Chapter 1073: The Seventh Medicinal Bath

"Did everyone hear?"

After finishing clearing the noxious weeds inside the territories, the lords could finally relax for a few days. Everyone gathered by the corridor, watching the researchers from Territory Seven work with Xia Qing to lead the sixth inspection squad in clearing the residual red reagent from the corridor.

Because this mission required special equipment, and Territory Seven had limited equipment, the lords couldn't participate. They could only watch from nearby, clearing weeds and stones in their own territories as they went.

Zhu Li, who was nominally helping pull weeds in Territory Five but was really there for the excitement, shared new news. "Doomsday and Blaze are still fighting behind the scenes. I heard over four hundred people have already died."

Xia Qing nodded silently.

This was really hearsay. The captain of the Azure Dragon squad, who had been sitting on the mountain watching the tigers fight outside Blaze Mountain and conveniently playing the fisherman to pick up scraps, told her this morning that the two sides' casualties numbered 315.

Of Blaze squad's six vice-captains and one captain, two were dead and two wounded.

The dead were Vice-Captain Shan Ying, who oversaw research, and Vice-Captain Zhou Jin, who oversaw member training. Shan Ying was killed by Luo Pei with a sniper rifle; Zhou Jin was killed by Xie Yu.

Xia Qing had only just heard the name Zhou Jin before the noxious rain, from Lord Twenty-Five She Xing. Zhou Jin had personally called She Xing by phone, offering very generous terms to invite She Xing's son Lu Fangchun to join Blaze squad. She Xing politely declined on the grounds that her son was recuperating from injuries.

Currently, the Azure Dragon squad was near Blaze Mountain, secretly searching for the whereabouts of Vice-Captain Qu Fangzhou, who handled intelligence gathering and analysis for Blaze squad. Once they killed Qu Fangzhou, the Azure Dragon squad's objective for this operation would be achieved.

Why not kill Fire Phoenix? Because she had already been placed under official Hui One protection, and couldn't be killed.

"I heard too."

Lord Seventeen Wen Nengjie sighed over the walkie-talkie channel. "A squad as powerful as Blaze could be infiltrated by the Doomsday cult—it's terrifying. Thank goodness our base is pretty strict about this sort of thing."

Seeing Xia Qing nod slightly, Zhang Song, who was standing beside her, asked with a smile, "Sister Qing also thinks the Doomsday cult is scary?"

Xia Qing scooped a shovelful of soil stained with red reagent into the bag Su Ming was holding open, and answered calmly, "I haven't had any contact with the Doomsday cult, but I agree that our base is pretty strict about this sort of thing."

Hui Three's overall combat strength and governance ability weren't strong, but Base Leader Qi Zhongye had a deep hatred of evil cults and struck against them with great force.

Tang Huai, who was digging out bugs in Territory Ten, heard Xia Qing's voice and pressed his walkie-talkie. "In this respect, we're the strictest of Hui City's ten bases. Even buying and selling Divine Wolf portraits inside the safe zone has to be done on the sly."

Shi Mu, a devoted follower of the Divine Wolf, spoke up. "It's better to be strict. The Divine Wolf doesn't harm people, but there are always people who use the Divine Wolf's name to make money and hurt people."

Zhang Song asked curiously, "What facts did everyone use to reach the conclusion that 'the Divine Wolf doesn't harm people'?"

Tang Huai and Zhu Li were also curious how Xia Qing would answer, and both pricked up their ears to listen.

Xia Qing, whose voice had been calm when she and the northern wolf pack's head wolf killed seven wanderers in Mountain Thirty-Seven two days ago, said, "I don't know. You'd have to ask the people inside the safe zone who make and sell Divine Wolf portraits."

"The people who founded the Divine Wolf cult don't believe in it either—they're just in it for the money." Xu Sanxi, an inspection squad member whose relative had been killed by the western wolf pack, said through gritted teeth, "Have wolves killed too few people over the years?"

"You— ah!"

Zhang Song hadn't finished speaking before Tan Junjie, quick-eyed and quick-handed, caught him.

