Chapter 329: A Safe Haven in the Storm

When it came to Crippled Wolf’s fickle tastes, Xia Qing was all for it, raising both hands in agreement.

So she traded a set of protective dog gear and a brand-new wooden door for a walnut-sized chunk of Yi Stone.

This was the seventh Yi Stone Xia Qing had gotten from the wolf pack, and the sixth one in her own possession.

Back on July 19th, the Alpha brought Crippled Wolf and Lame Wolf to Section Three for treatment, paying Xia Qing four pigeon egg-sized Yi Stones for her help. Xia Qing gave one to Luo Pei, who came along to assist, and kept three for herself.

On August 9th, in order to save the critically ill Er Gou, the Alpha handed over another walnut-sized Yi Stone to Xia Qing.

By September 19th, Crippled Wolf used a walnut-sized Yi Stone to exchange for two sets of protective dog suits.

And today—October 20th—Crippled Wolf and the Alpha returned to the Territory and traded yet another walnut-sized Yi Stone for a set of protective dog gear and a newly crafted wooden door.

Based on classification standards, these are all mid-grade Yi Stones. Once their shells are cracked open, they release the Yi element, driving off the Devastation element. Each piece lasts about two months.

At present, two of the pigeon egg-sized Yi Stones Xia Qing had were already split up for use.

One was put to use in the food storage room, the high-Yi-element Green Light Spinach field, the fridge, on herself, Old Goat, Er Gou, Crippled Wolf, and Lame Wolf.

The other, after being opened up, was used during the third Devastation Rain to protect the Green Lantern Rice, chickens, and fish. When the rain let up, Xia Qing sealed the reclaimed Yi Stones back into their protectors, ready for the next time disaster struck.

The underground food storage room was fitted with 6-gram Yi Stones, needing replacements every two months. Over a year, that meant using up 72 grams of mid-grade Yi Stones, just to keep the storeroom’s food safe from the Devastation element and fast-spreading contaminants.

Besides the basement, the fridge also needed long-term protection from Yi Stones. And Xia Qing, who never neglected herself, wore one as well, along with her partners—Old Goat and Er Gou. All told, not even including the amount for Devastation Rains, Section Three needed 144 grams of mid-grade Yi Stones per year for daily use alone.

The pigeon egg-sized Yi Stones Xia Qing traded weighed 30 grams each; the walnut-sized ones, 80 grams. That meant that, between daily needs and emergencies like Devastation Rain, her current supply was enough for two years.

With how unpredictable disasters could be on Blue Star, two years felt like a comforting stretch of time, and Xia Qing finally felt safe.

If she could just keep the wolves—and especially the Alpha and Crippled Wolf—happy, that “safe” would turn into “super safe.”

With that in mind, Xia Qing eagerly asked, “Handsome Wolf, once we paint the new door, it’ll last even longer. It’s rainy these days and not easy for you or Her Majesty to haul the door back. How about I give it two coats of paint first? Free of charge.”

With an artistic eye, Crippled Wolf stared at the wooden door, as if studying the beech grain.

Since Crippled Wolf didn’t object, Xia Qing took that as agreement.

After painting, she set the door under the breezy eaves to dry, and was about to head off to dinner when the security monitor chimed out a warning.

Xia Qing grabbed her phone for a look—well, would you look at that! The Alpha, who’d left two hours ago, was back and dragging a huge, thirty-odd pound animal behind him.

Once the Alpha dropped the catch in front of her, Crippled Wolf headed off into the drizzle, seemingly off to hunt as well.

Seeing the Alpha’s now-swollen belly, Xia Qing grinned from ear to ear. “Thanks for the fresh catch from Her Majesty—really generous.”

Anything the Alpha picked was bound to be premium. She figured this new prey was an evolved Green Light variant, no surprise there.

Xia Qing quickly skinned and cleaned the animal, splitting up the organs—half for the Alpha and half to cook up for Er Gou.

Er Gou was slowly recovering, and his appetite grew by the day.

She left some big bones aside for a hearty bone and radish soup; the rest of the meat and bones went straight to the fridge for freezing.

As the scent of bone broth filled the courtyard, Crippled Wolf came slinking back, belly full. After washing his paws under the eaves and shaking out the rain from his fur, he started staring at the Chicken House.

That’s when Xia Qing remembered—she hadn’t collected today’s eggs yet.

She opened the Chicken House, stepped inside for a loop, then brought her findings over to Crippled Wolf. “We got three eggs today! Our chickens are real champs.”

Crippled Wolf gave the eggs a cursory look before going back to studying the Chicken House door.

“Wipe your feet before you come in,” Xia Qing reminded him, then headed inside herself.

Rainy night, close companions, Green Light meat—put them all together and it felt just like home: warm, happy, content.

The meat porridge for Er Gou had cooled to room temperature, so Xia Qing brought out his food bowl and Old Goat’s grain bowl, putting them on their table. Only then did she bring out the radish and bone soup with homemade corn and wheat mantou, flipping on the radio as she ate.

Tonight’s farm radio was all about prepping winter wheat. Xia Qing listened carefully, then looked up to see the Alpha sneaking bites from Er Gou’s bowl, and couldn’t help but laugh quietly. The Alpha was sly as a fox.

She’d made more porridge than Er Gou could finish on purpose—she wanted the Alpha and Crippled Wolf to get a taste, hoping they’d offer either prey or Yi Stones in exchange for her cooking.

But these things can’t be rushed. She’d take it slow and steady.

Pretending not to see the Alpha enjoying cooked food, Xia Qing tidied up and called out, “I’m off for a medicinal bath. Er, keep an ear out for any noise in the Territory. If there’s an intruder, let me know right away. Your Majesty, Crippled Wolf, get some rest.”

It had been ten days since her last body-repair bath. Today was time for round two.

She’d thought maybe it would hurt less this time, but the moment she sank into the tub, the pain was just as intense—every pore, every muscle, every bone ached like crazy.

Er Gou, in his protective suit, had gone to patrol the Territory. Old Goat dozed next to the Alpha on the downstairs tatami, both wolves enjoying a rest with eyes closed.

But if you looked closely, you’d notice both wolves’ ears would twitch just a little every time Xia Qing couldn’t hold back a cry from the pain.

After soaking for a full hour, Xia Qing finally crawled out of the tub, took another hour to recover, then staggered downstairs. She poured the used medicinal mixture into Old Goat’s bath barrel, warmed it up with the heating rod, and weakly called out, “Old Goat, your turn for a bath!”

Leaving the medicine soak overnight in the spring water would weaken it, so Xia Qing took her bath early so her companions could absorb more of the benefits.

It wasn’t until Xia Qing called him three times that Old Goat lazily shuffled into the bathroom, only to be coaxed by Xia Qing into the bath.

This round, the herbs were even stronger, and the pain was sharper for Old Goat than last time—but he didn’t struggle half as much. Maybe the benefits had convinced him after the last bath.

After forty minutes Old Goat couldn’t take it anymore and started scrambling, so Xia Qing fished him out.

With trembling hands, she rinsed off her companion, then called to Er Gou, who’d just returned from patrol, “Er Gou, time for your medicinal bath! You’ll be even stronger after this one.”

Er Gou was obviously scared, but still obediently padded into the bathroom.

He was brave as ever, shivering from the pain, but made it through the whole hour before Xia Qing took him out.

Once both companions had bathed, Xia Qing was utterly exhausted and unsteady on her feet—only to find the Alpha standing tall and proud right outside the bathroom, staring straight at the bath barrel.