Chapter 669: Wolf Healers at Night

No wonder Broken Back Wolf made it here less than half an hour after dark—he brought three sick wolves with him tonight. Protecting them as they crossed sixty miles of Evolved Forest made traveling at night even more dangerous.

Standing at the entrance to the Bear Cave, Xia Qing peered through her night vision goggles at the three wolves. She asked, “Broken Back, are these three your companions too, like the Queen? When I went to Hill Sixty I didn’t see them. Their fur looks diseased. Do they need medicine?”

Broken Back Wolf padded over to Xia Qing, signaling for her to pull their usual trade supplies from her side pocket. He tilted his head, flashing an adorable grin that showed off his snowy white fangs.

Xia Qing grinned even brighter than Broken Back when she pulled out a pigeon egg-sized Yi Stone. “Handsome Wolf, you really are the smartest wolf at the top of the pyramid! You know how to do things right. Alright, I’ll start treating them now.”

A wolf with sparse fur, skinny frame, and heavy breathing needed much more than a few drops of external repellent. She’d have to check each of them thoroughly before deciding on treatment.

Xia Qing pointed at the tightly-shut Wolf Den and asked Broken Back, “Want to treat them inside the den?”

Broken Back’s playful smile faded. He stared at Xia Qing but didn’t budge.

“Alright, we’ll do it here instead.” Xia Qing didn’t know why he wouldn’t go inside, but she always respected her trading partner’s wishes. She grabbed her medical kit, pulled on antibacterial gloves, disinfected, then tapped a wolf’s head and called out, “Handsome Wolf, bring that one over.”

Broken Back turned and let out a howl. Though it wasn’t the wolf Xia Qing called for, one reluctantly bared its teeth and shuffled over.

Compared to Old Er when he first arrived at Section Three, these three sick wolves weren’t as bad. Back then, Old Er’s eyes barely worked—he just lay in the sheep shed, not moving, too exhausted to even resist.

Even if these sick wolves tried to fight back, Xia Qing wasn’t worried. She wore a snakeskin jacket and gloves. If any wolf acted up, she could pin it down with one smack. And with Broken Back watching, none dared mess around.

As the Wolf Pack’s unofficial field medic, Xia Qing checked over the wolf. Besides hair loss, thinness, and a fever, she found fresh stool stuck to its hind legs—clear sign of diarrhea. But was it the fever or something else? She’d need more tests.

She collected stool and dandruff samples, applied medicated powder to treat its skin, dropped external repellent behind its neck, then called for the next one.

All three wolves showed similar symptoms, so Xia Qing suspected it might be infectious. She drew blood from the last one using a syringe. The wolf snarled in pain, snapping at her, but Xia Qing’s steady hand—and Broken Back’s stern roar—kept it in check.

This wolf struggled so much it actually coughed up blood. Xia Qing’s expression grew more serious.

She poured Pure Spring Water into a basin, added medicine for stomach issues, then had Broken Back call the three wolves over to drink.

After the treatment, Xia Qing gestured to Broken Back, suggesting he go home with her. “Handsome Wolf, one dose won’t cure them. They need to stay here. Why don’t you come back to the Territory with me?”

Broken Back lifted his head to study Xia Qing like he was pondering her words.

So Xia Qing tried a different angle, gesturing, “I have some really cozy quilts. The Queen would love them. Come check them out with me?”

This time, Broken Back understood. He flashed his little white teeth, howled to the three wolves, then followed Xia Qing out of the Valley, leaving the sick wolves behind. They still weren’t allowed into the Wolf Den.

As they crossed the Barrier, Broken Back noticed the Northern Barrier’s iron mesh wall had no door yet. He stood by the empty frame, staring at Xia Qing with a puzzled look.

No wonder he’s a Brain-Evolved Wolf—his expressions just keep getting richer. Or perhaps, now that Xia Qing had spent so much time with the wolves, she was just getting better at reading their body language.

Xia Qing lowered her voice and explained, “In a few days, we’ll have a door here. Once it’s installed, you can enter my Territory through two doors. Excited? Happy?”

Broken Back went through Section Three’s northern gate three times, showing his clear love for doors.

When he finally got his fill, Xia Qing painstakingly disinfected him from head to paw, took off his snakeskin jacket, and disinfected again before sending him home. “Handsome Wolf, go home first. I’ve got a bit more to do—see you soon.”

Broken Back made his way home, pausing at the Greenhouse to grab Old Goat a stalk of perilla before heading back.

When Ji Li arrived, Xia Qing handed over five test tubes of samples, warning softly, “Ji, be careful. These might be contagious.”

As a half-baked animal medic, Xia Qing judged the three wolves’ illness was complicated. After isolating Broken Back from the sick wolves, she immediately contacted an expert—Zhang San.

She hoped she was just being overly cautious.

Back at home, Xia Qing set aside her worries and took out two pink wolf dens she’d made herself. “Handsome Wolf, look at these! I made them for you, the Queen, and your cubs. Aren’t they nice? Do you like them?”

Broken Back’s eyes lit up when he saw the lovely dens. He gave them a sniff, then brought one over to his little table, placing it in front of his laptop and grinned with delight.

Seeing how much he liked it, Xia Qing broke into a happy smile too, growing even chattier.

“I actually wanted to decorate them with a few shiny pearls, but since you and the Queen have cubs now, I was afraid the little ones might chew them off and swallow them. So, I left them plain. Take both wolf dens with you later. They’re my gift to you and the Queen—congratulations on your new family!”

No way Broken Back could understand such a long speech, but it didn’t matter. He just lifted a paw, signaling Xia Qing to play him a video.

Since he was here, he figured he might as well learn something before heading out.

This time Xia Qing didn’t give him a choice—she pulled up a video on infectious diseases and preventive measures right on the laptop.

Not all fevers mean infection, but in these years of trouble, infectious diseases were everywhere. Xia Qing worried that fevers in those three wolves could spread through Broken Back to the Alpha, the fragile cubs, or Old Er, who’d only just recovered.

Broken Back sat up ramrod-straight in his soft pink wolf den, eyes glued to the laptop. He really had the energy of a model student.

Even with a brain upgrade, he was still just a wolf. The info was too dense to get in one go. Broken Back signaled for Xia Qing to play the video a second time.

But before the second round finished, the Idol called Xia Qing.