Chapter 964: A Sick Old Wolf

After a few seconds of eye contact with this SVIP limping big shot missing a few tufts of fur on its head, Xia Qing picked up the food bowl in front of it. "Alright, I'll go mix you some noodles. But you're an evolved wolf, so you can only eat a little—too much will give you a stomachache."

The Broken-Waist Wolf immediately bared its adorable little fang tips and limped after Xia Qing into the kitchen.

Xia Qing scooped a few noodles from the pot, grabbed a handful of freeze-dried meat and mixed them in, then carried it to the living room and set it down next to the Elder's food bowl. "Try it. These noodles are made with Gao Yi Element spinach juice, so they're green—packed with energy."

The wounded wolf, which had already polished off more than three jin of Green Lantern meat, lowered its head to sniff, then dug in heartily.

Xia Qing scooped the remaining noodles from the pot into her own bowl, poured in the stir-fried sauce, and a bowl of Green Lantern green bean and shredded pork noodles with sauce was ready. Paired with a plate of cold Green Lantern pig's ears tossed in dressing—a perfect dinner!

"Beep."

Xia Qing, who was patrolling the territory after dinner, heard a sound from the north gate. She pulled out her phone, took one look, and rushed over.

"Queen, Big Wolf!" Xia Qing greeted the two wolves that had climbed over the wall, then kept running north, only to be blocked by the enthusiastic Broken-Leg Wolf.

"Broken-Leg, long time no see!" Xia Qing pulled a pack of freeze-dried meat from her pocket and stuffed it into the Broken-Leg Wolf that was pawing at her, then rushed to the reservoir and hugged Wolf Lao Er's neck, which was damp from the water droplets in the woods.

Wolf Lao Er had only been gone eight days, but to Xia Qing it felt like a whole month!

Wolf Lao Er nuzzled Xia Qing, signaling her to look at the companion behind it.

Xia Qing wiped the wolf fur off the outside of her protective mask and, peering through the night-vision goggles at the thin wolf full of wariness on the hillside north of the river channel, asked, "Lao Er, is it sick?"

Wolf Lao Er spat out the stone it had been carrying in its mouth the whole way, nuzzled Xia Qing, then went over and nuzzled the old wolf that refused to approach humans. It fixed its clear, trusting eyes on Xia Qing.

Xia Qing pushed away the Broken-Leg Wolf that came nuzzling and making a fuss again, picked up the stone Wolf Lao Er had brought, and communicated with it through gestures. "Lao Er wants me to treat it? Sure. Let's go home first and check its condition."

Wolf Lao Er immediately broke into a happy grin, and Xia Qing smiled along with it. "Let's go, home."

After getting home, Xia Qing greeted the handsome giant wolf lying under the eaves, and the moment she stepped inside she saw the Elder vigorously pedaling the power-generating bicycle, showing off its developed, powerful muscles to its companions.

But the head wolf's attention was all drawn to the Broken-Waist Wolf wearing the sparkly Gao Use Yishi protective case around its neck, which made the lightbulb Ram Elder had pedaled to glow look even brighter by comparison.

The single human Xia Qing walked over to the power-generating bicycle and praised her companion with deep feeling. "Elder's muscles look even more solid. With you here, our territory is the safest of all. I can sleep easy."

Ram Elder held its spiral-horned head high, in high spirits.

The Broken-Waist Wolf's ears twitched, and it looked back at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing immediately understood. "Broken-Waist, the protective case around your neck is absolutely gorgeous. Wearing this case, you're the most handsome wolf in the northern pack, the Queen my lord's favorite wolf. Broken-Waist, you've got such great taste!"

The Broken-Waist Wolf was satisfied and went back to earnestly showing off its sparkly new gear to the head wolf.

Xia Qing went upstairs to get the medicine kit, and before going out she went up to the handsome giant wolf. "Big Wolf, I got some really good medicine for you a few days ago."

After the great biological evolution of Blue Star, a small number of giant individuals appeared in every species. Research found that the hearts of these giant individuals need greater force than those of normal individuals to pump blood to every part of the body, especially the extremities.

