“The late emperor embarked on his great endeavor before it was half completed… completed… comp—ah, I can’t remember the rest!”
“Hahahaha, you lose!”
“Your Majesty, could you give me another chance? Please?”
“Well, since you called me ‘Your Majesty,’ it would be petty of me to refuse. As the saying goes, ‘A great ruler’s heart is broad enough to sail a ship.'”
“Thank you, Your Majesty! You’re so kind!”
…
“Hehehe…” The Husky’s eyes narrowed into slits, drool trickling from the corner of its mouth as it let out a series of gurgling, silly giggles.
“Hey, doggo.” Su Mo had been reciting the text when it suddenly spaced out like this, completely unresponsive.
Won’t wake up, huh?
“Ahhhhhhhhh!” Su Mo mustered all his strength and let out a sudden, piercing scream.
The Husky jolted in fright, letting out two annoyed barks. “Holy crap! Do you think your high notes can destroy the whole world?”
Su Mo paused for a second, then responded, “Three days and three nights, till the middle of the night…” [a lyric from a popular song]
The Husky was also stunned, briefly thinking it was still in its daydream. It shook its head vigorously and realized this was reality.
“How do you know that song?” it asked, incredulous.
Su Mo feigned ignorance, then said urgently, “Stop distracting me, I’m about to forget!”
Without answering the Husky’s question, he launched into reciting the text. Though a bit rusty in places, he managed to get through it without major issues.
After finishing, he even took the time to correct its mistakes: “You got some parts wrong. Even though I repeated exactly what you said, word for word, I think it’s necessary to correct you.”
That’s right—Su Mo saying he was about to forget wasn’t a lie. He needed to remember the parts it had messed up.
The Husky stared at him, dumbfounded, as a long-sealed memory began to resurface.
“After all, you’re a cultured dog. We can’t let people laugh at us, right?” Su Mo’s face was full of a warm, spring-like smile.
After what felt like an eternity—long enough for the other beasts to nearly doze off—the Husky suddenly threw its head back and let out a long howl: “Awooo—Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Watching it, Su Mo felt a pang of emotion.
Seems like a dog that wandered into this strange land, gained intelligence, and probably hasn’t been home in a long time.
He stayed quiet, waiting patiently for it to finish howling and turn back around.
This time, there was no hostility or gloom on its face—only the pure, simple excitement its appearance suggested.
“You’re from there too! Otherwise, you wouldn’t know how to recite the ‘Chu Shi Biao,’ and you definitely wouldn’t know trending internet memes.”
Su Mo shot back, “So, what do you think? Feeling that ‘when fellow countrymen meet, tears well up in their eyes’ kind of vibe?”
“Not at all!” it retorted, turning its head away, though its eyes were already wet.
Alright then, a tsundere Husky it is.
Suddenly, Su Mo made a “tsk tsk tsk” sound with his tongue. Almost instinctively, the Husky looked over, its tail wagging a few times involuntarily.
But quickly, it pretended like nothing had happened.
“Tsk tsk tsk…”
It didn’t look this time, but its tail kept wagging nonstop.
“Enough already! I’ve never seen a human as dog-like as you.”
“Well, now you have,” Su Mo said, deliberately changing his tone, which got the Husky excited again.
“You’re really from there?”
“Why would I lie?” Su Mo said, slightly annoyed. “Have you ever seen anyone in this world who can recite the ‘Chu Shi Biao’? Heard them use any internet memes? Have you ever eaten this here?”
Su Mo opened his palm, revealing a shiny ham sausage.
“Wow, a ham sausage! I… it’s junk food. Nowhere near as nutritious as demon beast meat.”
Without a word, Su Mo tore open the packaging and tossed it.
The Husky leaped up and caught it in its mouth. “I’m not that desperate, I just hate seeing food go to waste.”
Su Mo smiled without commenting, pulled out a whole handful, stripped the packaging off each one, and casually tossed them out one by one. Not a single one hit the ground.
