Chapter 972: The Rules of Section Three: A Lesson for the Old Wolf

The moment Xia Qing drove back, the Elder Wolf quickly ducked its head into the thick grass. Was it because it realized it shouldn’t be eyeing the chicken yard, or did it sense something odd about its own scent after waking up? Either way, unease was written all over it.

Playing it safe, Xia Qing decided this wolf needed a bit more schooling. She parked the car in the garage, then stood in the yard and called out in a cold, commanding voice, beckoning the Elder Wolf, “Number Four! Over here!”

Xia Qing had already cleared things up with the Crippled Wolf—this Elder Wolf wasn’t part of the Northern Wolf Pack and wouldn’t be joining them after its recovery. So, odds were it would stay in Section Three. To make things easier, Xia Qing named it ‘Number Four.’

Why not call it Number Three? Xia Qing was worried her idol would get upset if he found out.

Inside the house, the Crippled Wolf, who was tinkering with the CT unit, jumped at Xia Qing’s call. Limping over to the window, he peered outside.

In the grass, the Elder Wolf poked its head out cautiously, spotted Xia Qing staring straight at it, and quickly ducked back in.

Good. Its body really had gotten much better. No more freeloading meals for this one.

Xia Qing reined in her emotions, pointed firmly at the ground in front of her, and repeated, “Number Four, come here. Stand right in front of me.”

After about ten seconds, the Elder Wolf slowly made its way down from the house ruins. It stopped in front of Xia Qing, dropped its large head, and stared at the ants crawling across the earth.

She nodded toward the nearby chicken yard. “Number Four, you want chicken, don’t you?”

The Elder Wolf’s ears twitched, but it went right on watching the ants.

Xia Qing led this clever creature up to the chicken yard and stressed the Section Three rules with emphatic gestures. “Every chicken here belongs to me. They’re my prey. If you steal even one, I’ll give you a thrashing and kick you off the territory! Grrr—”

After laying down the law, Xia Qing threw in an authoritative wolf howl, making sure the Elder Wolf understood just how serious stealing was. Once the Crippled Wolf realized what Xia Qing was up to, he lost interest and went back to studying the CT unit.

Next, Xia Qing took the Elder Wolf over to the Snake Box. “The snakes in here all belong to me. My prey. Try to steal one, and it’s the same deal—I’ll thrash you! Grrr—”

“Every plant and bug in the greenhouse, every fish in the pond, they’re mine, too. My prey. Steal anything, you’re getting a beating! Grrr—”

“Even the squirrels up in the trees are mine. If you dare touch the Red Squirrel…” Xia Qing shot a fierce glare. “I’ll kill you! Awwooooo—!”

After Xia Qing’s repeated warnings, the Elder Wolf lowered its head even further. But its ears didn’t flatten, and its tail didn’t tuck away. The way it carried itself told Xia Qing that, despite its age and weakness, this evolved wolf was still quite proud.

It must have been formidable once, and even now its fighting prowess wasn’t low. That’s why both the Red Squirrel’s family and Red Fox’s family were terrified of it. Ever since the Elder Wolf arrived in Section Three, the Red Foxes hadn’t dared to come mooch medicine anymore.

At this point, the only animals who weren’t afraid of Number Four were Old Goat and the Crippled Wolf. The Crippled Wolf’s bravery was obvious. Old Goat’s was too—it packed plenty of strength and was an ally of both Xia Qing and the Crippled Wolf.

Xia Qing figured this Elder Wolf was probably a wolf king in its prime, the ruler of its own territory. After losing to a younger wolf, instead of submitting, it left to roam the borderlands near the Northern Wolf Pack on its own—until it crossed paths with the caring Wolfdog Number Two.

Xia Qing didn’t want to force this proud old wolf into submission. As long as it recognized whose territory this was and played by the rules, that’s all she wanted. Slowing down, she explained gently, “Number Four, if you want to eat, you can work for me in exchange.”

Worried it wouldn’t understand, Xia Qing handed it a small basket to carry. “Catch bugs and put them in this basket. Tonight you’ll get chicken and eggs for supper. Come on, I’ll show you how.”

With the basket in its mouth, the Elder Wolf followed Xia Qing outside.

