Chapter 333: Revenge

Xia Qing stood next to the pack leader, throwing her weight around, and pointed at the giant wolf's filthy paws and the mud on its legs. "You have to wash the mud off its paws and legs first, otherwise soaking in the medicinal bath will affect the medicine's effectiveness."

Her idol had said to wash them clean before soaking. Fortunately, they had come through the rain, so their bodies had been rinsed pretty clean by the rainwater—only the mud on the paws and legs needed washing off. Otherwise, Xia Qing really wouldn't have known what to do.

The sick wolf was very familiar with this routine. It led the giant wolf to the wooden basin, let it rinse the mud off its legs, and only then let it climb into the bath tub.

At the ten-minute mark, the giant wolf lying in the tub felt uncomfortable and stood up to get out. After being warned by the pack leader, it lay back down and continued soaking.

Seeing that the Queen could intimidate this giant wolf, Xia Qing felt reassured. She went inside to put away the yi stone and herbs, then carried the meals for Sheep Boss and the sick wolf out to the yard. "Boss, Wolf Lao Er, time to eat. If you don't eat now it'll get cold."

Sheep Boss, who had been lying beside the pack leader, went over to chow down. The sick wolf nuzzled Xia Qing, then began eating under the watchful gaze of a whole shed of wolves. Xia Qing went back inside to eat her own breakfast.

This morning had been absolutely heart-stopping. The chickens in the coop and the little swallows under the eaves had all been scared silent by the wolf pack. Xia Qing also needed to eat a bit more to calm her nerves.

By the time Xia Qing finished washing the dishes, it was almost time for the first wolf to finish its medicinal bath. Xia Qing carried a bucket of pollution-free spring water and a heating rod out to the yard, and reminded the pack leader standing guard by the tub.

"My lord, time's up. The wolf in the tub needs to come out so the next one can go in."

Evolved wolves were all very smart. The pack leader gave a single low whine, and the wolf in the tub, which had been barely holding on, immediately leapt out, stood under the eaves, and shook its fur hard—looking not the least bit weak.

Xia Qing, who had just been splashed in the face with medicinal liquid…

Damn it all!

Who the hell taught this wolf manners? With a stunt like that, how much medicine is even left in the tub? With so many wolves still waiting, what's the point of soaking?

If we can't heal the damage and boost combat power, what's the damn point of fighting?

Xia Qing didn't even need to remind her. The furious pack leader let out a low growl, lunged in a single bound, and slammed the wolf that had just finished its bath flat into the muddy water in the yard, pinning it under her paws.

The pinned giant wolf cowered into a ball, tucked in its limbs and exposed its belly, striking an absolute posture of submission.

Xia Qing's blood boiled with excitement. She wanted to learn from the Queen—she wanted to be that awesome too!

Xia Qing added two buckets of pollution-free spring water to the tub, heated it, then poured in the medicine. She carefully explained to the broken-back wolf beside her, "There's only one dose of this medicine. If the next wolf wastes it like that, the wolves after won't be able to use it."

Quite unusually, the broken-back wolf actually walked over and rubbed its body against Xia Qing's leg, thanking her.

The second wolf to soak wasn't the broken-back wolf either—it was the broken-leg wolf.

The broken-leg wolf barely touched the medicine before throwing its head back to howl. Xia Qing clamped its muzzle shut and warned it sternly, "You can't howl. If humans nearby find out there are wolves in my territory, enemies will find ways to use weapons and poison to capture wolves."

The pack leader was busy disciplining the brownish-gray giant wolf, while the broken-back wolf stood by the tub and whined twice at the broken-leg wolf, which immediately settled down.

Xia Qing released its muzzle and saw its body wasn't trembling, which meant it hadn't actually hurt that much—the little drama queen just loved making a fuss to draw attention.

After finishing the punishment of the disobedient giant wolf, the pack leader returned to the corridor, lay down on the dry grass, and closed her eyes to rest. She had also finished her own medicinal bath not long ago, and her body was still in a weakened state.

The broken-back wolf stood by the tub, watching the broken-leg wolf soak.

