Chapter 377: Protective Gear in Hand

After protecting the torreya trees and the chestnut grove, Xia Qing once again beat the wild boars to it, harvesting the Green Lantern galangal from Valley One, the Yellow Lantern angelica from Valley Two, and the Green Lantern and Yellow Lantern white atractylodes.

Carrying the harvested medicinal herbs back to the Wild Boar Breeding Center from Valley Two, Xia Qing saw the Broken-Waist Wolf and the Sick Wolf lying on the rock above the wolf den, staring at the half-grown wild boars digging up tree roots and grass roots from the soil by the pond.

Xia Qing liked watching too. The wild boars were filthy, but they were big and thick with meat…

Braised pork, braised ribs, pork dumplings… one delicious dish after another floated through her mind. Xia Qing couldn't hold back. She set down her pack, sat on the rock beside the Broken-Waist Wolf, took off her protective mask, drank a few mouthfuls of spring water, and forced down the sudden surge of craving and the urge to catch a pig.

Noticing Xia Qing drinking water, the Broken-Waist Wolf stopped watching the wild boars and turned to look at her.

Xia Qing shook her empty bottle. "All gone. If you want a drink, go back to the water basin in the wolf den. I just refilled it for the Broken-Leg Wolf's sister this morning. Don't you dare go pawing at the big rock over the spring opening in the territory. Inside that cave I'm growing life-saving medicinal herbs. That's what cured the Queen."

The Broken-Waist Wolf knew where the unpolluted spring water was, because Xia Qing had caught it wandering around there. Before she entered the territory, it must have drunk from that spot.

Realizing Xia Qing's bottle was empty, the Broken-Waist Wolf turned its head and went back to watching the wild boars.

The Sick Wolf sat beside the Broken-Waist Wolf, mouth open, tongue out, panting happily—visibly delighted.

Xia Qing could understand why the Sick Wolf was happy, because those wild boars below were its food.

Xia Qing was happy too, because those wild boars could just as well become her food. "Hey, Broken-Waist, I'm the human lord of this stretch of valleys. You raise pigs here, and I built the pen for you. I eat one or two wild boars—you don't have any objections, right?"

Xia Qing dared to assert that among the wild boars the wolf pack had driven over, there were definitely Green Lantern or Yellow Lantern ones, because the wolves could distinguish the quality of their prey.

The Broken-Waist Wolf kept its eyes fixed on the wild boars and ignored Xia Qing.

"If you don't speak up, I'll take that as a yes." Xia Qing cheerfully put her protective mask back on and headed out of the Evolution Forest, contacting Ji Li along the way to trade the harvested medicinal herbs to Territory Seven.

Medicinal herbs—only when delivered into the hands of professionals could they exert their greatest value.

Xia Qing waited outside the north gate of the territory for a while. When she saw that the person coming to collect the supplies was Huo Zhun, her eyes lit up.

Huo Zhun cheerfully took the medicinal herbs and handed over the bag he was carrying. "These protective gear were just delivered by my old man yesterday. Take them back and try them on. If anything doesn't fit, just call the old man directly and have him adjust the size for you."

You call your dad "old man"—if he finds out, won't he hammer you to death with his blacksmithing hammer?

Xia Qing thanked him solemnly. "Got it, thanks, Brother Huo."

Huo Zhun passed along a message from Yan Long. "When I came out, Yan Long asked me to check whether you're busy at the end of the month. She wants to invite you to hunt in the Evolution Forest."

Yan Long is inviting me to hunt? And the time she picked is during the Snow Damage period?!

Seeing Xia Qing's surprised expression, Huo Zhun cheerfully explained, "It's not just the two of you. Tan Junjie's daughter Tan Qi is coming too. That little girl has been to the territory before, you've met her, right?"

Now Xia Qing understood. "I've met her. Tan Qi is a very promising Evolver. Please tell Sister Yan to just notify me the day before we set out. I'm free."

Tan Junjie's wife and Yan Long were comrades-in-arms, and Yan Long liked and looked after Tan Qi very much. Her way of expressing that fondness was to rigorously train Tan Qi's survival skills. Whatever Yan Long's reason for inviting her to join the training, Xia Qing wasn't going to pass up this good chance to learn.

