Chapter 844: The Black Giant Python in the Python Pool

The Broken-Waist Wolf understood clearly and showed Xia Qing its cute, snow-white little fang tips.

The haughty-faced Queen and the stingy Broken-Waist Wolf were getting better and better at haggling; from now on, earning money from the wolves won't be easy either.

Xia Qing immediately picked up two damp Yishi stones worth 700,000 points. Slowly, not quickly enough to show her respect for the Yishi stones, she said, "No problem, of course no problem, I'll start work right away and fill in the Python Pool as soon as possible. Such a huge hidden danger must be completely eliminated!"

If she couldn't fill the pool today, she'd do it tomorrow; if not tomorrow, then the day after— whenever it was done, that was that.

Xia Qing packed up the Yishi stones, looked at the lead wolf and Little Bai Mao, and said, "my lord, Little Bai Mao, can I have the herbs?"

Little Bai Mao put down the herbs, ran to a rock farther away, and watched Xia Qing. Xia Qing immediately pulled two boiled eggs from her backpack, placed them on the rock together with the bag, and said, "These eggs are for trading one plant. The eggs for trading the other two plants, I'll bring them to Mountain Fifty next time."

Little Bai Mao had no objections, picked up the bag in its mouth, and ran off.

The Broken-Waist Wolf looked at Little Bai Mao leaving, then at the herbs in Xia Qing's hand, deep in thought.

Xia Qing happily packed up the herbs and took photos, then sent them to her idol.

Zhang San immediately called, his voice kindly crumbling downward, "Although the roots and leaves of the three herb plants are incomplete, they're more than enough. Very good, very timely."

Receiving her idol's praise, Xia Qing felt that the cicadas buzzing endlessly in her ears had turned into fireworks, one after another. "As long as it didn't delay your work, I'll bring it to you this evening?"

She had to fill the Python Pool for the wolf pack; she couldn't go back now.

Zhang San asked, "Can you bring it over as soon as possible?"

"I can. I'll find someone to make a run; it'll arrive at the south gate of Territory Seven within an hour, handed to Ji Li." Xia Qing hung up the phone, immediately contacted Zhang Hongda, sent him the coordinates, and asked him to come over.

Zhang Hongda and Tan Qi were the only two speed-type evolvers in the Territory Alliance. If allies could handle it, Xia Qing didn't want to deploy members of the Azure Dragon Squad.

Zhang Hongda, a Level-5 speed-type evolver, arrived at the target location in less than twenty minutes and saw Xia Qing standing on the beast trail holding a small alligator with its mouth tied shut, waiting for him. No need to ask—the alligator was Xia Qing's payment for asking him to help. Zhang Hongda really wanted to tell Xia Qing that his life was saved by her; doing things for her, he didn't need any payment at all.

But Zhang Hongda didn't dare, because on Xia Qing's expressionless face there was not a shred of room for negotiation.

Xia Qing handed the alligator and the herbs to Zhang Hongda. "Please help me deliver this herb box to Territory Seven as soon as possible, to Ji Li; this Red Lantern crocodile is the errand fee for this trip."

When Xia Qing asked someone to do something, of course she had to pay. Live Red Lantern prey was 25 points per jin; using this eight-or-nine-jin little alligator to hire a three-system evolver to run errands for her was also considered a decent offering.

Zhang Hongda took the herbs. "Sister Qing, aren't the crocodiles here the giant python's food?"

Xia Qing briefly explained, "Now they're the wolf pack's food, so I can catch a few."

Only then did Zhang Hongda take the alligator. Earlier this morning, when he had followed the speed-type evolver from Territory One to Territory Fifty-Three to provide support, he had already deeply understood the relationship between Xia Qing and the northern wolf pack.

The crocodiles belonged to the wolf pack, which meant they belonged to Xia Qing.

After sending off the medicinal materials, Xia Qing returned to the Second Peak of Mountain Fifty-Five and pondered how to fill the pool.

The fallen rocks beside the Python Pool couldn't be used, and the lead wolf wouldn't allow her to blast the mountain to fill the pool, so she could only pry stones loose from high places and let the fallen rocks roll directly into the pool. This job should have been assigned to Zhao Ze from the Territory Alliance—this was his specialty. But the wolf pack wouldn't allow Xia Qing to find other humans to help, so she could only climb up herself to find a suitable spot.

