Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Zhang Dayong immediately looked down at his right hand, but there was nothing in sight.

How could it still be there? Forty years had passed—two generations, with each generation spanning twenty years.

Wu Heng pondered and asked, "Think about it, have there been times when you were about to face disaster but got lucky?"

Zhang Dayong stared blankly at Wu Heng and murmured, "People always said I was lucky, always turning bad luck into good."

Once, during the New Year, he was replacing a light bulb at home. Standing on a wooden ladder, he heard a crisp cracking sound, and the ladder began to sway dangerously. Just as he was about to fall, the ladder suddenly steadied, saving him from a tumble.

Another time, while walking, his shoelace just came undone out of nowhere. As he bent down to tie it, a car crash occurred right before his eyes. Had he been a few seconds quicker, he would’ve been hit.

Even at night, he would suddenly wake up cold, finding most of his blanket had been pushed aside. Zhang Dayong thought it was just his bad sleeping habit, but when he got up, he happened to catch a thief trying to steal chickens from their coop—chickens they had raised for her postpartum recovery meals.

Everyone called him blessed, and he believed it too. Looking into Wu Heng’s eyes, Zhang Dayong was speechless but finally understood.

What kind of blessing is that? Although his family had never kept a dog, a black dog had faithfully guarded their home for forty years.

It had been there for forty years, serving as their guard dog, yet he never built it a shelter, bought it a comfortable bed, or even fed it a single meal.

And this was the place where it had been killed by his uncle for its blood to be used in a ritual.

"Why didn’t you move on? You dumb, stupid dog!" Zhang Dayong was on the verge of a breakdown.

'Bark?' The black dog tilted its head in confusion, its wagging tail drooped, clearly hurt by the scolding.

Wu Heng said, "It couldn’t move on. It was eaten. Others saw it as food, as livestock, but you, as a kid, thought of it as family yet acted against that, creating a karmic tie of resentment."

Humans eat meat, and livestock can smoothly enter the cycle of reincarnation because humans see them as livestock, without emotional attachment.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dayong bent over and started retching again, saliva mixed with blood dripped from his lips, leaving him looking a mess.

"Holy crap, what did I just hear? This is crazy!"

"Wait, I’m confused. Weren’t we talking about the Goddess of Fertility giving kids? So, did the Goddess grant Zhang’s parents a child or not?"

"Personally, I dislike anyone who eats dog meat, smile."

"From what I gather, Zhang was tricked into eating the black dog as a child. Can’t people be kinder to those they call family? This kind of thing can really scar a child’s childhood. Was it really worth it for a bite of meat?"

"Curious, if Wu Heng’s words are true, why would the Goddess of Fertility grant children to such heartless people? If they couldn’t conceive and sought children through fate, doesn’t the Goddess vet their character? Who would dare seek children from her if this is the case? How do we know if the child would be good?"

"+1, I was planning to visit Qingfeng Temple for a child, but if this is true, I’ll skip it."

Qingfeng Temple had gained popularity in recent years due to tourists seeking children, boosting the local tourism economy. The temple officials were nearly beside themselves with anger upon seeing this.

Putting tourism aside, they deeply revered the Goddess and couldn’t stand such blasphemy from netizens.

Seeing her husband unable to speak, Zhang Dayong’s wife quickly asked, "Dr. Wu, what should we do? Should we get some medicine for Hei Tan?"

Wu Heng shook his head, "It’s actually not difficult to resolve. Just find someone who specializes in this to perform a small ritual for Hei Tan."

"Hahaha—" Zhang Dayong laughed and cried at the same time. He suddenly rushed to the woodshed, grabbed a hatchet and a hoe, veins bulging on his neck, "I’m going to dig up my uncle’s grave!"

His uncle had made a living from metaphysics and was a well-known feng shui master in town. He often came to their house for meals. How could he not have seen the black dog spirit? He had always known!

Yet he never mentioned it.

Perhaps he thought it was just a dog's ghost, not harming the family, and even felt that a dog wasn't worth spending a few hundred yuan on a ritual.

"Dad, Dad! Calm down, don't be impulsive!" His son quickly stepped forward to stop Zhang Dayong.

How could Zhang Dayong calm down now? These days he had been living in fear, worried that his rapidly growing nails were a sign of a strange disease, and after hearing these things, his emotions were very unstable.

