ACIFITFDB – Chapter 21

Chapter 21: A Slipper Lands on the Dog’s Face

Tangyuan’s mouth was clamped shut, and it instinctively twisted its head, trying to break free.

Qin Xian tightened his grip, holding it firmly. “Where did you pick up this habit? Licking blood? Be careful of zoonotic diseases. Or have you really been contaminated by some aberrant power?”

“Mmmph mmmph…”

Seeing its mouth wouldn’t budge, Tangyuan stopped struggling. Its round pupils converged in the center, staring at Qin Xian’s hand. It looked a bit cross-eyed and rather silly.

Qin Xian pushed the dog’s mouth away and released his grip. “Don’t lick me. If you lick me again, I’ll use the slipper…”

Before he could finish speaking, Tangyuan’s head darted forward again, trying to get closer to the wound.

Qin Xian quickly scooped up the slipper from the floor and raised it high.

Tangyuan instinctively flattened its ears and squinted its eyes, even flinching to the side, but it didn’t move away.

Qin Xian sighed, looking at its posture. He narrowed his eyes and the slipper landed with a “slap” precisely on the dog’s cheek, avoiding its eyes and the soft cartilage of its nose.

The black dog froze for a moment, then growled fiercely, revealing its tightly clenched sharp teeth.

“Slap!”

This time, the force was much greater, making its head snap to the side.

“Still dare to be aggressive? If I don’t really slap you, you won’t know right from wrong?”

Qin Xian coldly looked down at the dog, its eyes still glinting with ferocity, and raised his hand high again.

Tangyuan instinctively closed its eyes, its ears folding back until they almost disappeared. But the slipper didn’t come down. It opened its eyes, looking at Qin Xian’s slightly disheveled hair falling onto his shoulders, his exquisitely handsome face expressionless.

His voice was stern: “Do you dare or not?”

Tangyuan’s ears perked up and then drooped again. Its eyes cleared slightly, and it licked its lips, whimpering a couple of times as if cautiously trying to appease him.

Qin Xian put away the slipper and let out a cold laugh as a warning. “If you do it again, I’ll punish you even harder.”

With that, he closed the medicine box, picked it up, and returned to his room, slamming the door shut before the dog could try to get in.

Tangyuan narrowly avoided having its nose pinched. Seeing the closed door, it began to scratch at the gap under the door with its front paws, making noise.

Inside the room, Qin Xian ignored it. He stood in front of the mirror, took off his clothes, and turned around. There were fewer injuries on his chest, but his arms and back were covered in wounds of various sizes, mostly sustained when the underground room collapsed.

The red and black scabs on his skin looked terrifying against his pale complexion, but they weren’t serious… Of course, he would still need to go to the clinic downstairs for a tetanus shot later.

The more serious injury was a large bruise on his left forearm, sustained when he fell off the aberrant entity. He hadn’t paid it any mind after the fall, continuing to fight through the pain. Now that he had stopped, his entire left arm felt almost unusable.

Qin Xian raised his right hand and gently squeezed his left arm. He winced in pain but slowly checked his bones.

No fractures. That was much better. Some medicinal plaster and a week or two of rest should be enough for recovery.

Qin Xian took off his pants and set them aside. He opened the medicine box, took out the iodine and antiseptic medicine, and began slowly applying it to himself in front of the mirror. The scratching at the door outside suddenly stopped. Qin Xian glanced over, but the door remained firmly shut and unopened.

He returned his attention to his injuries and treated all of them.

Afterward, he roughly cleaned himself up and changed into his pajamas. Due to extreme fatigue, every movement he made while changing was slow and drowsy. He closed his eyes and fell asleep while the shirt was still over his head. He only slowly pulled the shirt off after his body had already slumped over, falling asleep without even putting on the sleeves.

As he slept soundly, there was a slight movement by the open window. A ghost-like figure floated before the window, its pale face gazing greedily at the person on the bed. Just as it was about to slip through the window crack, it saw a huge shadow appear on the outer wall of the building.

The ghost-like figure trembled and tried to escape. The shadow suddenly lunged, tearing it to shreds in a few bites and swallowing it whole.

Qin Xian opened his eyes as if sensing something and walked to the window with a frown. The dark shadow on the outer wall instantly vanished.

Everything outside was normal. The fleeting aberrant aura just now seemed like an illusion.

Qin Xian slept quite soundly, perhaps the most peaceful sleep he’d had since returning. He slept for a long time, until noon the next day.

When people oversleep, they sometimes feel even more groggy.

He got up unsteadily, as if drunk, his head buzzing. It took him a while to sober up. He laboriously got out of bed and was about to walk out of his room when he tripped over the dog lying by the doorway, nearly falling to the ground.

“You really know how to pick a place to sleep. Might as well have let me fall and die,” Qin Xian cursed, pointing at the dog’s nose.

Tangyuan tilted its head up and blinked its eyes, looking incredibly innocent.

Qin Xian sighed. “Forget it.”

Why argue with a stupid dog?

He opened the refrigerator and took out an egg for himself. Seeing the dog following him, he added two more. He fried three eggs and then poured boiling water into the pan. Qin Xian made two large bowls of egg noodles.

He ate his own bowl, which had salt, and poured the unsalted portion into Tangyuan’s bowl, placing it in front of the dog.

Tangyuan lowered its head, sniffing around, unsure what to distinguish or hesitate about.

Qin Xian tapped the table with his chopsticks and ordered the dog, “If you don’t eat it and waste it, I won’t bother making it for you next time.”

Tangyuan heard his voice and looked up.

