Chapter 54
“He’s been listless since we found him…” Ning Zhixia gestured towards the inside of Xiao Long Bao’s front legs, where the matted fur was wet and the skin underneath red and irritated.
His voice was muffled: “We’re all worried about him.”
Dorothy’s translucent butterfly wings fluttered as she flew around Xiao Long Bao’s legs, her small face creased with concern, gasping softly.
Xiao Long Bao whimpered and backed away, nuzzled the pretty flower sprite with his warm nose, then lay down on the carpet like a white caterpillar, hiding his paws under his fluffy fur.
“Okay, I should repay the kind, fragrant human.”
Although using this magic was tiring, Dorothy readily agreed.
She spun around, sat down beside the puppy, and gently stroked his fur. As her wings slowly flapped, countless sparks rose like stars, gradually forming a hazy nebula.
Everyone looked up, and the image inside the nebula became clearer, a crisp voice echoing in the room—
My name is Fu Fu, my owner gave me that name.
I was a bit of a mess when we first met. My siblings were so big, they stepped on my head to sniff that strange-smelling finger.
I was trampled, whimpering and whining, then a warm hand lifted me up.
A loud voice boomed above me— “I want this one!”
Oh my, so tall!
I curled my paws in fear, and my brothers and sisters laughed at me for looking like a white potato.
Wuwuwu, I didn’t want to be a white potato. But when I whimpered softly, the human smiled and said—
“Your name is Fu Fu, you’ll be a lucky puppy!”
Fu Fu sounded better than white potato, and I wagged my short, stubby tail excitedly.
Look, I have a name, and an owner! I’m a winner!
My owner carried me in a basket, walking a long way. It was a large, beautiful forest, and there was a small wooden house. A voice in my heart said that was my and my owner’s home!
The wooden house was too small, not very fun. But my owner said that when I grew bigger, we could play outside.
I ate diligently, slept soundly, and my owner would put on his jacket, carry his bag and black box, and go to work. He was so busy, only returning when the sun went down, waking me up from my nap by the door for dinner.
The food was delicious, so fragrant. I ate until my belly was full, then snuggled against my owner’s chest, and he patted my back while writing and drawing with his pen, which bore my teeth marks.
One day, when I chewed on the table leg, my owner sighed and put a collar on me, taking me outside.
Woof, woof, woof!
I was excited to go out for the first time and ran forward, and my owner stumbled and scolded me for being a bad dog.
What dog? Fu Fu couldn’t hear him!
Soon, I didn’t need the collar anymore, obediently staying by my owner’s side, exploring every inch of the mountain.
When I was tired, he carried me, and when he was tired, I couldn’t carry him, but I would wait for him patiently.
After work, my owner would take me to a nearby valley, where there were many butterflies.
He said we had to protect these pretty creatures from those bad nets.
The butterflies fluttered in the sunlight, landing on flowers, on my owner’s shoulder, and on Fu Fu’s black nose.
My owner said that as long as I didn’t hurt them, I could chase butterflies, so I wagged my tail and ran around happily in the forest. Sometimes, I would slip and get mud all over my face, and my owner would point his black box at me.
I grew bigger and bigger, becoming a large dog, my bark fierce, chasing away those bad nets.
My owner would run after me, laughing, praising me for being so capable, even more capable than those “official” dogs.
I nuzzled his hand with my head. Fu Fu didn’t know what “official” meant, Fu Fu only needed head pats from his owner!
One day, while patrolling our territory with my owner, a pungent smoke filled the air, and I sneezed and barked uncomfortably.
The wind howled, a scorching wave roared like a monster, sparks flying in the air, and my owner urged me to run.
Many strange vehicles appeared on the usually quiet road, and waves of people rushed in.
My owner stopped, looked back at the burning forest, and cried. The flames were about to engulf their favorite valley, and he said he might never see those beautiful butterflies again.
I licked his hand and barked.
It’s okay, Fu Fu is with you, we can go see butterflies somewhere else.
My owner didn’t say anything. He picked up a branch and threw it like he usually did when we played—
“Woof, woof!”
I saw the branch flying over my head, my legs instinctively chasing after it, further and further away from my owner, and I jumped up and caught it in my mouth.
A person wearing a strange helmet suddenly picked me up. I was startled and struggled, barking and calling for my owner.
“Don’t cry, Fu Fu, Daddy loves you!”
He didn’t come to save me. He grinned, turned around, and rushed into the burning light with many other people.
The branch fell from my mouth onto the scorching ground.
Weren’t we playing?
Don’t go, come back! Come back!
