Chapter 705 - 5: The Local Gang, Part 2

Chapter 705: Chapter 5: The Local Gang, Part 2

Iron-Clad Gold quickly lowered his head and led the way.

’A fight?’

Da Mei suddenly darted out, meowing as she blocked Tian Kui’s path.

She glanced back toward the police station where Shen Xin and the others had gone inside to talk.

Tian Kui didn’t pay her much mind. He gave her a fleeting glance and continued on his way around her.

’Hmph.’

Da Mei turned, called out once to the ’Sheriff’ under the car, and then quickly followed.

’If there’s going to be a fight, how could a spectator like me miss it?’

Tian Kui let out a few calls, and his scattered underlings quickly gathered. A massive, dark pack of them went off to negotiate with the local gang.

The so-called "local gang" was actually right behind the police station.

Behind the station was a parking lot enclosed by a chain-link fence. A section within it was partitioned off, and that was where a Labrador was kept.

He belonged to the police station.

He’d received some training but wasn’t quite at the level of a professional police dog. You could only call him a working dog used for searches.

A male.

A few other dogs had approached him earlier, which had given him a fright.

The crucial thing was, he barked at them, but they didn’t respond.

Most importantly, he had never seen them in this area before.

He had given them a friendly greeting, but they ignored him, turned, and ran off.

’That’s weird,’ he thought. He knew all ten or so dogs in this small town.

And most of all, he’d never seen that breed before.

Just as he was thinking this, he caught a familiar scent and quickly looked up.

’Something’s wrong!’

He froze in horror. Around the corner of the building up ahead, a massive swarm of dogs poured out.

The one in the lead was especially agile and formidable. His steps were light, yet every movement was filled with a sense of power. His tail was held high, radiating a murderous aura as he slowly approached.

The Labrador didn’t even need to look at the leader; just seeing the dark mass of followers behind him was enough to feel an overwhelming killing intent.

It was as if a dark cloud was drifting in from the horizon.

The Labrador froze for a few seconds, then decisively dove into his solid wood doghouse, cowering in the corner and trembling uncontrollably.

Tian Kui had already seen him.

’This is him?’

Tian Kui glanced back at Iron-Clad Gold. ’You little brat, you filed a false report.’

Iron-Clad Gold shrank back and lowered his head, whining twice.

’He’s got a nasty mouth! He was barking at us!’

Tian Kui snorted and asked what the dog had said.

’I don’t know.’

Iron-Clad Gold shook his head, then barked again with conviction. He insisted the dog had insulted them, even hopping up and down.

Seeing how much he was exaggerating, Tian Kui was speechless for a moment.

But since they were already here, Tian Kui figured it was necessary to greet the local gang anyway.

’Might as well start with this Labra-pig,’ he thought.

And so, the massive pack of dogs entered the chain-link fence area.

The separately partitioned area also had a chain-link fence, but its gate was open.

Tian Kui marched straight in, stopped in front of the wooden doghouse, and barked.

’Come out.’

Da Mei darted forward, curiously peering into the doghouse.

The Labrador didn’t understand the command. Smelling the fierce and hostile aura outside, he didn’t dare come out.

’See, Boss?’

Iron-Clad Gold sidled up. ’This is what he’s like. He ignores everyone. So arrogant.’

Tian Kui gave a look, and two of his underlings, one on each side, shot forward without a hint of fear. They were about to charge into the doghouse and start barking up a storm at the Labrador.

The Labrador was scared out of his mind. How could he possibly dare to come out?

Seeing that his two underlings were about to start tearing the doghouse apart with their teeth, Tian Kui barked.

’We’re just here to say hello; we can’t go too far.’

Shen Xin had told them not to cause trouble.

He stepped forward, crouched down slightly, and studied the Labrador in the doghouse.

The dog was curled into a ball, his hind legs trembling violently.

He was clearly terrified.

Tian Kui immediately lost interest. He barked a couple of times, signaling for the dog to come out and talk.

There was no response. The Labrador even buried his head, wishing this was all just a bad dream.

Da Mei let out a meow.

’Maybe he doesn’t understand you?’

Tian Kui shot Da Mei a look. ’It’s not like I can understand what *you’re* saying, either.’

However, Tian Kui also realized the other dog probably didn’t understand him.

But there were some things Tian Kui *could* understand.

For instance, this guy had pissed himself in fear.

He’d really wet himself. Tian Kui could smell it.

He called out again. When there was still no reaction, Tian Kui grabbed the leash with his teeth and dragged the Labrador out by force.

The Labrador tried to run back, but when he turned his head, he saw the entrance to his doghouse was blocked.

He was surrounded, three rings deep, by cold, menacing eyes.