'You're not bad, little master.' The fat fox by the gas tank pushed open the glass window with its paw, lay on the windowsill playing with its claws and said.

Blackie turned to look at Su Dayi, proudly raising its chin: 'Woof—!'

Zhang Dayong heard Su Dayi's voice, saw the hoe and machete tightly held by his children, and immediately deflated, with red eyes as he looked at Wu Heng, trembling voice saying, "Did Blackie ask the fox spirit to repay the favor to our family?"

Wu Heng nodded.

Su Dayi leisurely played with her fluffy white tail, said disdainfully, 'I came to repay the dog's favor, this big clumsy dog said it has everything and lacks nothing, just very worried that the coming evil spirits would harm the master, let me help as a way to repay the favor.'

Who let them be the "fox friends and dog companions" witnessed by humans.

A little dog lingering in the human world unable to reincarnate, a lonely dog that no one could see or touch, yet felt that the little master loved it and it lacked nothing, truly content with love, it ranks first in being love-struck.

Su Dayi pouted, although both are canines, fortunately, she is a stunningly beautiful and cunning fox.

"Can I see Blackie?" Zhang Dayong asked softly.

Wu Heng could help achieve it remotely but did not speak, Su Dayi said, 'Pluck a hair from grandma fox, then passionately chant the spell three times—'

'Su Dayi Su Dayi, thin as lightning is Su Dayi!'

Zhang Dayong: "..."

Although Zhang Dayong felt the spell was slightly embarrassing, he still stepped forward to stand in front of Su Dayi, quickly plucking a fox hair.

Su Dayi immediately held her head and wailed, 'No sense of beauty, pluck such a beautiful hair from grandma and you owe me! Pluck the ones next to it... um, those hairs are quite beautiful too.'

Su Dayi stared at the reflection of the words on the glass window, her choice paralysis acting up, instantly forgiving Zhang Dayong.

Zhang Dayong shamefully chanted the spell three times, only to feel a blur before his eyes and looking down to see a big black dog wagging its tail wildly at him.

When their eyes met, Blackie seemed to know that Zhang Dayong had finally seen it again after forty years, it excitedly tried to paw at Zhang Dayong with all four limbs, making whimpering sounds.

No dog could be as happy as it, after forty years still able to stay by its master's side. Most dogs only live for a dozen years, it's not like an old dog that can't move, still able to jump around helping the master guard the house, although the only downside is that the master hasn't seen it for forty years.

It's definitely not the stupid dog that the jar mouth says, it's the smartest little dog in the world! Blackie affirmed.

Zhang Dayong actually wailed like a child.

"Pet-keeping families really can't bear to see such a scene, it's so heart-wrenching."

"Actually, I also envy Zhang Dayong, blessed by the fox spirit, able to reunite with his childhood dog friend in middle age, I also want to meet it."

"My cat passed away three months ago, yesterday it appeared in a dream saying the fish sticks down there aren't tasty, what to do QAQ"

"Although we can't see Blackie, I know it must be very happy now."

Wang Pengzheng was also sitting at home watching the live stream, suddenly hugging the black panther beside him, his mind wildly imagining his own dog had died, immediately crying out, "Black Panther, you must not die."

Wang Black Panther looked confused, not quite understanding what Wang Pengzheng was imagining.

'Woof woof woof—!'

Zhang Dayong looked at the excited Hei Tan and then at the sky outside, suddenly struck by an idea.

Hei Tan used to pull a small cart to take him to and from school daily, but that time it picked him up without going home together after school.

Wu Heng glanced at Su Dayi, who was grooming her fur: 'The fox fairy’s illusion is the best among the five great immortals. Why don’t you see this through to the end?'

Su Dayi, flattered by Wu Heng’s words, gracefully extended a paw. 'This fox fairy will reluctantly let you pluck another hair.'

This time, Zhang Dayong carefully selected and plucked one, causing Su Dayi to bristle again: 'What do you mean? After careful selection, you think the rest of my fur isn’t good enough?'

Zhang Dayong: "..."

So no matter how I pluck it, I still get scolded?

Wu Heng almost burst out laughing when a thin coat was draped over his shoulders. He turned to look.

Shi Xuan, with a slightly flushed face, leaned in and squinted at him, then pointed at the loquat wine on the table.

'Are you drunk?'

