Chapter 232: The Return of Her Majesty

Xia Qing worked in her own territory and couldn't care less whether auditory evolvers outside her territory were falling apart or not.

However, because she was on familiar land and protected by the rain shield, most insects couldn't harm her. Xia Qing's energy was plentiful but her spirit was exhausted, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

By noon, Xia Qing really couldn't hold on any longer and was about to turn around and go home for a nap, when she suddenly spotted a familiar figure appear on the rocks of the northern buffer forest.

Though this figure was drenched and filthy all over, set against the even more bedraggled little weasel beside it, it looked especially tall, mighty, and imposing—especially those gilded eyes, which gleamed like gemstones.

"My lord, I'm here! Congratulations on your victorious return, my lord!" Xia Qing was suddenly wide awake. She hopped off the micro-tiller and waved excitedly. She'd been so busy she'd forgotten that Yang Jin had said the alpha wolf would deliver the herbs back in the next couple of days.

The alpha wolf and Yang Jin, a powerful team, had toughed it out through the Harmful Rain in the Evolution Forest and finished the job. Beautiful!

Watching Xia Qing dash over in a frenzy, the alpha wolf didn't move a muscle. The weasel clutching the bundle was so scared it shrank behind the alpha wolf.

Xia Qing leaped across the rushing, wide expanse of water and arrived beneath the rock. "My lord, you're finally back. All your packmates within my territory safely weathered the third Harmful Rain and are resting in the sheep shed right now."

The alpha wolf still didn't move. The weasel, wearing a fake grin, crept out from behind the alpha wolf, set the satchel it had been carrying in its mouth beside the alpha wolf, and scurried away.

Xia Qing stared at the satchel, so dirty she couldn't tell its original color, and her eyes lit up. "The herbs are inside? My lord, you're amazing!"

After praising it, Xia Qing picked up the bulging satchel and opened it, only to find the herbs inside had been mashed into one big mud ball, with two sealed bags tucked inside.

No need to guess—the herbs in the sealed bags were definitely Yang Jin's team's harvest, also brought back by the alpha wolf. She had no idea how the man and the wolf communicated, but the alpha wolf had actually delivered the goods right to her.

Xia Qing was about to launch into her endless stream of praise, but the alpha wolf leaped once and vanished into the Harmful Grass.

"Safe travels, my lord. Take good rest, and come by whenever you need anything."

After cheerfully calling out, Xia Qing took out her phone to share the good news with Yang Jin, then immediately contacted Zhang San. Then she stared at the photo of the weasel Yang Jin had sent for a few seconds. The snapshot was excellent—it captured both the look of the deep Evolution Forest Xia Qing had never visited and the weasel's distinctive features. Xia Qing tapped save and stored the photo on her phone.

Though she didn't understand why the alpha wolf had brought along a plucked one to gather herbs, looking at it this way, the little fellow was actually rather cute.

If she got the chance to trade with the wolf pack again, she'd ask the alpha wolf whether this little fellow could be swapped.

"Really? That's wonderful!"

Not long after the herbs were taken away, Zhang San called to tell Xia Qing that the two needed herbs were right there in the mud ball the alpha wolf had brought back. Xia Qing was overjoyed. "Enough to cure Brother Luo and the sick wolf?"

Zhang San was in a good mood too. "There'll even be a few left over. I've already planted them in the greenhouse. The herbs are very fresh—they'll definitely take root."

That was really great! Xia Qing's eyes rolled. "Third Brother, can this batch of herbs clear the inner wall panel debt?"

Zhang San answered with certainty, "After clearing the debt, there'll still be 120,000 points left. Add the braised meat points from last time—what do you want to trade for?"

120,000?!

No wonder capable people all went adventuring in the Evolution Forest—the returns were far higher than the hard work of farming. The premise was, you had to have that capability; otherwise, you were just going in to fertilize the Evolution Forest.

Xia Qing quickly put in her exchange request. "I want to trade for a refrigerator first, one portion each of the medicines essential for Evolution Forest missions, and if there's anything left over, exchange it for the potion with spinach juice mixed in. Deal?"

Zhang San agreed readily. "Sure. I don't have a refrigerator in stock—I'll have it delivered to you in a few days. When you run out of potions, I'll mix more. I'll take the wound medicine when you bring the wolf in for a checkup."

Potions had a shelf life too, so Xia Qing agreed without hesitation.

Zhang San asked again, "How bad were your spinach losses?"

Xia Qing answered honestly, "115 plants left. Don't worry, Third Brother—the 2,000 spinach seeds I owe you will definitely be paid back this year."

Zhang San was in a good mood and, for once, showed concern for his fan's livelihood. "How bad were the losses on your other plots?"

When asked about losses, Xia Qing naturally wouldn't tell the whole truth and answered vaguely, "I haven't had time to tally it up yet. The fields are full of pits right now."

Why pits? Because when clearing Harmful-evolved plants, you had to dig out the roots along with the surrounding soil.

After hanging up, Xia Qing happily drove the micro-tiller home and found the alpha wolf, looking fresh as new after its bath, lying on the Harmful Grass spread out to dry on her porch eaves (drying its fur).

Sheep Boss, equally drenched, lay beside the alpha wolf chewing cud. The sick wolf was grooming the alpha wolf's fur, while Broken-Back Wolf and Broken-Leg Wolf also lay nearby sunbathing. The sheep shed hadn't been cleaned in three days and was a mess—the wolves didn't want to stay inside.

The chickens in the coop were unaffected by the wolf pack and went about their business as usual. The black-maned goose huddled in a corner of the cage, trembling.

Xia Qing greeted them cheerfully. "My lord had a bath? You look so clean."

The alpha wolf closed its gilded eyes and continued resting.

Xia Qing pushed open the security door and saw two trails of wet paw prints on the living room floor—one set of plum blossoms, one set of dots.

No need to guess now. Sheep Boss had taken the alpha wolf to the bathroom and turned on the shower head to wash it. Xia Qing had no idea when this fellow had learned to fiddle with the shower switch.

Luckily it had rained for three days, so the water storage tank was full of cool water and they hadn't been scalded. Luckily she'd modified the switch, or Sheep Boss might have kicked or bitten it off with one hoof or bite and drained all the water. What was stored inside was filtered water, but the filter cartridges also had to be bought with points.

Xia Qing went upstairs and grabbed a clean old quilt cover, then came down and beckoned to Sheep Boss. "Boss, come here and let me dry your fur."

The alpha wolf had wolves to groom its fur, but her Sheep Boss didn't.

Wet fur really was uncomfortable. Sheep Boss immediately clip-clopped over to Xia Qing and let her dry it off.

After finishing with Sheep Boss, Xia Qing picked up another old quilt cover. "My lord, may I dry you off too?"

The alpha wolf stared at Xia Qing for a few seconds, then closed its eyes.

Was that a yes or a no?

Before Xia Qing could figure it out, Sheep Boss nudged her toward the alpha wolf. Now she understood. Xia Qing moved the little wooden stool over, sat beside the alpha wolf, and gently wiped its damp, thick fur, searching for where its wounds were.

Though Xia Qing wasn't an olfactory evolver, the smell of blood on the alpha wolf hit her the moment she got home.

The alpha wolf's wound was exactly where the sick wolf had been licking. Three centimeters long, it looked like a slash from a sharp weapon. Luckily it had only cut through skin and flesh, not reached the bone.

Anyone or anything capable of wounding a top-tier speed-evolved wolf was definitely no simple matter. The alpha wolf was injured—what about Yang Jin? Was he hurt too?