Chapter 740: A New Path

The Broken-Waist Wolf immediately walked over to Xia Qing's hanging chair, turned its head, and grinned at her.

Xia Qing...

Trying to trade three mountain walnuts about the size of swallow eggs for her hanging chair? Truly worthy of being Iron Rooster's own brother!

Xia Qing squeezed hard, and with a crisp crack she crushed the mountain walnut. Little Bai Mao was so startled its fur stood on end, and in a flash it vanished—who knew where it had hidden itself. The Broken-Waist Wolf stopped grinning too, gazing at Xia Qing thoughtfully.

Xia Qing crushed another normal mountain walnut, showing it to the Broken-Waist Wolf as she did. "Mountain walnuts are my food, but what I eat is the kernel. The three you just brought are too small—they have no kernel, so they can't be traded for the hanging chair. You can trade Yi stone for the hanging chair. Just a piece this small will do."

The Broken-Waist Wolf tilted its head slightly, thinking seriously.

Xia Qing walked over and sat in the hanging chair, swaying as she made her pitch. "Handsome Wolf Brother, look—this hanging chair is extremely comfortable. Trade one and take it back; you, the Queen, my lord, and the pups can all use it. One Yi stone—what a bargain! Handsome Wolf Brother, if you take this hanging chair back, you'll become the most handsome, most stylish wolf on Mountain Sixty!"

The Broken-Waist Wolf stared at the hanging chair for a full thirty seconds, and then it...

Gave up on the trade!

As the Broken-Waist Wolf turned to head outside, Little Bai Mao crawled out from under the kitchen cabinet and darted onto its back.

"Broken-Waist, wait a moment!"

Xia Qing called the Broken-Waist Wolf back, tucked a sample bag into its side pouch, and scared Little Bai Mao so badly it spun around and hid in the kitchen again.

Xia Qing gestured as she explained, asking the Broken-Waist Wolf to dig up a bag of soil from under the mountain walnut tree and bring it over. The soil sample was what her idol wanted. Xia Qing had originally planned to dig it herself, but the Broken-Waist Wolf wouldn't let her go, so she could only ask the Broken-Waist Wolf to do it for her.

The walnut tree was right on Mountain Sixty, and the Broken-Waist Wolf had been specially trained in how to take samples—this small task was no challenge for it. After confirming it understood, Xia Qing pointed at the hanging chair. "You bring the soil sample back, and I'll give you a hanging chair."

The Broken-Waist Wolf finally showed its little fang tips, indicating it agreed to the trade.

This wolf was getting shrewder and shrewder, but Xia Qing still had something good that could precisely hit its aesthetic sweet spot.

Xia Qing rubbed its head, took out the gold chain she'd just obtained, and—as expected—saw the Broken-Waist Wolf's eyes light up.

"Handsome Wolf Brother, look at this gold chain. This circle represents the sun, this hook represents the moon. Pretty, huh? Shiny, huh? Doesn't it look like the color of the Queen's eyes?"

The Broken-Waist Wolf's eyes followed the gold chain—clearly it thought it was very pretty.

"One tiny Yi stone, and Handsome Wolf Brother can take this gold chain back and give it to the Queen. Do you know what that represents? It means you've given the sun and moon to the Queen—everywhere the sunlight shines is the Queen's territory!! Handsome Wolf Brother, all you have to give me is one tiny Yi stone!"

After making herself clear, Xia Qing put the gold chain back in her pouch and gave final instructions. "When you bring the medicine tablets and soil sample back, bring a Yi stone with you, and the gold chain is yours."

The Broken-Waist Wolf's gaze turned to the hanging chair.

Xia Qing immediately gave it an affirmative answer. "Right, as long as you bring the soil sample and the remaining medicine tablets back, the gold chain and the hanging chair are both yours."

Only then did the Broken-Waist Wolf reveal its absolutely gorgeous little fang tips, and left with Little Bai Mao.

In the Broken-Waist Wolf's eyes, such a beautiful and practical hanging chair was actually not as good as a useless gold chain...

