Does Your Dog Bite?

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Over those ten days, with the help of the Spirit Essence Pill, the true qi within Song Chengan's body could already circulate through thirty-six cycles.

This meant his cultivation had entered the Circulation Realm.

From now on, as long as he completed thirty-six cycles each day, he would have finished that day's cultivation.

Cultivation did not mean practicing twenty-four hours a day, especially for Qi Refiners in the Dao Seed Realm.

Thirty-six cycles were the limit that a low-level cultivator's meridians could withstand.

Continuing to cultivate beyond that would damage the meridians.

Too much was as bad as too little.

Cultivation was inherently a matter of accumulation over time, of water dripping through stone.

"Song Chengan, what are you going to do?"

Brother Dan looked at Song Chengan and asked.

"Go fishing."

"I want to go too."

"You're not allowed."

"Song Chengan, you big meanie."

Brother Dan ran home in a huff.

Song Chengan shook his head and headed west of the city.

The Tong Sheng River flowed past Lingqiu City, where there was a dock.

It was a good place to fish.

Song Chengan had loved fishing in his previous life.

When he was young, he often went fishing.

But after growing up, he had never gone again. The pressure of life had crushed him until he could barely breathe.

In the end, he had even died of a terminal illness.

So in this life, he did not want to exhaust himself so much.

Even when cultivating, he approached it with a relaxed mindset.

He wanted Longevity, wanted to live longer.

That was an obsession carried over from his previous life.

But he did not want to be as tired as he had been back then.

Song Chengan sensed Brother Dan furtively following behind him.

So he deliberately turned around. By the time Brother Dan emerged from hiding again, Song Chengan had vanished.

Song Chengan felt it was better not to take someone else's child to play by the Tong Sheng River.

When Song Chengan arrived by the river.

A light rain was falling.

An old man was fishing there.

The old man's beard and hair were completely white.

And he seemed to be no ordinary person.

Two burly men in fitted clothes stood behind him, one of them even holding an umbrella over him.

Song Chengan chose a decent spot far away from the old man.

He did not like being too close to people.

"Oh my, the fish are really biting today."

Song Chengan remained expressionless.

He felt there must be a huge school of fish underwater, circling and swimming about beneath the riverbed, and they had now swum over to the old man's area.

The wheel of fortune turned; sooner or later, they would come to his side.

"Oh my, another one. This one must weigh five jin!"

Heh heh.

Song Chengan sneered.

He did not understand fishermen these days. So what if they caught a few fish?

Why did they have to shout so loudly?

They were noisy as hell.

Huh!

Song Chengan's brows lifted in delight.

A fish had taken the bait!

Judging that the time was about right, Song Chengan raised his fishing rod.

"Loaches aren't bad either."

"Catch more of them and deep-fry them for drinking."

Song Chengan felt that fishing was not all that fun either.

It was truly boring.

"There are too many loaches here. I'll change spots."

Song Chengan shifted his position.

But clearly, perhaps because he had beaten that fish demon, every fish in the Tong Sheng River was now working against him.

He did not catch a single fish all afternoon.

"Young man, come fish over here."

"There are plenty of fish here. I'm heading back."

Song Chengan cupped his fists. "Thank you, old brother."

"The fish are biting well here too. I'll fish a little longer before heading back."

"That works too."

The old man smiled amiably at Song Chengan, then left with his two attendants.

As Song Chengan fished, he watched the old man and his group from the corner of his eye.

Once the old man and the others were out of sight, Song Chengan immediately picked up his fish basket and rod, then sat down in the old man's former spot.

"It must be because of this spot."

Song Chengan cast his line.

It was getting dark.

Song Chengan put away his fishing rod without expression.

All the fish in the river had been caught by that old man.

He had come away empty-handed.

"Little brother, want to buy some fish?"

"Just pulled from the river."

As Song Chengan passed the dock.

A fisherman asked with a smile.

"Does your dog bite?"

Brother Dan was sitting on the threshold at the entrance to the house, tear tracks on his face. Beside him squatted the Zhou family's floppy-eared brindled mutt.

If Song Chengan had guessed correctly, he had been beaten again.

Uncle Zhou's daily routine was fishing. Aunt Zhou was a little busier than Uncle Zhou; aside from farming, she also happened to beat Brother Dan.

"No."

Brother Dan shook his head, his voice still thick with tears.

Song Chengan waved his fish basket.

"Look at the Big Fish I caught today."

The fish basket was too small, and the fish's tail was sticking out.

Brother Dan wiped his eyes. "I don't want to talk to you. You didn't take me with you today."

Song Chengan did not care. "I was even going to treat you to fish later!"

"If you don't like it, forget it."

"I'll give it to Dahu."

As he spoke, Song Chengan pulled the loach from his fish basket and tossed it before Dahu. He also reached out, intending to pat the dog's head.

Compared with the Monsters of Mount Luo, Dahu was still cuter.

Then... woof... awoo!

Dahu bit down on Song Chengan's arm.

The smile on Song Chengan's face froze.

"Didn't you say Dahu doesn't bite people?"

Brother Dan burst into laughter through his tears.

"It's my family's dog, so of course it doesn't bite me. It's not your family's dog."

"Song Chengan, you're so stupid."

"No wonder my mother told my sister to stay away from you. She said you're such an idiot that you wouldn't pass the scholar's exam even in ten lifetimes."

"Chengan, you're back."

"Dahu didn't bite you badly, did she?"

Aunt Zhou stepped forward with an embarrassed expression to inspect Song Chengan's injury.

"It's fine."

After cultivating, Song Chengan's skin had become tough and thick. That bite had only left a few pale marks.

Aunt Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.

Song Chengan bade Aunt Zhou farewell, then returned home.

Before long.

Crying rang out from the Zhou family courtyard.

Brother Dan was getting beaten again.

Song Chengan shook his head and began cleaning the fish he had bought in the courtyard.

Fish stew tonight!

Just then.

He saw the Black Cat beneath the eaves.

It was that Cat Demon.

A rabbit lay beneath its paws.

It was staring wide-eyed at the fish in his hands.

"When did you get here?"

Song Chengan asked.

"Just now."

"Don't eat feces anymore." It carried the rabbit in its mouth over to Song Chengan. After hesitating for a moment, it said.

Song Chengan paused in the middle of scraping scales.

"Don't eat it. I'll bring you food every day." Seeing that Song Chengan said nothing, it assumed he disagreed, so it added.

"Don't be like Ah Huang."

"Who's Ah Huang?"

"The Second Boss. He used to love eating feces."

Song Chengan's mouth twitched.

"I'll treat you to fish later."

The Cat Demon's eyes lit up.

"Then I'll trade you the rabbit for it."

Song Chengan smiled. "Alright."

"Come to think of it, among the Monsters of Mount Luo, are you the only one who runs around the city every day?"

"I'm a kitty."

"I can run around the city."

It said.

"I go everywhere—the mountains, here."

"That's true."

Compared with rats as large as rabbits, weasels over a meter long, and Black Bear standing upright at nearly three meters tall, this Black Cat seemed to be the only normal one.