Little Black

Time passed slowly as Bi Changsheng and the others proceeded at an unhurried pace.

After traveling for quite some time, Bi Changsheng and the others arrived at a small village built beside the road.

A small stream ran alongside the village. Several children were playing in the water, splashing one another and sending sprays of water flying. They frolicked to their hearts' content in the clear stream, their laughter ringing out from time to time.

Suddenly, one boy of eight or nine seemed to slip. He fell into the more turbulent current at the center of the stream. The boy tried to get to his feet and return to the bank, but every time he tried to stand, the rushing water dragged him back down.

The boy immediately panicked and began to cry. Seeing this, some of the other children ran back to the village to find adults for help, some tried to think of a way to save him, while others were so frightened that they began crying as well.

As time passed, the boy in the middle of the stream grew weaker and weaker from struggling, on the verge of being swept away by the rushing current.

Bi Changsheng and the others, who happened to be passing by, naturally saw what was happening. Bi Changsheng immediately told Uncle Fu to stop, preparing to go save him.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

Just then, a burst of urgent barking suddenly sounded from nearby. A skinny black dog came running over and, like a divine soldier descending from the heavens, leaped into the water. It swiftly swam to the boy's side and clamped its jaws around the back of the boy's clothes, as he was nearly too exhausted to struggle anymore.

Somehow, the skinny black dog's body erupted with immense strength, dragging both itself and the boy out of the turbulent current in the middle of the stream in one go. The rest was much easier. The black dog successfully rescued the boy onto the bank.

"That's wonderful! Doggy, you're amazing!"

Seeing that the boy had been saved, the children nearby turned their tears into smiles and praised the black dog.

Meanwhile, the rescued boy was still crying off to the side, his heart pounding with lingering fear.

At that moment, an old man hurried over together with the child who had gone to seek help. Only when he saw that the boy who had fallen into the water was safely back on shore did he let out a sigh of relief. This old man was the help the child had brought back, and also the drowned boy's grandfather.

"My dear grandson, you scared me to death."

The boy's grandfather hurriedly picked up his grandson and said with lingering fear. The moment the boy saw an adult, he immediately cried even harder.

"I told you to be careful when playing and not get too close to the middle, but you just wouldn't listen..."

Once the boy had more or less calmed down, his grandfather began lecturing him. The moment the other children saw the grandfather start his lecture, they scattered like birds and beasts, all afraid of being caught in the blast and getting lectured along with the boy.

Watching his companions run off so disloyally, leaving him alone to be scolded by his grandfather, the boy felt a knot form in his chest.

Suddenly, the boy noticed the black dog beside him, its mouth stretched wide as though waiting for praise. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

"It was the one that pushed me in."

"That's right, it was this dog that pushed me in."

The boy blurted out the thought that had flashed through his mind.

Afraid of being scolded by the adults, the boy chose to lie, claiming that the black dog had pushed him into the water.

The black dog beside him seemed to understand. Its eyes revealed a human-like look of disbelief, and then it closed its previously open mouth and looked at the boy's grandfather with aggrieved eyes.

"Our dog has always been very well-behaved."

The boy's grandfather glanced at the black dog, which had always been so perceptive, and found it hard to believe.

"I said it was, so it was! This dog pushed me in!"

Seeing that his grandfather did not believe him, the boy began to throw a tantrum even as he cried.

"Alright, alright, Grandpa believes you. My dear grandson, don't cry."

Seeing his grandson cry again, the boy's grandfather quickly held him close to comfort him, then kicked the black dog standing nearby.

"See? Grandpa has already taught this rotten dog a lesson for you. Don't cry, dear grandson. Come home with Grandpa, and we'll keep teaching it a lesson."

When the boy's grandfather had initially said he did not believe the dog had pushed the boy into the water, the black dog had opened its mouth again. It never expected the grandfather to change his tune and give it a hard kick. The black dog's ears immediately drooped, and it became listless.

"No! That filthy dog pushed me in. Grandpa, can we kill it and eat its meat?"

Unexpectedly, another thought flashed through the boy's mind, and he actually began thinking about eating dog meat. He continued pestering his grandfather relentlessly.

"This..."

The boy's grandfather found himself in a difficult position. After all, it was a dog his family had raised for several years, and they had formed some attachment to it.

"Grandpa, just agree to it..."

Seeing his grandfather hesitate, the boy continued to wheedle.

"Fine. When we get home, we'll kill it and eat its meat."

In the end, unable to bear disappointing his grandson, the boy's grandfather struggled for a moment before hardening his heart and agreeing.

After the boy's grandfather agreed, the black dog seemed to understand as well. Great tears rolled from its eyes, which had gone ashen with despair.

