It took Wei Xunzhou a long time before he spoke: "Teaching it discipline."
The next day, Di Yao opened her eyes early. Wei Xunzhou was beside her, dressing with his back to her.
Di Yao sat up with a "whoosh." Wei Xunzhou paused at the sound.
"Did I wake you?"
Di Yao swept the stray strands of hair that tickled her face behind her ear and got up to tidy herself. "No, no."
After a few days together, Di Yao had roughly figured out Wei Xunzhou's temper—if he took the initiative to speak, it at least meant he was in a good mood.
Because of their conversation last night, Di Yao had been somewhat anxious, but now her mood brightened considerably.
"Husband, you go ahead. I'll go check on the dog." Compared to Wei Xunzhou's leisurely pace, Di Yao moved quickly. She grabbed a random piece of clothing from the wardrobe and slipped it on, heading out before she was fully dressed.
Wei Xunzhou had never been in such a hurry, so he was somewhat surprised by her briskness.
The sound of light footsteps was followed by the creak of the wooden door to the side room being pushed open, and then Di Yao's sharp gasp.
Wei Xunzhou hurried to the side room to check. Seeing that Di Yao was fine, he first breathed a sigh of relief, then followed the direction she was pointing.
Di Yao grabbed Wei Xunzhou's arm as if he were a savior, hiding behind him, then peeked out and said, "Husband... look over there..."
The room, which had been tidied just last night, was now in complete disarray. Various items were scattered all over the floor, along with many black hairs and scraps of cloth, vaguely hinting at what had been Wei Xunzhou's cloak.
Meanwhile, the bald dog that had been stripped of its fur yesterday was now leisurely wagging its tail, walking slowly toward Di Yao.
What was even more astonishing was that the dog's back, which had been bare last night, was now covered in thick, glossy black fur. Its red pupils gleamed with an eerie light, quite terrifying.
"That fur color... looks familiar." A bizarre suspicion crossed Di Yao's mind.
Compared to last night, the dog's spirits were much better. Although the gruesome scars were still visible on its body, its overall demeanor had completely changed.
Its recovery speed was frighteningly fast, and its expression was aggressive. If she hadn't witnessed its severe injuries with her own eyes, Di Yao might even have suspected that its weakness last night was all an act.
"What's going on?" Di Yao nervously withdrew her head, her body trembling slightly.
Seeing the dog glaring at them ferociously, Di Yao tightened her grip.
Wei Xunzhou was pulled back a step by Di Yao, and as he stumbled, his spine bumped against her forehead.
He turned, grabbed Di Yao's wrist, pushed her outside, and closed the door. Then came one sharp bark after another from inside the room.
Di Yao shuddered. "Husband!"
She had no idea what Wei Xunzhou was thinking, coming up with such a foolish idea as shutting the door to beat the dog. That dog was clearly no pushover—it exuded an unnatural wildness and madness, definitely not ordinary.
But the door was bolted from the inside, and she couldn't get in. She paced anxiously outside. Spotting an axe in the yard, she picked it up.
She stood about two zhang from the door, took a few running steps, and raised the axe to chop the door open. Just then, Wei Xunzhou opened it. Di Yao collided head-on with him, completely unharmed.
The axe fell to the ground with a dull thud.
"Husband! Are you okay?" Di Yao circled around Wei Xunzhou to check him over. Seeing he was fine, she relaxed.
To be honest, she had thought that with his usual listless, sickly demeanor, he would definitely come out worse for wear this time. She never expected he would emerge safely... Di Yao was quite surprised.
Holding the doorframe, she looked into the room. The next scene nearly made her jaw drop. The black dog that had been barking furiously just moments ago was now slinking away, its tail between its legs, picking up the scattered scraps of fabric and fur from the floor and piling them together. Then it grabbed the fallen candlestick with its mouth, stepped onto a stool, and placed the candlestick on the table.
The dog was... cleaning the room?
Di Yao was utterly flabbergasted, unable to speak for a long time. But she found the scene strangely amusing.
"Husband, what did you do to this dog?"
Wei Xunzhou raised the back of his hand to rub the spot on his chin where Di Yao's head had bumped him. After a long pause, he finally spoke: "Teaching it discipline."
"How did you teach it? Teach me, won't you? Then I won't trouble you with such trivial matters as training the dog anymore." Di Yao went from being dumbfounded to making a request in the blink of an eye. Wei Xunzhou seemed a bit exasperated.
"No need. There won't be a next time." He brushed off the loose hairs clinging to his clothes. Seeing it was ineffective, he decided to go back to change. "Don't say I didn't warn you—this dog can't stay."
Di Yao slapped her forehead. "True. I'll take it to find its owner today. This dog is no ordinary creature—it can even change its fur. Its owner must be someone special, so it shouldn't be hard to find."
Wei Xunzhou paused and asked, "What if you can't find its owner? What will you do with it?"
Di Yao's biggest difference from Wei Xunzhou was that she didn't like to think about the worst-case scenario. She patted her chest confidently and assured him, "That's impossible. I have connections here in the Underworld. Don't worry, Husband."
Wei Xunzhou raised an eyebrow, nodded slightly, and turned back into the room.
After he left, the dog continued to obediently tidy the room. Di Yao leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, supervising. Once it finished, she took it outside to find its owner.
First, she went to report to Meng Po. She knew that Meng Po was not just a high-ranking divine official but also someone who had spent a long time in the Underworld and was well-versed in many things.
Sure enough, when Meng Po saw the little creature behind Di Yao, she called out its name directly.
Xibian.
"Xibian?" Di Yao pointed at the dog and then remembered she had also found it in the water. "What a coincidence. So you know its owner, Granny!"
Meng Po paused for a moment before saying, "Owner? As I recall, this little one was originally a divine beast from the ancient sacred mountain, Heavenly Emperor Mountain. Its skin repels evil and demonic influences. It's even older than me. Later... I think it was subdued by an immortal."
Di Yao perked up and listened intently. "That's great! Who is its owner? I'll send it back."
"Don't rush." Meng Po's tone was unhurried, steady as always. "I remember this immortal's name seemed to be... Bu Qi."
Di Yao had never heard of this person.
"But... that person no longer exists. Decades ago, this Bu Qi committed an offense and became a disgraced immortal. He was executed long ago. You said you found it in the Wangchuan River, so it was probably thrown there after the punishment."