Watching the actions of the two brain-evolved wolves, Xia Qing guessed that among the giant wolves, only the pack leader could suppress them; the broken-back wolf could suppress all the others.

There was nothing for her to do here, so Xia Qing said goodbye to the broken-back wolf and to Sheep Boss beside the pack leader, shouldered the water bucket, and headed up the hillside to fetch spring water. While she was at it, she'd use the time waiting for the bucket to fill to pick all the mature green bean pods and bring them home.

According to last night's weather forecast, the rain would stop by the end of today. Xia Qing had to pick all the mature bean pods before the sun came out, otherwise once the sun hit them, the mature green bean pods would burst open and scatter their beans.

Among the crops planted for the second harvest after the summer harvest, there was one mu of Yellow Lantern green beans and half a mu of Green Lantern green beans. But the green bean plants had suffered heavy losses in the third Killing Rain, leaving 4,000 Yellow Lantern plants and 2,240 Green Lantern plants. Picking them all would still take some time.

Of course, Xia Qing was keeping close track of the timing. When it was almost an hour, she would carry the spring water home, let the soaking wolf out, then add water, heat it, replenish the medicine, and switch in the next wolf.

The broken-leg wolf's tolerance for pain was far worse than the giant wolf's or the pack leader's. After being carried out of the tub by the broken-back wolf, it lay on the dry grass under the eaves, twitching continuously.

At three in the afternoon, all eight wolves the broken-back wolf had brought back had finished their medicinal baths. After Xia Qing added medicine and heated the water, she quietly called to the broken-back wolf, careful not to wake the wolves sprawled out asleep in the sheep shed and under the eaves. "Handsome wolf bro, it's your turn."

The broken-back wolf just looked quietly at Xia Qing, showing no intention of coming over to soak. It continued guarding the wolf pack alongside the sick wolf and Sheep Boss.

Only then did Xia Qing confirm that this clever wolf with the missing patch of fur on its back had already taken its medicinal bath last night.

That made much more sense.

Yesterday, the two wolves had come to exchange protective suits and a door because they wanted to boost the pack's defensive capabilities, not offensive ones.

After the broken-back wolf soaked in the medicinal bath last night and confirmed its effectiveness, the two brain-evolved wolves had changed their minds. One stayed in the territory to guard the tub, while the other hurried back through the night to lead the wolf pack into human territory to soak in the medicinal bath and exchange for top-grade nutrient solution.

Both the sick wolf and the broken-back wolf had used top-grade nutrient solution before and knew it could rapidly replenish stamina. Once muscles, bones, and stamina were all adjusted to peak condition, the pack's combat power would jump a notch.

Things they normally couldn't do, they could now do.

The behavior of the two brain-evolved wolves gave Xia Qing a new understanding of animal intelligence after the Great Evolution of Blue Star's creatures.

Before the Catastrophe, humans with advanced weapons and technology faced ordinary animals, which was why humans could stand at the top of the food chain.

During the Catastrophe, the advantage of advanced weapons and technology was diminished by the disasters themselves. Humans were dragged into the great cycle of the food chain, fighting alongside creatures many times stronger for the chance to survive and reproduce.

If high-intelligence carnivorous beasts and raptors banded together to wage war against humans during Killing Rain periods, they could destroy over eighty percent of Blue Star's human safe zones within just a few years.

The strict prohibition on humans provoking large predators was truly a very correct policy.

At nine in the evening, the evolved wolves that had soaked in the medicinal bath drank another 15 milliliters of fresh top-grade nutrient solution. Fully revived, their combat power shot straight off the charts.

The sick wolf, Wolf Lao Er, also queued up and drank the top-grade nutrient solution, then took its place among the pack.

Xia Qing had long anticipated the sick wolf would go, but when the expectation became reality, her heart still clenched. Because compared to the other evolved wolves, the sick wolf's physical fitness was still a whole tier behind.

But Xia Qing couldn't stop an evolved wolf from going to fight. She called the sick wolf over, put the protective suit on it, rubbed its head, and whispered, "Come home after the fight. If you're hurt, I'll treat your wounds. If you're hungry, I'll stew meat for you."