Guanshan Muyu

chapter 8

Yuzhu was old.

He was eight years old this year, so he could be regarded as the old man of a dog.

He was breathing loudly, panting and wheezing, as if his lungs were a bellows in a smithy.

But he still remembered Xia Xun and recognized him as soon as he saw him.

Xia Xun held him in his arms, petting his long fur.

Yuzhu shook his whole body excitedly, licking Xia Xun’s face constantly.

Xia Xun, who lost and regained his loss, murmured subconsciously:

“…how did you find him…?”

Qi Hui said:

“You… after you were gone, suddenly one day, Yuzhu appeared in the mansion. I took people to look at the wall and found that there was a dog hole between the two houses. It should have crawled through it.”

Qi Yan took two steps forward but did not approach, as if he was hiding from Yuzhu.

Xia Xun remembered that he was not afraid of dogs. At that time, he often came to Qi Yan with Yuzhu in his arms. Qi Yan liked to tease him very much, would play with him, and often fed him meat.

Qi Hui explained:

“After your incident, Yuzhu wasn’t close to the lord. If the lord gets within ten steps of it, it will bark wildly and sometimes it will rush up and bite the lord’s clothes.”

Xia Xun looked at the old dog in his arms.

Yuzhu’s black eyes were round and bright, shining with affection.

Yuzhu was not a grumpy puppy. Even if he was bullied, he would only run to Xia Xun’s arms and bark, aggrieved.

He had never seen Yuzhu bare his teeth, not even once, let alone bite someone.

Xia Xun put his hand on the dog’s belly, feeling the chaotic fluttering heartbeat under his palm.

The sound of Yuzhu’s breathing was too rough, also different from the way a dog should breathe.

Xia Xun asked Qi Hui what was going on.

Qi Hui told him:

“The doctor comes to see it. It is getting older and its heart and lungs are very weak. It can’t be cured, it can only be made as comfortable as possible. Fortunately, it is in good spirits and eats and sleeps every day. You don’t have to worry too much.”

Xia Xun stroked Yuzhu’s forehead. With his mixed feelings and thousands of emotions, for a while he didn’t know where to start.

He stood speechlessly in the corridor, and Qi Yan looked at him from a short distance away.

At some point, Qi Hui retreated, leaving only the two of them standing silently in the evening breeze.

After a long time, Xia Xun put down Yuzhu, got up and said to Qi Yan:

“…thank you very much.”

Qi Yan couldn’t see his expression:

“You can take it to your place. It was originally your dog and it should be returned to its rightful owner – returned to you.”

Xia Xun looked down at Yuzhu who raised his muzzle to look at him. He was still very excited and let out a low bark, as if urging him to take him home quickly.

After a long time, Xia Xun said softly:

“But this is not my home.”

After that, Xia Xun spent a few days resting; the most he did every day was to sit by the pond in a daze with Yuzhu in his arms.