Chapter Sixteen: The Great Black Dog

Zhao Hong suggested that since we couldn’t get a taxi, we might as well give up trying.
“I’ll drive you there myself!” he continued, slapping my thigh in high spirits.
“What?” I looked up in surprise, politely replying, “Is that really okay? That road is so unlucky, I’d hate to use your car for it…”
“Oh, come on!” Zhao Hong waved off my concerns, slapping my thigh again with a fearless grin. “What’s there to be afraid of? Afraid you’ll turn into stone or a hairless rat? Don’t overthink it—it's all superstition…”
His words felt like a ladle of water poured into my parched heart, bringing a soothing comfort.
There’s nothing quite like an old comrade. It felt like family.
As he spoke, Zhao Hong tossed his car keys onto the table.
He explained that he’d come to Dezhou to sell breeding pigs, had just delivered them to the buyer that afternoon, and was about to head home when he spotted us looking east to west on the street—leading to this string of coincidences.
“That’s fate!” Zhao Hong exclaimed. “You have to help a comrade in need.”
Then, perhaps a little self-conscious, he added, “My pig farm’s in Zibo. I can take you to the old squad leader’s house on my way, and we can visit him together! Only… I hope you don’t mind if it’s a bit dirty?”
As he spoke, he glanced at Xian Hongye, who was standing beside Wang Hou.
I understood—he was worried the young woman might not tolerate the smell in his vehicle.
After all, it was a livestock transport truck.
But at this point, I wasn’t about to nitpick; having a ride was already a stroke of luck, and it wouldn’t be right to refuse a comrade’s generosity.
Luckily, Hongye was quite sensible and seemed to understand my hesitation. Without a second thought, she simply said, “Thank you” to Zhao Hong.
So, we all agreed: we’d stay in Dezhou tonight and set out at dawn. With Zhao Hong’s route, we’d reach the old squad leader’s house in no more than three hours.
As we got up to leave the restaurant, Zhao Hong eagerly insisted on driving us to find a hotel, even insisting he’d pay for everything—ready to argue with anyone who tried to split the cost.
But before he could get out the restaurant door, I stopped him.
I waved him back. “Zhao Hong, wait a second.”
“What, you want to pay? Don’t you dare!”
“No!” I said helplessly, pointing at my thigh. “You slapped me too hard just now, let me recover first.”
…
We left the restaurant together, following Zhao Hong across two streets toward his truck.
His pig-transporting vehicle was actually a mid-sized pickup. Perhaps because it had carried pigs, it exuded a faint smell of farmyard manure, though the cab itself was clean enough and easily fit us—three and a half people.
Ah Si was delighted to have transportation again. Ever attentive, he was the first to leap over and open the rear door when Zhao Hong unlocked the truck, cheerily inviting us to get in.
But what none of us expected was that as soon as the door opened, a shadowy figure burst out of the truck, knocking Ah Si flat on his back.
The thing moved so quickly that, for a long moment, all I saw was a blur of darkness—about the size of a person in a leather coat!
This sudden commotion caught us all off guard, and Ah Si let out a piercing shriek in his own singular way.

