handle, and turned to gaze at Xia Qing with a calm look.

Thinking he wanted to be able to come and go freely, Xia Qing nodded. “Of course! You and the Queen can come visit the territory or house anytime you like.”

Crippled Wolf kept his paw on the handle, completely unmoving.

After a few seconds of silence, Xia Qing admitted, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

Crippled Wolf paused as if pondering, stepped outside through the security door, and headed for the chicken house. Once there, he placed his paw on that door’s handle, too.

A wild guess popped into Xia Qing’s head. “Crippled Wolf, do you want a door?”

Crippled Wolf returned to the main entrance, put his paw on the security door’s handle again, and flashed a grin, revealing two sharp, snowy-white fangs.

Xia Qing just stared at him in silence.

Back when Crippled Wolf was paralyzed, he was always watching the security door. Turns out he didn’t want to get inside—he actually coveted the door itself. She had to admit, his taste was impressive.

This door was hand-crafted—an extra-thick stainless steel security door with a top-tier safety rating. Honestly, half the security and grandeur of Xia Qing’s two-story house came from that door.

Is this really something a normal wolf from the Evolved Forest would do? What’s the point of trading for a security door if you don’t even have a house for it?

Xia Qing wasn’t ready to give it up just yet, so she tried to stall. “How will you and the Queen even carry such a huge door? How about I give you the one from the chicken house instead?”

Crippled Wolf only doubled down, keeping his paw firmly on the security door handle.

In the end, picking between a Yi Stone worth over 200,000 and one security door wasn’t so hard. Xia Qing scrubbed her face with a hand. “…Alright, it’s a deal. Handsome wolf, why don’t you get some rest inside while I put up a wooden door for now.”

Good thing she’d spent five years on a construction crew and could handle any kind of handiwork herself. If not, the house would have ended up doorless for the night.

Xia Qing grabbed her carpentry toolkit from the storage room, took precise measurements of the security door, then headed to the warehouse to select some wood. Over the past six months, she’d collected a lot, but the best for a door was the beech wood she’d hauled in from the Evolved Forest, upgraded through Hardness Evolution.

Beech was already a tough, durable hardwood with excellent impact resistance and great nail-holding properties. The evolved beech wood was on another level—using it for the door, and coating it with waterproof, rot-resistant, insect-proof lacquer, the result wouldn’t rival a true security door, but it would be leagues better than the ones on the sheep shed, chicken house, or warehouse.

If she skipped decorative carving, making two doors should have been quick. But the evolved beech was so hard, just sawing the planks took ages. Xia Qing chatted away with her pack of three wolves and one sheep as she worked, making a point of telling Crippled Wolf about everything that happened while he was gone.

By the time she finished the door, it was dusk. But just as she was about to remove the security door, a twist of fate arrived: Crippled Wolf—with his impeccable taste—suddenly fell for the brand new wooden one.