Chapter 19
...
The dog had a dream, a dream about some things from the past.
Back then, it was just an ordinary stray dog, not very strong, dirty, and skinny. Every day, it would wait at the narrow, dilapidated alley entrance, hoping that one day a miracle would happen, and that no more inexplicable force would bind its neck, allowing it to run freely out of there.
But day after day, all it saw when it opened its eyes was that patchy, muddy ground.
Red and white plastic bags were trampled into the ground, black sewage accumulated on the bags to form puddles, rotten fruit and vegetable peels hung on the edge of the trash can, the stench was overwhelming, and the buzzing of flies lingered in the air.
Everything here was so suffocating for the dog, including the residents who tried to shoo it away.
When there are children around, the dog will run away if it can, and when there are adults around, it will avoid them if it can. But no matter how much it avoids people, the corners of the walls are still covered with red granules that would make someone vomit blood if they ate them.
Why do humans hate themselves so much? When it first wandered here, people were kind enough to feed it.
The dog couldn't understand when it was sleeping, couldn't understand when it found a thumbtack in its leftovers, couldn't understand when a child shot it in the eye with a slingshot, and couldn't understand when an old person yelled at it.
The only thing it could understand was that it needed to leave quickly. Therefore, it appeared at the alley entrance even more frequently, sometimes for more than ten hours at a time.
The street was bustling with people, but the dog pretended to be indifferent and ignored them. Over the past few days, it had learned a lesson: if it showed too little aggression, it would attract inexplicable malice.
It's both clever and not so clever. When someone gets chills from its gaze and pushes a trash can to block the alleyway entrance, the dog freezes in place.
"I've heard that dogs are all stubborn and inflexible, I'm really curious to see how it will react later," someone joked.
The trash cans were very tall and large, completely blocking the alley entrance. What was once a smooth road instantly turned into a cramped and narrow cage.
The dog stood in the position closest to freedom, but when it looked up, it could no longer see the endless streets; all it could see was a metal box covered in thick, yellow swill, blocking its way.
The dog didn't get upset when it was hit or scolded, and it didn't get upset when a thumbtack pierced its mouth. But at this moment, the dog suddenly got upset and barked wildly at the trash can, its barks heart-wrenching!
It stretched out its front paws and frantically scratched at the box, its paws aching from the effort. Then it opened its mouth to bite, biting until its gums bled. It slammed its head and body against the box, thud! thud! thud—! But the box was too heavy and wouldn't budge.
"Hahahaha! Look how anxious this silly dog is, he's almost talking."
"I told you it was fun!"
"Even if it doesn't bite, it's really creepy to have it squatting here all day long. Can't we think of a way to get rid of it..."
Laughter, as if they loved making things worse, came from behind the trash can. Each laugh was filled with the malice of successfully teasing it. Even a dog that couldn't understand human speech could tell they were up to no good.
Resentment filled his mind, and for the first time in his life, the dog felt the urge to bite.
Until that young man appeared.
What are you doing?
Compared to the shrill laughter, the young man's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and his tone was calm, which could be described as amiable.
But it was this emotionless question that silenced the group like chickens being choked.
"Uh, we..."
Before they could finish speaking, the young man interrupted, "On my way here, I saw sanitation workers frantically looking for this trash can and almost called the police. Did you move it here? Didn't your teachers teach you that you'd be fined for disturbing public property? The sanitation workers will be here soon, and you look like the leader..."
Upon hearing the words "call the police," the person whose name was mentioned immediately changed their tone and retorted, "What nonsense are you talking about? Who's the leader? I have something to do, I'm leaving now!"
The young man asked someone else, "If it wasn't him, then it was you?"
"It wasn't me! Who are you trying to slander? Damn it, let's get out of here, we've run into a busybody."
Amidst the grumbling and cursing, those people hurriedly ran away, and then the dog heard a series of crisp footsteps that stopped only in front of the trash can.
Squeak—
The trash can was pushed open with difficulty, and bright sunlight shone again into the dark alleyway.
At that moment, the dog's first notice was not the vast sky, nor the street that had finally come into view, but the young man's gentle and refined face.
The most eye-catching feature on the dog's face is its eyes, which are like windowpanes illuminated by sunlight, clear and bright, sparkling with dazzling brilliance.
Seeing that it had stopped barking and showed no intention of biting, the young man was quite surprised and let out a soft "Eh." He then crouched down, bringing his eyes level with the animal's, and slowly approached it with his outstretched, well-defined hands.
At this point, the dog finally realized that he was dreaming.
Having just been tricked by those with ulterior motives, it dared not trust any human who approached it, including the young man who had come to its rescue. Just as his hand was about to touch it, it suddenly opened its blood-red maw and barked threateningly at the young man before running into the depths of the alley without looking back.
At this moment, the dog, which was consciously controlled in the dream, had no desire to run away at all.
It almost couldn't wait to rest its chin on the young man's palm, wagging its tail wildly, letting the young man happily rub its head and scratch its chin, no longer bothered by its dirty body, and steadily picked it up.
The dog's vision was suddenly elevated, rising from the ground to mid-air, but it didn't pay attention to this scene, immersing itself in the young man's warm embrace. The stench of swill and garbage was gone, replaced by a light and pleasant fragrance.
