Chapter 375 - 387: Dog Traffickers
An Ning searched for any sign of Xiao Lang, berating herself for forgetting about him.
"Hm?"
An Ning’s spiritual power resonated with something in an alley. The feeling was similar to the resonance she shared with Xiao Lang’s spiritual power at night.
She hurried into the alley and found something near a corner of the wall.
’He really is one of a kind.’
The damp stain in the corner was, unmistakably, urine left behind by Xiao Lang.
Leaving urine behind wasn’t suspicious, but the fact that his urine contained residual spiritual power was what made it so peculiar.
An Ning’s spiritual power acted like a microscope, imprinting every inch of the surrounding ground into her mind’s eye for a deeper analysis.
’Paw prints.’
An Ning followed Xiao Lang’s barely visible paw prints for a few steps before they vanished, replaced by human footprints.
They were distinct, yet chaotic.
’This wasn’t one person. It was at least three. They took Xiao Lang.’
An Ning’s head throbbed. What was she supposed to do?
Xiao Lang wasn’t just a wolf anymore; he was more like a friend, an incredibly loyal friend.
An Ning, whose spiritual power was already heavily depleted, unleashed it all once more. She expanded its range step by step, trying to resonate with Xiao Lang’s spiritual power again.
Ten meters, a hundred meters, a thousand, a kilometer...
’There!’
A pang of pain shot through An Ning’s head, but she ignored it and raced toward the source of the resonance.
A lone figure sprinted heedlessly down the summer street, kicking up a cool breeze in her wake. By the time the people she passed were ready to curse at her, she was already far, far away.
"What’s the hurry? Got a death wish?!"
"Are you blind?!"
"Hey! Watch where you’re going!"
An Ning paid them no mind as she ran. She raced toward the point of resonance while extending her spiritual power outward from herself in a constantly expanding wave. Her energy drained continuously, and the throbbing in her head grew more intense.
She ran from the city to the outskirts. The appearance of farmland brought a moment of relief to her headache, but she had no time to stop. Without the time to ’work’ and resonate with the farmland, the pain relief she felt was practically zero.
’Stronger?’
After running for who knew how long, An Ning felt the resonance from Xiao Lang grow clearer. It seemed she was getting closer.
’Good thing you’re so smart.’
An Ning marveled at Xiao Lang’s cleverness in leaving a trail for her. Following the signs, she came to what appeared to be an abandoned house.
She hid in a patch of weeds taller than a person, probing the inside of the house with her spiritual power.
’It’s full of... dogs?’
The abandoned house was filled with dog cages made of splintered wood. Dogs were locked inside them—some whimpered softly, while others lay listlessly, their eyes vacant.
"Fuck! What’re you yapping for?!"
A shirtless man holding a wooden club walked over to the cage with the whimpering dog. With practiced ease, he shoved the club through the gaps in the cage.
"I’ll teach you to yap! What’re you yapping for?! So damn annoying!"
The man’s expression was both vicious and gleeful, and he jabbed the club in harder each time.
"Go on, yap! I dare you to make another sound!"
"Madman, stop! We still need to sell it for money! You don’t want the fucking money or what?"
Another man walked in from outside. The one called Madman stopped, muttering curses under his breath. The dog, which had only been whimpering, now cowered in a corner, trembling violently.
"Are you fucking sick in the head? Don’t you know the better the dog, the more it’s worth?"
The man who had just entered stood before the cage, looking at the bruised and battered dog inside as he yelled angrily at the Madman.
The Madman, who had already sat down, looked completely unconcerned. He grabbed a cage from beside a table and threw it on the ground with a THUD.
"Take it. And don’t forget my cut!"
The man who had been scolding the Madman looked at the puppy in the cage. Glossy fur, beautiful eyes, delicate features—truly top-grade.
"Not bad, not bad at all. This one will definitely sell for a pretty penny."
The two men failed to notice the disdainful look in the puppy’s eyes from within the cage.
Xiao Lang: *Dream on. My hired muscle has arrived.*
An Ning, who was outside, caught Xiao Lang’s look loud and clear. She just didn’t know that she was considered nothing more than hired muscle.
An Ning had found Xiao Lang. The two people in the house posed no threat to her. She prepared to go in.
CRUNCH... RUMBLE...
The sound of tires rolling over a dirt path, crushing small stones.
A vehicle arrived. An Ning sank back into cover.
She watched as a person in a mask, dressed entirely in black despite the summer heat, got out of the vehicle and entered a different room in the abandoned house.
An Ning’s spiritual power followed, and she was stunned for a moment.
The room only looked dilapidated from the outside. The inside was both refined and grotesque.
The ceiling was covered in mirrors, the walls were pure white, and the floor was pure white. From the doorway, one could see that the only thing in the entire room was a single table.
The table was covered with tools: knives, blades, swords, and halberds. There were all sorts of serrated knives and hooks of different sizes—a complete collection.
A terrible premonition crept into An Ning’s heart.
"Young Master, the new goods arrived today. Perfectly intact. Would you like to try one out?"
The man in the mask and all-black suit raised a hand, his voice hoarse.
"Save the good one for later. Bring one out first to warm up."
"Yes, sir."
The man who had spoken went to the next room. After a brief exchange, the dog that had been whimpering earlier was brought out in a cage.
WHIMPER... WHIMPER...
WOOF WOOF—
ARF—
Several dogs started barking, their voices filled with anger and sorrowful cries. But all they got in return was a vicious beating from the Madman.
"What’re you yapping for!"
"Try making another sound, I dare you!"
The Madman’s clubbing eventually silenced the dogs. The whimpering dog, as if resigned to its fate, made no more sounds and was carried out of the main area, head hanging low.
The cage was carried into the grotesque room.
At some point, the Young Master inside had gotten fully equipped. He wore a pair of thick gloves and a helmet, and he held a pair of pliers that glinted with a silver light.
With a CLANG, the door to the grotesque room slammed shut.
The faceless Young Master stepped forward, pliers in hand, and squatted in front of the cage. His voice held a morbid rasp.
"Be a good boy... let’s begin!"
The man opened the cage and grabbed the dog by the neck with one hand. The dog struggled with all its might, but having not eaten for days, its strength was pitiful.
"You’re not being a good boy, are you... Look at your paws. How about I give them a little trim for you, hmm?"
The man spoke these hair-raising words in a gentle tone as the pliers in his hand descended on the dog’s claw without a shred of mercy.
"YEEEOOOWWWLL—"
A bloody claw was brutally torn out.
Outside, An Ning spat out two words: "Subhuman filth!"
Her spiritual power surged out. Inside the run-down house, Xiao Lang was the first to sense An Ning’s spiritual power.
He immediately coordinated with An Ning’s spiritual power. The "divine sleep-inducing medicine" appeared once again, and this time, it was an extra-large dose.
An Ning quickly detected Xiao Lang’s spiritual power and fell in sync with it.
A minute later, the Young Master, along with the three men outside, were all fast asleep.
An Ning casually plucked two large leaves, wove them together with a blade of grass to make a temporary mask, and entered the dilapidated house.