Chapter 31, The Black Dog’s Forced Apprentice

Translator: Tamon

 

“Halt!” A cold voice echoed.

 

Xu Hei looked back at the black dog, at the eyes staring back.

 

They weren’t as creepy as before, but contained a human fury. The voice was also different, the Mountain God’s!

 

Xu Hei’s mind went white.

 

He was overwhelmed with racing thoughts, panicking. “Mountain God, w-why are you a dog?”

 

“I’ve possessed it. Do your inherited memories not have such a notion?”

 

The black dog stared him down, his voice laced with conflicting emotions.

 

The Wandering Heavenly Devil’s rage for Xu Hei knew no bounds, wanting to tear him to pieces. But as Xu Hei inherited his memories, he was kinda a disciple now. He couldn’t bear to kill the snake. 

 

“Possession?” Xu Hei started, then reacted.

 

He was no fool, just ignorant. Hearing it for the first time, he was quick to make the connections.

 

Xu Hei jumped back ten meters, his eyes showing anger. “You’re not the Mountain God?”

 

“When did I say I was? I’ve been living in that statue to survive. It was your damn conjecture, not my bloody problem.” The black dog sneered.

 

Xu Hei’s rage ran unchecked, consuming his mind.

 

He was played!

 

He gave offerings, kowtowed, and asked to be blessed with smooth cultivation. And what did he get? Being sold a big, fat lie. That was no mountain god but a damn cultivator!

 

[Curses! Bastard!] No one liked being used.

 

“Aren’t you afraid of karma and be sent to hell for playing god?” Xu Hei spat.

 

“Ha-ha, karma? Ha-ha-ha!”

 

The dog cracked up, laughing like a hyena.

 

“There’s no such thing as karma in the memories I passed on to you. Hell is nothing more than a construct the feeble minds of mortals built to comfort themselves. Why would you even say that?

 

“This black dog dug up graves for corpses, with no faith for gods or devils. Now that’s how one should inherit my memories!”

 

He blinked and stared longer at Xu Hei, finding something was off.

 

Xu Hei stared back in defiance.

 

The black dog probed. “Have you heard of the Wandering Heavenly Devil?”

 

“Wanderer what? Stragglers, you mean? I swallow them any chance I get,” Xu Hei said. 

 

The black dog’s heart jumped.

 

The memories he passed on had little information and no secrets, but the name was definitely in there, somewhere.

 

Xu Hei showed no hint of even recognizing the name. [He isn’t faking it either.]

 

[He didn’t get my memories?]

 

[How did he gain sentience then?]

 

The black dog kept staring, feeling Xu Hei becoming more and more of an enigma. 

 

Xu Hei didn’t want to tangle with him. While unclear of a possessing cultivator’s strength, he figured the other was stronger since he couldn’t do the same.

 

He’d rather avoid antagonizing such a big unknown, so he crawled away.

 

The black dog grinned as he followed.

 

Xu Hei was quick, but the dog was quicker, even more skilled in Earthen Motion than he was.

 

The chase went on for a while, unable to shake him off.

 

… 

 

Xu Hei returned to his turf the next day.

 

He said, “This is my domain.”

 

The black dog grinned. “And, can’t I enter?”

 

Xu Hei’s anger flared, then deflated in hopelessness. He spent a day trying to sake the damn mutt off, but nothing worked.

 

He even thought of giving the dog a bone so he’d leave him be and not ruin his turf.

 

The wolf king sprinted over with a bharal in its mouth.

 

It excitedly threw the meal over and sat on its hind legs, begging for praises.

 

It figured Xu Hei had dealt with the blasted humans by now, becoming its role model.

 

“I’m famished.”

 

Xu Hei nodded in thanks. The wolf king was so sharp and obedient; no teaching required.

 

Xu Hei gulped the bharal down, feeling the relish of digesting it.

 

The dog waited until he finished. “I’m kind of your master’s master, you know. Don’t I deserve some?”

 

“Growl!” The wolf king snarled.

 

The black dog’s eyes flashed and the wolf yelped behind Xu Hei on shaky legs.

 

Xu Hei hesitated. “Wolves eat meat, dogs eat crap. Wolf King, squeeze a big one just for him.”

 

The wolf king was happy to do it.

 

The black dog’s face twisted in revulsion. His head was running so high on anger that it smoked.

 

Wether Xu Hei was just ignorant or faking it was beside the point, for he wanted to appall the dog.

 

“Drop dead!” He lunged at the wolf king’s leg, biting hard on it.

 

“Awo!”

 

The wolf squealed, jumping high and ducking behind Xu Hei from where he glared at the evil, evil dog.

 

It sure knew how to use its influence.

 

The black dog was ready to pop.

 

It had been ages, eons, since someone dared to humiliate him. What made it worse, the slithering simpleton didn’t even see it as such.

 

He was used to killing anyone at the slightest transgression, but slumbering for two hundred years in a chiseled rock offered little help in preserving his cultivation. 

 

Since he could do nothing, he comforted himself by thinking there was no need to lower himself to a beast’s level.

 

The Wandering Heavenly Devil was a stiff man, always looking at the end goal, but Xu Hei stirred a long-lost interest in him. 

 

“Disciple, do you know the price of disrespecting your master?” The dog sneered.

 

Xu Hei saw he was all bark. Putting him in his place worked best if the dog acted and then wasted time preaching. Hence, the snake ignored the empty threat.

 

“There’s no disrespect involved when a dog’s nature is to eat shit,” Xu Hei stated.

 

“Is that so? So you admit being my disciple?” The dog sneered.

 

Xu Hei winced, explaining himself. “Never!”

 

“Humph, I’ve favored you with awareness and you bowed to me, finishing the apprenticeship ceremony. There’s no use denying it, for we’re master and disciple.” The dog snickered.

 

Xu Hei tensed.

 

He didn’t want to admit it, but the other made a trickle of sense, in a roundabout way.

 

“You can’t fool me!” Xu Hei hissed and fled.

 

The dog followed with a smug grin for having the last word.

 

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