Chapter 740: Bargains at Dawn: Wolf Trade and New Alliances

Crippled Wolf strode right up to Xia Qing’s hammock chair, turned, and flashed her a grin.

Xia Qing just stared back at him…

……

……

He wants to trade three hickory nuts, each barely bigger than a swallow’s egg, for her hammock chair? No wonder he’s Iron Rooster’s blood brother!

Xia Qing clenched her fingers and, with a crack, crushed a hickory nut. White Weasel, startled out of his wits, puffed up and vanished like a shot—who knows where he went. The smile slid off Crippled Wolf’s face too. He just stared at Xia Qing, clearly lost in thought.

Xia Qing crushed another, normal-sized hickory nut, showing it to Crippled Wolf. “Hickory nuts are my food, but I eat the kernel inside. The ones you brought are too small, there’s nothing edible in them. So, no trade for the hammock chair. But if you bring me a Yi Stone, just a small one, you can have it.”

Crippled Wolf tilted his head, seriously considering the offer.

Xia Qing went and plopped herself down in the hammock, swaying as she pitched her sales talk. “Handsome Wolf, look, this hammock chair is super comfy. Trade for one, take it back, you and the Queen and the pups can all use it. Just one Yi Stone—it’s a steal! You’ll be the sharpest, most stylish wolf on Hill Sixty!”

Crippled Wolf stared at the chair for a full thirty seconds, then…

He gave up on the deal!

Crippled Wolf turned to leave, and White Weasel darted out from under the kitchen cabinet, leaping onto his back.

“Hey, Crippled! Hold up!”

Xia Qing called him back and slipped a sample bag into his side pouch. White Weasel, startled again, twisted around and disappeared back into the kitchen.

With lots of gestures, Xia Qing explained that she wanted Crippled Wolf to dig up a bag of yellow clay from under the walnut tree. Idol needed the soil sample. Xia Qing planned to get it herself, but Crippled Wolf refused to let her go, so now she had to ask him for help.

The walnut tree was right on Hill Sixty, and Crippled Wolf had even learned how to collect samples. This would be a breeze for him. Once she made sure he understood, Xia Qing pointed at the hammock chair. “Bring back the soil sample and I’ll give you the chair.”

At last, Crippled Wolf flashed his trademark little fangs—he was on board with the trade.

This wolf was getting sharper by the day. Still, Xia Qing had another trick up her sleeve, something sure to hit his exact sense of style.

She ruffled his head and took out the gold chain she’d just gotten. As expected, Crippled Wolf’s eyes instantly lit up.

“Handsome Wolf, check out this gold chain—the circle stands for the sun, the hook is the moon. Pretty flashy, right? Doesn’t it look just like the Queen’s eye color?”

Crippled Wolf’s gaze followed the gold chain, totally captivated.

“A tiny Yi Stone, that’s all it takes for you to bring this gold chain back for the Queen. Do you get what that means? It means you’ll have given her the sun and the moon—everything under the sunlight is her territory! Handsome Wolf, just one small Yi Stone!”

After making her pitch, Xia Qing tucked the gold chain away and gave a final reminder. “When you bring back the antiparasitic pills and the soil sample, throw in a Yi Stone, and the chain’s yours.”

Crippled Wolf’s eyes shifted over to the hammock chair.

Xia Qing gave him a definite answer right away. “Yep, bring back the soil sample and medicine, and both the gold chain and the hammock chair are yours.”

Only then did Crippled Wolf flash his dazzling fangs and, with White Weasel in tow, stride away.

Funny how even a gorgeous, practical hammock chair didn’t hold a candle to a flashy gold chain in his eyes…

Standing by her bedroom window on the second floor, Xia Qing watched Crippled Wolf and White Weasel heading into the Northern Buffer Forest with the medicine. The whole thing felt totally surreal.

Crippled Wolf must have sensed her gaze—he paused and glanced back at her.

After all that running around, dawn was already creeping in. Crippled Wolf’s eyes had lost their usual green glow, so his expressions looked way richer now. It was almost like he was asking if Xia Qing had any other requests.

She opened the window and called out, “Crippled, bring Handsome Wolf over next time. The Western Wolf Pack needs their medicine too.”

Evolved wolves had amazing hearing. Even though Xia Qing’s voice wasn’t loud, Crippled Wolf caught every word. He grinned and, with the little Yellow Weasel, headed out of Section Three.

Once the two wolves vanished past the double northern gates, Xia Qing rubbed her face, sticky from the humid air. She turned to look at the brightening sky in the northeast while the Black-Feathered Rooster’s piercing crow echoed in her ears.

Right now, Xia Qing felt clearer than ever that she and the Northern Wolf Pack had blazed a brand-new path for humans and advanced evolved animals to live together in peace.

She pulled down the blackout curtains, expertly opened the door, and headed to the stairwell, calling down to her companions on the first floor. “I need to sleep. Old Goat, go watch the chicken flock and stop them from crowing. Without your help, I can’t sleep at all.”

Old Goat didn’t respond, but he hopped off the hammock chair and clip-clopped straight out.

“Thanks, Old Goat. You’re the best evolved sheep on Blue Star. When I go to the Evolved Forest tomorrow, I’ll bring back some delicious food for you.” Xia Qing called out, shut her door, and went to bed. Tomorrow, she was off to the Evolved Forest with Yan Long, so a good night’s sleep was a must.

“Caw—”

The Black-Feathered Rooster’s crow cut off halfway, his throat going hoarse. Xia Qing grinned and snuggled in for a little more sleep.

While Xia Qing caught some extra rest, Chen Cheng, who’d been on night watch, saw Crippled Wolf—having visited Section Three twice in one night—hurrying across Hill Forty-Nine with an albino weasel on his back. Chen Cheng felt a chill run down his spine. “Don’t tell me the Northern Wolf Pack is planning something big again…”

Dawn broke and people in Section One began their daily routines. Some patrolled the territory, some went about their work, some busied themselves in the kitchen. Smoke rose from every chimney, then melted into the moist morning air.

By the time the thick ground fog was slowly baked away by the climbing sun, Xia Qing, inside Section Three’s two-story building, stretched lazily and closed her eyes to listen carefully to the sounds within the Territory.

A big swallow zipped home with a bug in its beak, and the chicks in the nest chirped eagerly for a share.

In the chicken house, the hens clucked too, but their calls weren’t as loud and sharp as the post-laying crow. Instead, they were low, drawn-out, and gentle—the contented sound only happy, safe hens make.

The chicks peeped away, bubbling with happiness.

Far off, the river’s water rushed over rocks. It’d rained a lot lately, so the flow was louder than ever. More water meant livelier creatures in the Evolved Forest. Who knew which river or lake Yan Long would pick for her and Tan Qi to practice at tomorrow.

Xia Qing opened her eyes, got dressed, cracked the window, and officially started her day.

First order of business—patrol the Territory and catch bugs for the hungry critters at home.

With her heightened hearing and sharp eyesight, daytime patrols were a breeze for Xia Qing. She made a quick lap, filling a basket with bugs—half for the chickens, half for the fish.

When the eggs in the fish tank hatched, Xia Qing released a wriggling swarm of baby fish into the prepared pond. There was already plenty of plankton for them, but the big fish were used to eating bugs—they needed some extra feed.

She tossed some spinach leaves to the breadworms and scooped up a ladleful to bring home for the chicks.