Standing in the second-floor bedroom, watching the Broken-Waist Wolf carrying the medicine tablets and Little Bai Mao climb up the North Buffer Forest, Xia Qing felt it was all very surreal.

The Broken-Waist Wolf sensed Xia Qing's gaze, stopped, and looked back at her.

After all this bustle, the sky had already begun to pale. The Broken-Waist Wolf's eyes no longer reflected green light, and its expression seemed richer—as if asking Xia Qing if there was anything else.

So Xia Qing opened the window and told it, "Broken-Waist, bring Handsome Wolf Brother over. The western wolf pack needs to take their medicine too."

Evolved wolves had excellent hearing. Though Xia Qing's voice wasn't loud, the Broken-Waist Wolf heard her clearly, grinned, and only then left Territory Three with the little weasel on its back.

After the two wolves passed through the two north gates and left, Xia Qing rubbed her face, which had been invaded by the damp air. She turned to look at the pale sky to the northeast, while in her ears rang the Black-Feather Rooster's shrill dawn crow.

At this moment, Xia Qing felt very clearly that she and the northern wolf pack had blazed a new path for humans and highly evolved animals to coexist in peace.

She pulled down the blackout curtain, skillfully opened the bedroom door in the darkness, walked to the stairway, and discussed with her companion on the first floor. "I'm going to sleep. Boss, go watch the chickens—don't let them crow. Without the Boss's help, I can't even get a good sleep."

Boss Sheep didn't make a sound, but it walked straight down from the hanging chair and clip-clopped out the door.

"Thanks, Boss. Boss is the best evolved sheep on Blue Star. I'll definitely bring you delicious food back from the Evolution Forest tomorrow." Xia Qing called out, went back to her room, closed the door, and went to sleep. Tomorrow she would be following Yan Long to the Evolution Forest for training—she had to conserve her energy.

"Cock—"

The Black-Feather Rooster's crow cut off halfway, going hoarse. Xia Qing curled up the corners of her mouth and hurried to catch some more sleep.

While Xia Qing was sleeping in, Chen Cheng, who was on night watch, saw through the surveillance that the Broken-Waist Wolf—which had gone to Territory Three twice in one night—was now carrying a white weasel on its back, speeding across Mountain Forty-Nine. He got a prickly feeling. "The northern wolf pack isn't about to make some big move again, is it..."

Dawn broke, and the people of Northern Zone One rose to activity. Some patrolled their territories, some worked, some cooked. Cooking smoke rose from the chimneys of every territory and melted into the damp morning air.

When the moisture shrouding the earth was slowly baked away by the rising sun, Xia Qing in the two-story little house of Territory Three stretched lazily, closed her eyes, and listened carefully to the sounds within the territory.

A big swallow flew back with an insect in its beak, and the baby swallows in the nest chirped excitedly.

The hens in the coop were clucking too, but their calls were different from the high-pitched cackle after laying an egg. Right now their clucks were low, long-toned, and soothing—the sound hens only make when they feel safe and comfortable.

The chicks were cheeping, their voices very cheerful.

From far away came the sound of the river rushing. There had been a lot of rain these past few days, so the sound of the water was noticeably louder than in the previous stretch. More water meant the creatures in the Evolution Forest would become more active. She wondered which river or lake Yan Long would take her and Tan Qi to for practical training.

Xia Qing opened her eyes, got dressed, opened the window, and began another busy day.

First task: patrol the territory, catch insects to feed the living things at home.

For Xia Qing, whose hearing and vision were both highly evolved, patrolling the territory during the day was a very easy task. She made one round and caught a basket of insects. Half went to feed the chickens, half to feed the fish.

After the fish eggs in the water tank hatched, Xia Qing poured the countless tiny fry into the dug fish pond. The plankton in the pond was enough for the fry to eat; what needed feeding were the big fish, which were used to eating insects.

After feeding the mealworms some ordinary Green Lantern spinach leaves, Xia Qing scooped up a ladle of mealworms and brought them home to feed the chicks.