The rain continued unabated into the second day, and Dangdang still hadn’t returned. Xia Li was nearly frantic with worry. She feared Dangdang might be discovered and handed over to Young Master Liu, or that he might have wandered into the back mountains and been eaten by wild beasts. She searched not only within and around the village but also braved the rain to scour the mountain foothills. Had Mrs. Xia not desperately held her back, she would have ventured into the mountains themselves.
In the early afternoon, around the beginning of the Shen hour, Xia Li and Mrs. Xia, wearing bamboo hats and straw raincoats, had just returned from searching neighboring villages for the dog when they saw Dangdang come running from the backyard. He was covered in mud, his fur completely discolored.
Xia Li had intended to spank his little bottom, but at the sight of him, her heart softened.
Her eyes red, she shot Dangdang a fierce glare, then ignored him and sat sulking on a stool.
Dangdang responded by bowing apologetically and giving bear hugs, smearing mud all over Xia Li. When she still paid him no mind, he stood up on his hind legs, puffed out his belly, then crawled on the ground whining. His meaning was clear: No matter how upset you are, can it compare to my grievance? I’ve even been turned from male to female.
His antics successfully made Xia Li laugh, and the two were reconciled as if nothing had happened.
Noticing meat stuck between his teeth, Xia Li exclaimed in surprise, “Did you go up the mountain and eat wild game?”
Dangdang huffed a few heavy breaths, as if to say, You guessed right.
Xia Li was delighted. In his previous life, Xiao Shuai had been a pampered master, but in this rebirth, he had actually learned to be self-reliant. She herself was farming and trading to earn silver, and now even her dog knew how to find his own food. Environment doesn’t just change people; it changes dogs too.
Though Mrs. Xia didn’t understand the meaning behind Dangdang’s belly display, his bowing and leg-hugging amused her greatly. She felt that compared to Li Li’s happiness, those five thousand taels of silver were truly insignificant. That Commander was so wealthy anyway—he could simply buy more Yanshan Fierce Dogs.
While bathing Dangdang, Xia Li tugged his ears and warned him about safety first: no running off, no going to the back mountains where fierce beasts roamed. The little creature was much cleverer than in his previous life, but also less obedient.
Three days later, Xia Shan finished investigating nearby villages and moved on to more distant ones. He was away during the day but still returned to the Xia household to rest at night.
Because he carried such important responsibilities, Old Mrs. Xia was immensely proud, boasting everywhere that her son had become a banner chief and won the Commander’s favor.
Xia Li was deeply concerned about Xia Shan’s and Young Master Liu’s search for the dog. Every day after dinner, she would go to the Xia house to visit. Since the original host had always been close to Xia Shan, no one thought much of it.
She heard that due to the five-thousand-tael reward, not only had nearly every household in Xiangshan Province with Yanshan Wolfdogs come forward, but even many well-informed people from other provinces had brought their Yanshan Wolfdogs to Young Master Liu. Unfortunately, none were the right one. Repeated hopes raised and dashed had nearly driven Young Master Liu mad…
Having learned what she wanted to know, Xia Li became especially sweet-tongued and even personally made several pairs of socks for Xia Shan. Pleased, Xia Shan gave her the slingshot he always carried with him, along with ten mud pellets.
Ancient slingshots differed from modern ones—they resembled small bows, much more compact and portable. Instead of shooting arrows, they fired pellets.
Holding the slingshot, Xia Li acted as if she’d found treasure, practicing diligently in her spare time. She realized this body of hers not only had “far-seeing eyes” but also remarkable accuracy—whether shooting arrows or pellets, even flicking small stones with her fingers. This must be what they called innate talent.Before one knew it, it was mid-May, and Young Master Liu and his companions still hadn’t found Huzi. Xia Shan said that tomorrow Young Master Liu would bring people to search the mountains and had even paid Xia Shan to hire some farmers to help. They would comb through the nearby mountains, and if Huzi still couldn’t be found, it would mean the dog was likely in grave danger, and they would have no choice but to return to Xiangshan Prefecture…
Getting this crucial information in advance made Xia Li both relieved and deeply puzzled. That Lord Ye must be sick in the head—spending so much money, resources, and manpower to find a dog? It was too obsessive, completely unscientific. She felt that aside from herself, no one could fully appreciate Dangdang’s brilliance, let alone share her profound bond with him. Only she would go to such lengths to find Dangdang; others shouldn’t be acting this way.
Back when she had brought Dangdang home against all odds, it was because she believed no one else would treat him as well as she did. But now, how had things come to this?
As soon as she got home, she warned Dangdang, “Don’t you dare go up the mountain tomorrow. Hide inside the house and don’t come out, and don’t make a sound. If they find you, you’ll be taken away from me forever…”
Mrs. Xia turned pale with fear and whispered, “Li Li, I’m scared. What if…”
Xia Li reassured her, “Don’t be afraid, Mother. Young Master Liu is leading a search party in the mountains, not raiding our home. If we keep Dangdang locked inside, he won’t come to our house and won’t see him.”
Early the next morning, Xia Li brought a small bowl of Minced Meat and Cabbage Mixed Rice to the east room to feed Dangdang and gave him a pig bone toy that had already been gnawed clean. She reminded him again not to bark, especially when there were outsiders around. Xia Li tightly shut the small window of the room and even locked the door.
Dangdang wasn’t having it—he barked and scratched at the door with his paws.
Xia Li threatened, “If you want to leave me and leave this home, then go ahead and howl and scratch all you want.”
The room fell silent instantly.
Around the end of the Chen hour (7–9 a.m.), they heard a large group of people and horses arriving in the village, accompanied by the eager greetings of Xia Shan and Village Head Zhou. Surprisingly, there were even barks from dogs. Soon, the group bypassed Xia Li’s house and headed east.
With the main gate tightly shut, Mrs. Xia and Xia Li couldn’t focus on their chores and strained their ears to listen to the commotion outside.
When the group reached the foot of the mountain, Liu Changzhao couldn’t personally lead the search up the slopes. He sat at the base, accompanied by County Magistrate Lord Ding, Xia Shan, and Zhou Laohan (Village Head Zhou’s father), among others. Also with him was a young boy—Zeng Lizhang. Zeng explained that his curiosity had caused his cousin to lose Huzi, and he felt terribly sorry. He insisted on joining his cousin to find Huzi and make up for his mistake, and his father, Lord Zeng, had agreed.
A little farther away, over a dozen people were setting up pots to cook.
The sun grew increasingly intense, its scorching rays piercing through the leaves, glaring and harsh.
Three Hua Mountain was lush with vegetation, and even at the foot, there was a cool, somewhat eerie atmosphere. Sitting in the shade, Liu Changzhao and Zeng Lizhang didn’t feel too hot, but swarms of mosquitoes were a nuisance. Despite burning mosquito repellent incense, the pests still left several large red bumps on young Zeng Lizhang’s fair, tender face.
And then there was the irritating smoke.
Liu Changzhao shot him a glare, fanning himself with a large folding fan as he snorted, “You should’ve stayed in school instead of tagging along. Auntie won’t think you came up with an excuse to skip class and have fun—she’ll blame me for corrupting you.”
Zeng Lizhang scratched his chubby little face and grumbled, “I wanted to go up the mountain to play. If I’d known we’d just be feeding mosquitoes down here, I wouldn’t have come with you.”
Xia Shan said eagerly, “Young Master Liu, Young Master Zeng, Lord Ding, my humble home is in this very village. Would you care to wait for news at my place? You could also stay for a simple midday meal…”
He had already anticipated this situation and had asked his mother and sister-in-law to prepare meat dishes in advance.