Chapter 140: Courtesy Demands Reciprocity

Ignoring the goofy, cocky idiot standing between Yang Jin and the alpha wolf, Xia Qing asked Yang Jin in a low voice, "Captain Yang, who's tougher, you or the alpha wolf?"

A brain-evolved top-speed wolf versus top-speed evolver Yang Jin — this was going to be a show worth watching!

Yang Jin calmly gazed at the evolved wolf he had once tailed, returned the yi-stone to Xia Qing, then answered her question. "Without weapons, in the Evolution Forest it's stronger; here, I'm stronger. But neither of us can easily kill the other. Don't worry — there are still two wolves recuperating in your territory, so it won't provoke us."

Xia Qing...

I'm not worried. I want to watch you two fight. I've never seen two top-speed evolvers go at it.

"Maa!!" Ram Boss called to Xia Qing, signaling her to come to its side and not pick the wrong team.

Xia Qing felt that, judging by Ram Boss's stance, it was even more eager than she was to see the alpha wolf teach Yang Jin a lesson. How could a usually stoic, stubborn ram make such an expressive face?

Yang Jin lowered his voice and told Xia Qing, "Wolf packs value strength above all. If you want to get more supplies in future trades with them, we should stand together so the pack thinks I'm your companion."

Xia Qing stared at the alpha wolf, tilted her head, and whispered to Yang Jin, "Does that mean I have to give you a cut of the supplies I trade with the wolves?"

She had finally dropped the "sir." Yang Jin smiled. "Give me whatever you feel like. I'm not picky about the amount."

The hell I will!

What a real tightwad — helping her put on a show, and he still wants a cut!

Besides, if she went and stood beside Yang Jin now, how would that be any different from Ram Boss standing beside the alpha wolf showing off?

Xia Qing refused. "When they came to find me a few days ago, it wasn't because of my combat power. I'll stick to what I can handle — I'm quite happy with the current trade price."

If the alpha wolf thought she was a companion of Yang Jin and Luo Pei, one day it might show up with a yi-stone in its mouth, asking her to help haul bears and snakes and seize territory. Would she go or not?

Go and do what? Help Yang Jin lug a rocket launcher, or help Luo Pei carry ammo? Given her current ability and contribution, how much of the loot would she get after a fight?

It was still best to trade with the wolves on her own merits. Anything earned that way was hers alone, no splitting with anyone.

Hearing Xia Qing's choice, Yang Jin's smile grew brighter and his eyes shone even more. "As long as you're satisfied, then shall we continue our talk?"

"Moo!"

Outside the house, the smug Ram Boss, seeing that Xia Qing still hadn't come out, got angry.

"I want one grenade launcher, but the three yi-stones I have can't be traded to you. The spring water can. Whenever you want to collect water, just give me a heads-up in advance. The spinach thing — I'll think about it some more."

Xia Qing wrapped up the trade in one sentence. She could tell neither Yang Jin nor the alpha wolf had any intention of fighting, and she didn't want Ram Boss prancing around between them any longer.

"Works for me." Yang Jin was very tactful. "I have other things to do, so I'll head back. Brother Luo will get in touch with you about collecting the water."

"Okay." Xia Qing immediately handed Yang Jin a small basket containing about a catty or two of wild fruit. "There's nothing good in my territory right now. This is the only wild treat I can offer. Don't turn it down, Captain Yang."

"Thanks." Yang Jin took it readily, and casually handed Xia Qing a palm-sized small pouch. "A while back we went to the sea, and the team members scooped up a bunch of pearls on a whim. They have no real use and aren't worth many points. Don't look down on them either."

"Thank you, Captain Yang." Returning the courtesy, Xia Qing took it readily as well, and saw Yang Jin out of the house.

Once the door opened, the alpha wolf was still staring fixedly at Yang Jin without moving. But Ram Boss threw a tantrum, shaking its spiral horns and pawing the ground, swaggering about — making Xia Qing want to rush over and slap it.

"I'm off. Thanks for the hospitality." Yang Jin ignored the prancing Ram Boss, locked eyes with the alpha wolf for a few seconds, then gave Xia Qing a slight nod, put on his protective mask, and headed toward the back mountain.