Wu Heng heard Zhang Dayong recite the fox fairy’s self-created spell again, and as he gently blew the fox hair into the air, a rickshaw... no, a dog-drawn cart appeared.

Hei Tan excitedly rushed to the front, skillfully strapped itself into the harness of the dog cart, and then turned back to bark at Zhang Dayong, as if urging its master to hurry up and get on. The dog cart was raring to go!

Zhang Dayong didn’t dare to actually sit. He was already a middle-aged man, weighing 140 to 150 pounds, and no longer a child.

Zhang Dayong had also seen Wu Heng interact with those patients online, and he cautiously asked, 'Dr. Wu, can I write my name and birth date on a piece of yellow paper and put it on the seat instead of me sitting there?'

Wu Heng played with the sleeves of his coat and said bluntly, 'Your name is fake, and your birth date is forged to deceive the heavens. What’s the point?'

Zhang Dayong was stunned by Wu Heng’s counter-question and felt at a loss. Then he heard Wu Heng say, 'Just pluck one of your own hairs with the follicle and put it there.'

'??? What does that mean? The name is fake? The birth date is forged?'

'It’s easy to understand the name being fake, but can the birth date really be forged? Only someone who knows what they’re doing could pull that off, right? From what Uncle Zhang just said, it seems his uncle is in that line of work...'

'Heng Bao and Uncle Zhang’s words are pretty scary if you think about it! I have a bad feeling about this.'

'It can’t be, right? Didn’t Wu Heng say Uncle Zhang was a child prayed for by the gods?'

The netizens had some guesses but were still a bit confused, so they kept lurking in the live stream.

Zhang Dayong followed Wu Heng’s instructions and plucked a hair with the follicle, placing it on the seat of the dog cart.

'Bark bark bark!' Hei Tan looked back at the hair, then at Zhang Dayong beside it, and eagerly kept urging him on.

Zhang Dayong looked at his family seriously and said, 'I’m heading to Qiuhua Village, 20 kilometers away.'

His son looked at the pitch-black night sky in disbelief. 'Now?'

Zhang Dayong said firmly, 'Now.'

His daughter was also quite surprised. 'Dad, are you walking there?'

Zhang Dayong nodded. 'Walking.'

His little dog had walked and run step by step to pick him up. Why couldn’t he walk?

'But that black bear—I heard the police are still after it and haven’t caught it yet.' The children were genuinely worried.

Walking at night isn’t exactly safe.

But his wife suddenly spoke up, "Let him go; we’ll trail behind."

Zhang Dayong touched the four bright red nails still on his right hand, a gift from the fox spirit—and from Heitan.

No matter how dark, there’s nothing to fear.

Zhang Dayong held back his tears and gently patted Heitan’s head, saying, "Let’s head home from school."

'Bark——!'

A big black dog happily pulling a cart, and a man well into middle age, went home together.

Zhang Dayong had been to Qiuhua Village before and had even met Zhang Tianjun a few times.

He hadn’t gone out to work but instead contracted land in his rural hometown to grow fruit trees and had gone to Qiuhua Village to discuss business.

He’d driven this road at least ten times and could find his way without a GPS.

The countryside has no streetlights at night. Zhang Dayong looked at the excited big black dog pulling the cart beside him, facing the winter wind but feeling no chill.

Yes, what kid wouldn’t love to leave school?

The wind itself would feel sweet.

Zhang Dayong never knew that in middle age, he still had this much energy, walking without a break.

They passed the tightly closed town elementary school. The big black dog pulled the cart to the wall just like forty years ago, then suddenly realized he had already picked up his master, and they set off again from the school gate, heading down the road home.

A twenty-kilometer journey, walking on foot alone might take three or four hours. Zhang Dayong, being middle-aged and not as strong as the young, walking with breaks might take five hours.

Wu Heng thought he’d go wash up first. He took his phone to the side, gently pushed Shi Xuan’s shoulder, and softly asked, "Are you drunk?"

The homemade wine from the village is usually stronger, but it’s still just fruit wine. Wu Heng didn’t expect Shi Xuan couldn’t handle it. Just as he was about to grab some hangover medicine, Shi Xuan picked up his wine glass and placed it by his lips, "Taste it?"

