Chapter 31.1

Lin Xuan was momentarily stunned by Wei Li’s words, her gaze instinctively drawn to the veterinary station behind them.

Wei Li was heading to the storage room when Lin Xuan stopped him midway. “Yes,” he explained, “the director says Qingjiao is too dirty and needs a bath today. Did you need something? I need to get back to work.”

Lin Xuan paused briefly before smiling, “No, Brother Wei, I’ll help you.”

Twenty minutes later, Mu Ling finished rebandaging the little wolf’s wounds.

The little wolf needed a bath too, being as dirty as a lump of coal, but since its wounds couldn’t get wet yet, Mu Ling simply wiped it down with a damp cloth.

Afterward, Mu Ling didn’t put the little wolf back in its cage. With Qingjiao present, caging the little wolf would only make Qingjiao anxious. Besides, the little wolf was well-behaved, so Mu Ling let it roam freely.

After changing into waterproof work clothes, Mu Ling led Qingjiao outside.

The bathing area was still in the dry pond at the back. Mu Ling had decided that all animals would be bathed there from now on. It was perfect — spacious, with temperature-controlled taps nearby, and the pond’s drainage system made water disposal easy. It was truly an ideal bathhouse.

Mu Ling even planned to put up a sign and name it the “Bi Ke Bathing Center.” Once the park opened, visitors could watch the animals bathing here, making it a unique attraction of their zoo.

When Mu Ling arrived, everything was nearly ready. Brother Wei, Sister Lin, BrotherZhao, and Uncle Li were all present.

Lin Xuan, Zhao Fang, and Li Yan exchanged meaningful glances as they watched Mu Ling approach with the grey wolf, the little wolf trailing behind. They seemed to have something to say but hesitated.

Finally, Li Yan spoke up, “Director, aren’t you wearing protective gear?”

It was common knowledge that bathing war beasts required proper protection. Many animals disliked baths, and these sessions often turned into fierce struggles. Protective gear was essential.

Yet Mu Ling wore only a waterproof suit, with no protective clothing.

“Protective gear would be too thick,” Mu Ling looked down at her clothes and sighed. “It’s midsummer, thirty to forty degrees out here.”

She was already wearing her regular clothes under the waterproof suit, and even with just these two layers, she felt hot. Adding protective gear would likely lead to heat exhaustion.

Li Yan wanted to say more but glanced at Qingjiao, who was walking obediently beside the director. He swallowed his words.

Wei Li had brought the hose over and placed it in the bath basin. Pointing to a large collection of toiletries nearby, he said, “Director, you asked for all types of bath products. We found twelve varieties in storage, and they’re all here.”

Mu Ling nodded with satisfaction. “Perfect. Brother Wei, wait by the tap. When I signal, turn on the water.”

Wei Li nodded and headed to the tap. Before leaving, he called Lin Xuan and the others to move back to the shore, warning them to keep their distance to avoid any potential injury from Qingjiao.

After the four left, Mu Ling set the little wolf down to play and led Qingjiao to the bath basin.

“Qingjiao, stand here,” Mu Ling indicated a spot.

The grey wolf hesitantly took its position, looking confused as it gazed at Mu Ling, then at the array of bottles on the ground. It leaned in to sniff them cautiously.

“Achoo!” Qingjiao sneezed at the strong fragrances, shaking its head and turning away.

Mu Ling chuckled at the sight, ruffling its head before calling out, “Brother Wei, go ahead!”

Just then, Mu Ling noticed something interesting. Over on the shore, Lin Xuan, Zhao Fang, and Li Yan had pulled out cameras and were filming the scene.

Huh?

Mu Ling’s eyes lit up with inspiration. She quickly retrieved her own camera and started recording.

She had to document this. Bathing Qingjiao was such an important task — it deserved to be captured on video.

Plus, Mu Ling planned to turn the “Bathing Center” into an attraction. Some early promotion would be crucial. Previously, when visitors had filmed Qilin’s bath during the trial opening, the videos had gained good traction online. But those were taken from a distance with limited angles. Now that Mu Ling was filming up close herself, the impact would be much greater. It would make for the perfect teaser.

After adjusting the camera position to keep herself out of the frame, Mu Ling fixed it in midair.

Qingjiao, however, eyed the hovering camera with suspicion, its crimson eyes wary.

“Don’t look at it,” Mu Ling gently covered Qingjiao’s eyes, rubbing its face to distract it from attacking the camera.

Qingjiao was confused for a moment, then started to lick Mu Ling’s palm.

“Director, the water’s on,” Wei Li called out. The water surged from the hose into the bath basin.

Mu Ling tested the temperature with her hand, then aimed the hose at Qingjiao’s body.

Qingjiao’s first reaction to the warm water was to bolt, dashing a few steps away before turning back to sniff the water on its side, licking it with apparent discomfort.

“Qingjiao, come here,” Mu Ling beckoned.

Qingjiao didn’t approach, but the little wolf scurried over, standing on its hind legs and placing its paws on Mu Ling’s knees, eager to play.

Mu Ling didn’t have time for that. She gently lifted the little wolf by the scruff and set it aside, handing it a plastic yellow duck from the basin to occupy it.

The little wolf immediately snatched up the duck, carrying it behind Mu Ling’s stool. Sitting on the ground, it hugged the duck with its paws, sniffing and licking the toy.

