Chapter 4

I went down to the mortal realm to answer the prayer.

Or tried to. I stood at Heaven’s Southern Gate for ages.

I hadn’t learned to fly yet.

Seriously.

Five hundred years as a god, and no super-evolution into some winged celestial dog-monster?

Xiaotian, I was disappointed in you.

Eventually, I hesitantly asked a heavenly guard nearby, “Would I die if I fell from here?”

He looked at me as if I were an idiot. “An innovative idea. I suggest you try it yourself.”

Ha. Try it and die.

I launched myself through the air.

Onto an immortal crane.

I grabbed its head.

Fly. Down. Now!

The crane shrieked and flew in some very unconventional patterns.

It thrashed about, trying to throw me off.

But whatever tricks it had, I had better ones.

Ha! It was no match for me.

I even did a backflip on its back.

Take that.

Apparently, the humiliation proved too much. While we were still hundreds of meters above the ground, it hurled itself straight at a mountain.

…Sorry. Was it too late to apologize?

With the mountainside rushing closer, I had no choice but to abandon crane and jump.

The moment I did, it made a sharp turn and flew off, completely unharmed.

It even shat on my head.

…

Fortunately, the height wasn’t a serious problem. I only suffered some superficial injuries.

Unfortunately, I landed face-first.

Blood covered my face.

No big deal.

I turned into a dog and raced off to find the mortal woman’s son.

I’d taken someone else’s body. The least I could do was some of his work.

With an instinctive sense of where to go, I found him easily.

The mortal wore plain white clothes and stood surrounded by wolves.

His hair had come loose in his panic, obscuring his face.

Without hesitation, I charged. “Awooo!”

A dog noise.

…Not remotely intimidating.

But very effective.

Before I even reached them, the wolves fled.

Thank goodness. I was rather afraid of them too.

If they hadn’t run, I would have had a serious problem.

The mortal went even paler at the sight of me. “That hideous face…could this be the legendary hellhound?

“Mother, for all your years of care…”

What was going on?

Why was he delivering his last words?

He suddenly lifted his head, smoothed his hair, and straightened his clothes. Closing his eyes, he faced death with composure. “Come, then.”

I froze.

He had a refined, handsome face, a tall, slender figure, and a mole between his brows.

That face…

“Pei Lang?”

I hurried toward him, then remembered I still looked like a dog. I hastily took human form and approached.

He only grew more frightened. “D-don’t come any closer!”

“Are you Pei Lang?” I asked urgently. “It’s me, Qiaoqiao.”

His eyes widened. I thought he’d recognized me, and excitement rose in my chest.

Then his eyes rolled shut.

He fainted.

…I’d forgotten my face was still covered in blood.