".....Is it logical for a wolf to eat potatoes and sweet potatoes?"
Master Fuli's face was covered in black lines as he scoffed, glancing around the so-called resource point.
This was a house with yellow mud walls, its roof tiles long gone, leaving only the beams supporting it. A tarpaulin was nailed up top, under which lay a corner filled with sprouting sweet potatoes.
Signs of life were visible on the floor inside, with some bottled water and damp noodles haphazardly placed under the tarpaulin.
"Emergency resources can't be too good." Tang Lian seemed to anticipate Master Fuli's skepticism and explained, "The emergency supplies here are meant for those truly in need."
"There were instances before when tourists found self-heating hotpots, sausages, rice left by kind-hearted people, and packed them all into their cars..."
"Huh?" Master Fuli was taken aback, raising his hand to point at the fading plaque, saying, "Doesn't it say 'emergency resource point' on there? People still take it?"
"You have to notice it; not everyone knows what an emergency resource point is for."
Tang Lian shrugged, "Perhaps they saw packaged foods amid a pile of sprouting vegetables and couldn't resist taking them."
"Ridiculous..." Master Fuli appeared speechless.
The gray wolf gnawed on several onions, finished two bags of opened noodles, took a big gulp of water, and barely regained its spirit. It looked at Master Fuli, "Awwooo," before leaping from the windowsill, running toward the grassland.
From the county road, three miles deeper into the grassland, they came upon a muddy river about five to six meters wide.
The river water was reddish, with yellow sand grains faintly visible drifting downstream.
"Upstream from the river is a desert," Tang Lian, following the gray wolf upstream, explained to Master Fuli, who was seated on the back of a Daolang sheep, as he introduced the river.
Upstream of this river is a 4A-grade desert ecological park with five major lakes, four freshwater lakes, and one saline-alkaline lake.
The river the gray wolf passed through is technically a freshwater stream, but some saline-alkaline tributaries flow through it, causing some dark red water to appear within the river.
"Awooo!"
Passing the saline-freshwater tributary, they arrived in front of a clear freshwater river region, where the gray wolf halted, looking at Master Fuli before letting out a wolf howl.
"Is it here?"
Sitting on the Daolang sheep's back, Master Fuli glanced at the serene blue water, his brows furrowing slightly.
This river was exceptionally clear.
Wolves aren't blind; how could they possibly be attacked and killed while drinking water in such a river?
"Eeeeek---"
Despite the doubts in his heart, Master Fuli went ahead and challenged the river.
After the squeal, the river showed no response.
The gray wolf led Master Fuli further, proceeding toward another resource refresh point.
"Help... help."
Continuing forward for another five miles, amidst the singing-like fox squeals, a cry for help suddenly echoed, frail and weary, coming from a distant place reaching where Master Fuli was.
"Hmm?"
Master Fuli's triangular ears twitched slightly, a hint of suspicion flashing across his face as he gazed upstream.
He saw a woman in a black bikini with a chiffon skirt of the same color tied around her waist, struggling to crawl onto the riverbank. Her leg was unnaturally twisted, clearly broken.
Nearby, a capsized, deflated rubber raft lay.
The woman was pale, lying on the ground with weak cries for help, her consciousness already drifting.
"Baaa?"
The Daolang sheep, with its large ears, following Master Fuli closely, also heard the faint cries for help.
It tiptoed its hoof slightly, spotting the fallen woman at the riverbank, it made a slight pause, looking toward Tang Lian, letting out a "baa baa".
"Holy..."
"Could it be an extreme leap performance from the drifting project at the ecological park? Old Tang, come take a look!"
"What?"
The cries for help were extremely faint, and visibility was low at night. Holding a flashlight to illuminate the river, Tang Lian hadn't noticed the severely injured person lying two hundred meters away.
With the Daolang sheep's prompt, Tang Lian aimed his powerful flashlight forward, finally spotting the woman.
"Hiss...."
Tang Lian saw the severely injured woman and couldn't help but gasp.
Goodness, that broken leg continuously drifted with the river currents, and the bruising around the fracture with faint traces of blood were apparent.
Taking a step forward, Master Fuli glanced at Tang Lian, advising, "Although I don't quite understand the current situation, I urge you not to approach that eerie thing...."
"The woman gives me the sense that she isn't human, but a Spirit Beast...."
When Overlord Spirit Beasts meet, unless they were acquainted beforehand, their interaction tends to result only in mutual contention.
Deciding territory amongst dominators, Overlord Spirit Beasts won't rest until one prevails.
Territory for an Overlord Spirit Beast means enjoying a larger quantity of Spiritual Particles.
Hostility.
A stark and intense hostility emanated from the severely injured woman.
I wasn't unfamiliar with such hostility. Whether it was the King Cobra at Changxi Town or the wild boar at Skinny Dog Creek, upon first meeting Master Fuli, they all manifested the same hostility.
"Spirit..... Beast?"
Tang Lian's expression halted, gazing at the woman lying at the riverbank with faint cries for help, then shifting his glance to Master Fuli, who seemed inexplicably certain.
"Primordial level Spirit Beast? That's impossible, right? What merit do we have in the Northern region to attract such a grand being...."
"How would I know what's going on."
As Master Fuli spoke, he extended his paw into the bag hanging on the Daolang sheep's neck, retrieving a lighter and cigarette.
Master Fuli lit the cigarette for himself, taking two strong puffs that turned the cigarette butt bright red. Under the gaze of Tang Lian and the Daolang sheep, Master Fuli flicked the cigarette butt, which flew straight away, landing on the back of the severely injured woman.
"......."
"......"
As the cigarette butt fell, the atmosphere in the nighttime no man's area fell into a brief silence.
"She's red."
Master Fuli chuckled at Tang Lian, raising his hand to point at the severely injured woman, saying, "Master's remarkable, huh! Toss a cigarette butt over, she immediately springs back to life."
The woman, whose skin was pale, turned completely red when the cigarette butt burned her back. Her pale complexion returned, her eyes bulged, short black hair standing upright, quickly shaking her body to get the cigarette butt off.
Under the watchful eyes, the severely injured woman shifted her position and lay back down at the riverbank, continuing her weak cries for help.
"Help.... "
"My leg hurts so much, won't someone save me...."
Tang Lian: "....."
Daolang sheep: "....."
"Miss, don't be afraid, I'm here to save you."
Master Fuli flipped off the Daolang sheep, ran toward the county road, and raised his hand, uprooting a tree and returning to the river:
"Don't run, I'm giving you a cupping!"
"!?" The severely injured woman was shocked and frightened upon hearing this.