“Dog!” In the confusion, Hongye was the first to see what it was. She shouted to Zhao Hong and me, “What’s with the dog?”
Zhao Hong himself was a bit stunned by the dog’s sudden appearance.
But he reacted quickly, muttering a command I couldn’t quite catch. At once, the big black dog stopped attacking Ah Si, and I hurried to “rescue” him from under the dog’s paws.
Ah Si, luckily, wasn’t hurt, but he was drenched in dog slobber.
Clearly, he’d been badly frightened by the dog’s ferocity and, even after I dragged him out, was still hysterically clutching at his face. He ended up scrambling onto my shoulders, glaring down at the “bully” that had just bested him.
“Don’t you know the law?” Unexpectedly, instead of cursing the dog, Ah Si turned on Zhao Hong: “No large dogs allowed in the city! Don’t you know that?”
Zhao Hong seemed momentarily lost for words, then pointed at Ah Si on my shoulder and asked, “He’s not your son?”
Good grief! He’d thought Ah Si was my son all this time.
If I really had such an ugly son… I might as well give up on life.
I forced a bitter smile and shook my head. “Of course not! We picked him up on the way… He’s our legal advisor.”
Zhao Hong nodded, half-understanding, and then cheerfully stowed the excited black dog—now called Dudu—back in the rear, chaining and covering it with canvas.
Afterward, Zhao Hong apologized, explaining that the dog belonged to his second uncle. He’d brought Dudu along to see the vet, and, since large dogs aren’t allowed in the city, had hidden it in the backseat. He hadn’t expected Ah Si to be so eager, opening the door before he could settle the dog. That was all there was to it—he hoped Ah Si wouldn’t hold a grudge.
After hearing his explanation, I glanced back at the lazy black dog now lying in the rear compartment and could only smile helplessly.
Perhaps trying to ease the awkwardness, Zhao Hong grinned at Ah Si and me. “The dog’s not fierce—it’s clever. In fact, bringing a black dog along is supposed to be good luck. The old books say it can sense spirits; if we encounter trouble on the way, it might even protect us…”
Before Zhao Hong could finish, my phone rang suddenly.
In the quiet truck, the sound was unmistakable.
I hurriedly answered, seeing at once that it was my old squad leader calling.
My heart tightened.
The last time I’d called him, I’d told him we were leaving Hebei and should reach Shandong in a day or two.
He hadn’t said much then—just told us to hurry and call once we reached Shandong. After a few brief words, he’d hung up, leaving me with a nagging unease.
I’d sensed that his tone had grown weary, his voice aged by a decade, carrying an indescribable desolation and a hint of anxiety.
I knew that, though he never said it outright, my old squad leader was probably facing serious trouble.
Now, seeing his familiar number, I was both excited and anxious, certain he was calling because he expected us to have reached Shandong and wanted an update.
I quickly answered.
As soon as I picked up, his familiar, exhausted voice filled my ear.
“Bu’er… where are you now?” he asked straight away.
“Dezhou!” I said, excited. “Squad leader, we ran into Zhao Hong—the same Zhao Hong from New Year’s Eve, the one who helped me bury the perch! The three of us even ate maggots together, remember? We’ll be at your place tomorrow morning! We’ll have a proper reunion.”
Zhao Hong, equally pleased, shouted his greetings over the phone, assuring the squad leader that we’d be there tomorrow and telling him not to worry…

But after Zhao Hong’s enthusiasm, silence fell on the other end.
After a moment, my old squad leader spoke, his voice trembling with fatigue. “Tian Bu’er, can you hurry? Come today, if you can.”
His words froze the smile on my face.
Instinctively, I glanced at the time on my phone.
It was already after five in the afternoon.
Although it was summer and the days were long, if we set out now, we’d arrive at his house well after dark.
And most importantly, was it really wise to travel that notorious, rumor-ridden country road at night?
I hesitated.
To be cautious, I didn’t agree right away but instead probed gently, “Squad leader, could you tell me what’s really going on at home? Why the rush?”
He was silent for a moment, then replied slowly, “Bu’er, do you remember the white Gu worm Xiao Jiu’er put in your body?”
How could I forget? I still hadn’t solved that problem, and that venomous-hearted Xiao Jiu’er was still at large, leaving me anxious and uneasy.
“Yes,” I replied.
His next words were heavy with fatigue and a chill.
“The Gu she put in your body… can hear everything you and I say.”
“What… do you mean?” I was stunned.
“When you fought Xiao Jiu’er, didn’t you find it odd?” he pressed. “How could she, a blind woman, know things that even sighted people couldn’t? It wasn’t intuition—it was the Gu snake she planted in others, seeing everything.”
“So…” At this point, every hair on my body stood on end.
So… Xiao Jiu’er could see into people’s thoughts through the Gu she placed inside them? I dared not think further.
The squad leader went on, “That’s why… let’s talk when you get here. Once you arrive, I’ll tell you everything.”
After hanging up, I stared blankly at everyone, and they stared back at me.
In each of their eyes, I seemed to see Xiao Jiu’er’s cunning “gaze.” There was no doubt—she was watching me, watching all of us from the shadows…
Resigned, I turned to Zhao Hong. “Old Zhao, can we make it tonight? The squad leader… he’s in trouble.”
Zhao Hong’s mouth fell open in confusion, but soon he started the engine.
As the sun sank slowly toward the horizon, I knew very well that the ones in real trouble… were us.