I didn’t understand, I could only whimper anxiously. He couldn’t hear me, and just as I was about to chase after him, I was shoved into a basket.
The vehicle had only two wheels, passing through withered trees, black smoke, and oncoming traffic, the yellow and black dust flying up and getting into my ears.
I felt nauseous, but my owner would say Fu Fu was being impolite.
I was polite, I held it in, and even swallowed it back.
A giant dragonfly flew over the mountaintop, the wheels kicking up stones and dust, many people shouting, the noise incessant.
I was thrown into a messy shed. I sat up straight, my ears perked up, so my owner could see Fu Fu as soon as he returned!
“Whose dog is this? Sitting here without eating or drinking, it’s so dangerous!”
“The forest ranger’s… don’t say it…”
“Ah…”
After a long time, so long that I almost fainted, a cheer erupted from the crowd, and the raging fire dragon disappeared. I weakly wagged my tail.
“Fu Fu? Fu Fu, come here.”
The man who had brought me down the mountain led me to a temporary shelter, a large vehicle with flashing lights parked nearby.
I saw my owner. He was lying with many other people, motionless.
Water droplets fell onto his charred hand. I touched it with my paw, then nuzzled it with my nose. My owner was sleeping so soundly, why didn’t he wake up and pet Fu Fu?
The hot night wind blew past my ears, past the white sheet, everyone cheering, but I couldn’t hear or see anything, and I whimpered softly.
They called my owner a hero. I didn’t like it, I didn’t like it at all!
Fu Fu was just my owner’s puppy, Fu Fu didn’t want to be a hero’s dog!
The puppy in the vision ran out of the man’s tall building, wandering through the once-familiar forest, now a scorched wasteland, new green shoots sprouting from around the withered trees.
It nudged a sprout with its nose and turned to leave, walking down the mountain aimlessly, the scenery changing from village to city, until a small house covered in plants appeared.
Fragrant flowers were surrounded by butterflies. The puppy stopped, watched for a while, then, with its tail drooping, entered the house and curled up under the windowsill.
So tired, I’m not going anywhere, I’ll just sleep here, hoping to dream of my owner taking Fu Fu to see butterflies.
The golden nebula dissipated into sparks, and the room fell silent.
“I… I…”
Dorothy’s eyes were red as she sobbed, then suddenly flew up, fluttering in front of Fu Fu, as if wanting him to see clearly.
Qu Banqing covered his eyes with his small wings and blindly stumbled towards the kitchen to find an ice pack.
Large tears rolled down Ning Zhixia’s cheeks. He sniffled and wiped his face with a strand of Audrow’s silver-gray hair.
Then his collar was grabbed, and Audrow lifted him up, wiping away his tears with his fingertips.
“So your name is Fu Fu, such a nice name…”
Ning Zhixia was placed beside the puppy. He stood on tiptoe, his small body pressed against the puppy’s snout, and patted him gently. “Your owner was amazing, he loved Fu Fu very much, and we love Fu Fu too. He was right, you’re the luckiest puppy.”
As he finished speaking, he lost his balance and fell onto the carpet.
The carpet was soft, it didn’t hurt at all, and Ning Zhixia got up and dusted himself off.
Fu Fu opened his eyes, stared at the miniature figure for a long time, then nudged his belly with his black nose and let out a soft purr.
Before the passage closed, Ning Zhixia had Fu Fu follow Dorothy back to the Whispering Woods.
Perhaps it would cheer him up.
Audrow, the Bureau director, didn’t say anything, only reminding Dorothy to bring him back tomorrow.
“Yes, I know!”
Dorothy flew up and perched on the puppy’s head, gathered some sparkling fairy dust in her hands, puffed out her cheeks, and blew. A shimmering path appeared in the thick mist.
Fu Fu wagged his tail, barked at everyone and the kittens, and followed Dorothy along the path, disappearing into the mist…
“Alright, stop crying, your eyes are so swollen.” The young man, back to his normal size, lay on the sofa, letting Qu Banqing replace the ice pack.
After several ice packs, Ning Zhixia went upstairs early to wash up, turned on the air conditioner, and climbed into bed.
The cold air from the air conditioner made his bones ache, but he felt hot without it, so when Audrow knocked on the doorframe with his pillow, Ning Zhixia readily made space for his human air conditioner.
Qu Banqing, passing by, snorted and rolled his eyes, thinking, Enjoy it while you can, I’ll kick you out when winter comes.
Audrow’s silver-gray hair spread across the pillow as he lay down, silently poking Ning Zhixia’s cheek and gently pinching his ear.
The temperature in the room became cool and comfortable. Ning Zhixia, his chin resting on the blanket, stared at the ceiling, realizing he wasn’t sleepy.