The other beasts were utterly confused. How did our king end up playing with this human, having so much fun it’s like he’s her pet dog… oh right, the king is a dog.
“I know what you’re going to say next. It’s definitely ‘He who enjoys the ruler’s favor must serve the ruler faithfully.’ Don’t worry, I won’t go back on my promise.” It couldn’t resist adding: “And it has nothing to do with the ham sausages.”
“I know, I know. It’s because of your oath. You’re afraid of getting struck by lightning.”
“Good, you understand.”
With that, the matter was settled. Su Mo prepared to leave.
The beasts all breathed a sigh of relief. The major Beast Kings were indignant, but the Husky seemed downcast.
It had thought it was used to life here, but revisiting those memories stirred up too many emotions.
Maybe it’s because I still haven’t let go.
Watching Su Mo’s retreating figure, it struggled internally over whether to follow.
He was likely the only human in this world who could understand it. Missing this chance would mean cutting ties with its past completely.
It had tried teaching the other beasts to recite texts, even to sing, but they were extremely resistant. Eventually, it incorporated these activities as punishments into the “Beast Code” it had established.
“Such beautiful human culture, and they don’t know how to appreciate it. Ah, even a dog like me thinks it’s a shame,” the Husky muttered to itself.
The Sonic Bat King, hearing this, scratched its nose. “Your Majesty, what are you talking about?”
“Nothing. Everyone disperse, except for the major Beast Kings.”
The crowd of beasts scattered, leaving only the few Beast Kings gathered respectfully around the much smaller Husky.
“Didn’t we just have a meeting? Why again…” the Wild Boar King grumbled listlessly.
The Husky shot it a glance, then looked at the Sonic Bat King, its expression shifting from exasperation to warning. “This time, it was you who instigated the Blood-Eyed White Tiger King and the Giant Ant King to go, wasn’t it? I don’t want there to be a next time.”
The Sonic Bat King hung its head, trembling as it replied, “…Yes.”
Even the proud Giant Ant King lowered its head beside it.
“I know you don’t understand why I always want to coexist peacefully with humans.” The Husky scanned the circle, seeing confusion in every beast’s eyes.
“It’s because they are truly powerful. Humanity’s strength and their resolve for revenge far exceed your imagination. If we really anger them, even if their strength is inferior to ours, they could still wipe us out completely.”
The Wild Boar King, unusually alert now, asked puzzledly, “But what the Sonic Bat King said the other day wasn’t wrong either. Humans occupy vast resources. Robbing them really could bring us a lot of benefits.”
The Husky sneered. “So it approached you too, huh?”
The Sonic Bat King buried its head even deeper, hoping to lessen the punishment this way.
“Recite ‘On the Six States’ ten times for me, and then sing ‘Little Bunny, Be Good’!”
The Sonic Bat King: “Wahhh… ‘The destruction of the six states was not due to inferior weapons…'”
The Giant Ant King: “Hahahaha…”
“Don’t you laugh either. As a participant, recite it five times and also sing ‘Little Bunny, Be Good’.”
“Your Majesty, I didn’t go. Do I get a reward?” The Wild Boar King oinked excitedly.
The Husky, however, said, “That’s because you’re lazy. And you deserve punishment the most. You knew they shouldn’t go, yet you didn’t try to talk the Sonic Bat King out of it, and you didn’t report it to me.”
The Wild Boar King immediately deflated again. “Aww—”
But then the Husky added, “Considering your offense was only attempted, you only need to recite it once and then sing ‘Little Bunny, Be Good’.”
The other Beast Kings gasped: Such a severe punishment! Good thing we didn’t go!
“And you guys,” the Husky continued, sweeping its paw majestically, “Don’t tell me you didn’t know about such a big commotion. Slacking off while I was in seclusion, huh? Hah?” It had the demeanor of a true ruler. “Once each. Start reciting!”