Chapter 952: Wolf Dens and Wild Boars

Xia Qing’s face hardened, her voice stern. “Black Wolf, I’m busy. If you take Four-Eyes away with you, I won’t be coming to Hill Fifty-Five to change or give medicine!”

“Awoo—wooooo—”

From inside the house, Crippled Wolf let out a low, commanding howl. Big Black Wolf paused with Little Black Wolf in its jaws, then turned and walked away without a backward glance.

Crippled Wolf sure brought out the authority in its tone…

Xia Qing followed the black wolf pair out of Section Three and, just as she expected, saw Black Wolf place Four-Eyes inside a wolf den in Section Three of Hill Forty-Nine.

Well, would you look at that—she’d just learned a phrase of wolf-speak!

When Lame Wolf injured her leg, she’d spent most of her recovery time in this very den. Clearly, Black Wolf thought this place was safer than Section Three.

Letting go of the feisty Honey Badger she’d been ready to wrestle, Xia Qing happily returned to her territory for supplies. She cleared out the damp, moldy straw lining the den—untouched by wolves for ages, now taken over by snakes, bugs and ants—then disinfected and sanitized it before laying down two soft, dry straw mats. Finally she added an antibacterial pad on top, leaving a jug of Pure Spring Water nearby.

The den was thick with dust. Black Wolf stood outside with her cub, quietly watching Xia Qing work.

“Black Wolf, you two should stay here for now. Once Four-Eyes wakes up, I’ll come by to give him his medicine.”

“Squeak—grr!”

When Xia Qing pushed open the door, she heard the hinges on the den’s entrance groaning with rust. She grabbed some oil and worked it in until the noise disappeared. Just as she climbed out of Wolf Valley, she heard the heavy rustle of a big beast moving deep within the Evolved Forest.

Crunch, crunch, swish—

Moments later, Lame Wolf emerged from the woods, bared her fangs in Xia Qing’s direction, then jumped down into Wolf Valley, heading straight for the den like she’d done it a thousand times.

Back home, Xia Qing flopped down on the tatami next to Crippled Wolf and griped, “I thought after today’s battle my standing with the wolf pack would’ve gone up.”

Crippled Wolf, who had been watching the LCD TV on the wall, turned to look at her.

Xia Qing wedged herself between Old Goat and Crippled Wolf. Leaning against Old Goat, she carefully removed the damp gauze from Crippled Wolf’s two injured paws—still unfixed—cleaned the wounds again, then wrapped them in fresh bandages. She reminded him, “No getting your paws wet until they’re healed. And for now, just skip the foot-washing routine before going in and out.”

Crippled Wolf bared his teeth in a little grin, letting her know he understood. He returned to staring thoughtfully at the TV. This new thing in Xia Qing’s house was unfamiliar, but something about it felt oddly familiar.

Xia Qing’s eyes sparkled as she pitched it: “This is a TV! Here, let Handsome Wolf try it out.”

With the remote, Xia Qing turned on the TV, resuming the educational video she’d been studying. Crippled Wolf’s eyes went wide in amazement.

“Well? Pretty cool, right? It’s called a television. It’s got functions kind of like a phone or laptop, only bigger and easier on the eyes. Handsome Wolf, for just one pigeon-egg-sized Yi Stone, you could take this TV back to Hill Fifty-Five and install it in your den!”

Crippled Wolf studied Xia Qing thoughtfully.

Xia Qing kept her sales pitch coming. “Yep, you can set it up in your den. When it runs out of power, just use your generator bike to recharge. It’s been sitting upstairs unused for ages. So what do you say? Just one Yi Stone!”

Crippled Wolf didn’t even crack a smile—clearly, he didn’t think it was worth a Yi Stone.

Xia Qing sighed, defeated, and snuggled back against Old Goat. She muttered, “Lame Wolf and Black Wolf are here taking care of Four-Eyes, but Er still hasn’t come back even with night falling. Must’ve stayed at Hill Fifty-Five to look after Lame Wolf’s other pups, huh?”

