Silly Dog's Karma

"Since that's the case, give me back the Spirit Stones."

Pei Qiang's expression changed.

He instinctively looked at Pei Yunyang. Seeing that the other man showed no expression whatsoever, he could only slowly pull the two Spirit Stones from his robes and hand them over.

The Spirit Stones gave off a faint glow in the twilight.

The villagers around them stared straight at the two Spirit Stones.

Someone could not help muttering under their breath:

"Two Spirit Stones... that'd be enough for our village for a whole year..."

"Little Douzi and the other kids still haven't even had refined food..."

"If we had those two Spirit Stones, the children could..."

The whispers grew louder and louder.

Pei Qiang's hand, holding the Spirit Stones, froze in midair. The expression on his face changed again and again.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Uncle Yunyang!"

He raised his head, his eyes red-rimmed and his voice trembling:

"This senior saved our lives! If not for him, all four of us would have died at the hands of that Black Boar King today!"

"Our Pei Family Village may be poor, but we can't be without a conscience!"

He pointed at several half-grown children in the crowd, all in their teens:

"Look at Little Douzi and the others. They've grown this big without ever having a single meal of refined food. How many good meals could these two Spirit Stones buy them?"

"Uncle Yunyang, I'm begging you!"

The other three hunters also dropped to their knees and called out together:

"We beg you, Village Chief!"

The surrounding villagers fell silent for a moment. Then, led by someone unknown, they too began to speak up:

"Yes, Village Chief, let him stay!"

"He saved four of our lives!"

"That Black Boar King tormented us for so many years. He got rid of it for us—such a debt of gratitude must be repaid!"

More and more voices rose, growing ever louder.

Pei Yunyang stood where he was, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

Zhou Qi remained standing with his hands behind his back, saying nothing.

He knew there was room for compromise.

After a long while, Pei Yunyang's expression suddenly changed into a smile.

He bowed to Zhou Qi, his tone far more sincere than before:

"Young hero, this old man has been discourteous."

Straightening, he looked at Zhou Qi and spoke slowly:

"We of Pei Family Village are all mud-legged folk who scratch out a living from the dirt. We've spent our entire lives cooped up in this mountain hollow, without having seen much of the world. We're timid too. I hope young hero can forgive us."

He paused, then turned sideways and made an inviting gesture:

"Since young hero thinks highly enough of this poor, remote place, then stay in the village. This old man cannot promise much else, but we can at least afford to provide coarse tea and plain meals."

Zhou Qi looked at him and nodded slightly.

"Thank you, Village Chief."

Pei Yunyang waved his hand and said to the villagers around them, "Disperse now. Go do what you should be doing."

The villagers gradually scattered. Even as they left, they kept looking back at Zhou Qi, their eyes filled with curiosity, reverence, and a few traces of indescribable complexity.

Pei Qiang climbed to his feet and held out the Spirit Stones in his hand. "Senior, these Spirit Stones..."

"As agreed, two Spirit Stones in exchange for lodging."

Pei Qiang looked at Pei Yunyang.

Pei Yunyang nodded. "Take them. Buy some refined food for the village children."

Only then did Pei Qiang tuck the Spirit Stones back into his robes, a smile appearing on his face.

"Many thanks, Senior!"

The place Pei Yunyang arranged for Zhou Qi was at the very top of the village cluster.

It was a lone adobe house, standing isolated on the mountainside, with no other homes nearby in any direction.

Zhou Qi took one look at its location and understood.

One must never harbor the intent to harm others, but one must always guard against being harmed.

They feared that if he stayed in the heart of the village, then should anything happen, they would not even be able to flee.

Fine by him. He preferred peace and quiet anyway.

The room had been cleaned very thoroughly. The bedding was old, but it had been washed until pale and folded neatly.

The furnishings were extremely simple: a wooden plank bed, a square table, four long benches, and a crooked wardrobe.

Pei Yunyang stood at the doorway, looking somewhat embarrassed:

"The village conditions are crude. Young hero, please make do. If you need anything, just tell this old man."

Zhou Qi nodded. "It's already very good."

Pei Yunyang gave him a few more instructions before turning and leaving.

Zhou Qi shut the door and sat at the edge of the bed.

He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath.

At last, he had a place to settle down.

Early the next morning.

A set of footsteps sounded outside the door.

He opened his eyes and extended his spiritual senses. There was someone standing outside, with a very weak aura, seemingly at the Qi Refining Second Layer.

Then a youth's voice came from outside the door:

"Senior, I've left your meal outside the door."

Zhou Qi rose and opened the door.

A wooden tray sat outside. On it were a steaming bowl of noodle soup, a large piece of cooked pork, and a small dish of pickled vegetables.

He looked up and saw only the back of a youth, who was sprinting down the mountain.