The young man carried it forward, his palms resting on its back, warm from the touch. His steps were steady, and the dog in his arms only felt a slight sway, the scenery in its vision rising and falling with it.
It was so comfortable, its chin resting on the young man's shoulder. With its eyes half-closed, it looked up and suddenly realized that they had already left the alleyway!
The young man had so easily taken it out of the cage it so deeply hated and that had imprisoned it until its death!
The dream was so beautiful, so terrifying, that it startled Ping An awake.
When it opened its eyes, it felt utterly exhausted, as if it had chased a silly kid playing with a slingshot hundreds or thousands of times through the alley. Its eyes were blurry, and it could hardly see what was in front of it.
Just as Ping An opened its eyes wide, trying to make out what was happening, a soft strand of hair fell down and rested on its head.
The dog's heart skipped a beat, its eyes widened, and it looked over in disbelief.
At the same time, it felt the hot heat of the young man's palm on its back, and the light and fragrant scent of shampoo lingered in front of its nose, dispelling all the odors.
Held in Xie Xubai's arms, its vision swayed as it watched the dilapidated, dirty alleyway recede further and further away, becoming increasingly blurry.
A gentle breeze blows, the sun shines brightly, and a few strands of dark hair sway slightly in front of my eyes.
That dream, so beautiful that even a dog wouldn't believe it, gradually merged with reality.
"Awake?" Xie Xubai sensed the dog waking up and patted it with his backhand.
After going berserk, the BOSS will enter a weakened state. Just now, when the dog came back, it fell to the ground and was unconscious, which scared him quite a bit.
The dog didn't respond, its body motionless, staring blankly at him, as if its brain had crashed.
Xie Xubai looked at it in confusion, when suddenly the dog sprang up from the spot like an unstoppable cannonball, excitedly nuzzling against his chest and licking his face with its big tongue!
"Woof! Woof—!"
Xie Xubai was caught off guard and had his face covered in saliva. He hurriedly held the dog down. He didn't know why it was so excited, but he still subconsciously coaxed it, "Okay, okay, good boy, good baby... Stop licking me, baby, I can't see where I'm going."
After much fussing and coaxing, Xie Xubai carried the dog home.
The house wasn't big, but it was very clean and decorated very warmly. The curtains with cartoon bone patterns, the table corners covered with soft cloth, and the dog bed and food bowl neatly placed against the wall... every detail made the dog's pupils tremble.
Xie Xubai reached out and ruffled it, his laughter carrying a hint of self-satisfaction: "Touched, aren't you? Before you even got home, I was already looking forward to having you in my life."
"Peace." He opened his arms to the dog and smiled solemnly and happily, "Welcome home."
This time, the dog's pupils trembled more than just.
As the word "home" fell, Xie Xubai's vision blurred, and the dog, in its weakened state, somehow found the strength to pounce on him, whimpering and wagging its tail merrily like a propeller.
"Hahaha, alright, alright, Ping An, Ping An."
Smiled and calmed the dog down, Xie Xubai went to the kitchen and got an iron basin and a lighter. He sat cross-legged on the floor and waved to the window, saying, "Come here."
As the curtains moved, several ghosts poked their heads out, looked at each other, and then mustered their courage to float over.
Behind them followed countless vengeful spirits and malevolent souls.
After Zhang Bin's death, most of these monsters ascended to heaven as their hatred dissipated, while the rest remained, perhaps still clinging to the mortal world and harboring resentment.
They thought they had followed them here out of fear of the Demon King's majesty, but they couldn't explain why their bodies would involuntarily move closer when the young man beckoned to them.
The ghosts of cats and dogs sat in a row in the house, looking strangely docile. Xie Xubai took out the ancient book on controlling ghosts from his bosom and, in front of all the ghosts and vengeful spirits, lit it and placed it in the iron basin.
The orange-red flames shot up and instantly licked the pages of the book clean.
In the darkness, all the strange creatures, including Ping An, felt a burden that had been weighing them suddenly disappear.
The heart, which had been tormented by many negative emotions such as violence and bloodlust, was suddenly cleansed by a gentle breeze, leaving it feeling extremely relaxed.
Xie Xubai said, "Zhang Bin has no relatives or friends, nor any offspring to carry on his legacy. From now on, no innocent animal will ever be persecuted by the evil magic described in this book like you have."
The firelight illuminated the young man's serene face, casting a warm yellow glow. In his eyes, there was not a trace of greed or reluctance towards the ancient books.
His voice was calm and light, yet it seemed to possess a profound and steady strength, forcefully bringing this absurd farce to a close.
The little ones blinked.
A sudden impulse made them inexplicably want to get closer to Xie Xubai.
However, these ghosts were unaware of how terrifying their numbers were. Dozens of them attacked together, almost killing Xie Xubai.
Ping An immediately frowned and pulled them off one by one, throwing them aside without any politeness. Anyway, they wouldn't break if dropped.
Just then, Xie Xubai's phone beeped with a message notification; it was from the long-dormant company group chat.
Did you know? It seems like President Yan has woken up!
Author's Note:
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