The rustling noises drew closer and closer. Chilly breath kept blowing against the back of his head. He couldn’t take it anymore, his legs gave way, he let out a wretched cry, and tumbled down the small mound. When he hit the ground, every bone in his body felt shattered.
Worse still, his right ankle was badly sprained.
“Damn it!” he cursed, then clamped his mouth shut in terror, afraid of drawing whatever lurked in the darkness.
Silence fell again. Moments later, the bushes to his right began to stir faintly, as if something was about to burst out from within.
Dragging his injured leg, Wang Jianhui scrambled backward desperately, drenched in cold sweat. He had never felt such bone-chilling fear in his life; he was moments away from losing control of his bladder. He stared fixedly at the trembling foliage, and suddenly a pair of blood-red eyes glowed in the dark, locking onto his gaze with bitter malice.
Every hair on Wang Jianhui’s body stood on end. A scream died in his throat. He lost all strength, unable to make a sound.
God almighty, was he going to die right here today?
That young girl was completely unreliable! I’m going to die! Warm dampness spread between his legs he had actually wet himself.
The eyes drew nearer. He could barely make out a four-legged creature. It let out strange, hoarse whimpers, deep and raspy, nothing like tigers or leopards.
Shaking violently, Wang Jianhui swallowed hard and mustered his courage. “Dahei… is that you?”
The figure approached even closer. A foul stench of rot and blood flooded his nostrils, its whimpers growing more miserable by the second.
Trapped with no way out, Wang Jianhui knew no one could save him. Enduring the pain and the sticky mess between his legs, he trembled uncontrollably, rearranged himself, knelt prostrate before the beast, and kowtowed repeatedly.
Sharp stones on the ground bruised his forehead purple and blue. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry Dahei. Spare me, spare my family,” he wept. “We shouldn’t have eaten your puppies. We were wrong, truly wrong!”
Terrified and nauseated by the disgusting stench, tears and snot streamed down his face. He had never been this humiliated in his entire life.
Yet the twisted creature that was once Dahei paid no heed to his last-minute pleas, closing in relentlessly.
Wang Jianhui dared not look up. An icy cold pierced him from head to toe. The putrid smell grew overwhelming, making him dizzy.
The beast raised its head, its gaping maw splitting open. Bloodstained saliva dripped down its jaws. Sharp fangs were tangled with scraps of flesh. Its mouth was large enough to swallow his entire head whole. Wang Jianhui rolled his eyes and lost consciousness.
The monster kept moving. Just as its jaws were about to clamp shut, the talisman hidden against Wang Jianhui’s chest suddenly blazed with golden light. A barrier exploded outward, sending the creature flying several feet back.
Chen Jiu leaped down from a treetop and shouted sharply, “Eight Directions Soul Seal!”
Before the beast could rise, the golden barrier transformed into a fine woven net of glowing threads that descended from the sky, trapping it firmly in place. Enraged at its failed attack, it let out a deafening roar. Wind and dead leaves surged into a violent shockwave crashing toward Chen Jiu. She formed hand seals, and vermilion talismans shot through the air.
“Heavenly Divine Armor, immune to all curses!”
A loud hum echoed. The talismans formed another golden shield. The two forces collided, and the shockwave shattered instantly.
Chen Jiu landed steadily, her clothes barely fluttering, completely unharmed behind the barrier.
The monster seemed stunned by her power, knowing it was no match. It heaved heavily, its eyes still crimson and hateful, staring at her silently.
“I’m sorry you’ve suffered so much,” Chen Jiu said, squatting down to take out incense and ghost money, “but I was paid to do this. I’ll burn these for you before you go. Consider it atonement for his sins. Reborn into a better life in your next lifetime.”
The beast blinked, and tears of blood slowly rolled down its face.
In low, broken, distorted tones, it whispered, “You… humans… are the real beasts…”
Chen Jiu said nothing. Quietly she set up a small altar to guide its spirit onward.
She began the Rebirth Mantra. The monster listened intently. Golden light scattered, and fragmented memories drifted into view.
“Can we keep it?”
A young boy’s voice was timid, afraid of being refused.
The woman sounded impatient. “I can barely take care of you, and now you want a stray animal?”
