Chapter 684: A Whiff of Snow, a Taste of Homecoming

“Lower your weapons, it won’t attack us.” Xia Qing nodded to her team, then called out gently, “White Weasel, are you here hunting?”

The albino weasel, White Weasel, sniffed the air, its black whiskers twitching, then ducked back behind a rock and hurried off with another yellow weasel in tow.

Shi Du asked curiously, “Sister Qing, what kind of animal is that?”

Xia Qing replied, “That’s an albino yellow weasel. It used to live in my territory for a while, but moved on later.”

Yue Haiying stared in the direction White Weasel disappeared. “That one looks like a Brain Evolution type.”

Liangzi chimed in, “It’s fast, must be a Speed Evolver too.”

Just like Alpha, White Weasel was both a Brain Evolution and Speed Evolver. Xia Qing nodded.

“It’s good to have weasels in the territory. They’ll keep the rats in check. But is that really a yellow weasel? Looks more like a stoat to me.” Huo Lei eyed the pure white fur of the little animal, but since Xia Qing had raised it, he decided not to get any ideas.

Yue Haiying explained, “Stoats have black tips on their tails and their fur isn’t this color in spring and summer.”

Huo Lei grinned. “You really know your stuff, Yue. I heard albino animals are all from the Divine Herb Plains?”

Yue Haiying glanced at Xia Qing. She answered, “The Divine Herb Plains are over a thousand kilometers from here. This albino weasel likely isn’t from there.”

“Makes sense.” After finishing his nutrient shake, Huo Lei closed his eyes and took a quick rest.

The fifteen-minute break ended and as the squad prepared to set off, Xia Qing caught movement again. Not long after, Liangzi reported, “Animals coming from the north. Small, but I can hear something being dragged along the ground.”

Qi Fu clutched his backpack nervously. “It’s not a badger, is it?”

Yu Shou replied, “Badgers usually eat their catch where they find it. Unless it’s got pups, it wouldn’t drag prey away.”

“It’s that albino weasel again! It’s dragging a rabbit!” The petite Tan Qi was the first to spot the white weasel slipping through a gap in the shrubs, hauling a rabbit much bigger than itself.

When White Weasel peeked out from behind a rock once more, Xia Qing called out, “White Weasel, did you bring that rabbit for me?”

White Weasel looked at Xia Qing but didn’t move.

Xia Qing fished a small pouch of freeze-dried meat from her protective suit, opened it, and walked over.

White Weasel immediately bolted further away, hiding behind a stone while keeping Xia Qing in sight.

Xia Qing, always sharp-eyed, spotted another yellow weasel hidden there—not the plucked one, a completely different face.

She placed the freeze-dried meat behind the rock. “White Weasel, thanks for the rabbit. This is for you—enjoy.”

White Weasel sniffed, then darted out to snatch the pouch before bounding away.

Lifting the hefty rabbit, which weighed more than four jin, Xia Qing marveled at the little guy. No doubt Alpha’s subordinate—bold and generous, not to mention fierce. This rabbit was even bigger than the one the plucked weasel caught last year near the Northern Barrier.

As Xia Qing packed up the rabbit under everyone’s envious gaze, White Weasel, having finished its treat, led a slightly larger yellow weasel northward.

“Dad!”

By a little after five, the foraging squad finally caught sight of the iron mesh wall marking their territory. Spotting her father standing far outside the wall, Tan Qi could no longer hold back. She waved her arm high, bursting with excitement, and Tan Junjie waved back.

At that moment, Tan Junjie was leading two teammates on patrol outside the wall, coincidentally arriving at the valley exit between Hill Forty-Nine and Hill Fifty.

But such a coincidence wasn’t luck—Tan Junjie was worried about his daughter on her first mission, so he’d come here to wait for her on purpose.

Leading the squad, Xia Qing told Tan Qi, “This stretch is safe. Tan Qi, go full speed.”

“Yes!” As a Speed Evolver, Tan Qi dashed toward the patrol truck, the heavy bag of bamboo shoots bouncing on her back like she was carrying a rabbit.

Her energy and joy were infectious. Soon, everyone’s steps grew lighter. When they reached the patrol truck, Tan Junjie told Huo Lei and Madam Shi to load their packs in the back. Even though they were Evolvers, they were getting on in years, and after a full day’s haul of several hundred jin, they were exhausted.

Tan Qi insisted on carrying her own bag all the way back to the territory.

Tan Junjie turned to Xia Qing. “Everything went smoothly?”

“We only ran into a leopard and a few small animals. No sign of the Devastation Snake, and no big evolved bamboo rats in the grove—really lucky.” Xia Qing summed it up, then praised Tan Qi, “Tan Qi never fell behind and dug up shoots in record time. She did amazingly well.”

Hearing both Sister Qing and her dad’s praise, Tan Qi’s sweat-streaked face flushed red, and her eyes sparkled with pride.

Having his daughter praised, even the usually quiet Tan Junjie beamed. He patted her shoulder, then tapped her protective mask. Tan Qi tilted her head up, her eyes crinkling into a happy squint.

“Sister Qing!”

From behind the iron mesh wall, Zhu Li greeted them with a cheerful shout. “Auntie, Yan! You’re finally back!”

Tang Huai called out as well, “Xia Qing, did you dig up any Green Lantern shoots?”

Xia Qing nodded. “Got some.”

At that, a flurry of excited chatter rippled through the crowd that had gathered.

Now that the northern area had a sturdy wall, all the local lords felt so much safer. After hearing that Xia Qing and her squad had gone to dig bamboo shoots, plenty of folks had headed to the east gate to wait for their return.

Tang Huai immediately piped up, “I want one of the Green Lanterns!”

Wen Nengjie jumped in too, “I’ll take a Yellow Lantern, if you’ve got one. Haven’t had fresh shoots in eleven years—I barely remember what they taste like!”

But not everyone was just looking to buy bamboo shoots. The territory could get dull and lonely, so with something new to talk about, everyone wanted to join the excitement.

A grandmother’s voice rang out, loud and urgent from the back of the crowd. “Ajie, how many did Qiqi dig up? Any Green Lanterns in there?”

Tan Qi froze in place at the sound. Xia Qing, tall and sharp-eyed, looked over and instantly recognized the anxious old lady in the worn-out protective mask—the wrinkles at her eyes gave her away as Tan Junjie’s mother. The three generations were night and day in temperament, but their eyes all had the same shape.

“We got some,” Tan Junjie replied to his mother, then spoke to his daughter in a low voice, “Your grandma came with the supply truck this morning.”

He’d planned to tell his daughter once they got home, but who knew his mother would come out to join the excitement.

“Okay.” Tan Qi mumbled, barely daring to look at her dad. Even her steps grew heavier.

Yue Haiying, feeling anxious for his old war buddy, spoke up. “Old Tan, are you sending Qiqi back to the Safe Zone?”

Tan Junjie grabbed the straps of his daughter’s backpack to relieve some weight and answered firmly, “No.”

Tan Qi’s grip on her bag relaxed instantly, though she still kept her head down as she walked.

With sharp ears, Xia Qing caught the sound of the little girl sniffling.