His manner was relaxed, his steps steady — he didn't seem worried at all about the alpha wolf sneaking up on him from behind.

Passing through the greenhouses full of crops and the two fish ponds, crossing the stone slab bridge over the stream, and reaching the halfway point up the mountain, Yang Jin turned and saw the alpha wolf still staring at him, Ram Boss prancing about and throwing a tantrum at Xia Qing, and Xia Qing bent over beside the alpha wolf, saying something to it.

Amid blue sky, white clouds, and green grass, this absurd scene was unexpectedly perfectly harmonious.

Yang Jin yawned, turned, and quickened his pace. Having gone two days without rest, he could finally go back to sleep in peace.

"Your Majesty, that guy is Brother Luo's companion. He's stingy, sure, but he's handsome, right? Easy on the eyes, isn't he? The line of women in the safe zone who like him could stretch several hundred meters." Xia Qing cautiously sidled up, chatting casually with the alpha wolf. "What do your handsome male wolves in the pack look like?"

After confirming Yang Jin had left, the alpha wolf finally turned its eyes to the pouch in Xia Qing's hand. Bathed in sunlight, its amber-gold eyes were so beautiful they didn't seem real, and Xia Qing was instantly mesmerized.

Want to touch...

Don't dare...

"Want to see this?" Xia Qing reached out and stroked the soft fur on Ram Boss a couple of times to scratch the itch in her hands, then opened the small pouch Yang Jin had given her and found it filled with pearls.

All sizes, all shapes, all colors — because they hadn't been processed, they weren't really that pretty.

Xia Qing picked out a tea-gold pearl the size of a peanut, held it up to admire in the sunlight for a while, then held it out to the alpha wolf. "This pearl's color really matches Your Majesty's eyes. Do you want it?"

The alpha wolf turned up its nose and walked away.

Don't want it? I do.

Xia Qing happily pocketed the pearl, then grabbed Ram Boss, who was about to follow the alpha wolf, and felt around the pouch hanging on its neck. "Boss, those two rations I just gave you — give them back."

Robbing it? Ram Boss shook its head hard and backed away, squaring up to fight Xia Qing.

"Bring it on! Don't think I won't dare smack you just because you've got wolves backing you up!" Xia Qing's excitement from making the yi-stone protective shell hadn't worn off yet. She tossed the pearl pouch on the ground and charged in, going bang-bang-clang-clang with Ram Boss.

The alpha wolf, which hadn't gone far, glanced back at the fighting human and ram, then quickened its pace.

After a thoroughly satisfying fight with Ram Boss, Xia Qing lay on the grass, gazing up at the large white clouds drifting slowly across the sky, feeling completely at ease. "Boss."

"Maa." Ram Boss, sprawled out messily beside her, grunted.

"The protective shell is done. Once I polish the pearls and string them into a chain, I'll put it on you. Guaranteed to blind every wolf in the pack."

Ram Boss stayed silent.

Xia Qing stretched, sat up, pulled two compressed rations out of Ram Boss's pouch, stuffed them into her own clothing pocket, and patted the dirt off herself. "Taking tasty food without working doesn't earn you rations."

Ram Boss leaped up and ran off, and in a moment came charging back with a small bug-catching basket in its mouth, planting itself in front of Xia Qing and giving her a look that said to return the rations.

Xia Qing cheerfully stuffed one ration back into Ram Boss's pouch. "Good job, Boss. Off you go."

After shooing Ram Boss away, Xia Qing went back inside, poured the warm spring-water tea down her throat, and began inspecting the fields.

The yellow-light corn brought back from the safe zone had sprouted. Xia Qing counted carefully — out of about three thousand kernels, only about sixteen hundred had sprouted, a germination rate of roughly fifty-three percent, ten percent lower than the two catties of yellow-light corn Luo Pei had given her.

And this was after Xia Qing had soaked the seeds in spring water. Other lords didn't have pollution-free spring water, so their germination rates would only be lower.

The quality of this batch of seeds wasn't all that great.