At this moment, Ye Wanmian was unaware that a little tail had quietly appeared behind her. Only Dahuang turned its head and took a look. After recognizing the person behind as Xiao Jingcheng, it cowardly turned its head away again.
Led by Dahuang, Ye Wanmian walked through half of the small town and came once again to the small grove where she and Xiao Jingcheng had fed the dogs last time.
Xiao Jingcheng had been following her from a distance. After arriving at the grove, he hid in the shadows. Through the gaps between the tree trunks, he watched the young girl in the grove put a leaf to her lips and blow.
The tune she blew was gentle and clear. Although it was no match for the famous melodies played by masters, it brought a kind of vibrant energy.
Both this grove and the tune played from her mouth made Xiao Jingcheng feel extremely familiar. Combining with what Dahuang had revealed to him today, a sharp pain shot through his head. He leaned against a tree trunk and let out a soft groan.
Fragments of memories flashed through his mind.
【I am the Heavenly Hound from the sky who has descended to the mortal world. In the past, I followed True Lord Erlang into battlefields and was conferred the title of the General Who Swallows the Sun. You may just call me 'General'.】
In the quiet grove, the majestic dog stood on a high platform, looking down upon the pack of dogs below and saying this rather mysterious line in the most arrogant tone.
Led by Sangbiao, the dogs howled towards the sky and called out 'General' one after another.
Suddenly, the scene changed. It was still this grove. The girl took out a handkerchief from her body and unfolded it in front of the dogs. There was only some tiny black mud in the handkerchief, almost invisible, as if it would disappear with a puff of wind.
The girl held out the handkerchief in front of the dogs like Sangbiao and said solemnly:
【I would like to ask everyone to smell the scent on the handkerchief and help me find out where in the town there is the same smell.】
Beside her, the yellow dog lowered its voice and growled at the pack of dogs. Then, Sangbiao and the other dogs stepped forward one by one, sniffed the handkerchief in the girl's hand, and then left briskly, disappearing into the night.
After the last dog left, only she and 'him' were left on the scene. She lowered her head and smiled at 'him', picked up a leaf, sat on the ground, and just like now, blew the familiar tune...
The headache was like someone was using an axe to split his head open. Memories came surging towards him like a flood breaking through a dam.
The hand that Xiao Jingcheng was leaning on the tree trunk dug his fingernails deeply into the bark. The veins on the back of his hand and forehead bulged, and his whole body was trembling violently.
"General? General!" A somewhat vicissitudinous voice came from behind. Xiao Jingcheng turned his head and saw Sangbiao leading a few of his little minions behind him, licking their tongues obsequiously and wagging their tails.
If Ye Wanmian were here, she would surely be greatly startled.
At this moment, Xiao Jingcheng's eyes were bloodshot, and his expression looked a bit terrifying.
He tried his best to receive the chaotic memories in his mind, calmed his breathing as much as possible, and stared down at Sangbiao with lowered eyes.
Sangbiao was intimidated by his aura and subconsciously took a step back. Lowering its head, it said cautiously, "General, Dahuang said that the fairy sister has something to ask of us."
The tune was melodious behind him. Ye Wanmian was only a dozen steps away from him.
Xiao Jingcheng closed his eyes tightly and let out a deep breath. A growl came from his throat.
"Don't get within three steps of her. Otherwise, you know the consequences."
Sangbiao's eyes lit up.
The general, he was indeed the General Who Swallows the Sun!
The tail behind it wagged even more cheerfully. After answering, it led the little minions behind it and darted out.
Ye Wanmian patiently blew the leaf in her hand. A gentle breeze blew through the grove, and the leaves rustled. Her thoughts were also a bit dazed. She subconsciously looked at Dahuang beside her.
Dahuang was snuggled closely against her. Its dark bean-like eyes were full of dependence on her.
However, that look in its eyes was extremely innocent, just like a simple child.
It was completely different from the 'Dahuang' who used to look down upon the world, full of confidence, and could command the dogs in the town.
She shifted her gaze and waited quietly in place. After a while, a pair of green eyes appeared in the grove. All the nearby dogs had come.
Sangbiao, who was leading the pack, wagged its tail and squatted in front of her, barking twice as a greeting.
The sound of the blowing stopped. Ye Wanmian stood up, deftly jumped off the high platform, bent down, and stroked Sangbiao's head. "Little puppy, we meet again."
"Woof?" Sangbiao's voice was out of tune. It subconsciously glanced at the place where Xiao Jingcheng was hiding.
It was the fairy sister who wanted to touch it on her own initiative. It wasn't that it deliberately got close to the fairy sister, woof!
The tail behind it wagged even more cheerfully. Unable to hold back its joy, Sangbiao stuck out its tongue and licked Ye Wanmian's palm. The other dogs also swarmed up, wanting to get close to Ye Wanmian.
In the end, Ye Wanmian had no choice but to stroke all the dogs that Sangbiao had brought one by one. Dahuang was so anxious that it barked desperately behind her and would occasionally turn its head and bark in the direction where Xiao Jingcheng was hiding.
"Little purple guy, come quickly! Mother is about to be snatched away!"
In the shadow of the trees, Xiao Jingcheng gasped for breath. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead one by one, and his body still trembled non-stop.
The memories in his mind were still churning, telling him what strange experiences he had gone through after he fell off the cliff.
In the grove, after getting close to the dogs for a while, Ye Wanmian finally stated her purpose.
"I came to find you today because I actually have something to ask of you." She squatted down halfway, took out a money bag from her body, and held it out in front of Sangbiao.
"Today, a person came to our medical clinic to cause trouble and almost ruined my reputation. This is the money bag used by the person behind the scenes. I would like to ask you to help me keep an eye on her movements. If you see her go out, give her some obstacles and let her suffer a bit."
When Dahuang saw the money bag, it remembered what had happened today. It was so angry that it didn't even care about being jealous of Sangbiao and the other dogs. It started chattering at Sangbiao.
After listening, Sangbiao showed a fierce look in its eyes and bared its teeth menacingly.
How dare someone try to hurt the fairy sister!
The fairy sister had brought them food and stroked their heads. She never disliked them for being homeless, dirty, and smelly. The fairy sister was the great kind person that the ancestors had talked about. Woof, they had to protect kind people!
Sangbiao turned its head and barked at the dogs behind it. One by one, the dogs stepped forward to sniff the money bag in her hand. After all the dogs had smelled it, Ye Wanmian put the money bag away.
She stroked the heads of Sangbiao and Curly and said, "Remember, it's okay to give her obstacles, but don't expose yourselves. And don't get injured because of this. Otherwise, I'll feel very guilty."
Sangbiao understood this sentence. It barked loudly at Ye Wanmian as if it was agreeing.
Ye Wanmian originally thought that after the dogs smelled the scent, they would leave quickly like last time. However, Sangbiao and the other dogs still obediently squatted in place.
She didn't want to stay outside for too long. After saying goodbye to them, she turned around and left the grove.
However, after walking for a while, she found that it was very quiet behind her. She turned her head and saw that Dahuang had its back to her and was standing still, looking into the grove.
"Dahuang, it's time to go home!" She called out.
Only then did Dahuang turn around and catch up with her.
What she didn't know was that there was a familiar figure hiding in the shadow of the trees that Dahuang had been looking at just now.