Chapter 74: Fragmented Page 12: No, can dogs also listen to music? ...
The foolish scholar woke up again in a daze and saw the same dog.
No one knew what the dog had been through. Its washed fur was now stained with dirt. Its face was melancholy, with two dark circles under its eyes, and it stared at him dejectedly.
"What happened just now?" The scholar was about to get up when he felt a dull pain on the back of his head. His hands and feet were tied with hemp ropes, but fortunately his bookcase was not lost. He threw it on a pile of dry straw not far away.
Long Zhu looked around, and a strange idea gradually emerged in her mind. She raised her head, sniffed, and turned her head: "I'll go over there and take a look. You wait here."
The scholar saw the dog bark a few times before running off in a certain direction. He got anxious and struggled so hard that he rubbed off half the rope, then limped and jumped to catch up: "Hey, wait for me!"
This is a forest outside Beijing. Someone has built several rows of temporary residences hidden in the bushes. There is a circle of thatched houses in front, and a large iron cage with a roof in the middle. Inside is a dark shadow curled up, like a living thing.
Several people gathered outside the cage, discussing something. Occasionally, they heard some strange words like "can't die", "take blood", "test medicine", etc. They were all dressed like wanderers, with a small jade pot hanging around their waists. Their eyes were unfriendly, and they were probably people who traveled around and made all kinds of noises.
"We just caught a guy and let him try it," one of the men in black muttered, "I think this one is pretty good."
"What if something goes wrong?" someone hesitated.
The man in black didn't care: "He's just a poor student studying in Beijing. No one will check."
The scholar realized they were discussing him, and a chill ran down his spine. He sank into the bushes, not daring to move or breathe. He shifted his gaze and caught sight of the small dog squatting beside him, only to find its dark eyes fixed unblinkingly on the iron cage, a melancholy expression on its face that only humans could possess.
He thought to himself: This is really strange.
So I looked in that direction and was surprised to find that the shadow in the iron cage was not a wild animal cub, but a little girl who was hugging her knees and leaning against the cage wall playing pebbles.
Her long hair was draped unruly behind her, longer than the hem of her jacket and skirt. No one had fixed it for her, so it just grew wildly like a weed. There were a few pebbles of various shapes at her feet, which looked like they were picked up from the riverbank. They seemed to be all her belongings. She just tossed and caught them, with no expression on her face, but the scholar felt that she was having a lot of fun.
The scholar also noticed that her arms, which were exposed outside her sleeves when she was throwing and catching, were covered with densely packed and overlapping scars. Some of the old wounds had faded, while some of the new wounds were still bleeding.
And those drops of blood flowed through the gaps in the cage and into the bronze tripod placed at the bottom.
What are they...doing?
The scholar slowly widened his eyes, and after thinking of a possibility, his breathing stagnated in his chest, but he could do nothing. Only two nameless flames of anger were brewing, igniting, and shaking in his eyes.
The girl suddenly put away the stones, gripped the iron railing, and asked the people outside, "How much longer will it take?"
She had only asked a simple question, but it had suddenly alerted these people, with expressions of panic and fear appearing on their faces. They feared her like a tiger, cautiously taking a few steps back before mumbling, "It'll be a while, soon."
The girl was worried: "But I have been waiting for a long time. Didn't you say there are a hundred ways to kill me?"
She touched her wrist. "I don't like these methods. They hurt, and they can't kill me."
The people outside hesitated, their expressions and postures becoming more cautious. They all smiled and tried to appease him, "Wait until this medicine is refined and our master takes it. With his cultivation level, he will definitely be more powerful than Wang Xuanling. Then we can grant you what you wish for!"
The girl was dejected, digging her fingers into the railing. "This is so troublesome... Can you please go faster?"
Everyone quickly agreed, exchanged tacit glances with each other, and walked towards the middle room.
After the group dispersed, the scholar dared to relax his arms, which had been stretched to the point of numbness, and angrily lowered his voice: "Who the hell are these people! Locking up a little girl...what do they want to do!"
He didn't notice the implication of the girl's words at all. He was just indignant about the scene of a group of adults bullying the weak. He was filled with righteous indignation and jumped up to open the cage and let the girl out.
