Chapter 74 - Selling Fish

A heroic dog had appeared two days ago at Canteen Two of the capital’s university. Two days ago, two female students were stalked by a bad guy. Just as he was about to commit a violent act, a field dog suddenly appeared and pounced on this scoundrel, preventing any harm from being inflicted on these two female students.

After this incident, the field dog became an internet celebrity on the university’s internal forum. Not only did the school permit him to set up his lair in a small house, the students would even visit him with delicious food.

As one of the rescued girls, Wang Yi had been bitten by a dog when she was young and was thus very afraid of dogs. But when she thought of the field dog who had bravely fought against the evildoer that night, she would feel grateful yet scared. Therefore, she specially purchased high-grade dog food online that was delivered in two hours. Then, she placed it far, far away from the dog’s lair, not daring to get close to the dog.

This very simple-looking dog seemed to perceive her fear, so it held the dog food in its mouth and brought it beside its doghouse with a wagging tail. It didn’t approach her. This continued for two to three days, and Wang Yi got accustomed to bringing the dog food every time she passed by the canteen. The dog also never looked at her with anything but gentle eyes. It’s silly, furry face was really exceedingly adorable.

Wang Yi brought the dog food at night and then stood outside the house, not leaving immediately. She stood at the side and waited for the dog to finish eating before asking, “Do you have a name?”

The field dog’s ears trembled. It cocked its head at Wang Yi, its tail wagging. It looked rather foolish.

Amused by its cute appearance, Wang Yi cautiously took one step towards it. “Can I touch your head?” She felt she was being a bit ridiculous to actually be speaking to a dog, but she was truly very scared. Only by speaking meaningless nonsense could she ease the fear in her heart.

Her hand inched towards the field dog’s head. When there was approximately ten centimeters’ distance between them, her fingers trembled lightly, not daring to proceed any further.

The field dog originally lying in its doghouse suddenly lifted its upper torso, sending its head to Wang Yi’s palm. Frightened, Wang Yi shrank back.

“Wu?” The field dog cocked its head in confusion at her, as if asking why she stopped touching it.

Wang Yi laughed and placed her hand on the field dog’s head. The shaggy and warm sensation was very nice to stroke. At this moment, the fear she had towards pets dropped significantly.

“Thank you,” Wang Yi squatted and met the field dog’s gaze at eye level. “Without you, I would have been in danger.”

The field dog watched her, its head cocked. Its dark, lively eyes overflowed with warmth.

“It’ll be the Mid-Autumn Festival in a few days, come home with me?” Wang Yi’s house was located in this city, so she didn’t have to worry about how she would bring the dog home. “My dad and mom like dogs very much. They just didn’t raise any the last few years because they had misgivings about my emotional state. If you come to our house, they’ll definitely welcome you as a new member.”

The field dog swung its head and gently bumped its front claws against Wang Yi’s palm.

“Since you didn’t object, that means you agree?” Wang Yi revealed a brilliant smile. “It’s a deal then.”

Classes would start very soon, so Wang Yi had no choice but to part with the field dog and hurriedly run to the school building. The field dog lay down in the doghouse with its chin resting on the edge of the doghouse, looking strangely pitiful.

“Field dog?” All of a sudden, two people appeared in front of the field dog. One of them was cold as ice, while the other was all smiles, though the person smiling did not give off the feeling that he was weak and could easily be bullied.

“A field dog had his money stolen a few days ago by a chief labor contractor, and went out saying that he would go to the management bureau to seek justice. In the end, he went missing halfway there. Are you that field dog?” Fu Li fished out the information and took a few more looks at it. Although humans more or less had similar appearances, he could still distinguish their identity from the way they spoke, their actions, habits, and dressing style. But dogs didn’t wear clothes, and if they had similar fur coats, then he really wouldn’t be able to distinguish between them at that point in time.

He compared the dog with a photo for an eternity before confirming that this was the field dog that the owl said had disappeared. Fu Li said, “A yao reported to us that his friend went missing. We can rest at ease knowing that you’re fine, do you want to go back with us now?”

The field dog gazed in the direction the girl had left in for a very long time. Human speech came out of its mouth. “Must I go back?”

“It’s not mandatory, but we have to take responsibility for every citizen of the cultivation world,” Fu Li took out his phone, snapped a few shots of the field dog, and then uploaded them onto the system to conclude the case. “People come and go here, and it’s a bad environment to live in. Why do you want to stay here?”

“It’s still better than doing physical labor,” The field dog grumbled. “Dog breeds like us are only liked by humans when we’re young. After we grow up, we can only be tied up outside the house by farmers, whether rain or shine.”

“It was still okay in the past, at least we could guard the house. The humans nowadays all like golden retrievers, huskies, and teacup dogs. Even if a golden retriever or husky tears down their house, they can’t bear to get angry. But no matter how much these people like dogs, they will only be fond of these exquisite dog breeds. The majority of us field dogs don’t receive such treatment. There are some people who find us cute when we’re young and bring us back to raise. When we’re older and no longer cute, they find it embarrassing to bring dogs like us with common blood out and eventually abandon us.”

The field dog remembered very clearly the little dog in the past who very happily told him that he would soon have an owner. But three months later, he saw the little dog leashed in the backyard of its new owner’s house, its entire doggy body skeletal-thin, with fur so dirty that it had clumped together. A thick layer of fungi had grown on the bowl at the side, with less than half of the bowl containing leftover food that had already turned rancid.

He had gnawed through the leash and rescued the little dog, but the dog passed away shortly after. Before the dog died, it even told him how much its little owner had liked it when it first entered its new owner’s home, how the owner would hug him to sleep on the bed, and how its owner had shared their steamed egg with it.

