Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Zhang Zian understood that Wei Ping was deceived because he wanted to save some money. If anyone intended to buy a Shiba Inu at the price of 3,500 RMB, then he must have a very close relationship with the person selling it.

  “My dog ??had no illness! Don’t try to frame me!” Black Mole had nothing to fear, “You brought the dog back to your home and it got sick, what does that have to do with me? All my dogs are healthy here!”


  Wei Ping’s lips were shivering with anger, “You wicked profiteer! Aren’t you afraid of karma?”


  Black Mole deliberately provoked him and laughed, “Nope, because I’m doing just fine! I have bought a house from selling dogs, and then I’m going to buy a car. I’ve earned so much money because I’m capable. Are you jealous of me? Look at you, you are so old and still wearing simple clothes, holding a sick dog, trying to frame me? Is it because no one in your family is supporting you? If you want to have money for lunch, just tell me, I’m buying today’s lunch for you.”


  Then, he took out two one-hundred-yuan bills from his pocket and waved them in front of Wei Ping’s face. “How about it? Take the dog away and find a place to bury it, and then go get lunch. If the money is not enough, I can give you more.”


  For fear that Wei Ping was about to pass out because of extreme anger, Zhang Zian chimed in, “Grandpa Wei, do you have any proof that you bought the dog from him?”


  “No!” Wei Ping stomped, “It’s not the 3,500 RMB that I care about, I just can’t take the insult that I was deceived by this young person! My grandson even jested that I was old and losing my mind… ”


  Zhang Zian had guessed that no proof existed. However, without an invoice or pet selling agreement, there was no way he could seek compensation for Wei Ping couldn’t prove that this dog was bought from Black Mole.

  “Grandpa Wei, don’t take it so hard, just consider that you have lost that money.” Zhang Zian suggested, “Anyway, this dog is not a real Shiba Inu. If you are willing to pay, go find a regular pet shop or kennel to buy a real Shiba Inu for your grandson, and say that you have found someone to cure the dog’s diseases, and your grandson will certainly admire you. ”


  According to Wei Ping’s age and his description, Zhang Zian guessed that his grandson might still be very young and would forget about this matter soon—comparing to losing 3,500 RMB, it was more important that Wei Ping’s grandson could change the impression that his grandpa had turned into an old fool.

  “What? This is not a real Shiba Inu? How much is a real Shiba Inu?” asked Wei Ping. When he was in the pet clinic, he heard another man say that the dog might not be a real Shiba Inu. At that time, he still had suspicion. Now that he heard an unrelated stranger say the same thing, he was becoming more certain.

  “Hey! You! Stop talking nonsense! My Shiba Inu dogs are absolutely real! Do you have any proof that they are fake? Let me tell you, if you have no proof, I will accuse you for slandering me!” screamed Black Mole.

  He was not afraid to quarrel with Wei Ping here because Wei Ping could not prove that the dog was bought from him and there was no way to prove that the dog was ill before Wei Ping purchased it. There were so many cases of blackmailing conducted by the elderly and people had become more vigilant. Mere talking without showing evidence could not gain sympathy from others.

  The crowd had been silent because they couldn’t tell who was lying.

  Zhang Zian nodded, “OK, just you wait, I’ll show you the evidence.”


  He first said to Wei Ping, “Grandpa Wei, please remember not to get things on the cheap anymore, or else you will suffer from loss again. This kind of Shiba Inu is originated from Japan, but even in Japan, the average-conditioned Shiba Inu dogs are sold at about 15,000 RMB. Although China’s consumption level is not that high, the Shiba Inu of typical fur-colors cost basically not less than 8,000 yuan. If the price is lower than this, unless you know the seller very well or the seller is in a hurry to find new owner for the pet because he can’t afford to raise it himself, there may be problems with the Shiba Inu.”


  Wei Ping became speechless. This price had exceeded the budget he set up in his mind. Coupled with the 3,500 RMB that he had lost, he felt pained that he would spend over 10,000 RMB to buy a dog for his grandson… but the young man was right. He was more worried that his grandson despised him for being stingy. He was about to be 70-years-old, how many years did he have left in this world? His grandson was the apple of his eyes, and he really didn’t want his grandson to alienate him.

  Zhang Zian looked at the continuously changing expressions on Wei Ping’s face, and knew that he was actually still very concerned about money, and then he said, “How about this? When the thing is done here, I will recommend to you a pet shop, where you can find healthy real Shiba Inu. Anyone referred by me, the owner will offer discounted prices. If you trust me, you can go there and have a look.”


