Chapter 154: Xiao Qiang

Xiao Yu spent a lot of effort to prove that the big yellow dog wasn't lying.

The reason for all the trouble was twofold: first, even after she left Tianmen Town, "Guan family pretty boy" (Wen Jiaju) had been floating in the sky in the distance...

He was probably scared by the heavenly talisman envoy last night, and now he was keeping a greater distance from Xiao Yu, just following from afar, never getting close.

If the big yellow dog spoke human language, she wouldn't have to avoid anything.

It would be strange if there were no demons in the Journey to the West world.

The problem was that the big yellow dog claimed to speak demon language, and she could understand demon language

Before figuring out the reason, Xiao Yu did not want others to know about this.

Secondly, Xiao Yu discovered that she was too familiar with demon language, familiar to the point of instinct—no, even beyond instinct.

So much so that when the dog spoke demon language, she listened to demon language, and even though she knew the dog was speaking demon language, she simply couldn't detect anything wrong.

Just like a fish swimming freely in water; animals on the shore find it novel, but the fish itself perceives no abnormality.

She attempted to split her soul into two: one part as her original heart, one part as the Fierce Tiger Divine Will.

It had no effect; "human language" still reached her ears.

She then attempted to split her soul into three: one part as her original heart, one part as the Fierce Tiger Divine Will, and one part as the Tiger-Slaying Divine Will.

Finally, she heard the overlapping sounds of dog barking and human speech.

The Tiger-Slaying Divine Will heard dog barking, while the Fierce Tiger Divine Will and her original heart both heard "human language."

Her original heart was herself, the Fierce Tiger Divine Will was a portion of her spirit imitating a fierce tiger, and the Tiger-Slaying Divine Will was the "person (god) who slays tigers."

It is normal for the tiger-slayer not to understand demon language and to hear dog barking.

It is also considered normal for the Fierce Tiger Divine Will to imitate a demon tiger, and for a "tiger demon" to hear "human language" when listening to dog barking.

But her original heart also heard demon language instead of meaningless dog barking—could it be that she is actually a demon?

It was very strange; Xiao Yu did not understand it at all, and she felt some inexplicable worry.

"Doggy, what is your name?" Her tone was much softer now.

"My master calls me 'Huben', the Huben of the Huben General," the big yellow dog lay beside her and said honestly.

"Hah, Niu Er actually has some class."

Xiao Yu gently stroked its head and said, "Huben, I want to apologize to you; I misunderstood you just now, you weren't beating around the bush to scold me.

I kicked you hard, didn't I? Sigh, I'm sorry, forgive me."

"This little beast wouldn't dare~~" The big yellow dog was suspicious and uneasy, its body trembling slightly.

"Ahem, from now on, I am your new master. Don't call yourself 'little beast' anymore; your new name is 'Xiaoqiang', meaning 'the Xiaoqiang that cannot be killed'," Xiao Yu said.

The big yellow dog had many emotions churning in its heart.

—You know "Huben" has some class, so why did you give me the stupid name "Xiaoqiang"?

"I am a loyal dog, my master is Niu Er..." it said, biting the bullet.

A loyal dog does not serve two masters!

"Niu Er sold you to me."

Xiao Yu stared into its dog eyes and said, "I am not lying to you.

Your perception was correct; I originally intended to knock you unconscious and throw you to the dog-meat Daoist of Xianyun Temple... probably the 'thief-eyed, rat-eyed stinky Daoist' you mentioned.

I am a person of principle; I wouldn't do the deed of stealing dogs from the village entrance.

After knocking you out, I would have left a piece of silver at Niu Er's house as payment.

You are very clever; you sensed danger and ran away immediately. I didn't intend to return to Xinghua Village, so I placed a silver ingot on the bedside table at Niu Er's house in advance and left a note on the wall—'Your dog is fat, the Daoist is hungry, five taels of silver for the fragrant meat'."

The big yellow dog's heart was in chaos.

Thinking it didn't believe her, Xiao Yu stood up and said, "We can go back and take a look."

She actually took Xiaoqiang back to Xinghua Village.

If it were "dog meat" sent to Xianyun Temple, let alone returning to Xinghua Village specifically for it, she wouldn't even deign to waste her breath explaining a single word; a talking dog demon, however, was worth her spending time and energy to win over—even if it were just to guard the house, it was worth it.

Xiao Yu had only gone to catch the dog at Niu Er's house after eating lunch at the Su family's.

Just walking the dog took over an hour, and now that they had returned to Xinghua Village, the sun had already set.

Entering summer, the temperature was quite hot, and the villagers were either eating at the door with bowls in hand or setting up small tables outside to eat and cool off.

Niu Er was slurping hand-pulled noodles with a large porcelain bowl.

