Chapter 91 Dog Soul

Qi Xiaopang slowly retracted his head that had been sticking out of the window like a frightened turtle, and watched his teammates anxiously as they showed off their skills.

The locals, Ai Chan, had some home advantage and were the first to find a local news report about Chushan - a group of tourists from Chushan gathered to fight with a group of monkeys, and were defeated and sent to the hospital for treatment.

The word "fight" is used very cleverly, and the author's bias can be seen at a glance.

Although Qing Bai did not have the home-court advantage, he had a reliable "inside" and after sending the message, he only waited a short while before receiving a brief but useful reply.

"Old man Tang is not dead yet. He is staying in the ICU and hanging on."

He has been receiving critical illness notices all the time, but he has been rescued every time. With this vitality, it shouldn't be a problem for him to survive until his descendants divide up his inheritance... Of course, such a person may not have any descendants.

Qi Xiaopang breathed a sigh of relief: "It's better to hang on, it's better to hang on! Try to hang on for a few more days, wait until the heat of this matter dies down before dying. It's best not to die in the territory of Chushan, it's so unlucky..."

Ai Chan's expression also relaxed a little, and he whispered a few words to comfort the little monkey buried in his arms.

Qing Bai leaned against the window, glancing sideways downward. Boss Zhou was hunched over, slowly packing up his belongings: a bright red plastic basin, a rusty iron chain, a thick-looking snakeskin bag, and a tall plastic stool so stained with age that its original color was unrecognizable. As Boss Zhou sorted, a large, plump, and sleek white dog stood watch, silently at his side.

The big white dog was not only strong, but also had very sharp eyes. Its black eyeballs looked like they were holding a freshly baked knife. It just held its head high and stared up at their window from below without moving... Under such a gaze, Qing Bai actually had the illusion that he was a criminal suspect.

But, at this time... Qing Bai pointed at the window sill, raised his eyebrows, and asked, "What is Boss Zhou doing with those things and the dog to this back mountain where there is nothing but weeds and trees?"

Qing Bai suddenly thought of the 'dog meat theory' that Boss Zhou had said in front of everyone yesterday morning... Hanging is the best way to eat dog meat, which is both clean and neat, and can retain the dog's blood in the body to maintain the aroma of the meat... They want to kill the dog for meat, but they are also afraid that the dog has a spirit and will retaliate after death, so even when killing the dog, they have to deceive themselves by putting a hook on the dog's head for fear of being seen by the dog's eyes. Naturally, the place to hang the dog would not be chosen in their own yard, so wouldn't the back mountain covered with wild trees be very suitable?

The sun rises early in the summer, and after a lot of trouble, it was already dawn. Qing Bai's eyes slowly swept over the 'back hill' behind the building, which could barely be called a small hill. Any passerby could see that this small hill was poorly managed. Weeds grew everywhere on the hill, and there was no place to stand. All kinds of messy wild saplings were mixed in with the wild weeds and grew together. Perhaps the nutrients in the soil had been snatched away by the weeds, and the saplings looked particularly weak and bony. Some were not even as tall as the grass. There were not many big trees, so Qing Bai's eyes turned around and finally returned to the stinking sumac tree outside the window.

Unexpectedly, this time he actually discovered something interesting.

Qing Bai didn't look away. Instead, he reached out and pinched Jiu Nian's wrist beside him, and asked softly, "Do you see an oval scar on the trunk of this Chinese toon tree?"

Jiunian didn't answer immediately, probably because he was observing the tree trunk. After a while, he hummed softly.

After receiving nine years of responses, Qing Bai became more and more certain. The Chinese toon tree is different from other trees. The trunk part usually has few branches, and branches only grow in the crown or near the trunk. However, this tree is quite different. It has branches growing horizontally in the middle part, and then for some reason it breaks off at the root, leaving only a round scar the size of a child's palm.

Qing Bai looked at the scar that was almost healed into a unique and delicate tree pattern, and muttered to himself: "This position, this height... looks like it's perfect for hanging something..."

For example, a dog waiting to be slaughtered, or any creature that can be hanged.

After hearing Qing Bai's words, Jiu Nian couldn't help but look at him deeply. His expression seemed unchanged, but his eyes were complicated and difficult to understand.

Being looked at by such complex and deep eyes, it was difficult for Qing Bai to pretend that he didn't feel anything. He turned his head to meet Jiu Nian's gaze and asked with a smile: "What? I was wondering, there really is something hanging on this tree?"

Although he asked, Qing Bai didn't expect to get a serious answer. After all, the 'honesty' and 'knowing everything' of their Jiu Nian adults were all based on prerequisites. What could be said to him and what had to be said was strictly controlled. Unfortunately, in Jiu Nian's eyes, he was still a Lingxi cub and there were far more things he couldn't know than what he could know. This was certainly a kind of protection, but it was also a restriction for Qing Bai, who had the mind of an adult.

Unexpectedly, Jiu Nian was unusually straightforward this time: "Want to see it?"

Qing Bai was stunned for a moment: "What are you looking at?"

Jiunian pointed to the tree trunk outside the window.

Something was actually hanging there? Qing Bai nodded immediately: "Look!"

Just as Qing Bai understood Jiu Nian's protection of him, Jiu Nian also understood Qing Bai's curiosity in this regard. Almost at the moment Qing Bai nodded, Jiu Nian's slender pale fingers gently brushed Qing Bai's eyes.

Qing Bai blinked subconsciously, and when he opened his eyes again, the world before him had changed...

It turned out to be gold, it had always been gold, the gold at the very center of the flame, the pure gold that flowed slowly in the flames after all the impurities were burned away... Qing Bai stared blankly at Jiu Nian's eyes, feeling that even if the sun jumped out from the sky at this moment, it would not be as dazzling as these eyes.

