As the children chased the dog up a dirt slope, Dong Chengcai shouted from below, “Everyone, come down! Aren’t you afraid of falling?”

Seeing an adult approach, the children scrambled down the slope. The puppy, however, stopped midway upon spotting the stranger and refused to follow.

Dong Chengcai said he’d fed it before and stepped forward to give it a couple of pats.

The little yellow dog wagged its tail at him, hesitated, then trotted over on its tiny white paws.

Dong Chengcai seized the moment and grabbed it by the scruff of its neck.

Though still under a year old, it was relatively large—at least compared to bigger dogs like Hongguo. It certainly wasn’t one of those tiny lap dogs pampered by wealthy city ladies, and its body wasn’t short, either.

Dong Chengcai couldn’t lift it, so he just held the dog down while Huo Ling and Yan Qi hurried over to look.

The yellow dog cowered with its tail tucked between its legs, yet it didn’t bare its teeth to bite. It only kept trying to retreat.

This kind of stray dog, surviving by scavenging for food, had undoubtedly been beaten. Unless it was someone who had fed it before, no one dared to approach it easily.

When Huo Ling and Yan Qi crouched before it, the dog likely sensed the familiar scent of other dogs on them and calmed slightly.

“It’s emaciated, but its nose is wet, and its eyes and ears are clean—it’s not sick.”

He glanced beneath its tail. “It’s a male.”

He asked the ger softly, “What do you think? Does it look like him?”

Dong Chengcai didn’t catch the question, but Yan Qi understood.

He stared intently for a moment before nodding. “Very similar. Only it has a patch of white fur on its belly—Dahuang never had that.”

But it was close enough. The moment he first saw it, he’d thought of Dahuang.

Dong Chengcai tentatively asked, “So, you say your family once had a dog like this? That’s quite a coincidence.”

Huo Ling nodded. “It was my husband’s mother’s dog.”

Dong Chengcai didn’t press further. He guessed the dog was likely gone now. As a dog owner himself, the thought of dogs facing birth, aging, sickness, and death inevitably stirred his own melancholy.

Yan Qi extended his hand, letting the little yellow dog sniff his fingers. The scent of dried meat lingered on his skin. The puppy sniffed intently, swallowing hard—clearly hungry.

“Its belly’s still sunken. He probably hasn’t eaten today.”

Unfortunately, they’d already fed them all the dried meat they’d brought. Otherwise, they could’ve given it a piece to satisfy its hunger.

The only edible thing nearby was the peanuts Dong Chengcai had given them, but they hesitated to feed them to the dog. If it ate too hastily, it could easily choke.

Dong Chengcai had crouched with them for a while before suggesting, “If you want to take it home, it’ll be tough without some food to lure it. Why don’t I run home and grab something?”

After that, he fell silent, waiting for Huo Ling and Yan Qi’s response.

Huo Ling asked Yan Qi what he thought. The ger pursed his lips and whispered, “I want to take him.”

He looked at Huo Ling. “Didn’t we discuss earlier that we should get a bigger dog first? Otherwise, if we bring the puppy home before getting the adult, we’ll only have Dager. When we go into the mountains, we won’t be able to manage both.”

“So it’s perfect timing. We didn’t come earlier or later, but arrived at Dongjia Village today to meet him. Maybe he’s meant to be ours.”

Huo Ling turned to Dong Chengcai and said, “Then we’ll trouble you, Brother.”

“It’s no trouble at all. If you don’t keep him, he won’t have a good fate. Sooner or later, someone will beat him and eat his meat.”

Not just strays—even owned dogs get snatched by bold thieves for the pot.

“Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

Dong Chengcai, ever the helpful soul, dashed home after that promise while Huo Ling tugged the yellow dog by its scruff.

Dager pawed the ground anxiously from afar. Spotting the large dog in the distance, the little yellow pup plucked up courage and barked twice.

“Should we let Dager come over?”

Yan Qi looked back and forth, unable to bear parting with either.

“He can come. Dager knows his limits and won’t bully it.”

Huo Ling whistled to Dager. The dog seemed to leap just twice before reaching them, immediately sniffing the little dog’s rear.

The big dog’s imposing presence was undeniable. The little yellow dog instantly adopted a fawning posture, practically lying flat on the ground with its ears flattened and drooping.

Dager likely realized the little creature posed no threat. He nudged Huo Ling and Yan Qi with his head. Seeing no reaction, he then touched Yan Qi’s hand—resting on the little yellow dog’s head—with his nose.

“Want me to pet you too?”

Yan Qi chuckled and patted Dager before turning to Huo Ling. “Do you think this dog could be trained?”

They kept dogs not just for guarding—each extra mouth meant extra rations.

He wasn’t sure if the little yellow dog was smart enough, especially since it hadn’t been trained from puppyhood.

“As you say, four hooves treading snow—how could it go wrong? Besides, it has four whiskers.”

Huo Ling pointed to the dog’s chin. Yan Qi exclaimed in surprise, “Really?”

He immediately looked down, counted carefully, and beamed, “It’s true.”

“Dogs this age aren’t as easy to train as puppies. Some habits are already set. We don’t expect it to be as skilled as Dager. Just guarding the courtyard is enough.”

He gave the dog’s ear a light flick. “Once we take it home, you can name it.”

Dong Chengcai returned, accompanied by his husband. He carried a chipped bowl filled with water, along with two cold flatbreads and a long hemp rope.

Dong’s husband first gave the dog some water. Learning that Huo Ling and Yan Qi had decided to take the yellow dog to the mountains, he exclaimed happily, “The mountains are better than down below! It can run free and happy everywhere, never lacking food. From now on, it’ll be following you two to live in luxury!”

