Chapter 1434: Xia Qing Awakens

Hearing the call of the green-light honey, Does Daigua rushed straight into the bathroom, found the wooden stocks labeled "Handsome Giant Wolf," spun around, and the little fellow was so startled its fur stood on end, dragging the stocks backward step by step.

Only after the little monkey retreated outside the bathroom did Handsome Giant Wolf close its ice-blue eyes and sink down. Discovering that the medicinal bath in the tub couldn't soak its body, it used its wet big paw to turn on the faucet and began filling the tub with water.

After dragging the three little wolves and Sheep Boss over to the straw mat by the fireplace, Wolf Lao Er stayed behind to clean their fur. The Head Wolf entered the bathroom, and the Broken-Waist Wolf picked up the wooden stocks the little monkey had been holding and followed.

Handsome Giant Wolf in the tub opened its eyes, stared at the Head Wolf for a few seconds, and both wolves bared their fangs at the same time, growling low. Does Daigua, who had mustered the courage to follow behind the Broken-Waist Wolf, was scared into running back to the living room and threw its arms around Xia Qing's neck.

The Broken-Waist Wolf, holding the stocks in its mouth, raised a paw and pressed the alarm clock beside it. Xia Qing's stern voice came out: "Big Brother Giant Wolf, this medicinal bath will hurt terribly, you might even pass out from the pain. Every smart Wolf King wears the wooden stocks during a medicinal bath so he doesn't drown—Lord Cui Yan wore them too. If Big Brother Giant Wolf doesn't wear them, he'll drown, and if he dies he can't challenge your brother, challenge Lord Cui Yan, and he won't become Wolf King. Big Brother Giant Wolf…"

After Handsome Giant Wolf slowly retracted its fangs, the Broken-Waist Wolf walked to the tub and fitted the wooden stocks onto Handsome Giant Wolf. The Head Wolf raised a paw and buckled the iron clasps shut with two crisp clicks.

The wire mesh cover on the tub? That thing was prepared for Sheep Boss—Handsome Giant Wolf doesn't need it.

"Wooo!!!"

Handsome Giant Wolf, unhappy with the wooden stocks, shook its head. The Head Wolf, splashed by the medicinal liquid, flew into a rage and slashed Handsome Giant Wolf hard with a paw.

Handsome Giant Wolf, having taken the slash, closed its eyes and fought against the buoyancy of the wooden stocks to press its head down, trying to submerge its entire body in the medicinal liquid.

When the water in the tub rose to the mark line Xia Qing had drawn, the Broken-Waist Wolf turned off the showerhead and pressed the alarm clock again.

Xia Qing's cheerful voice sounded once more: "Handsome Brother Wolf, it's time to add the potion from the bag marked '1' on the wooden rack into the tub. Handsome Brother Wolf…"

The Broken-Waist Wolf picked up the potion in its mouth, tossed it into the tub, and pressed the alarm clock again. This time Xia Qing's stern voice came through: "Does Big Brother Giant Wolf want to get stronger? Then bear the pain, shut your mouth tight, and stay in the medicinal liquid for a full hour. As long as you can endure the pain, after the bath you'll definitely be able to defeat the Western Wolf King! One hour—timer starts now."

A big paw reached out from the water surface, tore open the potion bag, and sank back into the medicinal liquid.

After the Broken-Waist Wolf fished out the bag floating on the water surface, it picked up an absorbent towel from the wooden rack and went to dry the little wolves' fur.

After using a total of three absorbent towels, three old bedsheets, and four straw mats, the fur on the little wolves and Sheep Boss was finally dried.

The Head Wolf added a few logs to the fireplace and lay down on the straw mat to rest with Wolf Lao Er. The Broken-Waist Wolf stared at Xia Qing for a while, confirmed she wouldn't wake up anytime soon, then ran to the tool room north of the kitchen, fetched a bottle of liquid in its mouth, and ran into the bathroom.

When Handsome Giant Wolf's medicinal bath time reached thirty minutes, a bloody smell and the sharp "screech-scratch" of claws scraping the tub's steel plate came from inside. Does Daigua, Does Ergua, and Little Feimao were so scared they clung tightly to Xia Qing, not daring to move a muscle.

The Head Wolf rose and headed toward the bathroom.