The Second Peak of Mountain Fifty-Five was the second-highest peak in this mountain region from Number 49 to Number 61, only a few dozen meters shorter than the main peak of Mountain Sixty-One where Xiong Qun lived.

At the base of this peak were large stretches of marshland, and there were quite a few pools; the Python Pool was one of them. Xia Qing, whose hearing was impaired but whose vision was normal, quickly found the target boulder. She pointed at a protruding rock on the cliff above the pool, over a hundred meters up, and asked, "my lord, can I pry that rock loose and use it to fill the pool?"

The lead wolf, who had been following Xia Qing, wore a solemn expression.

Not allowed? Why?!

Xia Qing followed the wolf's train of thought and figured it out. "This rock is perfect for gazing into the distance and sunbathing—is this my lord's favorite rock?"

The proud lead wolf, for the first time in front of Xia Qing, opened its mouth and smiled.

Xia Qing also smiled. "Lying or sprawled on the rock in summer must be pretty hot, right? Tomorrow I'll bring a saw over and make my lord a tatami like Boss Sheep's, fixed onto the rock. How about it?"

The lead wolf was indeed even happier and stretched its head toward Xia Qing.

Xia Qing understood immediately, took off her protective mask, and bumped heads with the lead wolf. When the lead wolf stretched its nose over again, Xia Qing bumped the tip of her nose against it.

This was the first time Xia Qing and the lead wolf had such an intimate interaction. She felt an inexpressible joy in her heart, and she could also understand the lead wolf's joy.

This was the lead wolf's territory; perhaps it had grown up around here. To human eyes, this unremarkable peak was its home, and that rock might be a place it had often played on when it was small.

Xia Qing continued searching, pointed at the slope behind the cliff on the other side, and asked, "my lord, can I use the rocks on that slope?"

This time the lead wolf did not object.

"Understood, starting work!" Xia Jingwei pulled out a shovel and a crowbar and began the pool-filling operation.

Step one: clear the small obstructive rocks beneath the selected boulder.

Step two: clear the dozen-plus large trees in the boulder's rolling path, so that when the boulder rolled down it wouldn't hit the trees, change direction, and smash into somewhere else, ruining everything. These felled trees could just be used to build the tatami for my lord.

Step three: clear the support points beneath the boulder so it could roll down.

The six target rocks on the western slope were enough to block the Python Pool's passage to the underground river; even a giant python wouldn't be able to move them.

It sounded like only three steps, but each step required considerable time. Xia Qing planned to finish only step one today; tomorrow she would bring the chainsaw and complete steps two and three.

As Xia Qing clanged away working, over a dozen wolf heads popped up on the surrounding peaks, and at the highest spot were several fuzzy little wolf heads.

After watching for a while, the wolf pack lost interest—those who should sunbathe went to sunbathe, those who should stand guard went to stand guard, those who should hunt went to hunt.

Six wolf pups three or four months old continued to chase and tussle under the protection of five adult wolves; only one little wolf with golden-brown eyes lay motionless on a rock, continuing to stare down at the human below.

The Broken-Waist Wolf jumped over to the little wolf, licked its head, then fished out its other cub from the tussling pile of pups, pressed it onto the rock, and made it watch properly. As a qualified evolved wolf, one must not only have hunting skills, but also understand what attack methods other animals in the Evolution Forest had.

This little wolf with amber eyes and slightly lighter fur couldn't break free from its father's big paw, and wasn't interested in the slow-moving animal below; before long it closed its eyes and fell asleep.

When a small stone about two meters square was pried loose by Xia Qing and rolled downward faster and faster, not only did the little wolf with golden-brown eyes widen its eyes, but the pups who had been sleeping and tussling also ran over and lay down in a neat row, looking down.

When the stone hit the Python Pool with a "plop," sending up a huge splash, the pups' eyes all went wide. Three of the pups opened their mouths, revealing two or four little fangs, and let out roars they considered fierce.

This sound would startle the animals below and attract danger.

Before the adult wolves could act, the little wolf with golden-brown eyes stood up and growled softly at the pups beside it.

When it growled, it only showed one tiny fang. Because the other fang on its upper palate had already fallen out and the permanent tooth hadn't grown in yet, it didn't look very mighty and domineering. But the other pups were all afraid of this little wolf and obediently shut their mouths.

Xia Qing, whose hearing was impaired, couldn't hear the pups' commotion. She was hiding behind a large tree, afraid that the black giant python poking its head out of the Python Pool would see her.