Chapter 1429: Notch-Ear Wolf

Once she figured out why Old Four was unhappy, the problem was easy to solve.

Xia Qing discussed with it, "Old Four doesn't like the name Honeysuckle, so let's change it. What does Old Four think its companion should be called?"

Old Four looked at Xia Qing quietly, without raising a paw to write.

"Let me name it, good." Xia Qing understood what Old Four meant, patted the thin, old wolf beside her that was in the awakening stage, and offered the first name, "How about Er Ren?"

The name Honeysuckle had been given by her idol, so she had to save a little face for her idol, which was why Xia Qing planned to give it a nickname.

She hadn't expected Old Four to dislike it either.

Xia Qing kept thinking of names. "Then how about Er Dong? Don't like it either, okay. Da Dong? Don't like it, okay."

After Xia Qing had offered over a dozen names and been rejected each time, her magnetic field remained calm and gentle as she kept thinking.

Zhang Shi, standing nearby, shifted from shock to admiration.

"... Old Four, look, its right ear is missing a piece. How about calling it Notch-Ear Wolf?"

The old wolf finally nodded, slowly walked over, and lay down beside its companion.

Old Four thought Notch-Ear Wolf suited it better than Honeysuckle? Zhang Shi seemed to understand why Broken-Waist Wolf had no objections to its own name.

Xia Qing said cheerfully, "Good, Old Four really has taste. Notch-Ear is indeed a very nice name—you can tell which wolf it is just by hearing it. Old Four and Notch-Ear, rest well. I'll come check on you later. If I'm not home, Tenth Sister will bring food and water to your den on time. Old Four, remember to open the door for Tenth Sister. If either of you feels unwell, give me a call. Old Four, do you want to add Tenth Sister's contact info?"

The old wolf's solemn gaze turned toward Zhang Shi. It did not nod.

Zhang Shi, not yet recognized by her patient, checked on Patient Two Notch-Ear Wolf's condition, confirmed the anesthetic had left no aftereffects, gently gave a few notes of caution, and followed Xia Qing down from the ruined house.

Xia Qing instructed, "Tenth Sister, you've worked hard. At seven tomorrow morning, prepare food for the three patients, and I'll bring it over to them. Tonight at least five wolves will enter the territory. No matter what sounds you hear, do not come out of the basement."

Zhang Shi agreed and returned to the lab. As for why so many wolves would be entering Territory Three tonight, the lord didn't say and she didn't ask, because it wasn't her place to care about or inquire into such things.

When Xia Qing arrived at the meeting room by the farmland, her idol had already been escorted away by Zhang Jingwu and the other two. The meeting table had been cleaned up neatly, and the smell of food still lingered in the room.

Yang Jin ladled out a big bowl of steaming hot soup for Xia Qing and set it in front of her. "Give it a try. Third Brother said it's pretty good."

A clear broth simmered from duck, white radish, and goji berries—the white and red colors were easy on the eyes, the aroma easy on the nose, and the taste easy on the stomach. This was something she had specially ordered for her idol, so naturally it would be to her idol's liking.

Xia Qing, who wasn't that picky, took a big gulp and gave her verdict. "Really good."

"I learned it from the Tang family's head chef." Yang Jin smiled warmly, took out the dishes she'd specially saved for Xia Qing from the pot one by one, sat across from her, and slowly sipped her soup, chatting idly.

"Beep."

"Beep."

"..."

As Xia Qing's phone kept pinging, the red dots below the surveillance screen in the meeting room were also lighting up—a pack of evolved wolves had appeared on the monitor of the northern buffer forest of Territory Three.

Xia Qing checked her phone. Good—not a single wolf had come in through the door.

After the smart surveillance identified each wolf, the red dots stopped blinking. Yang Jin looked at the text that appeared below the screen: Queen, Handsome Giant Wolf, Little Wolf Girl, Little Four-Eyes, Three Cubs, and asked, "Sister Qing, is Little Four-Eyes also a pup of Head Wolf and Broken-Waist Wolf?"

Xia Qing shook her head. "No, it's the pup of Broken-Leg Girl and Black Wolf. Its brain domain has also evolved, but not to the same degree as Head Wolf's two pups. Three Cubs is Big Guy's pup, its evolution ability is unknown. They're all key wolves the northern pack is cultivating, and tonight they're soaking in a medicinal bath on my territory."

During these past few baths, Head Wolf always brought Little Four-Eyes and this giant wolf cub along, so Xia Qing had given this giant wolf cub a name.

The northern pack wasn't as picky as the southern pack's old wolf—whatever Xia Qing called them, they had no objections.

Xia Qing downed the soup in her bowl in one go, stood up, gathered the bowls and chopsticks, and went to wash them.

Yang Jin reached out and took them. "You go handle your business, I'll wash them."

Xia Qing didn't stand on ceremony with Yang Jin either. "Is Captain Yang staying here tonight, or going to watch over Brother Luo?"

Yang Jin replied, "Here. Brother Luo isn't getting treatment tonight. I'll guard the territory, and you stay home and watch the wolves soak in the medicinal bath."

"The wolves may howl or make other noises while soaking in the medicinal solution. Don't approach the abandoned village, or you might be attacked by wolves." Xia Qing paused, glanced at the six wolves lingering outside the meeting room, and quickly added, "To avoid conflict, Captain Yang should stay outside the two-hundred-meter radius around the abandoned village."

After Yang Jin agreed, Xia Qing put on a protective mask, walked out of the meeting room, and greeted each wolf entering her territory one by one.

Little Wolf Girl, Little Four-Eyes, and Three Cubs stood at the back, while Head Wolf and Handsome Giant Wolf stood at the front, glaring viciously at Yang Jin behind Xia Qing.

Xia Qing explained to Head Wolf, "Queen, Yang Jin is helping me guard the territory tonight."

Yang Jin nodded and made a promise. "Rest assured, Queen. I'll only be responsible for protecting the farmland and won't approach Xia Qing's house."

Head Wolf clearly wasn't reassured. It turned and left Xia Qing's territory alone, stood on the third peak of Mountain Forty-Nine, and howled, summoning the pack's three main fighters: Black Wolf, Big Guy, and Scar Wolf.

These three wolves were responsible for guarding tonight and wouldn't soak in the medicinal bath.

In the basement, Zhang Shi counted one powerful, aggressive magnetic field after another passing by the lab. When these fierce beasts with their powerful magnetic fields passed by the lab, most of them would pause for a few seconds, their magnetic field's aggression surging sharply. They must have caught her and Ye Yiyi's scent, or confirmed through magnetic sense that someone was beneath the lab.

Zhang Shi was certain that if she went out now, she'd be attacked by the wolves. Thinking that as long as she performed well at work, she might earn the wolves' protection, Zhang Shi felt even more motivated.

The employee felt reassured, but the lord, in a two-story building four hundred meters away, was very anxious—because tonight she had to soak in the eighteenth and final medicinal bath.

Her idol had specifically instructed that the medicinal solution she was soaking in now was an upgraded version of the one Yan Long, Ji Li, and the others had used, and this final packet was an upgrade of the upgrade—the pain would be at least three times more intense than the seventeenth time.

After this soak, the damage to her skin and bones would be completely repaired, her periosteum and endosteum would gain stronger and more resilient self-repair ability, her muscles, tendons, and ligaments would attach more firmly to her bones, and her reaction speed and ability to withstand blows would reach the peak state of her body.

So even if she passed out in the medicinal bath, she had to soak for a full hour!