A dog might only have one owner throughout their entire life, but their owner could have many pets.

“Those exquisite dog and cat breeds are the most hateful. They’re fussy, have nasty tempers, and even treat their owners like slaves to order about!” At this point, the field dog plopped back down on the ground like a deflated balloon. “Even if that’s the case, humans still like them.”

The field dog lay its head back inside the doghouse, probably because it felt that the features of its rich-hating self were too ugly.

“Us field dogs yearn for an owner that would raise us forever without abandoning us. Such a thing is already hard enough, how can we dare to be as choosy as those exquisite dog and cat breeds?” The field dog’s tail suddenly started wagging extremely cheerfully. “I’ve never experienced what it was like to be doted on by an owner and someone said just now that they would take me home. I want to give it a try. A-Anyway, I’m a yao. If they aren’t willing to continue raising me in the future, I can still find a job and support myself.”

Truthfully, this field dog couldn’t be considered cute. But it had very clean fur. In particular, its eyes looked especially pure.

Fu Li stroked his head twice. “Okay. If you’re in need of anything in the future, come find us at the management bureau. Regardless of how humans treat different pets, every cultivator in the cultivation world is equal at our management bureau.”

“Thank you,” The field dog wagged its tail. Stretching its head out of the doghouse, it continued gazing in the direction Wang Yi had left in.

Seeing his behavior, Fu Li and Zhuang Qing left the school.

On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Fu Li went to the school to take another peek. In the distance, he saw a little girl with a ponytail carrying the field dog into a private car. The field dog was holding a small package in its mouth while its tail wagged so hard that afterimages were practically visible.

“Da Yuan, don’t be scared when the car starts moving later, it’s normal when a car starts up,” Wang Yi gently took the field dog into her arms as she consoled him. “Dad, let’s buy some daily necessities and toys for Da Yuan later.”

“Gotcha,” The middle-aged man driving reached out and stroked the field dog’s head before starting up the car in contentment.

Their house finally had a dog!

“Awooh,” The field dog called out softly, attracting its owner’s affectionate caresses.

“Da Yuan, don’t be scared, don’t be scared. I’ll buy you toys later.”

Fu Li stood along the street as he watched the car with the family of three slowly making its way into the distance. Placing his hands behind his back, he hummed a song in high spirits. Shrinking distance to inches, he arrived outside Zhuang Qing’s house in the blink of an eye.

“Zhuang little dragon, get up,” Fu Li plastered his face to the window of Zhuang Qing’s room. “Quick, quick. We should be off to catch fish.”

“Didn’t we agree on ten o’clock?” Zhuang Qing opened the window. Fu Li turned into a rabbit and hopped in.

“Isn’t it almost ten o’clock?”

Zhuang Qing glanced at the time. Was five minutes past nine considered almost ten o’clock?

He lowered his head and watched the rabbit jump from the left side of the table to the right before bounding from the right to the left. He dug clothes out from his wardrobe. “We can leave after I change my clothes.”

“Quick, quick!” The white rabbit hopped on the spot a few more times, just like a little student about to go on a trip who was so excited that they were completely incapable of sitting still.

Zhuang Qing couldn’t resist giving Fu Li a few pokes on his butt. Then, he lifted Fu Li up by the neck and placed him on the bed. “Don’t jump, you’re making me dizzy.”

Even his heart felt like it was leaping up and down in tandem with Fu Li. It really wore him out.

When Zhuang Qing changed his clothes and came out, Fu Li hopped onto his shoulder, straightened his hind legs, and waved his right front claws. “Let’s go, dragon knight!”

“What movie did you watch with Gong Fu this time?” Zhuang Qing massaged his temples, feeling his head ache slightly. It had been a mere few days since Gong Fu joined the management bureau, but he had managed to teach Fu Li quite a few bad habits.

“Sorry, sorry,” Fu Li touched Zhuang Qing’s face with his claws. “I was joking with you.”

“You also play with Gong Fu like this?”

“How can that be? He’s an elder after all,” Fu Li shook his tail. “It’s still more fun playing with you.”

Zhuang Qing snorted. He picked Fu Li up from his shoulder, cradling him in his palm. “Get ready, we’re leaving.”

Dragons moved very quickly. Extremely quickly.

Zhuang Qing’s skill at fishing was so-so, but Fu Li couldn’t match him when it came to catching fish. One hour later, Fu Li arrived at an alley where food was frequently sold, a large bucket of authentic river fish in hand. He put the fish on display.

Good-looking people were welcomed everywhere, and the same concept applied when it came to selling food.

The two male yao with little selling experience very quickly received their first customer.

“Youngster, I’m going to use this fish to make pickled vegetable fish slices. Make sure to fillet the fish well for me.”

Fu Li was struck dumb. So, selling fish meant they would have to kill fish too?

He touched the water on his face that a fish had splashed onto him, turning towards the silent Zhuang Qing beside him.

Zhuang Qing took the fish from Fu Li. With a few swishes of the knife, he cleanly descaled the fish. Then, he chopped off the fish’s head, nimbly filleted the fish, and packed it in a plastic bag for the auntie who bought the fish.

“What pretty knife work, you really have the air of a great chef,” Satisfied, the auntie paid and left.

The Zhuang little dragon whose skill with the sword was the best in the dragon clan silently cleaned the blood and scales on the back of the knife, keeping mum about his talent.

“City enforcement is here!”

When the very quick big shot of the dragon clan looked up, the vegetable farmers and stall-keepers around them had already disappeared without a trace. Only Fu Li and him were still present.