"Yay! We're going home to eat dog meat!"

Seeing that his grandfather had agreed, the boy cried out happily in his grandfather's arms.

Bi Changsheng, standing by the roadside, saw all of this. When he saw the tears in the black dog's eyes, he walked over and called out to the grandfather and grandson who were about to head home.

"Old sir, please wait."

"May I ask what business you have with this old man, young master?"

Hearing someone call out to him, the boy's grandfather stopped, turned around, and spoke to Bi Changsheng.

"I saw from the side just now that this boy fell into the water himself through carelessness. It was this dog that rushed in to save him."

Bi Changsheng directly stated what he had seen.

Bi Changsheng then saw that the large black dog, which had just been shedding tears, was looking at him with grateful eyes. At last, Bi Changsheng was certain that the dog possessed spiritual intelligence.

After his lie was exposed, the boy hid behind his grandfather and did not dare look at Bi Changsheng.

"Thank you, young master, for informing me. This old man will go back and teach him a proper lesson. My grandson was frightened out of his wits today, so I want to kill this dog and nourish his body."

Seeing the boy's reaction, how could the boy's grandfather not know that his grandson had lied? Yet he still decided to kill the large black dog to nourish his grandson's body.

Although the unrest in Jin'an Prefecture over the past few months had not spread to Ningyun Prefecture, Yunguang Prefecture and Jin'an Prefecture shared a border. The refugees who had fled over alone had already affected them greatly. Their lives were extremely tight now; they could barely fill their stomachs and had not tasted meat in a long while.

If he killed the large black dog to nourish his grandson's body now, it would also lighten the burden on the household.

"Sir, I feel an affinity with this dog and like it very much. Could you sell it to me?"

Seeing that the boy's grandfather still intended to kill the large black dog that had saved the boy's life, Bi Changsheng felt somewhat displeased, but he did not say so. Instead, he suddenly made this decision.

"What price does the young master intend to pay for my dog?"

Seeing that Bi Changsheng was dressed in an extraordinary manner, the boy's grandfather was tempted.

"How about ten taels of silver?"

Bi Changsheng named a considerable price. Even for commoners living in the city, a family of four only spent around three taels of silver a month.

It was not that Bi Changsheng was unwilling to give more; he was worried that giving them too much would instead bring them harm.

"Deal."

Sure enough, the moment the boy's grandfather heard Bi Changsheng's offer, he happily agreed.

At Bi Changsheng's signal, Uncle Fu took out a ten-tael piece of silver and handed it to the boy's grandfather.

"This dog belongs to you now, young master."

The boy's grandfather happily accepted the silver and spoke to Bi Changsheng, then took his grandson home in high spirits.

The large black dog seemed to know that it had been sold. It no longer followed the grandfather and grandson, but stood where it was, watching their retreating figures with complicated eyes until they disappeared. Only then did it turn to look at Bi Changsheng.

"I know you can understand what I'm saying. I'll give you a choice. If you don't want to follow me, I can set you free."

Bi Changsheng did not urge the large black dog. Only after it turned around to face him did he speak.

Woof! Woof!

The large black dog seemed to think for a moment before barking twice at Bi Changsheng. Then it gently rubbed its head against Bi Changsheng's thigh, clearly wanting to follow him.

"Don't worry. I won't abandon you easily."

After seeing the large black dog choose to follow him, Bi Changsheng crouched down and gently stroked its head.

Whine, whine...

The large black dog let out a few soft cries of comfort under Bi Changsheng's touch.

"Haha, since you're following me now, I'll give you a name."

Bi Changsheng took some dry rations from his spatial ring and fed them to the large black dog as he spoke.

At those words, the large black dog, Uncle Fu, and Liu Zhengqing all looked at Bi Changsheng, eagerly awaiting the name he would give it.

"I'll call you Little Black."

After thinking for a while, Bi Changsheng came up with this simple name. Uncle Fu and Liu Zhengqing immediately felt both awkward and amused, but could only hold it in. Even the large black dog's eyes showed a hint of disdain.

At first, Bi Changsheng had thought of the imposing name of a famous divine dog from his previous life. But then he considered that the large black dog was the large black dog, and that divine dog was that divine dog, so he simply named it Little Black.

In truth, Bi Changsheng's hopelessness at naming things had already begun to show with Sword Thirteen.

"What's wrong with Little Black? It perfectly shows off his traits, and it's easy to remember. That's settled."

Under Bi Changsheng's forceful insistence, Little Black's name was set in stone.

Once Little Black had eaten his fill, the three of them brought him back to the carriage and continued on their journey.