Chapter 79: After the Xiang Rain: Rebuilding and Resilience

Did she develop a new ability to heal her wounds faster?

Or was the protective suit she got from the Azure Dragon Unit just that strong, shielding her from the worst of it and keeping her from getting any serious injuries?

Maybe it was because she’s been eating nothing but green-light food, and that boosted her body’s recovery?

She couldn’t pin down the reason just yet, but not having to endure soul-crushing pain made Xia Qing genuinely happy. She got dressed and pulled on her protective suit, ready to tackle her daily first task—patrolling the territory and clearing out insects.

Under the sunlight, the amount of Xiang element in the air dropped and plants were much less likely to undergo Xiangification.

With the night behind them, not a single crop in the territory had mutated from Xiang Evolution. Scanning the Buffer Forest from a distance, there were no towering trees or freakishly colored ones squirming. Everything looked as it should.

Boss Sheep munched on grass in his private pasture, back to his usual self with not even a limp. She could safely rule out the first theory—it wasn’t some fancy new rapid wound healing ability.

She’d been so exhausted last night she’d forgotten to check the weather report. Xia Qing wasn’t sure if she could stow away the rainproof tarps today, so she switched on her walkie-talkie to ask about the forecast.

Other lords were already up, trading stories about how much their territories lost during this round of Xiang Rain.

This was the second bout of Xiang Rain in the tenth year of the catastrophe—fifty hours of downpour, a hundred milliliters of rain, and even the two red-level waves didn’t last more than an hour each, so no major casualties or losses inside the Safe Zone.

It was a different story outside the Safe Zone, though. Those territories suffered big time.

Territory Four lost more than half its crops, with three injured and two dead. Territory Five didn’t lose crops but had six people injured and one dead. Territory Six lost a quarter of its crops, with five injured and three dead.

No one else spoke up, but Xia Qing knew their territories all had evolved humans, so casualties likely weren’t as bad as Territories Four, Five, Six, and Three.

In Territory Three, the worst losses among the crops hit the yellow-light potatoes, a full forty percent wiped out. The next hardest hit were the recently planted sweet potato vines, down twenty-five percent. A person and a sheep were hurt, but thankfully no deaths.

Xia Qing cleared snakes and bugs from the area around Boss Sheep’s pasture, then gave his head a rough rub, her voice as gentle as ever. “Take your time, Boss. I’m heading home for breakfast.”

Boss Sheep, too busy chomping down, ignored his little follower. Xia Qing pulled up Xiang grass as she walked toward the fish pond, when she heard Zhao Ze’s voice, choked with tears, over the radio: “Does Blue Star really not give ordinary people a way out? Xia Qing, how are things on your end?”

Xia Qing dumped half her catch of evolved insects into the fish pond, watching the water boil with activity as she replied, “Lost over a third of my crops, and took some hits myself. I was so tired yesterday I skipped the weather report. Is there going to be more rain in the next few days?”

It was obvious—when lords reported casualties, that part was always true, but crop losses were always exaggerated. Xia Qing certainly wasn’t about to reveal her own real numbers and risk drawing envy from others.

“Forecast says five days of sunny weather ahead,” Zhao Ze replied, sounding both envious and bitter. “Level Four Evolvers really are something. All by yourself, you kept most of your farmland safe and still saved two-thirds of your crops. Meanwhile, the rest of us are fighting for scraps and can’t even save half.”

The last bit of insect carcass was swallowed up by the fish, and the pond grew still. Xia Qing’s voice turned icy. “Whether you can save your food and crops has nothing to do with being an Evolver. I spent two months prepping for this second Xiang Rain. How long did you prepare? I hired seven people to help me patrol and stand guard at night for my crops. What about you?”

Zhao Ze shrank away at Xia Qing’s fierce retort, too scared to say another word.

Qi Fu rasped, “Xia Qing’s right. I spent two months prepping too, and that’s the only reason I managed to save most of my land. Zhao Ze, if you don’t want to starve or lose your territory, better knuckle down. Blue Star may have evolved, but the land’s the same as always. You get what you put in. Third Brother, are you there? I want to trade my green-light veggies for some healing medicine and antidotes.”

