Chapter 136: Fishing (Part 1)
Kong Zhi carefully steered the truck out of the encirclement, and they all felt a bit of relief.
Yan Xi Nian jumped out of the truck and called out to the group of mutated dogs from afar, “Choose a leader to talk with us. The rest of you step back!”
The pack of dogs clearly understood him. After a chorus of barking, it seemed they were communicating among themselves.
After a brief wait, the lead dog—a large yellow dog —stepped forward.
This yellow dog seemed to have a bit of wolf blood in it, with slightly pointed ears and an intense, serious expression.
It was big, weighing easily over 100 pounds, and though lean, it had an impressive, imposing presence.
Such a majestic dog, despite its extra tail, exuded an aura that made it likable.
Yan Xi Nian and the yellow dog stood about five or six meters apart, staring at each other.
Snow continued to fall, thick and soft from the sky.
The yellow dog barked once, its eyes fixed on Yan Xi Nian.
Having called the dog over, Yan Xi Nian suddenly found himself unsure of how to communicate with it.
He tentatively asked, “Did you come to us for a reason?”
The yellow dog barked again, then turned as if it wanted to lead them somewhere.
Yan Xi Nian wasn’t sure if this was the dog’s intent, so he stood still, waiting to see what would happen.
Unexpectedly, the yellow dog turned its head to look back at him, clearly signaling for him to follow.
Yan Xi Nian glanced at Xia Huo Qu, “Should I go check it out?”
Xia Huo Qu replied, “Let’s go together. It’s better if we look out for each other.”
Xia Huo Qu wrapped a scarf around his neck and instructed Kong Zhi and Xia the cat in the cab, “You two stay here with the truck and keep an eye on things. If something goes wrong, drive off immediately. We’ll shift into beast form and catch up.”
Kong Zhi nodded. “Got it. Be careful.”
Xia Huo Qu then looked at the wide-eyed cat in the passenger seat and said to Kong Zhi, “I’m leaving everything here to you.”
With that, Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian trudged after the large yellow dog, their footsteps sinking into the snow with each step.
They kept a distance of about five or six meters between themselves and the dog, both sides cautious of each other.
The yellow dog seemed to be leading them to a distant place.
Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian walked for over ten minutes straight.
The world around them was a vast white expanse, with the heavy snowfall covering most landmarks. They had no reference points and no idea how far they had gone.
Both men remained on high alert, ready to turn back at the first sign of trouble.
The yellow dog also seemed worried they might not follow, as it occasionally looked back at them as it led the way.
The freshly fallen snow felt firm underfoot, not slippery, and though it was a long walk, it wasn’t difficult.
Yan Xi Nian was sweating from the exertion of trudging through the snow.
After about ten more minutes of walking, Yan Xi Nian glanced around at the snowy landscape and said, “This was a mistake. We should have brought the truck. It would have been much easier than walking.”
Xia Huo Qu replied, “If we brought the truck and there was an ambush ahead, we’d have to abandon it. Walking may be tiring, but at least it’s safer.”
“That’s true, I suppose. Let’s keep going. I wonder where it’s taking us.”
“Let’s just follow for now.”
The snowfall created an eerie silence across the wilderness.
As they continued walking, both of them lost track of time.
After an indeterminate amount of time, the yellow dog finally stopped in front of a half-collapsed abandoned house, panting as it turned to look at them.
“Strange, what’s in there? Why did it bring us here?” Yan Xi Nian stood still, looking around, trying to figure out the situation.
Xia Huo Qu said, “We’ll have to go closer and check to understand why it brought us here. I’ll go take a look. You stay here and keep watch.”
Yan Xi Nian reached out to stop him. “It’s my turn this time.”
Xia Huo Qu didn’t argue and nodded. “Be careful. I don’t sense any immediate danger, but who knows what might be inside.”
Yan Xi Nian nodded.
He kept his eyes on the yellow dog as he cautiously approached the half-collapsed building.
The roof had partially caved in, but the doors and windows seemed intact. The door was tightly shut, so they couldn’t see what was inside from this angle.
As Yan Xi Nian got closer to the yellow dog, it watched him calmly, its gaze gentle.
This relaxed the tension he had been feeling, and he reached out to grip the door handle, gently turning it and pushing the door open.
A strange, salty, musty odor hit him, pungent but not immediately alarming.
Yan Xi Nian felt as though he had grasped something important in that moment, but the thought slipped away before he could hold onto it.
He glanced into the dark interior of the building, then turned to look at the yellow dog standing not far away.
After a moment of hesitation, he stepped inside.
The building was half-collapsed, and barely any light made it through.
It was dim inside, and Yan Xi Nian’s eyes took a moment to adjust before he could see what was inside the room.
Once Yan Xi Nian could see clearly inside the room, he was stunned.
The room was filled with fishing nets! And not just any nets—floating nets!
His family had these exact types of nets.
Yan Xi Nian picked up one of the fishing nets. The nets were still in great condition, not corroded at all.
He shook one open to inspect it. The mesh seemed normal, and the nets appeared usable.
Holding a rolled-up net, Yan Xi Nian walked out of the building and raised it up for Xia Huo Qu to see. “Look what I found!”