  At this time, Red Dragon, Lao San, and Liu XX had also arrived. Hearing that Zhang Zian was stealing customers from them, they were so outraged they almost blew up!

  Wei Ping nodded and said, “OK, I will go check the pet shop out after I bury this dog. Though it has only been in my family for a few days, I can’t let it die with its corpse outside. Or else someone might pick it up and eat its flesh… ”


  He squatted, stroking the dying fake-Shiba Inu, wiping the corners of his eyes and sighing.

  Famous had been staring at the dying creature since it went into the center of the crowd.

  The dying dog’s acute but increasingly weak breathing had blown two rows of shallow ditches out of the dust on the ground.

  Saliva with white foam was drooling off its tongue, forming a small mud puddle besides its mouth.

  Its four limbs were twitching from time to time, as if it were a drowning person who was trying to catch straws on the shore.

  Its gradually opaque pupils, reflecting the images of the world and Famous, were full of longing and dismay…


  It was dying. Famous clearly realized that.

  Famous had died numerous times in the virtual awareness, and it knew how painful it was to die. But since Famous died in a black box that was completely dark and had no mirror, it didn’t know what it was like before its deaths. Was it just as miserable as the dog in front of it? Or worse?

  “Help me, I do not want to die…” The dog in front it seemed to be calling for help.

  No, this was the voice of Famous itself. This was the sentence it had been repeating for its entire life, yet no one had ever responded to it.

  But at least this time, Famous wanted to respond to the creature of its own kind, unwilling to let it sink into the abysmal dark world as lonely as it had.

  “Do not worry, you’ll live in my heart.” Famous stared in its eyes and said seriously, “As long as I’m alive, you are alive.”


  It seemed to have understand the words of Famous. Its mouth opened a little bit, as if it was smiling, and was bidding farewell to this world. Suddenly, sharp rays burst from its turbid eyes, and its pupils became as pure and transparent as when it was born. It looked at Famous in the eyes for a moment… and then, its eyes dimmed forever.

  Wei Ping’s palms had been slightly rising up and down with its breathing, but after a long, excessive expiration of the dog, his palms never rose again.

  He patted it and shoved it. No response.

  “Doggy? Doggy?” He increased his efforts to pat it. He also bowed down, approaching his ears to its mouth, trying to listen to its breath.

  Its eyes were still open. But there was no life in them anymore.

  Famous took two steps forwards to Doggy, but Zhang Zian stopped it.

  “Don’t go near it. Its diseases are contagious,” said Zhang Zian.

  When he heard that Famous talked to the dog, though he did not understand what that meant, he knew that before the dog died, it certainly had some kind of communication with Famous, so he had been paying attention to Famous’s movements. Noticing that Famous tried to approach the dog, he quickly stopped it. Famous probably hadn’t been vaccinated, if it came into contact with the sick dog, it was likely to be contracted with CDV and Parvovirus, and that would be very troublesome.

  Famous stopped and looked up at Zhang Zian.

  “Please help me close its eyes,” it said. Its words, in the ears of others, were just a few barking sounds.

  Zhang Zian nodded, pulling out a tissue from his pocket onto his palm, and then closed the eyelids of the dead dog.

  Wei Ping asked, feeling lost, “Is it dead?”


  “Yes, it’s dead,” replied Zhang Zian calmly. “I’m sorry.”


  Wei Ping did not say anything.

  After a moment, he squatted on the ground, put his hands under the dog, and held up its dead body.

  This was a dog of average size and was not very heavy when it was alive. But Wei Ping thought its weight right now was twice as much as when it was alive.

  He held it and walked to the tricycle that he rode here and put its corpse into the trunk, covering its body with the blanket it had been covered with these past few days. In the eyes of other persons, it seemed like it was sleeping.

  The crowd was still silent, but the looks they cast on this old man had changed.

  Black Mole felt itchy, as if numerous ants were crawling on his body when the crowd was looking at him.

  “What are you looking at?” He laughed, face in pale, “The old man is just acting like he is poor, how can you fall for his lie so easily? I can pretend to be miserable too! And I assure you, my acting is even better than his…”


  One of the gazes made him feel particularly uncomfortable. He turned his head to find the source of this gaze—it was from Famous.

  He swore that it was the first time he had seen this German Shepherd, but why were the dog’s eyes so full of anger and hatred? And the gaze was a bit familiar. He saw such a gaze from the fake-Shiba Inu that had died just now.

  The German Shepherd was like a vengeful angel.