Seeing this, the small dog beside him bit his belt and dragged him back. The scholar's hands were still tied with ropes, and the tug made him stumble a few steps and began to wrestle with the dog.
The girl was startled, rubbed her eyes, and leaned over the railing curiously: "Who are you? I have never seen you before."
The scholar leaped to the edge of the cage, raking at it a few times, only to discover it had no door. He said in despair, "Don't worry! Once I escape, I'll get the soldiers to rescue you! They're lying to you. How can you make medicine using the blood of a child? These despicable people must be doing something unscrupulous and immoral!"
Girl: "Save me?"
She repeated sleepily, "You, save me?"
Before the scholar could say a few words, the little dog behind him suddenly bit the knot of the rope that tied his hands and pulled him back.
A moment later, a group of monks followed behind, led by a gray-haired old man. Someone shouted, "The scholar has run away!"
The old man raised his hand and slowly put a pill into his mouth: "It just so happens that I want to try out the power of this Zeng Yuan Pill myself."
As the pill entered his stomach, the old man's eyes suddenly widened, and a strong spiritual energy exploded from his dantian, sweeping across his body.
He and several of his disciples quickly caught up with him, laughing heartily: "As expected of the Earth Goblin's blood, it actually has such a powerful medicinal effect! If this continues, I wonder how long that old man Wang Xuanling can keep laughing!"
The scholar was surrounded and attacked from all sides. He was hit on the neck and fell unconscious.
Long Zhu sighed, turned around and let go of the rope, then pounced on the edge of the cage and barked at the girl who was taking a nap with her eyes closed inside.
The old man frowned unhappily and said, "Where did this stray dog get in the way?"
The black-clothed disciple stepped forward with his sword raised, but saw that the girl in the cage had already woken up. She raised her head with a cold gaze. The invisible pressure forced his legs to soften, and he lost his momentum and took a few steps back.
"What are you arguing about?" the girl asked in a cold voice.
The old man's throat choked, and his arrogant attitude disappeared. He then realized that he seemed to have been too arrogant.
From the moment the "deal" was proposed, the girl never refuted their demands. She seemed to have no concept of life and death, was confused about her own existence, and had no strong sense of self. She allowed the ambitions of the jackals and tigers around her to expand, so that the old man gradually forgot a fact.
She is Xiao, the "earth" among the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, and thunder. She is a terrifying existence that can easily destroy a kingdom and dim the light of the heaven, earth, sun, and moon.
The old man slowly bowed, raising his hands in a salute. He pointed at the scholar beside him and said with deep trepidation, "This scholar has shifty eyes. If he reveals our whereabouts and attracts Wang Xuanling's attention, then the things we promised you...will be in vain."
The girl leisurely resumed her game of stone tossing and catching, her dark eyes expressionless. "Why would I be afraid of Wang Xuanling?"
The old man was sweating profusely: "Then..."
The girl turned to look at the scholar, and remembered how he had vowed to save her, and she couldn't help but find it quite amusing.
"Let him go and let him go home."
As she spoke, she thought of the puppy that had just bitten the cage. Her eyes couldn't help but look around for it, but she found that the puppy had already disappeared into the dense forest and there was no trace of it.
-
When Long Zhu escaped from the forest again, she rolled in the shallows and took a bath. Following her previous memory, she ran all the way back to the foot of the city wall, dug through the weeds and loose soil beside the dog hole, and re-entered the capital.
The dogs do not need to be identified and will not be stopped by the soldiers guarding the city, which is very convenient.
The city gate was adjacent to the East Market, bustling with people and traffic. Long Zhu wandered through the dazzling array of cloth sandals, straw sandals, embroidered socks, and silk skirts, when he suddenly lost his bearings again. He sat on the ground in a daze, scratching his face with his leg.
The little white bird said she would find a way to find him. She had no spiritual power now, and the only thing she could rely on was the dog's keen sense of smell. But now she couldn't tell whether the other party's smell had changed, so she could only look for him one by one.
A troupe of opera performers were crowded outside Fengya Tower, looking exhausted. Their short jackets were tattered and their boxes and cages were piled up like a mountain.
When the vendors and tea drinkers saw this, they all said, "Fengyalou is really lucky. They've chosen three top scholars in a row. Their reputation is booming now, and people are coming to them every day!"
