Chapter 15 The Princess's Beloved Dog 1 Finding a princess in distress, giving her a nice bath...
Yuezhi, dressed in a magnificent phoenix coronet and embroidered robe, sat in a cold, golden nanmu sedan chair.
Outside the sedan chair, there were no cheering crowds, no festivities, only a silent guard team escorting goods, and the monotonous sound of wheels rolling over the official road.
She had thought that her neglected life wasn't entirely without its highlights; at least she had the crown prince who promised to protect her, the general she had admired in her youth, and her best friend who shared her joy...
But no one came when she got married.
Her marriage was not a glorious union, but a humiliating sue for peace after defeat. Her father did not appear; his aged body hid deep in the palace. Those who had vowed to her "forever" and "a lifetime" were all nowhere to be found.
The once bustling palace road is now eerily empty, with only the desolate wind swirling a few withered leaves, as if mocking her naivety.
The bridal sedan chair swayed precariously, about to leave the borders of Yulin Kingdom, with the flags of the enemy country's wedding procession faintly visible in the distance.
Dark clouds rolled in the sky, and a tangled drizzle fell from the sky.
Amidst the astonished gazes of the guards, she rushed without hesitation toward the bottomless cliff beside the official road.
The wind howled in her ears, rain lashed her face, and the weightless feeling of falling enveloped her. She closed her eyes, a resolute calm settling in her heart.
I'd rather die than be someone else's plaything and suffer this humiliation again.
After the excruciating pain of being shattered to pieces, she lost consciousness.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she vaguely felt something warm and wet gently rubbing against her face, dispelling the biting chill.
She was covered with a soft, thick blanket, so warm that she almost sighed out loud.
The chapped lips were repeatedly fed water...
Yuezhi struggled to open her heavy eyelids, her vision blurred, only able to see a cluster of flickering flames nearby.
In the firelight, a dark, round shadow was busy with something with its back to her.
A strange smell wafted in the air, like burnt rice porridge mixed with the scent of earth and grass. Following the smell, one could see an old earthenware pot with a chipped edge sitting on the fire, bubbling away inside. The dark figure was stirring it with a long wooden stick.
"Hmm..." She moved slightly, trying to support her weak body with her arms.
The black, coal-like shadow suddenly froze, the stirring stick stopped, and it slowly turned around.
Yuezhi then realized: that wasn't a lump of coal at all, it was clearly a big black dog!
It was furry and enormous, standing on all fours, almost at eye level with her as she sat. Its dark fur was covered with bits of grass and dust, and its pair of dark eyes were wet and clear, looking at her timidly. Its ears drooped, its eyes darted around, and it still had the wooden stick it used to stir the soup pot in its mouth.
Yuezhi looked around. It was a dilapidated temple with most of the walls collapsed, revealing lush green trees outside. Moss had grown on the corners of the walls, and mushrooms were growing there. The wind whistled through the holes.
There was no one else besides her and the big dog.
Could it be... that this dog saved her?
As soon as the thought popped into her head, Yuezhi curled her lips into a self-deprecating smile, laughing at her own wishful thinking. "How could that be... Could it be that you saved me?"
Upon hearing her words, a hint of urgency flashed in the big black dog's eyes. It hesitated for a moment, then gently placed the stick it was carrying in its mouth on the edge of the earthenware pot, and walked over to her properly and sat down.
It sat upright, its front paws together and its chest puffed out.
Then, it opened its mouth.
"It's...it's me." It was a clear, youthful voice, somewhere between a teenager and a young adult, around sixteen or seventeen years old.
Her voice was somewhat nervous, but it clearly reached Yuezhi's ears: "I have always admired the princess and have worked hard to cultivate, all so that I could see the princess again."
Yuezhi's eyes widened in shock, and she instinctively shrank back, staring incredulously at the large dog in front of her that could speak human language.
Seeing her frightened, the big dog drooped its ears even lower and looked panicked: "Although I have nothing now... I will try my best to hunt and try my best to make the princess happy! I hope the princess... will not despise me and will not leave me."
As he finished speaking, his voice grew softer and softer, sounding like a pitiful plea.
After the initial shock, an indescribable sense of wonder welled up inside her. Yuezhi recalled the ancient records in the palace, which said that beyond the mortal realm, in places shrouded in miasma, there lived demons. She never imagined that after surviving her fall from the cliff, she would actually encounter one.
Looking at its nervous yet trying-to-be-calm appearance, Yuezhi found it rather cute.
She smiled and said, "When I jumped, I never thought I would survive. You saved me, and I will remember this kindness. From now on, wherever I go, I will take you with me."
As soon as he finished speaking, the big black dog's eyes, filled with tension and trepidation, shone brightly like stars that had been lit up.
"Really?" Its voice trembled with excitement.
Unable to maintain its seated posture any longer, its huge tail swayed wildly from side to side as if it were powered by a motor. It stuck out its long pink tongue, hissing and panting, and circled around Yuezhi in small steps, looking both eager to get closer and afraid of being too forward, its clumsy appearance endearing.
Seeing its undisguised joy, Yuezhi's lips unconsciously curled up, and the gloom that had been weighing on her heart was somewhat dispelled by this simple happiness.
She reached out and gently placed her hand on its fluffy head, rubbing it. "Really."
The big black dog stiffened, then its tail wagged even more happily, and it let out a satisfied "purr" from its throat. It cautiously moved forward and gently rubbed its head against Yuezhi's palm. The warm and soft touch gradually warmed up Yuezhi's cold fingers.
"Do you have a name?" Yuezhi asked softly.
“Yes! My name is Pei Heng.” The big black dog answered loudly. It raised its head and said proudly, “My master who taught me cultivation is surnamed Pei, so my surname is also Pei.”
