Chapter 88 (1/2)
Chapter 88: The Shock of Willpower Can Already Be Triggered?
In the valley where Mr and Mrs Shiping had committed suicide, a group of people and two dogs had arrived.
It has long been empty and deserted, a picture of serenity. The Mountain Rats that had their nest here had long since left to who-knows-where.
“Master, why can’t we just slaughter these pair of Earthly Hounds and be done with it so we can return home?” asked one of the people in the group.
Bai Shixin shook his head in answer, “We can’t slaughter them, they’re part of a future plan of mine. This will be a difficult task for you lot; these two demon dogs, they descended in their physical bodies like the fools they were and lost a lot of power. But to you bunch of locally-bred Greater Rat Demons, they’re incredibly nutritious and will improve your Cultivation Base greatly, which will allow you lot to help me out even more. Since that’s the case, pick one to eat first. After you’re done, return immediately as I still have things to do.”
Hearing this, the trio of subordinates’ eyes glimmered with gratitude before it shifted into greed. Their gazes landed on the dogs that had been tied up tightly, which cause a shiver to run down the dogs’ spines.
“Thank you for your generosity, Master. But which dog should we eat first?”
Bai Shixin swept his gaze across both the dogs before he said, “That yellow dog has been cultivating for longer, so eating that one would do you lot better. Those humans didn’t know this and just appraised everything based on external appearance. Get that yellow dog and prepare it for slaughter.”
Hearing this, the black dog’s face lit up at its own luck before it turned to look at the yellow dog, who seemed to be extremely pissed off. It barked a few times, “You never expected this right? Boss, your schemes may work against humans, but it won’t work on people who already have you figured out!”
The yellow dog did not answer. Instead, it closed its eyes as if it were admitting defeat.
Bai Shixin seemed to understand their language, he listened in interest before he laughed, “Despite them having similar cultivation experiences, why is one so smart while the other one is so stupid? Wisdom really isn’t something that can be cultivated through cultivation alone.”
The black dog could not retort for fear of being chosen itself.
At this moment, Bai Shixin suddenly felt a need to be mischievous, or maybe he was just bored, because he continued to say, “Letting one of you die seems like a good choice. I had witnessed everything that happened just now. When I appeared, you had already stood up, Yellow Boss. You weren’t planning on escaping, you were planning on attacking those dog butchers, right?”
This time, the yellow dog slowly opened its mouth to speak, “Who would’ve expected that you would have such sharp eyes, that black servant beside me didn’t even notice, yet you saw everything despite being so far away.”
Bai Shixin laughed aloud once more, “The fact that you were pretending to be weak was because you wanted the black dog to be chosen first when the humans opened the cage right? Once the humans had opened the cage door and had their attention focused on the black dog, your slightly better cultivation would then allow you a better hand at successfully ambushing the humans right? In the end, the both of you would be able to run away together.”
The yellow dog answered, “You’re right.”
The black dog was confused, “Then why didn’t you discuss things with me first, Yellow Boss? I could’ve cooperated with you properly.
Bai Shixin continued to laugh, “You black servant, you couldn’t even see through such a simple ruse until I exposed it, you even laughed at the person that wanted to save your life. If he had discussed things with you beforehand, would you have been able to put on a realistic act? Ugh, just looking at you reminds me of that human saying that goes you really make me feel quite superior in terms of IQ…”
The black dog was stunned, it had completely misunderstood Yellow Boss’ intentions. It started barking loudly, spewing countless apologies.
The yellow dog finally reacted, “You black servant, just give it a rest. After hearing what that rat said, I believe you’re still useful to them, so you’ll be kept alive if you’re lucky.”
Bai Shixin nodded his head, “You really can’t deny the canine in you. That innate sense of gratitude and loyalty to their own kind really is quite different from the Greater Rats’ innate cunning and selfishness. What a waste, I wanted to keep you as a Think Tank. But I have no choice since we’re enemy clans, I can only let you be eaten by my subordinates.”
At this moment, Bai Shixin’s trio of subordinates were already done with setting up the kitchenware. They were just boiling the water to be used for cooking so that they could prepare a delicious buffet of dog meat.
The black dog knew that it would not be killed, but it sobbed, tears streaming down its face.
Bai Shixin shook his head once more but no words left his mouth.
A moment later, the water was already boiling. One of the subordinates lifted the yellow dog and hovered him over a pot. The gazes of both dogs met before tears started flowing freely down both their faces.
Just when one of the subordinates wanted to drop the yellow dog into the boiling water, Bai Shixin suddenly turned to look at the sky in the distance. He then said, “Forget it, seems like you lot are out of luck because you won’t be able to eat it today. The other part of my plan has arrived earlier than scheduled so there must be something wrong. You three must leave this instant.”
“Yes, Master.” Despite how the subordinates were practically drooling for dog meat, they obeyed their orders and escaped through a tunnel without hesitation.
The yellow dog stopped crying and open its mouth to speak, this time using the language of humans, “That’s my first time seeing a Greater Rat Demon who shows such mercy towards their subordinates. Let me guess, you’re using us as bait to lure that dragon, right? You’re afraid your subordinates would die in vain, so you had them leave first.”
Hearing this piqued Bai Shixin’s interest; he liked communicating with smart people, because communicating with idiots only made him feel like he was playing chess with a wall.
Bai Shixin spoke, “Your guess is right, but let me ask you another question. I only need one alive in my plan, so I could’ve let them bring one of you back to be eaten. Why did I have them slaughter you to be eaten right in front of me?”
The yellow dog answered, “There’s a few possible answers. But according to your previous actions, there could only be one reason. You’re afraid that if you allowed them to not eat me in private, somebody would take advantage of their power and eat more because of how nutritious I am. They might even hog me completely, which would mean that your plan to have them owe you a debt of gratitude would fail completely. You can’t do anything to stop something like that from happening either, since the demon world was where only the fittest survived. If you had reprimanded them, it would backfire on you instead.
“I’m sure you lot haven’t been in this world for very long; you said they were locally-born Greater Rat Demons so taming them mustn’t have taken long. They might seem obedient on the surface, but I doubt they’re as obedient truly. You have to find a balance between being fierce and being nice, or it’ll take a long time for them to truly follow you completely.”
Bai Shixin could not help but clap his hands, “Well done, well done indeed. Not only are you smart, you can read a human’s heart quite well too. Sadly, you Earthly Hound Clan members only mixed around with the powerhouses of the human race. No matter how much I admire you and want to recruit you, the Elder Ancestor would never agree.”
The black dog by the side who had heard everything was dumbfounded, ‘Despite both of us being bachelor dogs that only descended into this world to look for women, Yellow Boss is so much smarter than me. Now that I think about it, why can’t Yellow Boss get a woman at 250 years old despite being so smart?’