It was golden October.
There was already a hint of autumn in the air. The old locust tree in the courtyard had begun shedding its leaves, golden leaves spiraling down one by one to carpet the ground. The distant mountains had taken on a faint yellow tint as well, as though someone had lightly brushed them with paint.
Loa stood in the courtyard, watching Wangcai bustle about.
The big purple dog darted in and out of the house, carrying this in its mouth and dragging that, happily keeping itself busy.
"Ready?" Loa asked.
"Almost, boss! Just a little longer!"
Wangcai's voice sounded in his mind, tinged with urgency. It was dragging an old cushion out of its bed, the same one it had slept on from puppyhood to adulthood after coming to this home. Its corners had been chewed to tatters, but it stubbornly refused to replace it.
Loa watched it helplessly.
Wangcai set the cushion aside and ducked back into the house. A moment later, it emerged with an iron bowl in its mouth-its food bowl, a large one Bob had personally forged for it. Would you believe the thing was made with thousand-fold steel?
Next came a chewed-up leather ball, several magical beast bones gnawed beyond recognition, and a rag it had dug up from who knew where. Who would have guessed that it had once been a stuffed toy?
"My bed! My bowl! My toys!" Wangcai muttered, gathering the items together one by one. "They're all coming!"
Loa silently watched the pile on the ground.
A cushion, an iron bowl, a battered ball, bones, old strips of cloth... The odds and ends formed a small heap.
"All done, boss!" Wangcai finally stopped and sat beside the pile, its tail wagging furiously. "This is all I'm taking!"
Loa