Chapter 513: Chapter 513: Bitten by a Small Earth Dog Chapter 513: Chapter 513: Bitten by a Small Earth Dog That evening, as the moon rose above the willow tree tops, the entire Mo Family Village was the epitome of quiet, with all the villagers deep in slumber.
Under the hazy night, a shadowy figure crept with a stealthy gait towards the edge of the village.
Just as he was about to leave the village, passing two houses, suddenly, a little mongrel darted out and began to bark furiously at the dark figure, “Woof, woof, woof…!”
Erlaizi was scared out of his wits and took to his heels, in his panic forgetting the rule that one should not run when encountering a dog.
Two legs can hardly outrun four.
Sure enough, after only a few steps, the mongrel pounced and clamped onto his calf.
“Ouch…!”
Erlaizi cried out in pain as he struggled with the little dog.
The commotion outside woke the neighboring household, and soon an oil lamp was lit; faintly, a voice could be heard saying, “Old Maid, our dog is barking so ferociously, could it be a thief has come? I’ll go outside and have a look.”
“Could it be that no-good Erlaizi eyeing our home? We’re already poor, we can’t let him steal anything else. Old man, go outside and check quickly.”
“Eh! Alright! I’ll wake the three boys and we’ll all go have a look; we can’t let someone take advantage of our family.”
Following that, the sound of a door opening could be heard.
At this time, Erlaizi, fearful of being caught red-handed by the family coming out, could not afford to worry about much else, and with a kick to the little dog, he got up and ran. With a guilty conscience, he also forgot that in fact, he hadn’t done anything—he was just passing by when he was bitten by the dog for no reason.
Erlaizi, heedless of the pain in his leg, sprinted all the way.
Eventually, the little dog did not follow but stood in place barking relentlessly.
All the dogs in the village were set off by it, and soon the barking filled the Mo Family Village, rising and falling in waves, causing many households to get out of bed to see just what was happening tonight, as all the dogs in the village were barking so madly.
In the dim moonlight, Erlaizi saw his own calf, bitten by the little mongrel, bleeding profusely.
“That damn dog, daring to bite me—I’ll catch it and stew it to eat sooner or later.”
Erlaizi bore the pain and squatted by the side of the road, ripping out a handful of wild grass nearby, not caring what it was, as long as it stopped the bleeding. Without distinction, he applied it to his leg.
“What rotten luck tonight, haven’t even stolen a watermelon and already got bitten by a dog. Seems tonight’s not my night, better to try another day,” Erlaizi muttered to himself while dressing his leg.
After much effort in patching up his leg, Erlaizi stood up ready to head back, when suddenly, he remembered he had arranged to meet with Lady Li tonight. If she saw he hadn’t brought a watermelon, she might never be involved with him in the future. Thinking of this, he turned around and, with gritted teeth and a limping walk, headed toward the fields.
Erlaizi silently prayed in his heart, hoping that the night’s initial poor start would not lead to more misfortune.
The sky was dotted with numerous stars, bathed in bright moonlight.
The fields were silent, save for the rustling of the wind and the chirping of crickets, with not a single human figure in sight.
Only then did Erlaizi let go of his worries, limping towards Xuexue’s field, dragging the leg wounded by the mongrel.
Xiao Taohong was dancing mid-air and looked down to see a figure sneaking stealthily towards her master’s field. She felt extremely impressed with Xuexue—how could her master have known that tonight, of all nights, someone would really come to steal watermelons?
The saying is indeed true: a thief looks like a thief. This Erlaizi fit the profile perfectly. There was clearly no one around, yet he crouched and tiptoed, looking around nervously as he walked, the very picture of a thief.