Xia Li thought to herself, that young master was clearly a pampered dandy in fine clothes riding a spirited horse, and he adored this dog immensely. As a mere village girl, no amount of money could buy it from him—especially since she didn’t have that much to begin with. But she had to confirm whether the dog was really Marshal. If it was, she would spare no effort or means to get him back.
Not daring to act rashly, Xia Li blended into the crowd of onlookers as she moved along. Scanning her surroundings, she suddenly spotted an alley entrance to the right front—a perfect opportunity to make her move.
Quickening her pace, she drew alongside the dog and coughed softly, then whispered, “Xiao Shuai.”
To her surprise, the dog heard her and turned its head toward her. She pressed her left index finger to her lips and pointed right with her other hand.
This was a hand signal she had used with Xiao Shuai in her previous life. It meant: Stay quiet, go right.
Her Xiao Shuai had been exceptionally clever. Since she somewhat resembled her past self, knew his name from before, and used this familiar signal, if this dog truly was Xiao Shuai who had crossed over with her, he would surely recognize her and follow the command precisely.
After signaling, she turned and hurried to the right.
The dog hesitated briefly, then suddenly bolted to the right, startling the crowd and making people shriek.
His owner grew frantic, shouting, “Huzi, where are you going? Stop!”
Ignoring everyone else, the dog caught up to Xia Li in a few strides.
Seeing he had followed, Xia Li gestured again—this time for him to keep running and hide.
Of course, her movements were subtle, unnoticeable to others.
Obeying the command, the dog shot forward like an arrow, darting into the alley ahead. The lavishly dressed young master and his servants yelled as they chased after the dog toward the alley, and a swarm of onlookers surged after them.
Xia Li pressed a hand to her pounding heart, tears of emotion welling in her eyes. Heaven had been kind to her in this life—Xiao Shuai had truly crossed over with her, and she had found him.
She followed the crowd into the narrow alley, but there was no sign of the dog.
The young master and his servants ran to the end of the alley, shouting “Huzi!” all the way. Pausing briefly, the master pointed left and said, “You all go that way,” then told the remaining two, “We’ll go this way.”
A few determined onlookers ran after them, while others turned back.
Xia Li didn’t follow further. Surveying the area, she noticed that the courtyards were connected, but between each pair of walls was a recessed niche—one of which was piled with miscellaneous items.
She was certain that if it was really her Xiao Shuai, he would choose that spot to hide, rather than stray beyond her control.
Casually, she walked over, set her basket down, and crouched as if adjusting her embroidered shoes. While appearing to look down, she scanned the area and then peered into the pile of clutter.
Amid the jumble, two large, glistening eyes stared back at her.
Xia Li trembled with excitement and signaled for him to wait. Making sure no one in the alley was paying her any mind, she shifted to block their view, then pointed to her backpack and whispered, “Jump in.”A yellow shadow flashed as the dog leaped into the basket. Xia Li quickly covered the basket with cloth, stood up, and walked out of the alley carrying it on her back.
Just as she reached the alley entrance, the young master in fine clothes returned with two servants.
One servant asked Xia Li, “Miss, have you seen a black-and-white dog?”
Xia Li gave them a blank look and shook her head.
The servant then announced loudly to the residents and onlookers nearby, “Our family’s dog is lost. If anyone helps find it, there’s a reward of fifty taels of silver.”
The young master quickly interjected, “No! If you find Huzi, I’ll reward five hundred taels… no, a thousand taels, a thousand taels of silver!” He kicked the two servants and scolded, “Search house by house! If you can’t find him, I’ll beat your backsides raw…”
Hearing such a large reward for finding the dog, everyone grew excited and began searching everywhere. Some even rummaged through piles of debris, while residents scoured their courtyards and beyond.
Xia Li suppressed her inner excitement and hurried toward the embroidery workshop. Hearing soft whimpers from the basket, her eyes reddened. She clenched her jaw tightly, neither comforting the dog nor letting her own tears fall.
Before reaching the workshop, she spotted Mrs. Xia standing anxiously in the middle of the road, looking around.
Xia Li called out, “Mother.”
Seeing Xia Li, Mrs. Xia sighed in relief, stepped forward, and swatted her lightly. “You foolish child! Where did you run off to? What if you’d gotten lost? You worried me to death!”
Xia Li avoided the question. “Mother, I don’t feel well. I want to go home quickly.”
Mrs. Xia grew more alarmed seeing her daughter’s unusually flushed face, sweaty forehead, and disheveled hair. She tugged at her and said, “There’s a clinic ahead. I’ll take you to see a doctor.”
Xia Li shook her head. “I’m not sick, just terribly tired. I want to go home and sleep.” She insisted firmly, “Mother, I want to go home. Right now.”
Mrs. Xia quickly agreed, “Alright, alright, let’s hurry home. We’ll hire a donkey cart—they’re faster.”
She hailed a donkey cart by the roadside and negotiated a fare of fifty coins to Xiaowa Village.
Once aboard the cart, Xia Li felt somewhat relieved. She took the basket off her back and held it in her arms, noticing the cloth covering it had shifted. She quickly straightened and readjusted the cloth.
Mrs. Xia was puzzled. The empty bowls and pots from selling Icy Jelly were all in her own basket—what could be in her daughter’s basket that needed to be covered so carefully?
Xia Li explained, “The cloth at Chun Niang’s embroidery workshop is expensive. I bought a piece from a smaller fabric shop to make clothes.”
As they neared the city gate, they saw the young master again. He was hopping anxiously, incessantly kicking and berating his servants. Gone was his earlier arrogance and composure—his hair was messy, his clothes stained, and his eyes glistened with tears.
Facing the dog’s owner, Xia Li felt intensely guilty. She quickly lowered her head and held the basket tighter.
As the donkey cart passed by, the young master’s voice carried over: “…If Huzi isn’t found, my cousin will skin me alive, pull out my tendons, and send me back to the capital… Sob…”
He was actually crying.
The donkey cart slowly exited the city gate. The high city walls grew distant, and only then did Xia Li’s heart settle, the tension that had gripped her finally easing.
Thinking of the young master who had “lost” Huzi, Xia Li felt deeply guilty. In this world, Xiao Shuai wasn’t Xiao Shuai, but the “Huzi” in that man’s mouth—he didn’t belong to her. What she was doing now was essentially stealing, and she was making that young master bear the blame.
All she could do was apologize.
To them, Xiao Shuai was just a dog. But to her, he was family, a comrade who would protect her with his life.
She had to bring him to her side and treat him well. She knew that, in this life or the previous one, no one could treat him better than she could…