Plum Blossom Seal

When did Shangguan Qin start to feel something was wrong? It was when she went to the secret base almost every day because she was always thinking about the puppy. If the weather was sunny, she would worry that it was getting too much sun; if it was raining, she would worry that it would get wet; if it was cold, she would worry that it would catch a cold; and if it was hot, she would worry that it would get too hot.

She was actually afraid of dogs, and every time she came, she would keep the puppy far away from her. But the puppy would always look at her pitifully, which made her lower her standards again and again, until finally the puppy could even lie on her lap and sleep.

She admits that sometimes she is still quite indulgent.

And so, they spent a year together.

Finally, she came to a decision. Although she was afraid of dogs, she could accept this little creature. So she decided to bring it to the villa.

About a month ago, she marked out a corner of her room, bought a very exquisite dog house, and decorated it herself. At the time, she was quite proud of herself, insisting that the dog have a thorough bath before coming in, lest it bring any fleas into her room.

After all this was prepared, the household servants asked curiously, "Isn't Miss the young lady the one who dislikes small animals the most? Are you planning to get a pet?"

Shangguan Qin raised his head: "It's a very smart little dog."

Her family was surprised when they heard about it, and Shangguan Zheng even laughed at her, saying, "The puppy that Xiaoqin can accept must be a noble breed from some country."

Shangguan Qin pouted, thinking to herself, "You all underestimate me." When she brought the puppy back, she gave them a shock. Although it was an inconspicuous little mongrel, her dog, even if it was a mongrel, was the best, and no one dared to look down on it. She had even thought of a name for it: Princess…wait, is it female?…Whatever, it doesn't matter if it's male or female; no one can change her decisions.

When she arrived at the secret base that day, she didn't see the puppy that came out to greet her.

Shangguan Qin was surprised because the puppy hadn't left since it arrived at the secret base. But then she thought about it, and it was normal for the puppy to run off to play when she wasn't there, since she wasn't always there.

Thinking about it this way, Shangguan Qin realized the puppy was actually quite well-behaved. It always came back to wait for her before she arrived, and a dog that knows how to come home is a good dog. Today, she came early, which is why she caught it red-handed. When it comes back, she'll definitely give it a good laugh.

She waited for a long time, until it got dark, but the puppy still hadn't returned. Shangguan Qin didn't prepare electricity at the secret base because turning on the lights at night would be too conspicuous and easily discovered, so she never stayed there overnight, nor would she stay until dark.

At that time, she was very angry. That ungrateful little dog, who did it play with and never came home!

She thought to herself, "I must teach it a lesson tomorrow."

However, she waited a whole week for it to come home.

For the first three days, Shangguan Qin was extremely anxious. She searched the secret base thoroughly and even asked the servants in the manor, but to no avail. Later, her anger gradually built up, and she was so angry that she couldn't eat for several days. Her mind was filled with the three words: "ungrateful wretch."

She fed it the best food and water, and even went to great lengths to bring it home, but the dog ran away! What did she do wrong to it? Did she find someone better than her? What a joke! She, the dignified Miss Shangguan, could anyone be better than her!

By the seventh day, she was certain the puppy wouldn't be coming back, so she had all the pets' belongings removed from her room and thrown far away so she wouldn't see them.

The maid even asked, "Miss no longer keeps dogs?"

Shangguan Qin gritted his teeth: "Raise my ass!"

So everyone in the family found out that the young lady was unhappy about something again and had given up on keeping a pet.

Shangguan Qin felt incredibly embarrassed. She had poured her heart out, even changing her preferences to try and get a dog, only to find out the dog treated her like a passerby, taking advantage of her and wagging its tail before leaving without even saying goodbye. She was determined not to tell anyone; if people found out, they would probably laugh at her.

Later, whenever she heard someone say, "Raising you is worse than raising a dog. At least a dog knows to wag its tail at me," she would scoff. Dogs wouldn't! They are the cold and heartless ones!

But it wasn't until this moment that she realized it was dead.

Shangguan Qin couldn't quite describe her feelings. She looked at Wen Ya, as if confirming something: "When...when did it die?"

Wen Ya didn't know that the little dog ghost couldn't speak. But she recalled the extent of the decomposition of the dog abuser's corpse; it must have been the first to be killed, its body already rotten beyond recognition: "It's hard to say, in this weather, it might take almost a month."

Shangguan Qin's eyes suddenly reddened: "How did it die? It... it was only one year old."

Wen Ya's lips twitched, but she didn't say anything. The appearance of the little dog ghost before its death was too terrifying, but even describing it felt cruel.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Shangguan Qin became a little anxious and asked, "What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Just then, Si Mucheng walked over at the perfect moment and spoke first: "This is what happened..."

He didn't describe what the little dog looked like before it died; he only told her about the dog abuse.