To pump more blood, the number of cardiac muscle cells in giant animals increases, leading to symptoms like myocardial hypertrophy, enlarged heart, and tachycardia. Surveys and statistics show that the average lifespan of giant animals is lower than that of other types of evolved beings.

After handing Zhang Shiyi mother and son's blood over to her idol, Xia Qing raised her concern, hoping he could prescribe some medicine for the handsome giant wolf to strengthen its cardiac function.

The idol, in a very good mood, asked about the handsome giant wolf's height and weight, then spent three days specially compounding a bottle of pills worth 200,000 points.

200,000 points was indeed very expensive, but compared to the pack of Gao Yi Stones the handsome giant wolf had given Xia Qing, it was negligible.

Xia Qing placed a small red pill in a little bowl, dissolved it in pollution-free spring water, and brought it to the handsome giant wolf's mouth. "Big Wolf, drink this. It will make your heart stronger, let your peak condition last several more years, and keep you standing at the top of Blue Star's giant wolf pyramid."

The handsome giant wolf sniffed the water in the bowl, seeming not to like it much, but still drank it all with an expressionless face.

After giving the handsome giant wolf its medicine, Xia Qing declined the Broken-Leg Wolf's invitation to catch grasshoppers together, went into the sheep pen, turned on the light, and checked on the wolf Wolf Lao Er had brought back.

"Grrr…" The thin wolf let out an uneasy low growl. Wolf Lao Er, keeping it company, nuzzled it with its body, telling it not to be nervous.

Under the light, Xia Qing clearly saw the gray wolf's face—particularly the white fur above its eyes—and the noticeably worn teeth in its large mouth. Xia Qing confirmed she had not seen this wolf when she was deworming the pack on Hill 60 last year.

Judging from these physical features, it was older than Wolf Lao Er and a bit smarter too. This was an old brain-domain-evolved male wolf, and its frame was slightly larger than Wolf Lao Er's.

This old wolf had been brought here by Wolf Lao Er, not by the northern pack's head wolf, and its medical fees were paid by Wolf Lao Er too—which also showed it wasn't a member of the northern pack.

How did Wolf Lao Er get to know it, and why did it bring it here for treatment?

Wolf Lao Er wasn't a brain-domain evolver. It had stayed in Territory Three for over a year and understood that treating a wolf's illness with Xia Qing required "medical fees." But it couldn't tell the difference between Gao Yi Stones and ordinary stones, so it had carried a pebble that looked a lot like a Gao Use Yishi to Xia Qing.

So Xia Qing might never figure out the relationship between this old wolf and Wolf Lao Er. But that didn't matter—since Wolf Lao Er wanted to save this wolf, she would save it.

Because Wolf Lao Er was a companion she trusted and valued. Xia Qing now had plenty of Green Lantern food, and the ability to help a companion fulfill its wish.

"Lao Er, tell it not to resist. I need to draw some blood to check its condition."

Xia Qing put on sterile gloves and walked over. Perhaps because she smelled of wolves, or perhaps because Wolf Lao Er's reassurance worked well, the frail old wolf, though it curled its body, tucked its tail, and growled softly as Xia Qing approached, did not scratch or bite her.

Xia Qing quickly examined it and drew a tube of blood before letting go and stepping back. "It has no obvious external injuries. The skin condition isn't serious, but the ear mites need treatment. The diarrhea might be from internal parasites—the specifics will have to wait until the blood test comes back."

After saying that, Xia Qing put a deworming tablet in a bowl, added some freshly squeezed spinach juice and pollution-free spring water. "Lao Er, get it to drink the medicine. I'm going to run the blood test and take a medicinal bath."

A pack of wolves was waiting for their medicinal bath—Xia Qing couldn't delay too long because of this old wolf. She went inside, put the blood sample into the Gao Yi Element detector, then soaked herself in the medicinal liquid in the second-floor bathroom.

In the sheep pen, the sick, weak old wolf licked the liquid in the bowl clean, then lay on the dry hay and quietly gazed at the moon outside the gauze door.

In the valley of Hill 65, perched high on a slender-leaf banyan tree, a white-faced little monkey squeezed among its already-sleeping companions, clutching its backpack, also stared blankly at the moon.