Chapter 13: Can't Find It?

The school in Huangtan Town is called Huangtan Middle School, which is separate from Huangtan Primary School. Lin Heng attended here until the second year of middle school, but was persuaded by some bad friends to stop continuing his education.

Compulsory education started in 1986, and there are three more years left. The current schools, especially in rural areas, have very limited teaching resources.

Looking at the school and hearing the loud reading voices from inside, Lin Heng couldn't help but feel nostalgic.

Memories from his student days flashed back. He was vulnerable and sensitive, naive and ignorant, but it was one of the few happy times of his life.

Shaking his head, Lin Heng smiled and said, "This life will always be happy."

He walked around the school but didn't see the large wolf-dog anywhere, which left him a bit confused.

"Something's wrong. The old man said it was behind the school, so how can it be gone?"

Lin Heng was very puzzled. He searched around but didn't even hear any barking. What was going on?

Could the timing be wrong?

In his past life, Lin Heng had seen that large wolf-dog before. It was powerful and majestic, even more handsome than a German Shepherd, definitely a genetic mutation.

He had to find it—getting that dog would be like Liu Bei gaining Guan Yu—truly a great help.

After thinking for a while, he waited until the students finished class and asked one of them, "Is there a dog near your school?"

"Yeah, behind the garbage pile there's a dog den. I even petted the puppies once. There are four cute little dogs, one of them is particularly smart."

A student glanced at Lin Heng and answered.

"Can you show me? I want to adopt one," Lin Heng asked.

Since the middle school had no walls or security, outsiders could directly enter.

When the student heard Lin Heng wanted to adopt a dog, his sympathy kicked in, and he volunteered to take him there.

"Hey, where are the dogs?"

When they reached the dog den, the student was stunned—the dogs were gone.

"I saw them yesterday when I passed by. Let me ask around."

The helpful student quickly went to ask someone.

Before long, the student came back with an anxious expression, "The teacher said that the old man behind the school took them. He's planning to eat them. He took them yesterday afternoon."

Upon hearing this, Lin Heng panicked. "What? That was my Guan Yu!"

"Where does the old man live?" he quickly asked.

If the dog was gone just like that, it would be terrible. Moreover, Lin Heng had never heard of this in his past life.

"The old man lives in the southeast part of the school, near the ravine," the student replied quickly.

Without a word, Lin Heng turned and ran toward that direction.

Luckily, there were only two households in the ravine, so it wasn't hard to find.

He didn't find anything at the first house but quickly reached the second one. As he approached the yard, he saw blood that had turned black on the ground, which made his heart sink.

Could his rebirth have caused the dog's death?

That couldn't be! He hadn't even left the village yet.

"Woof…"

At that moment, he heard barking from the firewood pile beside the yard.

He walked over and saw three puppies tied there. One of them was particularly large, towering over its siblings. Its eyes were sharp, and it was biting at its leash, full of energy. Just by looking at it, Lin Heng was certain this was the large wolf-dog he was searching for.

Behind the puppies, the mother dog was also biting at her leash, making whimpering noises when she saw Lin Heng.

Lin Heng sighed in relief. The blood outside was probably from one of the puppies, but thankfully his Guan Yu wasn't killed.

He was glad he came early; otherwise, it might have been too late.

But then he realized something didn't feel right. Maybe in his past life, they had broken free from their leashes by themselves.

Lin Heng quickly scanned the area and realized the family wasn't home.

"Woof woof…"

He softly called the dogs and walked over.

The dogs, originally very cautious, relaxed when they sensed Lin Heng's good intentions.

Lin Heng untied the leashes one by one. All four dogs ran up to rub against his legs.

"Woof!"

While rubbing against him, the dogs also made affectionate sounds.

"Alright, you're free now."

Lin Heng smiled and took out a piece of white food from his pocket to feed his Guan Yu.

"Little guy, come with me?"

Lin Heng held the food up to the dog's mouth.

These puppies were already a month old, and they were ready to be taken home.

He noticed that this dog was different from the other two not just in size but also in its ears—it naturally had erect ears.

Its fur on the spine was a yellow-black color, forming a black vertical stripe, and the chest fur was white. It had large paws, and its eyes were full of life.

Lin Heng even wondered if this was the offspring of the mother dog and a wolf, but after looking at the other two puppies, he shook his head. This must be a special case—an anomaly.

The puppy looked at Lin Heng, as if it understood his intention. It took a bite of the food and then gave some to its mother.

"Woof…"

The mother dog, seemingly starving, quickly devoured the food.

"Come with me. Next year, when I have money, I'll bring them all home," Lin Heng said and reached out to hold the little dog.

Just as he picked it up, a loud, raspy shout from the old man came from outside: "Who's the shameless one stealing my dogs? Damn you, put them down!"

"Woof woof woof!"

Hearing this, the mother dog charged out angrily, aiming to bite the old man.

Lin Heng, with the puppy in his arms, ran without looking back, ignoring the barking and the old man's shouts behind him.

Once they were far enough away, Lin Heng looked back. The mother dog had been driven off, and the other two puppies had run away as well.

The old man didn't chase after him, probably because the dogs didn't belong to him anyway.

Lin Heng turned his attention back to the puppy in his arms, which was staring intently at the direction its mother and siblings had fled.

"Don't worry, I'll keep my promise. I'll come back for them next year."

Lin Heng said, and then left with the puppy.

"Woof woof!"

The puppy barked twice, though Lin Heng couldn't understand what it was saying.

Once they were far from the yard, Lin Heng took a closer look at the puppy in his arms. The more he looked, the more he liked it. It was truly a great dog.

"I'll give you a strong name—how about Xiong Ba? The king of dogs."

Lin Heng scratched the little dog's head and tied a cloth rope around it before letting it run on the ground.

"Woof woof!"

Xiong Ba barked and ran after Lin Heng's feet.

When Lin Heng returned home, his father, Lin Xu'an, was fuming: "So your idea of 'handling business' was going to catch a dog? Couldn't you find a dog anywhere?"

"This isn't just any dog. Xiong Ba is no ordinary dog. With him, hunting will be a breeze," Lin Heng replied and looked at his wife, Chen Xiulan. "Honey, isn't this dog impressive?"

"Woof woof!"

Xiong Ba seemed to understand, barking proudly.

"I think this dog is great. Lin Heng will be safer with a dog to accompany him hunting," Chen Xiulan nodded and said.

"Hmph, I'm worried. If you get a dog, will you just run off again? You expect him to hunt every day, while you only go out fishing three days a week?" Lin Xu'an retorted, then added, "Fine, you can keep it, but you'll have to pay for its care. If you run off with it, I'll give it away."

(End of Chapter)