During the heyday of the Great Shu, there were some literati and scholars who were fond of romance and liked to comment on some court actors and actresses. They made a list of top scorers. Of course, they selected some of them, such as "Top Scholar in Qin", "Top Scholar in Tea", "Top Scholar in Dance", etc. Whoever had outstanding skills and could be ranked first would increase his value a hundredfold overnight.
It was a pity that many women in that period had no control over their own destiny and endured years of hard work to learn skills just for such a title that was easily bestowed by the powerful.
"What a pity! Madam Awu's dancing skills are the best in the whole capital, but in the end she has to be inferior to others."
"You can't say that. In terms of appearance and talent, Bai He is still superior. She is the undisputed champion."
The tea drinkers commented on the names on the list with great gusto, as if just a few comments would make their status equal to that of the high-ranking officials in the private rooms.
"Huh? Whose dog is this? Maybe it's lost?"
"Hahaha, it still wants to enter Fengya Tower. I'll definitely let Shisan Niang kick it out soon!"
The white-haired dog squatted quietly at the entrance of Fengya Tower for a while, then suddenly, seizing the right moment, leaped onto the backpack of one of the troupe members. It happened to be filled with animal masks, creating a harmonious and harmonious mix. A moment later, someone arrived with a message: "Shisan Niang wants you to wait in the side courtyard."
So a group of people packed up their boxes and walked in. The little white dog stood in the basket of miscellaneous items, and glared at the tea drinkers opposite with contempt.
“…”
“…”
After entering the gate and turning a corner, Longzhu sneaked out of the basket under cover, spread his claws and ran to the second floor, hiding behind a large copper bowl with double ring ears and flowers. She raised her head and moved her nose again, vaguely smelling a familiar fragrance that was not very real.
There was a sudden thumping of footsteps on the wooden stairs. They came quickly and then stopped suddenly. Someone was about to go up, but in the blink of an eye, they were stopped by a tall person wearing a long skirt and wearing heavy makeup.
"...Not seeing guests? Why, you can't even see me?" The man who spoke was dressed like a young master, but that face... Long Zhu squinted his eyes and took a closer look, and found that the man was actually Xiao Meng.
Meng Caiyun twirled a folding fan in his hand, followed by a large group of servants. The word "dandy" was clearly written on his face. "Shisan Niang, what's going on? I can't even listen to music with Bai He."
"Well, Master Li, that's not right," Shisanniang covered her face with her handkerchief, "It's not that I don't allow you to see me, it's just that Baihe has a distinguished guest here right now. It would be awkward for you to go in like this."
Long Zhu looked at the dog face with a slightly confused look.
Among the torn pages, everyone's identity was varied, so she was not surprised when Meng Caiyun called himself Prince Li.
But this Thirteenth Lady... she had a burly body, the fabric of her clothes was stretched tight in front of her chest muscles, her face was painted with rouge and powder, and her voice was deep and powerful. She was clearly Ruan Meng, the corpse maker of the Ruan family.
Ruan Meng and Meng Caiyun were still arguing. Long Zhu withdrew his gaze and was so disgusted by the strange scene that he shivered unconsciously.
She wiped her face with her paw, forced herself to shift her attention, lowered her body, curled up into a ball, and slowly moved through the blind spot of everyone's vision. She used her tail to gently squeeze open the gap in the door and slipped into the vermilion door.
There happened to be a person sitting in front of the zither, wearing colorful clothes, with gold hairpins and jade pendants, but his face was inexplicably lifeless. It was not so much melancholy as it was that he was still in great shock and had not yet recovered. The helplessness and sadness between his eyebrows slowly formed six words: those who sacrifice their lives for justice.
The man and the dog raised their heads at this subtle movement, and their eyes met. In an instant, confusion and shock emerged in each other's eyes.
It was at this moment that Ruan Meng failed to stop him, and the door behind him was pushed open by Meng Caiyun in a swagger.
So the two people and the dog confronted each other for a while, and Meng Caiyun was half-dragged and half-pulled back by Ruan Meng. On her way down the stairs in a daze, she suddenly woke up from her dream.
Uh, no, dogs can listen to music too?
Taking the next step, Meng Caiyun felt even more absurd: No, dogs can hear but I can't, are you mocking me for being worse than a dog?
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