Old Goat gazed at the TV, chewing thoughtfully. Crippled Wolf’s ears flicked, his attention shifting toward the back window. Soon, Old Goat’s ears twitched as well. He stood up, hooves clicking as he headed outside.

Only Alpha himself could warrant such a welcome. Xia Qing followed eagerly. Was Alpha here to bring them some Green Lantern food, or was he bringing medical funds—or maybe both?

She could hardly contain her excitement.

After Xia Qing left, Crippled Wolf eyed the TV remote beside him with a calculating look. He carefully raised his bandaged right paw. Monkey, camped in the corner branches, stopped gnawing his cucumber, totally transfixed.

“Squeak-awooo!”

The shrill, desperate squeals of a giant wild boar suddenly echoed from Hill Forty-Nine—over and over again. The wolf pack, with their cubs, was on a pig hunt!

Why bring the cubs? With Alpha’s strength, a wild boar would never get the chance to scream like that if he hunted it himself.

Xia Qing caught up to Old Goat and asked, “Going out, Old Goat? The wolves are taking down a boar.”

Night had already fallen, and Old Goat clearly had no plans to venture out. So Xia Qing cut a huge bundle of Green Lantern vegetable leaves, hoisted Old Goat home, and set him to guard Crippled Wolf while munching on grass.

Monkey, still clutching his cucumber, looked rattled by the wild boar’s cries. He stretched out a little black paw, mouth open but before he could make a sound, Xia Qing was already bustling away with rope, a basin and a bag, eager for Wolf Valley.

When Xia Qing reached the valley, she saw seven wolf cubs had come this time—led by two of the little ones.

One was a light gray-brown cub. At first glance, Xia Qing knew he was the pup of Alpha and Crippled Wolf—he was an Evolved Elasticity, his eye color matched Crippled Wolf and even his movements bore traces of Alpha. He was leading Lame Wolf’s two pups and another cub, cornering a half-grown wild boar.

The other three massive wolf pups were surrounding a fully grown boar.

Up on the hillside stood three mother wolves who’d given birth this past spring. Besides Lame Wolf, the gray giant wolf was among them. No question, those three giant wolf pups were her offspring.

Er wasn’t here, probably off caring for the other pups at Hill Fifty-Five or Sixty.

Xia Qing strolled up to Handsome Huge Wolf and pried curiously, “Big Wolf, are those three giant pups in the valley yours?”

Handsome Huge Wolf didn’t flinch or react, as if Xia Qing wasn’t even there.

She turned to Alpha instead. “Queen, are those three giant cubs Big Wolf’s kids or not?”

Alpha didn’t answer. He leapt down into the valley, expertly floored a two-hundred-pound wild boar, and dragged it over, dropping it at Xia Qing’s feet.

Xia Qing’s eyes sparkled. “This wild boar’s still breathing? It’s mine? Thank you, Queen! You’re impeccable! Truly worthy of being king of the Northern Wolf Pack—and at the very apex of the Evolved Wolves…”

Caught up in her excitement and thanks, Xia Qing whipped out the Lethal Element Detector to test the boar’s quality.

“You lunatics, what are you up to? Butchering pigs in the middle of the night?” On the Lords’ channel, Tang Huai, still wearing his night vision goggles and searching for cicadas, complained grumpily.

Hu Zifeng was still out on a mission, so Er Yong replied, “Luo said the patrol team on Hill Forty-Nine had gotten sloppy lately. He wants us to battle wild boars bare-handed to improve our combat skills. Hope we’re not keeping anyone from sleeping?”

“Not at all, it’s barely nine! Go ahead and train. The stronger the hill guards get, the safer we’ll all feel,” Tang Huai replied, picturing the Azure Dragon’s crew chasing wild boars in a pile of pig manure, which made him laugh.

The other ordinary lords, who had long gotten used to sleeping at dusk, echoed Er Yong’s explanation, all claiming they weren’t asleep and urging the Azure Dragon Squad to go all out with their training.

“Green Lantern Wild Boar! Thank you, Queen!” Xia Qing quickly bound up the wild boar and squatted next to Alpha, waiting for the wolf cubs to finish hunting so she could test its quality.