When the dog quietly approached the backyard from the small woods, it heard a neighbor ask, "Niu Er, where did your Huben go? In the past, whenever I went to take a dump, it would immediately run over to lick it up while it was still hot."

Niu Er laughed and scolded, "Don't you see I'm eating? That dog thing has already become the stinky Daoist's dump by now."

"What stinky Daoist's dump?" the neighbor asked, puzzled.

Niu Er said, "A Daoist saw Huben was fat and plump, so he beat it to death to cook fragrant meat."

"Aren't you angry? You were saying just a few days ago that you wanted to beat it to death yourself to cook fragrant meat, and now you've let the wild Daoist get a bargain, what a huge loss!" the neighbor said.

"Haha, what loss? That Daoist is a fool; he stole my old dog and even left behind a silver ingot, a full five taels, and the purity is excellent!" Niu Er laughed loudly.

"There's such a good thing? Last year my big fat pig only sold for one tael and two qian of silver; is a dog that eats shit worth five taels of silver? Which Daoist master was it?"

Niu Er shook his head and said with a beaming face, "I don't know, anyway I made a profit today, I'll go to Qingshuiwan in Tianmen Town to find Little Taohong later, hahaha~~~"

"Your master wants to beat you to death to cook fragrant meat!"

Outside the village, on the ridge path leading to Tianmen Town, Xiao Yu looked at Xiaoqiang beside her and said.

This fellow's spirits were still quite good; there was no sign of it being dejected, devastated, or dispirited.

Xiaoqiang sighed, "In the last ten years, Niu Er has intended to beat me to death to cook and eat countless times.

If he wants to beat me to death, I run; after two days I go back, and he just curses and kicks me a couple of times and that's it."

Xiao Yu asked in surprise, "Why didn't you just leave once and for all?"

Xiaoqiang said, "My master has raised me for a lifetime, I haven't repaid his kindness yet, how can I leave?"

"How did you become a demon? Why do you know Niu Er will have a death tribulation in half a year?" Xiao Yu asked curiously.

Xiaoqiang was silent.

Xiao Yu reminded it, "Now you are my family's 'Xiaoqiang', no longer Niu Er's family's 'Huben'."

Xiaoqiang said, "If you allow me to come back in half a year to help Niu Er pass his tribulation, I will acknowledge you as my master, how about that?"

"If you don't do evil things, no problem," Xiao Yu said.

Xiaoqiang said, "I only repay Niu Er's kindness of raising me, I won't do evil things."

Then it sighed and said, "Niu Er is not a good person; he is idle and lazy, and proficient in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling.

Where does the money come from?

Trade in Tianmen Town is extremely prosperous, and many merchants from all over the country come and go.

Niu Er and others pretend to be bandits, taking advantage of the night to rob passing merchants.

Not only do they seek wealth, but they also often harm lives.

About twelve years ago, when he was robbing a merchant caravan with others, an old monk stood out and urged him to put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the spot.

Niu Er hated that monk deeply; he cut off his head, brought it home, and stewed it in the wood ash under the kitchen stove.

After stewing for a long time, it was marinated with flavor and smelled fragrant.

I was greedy, and while Niu Er was not at home, I secretly dug the monk's head out of the stove ash and ate it as smoked ham."

Xiao Yu's mouth twitched, "You even chewed and ate the bones?"

"No, I only ate the meat and the brains."

Xiao Yu saw a hint of aftertaste on Xiaoqiang's dog face.

"The brains didn't stink?" she asked.

Xiaoqiang shook its head repeatedly and said, "It didn't stink, not at all; it was very fragrant, even more fragrant and sweet than nectar.

I licked it once, and my mind immediately cleared up a bit.

After eating the Buddha's head, I immediately gained wisdom; past events surfaced in my mind, and future events also appeared vaguely.

That's why I know Niu Er will encounter a death tribulation in half a year."

Xiao Yu asked in surprise, "So you were born with supernatural powers? Can you see my tribulation?"

Xiaoqiang tilted its head and looked at her, saying, "Master, your forehead is dark, as if there is something ominous, but within the ominousness, there is a seven-colored glow that is drawn but not released; I cannot understand it."

—Hey, this dog thing actually has some ability! I wonder if eating its dog head would allow me to inherit the old monk's wisdom.

Just as Xiao Yu thought this, Xiaoqiang's expression changed drastically, and it barked, "Master, I am like that old monk, just a half-bucket of water.

Think about it, if it weren't a half-bucket of water, how could the old monk have been beheaded by Niu Er? How could I have been caught by you, Master?"

Xiao Yu smiled and said, "This is called calculating others but not oneself, a physician cannot heal himself."