A cool fingertip traced his chin, then lifted it, turning his head to the side.
Meeting those light-colored eyes, Ning Zhixia blinked in confusion and heard Audrow ask softly, “What are you thinking about?”
“Fu Fu and his owner.” Ning Zhixia turned to face him and replied softly.
“Sad?”
“Yeah, a little…” After a moment, Ning Zhixia whispered, “Okay, actually, very sad.”
Audrow didn’t quite understand. He didn’t have the same level of empathy as humans, but the young man’s dejected expression made him frown slightly.
He placed his hand on Ning Zhixia’s back, gently stroking his hunched spine like he was comforting a child: “Don’t be sad.”
Ning Zhixia pulled the blanket higher and mumbled, “Audrow, sometimes I can’t believe that someone would willingly sacrifice themselves to save the world they love…”
Audrow asked, “Would you?”
“I probably couldn’t, I would just grab Fu Fu and run…” Ning Zhixia lowered his head dejectedly. “I’m afraid of pain, if I have to die, I hope I can die beautifully.”
The hand on his back paused, then gently ruffled his messy hair.
Audrow: “Many people can’t.”
The gentle words were comforting, and Ning Zhixia thought for a moment, then asked, “What about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Um… saving the world, being a hero, that sort of thing.”
Audrow didn’t reply, pulling the restless head closer to his neck, his light-colored eyes gazing at the moon outside the window. Only when Ning Zhixia’s even breaths tickled his neck did he answer, his voice low.
Mermen were the source of disasters, unworthy of such a noble title.
Since Dorothy’s appearance, Fu Fu’s mood had improved considerably.
Every evening, he would wait by the door, and when the fairy dust appeared, he would bark at Ning Zhixia and wag his tail, heading off to play in the Whispering Woods.
When the passage was about to close, he would return with a basket of flowers.
“Did you have fun?”
“Woof!”
Ning Zhixia chuckled and placed the flowers in a vase.
He didn’t know what they had been playing, but the puppy’s paws were covered in mud. Fortunately, Fu Fu was a well-behaved puppy and sat patiently by the door, waiting for Ning Zhixia to wipe his paws.
“Eww, stinky paws.” Ning Zhixia sniffed after wiping them and sent him to Qu Banqing, muttering, “Go let your second godfather smell them.”
Fu Fu barked again and trotted to the kitchen, his paws tapping on the floor.
Since Fu Fu’s owner’s position was irreplaceable, Ning Zhixia and Qu Banqing had been demoted to second-in-command, earning the title of “godfather.”
As for Audrow…
Audrow stated indifferently that mermen didn’t need to adopt puppies.
But despite his words, he would occasionally slip a few fish snacks into Fu Fu’s mouth, much to Fatty Orange’s displeasure, like a scorned concubine in a palace.
Meanwhile, Dorothy, riding on the puppy, proudly appeared at the forest ball, showing off her beautiful nails and receiving envious gasps from the other sprites.
She was surrounded by admirers, her arms crossed smugly, and she glanced at the sprite who had called her a copycat, snorted, and raised her chin even higher.
Ha, so satisfying.
Dorothy, having had her fill of attention, took her friends through the cave to the nail salon.
“Yo, brought some friends?”
Surrounded by flower sprites sniffing him affectionately, Ning Zhixia was unfazed, greeting them warmly and touching their tiny hands with his fingertip.
“Yes! They want manicures too!” Dorothy flew around happily. She had clearly discussed it with her companions, deciding to pay with the fairy dust from their wings.
Flower sprites didn’t have currency, and the shimmering fairy dust was their most precious possession. Since the dust needed to be cleaned regularly and lost its power after leaving their bodies, it was the only thing they could offer in exchange, as long as Ning Zhixia liked it.
Ning Zhixia readily agreed to the trade, placing an empty jar on the table.
Qu Banqing reminded him, “Be careful, it’s hard to clean if it gets on the floor.”
“Okay!”
The flower sprites giggled, lined up, and flew to the jar, turning their backs and flapping their wings, the fine fairy dust falling like gold. Several kittens squatted by the table, watching intently.
But no matter how careful they were, some of the sparkling dust still landed on the floor.
Qu Banqing took a broom and swept it clean, then sprinkled some more, and swept again.
Audrow’s words from that night echoed in his ears. Just as he was about to finish, Audrow casually glanced at the floor, pushed the almost full jar towards Fatty Orange with his finger.
Fatty Orange narrowed its eyes and sniffed: “Achoo!!!”
Qu Banqing, holding the broom, his vision blurry, let out an angry yell.