Zhang San sounded as lazy as ever. “What level of medicine are you after?”

Qi Fu, Zhao Ze, and Kuang Qingwei immediately listed what green-light supplies they could offer and detailed the injuries in their territories, arranging trades for medicine with Zhang San.

Tang Huai also begged Zhang San for some medicine, but Zhang San ignored him and instead turned to Xia Qing, “How about you, Xia Qing? Need any wound medicine?”

Xia Qing pressed the button. “I’ve still got plenty of basic medicine from my last trade. Thanks, Third Brother.”

Everyone else went quiet…

Other lords had to beg Zhang San for medicine, but with Xia Qing, it was Zhang San trying to give her medicine and her turning it down.

A few lords made a silent vow. They’d plant those green-light spinach seeds from Xia Qing no matter what, then use the harvest to trade with Zhang San for supplies!

Tang Huai, still whining in bed, pressed the button. “Xia Qing, you were hit by those attacking Xiang-infused potato vines, right?”

“Yeah,” Xia Qing answered.

“How many lashes did you take? And what medicine are you using?”

Who had time to count how many welts she had? But it was better to downplay her injuries—no sense giving anyone ideas about raiding her crops while she was laid up. “A dozen or so, used painkillers and anti-inflammatories I brought out from the Safe Zone.”

Pfft!

Tang Huai, who’d taken just three hits and was sprawled in bed on special pain meds and anti-swelling drugs, didn’t believe for a second Xia Qing used anything basic—she must’ve scored the good stuff from Hu Zifeng!

Barely hiding his irritation, Tang Huai asked, “So what are you doing now?”

Xia Qing was busy testing for Xiang element in captured snakes, and replied briskly, “Patrolling my territory and clearing Xiangified plants.”

Kuang Qingwei hit the button in disbelief. “Xia Qing, doesn’t it hurt? Or are the Xiang potatoes in your territory just weak?”

One of his workers had been whipped to death by an evolved potato vine!

Xia Qing replied, “The thick bamboo I used for trellises was snapped by those potato vines. Definitely not weak. It hurts plenty, but I can take it. Besides, if I don’t clear out the Xiang grass soon, it’ll start going to seed.”

Under normal conditions, Xiang grass isn’t dangerous, but during Xiang Rain, it grows fast. As soon as the sun comes out and the rain stops, the growth slows and it starts to go to seed—only takes a few days for the seeds to ripen and fall to the ground, just waiting for the next Xiang Rain to sprout again before the plant withers away.

So she had to clear out the Xiang grass before those seeds matured. If she didn’t, the density would only grow, and that’d just mean more chances of them evolving into attack weeds.

Xia Qing could tough it out, but Qi Fu—his arm broken by those vines—couldn’t. “Xia Qing, why don’t I send my wife over to take care of you for a few days?”

Qi Fu’s wife, Yuan Yan, lived on the territory with him. Xia Qing had seen her once in the Safe Zone, bringing Qi Fu lunch. Yuan Yan looked about the same age as him, with a few scars from acid rain across her face, giving her a fierce, hardened look.

After the disaster, everyone was forced to armor up with their toughest side. Xia Qing had never judged anyone by appearance, but she was so used to staying hidden and quiet that she’d never really interacted with Yuan Yan.

Before Xia Qing could press the button to refuse, Zhang San spoke up. “Xia Qing, how about I send a professional nurse to look after you? Just give me a few spinach leaves in exchange.”

Was spinach really that tasty, or was there something else to it…?

Xia Qing pressed the button. “Thanks, Third Brother, and thanks for looking out for me, Qi Fu, but I’ll only trouble you if I really can’t manage on my own.”

Tang Huai demanded, “No way! You took a dozen lashes and you can just tough it out?!”

Xia Qing hadn’t even answered before Hu Zifeng cut in. “Xia Qing’s an Evolver. Of course her recovery’s way better than yours, ordinary human!”

Still pretending to be normal, Tang Huai shot back at Hu Zifeng, “Did your potatoes sprout yet? Some landlord you are, can’t even grow potatoes—you still got the nerve to talk down to me!”