Chapter 831: Trading, Trust, and Clever Wolves

After returning to Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine, Xia Qing told Er to head back to the territory first. She reached into a pine tree hollow, pulled out Little Fei Mao, and gave it the last dose of pesticide, then unfolded a sheet of medicinal herb photos for it to study.

“You owe me credits. It’s only fair to repay your debts,” Xia Qing said, pointing at a herb in the photo. “See this? Memorize it. Dig up three of these plants for me, and our account will be settled—with interest.”

The scrawny, pitiful Little Fei Mao curled obediently in Xia Qing’s palm, its shiny black eyes locked on her, whiskers quivering.

Putting away the photos, Xia Qing stroked its tiny head. “There are honey badgers, wildcats, domestic cats, snakes, owls, and evolved mice in this forest. They’re all your natural enemies. Stay away from them, survive, and become the strongest squirrel out there.”

After tucking Little Fei Mao into the hollow she’d cracked open, Xia Qing headed home. Meanwhile, the albino weasel from Hill Fifty left its den and darted deeper into the evolved forest.

Xia Qing finished dinner and was washing dishes when a persistent reminder pinged from the northern gate. The corners of her mouth twitched up.

Luck was on her side tonight. The smartest wolf in the pack—Broken Back—had shown up with a big red fox and a little one, asking for medicine.

She left the territory in Old Goat and Er’s care, quickly pulled on a protective suit, grabbed her backpack, and rushed to the northern gate. She checked the two wild ducks by the door—one Green Lantern and one Yellow Lantern. Not bothering to call Idol, she packed them into sealable bags, sealed them, and hurried after Broken Back into Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine.

Maybe it was because Xia Qing had treated the little fox yesterday and it was obviously doing better that today, though the big red fox was still afraid, it didn’t run off carrying its pup.

Broken Back delivered the whimpering fox cub to Xia Qing, letting her take it into the wolf den to check its wound and reapply medicine.

This time, the big red fox didn’t need Broken Back to growl it into submission. It waited quietly at the entrance. As a brain-evolved animal, the fox had figured out from its bamboo grove and last night’s experiences that Xia Qing was different from other humans—she wouldn’t harm its cub.

In just over ten minutes, Xia Qing emerged from the den holding the little fox. “Broken Back, this cub will need another round of medicine at this time tomorrow.”

Broken Back showed off his tiny snow-white fangs in a wolfish grin.

The red fox made sure its cub was safe, then caught sight of the grinning evolved wolf and paused, thoughtful. For a moment, its expression was oddly similar to Broken Back’s. No wonder—they were both brain-evolved animals of the same family.

After Xia Qing set the cub on the ground, the red fox quickly snatched it up and bolted away. Even if it knew Xia Qing was different, she was still its top predator. Instinct told it to run while it had the chance.

Ignoring the foxes, Xia Qing turned to Broken Back. “There are way too many wild boars in the valley. Can I hunt a few for food?”

Broken Back’s mouth snapped shut. He looked up at Xia Qing.

Got it—not allowed. Xia Qing gestured as she communicated with this clever wolf. “Too many wild boars. There’s not enough food in the valley.”

Broken Back glanced at the mess the wild boars had made of the pond, then looked back at Xia Qing.

She stressed it again, “There are too many wild boars. We need to cull a few. There’s not enough to eat. Last year, the Queen came at this time too, to hunt wild boars here.”

Right after the second Devastation Rain last year, the Alpha led a hunt inside the Wild Boar Breeding Center, killing the captive boars used for research. A few days later, Broken Back came back and took out the rest. Left with nothing to study, the center had to pull out, so the valley got folded into Hill Forty-Nine—in name belonging to Qinglong, but really Xia Qing’s turf.

Had it really only been a year since all that? It felt like a lifetime ago.

Lost in thought, Xia Qing suddenly realized Broken Back was looking at her exactly the way he looked at Lame Wolf—the goofy one. Basically, in his eyes, Xia Qing’s question had been ridiculous.

Was it really that dumb?

Of course not. She was way smarter than this wolf.

Xia Qing led Broken Back back to her place. Before she could ask where the ducks came from, Broken Back trotted straight into the bathroom and dragged out the hair dryer from her cabinet.

As she took the hair dryer, the wolf lifted his big paw, still damp from rinsing in the water basin by the door. Today he hadn’t worn his protective suit. Maybe it was too hot—wearing a suit made even a wolf uncomfortable.

Under Xia Qing’s gaze, this clever wolf even splayed open his paw. Can wolves’ paws really do that? She hesitated for a second. “Blow dry? Sure.”

Plugged in, hair dryer ready, Xia Qing dried all four paws, then before she could say anything, Broken Back rushed upstairs. He opened his fridge, chomped on a cucumber, dragged his laptop to the coffee table, pried it open, and with his big paw pressed the power button, nudged the mouse, and swiped the touchpad—studying how to use that little cursor on the screen.

Since he was so engrossed, Xia Qing didn’t disturb him. Still, she made a mental note: Next time Yang Jin came to pick up the spinach seeds, she’d barter for a touchscreen laptop—with a rugged, non-slip screen.

Those laptops definitely weren’t cheap, but compared to the value of the Yi Stone she’d traded the Wolf Pack, this was nothing.

Just as Xia Qing expected, Broken Back wanted to watch primate videos tonight. He started from the very beginning. When it got to the white-faced macaque, he paused, turned to the kitchen, and grinned.

With no Alpha around tonight, Broken Back grinned for ages before resuming the video.

And Xia Qing? She was in the kitchen, plucking feathers, oblivious.

Once she finished cleaning up, Xia Qing roasted the Green Lantern wild duck and stashed the Yellow Lantern in Broken Back’s big fridge.

Her own little fridge was locked and kept only her food. Broken Back’s big fridge had his meat in the freezer below, and on top, Xia Qing’s stash of vegetables. Broken Back could help himself to the top veggies, Xia Qing could take meat from below.

Perfectly fair.

After packing up the roast duck, Xia Qing noticed Broken Back had no intention of leaving, still glued to his video.

Again, he was watching clips about evolved mandrills and macaques—over and over.

Broken Back’s obsession was starting to make Xia Qing anxious. Was the Monkey Troop or the mandrills planning an attack on the northern evolved forest? Was the Wolf Pack preparing for war?

Still, she let Broken Back finish his video binge. Only when he finally got up to leave did she grab the packed roast duck and ask, “Broken Back, where did you catch these ducks? Can you show me?”

Broken Back stared at her, visibly thoughtful.

Quickly, Xia Qing pulled from her pocket two fist-sized toy balls she’d traded with Tang Huai not long ago and energetically tried to sell them. “Broken Back, check this out. This is a training toy for pups—they can nudge it around just like this…”

She performed for quite a while—Er’s eyes never left the balls—but Broken Back didn’t show the slightest interest. Xia Qing went upstairs, fetched a half-human-height pillow she’d sewn herself from pink fabric. Before she could even start her pitch, Broken Back’s eyes lit up at the sight.

Just as expected, Xia Qing traded the pillow for Broken Back’s help.

As for the toy balls? They went to Er.

Finally, Xia Qing demonstrated the touchscreen laptop on her phone for Broken Back, closing a new deal: one medicinal herb for a brand new touchscreen laptop. Smart wolves always had good taste.