Chapter 304: Medicated Bath

The two cameras on the farmland south of the reservoir — one was two hundred meters northwest of Xia Qing's house, the other two hundred meters northeast. These two cameras didn't just cover the farm's greenhouses; they also covered the north side of Xia Qing's house and storage rack-shed, and the west side of the chicken coop and sheep pen.

Of course, the prerequisite was that Xia Qing had to clear away the big trees, ruins, shrubs, and wild grass between the cameras and the house.

A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit.

After suffering the bitter experience of the aggressive Qi-evolved paulownia attacking her during the third Qi rain, Xia Qing no longer simply chopped down tree trunks when clearing trees — she cleared out the main roots along with them.

If the roots weren't cleared away, the remaining roots that still had vitality could absorb excessive Qi elements during the next Qi rain and undergo dangerous Qi evolution.

Just as she started chopping at a tree trunk, Xia Qing unexpectedly received a call from her idol.

Zhang San asked, "Xia Qing, did you run into a flock of birds attacking you while you were gathering Chinese torreya nuts?"

Xia Qing thought Zhang San wanted the birds, so she explained, "I did. The evolved birds I knocked down all fell on the slope or rolled to the bottom of the valley — I didn't bring them out."

Zhang San paused for two seconds before answering weakly, "I'm not looking to eat bird meat. Did you find evolved ants under that Chinese torreya tree?"

"There were ants, but not that many, and they weren't very big." At the time, Xia Qing had to deal with birds flying in the sky and snakes hiding in holes, while also picking torreya nuts. After confirming there was no danger lurking on the ground, she stopped paying attention.

If there were rodent-type evolved ants under the tree, Xia Qing would have retreated without hesitation. Rodent-type evolved ants were fierce fighters — Xia Qing couldn't afford to provoke them.

Zhang San explained the reason for his call: "The torreya nut flesh you brought back has a very high concentration of venom. After being poisoned, the numbing time is no less than five hours. I suspect there should be evolved ants under that tree that can neutralize the nut flesh's venom — otherwise the birds wouldn't have surrounded you at the tree."

Xia Qing had never heard that evolved ants lived under Chinese torreya trees. She had assumed the bird flock was bullying her because she was alone, waiting around the tree for a chance to eat her.

It turned out she had missed the first diner at that feast: the evolved ants that were immune to the torreya nut flesh's venom.

Thinking about it, that link had to exist — otherwise, after she was numbed by the venom, the birds that ate her flesh would also be numbed and become food for other creatures.

After figuring out Zhang San's purpose, Xia Qing asked directly, "How many evolved ants does Third Brother want from under the torreya tree?"

Zhang San discussed it with Xia Qing: "Capturing evolved ants is harder than picking torreya nuts. Tell me the location of the torreya tree, and I'll send people to catch them. They'll only capture ants and collect soil and plant samples — they won't pick torreya nuts, and they won't tell anyone else the tree's location."

Although they wouldn't go around broadcasting it, since Xia Qing had already told Qi Fu and Shi Du about her leasing Zone 3 of Mountain 49, she could naturally tell Zhang San too.

She hadn't mentioned it before because there was no need. "Third Brother, let me lead them there. That tree grows on a steep slope in a valley — without a guide, they'd spend half a day finding it. I leased a patch of evolved forest on Mountain 49, and that tree is inside my leased evolved forest, so I can take them in without checking with Brother Luo and the others."

Zhang San, who rarely got curious, asked, "That big a territory isn't enough for you to run around in? What are you leasing an evolved forest for?"

Xia Qing had long prepared an excuse: "The evolved forest hasn't been thoroughly cleared, so it's suitable for an evolver at my level to train inside and improve strength. I did the math — leasing a patch of evolved forest is more cost-effective than paying 2,000 points each time to go in for training."

Zhang San didn't ask further. After arranging with Xia Qing to go catch the evolved ants the next morning, he hung up.

Xia Qing continued clearing trees and shrubs with Sheep Boss and Wolf Lao Er.

Xia Qing was in charge of chopping trees; the two animals were in charge of dragging the trees and shrubs aside. Sheep Boss handled the tree trunks and large branches, while Wolf Lao Er, whose body hadn't fully recovered, handled the small branches and shrubs.

Heavy labor was the specialty of the human and the sheep; meticulous work was Wolf Lao Er's specialty. The three different kinds of companions worked together in perfect harmony, and by evening, the tree and shrub clearing was successfully completed.

After the ants were caught tomorrow, Xia Qing would drive the micro-tiller to scrape away the wild grass in this area and the rubble piled up from the collapse of several houses on the west side. Then the camera on the southwest side of the farmland would be able to cover the chicken run.

After finishing the work, Xia Qing picked a basket of vegetables and pulled up a corn stalk whose corn had been broken off, to reward herself and her two companions.

After a full dinner, the sick wolf went out for a walk and patrol, while Sheep Boss contentedly lay on the tatami, chewing her cud.

Xia Qing listened to the radio while carefully examining the medicine for treating muscle and soft tissue injuries, and the handwritten instructions from her idol, that she had found tucked in the bottom compartment of the camera box.

After reading them, Xia Qing felt more confident.

Zhang San said her bone density was normal, with no creases or twisted deformities anywhere in her skeleton — the damage was to the soft tissue. Medicated baths plus food therapy would restore her to peak condition.

The lower the Qi element content of the water used for the medicated bath, the better. Zhang San recommended Xia Qing buy distilled water, but Xia Qing had a better option.

That night, she cut her training short by an hour. After entrusting Sheep Boss and Wolf Lao Er to guard the territory, she carried two buckets of boiled unpolluted spring water upstairs, adjusted the water temperature according to the instructions, and began her medicated bath.

Xia Qing held her breath and submerged her entire body in the medicinal water. Only when she absolutely couldn't hold it any longer did she lift her head above the surface to take a deep breath, then sink back into the water to continue soaking.

Fifteen minutes in, Xia Qing felt her skin and muscles all over her body aching and itching, but it was still bearable. Zhang San had said that soreness, itching, and pain were all normal — it meant the medicine was working.

At forty-five minutes, the itching and pain had reached the limit of what Xia Qing could endure, but she merely surfaced to take a breath before sinking back under.

No matter how much it hurt, she was going to stay in for the full hour.

The medicine she'd poured into the water today was worth more than 44,000 points. Every second less she soaked, Xia Qing felt she was letting down her hardworking, point-earning self, and her idol who had secretly put together the prescription for her.

After finishing the soak, Xia Qing rinsed off the remaining medicinal liquid on her body, got dressed, crawled on hands and feet back to the bedroom, and collapsed into the soft new cotton quilt, wincing as she felt the pain in her body.

Her idol said the used medicinal bath water still had some effect left, and could be given to the evolved animals on the territory the next day. When Xia Qing had read that, she'd wondered why it had to be the next day — now she understood: because after the soak, she simply didn't have the strength to force herself to give those two downstairs a bath.

A dreamless night.

Early the next morning, Xia Qing wasn't woken by a rooster's crow, nor by the sound of a red squirrel drinking water outside the windowsill — she was startled awake by an alarm from the phone monitoring app.

She immediately picked up her phone to check the surveillance and found that the Gao Po camera had captured an intruder — a red squirrel.