At that, his hind legs could barely hold him up.

’How boring.’

Da Mei meowed and hopped onto the roof of the doghouse.

The Labrador whimpered twice, trembling, then cautiously pushed his dog bowl toward Tian Kui.

’Please eat, Big Brother.’

’Who wants your food?’

Tian Kui glanced at the bowl. ’This local dog’s diet is terrible. Just kibble. Nothing like what I eat.’

In any case, Tian Kui confirmed that Iron-Clad Gold had indeed been crying wolf.

Glancing at Iron-Clad Gold, who was trying to hide in the crowd of dogs, Tian Kui cleared his throat and barked twice at the Labrador.

They were all animals, so it wasn’t a case of a domestic dog being unable to understand a foreign dog’s barks.

It was just that after his intelligence was awakened by Shen Xin, Tian Kui’s barks had developed a richer range of variations to express different meanings.

In other words, through his long time with Shen Xin, he had formed a special method of communication built on the foundation of basic canine vocalizations.

And while Iron-Clad Gold and the others could understand this system, the Labrador, meeting him for the first time, could not.

So, by switching back to basics, he could still convey a certain amount of meaning.

Sure enough, the Labrador understood. He groveled at Tian Kui’s paws, tucking his tail to express submission.

Tian Kui thought for a moment, then barked a few more times, telling the Labrador to take him to meet the other local dogs.

He still had to make his introductions.

After he barked it a few times, the Labrador finally understood what he meant and barked back eagerly, indicating he was willing to lead the way.

But then he turned and gave a troubled look at the iron chain that tethered him.

’Heh, what an idiot.’

’He can’t open a cage, can’t unclip a leash... if he were one of my underlings, I’d disown him,’ Tian Kui thought with disdain.

Tian Kui barked twice, and Dahuang immediately stepped forward.

Opening cage latches and unfastening leash clips with their teeth—these were basic skills passed down from one dog to another.

Dahuang skillfully used his upper and lower teeth to pry open the leash’s clip.

The Labrador was dumbfounded, as if to say, ’You can do that?’

’Idiot.’

And even after that, Tian Kui still called Dahuang an idiot.

’Why did you unhook the clip on the doghouse? Unhook the one on his collar!’

He pushed forward and personally, deftly, undid the clip on the Labrador’s collar.

’Let’s go.’

Tian Kui barked.

The Labrador snapped out of his daze and hurriedly led the way, warily eyeing the imposing Tian Kui.

’Where did he come from? How does he have so many followers?’

The town wasn’t large. The Labrador had lived here for years, and there were only a handful of other dogs, with whom he often chatted at night.

Soon, they arrived in front of a house.

He barked twice, and a Teddy ran out from under the gate.

’Ugh, I hate these things.’

Tian Kui looked down on these kinds of small dogs more than any other.

And sure enough, hearing its companion’s call, the Teddy ran out excitedly. But the moment it saw the massive pack waiting outside, its world came crashing down. It let out a high-pitched yelp and scurried right back inside.

The Labrador turned to look at Tian Kui, trying to explain that she was always like that.

Tian Kui: ’Aren’t there any tough ones?’

’Doesn’t this place have a real gang?’

The Labrador paused, understood, and quickly led the way again.

They headed west, past the town’s only school, and continued until they were out of the town itself.

Along the way, the dark swarm of several dozen dogs drew the attention of the town’s residents, who gathered to watch.

But given their intimidating formation, no one dared to approach. They just watched from a distance as Tian Kui and his pack departed.

About five hundred meters west of town was a farm.

From outside the fence, the Labrador called out a few times toward the property.

After a while, a large, black-and-tan dog ran out from the direction of the barn.

It ran over excitedly, but immediately spotted Tian Kui and his pack next to the Labrador. It stopped short, looking toward them warily.

This was an adult Plott Hound.

Tian Kui had never seen one before, but judging by its build, he figured it should have some fighting ability.

But when it came to fighting, Tian Kui had never been afraid of anyone.

He’d even take on the likes of Black Panther without hesitation.

He stepped out from the crowd and barked twice at this Plott Hound.

’Come here. Let’s have a chat.’

Proteus warily eyed the huge crowd before him. He could roughly understand Tian Kui’s meaning from the change in his tone.

He wanted to ’chat.’

And his understanding of a ’chat’ was, in fact, a fight.

’They’re here to take over my territory.’

Of course, it wasn’t like the town had any formally divided territories.

Proteus glanced at the Labrador, resentful. ’That bastard actually became a traitor.’

After a moment’s thought, Proteus decisively turned and left.

’A wise man doesn’t fight a losing battle. Do you take me for a fool?’

’If you’ve got the guts, we can fight one-on-one later.’