Chapter 472: First Frostfall of Winter

Yan Long carried Xia Qing back to the territory and left her at the village entrance. By the time she set out again to pick up her things, it was already past 1 a.m. on December 1.

Yan Long hadn’t refused to take Xia Qing all the way home—she was blocked by a huge wolf standing right in the path to the village. If Xia Qing hadn’t stepped in, that wolf might have pounced already.

Middle of the night, Yan Long had no interest in tussling with a stinky wolf.

Xia Qing wanted to keep up appearances around Yan Long, but her legs had completely given out. She could only lean on a tree and call out for her companion, “Old Goat, Old Goat…”

“Clip clop, clip clop—”

It was hard to see in the dark so Old Goat didn’t come running, but Xia Qing was already grateful she showed up at all.

Seeing how weak Xia Qing looked, Old Goat immediately aimed her spiraled horns at Yan Long, pawing the ground and tossing her head, about to call for backup to avenge Xia Qing.

Xia Qing hurriedly clamped a hand over her mouth. “Don’t call for help! Yan Jie didn’t bully me, I’m just exhausted. Yan Jie kindly brought me back. I can’t walk anymore, Old Goat, can you give me a ride home? It must be tiring to keep watch over the place all alone. You’re amazing…”

Watching the not-so-bright Evolved Sheep get coaxed that easily, Yan Long turned her attention to the silver-grey giant wolf still standing guard at the village entrance.

Just a glance told Yan Long that this wolf was an incredibly tough fighter. The sharp look in its eyes and its calm expression hinted at a higher intelligence. Maybe, someday, they could work together.

Yan Long planted her feet wide apart, hands behind her back, making sure to keep them far from the gun and knife on her belt. She showed she meant no harm and gave the wolf a polite nod.

The Handsome Huge Wolf’s ice-blue eyes didn’t waver. They stayed locked on Yan Long, every muscle poised to strike.

Old Goat carted Xia Qing home, but as soon as she saw three wolves lying in the sheep shed, even Old Goat refused to carry her all the way to the house. Xia Qing immediately sensed trouble.

Once inside, Xia Qing kept her protective mask on, opened every window for air, then fetched her medical kit from the cabinet. She called Er Gou over and took a blood sample, packed up the blood, the Fire Phoenix’s poison gas launcher, and a recording, then had Old Goat take her outside the village to hand everything over to Yan Long.

There was no way she could bring up all 250 pounds of Green Lantern pecans from the underground storage tonight. She’d wait for her strength to return before sending them over.

Not long after Yan Long left, Xia Qing saw glowing flecks of snow begin to fall from the sky.

The tenth year’s first Devastation Snow was here. Xia Qing reached out and caught a few flakes. When she saw their color, her brow furrowed.

“Xia Qing, can you hear me?” Hu Zifeng’s voice came through the walkie-talkie.

“I can.” Xia Qing replied. “Captain Hu, the Devastation Snow has started. The snowflakes are really dark—it might be red-level right from the first wave.”

Hu Zifeng responded, “Right. The Devastation Element is climbing fast. The greenhouses and the hothouse are covered, so the animals and plants won’t get hit by the snow. How are you feeling?”

“I took some recovery medicine in Territory Seven. I’m a lot better now.” Xia Qing asked for help, “But for tonight and tomorrow, I’m relying on your team to look after the territory.”

“You just rest. During the Devastation Snow, keeping the territory and fields safe is our responsibility. By the way, I already brought over the peanuts you gathered today. I was worried they’d freeze, so I’m drying them out in the livestock greenhouse.”

Humidity in the livestock greenhouse is lower than the other greenhouses, perfect for drying peanuts. Hu Zifeng made the right call. Xia Qing thanked him, then asked, “Can you come to the village entrance in ten minutes? I traded Green Lantern snake meat with Captain Yang for a piece of Yi Stone—it’s all cut up and ready to install in the Green Lantern wheat field. It’ll block the devastation evolution from affecting the crops.”

Handling Devastation Snow isn’t quite the same as dealing with Devastation Rain.

Devastation Rain comes in spring, summer, and fall, washing over mountains and rivers, gathering in valleys and streams. As long as you cover the crops with a rain cover and promptly root out any that start mutating, you’re fine. Once the rain stops, the excess Devastation Element gets sucked up by the soil and quickly evaporates.

Devastation Snow happens in winter, settling wherever it lands. If you don’t clear it away, the Devastation Element will climb higher in the greenhouses than it did during the snow itself, and the chance of your crops mutating is even higher than during a rain event. And because of the cold, it evaporates slower than Devastation Rain, so the harmful effects last even longer and hurt the crops more.

Green Lantern veggies in the greenhouses and wheat and rapeseed sprouts in the open fields are all in their seedling stage, which means they’re especially easy to mutate. Without Yi Stone protecting them, you could lose more than a third—even for Green Lantern plants—just from this snow.

Xia Qing had already protected the Green Lantern animals in the livestock greenhouse and veggies in the planting greenhouse with Yi Stone. She meant to do the same for the Green Lantern wheat herself, but her body was too weak now, so she asked Hu Zifeng to handle it.

Ten minutes later, Old Goat carried Xia Qing to the village entrance. She handed Hu Zifeng the cut pieces of Yi Stone. “I’ve already stuck bamboo poles in the middle of the Green Lantern wheat field, each pole with a little hole drilled in it. All you need to do is place a bit of Yi Stone in each one. Whatever is left, put in the holes on poles in the denser patches of Yellow Lantern wheat and rapeseed.”

Hu Zifeng knew his way around Yi Stone. He counted each piece, “There are forty here. Once the Devastation Snow passes, I’ll return every single one. Can you manage at home by yourself? Should I call Chang Li and see if she can help take care of you?”

Xia Qing shook her head. “I can move, I’m just slow. No need to bother Sister Li. She’ll be slammed during snow season.”

During Devastation Snow, people and animals with weak resistance are more likely to lose control and mutate. Chang Li is the team medic—she probably won’t get a break at all.

After Hu Zifeng left with the Yi Stone, Xia Qing had Old Goat rush her home. Devastation Element in the air was shooting up, so she needed to feed Devastation Element Antidote to the three wolves whose levels were climbing after poisoning.

Before she could do that, though, Xia Qing had to draw blood from the wolves for testing. She needed to know exactly how much Devastation Element they each had before giving them antidote—only then could she tell how effective one dose actually was. No time to lose.

She’d already collected Er Gou’s sample. Xia Qing had thought she’d need to spend ages convincing Alpha and Crippled Wolf to let her draw their blood, but both wolves cooperated without a fuss.

Blood drawn and antidote given, Xia Qing hung small pieces of Yi Stone around Alpha and Crippled Wolf’s necks, shielding them from all the excess Devastation Element in the air.

Then Xia Qing picked up the last Yi Stone necklace and spoke to Crippled Wolf, “Handsome Wolf, can you put this necklace on the huge wolf for me?”

Xia Qing, Old Goat, and Er Gou all wore Yi Stone, so the only one in the sheep shed without one was the Handsome Huge Wolf who’d just come back.

Always the dutiful homemaker, Crippled Wolf happily accepted the mission. He grabbed the necklace in his teeth, padded over to the Handsome Huge Wolf resting at the sheep shed door, slipped the necklace on with practiced ease, then turned to Xia Qing and flashed his adorable fangy grin.

Finally done for the night, Xia Qing slumped weakly into a pile of straw and smiled. “Handsome Wolf, you’re incredible.”

Even with the Devastation Snow drifting down outside and the house still reeking of wolf, Xia Qing felt happier than ever.