Wu Heng was tempted by the aroma of the wine, but the glass brushed past his lips. Shi Xuan drank the remaining half glass of loquat wine, his throat moving as he softly said, "Forgot you’re still a month shy of adulthood, can’t drink."

Wu Heng stared at the rim of the glass, a drop of wine still clinging where his lips had been, the lingering aroma warming his cheeks. Wu Heng got up and patted Shi Xuan’s shoulder, "It’s late; time to clean up."

After taking turns showering, the two stood brushing their teeth under the moonlight. Shi Xuan, with a toothbrush in his mouth, looked sideways at Wu Heng wearing only dark blue pajamas, having removed the silver earring from his left ear, patiently cleaning the earring with a cloth.

"Wu Heng."

Wu Heng looked at him. Shi Xuan suddenly said, "On your eighteenth birthday, remove the collar from my neck, return it to its rightful owner."

This collar had never been taken off since it was put on. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to take it off but that he couldn’t.

But as he grew older, the restraining power of the collar became weaker and weaker. Shi Xuan even felt he could forcibly remove it.

But the thought of violently removing it vanished the moment he knew it was Wu Heng’s.

He wanted the collar’s owner to remove it for him.

Wu Heng nodded gently. He also wanted to see if he’d release a mindless beast.

After washing up, Wu Heng took his phone and went upstairs with Shi Xuan, "Good night."

Wu Heng set his phone on the headboard and lay down, watching Zhang Dayong and Heitan walking silently through the night. He softly said, "How about a quick pet consultation tonight using Heitan and the little master’s journey home? Stay on the call until Uncle Zhang stops?"

"Really?! Oh my gosh, please let me join the call! I’m dying to see my little Bao. It passed away from an illness, and I’m wondering if it’s in pain as a ghost dog."

"Heng Bao’s looks are next level, perfect even when he’s just lying around! I don’t have a pet, so I’ll sit this one out."

"Dr. Wu, please let me join the call. My cat came to me in a dream the other night, saying it got hurt and disabled in the afterlife, and there’s no pet hospital to treat it. I’m really worried about my sweet little cat. Dr. Wu, can you help my cat ghost like you do for the female ghosts?"

"Wu Heng, aren’t you exhausted after today? Aren’t you going to sleep? I’m worried. You could just log off and reconnect later."

Master Sanshui, watching the live stream quietly, couldn’t help but admire Dr. Wu’s soft heart, using Black Charcoal’s name to join the call, still doing good deeds for this unseen black dog late at night.

The Shark Video Platform allows multiple connections. Zhang Dayong is a regular for check-ups, while other pet owners eagerly join Wu Heng’s call.

Zhang Dayong and Black Charcoal walked, listening to each pet story, and the night didn’t feel so long.

Especially after Wu Heng gave medicine to the poor pet ghosts, the pet owners excitedly shouted, "Thanks, Dr. Wu! And thanks, Uncle Zhang and Black Charcoal!"

Dr. Wu said it was to accompany Uncle Zhang and Black Charcoal, hence taking time for a special pet session on this trip, thanks to Black Charcoal’s good luck.

Some people said Wu Heng was just keeping the stream entertaining, but the gratitude was real.

Black Charcoal had never heard so many animals thanking it in over forty years.

The village up ahead had a sign that read "Qiuhua Village." Zhang Dayong hesitated, then walked in with Black Charcoal.

His wife and kids followed quietly a few steps behind, saying nothing.

Zhang Dayong seemed to recall some scenes; the old dirt walls and tiles were now replaced with new bricks, and the wooden doors became big red iron gates.

He softly patted Black Charcoal’s head, his hand shaking as he knocked on the door.

Through the door crack, he saw the light from the hall, footsteps approaching, and an old man’s voice inside, "Who?"

Tears rolled down Zhang Dayong’s cheeks onto Black Charcoal’s head. He forced a smile worse than crying, loudly saying, "Dad, Black Charcoal and I are back from school. I want to eat mom’s fried crispy meat! I’m so craving."

The old man inside was stunned, quickly opening the iron gate.

The moment the door opened, Zhang Dayong knelt heavily on both knees.

Old man Zhang Tianjun looked incredulously at the middle-aged man before him, illuminated by the light. Wasn’t he Zhang Dayong, who grows fruit trees several villages away? He had seen him before.

Zhang Dayong wailed, "Mom, Dad, Black Charcoal and I are back. It picked me up from school and brought me home."

