Chapter 92: Loyal Dog Yuanqiu

Rustle, rustle!

The gray dog moved its paw slightly, and the old beggar instinctively let out a sigh of relief, quickening his pace as he approached.

The dog’s ears twitched, and though it barely managed to stand, it didn’t even open its eyes. Instead, it bared its teeth and let out a low growl, “Grrr… grrr,” as a warning.

“It’s me! It’s me!” Afraid of startling the dog, the old beggar stopped, pushed aside his blood-stained beard and hair, and revealed his face.

The dog, its eyes clouded with age, took two unsteady steps toward him. After staring intently for a moment, its drooping tail suddenly perked up.

“Woof! Woof!” The dog barked twice and limped toward the old beggar.

The old beggar crouched down and reached out to pick it up, but instead of leaping into his arms like it used to, the dog flopped onto its side and exposed its belly.

“Woof! Woof!”

The dog pressed its curled front paw against its stomach, continuing to whine.

Seeing its swollen belly, the old beggar choked up. “Li kid, let me borrow your blade again.”

Hearing this, Li Xunshan quickly handed over the blade.

Taking the knife, the old beggar carefully cleared the fur from the dog’s stomach. After some probing, he gently sliced open a piece of parchment stuck to its belly.

Before long, he removed the entire sheet of parchment and took out a small package wrapped in oil paper, about the size of a palm.

“This is the evidence.” He handed the evidence and the blade to Li Xunshan before turning to the dog. Stroking its bony head, he said, “Thank you, Yuanqiu.” [Yuanqiu literally means round ball]

Yuanqiu squinted its eyes in pleasure. “Woof… woof…”

“Sometimes, humans are far less loyal than dogs…” Wei Hai sighed, wiping away a tear.

“Does anyone have any food?” The old beggar urgently turned to the group.

Hearing this, Li Xunshan and Wei Hai instinctively searched their belongings but shook their heads in unison.

“Woof…” Yuanqiu whined again, but this time its voice was much weaker.

When the old beggar first found Yuanqiu, it was just half a year old. Now, it was over 21 years old. Living so long under such harsh conditions, barely scraping by, it must have held on solely to fulfill its master’s orders—to wait for his return.

“I only have one fruit. Let it eat.” Gu Ning’an walked up to the old beggar, holding a faintly golden kumquat fruit in his hand.

The fruit’s sweet fragrance filled the air, making Li Xunshan and Wei Hai unconsciously swallow their saliva.

“That’ll do… that’ll do… thank you, Mr. Gu!” The old beggar took the kumquat fruit and brought it to Yuanqiu’s mouth.

Smelling the fruit’s fragrance, Yuanqiu opened its weary eyes slightly. But instead of eating, it turned its head away and whined, lifting a paw to tap the corner of the old beggar’s mouth.

Seeing this, the old beggar chuckled through tears. “It’s just one fruit. We’re not splitting it today—this whole thing’s for you. Eat it all.”

“Woof! Woof!” Yuanqiu turned its head away, clamping its jaws shut, refusing to let the old beggar place the fruit in its mouth.

The old beggar sighed deeply, then carefully bit off half of the kumquat fruit. Showing his open mouth, he said, “Look, I ate half. It’s so sweet! Now you eat.”

Hearing this, Yuanqiu turned its head back, opened its mouth, and swallowed the remaining half of the fruit. As if unwilling to waste even a drop, it licked the old beggar’s fingers clean of any remaining juice.

Tears streamed down the old beggar’s face as he stroked Yuanqiu’s head and chuckled, “Why are you so skinny now? Haven’t had anything to eat? Don’t you know how to wag your tail at people to beg for food?”

Swish, swish, swish!

Yuanqiu’s thin tail began to sway, brushing against the grass and making a soft rustling sound.

Gently holding Yuanqiu’s tail, the old beggar laughed, “Look at this wagging—it’s perfect! If you went begging, you’d definitely do better than me, a failed scholar.”

“Woof…” Yuanqiu let out a soft whine, and the tail in the old beggar’s hand went limp, dropping lifelessly.

The old beggar’s body trembled. Hugging Yuanqiu tightly, he murmured, “Yuanqiu, go in peace… In your next life, be human and live a good life…”

Li Xunshan rolled up his sleeves. “Old Wen, let me help you dig a hole and bury Yuanqiu.”

“I’ll do the digging. You go find some small stones—preferably a solid piece of wood we can use to make a marker for Yuanqiu’s grave,” Wei Hai said as he started scouting for a suitable spot to dig.

“Ahem!” Gu Ning’an cleared his throat forcefully.

When everyone turned to look at him, he pointed at Yuanqiu in the old beggar’s arms and smiled, “Is it possible that Yuanqiu is just too tired and fell asleep?”

Asleep?

Could it be that Yuanqiu hadn’t run out of lifespan, passing away after fulfilling its purpose?

Wei Hai and Li Xunshan both looked at the old beggar. Just as the old man was about to lower his head for a closer inspection, a faint snoring sound came from his shoulder.

Hoo~ hoo~ hoo~ hoo.

“It’s not dead?” Wei Hai threw the dirt in his hands to the ground, rubbed his hands, and grumbled, “Old Wen, make sure next time before you say something! Yuanqiu guarded your evidence for twenty years, finally met you again, and just fell asleep. You almost had us bury it alive!”

“Damn it, I even shed tears just now…”

“Yes, yes, it’s my fault, my fault!” The old beggar loosened his robe a bit, carefully tucking the frail Yuanqiu into his chest. “It’s good it’s not dead. It’s good it’s not dead.”

With lingering fear on his face, the old beggar looked at Gu Ning’an and asked, “Mr. Gu, as for the old man, we have no idea where he’s gone or whether he’s still in this city. What should we do now?”

On the way here, the old beggar had felt there was something extraordinary about Gu Ning’an, though he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.

It seemed that as long as Gu Ning’an was present, danger could be averted. And no matter what situations arose, Gu Ning’an always remained calm, as if nothing was ever truly a problem for him.

When Gu Ning’an had earlier remarked on the old man’s impressive demeanor and hinted at a significant background, the beggar had wanted to say, That old man may be extraordinary, but compared to you, sir, he’s like mud to a cloud. How great must your background be?

Just now, while holding Yuanqiu, the old beggar could clearly feel its condition: icy cold, stiff, with faint and fading breaths. It had all the signs of being at death’s door.

Yet, after eating half of the golden kumquat, Yuanqiu’s body had regained warmth. It was no longer stiff but soft again. And as for the beggar himself, he felt strength coursing through his body after consuming the kumquat.

The despair and exhaustion caused by betrayal and bad news had completely vanished the moment he swallowed the fruit!

Such miraculous effects couldn’t possibly come from an ordinary kumquat. So, even before he asked Gu Ning’an, the old beggar was already convinced: Gu Ning’an would surely have a solution.

Read advanced chapters at patreon.com/PotatoTales. Currently up to 10 advanced chapters.