“Fishing nets?” Xia Huo Qu’s face showed surprise.
“Exactly!” Yan Xi Nian glanced at the large yellow dog nearby. “This guy actually led us to a stash of fishing nets. What’s the point, though?”
Xia Huo Qu said, “We’d have to ask the dog to find out.”
Both of them turned to look at the yellow dog.
The yellow dog took a few steps forward and motioned for them to follow.
Yan Xi Nian, carrying the fishing net, walked alongside Xia Huo Qu to follow the yellow dog.
However, as the dog noticed the net in their hands, it suddenly stopped moving.
The three of them—two men and a dog—stared at one another.
Xia Huo Qu quickly caught on. “Is it upset we didn’t bring enough nets? Let me try bringing more.”
“That might be it.” Yan Xi Nian also realized what was going on and hurried back with Xia Huo Qu to grab more nets.
The nets were quite heavy.
Each of them bundled up three more nets and came back out.
When the yellow dog saw they had several more nets, it resumed walking and led them back.
Yan Xi Nian was astonished. “It’s true! This dog’s got some intelligence!”
“If that’s the case, does it want us to use the nets for fishing?” Xia Huo Qu looked into the distance. “I remember there’s a river near the town—over there, right?”
“Yes, it’s over there,” Yan Xi Nian confirmed. “It’s a tributary of a long river, quite wide. We’ll have to cross a bridge later.”
Yan Xi Nian looked from the nets to the dog. “It could be. These dogs look thin—they probably don’t have enough food. Maybe they want to team up with us for hunting.”
“Maybe,” Xia Huo Qu said. “But it’s not certain. The dog probably can’t fully trust that we’re good people.”
Hearing this, the dog in front twitched its ears and barked at them once.
Yan Xi Nian laughed and said to the dog, “We didn’t say you were being unreasonable. If we were bad people and ran off with the nets, what would you do?”
The dog stopped, its eyes fixed on them with a serious expression.
Yan Xi Nian added, “I’m just considering the possibility, not saying we’re bad.”
Amazingly, the large yellow dog nodded, then continued leading them onward.
They made their way back to the truck.
When the dog pack saw them return with fishing nets, they grew restless again.
Kong Zhi poked his head out of the truck window and called, “You guys okay?”
“We’re fine,” Xia Huo Qu replied. “The dogs led us to some fishing nets. They might want to team up with us for fishing.”
Before Kong Zhi could say anything, Xia the cat, sitting nearby, perked up and seemed eager to join the fishing effort.
The cat immediately pressed the window down, put its two front paws on the sill, and meowed excitedly at its brother.
Xia Huo Qu looked at Xia the cat. “Even if you’re tempted, you can’t come down. There are too many dogs, and we can’t protect you.”
“Meow!” Xia the cat protested, flicking its tail.
Seeing Xia the cat’s enthusiasm, Yan Xi Nian tried to advocate for the cat. “It’s not impossible. We could let Xiao Nong perch on our shoulders.”
Xia Huo Qu shook his head. “Do you think he’s still that tiny little cat? He’s thirty pounds now, and there’s no way he can sit on our shoulders.”
Xia the cat’s emerald eyes filled with resentment after being rejected.
Yan Xi Nian could only shrug helplessly and drop the subject.
Kong Zhi patted the cat’s smooth fur and said, “Stay in the truck with me. Otherwise, I’ll be all alone. What if we’re attacked?”
Xia the cat lowered its paws and quietly walked over, lightly bumping Kong Zhi’s hand with its cold, damp nose.
Meanwhile, the yellow dog continued leading them forward.
Yan Xi Nian and Xia Huo Qu, carrying the fishing nets, followed closely behind.
Kong Zhi asked, “Should I drive and follow you? If anything happens, you can quickly get in the truck.”
“That works,” Yan Xi Nian replied. “Keep a lookout and check the area around us. We don’t want the dogs to surround us—it’d be too dangerous.”
The yellow dog overheard their conversation and barked twice at the pack, which promptly retreated.
Yan Xi Nian, surprised at how cooperative the dog was, couldn’t help but smile.
The large yellow dog seemed sincere, making the collaboration feel more relaxed.
Under the yellow dog’s guidance, they soon reached the riverbank.
It was colder here than near their base, and the river had already frozen solid, with the ice appearing thick.
However, what caught Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian’s attention wasn’t the frozen river but several large holes in the ice, with dogs gathered around them.
From a distance, they noticed fishing nets draped over two of the holes, and about ten dogs were holding onto the nets tightly with their mouths, their heads pulled back as drool dripped down, freezing in the cold.
The dogs were using fishing nets to fish!
“My god, I told you they were smart!” Yan Xi Nian said in disbelief. He called out to the large yellow dog, “You guys are incredible!”
The yellow dog barked once, then quickly trotted over to help the others and tilted its head, signaling Yan Xi Nian and Xia Huo Qu to join in.
For the first time, Yan Xi Nian and Xia Huo Qu found themselves being instructed by a dog, leaving them with mixed feelings.
Xia Huo Qu set down the nets he was holding. “I’ll help. You keep watch.”