Black Charcoal. The hunched old man’s cloudy eyes finally stirred.

This journey home from school, he and Black Charcoal had walked for forty years, finally arriving home.

The old woman inside heard the noise and came out quickly. Seeing Zhang Dayong’s face, she exclaimed, "It’s our Da Da!"

"I knew it! The Goddess of Childbirth wouldn’t send the wrong child. Uncle Zhang was indeed a child prayed for by gods, just by someone else’s prayer."

"So that’s it! So that’s it! Welcome home, Da Da, Black Charcoal."

The old couple looked Zhang Dayong over, crying and laughing.

"You are the child we prayed to the Goddess for, so we sought the help of the master of Qingfeng Temple immediately," the mother recalled, choking up.

"The master is a powerful and good Taoist priest. He has used birth charts many times to help find children, but he immediately calculated your chart and said this chart no longer exists."

Wu Heng nodded slightly; capable Taoist priests indeed use birth charts and observe parents’ faces to help find children. The master did not lie.

Unfortunately, someone outsmarted everyone else, using the black dog blood from the spiritual dog to forcefully deceive the heavens and forge a fake birth chart.

In rural areas, marriages and childbirths are often preceded by birth chart readings, so those skilled fortune-tellers calculated Zhang Dayong's fake birth chart, and the parental palace showed his deceased parents, making it impossible to detect any discrepancy.

"In one word, amazing! Even birth charts can be faked? I'm speechless! Everything's fake—food, drinks, clothes, and now even a fake birth chart. So, tell me, what is real?"

"No wonder Dr. Wu always insisted on checking the master's credentials in metaphysics when seeking a master. Isn't this just a mess? Isn't faking identity illegal?"

"So, the Child-Giving Goddess at Qingfeng Temple is real, and the temple is truly effective? Then I must go. I almost misunderstood this temple."

"Ahhh, we owe all this to Hei Tan. Hei Tan, the good boy, found an amazing fox friend. The fox spirit is indeed not just a legend."

The Zhang Dayong family was invited into the house. In one of the bedrooms, he saw a small, dilapidated wooden dog cart, identical to the one made from the fox spirit's fur.

One was conjured by magic, while the other had stood for forty years.

Zhang Dayong looked at Hei Tan, who was happily wagging his tail beside him, tears streaming down his face.

Silly pup!

Dr. Wu said softly, "The underworld treats humans and animals differently. Human reincarnation is rare and involves a long wait, but for animals, reincarnation is very quick, taking only a month or so."

"If you wish, I can help you calculate which female dog Hei Tan will be reincarnated into."

"Ahhh, really? Uncle Zhang, this is a golden opportunity. You can raise Hei Tan again."

"Wuwuwu, I really envy Uncle Zhang in this aspect. I also wish I could raise my Dou Bao again."

"Thinking about those who clone their pets, spending hundreds of thousands just for a cloned pet, but the soul will never be the same."

"Uncle Zhang, you should grab this chance. This time, you can personally witness Hei Tan's birth, growth, and old age, making up for your regrets. Many pet owners would beg for such an opportunity."

Zhang Dayong's wife spoke up, "I won't object to you raising cats and dogs. If it's true, let's bring that female dog home and take good care of her, giving them a home. Our yard is spacious, and we can easily feed them."

"Yes, Dad!" the children chimed in.

Especially the youngest daughter, who loved cats and dogs, was even more delighted by the idea. She would have a playmate when she came home.

Even the elderly couple, Zhang Tianjun and his wife, were moved to tears, recalling the long-forgotten big black dog, nodding in agreement.

Life is full of uncertainties. The dead won't return, and the living can't wait for their reincarnation. But if pets can be an exception, that's good too.

Zhang Dayong looked at the black dog wagging its tail and panting at his feet, tears streaming down his face. He then looked at Dr. Wu in the camera and shook his head firmly.

"Dr. Wu, if possible, I would like to inscribe Hei Tan into the family registry, so that in the future, he can be reincarnated as a human."

Indeed, isn't it also good to be a beloved pet living a happy life? But their happiness is entirely in the hands of their owner.

Whether they live a happy life or end up on the dining table as human food, they have no say.

He thought, he hoped, that this dog, who had guarded him for forty years, could have the chance to be reincarnated as a human, to take control of its own life and death.