After hearing Si Mucheng's words, Shangguan Qin covered her mouth in shock. Although they did not tell her how the puppy died in the end, since it was dog abuse, it was not such a simple death.

At that moment, she seemed unable to bear it any longer and grabbed onto the tree trunk beside her.

She could sense it was there, but couldn't see it. She hadn't seen it for over a month, and had almost forgotten what it looked like the last time she saw it. It was like an ordinary afternoon when the little yellow dog devoured the ribs she'd brought, patted its head, and said, "I'll come see you again tomorrow." But that tomorrow would never come.

"You mean, it brought you here?" Shangguan Qin suddenly thought of it. She seemed to find it hard to believe. As someone from a family of exorcists, she knew that ghosts were unable to be reborn because of their obsessions. It brought Wen Ya and Si Mucheng here because it still remembered this place and remembered her.

She looked at the empty space, but her gaze couldn't find anything. She wanted to look at it, to touch it: "Is its obsession with me?"

Wen Ya and Si Mucheng could both see a wisp of black smoke drifting away from the little dog ghost, but they didn't say anything.

From their silence, Shangguan Qin already knew the answer. As if confirming something, she nodded and asked again, "Can you tell me where it is? I want to touch it."

Ghosts have no physical form, so of course you can't touch them. Si Mucheng knew that Shangguan Qin just wanted to feel better, even though he didn't get along with the arrogant young lady, he still felt strangely uncomfortable. So he went over, squatted down, and described to Shangguan Qin where the little dog ghost was, how it was looking at her, and what expression it was making.

Shangguan Qin couldn't see anything; in her eyes, the place Si Mucheng was referring to was just an empty space. But as Si Mucheng's voice rang out, she seemed to see the little curly-haired dog right in front of her, just like before, tilting its head, sticking out its tongue, and staring at her.

She reached out and, in her imagination, touched the spot where the puppy's head should be. In that instant, it felt as if she were truly touching her own puppy.

That's how we say goodbye.

Wen Ya looked at the little dog ghost: "The obsession has been dispelled, it's time to go."

The little ghost understood. It stood up and glanced at Shangguan Qin one last time. Its round, grape-like black eyes held a deep longing, but that one glance seemed to be enough for it. It walked up to Wen Ya, looked up at her, and remained perfectly calm.

Wen Ya sighed softly, took out a talisman, and chanted an incantation to send the little dog ghost away.

A moment later, she touched the resurrection lamp in the cloth bag. She didn't say anything.

Silence spread among the three of them. Shangguan Qin was stunned, as if he hadn't reacted for a long time.

After a while, Shangguan Qin finally moved. She walked to her wooden hut, where there was a dog bowl with a luxury brand logo—the very one she had bought first. She hadn't taken it away, thinking that if the puppy came back someday, it would still have something to eat. She had to admit that deep down, she still hoped it would return.

But it's useless now.

Shangguan Qin squatted down, preparing to take the bowl away, but suddenly, her gaze fell on the muddy ground beside her. She stared blankly for a long time, and the tears she had been holding back finally fell.

In the mud, there was a plum blossom print, which was a puppy's paw print.

"How...how could this happen...it was so close to having a home..." Shangguan Qin sobbed uncontrollably.

Wen Ya looked at her and suddenly said softly, "From the moment it chose you, it already had a home. You are its family."

Birds chirped in the surrounding woods, the summer sun shone softly, and a breeze seemed to be comforting a crying girl.

It was already noon when Si Mucheng and Wen Ya followed Shangguan Qin down the mountain.

After getting up early and working all morning, Si Mucheng was already starving. He thought weakly, "This soul-exorcising thing is really physically demanding."

Shangguan Qin drove the shuttle bus back to the villa. Before going inside, she, with her two peach-shaped eyes and clutching the dog bowl, was still threatening, "I'm warning you! You're not allowed to tell anyone about what happened today!"

Si Mucheng resisted the urge to roll his eyes and pointed to his eyes, saying, "Do we need to tell you that?"

Shangguan Qin realized what was happening, touched his eyelids, and exclaimed, "Ah!" He dashed upstairs, instructing the servants as he ran, "Take them to see Grandpa!"

Si Mucheng and Wen Ya were left staring at each other at the Shangguan family's servants at the door.

The servant, however, was very experienced. She gave them a standard smile and said, "Please wait in the reception room."

So they arrived at that familiar reception room again.

The restaurant must have been preparing lunch; the aroma wafted over, and Si Mucheng's stomach let out a long, drawn-out rumble. He slumped onto the sofa, grumbling, "So hungry..."

Wen Ya glanced at him, then without changing her expression, she grabbed a pastry from the small table next to the sofa and quickly stuffed it into Si Mucheng's mouth.

Si Mucheng was stunned.