“Don’t look at me, eat,” Qin Xian said, pointing at the bowl in front of Tangyuan with his chopsticks.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he extended his hand and chopsticks towards Tangyuan, the dog suddenly opened its mouth and licked them. Its thin tongue brushed against the back of his hand and the chopsticks.

A vein throbbed on Qin Xian’s temple. He jerked his hand back and hit the dog’s head with a chopstick.

“Woof!”

Tangyuan yelped, its ears drooping as it cautiously looked at Qin Xian.

Qin Xian, with his back to the dog, was washing his hands in the kitchen. He said sternly, “Go to the balcony and eat.”

Tangyuan didn’t seem to understand, but it likely sensed its owner was angry. It immediately turned and crawled under the table, slurping up the noodles and soup, then lay down beneath the table.

Qin Xian returned to the dining table and finished his own bowl of noodles, then began to check his body’s recovery.

He felt a dull ache all over his body, but all the wounds had scabbed over. His slightly pale skin was covered in small scars, even a scratch on his waist and abdomen. This body seemed to have inherited the strength and speed of the Infinite Flow World. His combat power was significantly higher than that of an ordinary person. When he tensed his body, he could see clear abdominal muscles and a V-line, but many old scars had completely disappeared…

As he observed, he suddenly met the dog’s gaze from under the table. It had also looked up and was staring at him…

Qin Xian covered himself with his clothes in a second and met the dog’s stare.

“What are you looking at? Go play on your own.”

“…Woof.”

“What does that mean? I don’t understand. Get lost, I have things to do.”

Qin Xian nudged the dog’s thigh with his toe, driving it away before opening his phone to check for new messages on the forum.

[Brother Hurry Up and Get Better: Hello, Mr. Q. Thank you for saving my brother. Please send me your bank card, and I’ll transfer the money to you.]

Judging by the forum name, the girl’s brother should have survived.

Qin Xian slowly typed and asked: [How is your brother now?]

[Brother Hurry Up and Get Better: He made it through the danger period overnight. The doctors and nurses are very surprised. But he may need care from now on. He hasn’t woken up yet.]

[Q: When the aberrant entity cut off his limbs, it must have treated him, otherwise it would be difficult for him to survive. This also saved his life. But you need to pay attention to your brother’s emotions. People who fall into negative emotions are more likely to attract aberrant entities. Something might use his recovered body as bait to lure him. If you encounter any abnormal situations, you can contact me again.]

[Brother Hurry Up and Get Better: Okay. But I also want to ask, is there really a way to restore my brother’s limbs?]

[Qin Xian: No. Please remember, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.]

[Brother Hurry Up and Get Better: I understand, thank you, Mr. Q. Um, the card number…]

[Qin Xian: Use your family’s money to treat your brother first.]

[Brother Hurry Up and Get Better: Actually, my family is quite wealthy, with enough money to treat my brother. The 50,000 yuan is from my own New Year’s money. Please give me your card number!]

Tsk, the girl’s New Year’s money was more than his own savings.

Qin Xian no longer refused and readily sent his card number.

A moment later, a transfer notification text message arrived. Seeing his deposit increase by a single digit, Qin Xian’s mood improved greatly. Seeing Tangyuan peeking from the side, he reached out and vigorously patted the dog’s head twice.

Tangyuan startled and took two steps back, tilting its head to look at him.

Qin Xian said, “What? You run away when I hit you, but you come forward when I pet you?”

Tangyuan froze for a moment, then took two more steps forward and actively nudged its head against his hand.

Qin Xian withdrew his hand. “I won’t pet you anymore, go away.”

Tangyuan: “…”

Such a flexible change in attitude.

Just then, a faint door-opening sound came from the entrance. Qin Xian immediately straightened up and frowned, looking towards the door. Tangyuan beside him had already rushed behind the door, lowering its voice and growling threateningly.

The sound of the door opening paused for a moment, then continued to turn slowly and cautiously.

“Woof woof woof!! Woof woof!!” Tangyuan began to bark wildly, raising its front paws and stepping on the door panel, its nails scratching against it with a squeaking sound.

“Oh my god! You scared me to death!”

A startled cry came from outside the door. Qin Xian heard the familiar voice and remembered that he had asked Lin Qizhi to help feed the dog and hadn’t had time to tell him he was back yet.

Qin Xian quickly got up and ordered Tangyuan, “Tangyuan! Stop barking! It’s an acquaintance.”

But Tangyuan continued to bark incessantly until Qin Xian grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and pulled it away.

Qin Xian, holding the dog with one hand, opened the door and called out to Lin Qizhi, who was turning to run away in fright.

Lin Qizhi turned back and cried out when he saw Qin Xian, “Brother Qin! You’re finally back. I was still worried today and wanted to see if the dog would starve to death. Oh dear, your Tangyuan is really… too fierce…”

He cautiously extended his head and looked down at Tangyuan behind Qin Xian.

Tangyuan’s gaze was fierce, its lips curled back in a snarl, revealing its canine teeth.

Lin Qizhi shivered.

Qin Xian held down the dog’s head and invited Lin Qizhi, “Come in for a bit?”

Lin Qizhi nodded. However, as soon as he extended one foot into Qin Xian’s house, Tangyuan immediately started barking loudly again.

“Woof! Woof woof woof! Woof!” It glared ferociously at Lin Qizhi, its eyes seeming to want to tear him apart.

Lin Qizhi broke out in a cold sweat and quickly withdrew. He clasped his hands together and said to Qin Xian, “No, no, no! Tangyuan and I must have bad luck together. It seems like it wants to eat me. Let’s meet up another time when we have a chance to chat!”

Author’s Note:

———————-

Tangyuan: Getting hit with a slipper doesn’t hurt at all. Hitting me with a hand is better [sticks face out]

Qin Xian: …