"Got it, I'll go back and tell Yan Long." Huo Zhun reminded Xia Qing, "These protective gear have been soaked in a medicinal solution mixed by our lord. Toughness, corrosion resistance, and breathability have all gone up a notch. Store them properly according to the manual, and they should last five years without issue."

Xia Qing thanked Huo Zhun. Back in the territory, she grabbed the bag and couldn't wait to run home. Ram Boss, who was eating grass, didn't know what was going on and went whooshing after her back home.

"Boss, I've got new gear! Snake-skin protective gear, look! Wait for me to put them on and show you!" Xia Qing rushed upstairs excitedly, slammed the bedroom door shut, quickly stripped off her protective suit, and put on the strength-Evolver protective gear made from hardened evolved snake skin.

A full set of protective gear consisted of eight pieces: neck guard, gloves, wrist guards, elbow guards, shoulder guards, waist guard, knee guards, and ankle guards. Because they were custom-made to Xia Qing's measurements, once on they felt like a second skin—no sense of obstruction at all, very comfortable.

"Boss, how do I look?" Xia Qing charged downstairs and strutted back and forth in front of Ram Boss. Ram Boss got annoyed, narrowed its eyes, and pawed the ground.

Xia Qing was just waiting for it to lose its temper. She quickly threw on her protective suit and issued a challenge. "Come on, Boss, let's go outside and have a go!"

Once Xia Qing finished speaking, she dashed outside. She and Ram Boss were both high-level strength Evolvers—if they really fought inside the house, they could smash it to pieces.

After running out of the village, Xia Qing turned around and charged at Ram Boss at full speed.

This time, with protective gear on her hands, Xia Qing went all out and took Ram Boss head-on with both hands. With her palms protected by the three layers of snake-skin gear, the rebound force from the impact was greatly reduced, and her wrists, elbows, and shoulders were protected and unhurt.

"Boom!"

Xia Qing's hands collided with Ram Boss's two spiral horns, producing a dull thud.

Then Ram Boss was sent flying by Xia Qing's two-handed strike—the first time that had ever happened!

Xia Qing shook her numb hands and laughed wildly. "Again!"

"Moo!"

Ram Boss, furious at being sent flying by its underling, rolled over, scrambled out of the crater, and bellowed as it charged at Xia Qing. It raised its forelegs and rammed forward with its spiral horns.

Xia Qing once again met the charge with both hands.

"Boom!"

Because Ram Boss used its full strength this time, the one sent flying was Xia Qing.

Purely in terms of strength, Xia Qing, a sixth-level Evolver, couldn't beat Ram Boss.

Xia Qing flipped herself upright, her feet slammed hard into the ground, and she charged at Ram Boss again. This time, she used her shoulder to ram Ram Boss's hard spiral horns.

"Boom!"

Human and ram collided. This time neither one flew—they began a contest of raw strength.

Tang Huai, who was chatting with refugees inside Territory Two, pricked up his ears. Hearing that familiar yet slightly off sound, Tang Huai badly wanted to kick aside the troublesome refugee in front of him and run over to watch Xia Qing and the ram fight.

After a thoroughly exhilarating fight, Xia Qing lay spread-eagled on the ground, panting heavily, mouth open in a huge grin.

Ram Boss, lying beside her, noticed Xia Qing was actually grinning and instantly got angry. It jumped up, determined to beat her until she couldn't laugh anymore.

Xia Qing immediately shut her mouth and conceded. "No more, I really don't have any strength left… You're amazing, Boss, I can't beat you."

Ram Boss snorted and lay back down on the ground, panting hard. Xia Qing crawled over, bumped her forehead against Ram Boss's head, then rolled onto her back and kept grinning foolishly.

The Broken-Waist Wolf, who had been lying nearby watching the show, saw they'd stopped fighting and opened its mouth for a big yawn.

Once Xia Qing caught her breath, she raised her arm to show Ram Boss her protective gear. "Boss, do you know why I got stronger? It's because I'm wearing protective gear—my impact resistance has gone way up. And also, no matter how much it hurt during the medicinal bath, I gritted my teeth and soaked for a full hour. The damage to my body was healed, and my bones got reinforced. You always run off the moment it hurts, so your muscle and bone damage hasn't healed as well as mine…"

Xia Qing babbled on. Ram Boss's face was expressionless, but the Broken-Waist Wolf beside them closed its mouth and stared thoughtfully at the snake-skin gloves and wrist guards on Xia Qing's hands.