With the little wolf distracted, Mu Ling turned her attention back to Qingjiao. “Qingjiao, be good, come here.”

Qingjiao still didn’t approach, instead moving a few steps farther away and sitting down to scratch its belly with a hind leg.

Sighing, Mu Ling turned to the bath basin, letting the water flow in as she inspected the toiletry products.

She would need to use the anti-itch and anti-inflammatory items, as well as the mite and odor removers, the antibacterial and anti-flea treatments, the anti-dandruff and anti-shedding products, and of course, the long-lasting fragrance shampoo.

Qingjiao’s coat was in such poor condition that Mu Ling would have to pull out all the stops to restore it.

As Mu Ling sorted through the products, Qingjiao grew increasingly restless. The wolf stretched its neck towards Mu Ling, inching forward step by step until it found itself back at her side.

Mu Ling smiled and playfully pinched its muzzle. “Not running away this time?”

The grey wolf took a couple more steps forward, then sat down in front of Mu Ling, gazing up at her.

This time, Mu Ling didn’t spray Qingjiao directly with the hose. Instead, she scooped up warm water from the basin and gently poured it over the wolf’s back.

Qingjiao’s ears flattened as it eyed the water, but it didn’t flee.

The forceful spray from the hose had been unpleasant for Qingjiao, but the gentle pouring was more tolerable.

Mu Ling continued this way, carefully wetting the fur before finding the tangled, matted areas. She applied some conditioner to her hands and massaged it into the knots.

Ideally, Mu Ling thought, she should shave off all these mats. But there were so many that if she did, Qingjiao would end up half-bald. A wild animal’s coat is its weapon, and they instinctively dislike losing their fur. Some even become depressed when they realize they’ve lost it all.

Considering Qingjiao’s emotional well-being, Mu Ling decided to painstakingly detangle the mats by hand rather than shave them.

It took more than half a bottle of conditioner before the mats finally started to soften. Then Mu Ling picked up a comb and carefully began working through them.

Combing out the fur mats was a time-consuming task. Lin Xuan and the others watched, amazed at how long Mu Ling spent meticulously grooming just a small section.

But no matter what, the director was exceptionally patient with the animals. Untangling all those mats would take at least an hour.

No, not just an hour – an hour and a half. Mu Ling spent a full hour and a half painstakingly detangling Qingjiao’s fur.

Luckily, it was summer, so Qingjiao wouldn’t catch a cold from being wet for so long. Otherwise, Mu Ling wouldn’t have dared to wash it this way.

Once the fur was detangled, the actual bathing could begin. Mu Ling rewetted the coat, then applied the foaming body wash, using a massage brush to scrub Qingjiao’s fur thoroughly. Soon, the wolf was covered in suds.

Mu Ling washed every inch – the face, head, belly, paws, tail, leaving no spot untouched.

After scrubbing twice and rinsing several times, both Mu Ling and Qingjiao started to get tired…

Qingjiao lay on the ground, listlessly allowing Mu Ling to do as she pleased, too weary to even lift an eyelid.

When the washing was complete, Mu Ling fetched a thick, large towel and wrapped Qingjiao’s entire body in it.

Mu Ling huffed and puffed as she dried the fur. Once it was half-dry, she brought over a hair dryer. With one hand on the dryer and the other holding a comb, she expertly blow-dried and groomed Qingjiao simultaneously.

Mu Ling’s technique was skilled and her movements precise, the entire blow-drying process resembling that of a professional stylist.

Mu Ling felt quite proud of her handiwork. She even used the comb to style Qingjiao’s neck fur, giving it a slight inward curl that made the ruff look beautifully fluffy and impressive.

The neck fur and tail fur were the key focal points.

Wolves have such large, magnificent tails, so Mu Ling blow-dried it to make it even more voluminous, elevating Qingjiao’s overall regal appearance.

After Qingjiao was completely cleaned and groomed, Mu Ling stepped back to admire her work. The fur was now smooth and sleek, the posture upright. When Qingjiao shook its body, the fur seemed to float gracefully.

The more Mu Ling looked, the more satisfied she felt with the result. Checking the time, it was 4 PM and the sun was still strong. Mu Ling rolled up her sleeves, filled with renewed energy.

“Alright, bring Lightning over here now!” she announced with gusto. “I’m feeling invincible – I want to wash ten more!”

The three on the shore – Lin Xuan and the others: “…”

Wei Li, who thought they were finally done: “…”

*

Xu Wenshuang is a basic course teacher at the Kaiming Star Beast Taming Military Academy.

At 6 PM that evening, she had just finished her class and was heading to the office when she overheard two female students chatting as they approached in the corridor.

“By the way, hasn’t Bi Ke Zoo been without any new videos for the past two days? I felt like something was missing yesterday.”

“Yeah, it’s been a couple days since the last post. Wifey isn’t posting much about Qilin anymore, just other animals from the mountains.”

“But the other animals are great too! I really love that little ‘Only One’ monkey – its mom only had the one baby, so it’s called ‘Only One,’ how funny! And that colorful long-tailed civet, it’s so clingy to wifey. Whenever she walks by, it follows her. Oh, and that eight-colored peacock, when it fans its tail, I just have to make a wish!”