Chapter 10: 10. Chapter 10: Wild Boar

Chapter 10: Wild Boar

Under Xia Qing’s gaze, the evolved sheep walked over to a small toon tree, raised its head, and with a *crunch*, bit off and ate the tender buds that had just sprouted at the top.

Xia Qing glanced at the toon tree, now missing a branch, before widening her eyes to stare at the mouth of this incredibly punchable-looking sheep as it chewed away.

Could it be… an evolution of the teeth?

After swallowing the toon buds, the small-tailed sheep looked up at Xia Qing again. Seeing that she didn't move, its eyes narrowed even further. It took a few steps back, pawed at the ground with its front hooves, and then… lunged violently toward the large toon tree.

*Bang!*

Xia Qing hugged the violently shaking trunk, her own heart trembling just as hard.

No need to guess anymore; this was a strength-evolved sheep! Why was it ramming the tree? Was it trying to shake her off?

This was her first time encountering an evolved sheep. Did this thing eat meat after evolving?

*Bang!*

The evolved sheep slammed into the trunk again. Seeing that Xia Qing was still clinging to the tree, the creature suddenly turned around, aiming its spiral horns at the basket Xia Qing had left at the base of the tree.

Xia Qing’s liver trembled in fear, and she shouted, "Don't!"

Seeing the sheep stop in its tracks, Xia Qing immediately followed up, "Big Brother, let’s talk this out. No need to ram it."

The sheep didn't ram the basket, but it began pawing the ground, preparing for another charge. Xia Qing immediately snapped off two clusters of toon buds and tossed them over. "Big Brother, eat these toon buds. They taste much better than ginger or garlic."

The evolved sheep retracted its hooves, lowered its head, and took the two clusters of toon buds into its mouth, eating them.

Seeing that the sheep loved toon buds, Xia Qing immediately snapped off several more clusters and threw them down, luring it away from her precious basket.

Xia Qing didn't know how much a sheep could eat, but this evolved sheep consumed over a hundred clusters of toon buds before it finally lay down on the ground, satisfied, no longer interested in ramming the tree or targeting her basket.

Evolved animals are divided into two types: those that absorb more *qiang* elements than *yi* elements, becoming irritable and highly aggressive—*qiang*-evolved animals; and those that absorb more *yi* elements than *qiang* elements, retaining their original habits—*yi*-evolved animals. Since this sheep stopped causing trouble once it was full, it was likely *yi*-evolved.

Xia Qing felt relieved. After snapping off a full backpack of toon buds, she jumped down from the tree, picked up her basket, and continued her exploration. The evolved sheep lying under the toon tree glanced at her, then continued to rest with its eyes half-closed.

There were five households on this hillside. Xia Qing finished checking all five without any new discoveries, then returned to the large toon tree to dig up a few toon saplings that had sprouted nearby, intending to transplant them into her own territory.

"Maa."

Seeing Xia Qing about to leave, the evolved sheep suddenly let out a bleat.

Xia Qing looked back and saw the sheep staring at her backpack. She was speechless. "You still want toon buds?"

"Maa."

"Didn't you just finish eating?"

"Maa."

"I'm leaving. I'll pick some for you next time I see you." Xia Qing walked away, but to her surprise, the sheep stood up, pawed the ground, and aimed its spiral horns at her.

*Damn it!*

Xia Qing’s temper flared. She set her basket and the toon saplings aside and took a stance. "Come on then! I want to see which one of us is stronger!"

The evolved sheep charged at Xia Qing, lowered its head, and rammed her with its spiral horns.

Xia Qing raised her arms to block, shouting, "Open!"

But the sheep wasn't pushed back; instead, she was knocked aside.

Xia Qing did a backward roll and jumped up, suddenly humbled. "You want more toon buds?"

"Maa."

"Fine." Xia Qing dumped all the toon buds from her backpack onto the ground. "Eat up."

The sheep gave Xia Qing a look of disdain, settled down by the toon buds, and began to chew its cud leisurely.

Xia Qing, who was clearly not as strong as the sheep, climbed back up the tree and picked half a basket of toon buds before coming down.

Seeing the evolved sheep stand up and stare at her again, Xia Qing poured some spring water into a broken clay pot nearby and held it out to the sheep. "Tired of eating? Have some water."

The evolved sheep lowered its head, sniffed, and began to drink.

Xia Qing seized the opportunity to grab the toon saplings and her basket, then bolted down the hillside without looking back, crossing the isolation zone and returning to her own buffer forest. Looking back to see the sheep hadn't followed, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.

It had been such a long, long time since she felt this exhilarated.

Although she wasn't as strong as the evolved sheep, Xia Qing had weapons; she was fairly confident she could kill it. But this sheep was smart and had a lot of strength. Xia Qing didn't want to kill it; she wanted to keep it.

If she ran into it again this afternoon, she would just use toon buds and spring water to lure it back to her territory.

Because she had run so fast, the soil on the roots of the toon saplings had shaken off, and she wasn't sure if they would survive the transplant. Xia Qing planted two of the saplings by the spring and the other five along the edge of her courtyard, watering them thoroughly with spring water.

If this didn't work, she would just go back to the evolved forest to pick more whenever she wanted to eat toon buds. After all, based on her observations, there were no signs of other large animals on that hillside besides the sheep.

After planting the trees, Xia Qing went back inside to look up planting techniques for ginger and garlic. She broke the ginger into seven pieces according to the buds and separated the garlic into cloves, trying to keep the original soil attached as she planted them in the vegetable garden she had cleared in the west courtyard, watering them well with spring water.

After planting the vegetables, Xia Qing took the toon buds out of the saltwater, blanched them in boiling water, chopped them up, added salt and chili powder, mixed them well, and sealed them in glass jars that had been sterilized with hot water.

These two jars of spicy toon would be enough to last her a month.

With a bountiful harvest this morning, Xia Qing treated herself to a rare luxury: she poured a bit of oil and stir-fried a large plate of toon, eating her fill alongside her compressed rations before sprawling out on a chair.

Life like this was truly comfortable.

To keep living this comfortably, she had to work hard. After cleaning the kitchen, Xia Qing locked the door, carried two water buckets to the back mountain, placed them under the spring, and blocked the spring with stones. Then, she crossed the isolation zone again, put on her protective mask, and ducked into the evolved forest.

To avoid the gluttonous sheep guarding the toon tree, Xia Qing explored the evolved forest to the north of Plot 4.

This time, she was even more cautious. After crossing a hillside over three hundred meters high, Xia Qing discovered a valley. The valley was densely forested, and she could vaguely make out terraced fields on the slopes, a pond in the valley, and dilapidated houses.

A valley with a pond and dense forest was several times more dangerous than the hillside. Just as Xia Qing decided to give up, she faintly heard the squealing of small wild boars by the pond.

Wild boar—meat!

Small wild boars—meat she could actually catch!

Craving meat, Xia Qing gritted her teeth, gripped her machete, and descended the mountain on tiptoe. The sounds of the boars grew louder. A brown-black sow appeared by the pond; judging by its size, it weighed at least three hundred pounds and was covered in thick mud.

A wild boar of this size couldn't even be pierced by the bullets of a low-powered homemade gun, let alone her machete. However, her target wasn't the big one. Xia Qing’s gaze shifted to the few piglets playing beside the sow.