Chiba Sanroku sat by the hospital bed, holding his daughter’s hand and murmuring words that no one could hear. There was no response from her anyway.
Just then, the ward door opened.
Auntie Li brought Kotaro along to visit his sister.
Seeing his sister lying motionless in bed, Kotaro’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. “Keiko-neechan, my butt itches. Get up and spank me, waaaah…”
Li gently stroked her son’s head, comforting him. “Don’t worry, your sister will wake up soon. We brought you here to witness this important moment.”
“Really?”
“Of course.” Chiba Sanroku chimed in with a smile.
Both husband and wife had streaks of gray in their hair, looking at least ten years older than before.
Kotaro started looking around, then asked with confusion, “Where’s Maka-neechan?”
A flicker of emotion passed through Chiba Sanroku’s eyes. “She… she was sent on a mission by her superiors. It might be a long time before she can come back.”
He was, of course, unwilling to tell his son that his beloved Maka-neechan had been taken to jail, her fate unknown.
He had also tried to inquire about his niece’s whereabouts, but after many unsuccessful attempts, he had to give up and focus his attention on caring for his daughter here.
In his view, this niece of his seemed quite capable, and her identity was no simple matter. Surely someone would manage to get her released.
Kotaro looked disappointed. “Okay…”
The family of four gathered in the small ward. The three who were awake fixed their gazes on the hospital bed, waiting silently, because the doctor had said she would wake up within these few days.
Suddenly, several dog barks came from outside the door, drawing the attention of all three.
With a loud “bang,” the ward door was kicked open. A young man, less than 1.6 meters tall but with an arrogance that seemed to reach the ceiling, walked in, holding a fierce-looking pit bull on a leash. The barking earlier had come from it.
Chiba Sanroku shielded his wife and son behind him, putting on a flattering smile. “Sir, may I ask who you are looking for?”
“I’m looking for your whole family!” The man glanced at Chiba Keiko lying in the bed and sneered, “Pale and skinny, clearly malnourished. A piece of trash like this dares to seduce my uncle? She really doesn’t know her place.”
“You shut up!” Chiba Sanroku suddenly shouted in anger. “It was your people who were wrong, so why does everyone blame my daughter? She was a victim too!”
The man’s face instantly darkened. “Old fool, did I give you permission to speak? Sausage, bite him!”
The pit bull lunged and clamped its jaws onto Chiba Sanroku’s arm. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break free. Li rushed over in panic to help her husband, but the man shoved her to the ground.
Tears welled in Kotaro’s eyes, and he tried hard not to let them fall, but he was too young to stand up to the man.
“Sausage, bite the little brat!” the man yelled maniacally. But Sausage seemed not to hear, its jaws still locked onto Chiba Sanroku’s arm, threatening to tear it off.
The man was quite displeased with Sausage’s disobedience.
“Sausage, bite the little brat!” the man’s voice turned harsh. Still, Sausage didn’t budge.
Enraged, he picked up a whip and struck Sausage hard on the back. “Sausage, I’ll make you… Aaah! Sausage, what are you doing!!!”
Sausage suddenly tore off half of Chiba Sanroku’s arm and spun around, lunging at its owner.
This lunge was far more ferocious than before. It sank its teeth into the man’s neck. Even though the bodyguard behind him fired his gun in time, Sausage, driven mad, clamped its jaws shut and refused to let go, only releasing its grip with its last breath.
“Someone! Someone come save the young master!”
A group of doctors crowded around the bitten man, completely ignoring Chiba Sanroku, who was writhing in pain, on the verge of fainting.
In the ward, Kotaro finally burst into tears. Li stood frozen, not knowing what to do, and could only find some gauze herself to try and stop her husband’s bleeding.
Outside the window, on the streets, incidents of mad dogs biting people were happening frequently. Sometimes, several grown men couldn’t restrain a single dog and were thrown off.
In shopping malls, on main streets, in parking lots – almost everywhere, packs of dogs were appearing. Some were from the city, some from the countryside. They seemed drawn together by some mysterious force, united for this moment of collective madness.
City security forces were deployed, but it was difficult to shoot these mad dogs precisely in the head with their guns. It often took several shots to make one stop moving.
Su Mo sprinted towards the hospital where Chiba Keiko was. Unexpectedly, as he passed a small alley, he was ambushed by several stray dogs. He drew his sword, Momo, and precisely beheaded each mad dog, which dropped to the ground instantly.
At his level, a few mad dogs posed no real threat.
Just as he reached the hospital entrance and was about to rush inside, a familiar figure blocked his path.
“Su Mo, oh no, Lin Qianye, no, that’s not right either. I should call you Chiba Maka.” The person’s manner was elegant, a smile in their eyes. It was Ya Xian. “So, tell me, our Mo Xian, where are you off to now?”
Having run all the way, Su Mo was slightly out of breath. “To save someone, of course.”
Ya Xian chuckled, as if he’d heard a huge joke. “You’re going to save them? What if I told you that these mad dog attacks are my doing, and that you have to cooperate with me now? What would you do?”
Su Mo’s gaze turned cold. “If you were going after超凡者, I might turn a blind eye. But if it’s ordinary civilians, then sorry, since I’ve run into this, I’m going to meddle.”
Ya Xian wasn’t angry. He continued his elegant persuasion. “You are Mo Xian now. Don’t forget your mission. Even though you didn’t take the Lord’s Eroding Bone Pill, that doesn’t mean you can defy him.”
Su Mo was startled. So the Lord already knew he hadn’t taken the Eroding Bone Pill. Then why did he still let him leave so confidently and even give him the Six Harmony Brush?
Seeing his confusion, Ya Xian smiled. “Our Lord enjoys making friends, especially with those who have potential. Since you have the ability to spit out the Eroding Bone Pill completely intact, you naturally belong to the ‘potential’ category.”
“What kind of twisted logic is that?” Su Mo was getting impatient. As he was about to make a move, Ya Xian suddenly preempted him with an attack.
Su Mo raised his hand to defend. As they closed in, Ya Xian smiled mysteriously. “The Lord told me to tell you: this is a big gift he’s giving you. Make good use of it. Of course, if you can’t handle it, or if someone else steals the credit, that’s your problem.”
With that, he turned and sped off into the distance.
The moment Ya Xian left, a middle-aged man with a thick beard rushed over. “Why did you let him go?”
Feeling the pressure of the other’s B-level cultivation, Su Mo stated matter-of-factly, “I can’t beat him.”
The man was momentarily stunned, then his expression softened slightly. “He’s Ya Xian of the Hundred Immortals Cult. It’s normal that you couldn’t beat him. I’ll go after him.”
With that, he shot off like a cannonball, vanishing in an instant.