Huo Ling thanked him, took the flatbread, broke it into pieces, and together with Yan Qi, fed the dog. It was indeed famished, lowering its head to gobble the food down.

After feeding it one piece, they held off on giving the second. Huo Ling held it in his hand, signaling for the dog to follow.

The dog glanced left and right, clearly reluctant to leave its familiar surroundings.

With no other option, they had to lead it away on a rope.

Dong Chengcai helped hold the dog down while Huo Ling looped a rope around its neck. This knot tightened the more the dog struggled, yet remained comfortable when led normally.

“Brother Dong, Sister-in-law, we’ll head back now. We’ll come visit again when we have good news about Hongguo’er.”

“Alright, alright.”

Dong Chengcai responded repeatedly, “Go ahead, take care on the way.”

The Dong family’s husband waved as well. “Drop by our place sometime!”

Huo Ling held the hemp rope. At first, the yellow dog would stop after a few steps, tugging at the rope and refusing to move forward. Huo Ling and Yan Qi waited patiently, coaxing it to walk.

After several such attempts, the dog seemed to realize these two truly intended to take it home. It stopped lingering over Dongjia Village and obediently let Huo Ling lead it wherever he went.

They left with one dog and returned with two. Yet the yellow dog, unlike Dager, was unfamiliar with Huo Feng’s family of three. Once inside the courtyard, it cowered in the corner of the woodshed, refusing to come out no matter how much they called. It only stood up and wagged its tail when Huo Ling and Yan Qi approached.

Yan Qi named it Huang Yae’er. After keeping it at home overnight, he led it back into the mountains.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Time moved slowly in the mountains.

Opening his eyes at dawn to birdsong and his husband in his arms, Huo Ling felt an unusual sense of leisure, even knowing the day’s chores awaited.

Outside, the sky hung heavy and overcast. Yet last night’s sky had been dotted with stars, suggesting no rain was coming. Still, Yan Qi had murmured before sleep about washing the soiled sheets and airing the quilts—a task now impossible.

As he rose, the person beside his lifted an arm, feeling the emptiness beside him. He opened his eyes groggily.

Yan Qi saw that the room was still dim and assumed it was early. Huo Ling let him sleep a little longer, only saying that he was going to the outhouse.

The ger didn’t suspect a thing; he was truly exhausted.

By now, he had figured Huo Ling out. Whenever they returned to the mountain after being down below, the first night was never spent sleeping peacefully. It was as if he’d pent up all his pent-up energy during those idle days.

If pressed, Yan Qi would rather do that thing with Huo Ling on the mountain. At least there was no one around, and if they accidentally made a sound or two, they wouldn’t have to feel so embarrassed that they couldn’t even breathe.

Unlike the ger’s drowsiness, Huo Ling was as light as a sparrow.

After washing up, he went out to fetch water. Returning, he boiled it and prepared breakfast, not forgetting to feed both dogs.

When Yan Qi emerged, Huo Ling was teaching Huang Yae to obey commands, while Dager wandered listlessly nearby.

“Sit.”

Huo Ling pointed at Huang Yae. Seeing it successfully sit, he snapped his fingers and tossed a meat cube the size of a fingertip into its mouth—barely enough for a taste, certainly not a meal.

Meat was plentiful in the mountains; a single field mouse yielded enough chunks for several training sessions.

Commands like “Stand” and “Sit” were the simplest. Only through gradual teaching would they reveal how much the dog could learn.

Ordinary dogs couldn’t compare to Dager. He was so clever he seemed almost human, understanding every word spoken to him. Calling him a dog felt wrong—he was more like a seven or eight-year-old child.

“It’s quite clever, picking things up so fast.”

Yan Qi stood brushing his teeth in the courtyard, cup in hand, watching as Huo Ling tossed a stick for Huang Yae to retrieve.

The moment the stick flew, Huang Yae twisted his body, locked onto the trajectory, and dashed off.

The only slight difference from Dager was that Dager always leapt up to catch the stick before it hit the ground, while Huang Yae only retrieved it after it landed. Still, that was pretty good.

“Good dog.”

Huo Ling tossed him a meat cube. Seeing Dager watching longingly nearby, he also threw a twig for Dager to fetch, rewarding him with a treat upon return.

Yan Qi watched with a smile for a while before asking Huo Ling, “Is this how you trained Dager before? How long did it take?”

Huo Ling recalled, “Not very long, really. Just about a month. I only brought him into the mountains after he was fully grown.”

Otherwise, with Dager’s build as a puppy, encountering wild beasts in the mountains would have made him nothing more than a snack.

Dogs, like humans, have limited patience. Trying to teach too much in one day makes them restless, and they won’t retain what comes later.

Huo Ling set aside the empty bowl that had held the meat cubes. He and Yan Qi carried their rice bowls and ate breakfast at the stove.

“Mosquitoes are starting to swarm lately. After I leave, remember to break off another piece of that old ox liver and light it. I’ll keep an eye out during my next trip into the mountains, too. If I find any more, I’ll gather a few extra pieces.”

The wild vegetable trade could last another month. They discussed making an extra trip down the mountain, since each haul was limited. One more trip could mean earning several dozen pounds more in silver.

However, Huo Ling wasn’t taking Yan Qi into the mountains today. He planned to take the path to gather kidney grass.

Recently, yellow spots had begun appearing on the leaves of the kidney grass, making it more valuable than the unblemished variety.

He also planned to scout out a few more spots rich in wild vegetables, figuring out the most direct routes to save time and effort when they went back together later.