It must be so bright and glorious, and it must be warm too, right?

Qing Bai slowly raised his hand——

"Cough..." Jiu Nian lowered his eyes and coughed lightly. His overly bright eyes were mostly covered by thick eyelashes. They were not as dazzling as when they were fully open, but they also had a unique charm.

Qing Bai didn't know that not everyone in this world could gaze into those dazzling golden eyes as freely as he did...

Jiunian said slowly, with a unique flavor: "Don't look at me, look at the tree."

"Oh..." Qing Bai obeyed the order and turned his head obediently, then saw a 'tree' with its fangs and claws bared, as if it had been endowed with negative human emotions in a cartoon.

Moreover, it has recovered its "integrity". The branch that was originally broken off and had grown back is now standing upright. It is even growing well and looks thicker than the main trunk. In addition, it has a "buy one get many free" policy and has produced many "ornaments".

There is a huge difference between the life and death of most creatures, such as dogs.

When alive, it is full of energy, friendly and cute. Even if it is an annoying dog, it still has a strong spirit.

Once dead, it is just a piece of stiff, cold meat. But when hung up again, it becomes surprisingly "soft". Under the influence of gravity, its four legs hang down as if reluctant to leave the land where it once ran frolicking, until its body seems to be stretched. It may have never been so "stretched" in its life, but it has also lost its dog shape. Even those who love dogs from the bottom of their hearts may have to look at it carefully for a while before they dare to confirm it, because it can no longer be called a dog, but meat, dog meat.

Qing Bai looked at the densely packed dog meat hanging on the branch of the Chinese toon tree that shouldn't exist, and felt a chill quickly running up his spine and onto the back of his neck... The wind blew, and the 'dog meat' swayed left and right twice, then turned very slowly and leisurely towards the window.

The bags that were once on their heads were no longer there, and none of the dogs closed their eyes; they were all glaring.

...Qing Bai finally knew where the sound of chains came from, along with the black shadow of the little monkey that woke him up early yesterday morning.

"These are..."

Nine years: "The remaining soul of the dog that died in vain in this tree."

Qing Bai: "Then they shouldn't be hanging on this tree, they should be hanging on Boss Zhou."

Even if we can't make that guy pay with his life, there are so many dogs and they are so heavy that over the years, he will definitely develop a herniated disc.

Jiu Nian paused for a moment. "Since ancient times, canines, especially domestic dogs, have been relatively docile and kind..."

They hate and fear the master who killed them, so even if they want revenge, it is difficult for them to kill... Otherwise, so many dog ​​souls would not have hanged themselves here.

Not only dogs, but people and ghosts are also afraid of evil people.

"Isn't this a stereotype for you?" Qing Bai operated on his mobile phone for a while, and then showed Jiu Nian a social anecdote he had collected - a dog was abandoned and trekked a hundred kilometers just to bite its former owner.

"..." Jiu Nian tilted his head, "A hero among dogs?"

Qing Bai smiled and took back his phone: "Is this a confirmation from the cat family?"

Jiu Nian also smiled and agreed, "This is a confirmation from the underworld staff."

Qing Bai was a little surprised: "So... the underworld actually supports the ghosts who died unjustly in the past seeking revenge?"

Jiu Nian hadn't expected Qing Bai's little brain to turn so quickly, but after realizing it, he didn't immediately deny it. He just said, "Human souls and beast souls cannot be compared..."

Qing Bai could understand this. Just think about it: which problem is more serious for the underworld: a human ghost lingering in the human world to avenge a personal vendetta, or the ghosts of cats, dogs, rats, and toads? The former would require the dispatch of ghost officials or even the God of Death to hunt down the ghost-taker. But if the underworld was too busy, it might not even remember the latter for decades or even centuries.

"Tsk, that slaughterhouse master is a bit miserable."

Is this considered official retaliation?

Jiu Nian shook his head. "That's different. Dogs are intelligent and are meant to guard the house, while livestock raised by humans are meant to be eaten."

I see. Different functions have different definitions of "death".

A dog that was once a guardhouse is slaughtered for human appetite and served on the table, and its death is in vain. But when livestock in a slaughterhouse are slaughtered and served on the table, it means that their time has come to die.

"What should we do with them then?" Qing Bai looked at the Chinese toon trees outside the window that looked like wind chimes, feeling a little worried. "Just let them hang there forever?"

Jiu Nian was about to speak when there was a knock on the door.

The topic stopped there, and both of them looked towards the door.

Qi Xiaopang glanced at the little monkey squatting on Ai Chan's shoulder and forced himself to pretend to be impatient: "Why are you knocking on the door so early in the morning? Can you please give us some peace and quiet for a while?"

The knocking stopped abruptly. A few seconds later, the familiar voice of Boss Zhou rang out: "I'm so sorry to have disturbed your rest just now. As an apology, our farmhouse has prepared a free breakfast for everyone. Could you please open the door and take it away?"

Qi Xiaopang hadn't expected Boss Zhou to come back and surprise him. He was so panicked that his features were all over the place. Even with a lowered voice, he couldn't help but yell, "What should I do? What should I do?! He has other intentions! He must have bad intentions! The little monkey is still here. What should I do if he's discovered?!"

Qing Bai was speechless: "Whether the little monkey runs away or hides is easy to deal with, but the hard part is me who appeared overnight."

Fat Qi was stunned for a moment before finally reacting, and then he panicked even more: "Yeah! How can I explain the sudden appearance of Brother Qing?! And the disappearing little cat!!!"