WS - Chapter 149
Chapter 149
The dusty sealed bag, who knows how long it had been dragged and rolled across the ground, was once relatively thick but now covered in tiny tears and scratches. The biggest tear was where the dog had been holding it in its mouth; from the bite marks, it was clear the dog had bitten it open itself.
But no matter how worn the bag was or how badly the dog had torn at it, Yu Nianbing and Zhuang Jiachuan could instantly see through the dusty bag that it was still mostly full of jerky.
"Is this our jerky? Did the dog go back to the cave?" Holding the bag, Zhuang Jiachuan's surprise only grew when he got a good look at the little vine pack on the dog's back. "What's all this? Heavens, it's even carrying a pack of jerky."
Right, and dog food cans.
The dog, thrilled to see the two of them, was far too happy to mind that Zhuang Jiachuan had taken the jerky bag from its mouth and was now rummaging through the vine pack on its back.
Yu Nianbing lazily stroked the dog's head with one hand while pushing it off her leg with the other, watching Zhuang Jiachuan go through the dog's pack.
The day after the dog led them to the cow stored in the thermal storage box, Song Shiyue had woven it these two vine containers—part pack, part little basket—so the dog could carry its bones on its own.
The dog loved the things on its back so much that even after it had gnawed all the bones clean, it wouldn't let anyone take them off, and just kept wearing them for fun.
A couple days ago, when Yu Nianbing and Ning Chuyang had plotted to let the dog run free, they'd also wanted to take off the vine pack; otherwise the dog would have a hard time moving through the woods. But when Ning Chuyang went over, the dog let her undo the chain, let her pet and play with it, but absolutely refused to let her take off the little vine pack on its back.
They were secretly letting the dog go without anyone noticing, so Ning Chuyang didn't dare waste time. In the end, she had to let the dog run off with the little pack still on its back. The two of them had hoped the vine pack would prove flimsy and fall apart on its own after a few days.
But judging by what they saw now, if Song Shiyue made it, it was definitely sturdy and built to last.
Zhuang Jiachuan pulled quite a few things out of the right-side vine pack on the dog's back. First was the second bag of jerky he'd already spotted; after that, amazingly, two cans of dog food lay underneath... Once those three items were out, all that remained at the bottom were some small pebbles, grit, and dirt.
"Is this dog about to become a spirit? How does it even know to take dog food cans?" Zhuang Jiachuan exclaimed, his hands coated in mud, unable to stop marveling. Then a bit of confusion set in. "But there's way too many pebbles and dirt at the bottom—wouldn't that be heavy? And this, over here, was the left pack empty? Why's it half full of rocks and mud..."
Not daring to dig in by force, since the stone chips were quite sharp, Zhuang Jiachuan went to untie the vine straps on the dog. Before Yu Nianbing could say the dog wouldn't let anyone take the pack off, Zhuang Jiachuan had already gotten it halfway off, and the dog actually seemed quite cheerful.
Yu Nianbing: "..."
In no time, Zhuang Jiachuan had the two connected vine packs in hand. He turned them over and dumped everything out.
Just like the top layer they'd seen, the bottom really was nothing but silt, sand, and stone chips.
The right pack, which had held the jerky and dog food, shook out less; the left pack produced a whole little heap...
"This dog... can it actually care about balance?" Zhuang Jiachuan looked at the dog with a new expression, tinged with a bit of awe.
"Probably not," Yu Nianbing said, shaking her hands. She'd felt plenty of fine grit while petting the dog's head earlier. She crouched down and parted the dog's fur before continuing. "These stones and dirt probably got scooped up when it was trying to stuff things into the vine packs, rolling around on the ground and nudging things inside. Look at its coat—there's a lot caught in the fur. After all, it must be really hard to put things in packs that are on its own back."
Hearing Yu Nianbing's explanation, the imagined "dog-turning-into-a-spirit" awe instantly vanished from Zhuang Jiachuan's eyes.
"It's really brave. None of us dared go in there," Zhuang Jiachuan said, reaching out to pat the dog's head.
"Animals can sense unusual activity before an earthquake; we can't. It was right not to go in—running into an aftershock would have been trouble." Sensing Zhuang Jiachuan's emotion, Yu Nianbing offered a rare word of comfort.
The dog gave a couple of barks, as if in agreement.
Just when Zhuang Jiachuan felt comforted and was smiling, ready to pet the dog again, the dog—freed from the heavy vine pack—couldn't hold back anymore and dashed off to let loose.
The rough, sandy head slipped right out of Zhuang Jiachuan's hand. A bad feeling struck Yu Nianbing, and when she looked up, sure enough, the dog was charging paws-out toward the area where they'd set the traps.
"Come back!" Yu Nianbing shouted, frowning and breaking into a run.
But the dog, light and unencumbered, having finally found familiar people and brimming with happiness, was far beyond Yu Nianbing's ability to catch.
One after another, the snare traps set for necks were triggered and trampled by the dog, making the two chasing after it watch with their hearts in their throats.
All one could say was, luckily the snare traps they'd made were sized for small-to-medium rabbits; otherwise, instead of catching rabbits, the dog would have paid a painful price.