Zhu Li and Tang Huai, in the territory opposite, both stuck out their thumbs and index fingers at the same time. Impressive—this Territory Seven researcher hadn't even worked half a morning and had already fallen eight times.

Xia Qing glanced at the indignant Xu Sanxi on her left, and as she loaded soil into the bag, swept another look at Peng Lin, the inspection squad member who seemed out of sorts.

After Blaze and Doomsday started fighting, not only Peng Lin but also Zhang Kui of the Ninth Center Construction Department had shown obvious emotional fluctuations. Zhang Kui's subordinates—Ninth Center Construction Department employee Li Cun, medical office employee Chen Xia, and Territory Fifteen veteran Yang Pei—had not shown obvious changes.

This indicated that Zhang Kui and Peng Lin had direct dealings with Blaze squad, and Zhang Kui's three subordinates didn't know they were working for Blaze.

These people were all witnesses to Xia Qing's continued presence in the territory. Once Blaze and Doomsday finished fighting, it would be time for the Northern Zone One territories to clean house as well.

What Xia Qing most wanted to know now were two things: first, how deep the entanglement was between Yan Meng, who was injured in Territory Fourteen, and Feng Wen, who was pregnant, and Blaze; second, who had scattered the noxious weed seeds on the Northern Zone One territory corridor, and when.

Inspection squad member Xu Sanxi had already been cleared of suspicion. He wasn't suited to remain in the territory carrying out dangerous inspection missions, and would soon be transferred back to the safe zone.

After a busy day, the first thing Xia Qing did upon returning to the territory was go to the river to wash down her protective suit.

Although she couldn't smell it now, she knew she must stink. Yesterday afternoon, after the red reagent covering the corridor was dissolved, the stench spread through the territory, so thick that even birds flying overhead detoured around it.

This morning, the smell in the territory had mostly dissipated. But while Xia Qing was clearing the corridor, the red light on the air toxin detector on her arm had stayed lit. The corridor still stank.

If she went home without washing up, Xia Qing would surely be shunned by her companions. After washing off the smell, she first went to Shed Two to pick some fresh vegetables, and on the way stopped to feed the mealworms, before hurrying home with her basket.

Today was August 30th—the day for her seventh medicinal bath. She needed to cook and eat early; once it got dark, the wolf pack would be coming.

Sure enough, not long after Xia Qing finished eating, the head wolf, the Broken-Waist wolf, the Handsome Giant wolf, and the Black Wolf, along with a half-grown wolf that had never before set foot in Territory Three, climbed over the 4.5-meter wall and arrived at Xia Qing's door.

Wolf Lao Er, seeing this half-grown wolf with grey-brown fur and amber eyes standing nervously between the head wolf and the Broken-Waist wolf, walked over naturally and licked its head.

Visibly, the half-grown wolf relaxed a lot.

Xia Qing's eyes lit up. "Queen, this is little sister wolf, right? She's gotten so big!"

The head wolf's face was expressionless. The Broken-Waist wolf, with a notebook pouch hanging around its neck, opened its mouth and showed its little fang tips, indicating Xia Qing had guessed correctly.

Perhaps because little sister wolf was too nervous, the head wolf and the Broken-Waist wolf didn't go straight inside. They stayed under the eaves with her and the other two wolves.

Xia Qing had assumed that after her medicinal bath, the head wolf would let little sister wolf bathe first. But unexpectedly, the first to bathe were still the head wolf and Sheep Boss, then the Handsome Giant wolf, then the Broken-Waist wolf and the Black Wolf, and only at the end Wolf Lao Er and little sister wolf.

The order in which the wolf pack bathed showed that, after surviving the third noxious rain, the wolf pups born this spring had already passed their specially cared-for pup stage and entered the phase of relying on their own abilities to gain food and status within the pack.

No wonder Wolf Lao Er, who was responsible for looking after the pups, could return to Territory Three and leisurely catch bugs to feed the fish.

What was the reason the head wolf and the Broken-Waist wolf brought little sister wolf instead of little brother wolf? Where had Fourth gone, and why hadn't it come back even at night?

Xia Qing drifted into random thoughts, and fell into a deep sleep.