“Please Mom, I’ll get good grades this time, I promise.” The boy hugged the tiny black puppy and begged.
After a moment of hesitation, the woman relented and turned inside. “You look after it yourself. I won’t lift a finger.”
“I will!” the boy cheered.
But a small child knew nothing about raising a dog. The mother always ended up cleaning up after it. Hardhearted on the surface but soft inside, she refused to let the little creature starve.
“I’ll call you Dahei!”
Every day after school, the boy ran around happily with it. The puppy had shiny black fur and round bright eyes, a healthy native Chinese rural dog.
Whenever he called its name, the puppy would lift a paw to touch his hand, as if it understood every word.
“My Dahei is so smart,” he boasted proudly to everyone.
As time passed, Dahei grew big and strong, the natural leader of all the village dogs.
“When I go away for school, guard our home well and listen to Mom,” the boy told it.
Years went by. The boy grew up, Dahei became old. Day after day, year after year, it sat faithfully at the gate, watching over the house.
On New Year’s Eve, firecrackers thrown by a neighboring child ignited dry firewood in the backyard. Flames spread instantly. Dahei barked frantically toward the house.
The child fled. Fireworks blazed and television blared inside, drowning out its cries. No one noticed.
Dahei circled the yard, crawled through the ash chute into the kitchen, and rushed inside covered in dirt.
The family screamed. The woman grabbed a broom and began beating it, chasing it outside. Only then did she see the raging fire.
“Help! Fire!”
Luckily the blaze was discovered early, with little lasting damage.
On New Year’s Day, the whole family let Dahei eat at their dinner table.
A dog sitting among humans looked absurd and ridiculous.
“Dahei saved our entire family!”
Everyone laughed.
Eating unusual, special food, Dahei felt something close to human understanding for the first time.
“Dahei shares our Wang surname. My kids will call it auntie,” a young man joked.
His grandmother slapped him lightly. “Don’t talk nonsense. Animals are just animals.”
Everyone laughed again.
Everything was perfect, peaceful, happy.
Then why… why did it hate them so deeply?
The scene froze abruptly. Bloodstains spread, cracking everything apart.
Chen Jiu frowned deeply, exhaled slowly, and abruptly stopped the mantra.
No.
The monster let out a earth-shattering roar. “I hate them! I hate them all!!”
The golden barrier could no longer contain its overwhelming resentment. It fractured like a spiderweb.
“Do you understand? I served them loyally my entire life. I thought my puppies would guard their children for generations after me…”
It broke free of its restraints, screaming, “They skinned my babies alive, chopped them up, and stewed them in a pot. They ate happily!”
“I want every single one of them to die a horrible death!”
It lunged straight at the unconscious Wang Jianhui, ready to tear him to shreds on the spot.
It was grateful he had come to it. Otherwise it would have waited ages to reach the city in its true form.
A sharp white energy blade sliced through the air, faster than the eye could follow. It cleanly severed one of the monster’s ears. It shrieked in agony, forced to halt its charge.
It had no physical body only powerful artifacts could harm it.
Thunder roared before the strike even landed.
Chen Jiu summoned her Thunder Sword, stood firmly in front of Wang Jianhui without retreating, ready to defend.
“Next strike won’t just be an ear.” she warned coldly.
“You’re all evil!” the beast snarled.
As human and spirit faced each other, the man on the ground spoke weakly.
Wang Jianhui blinked, his whole body numb, unable to move a single finger. Tears streamed down his cheeks.
“I’m sorry, Dahei…” he whispered with great difficulty. “I’m so sorry…”
Chen Jiu stayed vigilant, never relaxing her hold on the monster, fearing another sudden attack.
The beast fell silent, its hatred unchanged. Wang Jianhui sobbed uncontrollably, choking on his own saliva, coughing until his face turned red and his lungs ached sharply.
“Die. Die. Die!”
It erupted violently. Resentment billowed like endless black fog, charging straight for Wang Jianhui.
He screamed in despair. He did not want to die, yet for a split second he thought death might be easier. The thought vanished instantly, swallowed by regret and unwillingness.
“Master, save me!” he stared wildly, begging Chen Jiu desperately.