Chapter 403: A Turbulent Night in Territory Two

In the howling cold wind Xia Qing strained her ears. No one from Territory Two responded in the Lords’ channel while Tang Huai’s screams echoed louder and louder inside their borders.

“Click.”

“Click.”

Members of the Inspection Team quickly switched off their gun safeties and chambered rounds, ready for anything.

Cao Xianyun, the patrol’s evolution hearing specialist, had jumped off the vehicle and ran to the signpost at Territory Two. Returning, she reported, “Captain, looks like Tang Huai brought out a batch of weapons. People inside thought the distribution was unfair, so a fight broke out and Tang Huai got slashed.”

“Just a cut?” Tiger sounded skeptical. “He’s screaming like a maniac. Feels more like he’s gone totally berserk.”

Cao Xianyun answered, “Not berserk. I heard Tang Huai yelling and cursing, crystal clear thinking.”

Tan Junjie nodded and pressed the walkie-talkie again. “Territory Two, Tang Heng, report your situation.”

Immediately after, Tang Zhengbo from Territory Twelve spoke urgently in the Lords’ channel. “Tang Huai, what happened?”

“Captain Tan, Dad, people inside started fighting over weapons. My brother’s femoral artery got slashed—he needs medical help fast.” Tang Heng’s plea sounded desperate, Tang Huai’s screams ringing in the background.

“Tang Huai, calm down. Get everyone to a safe spot first.” Tang Zhengbo ordered his son coolly. “Tang Heng, Dr. Sun’s on the way. Stop your brother’s bleeding for now.”

Tan Junjie immediately pressed the button. “Inspection Team requesting entry to Territory Two. Awaiting approval from Territory Two’s acting representative.”

“Approved. Captain Tan, hurry up and haul these animals out or I swear I’ll fight them myself—damn bastards…” Tang Huai spat, panting and furious. He sounded weak and hoarse, probably from blood loss.

Once she saw the Inspection Team drive into Territory Two, Xia Qing turned and headed home.

There was no proof, but Xia Qing had a hunch Tang Huai got hurt on purpose.

Tomorrow morning, Territory Two faced two big events: Tang Zhengsu and Xu Pin arriving, and refugees heading out to hunt. Tang Huai lacked experience and was too emotional—easy to manipulate, and no way he could handle a mess this tricky.

So taking a ‘mistaken’ injury and losing his mobility might be a smart way to dodge trouble. As for whether Tang Huai would suffer real consequences from this wound, Xia Qing wasn’t worried in the least.

Territory Two was blacklisted by Zhang San, but Territory Twelve wasn’t. Tang Zhengbo definitely had some of Zhang San’s miracle medicine. Tang Huai, being an Evolved, was more resilient than most. As long as the cut wasn’t from a weapon tainted with Super Evolution Fungus he’d be fine—no risk of infection.

Back home, Xia Qing soaked some dried toon sprouts and fetched frozen meat from the fridge. She made pumpkin and meat porridge for Er Gou, while settling for a green onion omelette and a piece of mouthwatering beef jerky herself.

The Green Lantern beef jerky tasted amazing. Xia Qing took a bite and closed her eyes in pure bliss.

Old Goat, who only ate grass, wasn’t interested in jerky, busy gulping down his own food. Er Gou, after finishing half a bowl of meat porridge and a boiled egg, caught a whiff of the jerky and ambled over, eyes fixed hopefully on Xia Qing.

She broke off a fingernail-sized piece of jerky, soaked it in warm water, then handed it to Er Gou. “There’s salt in the jerky. You can’t have much, but you can try a bit.”

Er Gou swallowed the beef jerky whole in a gulp—didn’t even taste it. He stayed there, eyes still pleading at Xia Qing.

She popped the last bit of jerky into her own mouth and spread her hands. “That’s all I’ve got. If you want more, go talk to Broken Back and see if you can work something out. Maybe you and Er can take down a Green Lantern wild boar from Section Three and I’ll make jerky for you. How about it?”

Er Gou sniffed her hand and looked thoroughly disappointed. Clearly, Green Lantern beef jerky was much better than regular wild boar in his book.

Which just meant he wasn’t dumb. Xia Qing liked that too.

“Hope Third Brother’s Green Lantern cow has two calves next year. Then we might be able to trade for one.” Xia Qing stroked Er Gou’s chin with the back of her hand, trying to cheer him up, then picked up her dishes and headed to the kitchen.

Er Gou wagged his tail, picked up his food bowl and followed behind. Old Goat did the same, carrying his own bowl, trailing after Xia Qing.

Xia Qing set her bowl in the sink and took Er Gou and Old Goat’s bowls to place beside it. She kept muttering, “If that cow only has one calf next year, we’ll have to wait till the year after. Someone else already bartered something even Third Brother couldn’t resist to reserve the first calf.”

A wolf and a goat stood at the kitchen door, listening to Xia Qing’s ongoing complaints.

“Besides the chickens in the greenhouse and Green Lantern chestnuts we won’t harvest until next autumn, there’s really nothing left to tempt Third Brother. Er, next time you see the Queen or Broken Back, drop a hint—have them bring us some top-quality Green Lantern animals from the Evolved Forest. Alive is best. Dead works too…”

After washing the dishes and finishing her indoor training, Xia Qing let Old Goat know she was heading out for weighted running. She also planned to check the territory on the way. Er Gou, with his superb night vision, naturally came along.

First stop: the greenhouse.

Not wanting to disturb the chickens, Xia Qing left the lights off and slipped in with Er Gou. She saw the temperature and humidity were fine, so she tiptoed right back out.

Second stop: the planting greenhouse in the Buffer Forest.

Through her night vision goggles, Xia Qing saw the sweet potato vines’ leaves had shrunken and gone limp in the cold. This meant the evolved sweet potatoes were better at resisting cold, but still couldn’t survive when the weather dropped close to freezing.

She took out her phone, logged today’s temperature and observations in the ‘Encyclopedia of Cultivation,’ and snapped some photos of the sweet potato situation. She explained to Er Gou, “The leaves look like this—they won’t recover tomorrow even if the sun comes out. So at first light, you and Old Goat clear the sweet potato vines while I dig up the potatoes. When we’re done, I’ll cook sweet potato and meat porridge. Even better than the pumpkin version.”

Er Gou wagged his tail and pressed himself against Xia Qing’s leg.

She patted Er Gou’s now plumper back. “Come on, third stop.”

Nearing the southern edge of the territory, Xia Qing stopped and listened carefully.

It was nine at night. Even in the wind, the noisy chaos from Territory Two was easy to pick out. She couldn’t hear the words, but she recognized Tan Junjie, Tang Heng and Zhou Xun’s voices. As for Tang Huai, he had probably already been carried off to get treatment.

Tan Junjie hadn’t come out, which meant Tang Heng couldn’t keep the refugees in line. Judging by the situation, the note Xia Qing gave Tan Junjie wouldn’t reach the Lords’ Alliance allies until morning.

Besides mentioning the grow lamp, the note also told her allies not to leave their territories tomorrow. Still, after hearing the furious shouting from Tang Huai and the urgent plea from Tang Heng on the Lords’ channel, other regular lords—except for Territory Fifteen—probably wouldn’t risk leaving their territory tomorrow.