Chapter 692: The Final Herb

For the third time today, Xia Qing found herself staring into the eyes of a flat-headed little pest. She was at her wit's end. "Bro, if you need something, just say it. If not, get out of my way. I'm busy."

The little honey badger said nothing, just bared its mouthful of teeth at Xia Qing and charged in to fight her.

Xia Qing was left speechless.

Wasn't it Li Kai and Zhang Hongda who said just avoiding this honey badger when they saw it would be enough? She had avoided it. She'd run into the thing five times in two days, dodged three times and jumped once—so why was it still refusing to let her go?

Could it be because she jumped that one time?

Xia Qing didn't want to kill it, nor waste any more time on it, so she decided to "run."

She pushed her speed to the max, using magnetic sense to dodge the aggressive evolved plants on the mountain, and hearing and sight to avoid the venomous snakes, lizards, and other small animals, running in one breath from Peak Three of Mountain Fifty all the way to the bamboo forest north of Mountain Fifty-Two.

After resting a while, Xia Qing trimmed the branches off the hardness-evolved bamboo pole she'd cut down last time, chopped the pole into two sections, and headed back carrying them.

She hadn't expected that before she even left the bamboo forest, she'd see that relentless little honey badger come huffing and puffing after her.

The little fellow was foaming at the mouth from running, yet still refused to give up. Once it finally caught up to Xia Qing, it bared its teeth again and stumbled forward to attack.

Damn it—running itself into this state and still wanting to fight?

Xia Qing gave up. She tossed the bamboo pole aside and stuck out a long leg clad in snake-skin clothing. "Whichever piece of my meat you fancy, bite away. Once you've bitten, stop chasing me. I'm heading back to human territory and I can't take you with me."

The weather was sweltering now, so Xia Qing hadn't worn protective pants over her snake-skin outfit. Her snake-skin clothing's defense was top-notch anyway.

The little honey badger came huffing and puffing over and sank its teeth hard into Xia Qing's ankle.

"Ah—"

Xia Qing played along, letting out a fake cry of pain, while silently grumbling inside: With that little bite force, you can't even leave a tooth mark on my snake-skin pants, and you still have the nerve to bite?

Wait!

Could it be that the aura from her python-skin protective suit made this little snake-loving fellow mistake her for a snake?

Xia Qing stared up at the sky, speechless.

If that really was the case, this little fellow's brain was definitely defective. Other animals evolve their cerebral cortex, but this one must have a shrunken cerebellum!

Xia Qing's snake-skin pants were tight-fitting. The little honey badger chomped away for a while, then, not giving up, scratched and clawed at her for a stretch, before finally huffing and puffing in a huff and letting her leg go, flopping onto its side on the ground to pant.

Xia Qing reached out, grabbed the fur on the back of its neck, and lifted the little honey badger up. She figured this stubborn, dim-witted little honey badger would get along great with Sheep Boss.

But it was a carnivore, and Sheep Boss's hide wasn't tough enough—if they played rough, it might tear Sheep Boss open. Plus, there wasn't enough prey in Territory Three to feed it. Xia Qing was afraid that if it got hungry, it would go after the chickens and rabbits she raised.

For most animals, skin and flesh are connected, and that remains true even after evolution.

But a honey badger's skin and flesh are separate. You think you've grabbed it by the neck, lift it up, and realize you've only lifted a piece of skin.

Using this unique skin-flesh separation skill to protect its vital areas, the honey badger twisted its body and turned its head, continuing to fight Xia Qing, trying to break free from her grip.

This is one of the reasons many large predators don't want to hunt honey badgers: the honey badger's hide is thick and slick, and its skin and flesh are separate. Even if you bite it, you can't kill it quickly, and it will seize the chance to fight back fiercely.

After all that effort, you still can't kill it, and the skin and flesh torn open by the honey badger's claws could be invaded by microorganisms.

In the dangerous Evolved Forest, getting wounded means death.

Xia Qing held the unruly little honey badger and sighed. "If it weren't for the fact that your meat tastes terrible, I'd slaughter you right now."

Over twenty jin, too.

Rustle—swish—

Xia Qing heard movement behind her, immediately dropped the little honey badger on the ground, and turned to look toward the Evolved Forest to the north.

Why would a wolf show up at this time? And this isn't the beast trail the northern wolf pack usually takes when passing through Mountain Forty-Nine. What is this wolf doing here?

Soon, a black wolf wearing a snake-skin protective suit appeared before Xia Qing. In its mouth it carried a dirty piece of cloth, and on its back rode a dirty albino yellow weasel.

Looking closer, what the black wolf was carrying seemed to be the satchel Xia Qing had made for Sheep Boss, which Sheep Boss had then given to the Wolf King!

Xia Qing immediately dragged the little honey badger—which was clinging to her leg with both claws and teeth—and went to meet them, calling out joyfully, "Black Wolf Bro, Little Bai Mao, did you come to find me?"

The satchel in the black wolf's mouth dropped onto the stone with a soft thud, then it bared its fangs and snarled at the little honey badger on Xia Qing's leg.

"Aow—"

The little honey badger seemed to have tangled with wolves before, so it knew how fierce they were. After the black wolf let out a roar, it let go of Xia Qing's leg and stumbled away.

The black wolf chased after it, and the albino yellow weasel also bounded off toward Peak Three of Mountain Fifty.

Xia Qing, who didn't fare as well as wolves in the Evolved Forest, had eyes at this moment for neither the little honey badger, nor the black wolf, nor even the albino yellow weasel—only for that dirty, damp little satchel on the stone.

Because the half-leaf of a herb, stuck in mud and peeking out from the gap in the satchel's broken flap, was a shape Xia Qing knew all too well!

She carefully opened the satchel, took out the clump of herb with its roots, and her heart beat faster. Without needing her idol to identify it personally, Xia Qing could confirm this was the final herb Zhang Hongda needed for detoxification!

Did Little Bai Mao dig this up, or did the black wolf? Why were the two of them together, and why did they have the Wolf King's satchel? And what about the yellow weasel that followed Little Bai Mao yesterday?

Questions she couldn't answer, Xia Qing didn't waste any more thought on.

She turned and shouted toward Peak Three of Mountain Fifty, "Little Bai Mao, Black Wolf Bro, thank you for bringing me the herb. Black Wolf Bro, honey badger meat doesn't taste good—spare that little honey badger—"

After shouting, Xia Qing carefully transferred the herb into the long, narrow box she used specifically for storing herbs, then put it in her backpack. She rinsed the satchel clean with stream water, wrung it out, and laid it on the stone to dry, waiting quietly.

After ten-odd minutes, the black wolf returned. Seeing no blood on its mouth, Xia Qing knew it hadn't killed the little honey badger.

Xia Qing stuffed a packet of freeze-dried meat into the little satchel and held it out. "Black Wolf Bro, thanks for your hard work. These jerky strips are for you. If you can't finish them, take some back for Wolf Lao Er."

Wolf Lao Er had left Territory Three eleven days ago. Xia Qing was very curious how it was doing now. If the wolf pack weren't currently raising pups, she would have gone to Mountain Sixty long ago to visit Wolf Lao Er.

The black wolf picked up the cleaned satchel in its mouth and ran into the Evolved Forest.

After it was far away, Xia Qing carried the bamboo poles back to Territory Three, dropped off her supplies, and immediately headed to Territory Seven to deliver the herb to her idol.

When she came back out, her pocket held an extra sixty-thousand-point credit card.