Chapter 241: Cooperation

Xia Qing stood with her spear beside the alpha wolf, murderous aura blazing. "Your actions pose an extreme threat to me. Under the Lord Law, I can kill you on the spot."

"Put the spear down, now!" Tang Huai kicked the shins of the two men in front of him, then explained to Xia Qing, "I was standing outside, I didn't enter your territory."

Seeing them lower their spears, Xia Qing stated the facts. "But you just threw stones to attack my territory."

I...

Tang Huai suppressed his temper. "Sorry, I had urgent business with you, couldn't talk about it over the walkie-talkie, and I don't have your contact info, so I had to make some noise here."

Without waiting for Xia Qing to retort, Tang Huai stated his purpose directly. "I want to visit Third Brother at Territory Seven. Help me reach him and ask when he's free?"

Xia Qing raised an eyebrow.

Zhang San, who usually couldn't be bothered with other people's business, had suddenly interrupted the trade between Tang Huai and Li Si this afternoon — that was very unusual. Xia Qing guessed the Tang family would definitely go find Zhang San, but she hadn't guessed that Tang Huai would come to her as a middleman instead of going to Captain Tan or Brother Luo.

What are they plotting?

Tang Huai pushed aside his two bodyguards, stepped up to Xia Qing, and made his offer straight out. "A good buddy of mine in my safe zone can get the best military dog protective suits — wolves can definitely wear them, with protective masks and shoes included. How about it? A wolf's paw pads get cut easily by sharp things. If your speed-evolved wolf wears shoes, its speed will definitely increase."

Xia Qing looked down at the alpha wolf's big paws and was tempted. "I can ask for you, but whether Third Brother agrees to see you or not, you owe me three suits. My evolved sheep needs one too. And you have to keep it secret — you can't tell anyone about seeing this wolf."

One for the wolf beside her, one for the sick wolf the Sufeng Squad had spotted when they were spying on her territory, one for Boss Sheep.

Tang Huai gritted his teeth. "Keeping it secret is fine, but three suits is too many!"

Xia Qing's face was perfectly calm. "You're on Territory Seven's refused-trade list. Since you came to me for help, you should understand how much risk I'm taking by reaching out to Third Brother."

Actually there was no risk at all. Her idol was sharp — he probably already figured out what to demand from the Tang family.

No one knew how petty Zhang San was better than Tang Huai, who'd been refused trade by Zhang San for over half a year. He had no fight left. "Three suits, but one without shoes. Sheep don't have paw pads, no need for shoes."

Xia Qing refused to haggle. "All three with shoes."

"Deal! Contact Third Brother right now. Don't tell me you don't have a phone — I've heard you use one plenty of times!"

Having secured three suits, Xia Qing didn't press the matter of him eavesdropping. She pulled out her phone and called Ji Li. "Brother Ji, Tang Huai from Territory Two wants to visit Third Brother. Could you ask him when he's free?"

"One moment."

Hearing Ji Li hadn't refused outright, Tang Huai felt there was hope. Half his worry eased, and he started eyeing the evolved wolf beside Xia Qing. "Where'd you get this one? Way better than the sick one! By the way, how do you feed two wolves? Do you catch food for them, or do they hunt themselves?"

The alpha wolf got fed up, leaped away, and vanished. Tang Huai drooled with envy. "So fast! Xia Qing, you're amazing. This is your fourth tamed beast, right? Did you evolve the ability to communicate with beasts?"

You've seen that ability before? Xia Qing asked coldly, "Did you evolve the ability to communicate with bugs?"

Before Tang Huai could answer, Zhang San's call came through. His voice was lazy. "Xia Qing, since when are you so close with Tang Huai?"

Though she could tell her idol's displeasure was put on, Xia Qing still put on a proper show. "Don't be angry. Tang Huai offered me three military dog protective suits to ask me to make this call. If you want to see him, see him. If not, don't."

Tang Huai...

Damn it!

Zhang San snorted. "Three suits and you're bought?"

Xia Qing grinned. "What are you eating tonight, Third Brother? I still have a frozen green-light rabbit — I'll bring it over right now?"

Zhang San's tone finally softened a little. "I'll have Ji Li come pick it up."

"Got it, Third Brother. I'll go get it right away."

Xia Qing hung up and started heading back. Tang Huai panicked. "Xia Qing, what about me? What do I do? Is Third Brother seeing me or not?"

"Wait."

Xia Qing tossed back one line and went down the mountain. Tang Huai was about to curse when he saw the wolf from earlier return, crouch in place, and stare him down with murderous intent. He shut his mouth at once.

On her way past the vegetable greenhouse with the frozen rabbit, Xia Qing plucked a handful of spinach leaves, picked two cucumbers and a few tomatoes, and hurried to the north quarantine belt.

Ji Li arrived quickly. Xia Qing handed him the basket. "Sorry to trouble you with a trip this late, Brother Ji. The rabbit and spinach are for Third Brother. Keep the cucumbers and tomatoes for yourself to add a dish."

"Thanks." After taking the basket, Ji Li finally spoke to Tang Huai, who was waiting eagerly nearby. "Our lord says if you want to cultivate edible fungi too, you can consider cooperation."

"No need to consider — it's an honor to work with Third Brother!" Tang Huai immediately handed over a box of green-light evolved cigarettes. "Sorry to trouble you with the trip, Brother Ji. In a few days I'll get a protective suit for a cat and send it over. I don't have anything else decent to offer — hope Third Brother won't look down on it."

Ji Li took the cigarettes. "Two suits."

"Deal!" When Territory Seven named a price, Tang Huai agreed without a stutter.

After Ji Li walked away, Tang Huai took off his protective mask and, with two hundred percent sincerity, discussed things with Xia Qing. "Xia Qing, my family hasn't had it easy these years either. Now we finally have a chance to work with important people. I hope you can keep it secret for us and not tell anyone."

Xia Qing pretended not to see Ji Li slip Tang Huai a note when he handed over the cigarettes, and nodded to agree to Tang Huai's request. "Sure."

Seeing Xia Qing agree so readily, Tang Huai was relieved, then immediately pressed his advantage. "We're people with shared secrets now — let's exchange contact info? When the suits arrive I'll need to reach you. You asked for three suits, so that sick wolf must still be alive. Has it put on weight?"

"This is a pretty convenient way to keep in touch. Queen, let's go home." Xia Qing called to the alpha wolf and turned back to cook dinner. She was going to gather chestnuts tomorrow and needed to prepare thoroughly tonight — she was busy.

Just like the weather forecast for the past two days, the next three days would still be mostly sunny. Tomorrow she could go to the Evolution Forest.

While preparing her gear, Xia Qing listened to Kuang Qingwei and the others complaining about water seeping into the cellar or dampness that couldn't be vented. When Zhao Ze asked her, Xia Qing only replied briefly, "The dampness really is too heavy. Hard to fix."

As a multi-element (now possibly four-element) evolved person carrying many secrets, Xia Qing decided she had to be careful, careful, and more careful from now on. Tang Huai was her cautionary tale.