bookcurios Chapter 118 Dundun
Chapter 118 Dundun
"Was that a wild beast or a human?"
Qiu Yan was filled with suspicion and drew out a pair of short knives hidden on his body. Looking back, Yu Wanran and Yan Qing were no longer there. One after the other, they reacted quickly and pounced on the dark figure.
He and Dou Yi exchanged a glance, then quickly grabbed their weapons and gave chase.
Although Song Lianghan was small and had short legs and couldn't keep up with his companions, he didn't dare to stay behind alone. He ran as fast as he could in the direction the others had gone.
When they arrived, they saw Yu Wanran had already pinned the dark figure to the ground. The thing turned out to be a large yellow dog, baring its teeth and looking extremely fierce.
Although Yu Wanran had one foot on her neck and she couldn't turn over, she struggled desperately, turning her head to reveal a mouthful of fangs, wanting to tear apart anyone who came near her.
A stray dog. Everyone was puzzled as to why Yu Wanran caught it but didn't kill it. Upon closer inspection, the yellow dog had a huge belly; it was actually a pregnant mother dog!
No wonder Yu Wanran only restrained it and didn't harm it.
"This dog belongs to someone!"
Yu Wanran gestured to her puzzled companion, pointing to the big yellow dog's glossy fur and robust size.
"There might be someone around here!"
Whether they were villagers or bandits, she didn't know. So she stepped on the dog's neck to stop it from barking, but she couldn't let it go either. But she was pregnant and couldn't bear to kill it, so she was conflicted.
A while later, Song Lianghan arrived, panting. Looking at the big yellow dog, he exclaimed in surprise, "Dun Dun!"
Upon seeing him, the big yellow dog immediately shed its fierce demeanor and wagged its tail at Song Lianghan.
Yu Wanran stared at Song Lianghan in surprise: "Genbao, do you recognize this dog?"
Song Lianghan nodded, looking anxiously at her feet: "Yes, I recognize them! Sister Yu, please let them go!"
Yu Wanran lifted her foot, and the big yellow dog Dundun immediately got up and pounced on Song Lianghan.
The massive body pinned Song Lianghan beneath it. It licked his hands and face, making low moaning sounds as if it were whining and complaining to Song Lianghan that it had been bullied by the bad guys in front of it.
Song Lianghan was licked so hard that he was covered in drool, laughing and shouting "Dundun, stop!" but his tone was cheerful.
Yu Wanran and the others stood silently by, hands on their hips, waiting for the man and dog to finish their joyous reunion. After a while, Song Lianghan stroked the dog's head and became the master, only then did Qiu Yan speak up to ask a question.
"Young scholar, is this your family's old dog? How did it end up here?"
I almost hunted it as wild game!
While calming Dundun down, Song Lianghan replied, "This isn't my dog. It belongs to my classmate Lin Anzhi and his family."
Because of his good relationship with Lin Anzhi, he often visited the Lin family and thus became quite familiar with Dundun. Now that the Lin family members are missing and Dundun has become a stray dog, wouldn't it treat him like its owner?
He was heartbroken. He didn't notice that Dundun was circling around him, occasionally tugging at his clothes with its mouth and making a pulling motion in a certain direction, looking anxious.
Yu Wanran noticed it and pointed at the big yellow dog, asking Song Lianghan.
“Genbao, look at Dundun, doesn’t it want to take you somewhere?”
Song Lianghan looked down and stroked the dog's head. Dundun grabbed the corner of his clothes, pawed at the ground, and started tearing at it again. His already tattered clothes were about to be torn to shreds. He hurriedly pulled the corner of his clothes from the dog's mouth and waved his arms.
"DunDun, you just lead the way!"
If this continues, he's going to run naked.
Dundun was very clever; it seemed to understand his meaning from his actions. It turned and darted into the bushes, then looked back to see if Song Lianghan had followed.
Only after confirming that Song Lianghan was following behind did he continue jogging forward.
The group guessed that Dundun was going to take them to a place with clues, or at the very least, to the surviving Lin family villagers, and they were very excited.
Luckily, we ran into Song Lianghan. Otherwise, we would have missed the clues behind this big yellow dog!
Dundun led the group out of the village. The closer they got to the riverbank, the more silt and sand accumulated. In a dilapidated, overturned wooden boat, they found Lin Anzhi and his grandfather Lin Fang hiding inside.
When the grandfather and grandson saw the person their son had brought back, they were so surprised they couldn't stop smiling.
Dundun has been seduced by some stray dog, and not only does she run away from home every few days, but she's also recently gotten pregnant with their puppies.
I couldn't control them, so I had no choice but to let them run wild. Unexpectedly, they did something quite significant tonight: brought some acquaintances back to them!
Lin Anzhi hugged his good brother tightly, grabbed Song Lianghan's shoulder, and before he could speak, tears streamed down his face. Seeing the other's disheveled state, there was no need to ask further; everyone knew that both families had suffered misfortune, their homes destroyed and lives taken by evil people.
Yu Wanran silently observed Lin Anzhi.
Ten years from now, that seemingly cheerful and sunny young man, who is actually quite shrewd, has not yet grown up.
Now, like all children his age, he experiences tears and laughter, sorrow and anger, and he confides in his friends.
They say time is like a knife.
It not only ages us prematurely, but also quietly steals away the purity that everyone once possessed.
Lin Fang lay on the damp, cold wooden box, wrapped in a few old clothes. Seeing his grandson crying and laughing and wiping away tears in front of Song Lianghan, his heart was filled with bitterness.
His grandson hasn't smiled since the family tragedy and the loss of everyone else. If it weren't for his father's desperate struggle to survive, and the fact that his grandson still had a pillar of support, he probably would have...
He was overjoyed to see Song Lianghan. But when he saw the unfamiliar Yu Wanran and the others, his eyes became wary again.
Could it be that these people are after the Lin family's secret inkstone-making recipe again?
Yu Wanran and the others watched as the two children reminisced about their separation, but they couldn't approach them and could only wait until they finished talking.
The big yellow dog, Dundun, stood sideways in front of the overturned boat. His wary little eyes showed a mixture of wanting to protect his owner and fear of Yu Wanran, as he paced anxiously in circles, on guard.
After a while, Song Lianghan remembered Yu Wanran and the others, and pulled Lin Anzhi aside to introduce them to each other.
The hiding place for the Lin family grandfather and grandson was too cramped. They barely managed to make room for Yu Wanran to sit down, while the others had to stand outside.
Yu Wanran noticed that the Lin family grandfather and grandson were in good spirits, much better than Song Lianghan, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Grandpa Lin, there's no one left in Lin Family Village, why are you still here?"
Could it be that you're planning to extract Chengni clay and continue making Chengni inkstones?
However, rampant banditry made the area extremely risky. The forces behind the scenes who sought to control this land probably didn't want the people to produce Chengni inkstones themselves.
Lin Fang sighed bitterly.
"Miss Yu, look at us, an old man and a child, where can we go?"
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Song Lianghan, seeing that they were going around in circles without getting to the point, simply revealed Yu Wanran's identity directly.
"Grandpa Lin, Xiao An, you don't need to be wary of the people I brought! Sister Yu was sent by the government. Decheng has a new magistrate, and the new official is determined to wipe out the bandits! Our great revenge will be avenged soon!"
Upon hearing this, the Lin family grandfather and grandson looked at Yu Wanran in disbelief.
Lin Fang clutched his chest and coughed for a while. Lin Anzhi stared wide-eyed at Yu Wanran: "Lianghan, are you telling the truth?"