“Pei Heng…” Yue Zhi read it aloud, then nodded. “My name is Yue Zhi, Yue as in bright moon and Zhi as in gardenia. From now on, I’ll call you A-Heng, okay?”
"Aheng! Aheng!" the black dog Pei Heng repeated the name, nodding vigorously, its tongue lolling out happily. "It sounds nice! The princess calls me Aheng!"
Despite its large size, it has the temperament of a naive puppy, getting so happy over a name that it's almost ready to take off.
Yuezhi finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.
*
Under Pei Heng's meticulous care, Yue Zhi's injuries healed quickly, and the gloomy death aura around her was gradually dispelled by the vitality of the mountains and fields.
However, after staying in the drafty, dilapidated temple for a long time, I always felt sticky and uncomfortable.
That day, she poked Pei Heng, who was lying next to her, carefully rubbing his big head against her palm.
"Ah Heng, I'm practically covered in mold. Is there anywhere around here where I can take a shower?"
Pei Heng's ears immediately perked up, and it stood up abruptly, its tail wagging like a small whirlwind: "Yes!"
So Yuezhi followed it through the dense forest, and suddenly a wide-open mountain lake appeared before her, its waters a clear blue, reflecting the drifting clouds in the sky and the distant, rolling mountains.
Looking up, she could even see the cliff not far away, the very place where she had resolutely jumped. Now, looking at it again, she felt only calmness, without any further turmoil.
She took a deep breath of the fresh, grassy air, walked to the lakeside, loosened her hair, and let her dark black hair cascade down.
She removed the gorgeous wedding dress, torn by tree branches, piece by piece, and neatly folded it on the bluestone by the lake, then took off her shoes and socks.
Pei Heng consciously turned around, facing away from the lake, and sat upright beside the bluestone, like a loyal guard watching over the pile of clothes.
Its heart was pounding, and it was frantically thinking about where to hunt and what delicious food to cook for the princess in order to stop itself from imagining the scene behind it. Its tail was thumping the ground impatiently.
The lake water was cool and refreshing, soothing my skin and washing away the fatigue and dust of the past few days.
Yuezhi scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on her face, feeling as if she had come back to life.
She looked at the black figure on the shore, whose back was slightly stiff from nervousness, and found it incredibly cute.
The sun is shining brightly today, and it's so warm. Even if my fur is wet, it should dry in a little while, right?
"Aheng," she turned around and softly called to the figure standing on the shore, "why don't you come down and wash with me?"
Pei Heng's massive body stiffened abruptly.
Is it going down too? With the princess?
She instinctively wanted to turn around, but then stopped abruptly, twisting her head to a strange angle, blinking her big, wet eyes, looking at the sky and then at the ground, letting out a muffled sob.
Should it go? Of course it wanted to! It wanted to get closer to the princess, much closer, but... the princess was completely naked...
It began pacing back and forth on the shore, its claws pawing nervously at the grass, its mind in turmoil, its white claws twisting and turning in a conflicted manner.
Ultimately, the desire to get closer to her overwhelmed everything else.
It turned and ran into the lake, the water washing over its limbs and chest. Instinctively, it began to paddle, swimming towards Yuezhi. Only when it was close to her did it pop its head out of the water with a "splash," shake its head, and splash water droplets all over Yuezhi's face.
Yuezhi was amused and wiped the water droplets from her face.
"Wow!" Yuezhi exclaimed in surprise, reaching out to cup its wet head and examine it closely. "Aheng, you're not a black dog after all, you're a white dog!"
Pei Heng lowered his head a little embarrassedly and gently touched the water's surface with his nose: "It used to be white... I haven't taken good care of it in a long time, so it got dirty..."
Yuezhi immediately became interested: "Come, come, let me give you a good wash today!"
Take out the soapberry fruit you picked in the forest, rub it in your palm to make a rich and delicate foam, let Aheng lean against you, stretch out your arm, and carefully apply the fragrant foam to its thick fur.
From its broad forehead to its sturdy back, and its ever-wagging tail, fingers run through its wet fur, gently scratching and rubbing.
Pei Heng felt extremely comfortable.
The princess's soft hands roamed over its body, and it could smell her fragrance, which was even more captivating than the scent of soapberry.
The water was slightly cool, but the place she touched felt like it was on fire, warm and cozy. It couldn't help but squint its eyes, making a satisfied, gurgling sound in its throat. Its huge tail swayed happily underwater, like a big fan, stirring up ripples.
Seeing how much it liked it, Yuezhi became playful and deliberately put some foam on its nose.
Pei Heng paused for a moment, then stuck out his big pink tongue to lick it. His silly appearance made Yue Zhi laugh so hard she almost fell over. She also got herself covered in foam, the white bubbles clinging to her smooth arms and collarbone, shimmering with iridescent light in the sunlight.
The two frolicked and played in the azure lake.
Looking at her radiant smile, Pei Heng felt a surge of emotion, a bittersweet feeling welling up inside him.
However, looking at the dewy, foamy skin so close to his, and smelling her increasingly clear and unique fragrance, a strange, burning heat surged through his limbs and rushed down without warning...
Pei Heng froze abruptly, his clear eyes, reflecting the girl's figure, filled with immense panic and embarrassment.
"Splash!" It plunged into the water, leaving only a few strings of gurgling bubbles to rise to the surface. The huge white figure swam a little further away, revealing a pair of wet beast ears and bewildered and shy eyes on the surface, secretly watching Yuezhi who was still laughing and confused.
-----------------------
Author's Note: PS: The male lead is a Samoyed, and he's huge (after all, he's a demon). The female lead is 18 years old, and the male lead is a dog who cultivated into a demon, so his age isn't calculated according to human years; he's an adult dog anyway, so feel free to fall in love and cook with him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com