Chapter 220: Something’s Wrong

Chapter 220: Something's Wrong

Inside the relay station, charcoal braziers were burning, offering a little more warmth than the frozen world outside.

Cheng Ge was shown to the best guest room on the second floor; though simply furnished, it was quite clean.

The exhaustion from days of travel washed over him; Cheng Ge just wanted to take a hot bath quickly.

The station attendants promptly brought hot water and placed it in the bathtub behind the room's screen.

The warm steam dispelled the chill from his bones; Cheng Ge immersed himself in the warm water and let out a long, satisfied sigh.

Star Frost seemed to enjoy the warm moisture as well, slithering out from his discarded clothes and coiling into a circle on the edge of the bathtub, with its small head drooping lazily.

After washing away all the dust and fatigue, Cheng Ge changed into a comfortable moon-white robe.

His long, wet hair was casually draped behind him, with water droplets still dripping from the ends, dampening a small patch of cloth on his shoulders and back.

He was absentmindedly wiping with a cloth when the station attendant knocked and delivered the meal.

The dishes were laid out one by one on the rather old wooden table in the room.

Though not as good as the meals in the Xun Prince's Mansion, there was still meat and vegetables: a plate of sliced sauced meat, a plate of stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and a steaming bowl of chicken soup.

Dahuang had long since wagged its tail and sidled up to the table, sniffing with its nose, its eyes sparkling as it stared at the plate of sauced meat.

Its tail wagged excitedly from side to side with such force that it slapped against the table leg and Cheng Ge's calf with a cracking sound.

Cheng Ge was hit on the calf by the tip of its tail and winced in pain, then irritably reached out and smacked its big furry head.

"Cut it out! Is your tail made of iron? You've whipped my leg red."

He rubbed his calf and muttered with a laugh, "If I had known, I should have let you beat the drum in the lion dance troupe during New Year—you could hit two drums at once."

Dahuang didn't get upset at being smacked on the head, just let out a low, whining sound like a pleading complaint.

It still looked at the food eagerly, its tail wagging a little less.

Lü Rou stepped forward, carefully serving him the dishes, and brought the bowl of chicken soup in front of him, lifting the lid.

A burst of steam with a strong medicinal herb aroma rushed toward him.

It seemed to have added angelica and astragalus and other tonics; the scent was a heavy mixture of medicinal herbs and meat.

Although Cheng Ge didn't particularly like the smell, having chewed on dry rations for days, his palate had indeed suffered.

Now with hot soup and rice, he naturally wouldn't be too demanding, so he said nothing and reached for the spoon.

He scooped up a spoonful of pale golden soup, blew on it, and was about to bring it to his mouth.

At that moment, Star Frost, which had been coiled around his wrist, suddenly moved.

The little white snake shot out from his sleeve like a bolt of white lightning, its slender body precisely striking the wrist holding the spoon.

"Hmm?" Cheng Ge's wrist jerked, and a few drops of soup spilled back into the bowl.

He looked down in surprise at the suddenly agitated Star Frost, "What's wrong?"

Star Frost raised its small head, crimson vertical pupils fixed on the bowl of soup, its forked tongue flickering rapidly, appearing extremely agitated.

It even used its head to push away Cheng Ge's hand that was about to scoop soup again.

Cheng Ge didn't understand and thought that this clever little creature might have smelled the medicinal herbs and gotten greedy itself.

Although he found Star Frost's behavior unusual, he patiently brought the spoon to its face and asked tentatively, "Do you want to drink this?"

But Star Frost jerked its head away, avoiding the spoon, and even showed an incredibly human-like disgust in its eyes... It even quickly slapped Cheng Ge's hand with the tip of its tail.

Cheng Ge: "..."

The casual look on his face gradually faded, his brow furrowed again. He stopped and turned to look at Lü Rou beside him.

Lü Rou understood, and immediately took out a long, thin silver needle from the pouch she carried, carefully inserted it into the chicken soup, and after a moment, removed it.

The silver needle was still bright white, with no signs of turning black.

"Master, the silver needle tested, no poison," Lü Rou said in a low voice.

Cheng Ge was noncommittal about this single method of poison detection, just doing it for peace of mind.

But then he thought, this was an official relay station, and he was a dignified Imperial Inspector.

How stupid would someone have to be to try poisoning in such an idiotic way?

Just as he was about to ignore it and drink the soup again, Star Frost became even more agitated.

It no longer tried to block the spoon, but twisted its body sharply and turned toward Dahuang, who was drooling at the table.

It nodded its head toward Dahuang a few times, then looked urgently at Cheng Ge, the meaning clear: feed it to him! Feed it to him!

Cheng Ge: "..."

He laughed in exasperation, flicking Star Frost's little head with his finger, "So in your mind, I'm not even as good as a dog."

He glanced at the soup in front of him, then at Dahuang, whose drool was dripping from the corner of its mouth.

So he simply used chopsticks to pick up a piece of stewed chicken from the soup and tossed it to Dahuang: "Here, a reward for you."

Dahuang didn't have that many thoughts; seeing the meat flying over, it excitedly yelped, jumped up, and caught it precisely.

It chewed it hastily twice and swallowed it, then licked its mouth longingly.

Its tail wagged even more happily, looking expectantly at Cheng Ge, hoping for another piece.

Cheng Ge sighed, thought for a moment, and simply poured the entire bowl of chicken soup into Dahuang's exclusive dog bowl.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, thinking, this thing really got lucky in its past life, to have met such a good owner as himself.

Cheng Ge finished the rest of the meal, and after a while, saw the station staff clear away the dishes.

Cheng Ge was also getting sleepy after eating, and Lü Rou had just finished making the bed.

He yawned deeply, stretched, and was about to take off his robe and slip into the warm bed.

Just as he turned around—

"Whimper... Awooo..."

A very faint, obviously pained whimper came from the corner of the room.

The sound was weak and muffled, completely unlike Dahuang's usual energetic howl.

Cheng Ge froze mid-motion and whipped his head around.

He saw Dahuang, who was supposed to be lying in his dog bed, now struggling to stand up.

But its limbs kept slipping as if they couldn't find purchase, its massive body staggering and swaying.

Then its body suddenly stiffened, its limbs twitched once, and its eyes rolled back in its head, tongue lolling out.

Without even a proper whimper, it fell heavily to the floor with a thud and lay motionless.

Cheng Ge's heart lurched.

"Dahuang!!!" Cheng Ge's heart skipped a beat, jolting so hard he knocked the chair behind him askew.

He rushed to Dahuang's side, his fingers trembling as he felt for its breath and the pulse at its neck.

He felt a faint but steady pulse and a trace of warmth under his fingertips.

For a moment, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, interrupted only by the occasional crackle of the charcoal fire.