Catching bugs in a territory this big—over seven thousand acres—wasn’t what anyone would call hard. With her evolved hearing and sight, Xia Qing quickly snagged a few darkling beetles, crickets, and centipedes, dropping them into her basket and demonstrating how it’s done.

“Number Four, you find a bug, put it in the basket, just like this.”

The Elder Wolf eyed the bugs crawling around in Xia Qing’s basket for a moment, then trotted a dozen meters ahead with its own basket. Using a paw, it dug up a fat earthworm.

It tipped the basket over, swept the worm in with a big paw, then glanced back at Xia Qing. Its patchy fur and pale yellow eyes gleamed with a spark of intelligence.

“Excellent job, Number Four! Earthworms are bugs. Chickens love eating them—great work!” Xia Qing praised the smart old wolf with real enthusiasm. “Fill the basket and once the chickens are fed, you’ll get eggs and chicken!”

The Elder Wolf wasted no time. Next, it dug up an evolved insect pupa nearly as long as a human finger, tipped over the basket, and swept it in. Then it looked to Xia Qing again.

Having lived in the Evolved Forest for years, this wolf was clearly used to a chicken-like lifestyle—digging in the dirt for bugs to eat. That’s why it instinctively searched the ground for bugs to put in the basket.

Overflowing with encouragement, Xia Qing praised this clever and highly experienced wolf. “Fantastic, Number Four. Yes—chickens love the bugs you find in the ground. Number Four, you’re the evolved wolf at the top of Blue Star’s chicken-raising pyramid!”

Beyond its experience, Xia Qing noticed the Elder Wolf rarely used its mouth to grab things—probably because its teeth hurt. If too many bugs ended up in its basket, tipping it over was more likely to dump them all out rather than add new ones.

Xia Qing headed home, grabbed a bamboo board and some nails, and quickly hammered a smooth ramp onto the side of the small basket. She showed the wolf how to use its paws to drag caught bugs up the bamboo ramp and into the basket.

This brain-evolved Elder Wolf picked up on the trick in no time.

So human and wolf wandered through the territory with their baskets, each searching for bugs. The Elder Wolf went after bugs in the dirt and on the ground. Xia Qing hunted them on tree branches and grass blades.

Once the baskets were full, Xia Qing led the Elder Wolf home and taught it how to dump bugs into the chicken trough. Over seventy chickens big and small came running, clucking and scrambling to grab a bite.

As Xia Qing watched, she caught a clear line of drool trailing from the Elder Wolf’s mouth.

No doubt about it—it really wanted chicken.

Xia Qing smiled. “Hungry, Number Four? Come on, I’ll grab some eggs and cook up chicken and eggs for you.”

She stepped into the chicken house and gathered eleven eggs laid by the flock that day.

There were seventy-five chickens in the yard, but only fourteen hens were laying. The new chicks wouldn’t start producing until at least September. Still, about ten eggs a day was plenty for Xia Qing’s needs.

After a short lesson for the Elder Wolf on why you need chickens to get eggs, Xia Qing went inside, cooked up the eggs with half a chicken from the fridge, let it all cool down, then brought it out to the yard for the hungry wolf.

“Eat up. This is your reward for catching bugs and feeding the chickens today, Number Four.”

The Elder Wolf swallowed the peeled eggs whole and didn’t waste the shells Xia Qing left nearby, eating them too before moving on to the chicken meat.

Xia Qing didn’t correct it for eating eggshells. Anyone—or any animal—who’s gone hungry knows full well: you can eat just about anything when you have to, even feathers.

After polishing off half a chicken, the Elder Wolf looked up at Xia Qing with pale yellow eyes.

“Still hungry? No problem.”

She went back inside and brought out a hefty pound of freeze-dried meat, dumping it into the wolf’s food bowl. Only after watching it lick the bowl clean and filling up its supply of pure spring water did she finally return inside to cook dinner.

Once it was full, the Elder Wolf returned to the ruined house site on the south side of Xia Qing’s territory. Compared to the sheep shed, it much preferred the higher spot with an open view.

Wherever it wanted to stay was its choice. Xia Qing never interfered—she simply went inside to cook her own meal.