Chapter 454: Midnight Visitors and the Giant Wolves

The moment Xia Qing appeared, Lame Wolf’s little sister instantly retreated behind her big brother, baring her fangs at Xia Qing with a low growl. Lame Wolf himself grinned and looked ready to prance around, but a single bark from Crippled Wolf made him settle down.

“Your Majesty, Lame One, Big Black, Little Lame, all of you are here.” Xia Qing made her way downstairs, forcing a cheerful tone as she greeted each wolf by name, pain flashing in her eyes. She made sure to praise Old Goat in particular, giving him a little more face, before turning her focus to Crippled Wolf crouched at the stairs. “Crippled One, it’s been a while. Is there something you want to say?”

Crippled Wolf flashed Xia Qing a cute smile, showing off tiny, sharp fangs, then turned and nudged open the heavy front door.

A wild gust swept cold air and dead leaves inside. Xia Qing glanced over—and her eyes widened. Two massive creatures crouched right at her doorstep, lit by the harsh indoor lights. One’s eyes glowed green, the other’s blue. The sight was, frankly, terrifying.

Xia Qing took a closer look. They were two giant wolves. The brown-gray one with the green eyes was squatting at eye level with Xia Qing—the same wolf that once carried her to Hill Sixty to treat the Alpha’s poisoning.

The silvery-gray one sat even taller, a whole handspan above Xia Qing. Its eyeliner was striking, but when its icy blue eyes fixed on her, Xia Qing felt an overwhelming sense of pressure—especially since she was so weak at the moment.

That was the famous giant wolf from Hill Sixty-One—the one ranked just below the Alpha in the pack.

Once Xia Qing recognized them, her first thought was that for wolves this size, the big bath barrel in the first-floor bathroom could only fit one at a time. Tonight, she’d be up way past 1 a.m. before getting her turn to rest.

“Giant Wolf, Big Guy, glad you both came too.” After greeting the two, Xia Qing turned to Crippled Wolf. “If you’re all here, who’s guarding Hill Sixty-One? Aren’t you worried that the Brain-Evolved Bear and its crew might sneak over and claim your mountain while you’re gone?”

Crippled Wolf closed the door behind him, looked up at Xia Qing, and flashed that same cute, fanged grin.

Xia Qing still couldn’t figure out what had Crippled Wolf so happy, but at least the two giant wolves weren’t trying to come in, which let her breathe a huge sigh of relief.

After filling the big bathtub with spring water and heating it, Xia Qing called out, “Your Majesty, Old Goat, bath time!”

Old Goat just kept pedaling away on the bicycle, pretending not to hear. But the moment the Alpha stood up and looked his way, Old Goat came to a sulky stop, got off the bike, and promptly collapsed with a loud thud.

Guess those wild sprints finally caught up—now his legs had gone totally limp.

What did you expect, showing off your sheep insanity earlier? Now you embarrass yourself right in front of the wolves.

If Xia Qing wasn’t achy and powerless, she would’ve scooped him up and carried him to the bathroom herself. As it was, she could only coax him gently. “Old Goat, your legs must be dead tired. Been working so hard. Think you can get up? Come soak a bit longer—this medicinal bath will make your limbs stronger. We’ve all got our electricity riding on you, you know.”

Old Goat pretended he hadn’t even fallen, acting like he just wanted to lounge on the ground for a while. Once he’d recovered a bit, he finally got up and trotted into the bathroom, hoping Xia Qing would massage his sore legs.

The Alpha didn’t need any help. He simply climbed the sturdy wooden steps and slipped right into the tub. Old Goat, after a little pampering, reluctantly followed suit.

With Her Majesty keeping the peace, Old Goat didn’t dare step out before time was up, so Xia Qing didn’t need to stand guard at the tub. Instead, she sat on a chair at the bathroom door, chatting with the Alpha and Crippled Wolf, who kept staring thoughtfully at the generator bicycle.

“Your Majesty, Crippled One, I need your help with something. First, tomorrow morning don’t go anywhere—come with me to Hill Fifty so we can gather some Green Lantern peanuts together, then return to your territory. Second, there’s a wooden board propped against the wall with some pictures on it—I need you two to help bring back those herbs, they’re important to me.”

The Alpha glanced at her, then closed his eyes.

Xia Qing got the message and stepped over to Crippled Wolf, using every gesture she knew to get her point across.

Crippled Wolf seemed to understand, placing a big paw on the bike’s pedal and looking up at Xia Qing.

For a moment, seeing Crippled Wolf take interest in the bike, Xia Qing thought she might be able to trade it for a piece of Yi Stone. She went quiet.

Apparently thinking she didn’t understand, Crippled Wolf trotted over to the wooden board, tapped the herb photos with his paw, then came back and stood on the bike’s pedal, looking at Xia Qing again.

This evolved wolf has more schemes than a fox—must be Yang Jin’s little brother. Knows how to bargain better than anyone!

“…Deal.”

“Come with me to Hill Fifty to gather Green Lantern peanuts tomorrow, then dig up the roots of these two herbs for me. In return, I’ll give you a generator bike you can pedal yourself.”

Crippled Wolf showed off those cute, sharp fangs, satisfied, now that Xia Qing understood.

Xia Qing smiled back, slowly moving over to sit next to the bicycle. To satisfy Crippled Wolf’s curiosity, she began explaining which parts of the bike were off-limits.

“Crippled One, this is the wiring, that’s the lightbulb, and here is the battery. Don’t bite them, or you’ll get shocked. You know what electricity is, right…?”

She kept explaining, her voice growing softer until sleep took her. Crippled Wolf shot her a curious look, then turned its gaze back to the bike’s stubbornly unlit bulb.

After studying it for a good ten minutes, Crippled Wolf placed a paw on the pedal again, staring hard at the lightbulb—still no luck.

After a few more minutes, Crippled Wolf tried copying Old Goat, climbing up onto the bike. But he wasn’t used to the movement, and as soon as he lost balance, he instinctively pressed down hard on the seat to steady himself.

“Riiip—”

The thick, soft bike seat Xia Qing made for Old Goat from cotton was torn open by Crippled Wolf’s sharp claws, leaving a long gash.

Regaining his balance, Crippled Wolf stared solemnly at the ripped bike seat, then glanced at Xia Qing—still sound asleep.

After a few minutes, Crippled Wolf slowly reached out his brave paw once more…

An hour passed. The phone alarm blared. Xia Qing woke up, dragging herself to the bathroom to tell Her Majesty and Old Goat bath time was up. She helped Old Goat rinse off and dry his wool.

It was exhausting work. Xia Qing, with plenty of power, realized she’d need to trade for two hair dryers if she wanted to get everyone dry more easily.

While Xia Qing fussed over Old Goat, Crippled Wolf and Black Wolf had already lined up for their turns in the bath. By the time Xia Qing finished drying Old Goat, fifteen minutes had slipped by, and now Old Goat was fast asleep on a towel made from old clothes.

Xia Qing patted him—he didn’t even twitch, clearly out like a light.

“Er Gou, Er Gou.” Xia Qing called softly from inside the bathroom, trying to rouse her partner.

Er Gou, upon seeing Xia Qing motion to Old Goat on the ground, got the message right away. “Take the towel in your mouth and drag Old Goat outside for me. I just don’t have the strength.”

Er Gou obediently grabbed the towel and dragged Old Goat out of the bathroom, even thoughtfully pulling him over to rest by the fireplace.