Chapter 5

Up close, I found sizable wounds on Pei Lang’s waist and back. Blood had soaked through his clothes and was still flowing.

I was wondering desperately what to do when light flashed beside me.

Yang Jian appeared.

All that golden radiance.

My merciful bodhisattva had come to save me!

I was about to hurry to him.

But his expression was stern. His three-pointed, double-edged blade appeared in his hand, and with a sweep of his arm, its edge rested against my throat.

“Huh?”

I’d only scared the man unconscious. Was this really necessary?

Yang Jian’s eyes were cold and unfamiliar, his voice utterly devoid of feeling. “You’re not Xiaotian. Who are you?

“Who is Qiaoqiao?”

Oh, no. Ice seemed to close around me.

“I’ve been watching you since you left Douniu Palace.

“You know nothing of prayers. You cannot fly. You call yourself Qiaoqiao.

“So what sort of demon are you? You assumed Xiaotian’s form and managed to deceive even me.”

This was bad.

“…What if I told you I opened my eyes one day and found I was Xiaotian? Would you believe me?”

Yang Jian paused, then gave a cold laugh. “You can’t even be bothered to invent a convincing lie.”

His blade moved two centimeters closer. “I will ask you one thing. Where is the real Xiaotian?”

I sighed, my gaze straying to Pei Lang.

“Save him first. Save him, and I’ll tell you.”

Pei Lang…nothing could happen to Pei Lang.

The blade stilled. Perhaps I imagined it, but Yang Jian’s voice softened a fraction. “Of course I will save him.”

“Then hurry!”

Yang Jian was speechless for a moment. Then he put away his blade with a sigh.

“Very well.”

He took out a pill and fed it to Pei Lang. The wounds healed before my eyes.

Then he handed me another.

I popped it into my mouth. “All right. How long do I have left after taking this?”

Yang Jian said, “…That’s medicine for your injuries.”

“Injuries…?”

“On your face.”

I was stunned.

“Lord Erlang, you truly are noble and honorable!”

He gave me a sidelong look. “Flattery won’t help.”

Then why were you smiling?

Looking at Pei Lang, Yang Jian asked, “Is he someone important to you?”

I nodded and said nothing more.

Before becoming the Celestial Hound, I’d been someone people at school bullied, hit, and abused every day.

I’d done nothing wrong.

But my existence,

to them,

seemed to be a mistake.

Every time, I gritted my teeth and fought back.

Every time, I ended up covered in injuries.

When they drenched my clothes, Pei Lang lent me his jacket.

When they beat and cursed me, he stood in front of me.

When they stole my lunch money and I grew dizzy with hunger, Pei Lang took me to get warm porridge.

Always gentle, always kind, always smiling, he pulled me out of that dark mire again and again.

I looked at the person lying on the ground.

He had exactly the same face as Pei Lang.

Pei Lang, I would protect you too.