Walk among traps long enough, and you're bound to step in one. Even the smartest dog has moments when its paw slips...
Soon enough, Yu Nianbing had to grab the dog's leg with an exasperated look while Zhuang Jiachuan untied the slipknot from around it.
Compared to the rather helpless Yu Nianbing, Zhuang Jiachuan had clearly been far more amused when he saw the dog's baffled expression as it nearly got hoisted upside-down into the tree.
He couldn't help laughing, so much so that his hands trembled while he cut the snare, taking a good while before he finally freed the dog, one hind leg still held high.
The moment the dog was free and sniffing the air, ready to bolt again, Yu Nianbing pressed a hand down on its head. "Okay, that's enough. Don't you go up a tree again."
Ning Chuyang must have taken off its collar earlier; now Yu Nianbing wasn't even sure where to grab, so she could only keep her hand on its head.
Human and dog stood there in a silly standoff, staring at each other, while beside them Zhuang Jiachuan laughed so hard he could barely retie the slipknot.
But the traps were probably doomed—it would be a while before they could be reset.
The dog stood dumbly under Yu Nianbing's hand for a moment, but soon, as if distracted by something more interesting, it tilted its head and easily slipped free from what Yu Nianbing had thought was a firm hold.
"Hey!" Yu Nianbing only got out one syllable before giving up on calling the dog. With a dog this energetic, she was at a bit of a loss.
"It didn't used to be this wild. Maybe being out for a couple days brought out its wild side." Having finally finished resetting the foot snare, Zhuang Jiachuan rubbed his stiff-from-laughing face and sighed.
"Hey, come on. Want to head back with us?" Yu Nianbing called to the dog, which was snuffling at something in the distance.
The production team had a sense of humor, always just calling it "the dog" or "Dog" without ever giving it a real name. Now that they actually needed to communicate, all they could do was shout "Hey."
But a name, once it existed...
Yu Nianbing suddenly recalled the words Song Shiyue had said about the definition of a partner when they'd first joined the show.
Back when the dog had found the cow, Song Shiyue gave it trotters and large bones as a reward, but she never intended to make it a partner or form a lasting bond.
And now this jerky...
"What are you thinking about, Teacher Yu?" Zhuang Jiachuan asked, looking at Yu Nianbing, who had suddenly spaced out, a bit puzzled.
"I was wondering, where was the dog taking these things, originally?" Yu Nianbing looked at the vine packs in Zhuang Jiachuan's hands, now emptied of dirt and holding only two dog food cans and two bags of jerky.
"Huh?" Zhuang Jiachuan was briefly confused, but quickly caught on. "You mean, this might be the dog's own stash? Not that it meant to come back and join us?"
Yu Nianbing shook her head. "I don't know."
Zhuang Jiachuan thought for a moment, then said carefully, "That day when Song Shiyue stewed the cow, she specifically ladled the trotters for the dog, and even went to the trouble of making vine packs so the dog could carry the roasted bones away. That was like splitting the loot, wasn't it? A kind of... fair settlement, no strings attached, right?"
"Mm." Yu Nianbing nodded.
Zhuang Jiachuan smiled. "You and Teacher Song really are something. No, I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean, look at Wang Daming—he treated the dog like emergency rations. But you two still see it as an equal, a real living creature. That's not easy. It's good. Rare."
Zhuang Jiachuan's praise was sincere, with no hint of insincerity, which actually made Yu Nianbing a little embarrassed.
"It's not really like that. I just feel that if we take its things, then from now on, even if we run out of food and supplies, we can never eat it, and we should always give it its fair share. It's easy to say now, but if that day really comes, can we actually follow through?" Yu Nianbing sighed. "I don't know."
"Actually, what you don't know isn't whether you could eat it, but whether, when people themselves don't have enough to eat, you could still spare a bite for it." Zhuang Jiachuan's smile grew even more genuine. "When you and Ning Chuyang let the dog go, you'd already decided not to eat it."
Yu Nianbing stayed silent, effectively admitting it.
"Honestly, let alone between humans and dogs, even between people there's closeness and distance. There's no absolute fairness or equality in this world. We just need to do our best so we have a clear conscience." Zhuang Jiachuan lifted the vine packs. "Sometimes, don't think too much about how it'll all end. Look at right now—we need each other. We have to open the dog food cans for it. And that long-lasting jerky was still made by Song Shiyue. Let's not overthink it. Just accept it, bring it in, and however full we eat, it eats the same. Let's take it one step at a time."
Seeing Yu Nianbing still silent, Zhuang Jiachuan added with a self-deprecating laugh, "I'll say something out of line: Teacher Yu, you're just too unwilling to owe anyone, too afraid of being in debt. So disciplined you won't even let yourself owe a dog. That's not good. Look at me—so thick-skinned. The cow, found by Song Shiyue and the dog. The jerky, made by Song Shiyue, things from your pack, Song Shiyue's pack, Ning Chuyang's pack. I still eat it all the same... I'm in your debt; only by staying alive can I repay it, right?"
"In the past, I..." Zhuang Jiachuan started to say more.
But the dog in the distance suddenly went a little crazy, barking loudly while all four paws started furiously digging up the earth.
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