Chapter 53: A Whiff

The burly, agile alpha wolf was suddenly thrown to the ground by a dark shadow.

Pei Hu thrust his torch forward, and everyone finally saw that the shadow that had brought down the alpha wolf was a dog. Its fur was glossy and smooth, though slightly smaller than the wolf.

Its two black paws were pinning the alpha wolf down.

The alpha wolf struggled on the ground but couldn’t break free.

Suddenly, the paws holding it down loosened.

The black dog jumped back on its own. The alpha wolf rolled over from the ground, and the wolf and the dog fought in the open space that the Wei family had cleared. All the surrounding wolves watched intently, but as if in awe of something, they all stood still, not daring to approach.

Moments later, the black dog easily won, leaving a bloody mark on the alpha wolf, but it didn’t go for the kill.

It’s unknown what it barked a few times, but the alpha wolf howled, and the pack gradually retreated into the woods. They didn’t even dare to take the roasted chicken and duck scattered on the ground, let alone touch the pork and mutton hidden in the grass.

As the wolf pack retreated, the black dog turned and walked toward Wei Yunlan.

Seeing its glossy black fur, Wei Yunlan recognized it the moment it appeared.

At this moment, her consciousness probed into the dimensional space. Sure enough, the hazy white mist in the center had disappeared, and the black dog that had been enveloped in the mist was gone.

Wei Yunlan was certain that the black dog in front of her was the one from the dimensional space!

Seeing the black dog walking toward her, she raised her right hand.

Seventh Lady Yu and Pei Hu dashed to her side, tightening their long swords, their eyes still wary. “Miss Wei, be careful.” This dog could defeat even the alpha wolf, clearly making it even more dangerous!

“It’s alright.” Wei Yunlan shook her head slightly. She could faintly sense a subtle connection between the black dog in front of her and the dimensional space, and it wouldn’t harm her.

Her raised right hand remained suspended in the air.

When the black dog approached, it stretched its head under her palm.

Wei Yunlan stroked its glossy fur. As she had imagined, it was incredibly smooth and felt great.

Seeing this, the Wei family members and the Tianshu Pavilion guards were all dumbfounded.

This was a fierce creature that even the alpha wolf and the wolf pack couldn’t handle, yet it was as docile as a house dog in Wei Yunlan’s hands!

Madam Gao was the first to react. She hobbled over and said, “Your grandfather had the ability to make animals approach him. Could it be that you inherited it from him?”

Just now, she had

The guards of Tianshu Pavilion, who had found the situation incomprehensible, showed a look of realization upon hearing this. They almost forgot that the matriarch of the Wei family came from the Tianshi Mansion, and that Miss Wei also had the bloodline of the renowned Master Gao from the late Emperor’s era. It wasn’t surprising for her to possess abilities that ordinary people did not!

“Lan’er, what about this black dog?” Madam Gao turned her gaze to the black dog squatting in front of her daughter, recalling the inquiries her daughter had made a few days ago in Suijiang.

This black dog was likely connected to the one that her grandfather had raised, which her daughter had inquired about!

With the conversation leading here, Wei Yunlan smoothly stated, “Since it is close to me, let’s take it with us on our journey.”

The wolf pack in the dense forest no longer posed a threat, but the Wei family still decided to distance themselves from the area.

Everyone began to prepare their carts, gathering their belongings. Manager Wang and Master Dong also retrieved the roasted chicken, duck, and bones that they had previously thrown away. Before they could reach the grass, Wei Yunlan had already put the pork and mutton hidden in the bushes back into the dimensional space.

The black dog, which had been crouching with its front facing the grass, finally stood up and turned to shake its tail at Wei Yunlan.

Seeing this, Wei Yunlan began to suspect that the black dog had suddenly awakened from the dimensional space because she had moved the meat in front of it.

The cart was back on the road.

Wei Yunlan took the opportunity to sit alone in the last cart filled with grains and miscellaneous items, fearing that the black dog might inadvertently harm others.

Once on the cart, she stared into the black dog’s eyes and asked a series of questions, “Can you return to the dimensional space after coming out of it?”

“Can you talk? Do you have a name?”

“You can understand what I’m saying, right?”

The black dog’s bright eyes fixed on Wei Yunlan’s eyes but showed no reaction at all.

Only after her last question did it slightly tilt its head, revealing a hint of timely confusion in its gaze.

Seeing this, Wei Yunlan tapped her forehead, feeling that she might have been a bit delusional for thinking to ask a black dog such questions.

If the old physician in the front cart heard this, he might have asked with concern, “Miss Wei, do you have a mental disorder?”

Rather than fantasizing about the dog speaking, it was better to try things out herself.

Wei Yunlan concentrated her thoughts, attempting to draw the black dog into the dimensional space. After a moment, she realized that the black dog squatting in front of her had not moved at all, remaining right there, still tilting its head in confusion as it looked at her.

After pondering for a moment, Wei Yunlan casually took out a wooden bucket from the dimensional space and then put it back. She then pointed at the black dog and then at the lotus mark on her palm.

The black dog seemed to understand Wei Yunlan’s intentions.

Wei Yunlan wanted to express something, and the squatting black dog stood up.

In the next moment, it stretched its hind legs, lowered its upper body, yawned, and then lay down, exposing its belly to Wei Yunlan.

“……”

At this point, it would be impolite not to give it a pat.

Wei Yunlan gently stroked the soft belly of the black dog, but her gaze followed the corner of the cart curtain that was lifted, looking out at the mountains and forests that were continuously receding in the distance.

A possibly feasible idea suddenly emerged in her mind.

With one hand petting the black dog, she used the other to rummage through her belongings in the dimensional space. Soon, a thin indigo blanket appeared in her hand.

This was the blanket that Mingxuan often used to cover himself before he had left the exile group.

Later, during the chaos of the Earth Dragon Turns, she had collected many discarded items, including this blanket.

“What if I sniff this blanket? If the other party is nearby, can I find out where they are?”

“……”

Deep into the night.

While ordinary households had long extinguished their candles and were sleeping on their pillows, a group of people was still toiling away in the pitch-black depths of the mountains, far from human habitation.

In the makeshift grass shed outside the mine, Wei Mingxuan was writing furiously.

With his ability to read and write, he stood out among the crowd and secured this job of recording.

By this moment, he had already been in this small shed for six continuous hours!

However, it was still better than going into the mine. Wang Gui was able to stay by his side, helping with the weighing tasks, thus avoiding the dangers inside the mine.

Wei Mingxuan felt quite content with this arrangement.

He needed to ensure that both of them were safe before he could slowly plot other plans!

Suddenly, noises came from outside the grass shed. The two people busy with weighing and recording were so occupied that they couldn’t lift their heads, only saying, “Just put it there.”

No one responded from outside. Wei Mingxuan looked up and saw that there was no one at the door.

What he saw instead was a black dog holding a cloth in its mouth!