Wolf Lao Er also stood up, first sniffed the sleeping Xia Qing, then nuzzled the frightened Does Daigua, Does Ergua, and Little Feimao with its head, and then returned to the straw mat to guard the sleeping cubs and Sheep Boss.

The Head Wolf entered the bathroom, glanced at the Broken-Waist Wolf, who was wearing a rubber glove on its front paw and smearing pungent liquid onto the broken mirror, before walking to the tub and letting out a deep, commanding cry.

Hearing the Head Wolf's voice, Handsome Giant Wolf, which had been trembling all over beneath the violently churning murky water, stopped clawing at the tub.

Two minutes later, a big black nose poked out of the water, its wet nostrils trembling violently as it let out heavy, rapid breaths.

Fifteen minutes later, Handsome Giant Wolf fell unconscious. The wooden stocks holding up its big head slowly floated to the surface, and fresh blood seeping from the bite wound on the giant wolf's mouth flowed downward together with the medicinal liquid on its fur.

The Head Wolf sniffed the wound on Handsome Giant Wolf's face, its expression grave.

"Click."

Over a dozen minutes later, the alarm clock on the wooden rack in the bathroom finally let out a faint sound, and Xia Qing's cheerful voice came through: "Big Brother Giant Wolf, your medicinal bath time is over, you can come out now! Big Brother Giant Wolf…"

The Head Wolf raised a paw to press the alarm clock, gripped the wooden stocks on Handsome Giant Wolf's neck in its mouth, dragged it out of the tub, out of the bathroom, and over to the pile of already damp straw mats, then swiped open the entry door and let out an "awoo."

The three giant wolf cubs under the eaves outside the door immediately stood up, entered the room, and took their medicinal bath with Wolf Lao Er. When their own cubs let out cries of pain, the Big Guy outside ran to the small bathroom window, pacing anxiously and responding in low whines. Hearing their father's voice, the three cubs' "awoo" grew louder at once, and the Big Guy raised a paw to scratch the wall.

"Wooo—"

The Head Wolf's commanding voice rang out, and the Big Guy stopped scratching the wall; the sounds from the three cubs also quieted down. This sound was scattered by the howling cold wind, and no one except the keen-eared evolved wolves on the rooftop and the house ruins could catch it.

"One hour's up, the wolves in the medicinal bath can come out now; one hour's up, the wolves in the medicinal bath can come out now. Does Daigua who wants to eat green-light honey…"

Hearing Xia Qing's voice, Does Daigua, who wanted honey, hugged Xia Qing's neck in glum frustration.

Xia Qing, who had been asleep for four hours, felt a familiar sense of suffocation. As her consciousness began to return, various sounds wove together into a tangle and suddenly rushed into her mind. Reaching out and not finding her gun, Xia Qing's brain instantly snapped awake. She opened her eyes and saw the familiar, smoke-blackened ceiling. After her brain automatically identified the various sounds, her killing intent finally began to fade.

With no time to think about why she, who should have woken up in the bathtub on the second floor, was lying in the living room on the first floor, Xia Qing immediately entered mission mode.

She first turned her head to look at her companions on either side, then peeled off the black-furred little arm wrapped around her neck, sat up with her afro hair under the blanket, took a quick glance at the pack of wolves and one sheep asleep in front of the fireplace, and asked, "Does Daigua, why didn't you go to the bathroom to carry out the first mission?"

"Eee~ aya o ee a o qie ai o…" Does Daigua rapidly told the finally-awakened Xia Qing what had happened.

Though she couldn't understand a single word, Xia Qing understood Does Daigua's grievance and urgency. She raised a hand and patted Does Daigua's shoulder. "I get it, Does Daigua wanted to carry out the mission, but the situation changed, so Does Daigua couldn't carry it out smoothly. I'll go to the bathroom and take a look first."

Before she could even wrap the blanket around herself and stand up, she saw the Head Wolf come out of the bathroom carrying the Big Guy in its mouth, and half of Xia Qing's worry was put to rest.

The Head Wolf's fur clearly hadn't been through a medicinal bath yet, which meant it had been in charge of the overall situation ever since she lost consciousness.

The other half of her worry remained because the Northern Wolf King had actually come to do the heavy lifting personally—where was that Broken-Waist guy?