He ran incredibly fast, as though afraid Zhou Qi might catch him.

Zhou Qi picked up the tray and returned inside.

The noodle soup was made from coarse grains, thin and tasteless. The pork was likely from the smaller wild boar yesterday. It counted as refined food, and though it had been cooked until mushy, it smelled quite good.

After eating, he placed the bowl and chopsticks back outside the door, then sat cross-legged on the bed and began cultivating.

Proficiency +1

Proficiency +1

Proficiency +1

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

During those ten days, Zhou Qi barely stepped outside.

Every day, apart from eating and sleeping, he sat cross-legged in meditation and accumulated proficiency.

He was still far from completing the Foundation Establishment Method, but every point of proficiency was capital for the future.

The same youth had delivered his meals every day.

Little Douzi, Pei Qiang's son.

At sixteen or seventeen, he had a clever air about him and knew how to read the room. Every time he delivered the food, he ran off without ever disturbing Zhou Qi.

His talent truly was not bad either. After eating the Wild Boar King's meat for several consecutive days, he had already broken through to the Qi Refining Third Layer.

Reaching the Qi Refining Third Layer at such an age, he would have been among the cream of the crop even in the great clans of Lin'an City.

Pei Qiang bragged about it everywhere, while Pei Yunyang nodded and praised him as well, calling him the hope of the entire village!

But sometimes, the boy would hide behind a distant tree and secretly watch him practice his fists.

Whenever Zhou Qi occasionally stretched his limbs in the courtyard, he would perform several sets of punches. The Mountain-Splitting Fist and the Army-Breaking Fist were both basic wares, but when wielded by someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm, their power was naturally different.

Little Douzi would crouch behind the tree, his eyes wide and round as he stared without blinking.

Sometimes he became so absorbed that he even forgot to deliver the meal.

Zhou Qi did not dislike it.

He even understood somewhat.

For children in this impoverished mountain hollow, climbing upward was far too difficult.

On the evening of the eleventh day.

Zhou Qi was meditating inside when he suddenly heard a commotion from the foot of the mountain.

It was far livelier than usual, mixed with cries of alarm and weeping.

His brows furrowed slightly as he pushed open the door and went outside.

He used Gale Step, and after a few rises and falls, arrived at the center of the village.

A ring of people had gathered in the open space.

Zhou Qi pushed through the crowd and looked inside.

Pei Qiang lay on the ground, his face deathly pale. His right arm was twisted at a bizarre angle, and blood had soaked through his sleeve.

Pei Yunyang crouched beside him, carefully cutting open his sleeve.

Once the sleeve was cut away, the injury beneath was revealed.

Three deep claw marks stretched from his shoulder all the way to his wrist. Flesh and skin had curled back, faintly exposing white bone.

The most fatal injury was the arm bone, broken into two pieces in the middle. Jagged white bone fragments had pierced through the flesh and were exposed outside.

After looking for a while, Pei Yunyang's face grew darker and darker.

After a long time, he stood up and sighed.

"This injury... can only be stopped and bandaged. But for it to recover as before..."

He shook his head and did not finish.

But everyone understood what he meant.

Pei Qiang's right arm was crippled.

Pei Qiang lay on the ground, gritting his teeth without making a sound.

A youth beside him lunged forward, his eyes red-rimmed. It was Little Douzi.

"Dad! Dad, what happened to you?!"

Pei Qiang looked at him and forced out a smile. "It's nothing. I won't die."

Little Douzi's tears fell in big drops.

Zhou Qi stood outside the crowd, watching the scene with a slight frown.

He stepped forward, crouched beside Pei Qiang, and asked:

"What happened?"

When Pei Qiang saw him, a trace of reverence flashed through his eyes. He struggled to sit up, but Zhou Qi pressed him back down.

"Zhang... Senior Zhang." He panted heavily. "We caught a Spirit Deer. On the way back, we ran into a pack of wolves."

"Wolves?"

"Yes. I don't know why, but there had never been wolves in this mountain range before."

"The one leading them... was a One-Eyed Wolf. It was especially large, a full size bigger than ordinary wolves, and incredibly fast. I didn't even have time to react before it slashed me with one claw..."

Zhou Qi's gaze flickered.

One-Eyed Wolf?

He thought of that Silly Dog.

Could it really be such a coincidence?

Pei Qiang continued, "Those wolves only injured me. They snatched the Spirit Deer and ran off. It felt like they had no intention of killing anyone..."

Zhou Qi fell silent for a moment.

This was fucking definitely that Silly Dog.

The same trick as when it ambushed and killed that horse for itself.

Zhou Qi glanced at Pei Qiang, then at Little Douzi, who was weeping bitterly nearby.

Without saying anything, he turned and left.