Xiaoqiang's scalp went numb, and it said, "After I gnawed on the Buddha's head, I dreamed of a headless old monk that night.

He said he originally intended to save a three-generation evildoer, but he didn't expect that he still hadn't removed his greed, his heart was too big, and his Buddhist dharma was too shallow; he might not be able to save a fierce dog, let alone a three-generation evildoer.

He sat cross-legged and muttered scriptures all night; I was fascinated at the time, but after waking up, I couldn't remember anything.

But I understand that my wisdom comes from the Buddha's grace, not simply from gnawing on the Buddha's head."

Xiao Yu felt more and more that this dog thing had great spirituality.

However, she didn't really want to eat dog brains.

Let alone that opportunities cannot be forced, even if eating dog brains could awaken Buddhist supernatural powers.

Xiaoqiang was already her dog.

For a master to eat their own wise dog for a small profit, what kind of person would that be?

Especially compared to Xiaoqiang's loyalty to Niu Er, wouldn't that make a person worse than a dog?

"Where is the old monk's skull?"

Xiaoqiang said, "After I gained enlightenment, I burned it with a fire.

It was both to let the Buddha rest in peace and to prevent Niu Er from seeing any clues.

Niu Er just thought the firewood in the stove hadn't finished burning and caught fire, burning down the kitchen.

He even secretly rejoiced; the house caught fire, but only the kitchen burned down, and the dilapidated house was only blackened by smoke."

"You are a clever dog. After burning the Buddha's head, nothing else was left?" Xiao Yu asked, staring at its dog head.

Xiaoqiang shouted in its heart: This new master is young, but much more difficult to deal with than Niu Er; I deliberately changed the subject, but she discovered it.

"After the Buddha's head was burned, three Buddha bone relics were left; I ate one, and the other two were eaten by Niu Er's parents.

A few years ago, the two old people fell ill one after another; I secretly ground the Buddha bones and poured them into the medicine soup for them to drink, but it only barely extended their lives by half a cycle (six years)."

"Besides the half-bucket-of-water physiognomy, what other supernatural powers do you have?" Xiao Yu asked.

Although she asked this, she didn't hold much hope in her heart.

She had been stealthily following Xiaoqiang for an hour.

Except for suddenly speaking, it hadn't shown any special features.

Even its physical fitness wasn't very strong.

It ran more than ten li in an hour (actually more, ten li was the straight-line distance, Xiaoqiang ran in circles), and after running, it was panting and almost collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.

"None, I actually can't do physiognomy. I rely purely on feeling; sometimes the feeling comes suddenly, sometimes I have no feeling at all," Xiaoqiang said.

Entering the city, the sky was completely dark.

Xiao Yu led Xiaoqiang to the outside of Xianyun Temple, left it outside, and walked in directly through the main gate.

Late at night, no one came to find the dog-meat Daoist to drive away evil spirits or invite immortals.

Xianyun Temple wasn't just the dog-meat Daoist alone.

Xiao Yu walked into the front courtyard and saw three middle-aged Daoists in the Sanqing Hall, leading seven or eight little Daoist boys in evening lessons.

The dog-meat Daoist was not among them; he was hiding behind the main hall drinking and eating dog meat.

Seeing Xiao Yu, his eyes immediately lit up, he stretched his neck, sniffed a few times with his nose, and said urgently, "It's the smell of that big yellow dog, did you bring it over? Where is it, did you knock it out, or cook it?"

Xiao Yu frowned and said, "Why eat dog meat every day?"

She didn't believe the dog-meat Daoist couldn't see that Xiaoqiang already had spirituality.

The dog-meat Daoist said, "Did I not tell you?"

Xiao Yu thought for a while and said, "You said last time that eating our big yellow dog is both for its own good and for the good of the people in the Red Sleeve Workshop."

"Do you understand now?" The dog-meat Daoist stared at her, his eyes very bright.

Xiao Yu pondered and said, "The dog at Niu Er's house already has spirituality; I couldn't bear to take action, so I have now taken it in as a guard dog."

"Ignorant!" The dog-meat Daoist snorted coldly and said, "If you truly had compassion, you should have beaten it to death and let me eat it."

Xiao Yu said, "Having spirituality makes it no different from a human; eating it is like eating a human. You want to eat a human, and you think you're justified?"

The dog-meat Daoist shouted, "A beast is a beast, it can never become a human! Even with spirituality, it's just a demon.

A demon should be killed even more; if you don't kill it, it will inevitably eat humans in the future.

The people who are eaten are so pitiful!

The one who eats humans is also full of sins and will not have a good end.

It's better to eat it directly from the beginning, so it can be reborn sooner.

Being a meal on my plate in this life can be considered as redeeming the sins of its past life; perhaps it can be reborn as a human in the next life."