Chapter 1101: Indeed a Blind One

Strictly speaking, this was the second time Xia Qing had heard a beast larger than an evolved wolf roar at close range.

The first time was on Mountain Fifty-Three, when the wolf pack and the Xiong Qun roared at each other, and Xia Qing had joined the fight. But that time her hearing was damaged, so to her the wolf howls and bear roars were no louder than the ringing in her ears, and she hadn't felt particularly shaken.

This time, Xia Qing was truly shaken by the roar of the king of the mountain forest. When reason returned, fighting spirit rose from deep within her, and her blood began to boil.

At this moment, Xia Qing realized how much she had grown. Two years ago, hearing such a thunderous tiger roar, her instinctive reaction would certainly have been fear and flight; now, after the fright, she had the thought and confidence to fight it.

When she saw this tall, mighty, and imposing Gao Daweimeng tiger appear ahead, fixing her with a pair of pale-yellow round eyes brimming with killing intent, Xia Qing was no longer afraid, nor did she want to fight—she only wanted to farm affinity.

Because this was a familiar tiger.

Though the antibacterial patches on its body had fallen off, the strips of fur that had been shaved hadn't grown back yet, and the scars were clearly visible to the naked eye.

She had shaved its fur and treated its wounds, so she could recognize it at a glance. Xia Qing let her arms hang naturally at her sides and greeted it in a gentle voice, "Blindy, do you still remember me? I'm Xia Qing. I'm the one who treated your wounds, and from the look of it, you've recovered well."

Xia Qing couldn't see the largest wound on the tiger's hind leg, but judging by its condition, it had probably healed well.

"Roar!!!" The evolved tiger let out an even angrier roar at Xia Qing, making her heart pound violently.

... Great, worthy of Blindy the tiger—looks like it doesn't remember her.

Xia Qing pulled a pack of jerky from her pocket and handed it to Lao Si. "Lao Si, take this over to Blindy for me."

If it doesn't recognize the person or the voice, surely it still remembers the jerky?

The old wolf took the jerky in its mouth and walked toward the evolved tiger fifteen meters away, while Wolf Lao Er stood in front of Xia Qing without moving.

As the old wolf approached step by step, Blindy didn't move and showed no sign of attacking—it seemed it really did know the old wolf.

The old wolf set the jerky on a rock and lifted its head to sniff noses with Blindy.

Throughout this process, Blindy's pale-yellow tiger eyes never left Xia Qing, brimming with vigilance. After sniffing what the old wolf had set down, it showed no intention of tearing open the package to eat it.

"Lao Si, talk to it about the herbs." Blindy was too wary, and Xia Qing didn't want to provoke it, so she handed this arduous task over to Lao Si.

When it noticed Xia Qing retreating, Lao Er, who was protecting her, retreated along with her.

Only after Xia Qing had pulled back more than fifty meters did Blindy's gaze shift from her to the familiar pouch in front of it.

The old wolf had just emptied its bowels and was being tormented by hunger. Seeing that Blindy wouldn't eat, it pressed the package down with its front paws, tore it open, and began gnawing on the jerky that spilled out.

Blindy caught the familiar scent, lowered its head, and lapped it up with its barbed tongue, swallowing several pieces of jerky.

Seeing that it was willing to eat the jerky, Xia Qing was half-relieved. Beasts in the Evolution Forest were extremely alert—if it was willing to eat food she had brought, it meant it had confirmed she posed no danger to it.

It seemed Blindy had recognized her; this time she had finally managed to farm affinity directly.

After finishing the jerky, Blindy pawed at the empty bag and let out an unhappy roar. The old wolf turned and went back to Xia Qing, asked her for another bag of jerky, and carried it over to the evolved tiger.

This time the old wolf didn't need to use its paws—Blindy pressed the bag down with its sharp, large claws, tore it open, and finished the jerky in a few bites.

But this was all jerky and freeze-dried treats made from Green Lantern meat, and Xia Qing was reluctant to give more. She pulled an egg carton from her backpack. "Blindy, want some eggs? Green Lantern eggs, absolutely delicious—150 points each, cheaper than jerky."

The old wolf, which hadn't tasted delicious eggs since leaving Xia Qing's territory, lit up. Xia Qing wasn't stingy either—she took out a folding paper bowl, cracked an egg into it, let Lao Si eat, then fed Lao Er one too.

Blindy didn't come over, but it didn't leave either. It just stood in place, eyes fixed on Xia Qing, its massive, imposing body motionless, its thick long tail swaying from side to side, poised to strike.

This is... planning to steal the food?

When Xia Qing cracked in two more eggs, Lao Er picked up the paper bowl in its mouth and walked over to Blindy. Blindy lowered its head to sniff, and just like the two wolves, ate the eggshell along with it.

Seeing that Lao Er had also managed to farm affinity with Blindy, Xia Qing relaxed even more. She took out a picture of Viola philippica to show this clever evolved tiger what she was after.

But before Xia Qing could finish speaking, Blindy turned and left.

Xia Qing looked at Lao Er and Lao Si, unsure what the evolved tiger meant. Lao Si chose a different direction from Blindy and moved forward, while Lao Er nudged Xia Qing, signaling her to follow.

Ahead should be Blindy's territory, right? Xia Qing's whole body tensed, hearing and sight fully alert, afraid Blindy might suddenly leap out and give her a bite or a swipe.

After following Lao Si forward for more than half an hour, the two wolves and the person stopped on a sunny hillside.

There were several tall broadleaf trees here; sunlight pierced through the leaves, falling in scattered spots on the grass, illuminating the sparse purple-violet little flowers blooming across it.

This is... Viola philippica!

Found it this easily? Is that possible?

Xia Qing lowered her head to carefully observe this common weed, its dense leaves growing close to the ground on short stems, the whole plant forming a rosette shape. This kind of grass was everywhere in the Evolution Forest and in her territory.

It looked so ordinary—could it really be the evolved Viola philippica she was looking for?

Xia Qing looked up and quickly spotted claw marks on the trunks of the big trees. These were traces left by the evolved tiger sharpening its claws and marking its territory; the dead tree trunk beside the smooth boulder nearby had even more marks, with quite a bit of tiger fur clinging to it.

These marks showed this was a place Blindy often stayed—its core territory. As for whether this Viola philippica was an evolved species, she could dig up a few plants and send them to Territory Seven for her idol to test.

Viola philippica's peak blooming season is March to May, and its seeds mature in late summer to early autumn. It was now early September; most of the seeds had already fallen, and only a few plants were still flowering and setting seed.

Xia Qing, who had plenty of plant-collecting experience, took out a sampling box and dug up several plants of each kind—those in bloom, those bearing seeds, and those whose seeds had already fallen—along with the surrounding soil, packed them carefully into the box, and stored them properly.

While Xia Qing was digging up the plants, the wolf-dog Lao Er stood right beside her, its eyes never leaving the evolved tiger on the hillside several hundred meters away. Lao Si ran off to empty its bowels again, and when it came back it sniffed Xia Qing's backpack, asking for food.

After securing the herb samples, Xia Qing took out a pack of freeze-dried treats, cracked three eggs into it, let Lao Si eat, then left two eggs and a pack of freeze-dried treats for Blindy before taking the two wolves and leaving Blindy's territory.