Chapter 568: Scents and Shadows Beneath the Eaves

Li Kai has internal injuries. He needs isolation and bed rest to prevent infection. But Old Kuang’s wounds are external—just heavy blood loss. Stitch him up, slap on Zhang San’s miracle medicine, and he should heal fast. So why does he need to be quarantined too?

Could it be he got infected with some super bacteria after his injury?

Zhang San explained, “When I checked him, I noticed his brain neurons were way more active than normal. So I gave him some extra medicine.”

Xia Qing’s worry melted into excitement. “Third Brother, does this mean Qing’s had a brain evolution?!”

That kind of brain evolution is rare stuff.

Zhang San shook his head. “Might just be anxiety acting up. We’ll need more tests after the meds before we can be sure. Don’t mention any of this to Zhu Li.”

The idol’s caution wasn’t for nothing. Xia Qing nodded quickly. “You always think of everything. Better to wait till we know for sure.”

Yan Long led Xia Qing to the isolation room next to the operating room. Both Kuang Qingwei and Li Kai were unconscious, hooked up to ventilators and all sorts of blinking monitors.

Even knowing this was the idol’s turf, Xia Qing felt her heart clench. After seeing the secret labs and Shi Jiaran’s tragic state, Xia Qing—a four-series evolution—couldn’t help feeling a deep-rooted fear around scenes like this.

But when she peeked into the next room and saw Yuan Rui, right leg in a sling, lounging on the hospital bed with a book in hand, Xia Qing finally relaxed a little.

Yuan Rui heard the door open. He glanced over, put down his book, and broke into a grin. “Sister Qing, you came.”

Xia Qing sat on the stool beside his bed. “How do you feel?”

Yuan Rui looked fine—he even had energy to joke. “I thought I was headed for early retirement, stuck in Section Fifteen farming with Brother Yue. Never expected I’d even have a shot at recovery.”

“Just follow Third Brother’s instructions and you’ll be fine.” A shattered femur was nothing compared to Crippled Wolf’s spinal injury. After he recovered, Crippled Wolf’s jumping ability was as good as ever. Yuan Rui would recover even faster.

“You’re right. I’ll be back on my feet soon.” The thought cheered Yuan Rui, but sadness flickered across his face as he remembered their fallen teammates. He forced a smile. “Being here is a blessing for Scent Evolvers. Tell me, Sister Qing—have you run into any yellow weasels lately?”

Xia Qing…

No wonder Sister Yan kept her distance. Xia Qing barely spoke a word to her. All she did was exchange a couple sentences with the balding weasel—how did she end up smelling like one?

Could it be those three corpses on Third Peak, Hill Fifty were killed by the yellow weasel’s toxic fumes?

Trailing behind Yan Long as they left Territory Seven, Xia Qing felt a weird touch of gratitude.

Yuan Rui said she reeked of yellow weasel, and even Yan Long stayed away. Yet Old Goat and Er Gou, whose noses were sharper than anyone’s, didn’t shun her at all. She’d have to cook something tasty for the both of them when she got home.

Back home, Xia Qing grabbed her air toxin detector and held it to the sleeve of her protective suit. Sure enough, there was a faint trace of category C gas—ethyl mercaptan.

She stripped off her suit, dug out some leftover deodorizing pesticide and incense, then sniffed her sleeve again. That nasty, familiar stench made her want to retch.

Lounging on the recliner by the fireplace, Xia Qing suddenly understood why the balding weasel, despite being part of the Wolf Pack, never got a spot on Hill Sixty…

“Bzzz—”

Xia Qing picked up her phone from the table. Xin Yu was calling. As soon as she answered, she had to bite back the urge to ask: Did those three corpses your people brought back stink?

“Xia Qing, I’ll be heading your way in about an hour. That okay?” Xin Yu asked.

“No problem. I’ll meet you at the South Gate.”

When the time came, Xia Qing sent Old Goat and Er Gou to wait in the greenhouse and went to the small gatehouse by the South Gate to welcome her ‘good friend’ Xin Yu.

The little gatehouse Xia Qing copied from Xin Yu’s setup at the South Gate had never really served as a lounge. Today wouldn’t change that. While this meeting was mostly about the brawl, Xin Yu would definitely take the chance to check out the swallows nesting under Xia Qing’s eaves.

Xia Qing listened carefully, making sure no one from Territory Two was spying from the wild grass wall today. Ever since last night’s beast tide, Territory Two had gone eerily quiet. No matter how much Tang Huai yelled on the Lords’ channel, Zhou Xun didn’t make a peep.

This time, twenty-six refugees from Territory Two broke the rules, left, and invaded other territories. Lord Tang Lu and her backers in the Sufeng Squad might be able to shift the blame, but temporary agent Zhou Xun couldn’t. He’d have to face the consequences for failing to keep order. Whatever the punishment, they’d have to wait for the investigation to finish.

Right on time, Xin Yu’s car rolled into Section Three and stopped by the gatehouse. Wearing a spotless protective suit, Xin Yu climbed out, followed Xia Qing home, then predictably stopped under the eaves to look up at the swallows.

Xia Qing pointed to the ladder propped nearby. “You can climb up for a closer look.”

The swallow’s nest was covered in a quilted cold-proof tent she’d rigged. You couldn’t see anything from below, just hear the occasional chirps of the baby swallows inside.

“Won’t you scare them?” Xin Yu asked.

“They’ll be fine,” Xia Qing answered with total confidence.

Xin Yu climbed the ladder, peeked through the rain cover at the nest and the swallow chicks huddled inside, then climbed down again. “They flew in from the north, right? When the first Devastation Rain passes, the migratory birds will head north for summer. Will you block the nest opening to keep them from migrating?”

Xia Qing shook her head. “No.”

If she did, she’d have to feed and water them every day. No way she had time for that.

Once inside, Xin Yu took off her protective mask and hung it up by the door. Her eye immediately caught the family photo hanging on the living room wall. In it, Xia Qing stood in her school uniform, clutching a huge bouquet, beaming between her parents.

“That was taken at my middle school graduation,” Xia Qing explained.

After trading for a printer, Xia Qing picked this photo from her phone gallery, printed it out and stuck it on the wall. She’d made the picture frame herself, cut the glass by hand, and used plain A4 paper for the print. Even so, that photo made her feel lucky and content.

Xin Yu nodded. “You look a lot like your mom. You’re luckier than me, at least you finished nine years of school.”

When disaster struck, Xin Yu was only in her first year of middle school.

“My mom always said I look like my dad, and my dad always joked I took after her.” Xia Qing waved for Xin Yu to take a seat by the fireplace. “When I saw that picture in your pocket watch, you and your mom looked so alike when you smiled. Hey, last summer when you wandered into my territory—were you trying to find that pocket watch?”