“Worf worf worf!”0

A dog’s barking rang out in the snow-covered courtyard. A half-grown black mastiff, nearly as tall as a person at the shoulder, stood chained with a thick metal collar around its neck. The other end of the chain was fastened to a large iron block.  0

Li Yuan glanced at the mastiff. “It’s snowing, and you’re this excited?”0

The dog fixed its gaze on him, eyes bright with submission, mouth parted in what looked almost like a grin, blood-red tongue panting in shallow, raspy bursts.0

This was one of Li Yuan’s finds at the black market—though hardly the kind of beast he’d originally wanted.  0

He had hoped for a gentle-natured creature, adept at reconnaissance, and stealthy...or something akin to a walking fortress that could both guard the home and provide backup in a fight. He’d searched for half a year, never coming across a demonic beast that met more than two of those criteria at once.0

Then one day, while passing the black market unmasked, he bumped into this demonic beast which showed an unexpected fondness for him. It wasn’t stealthy, nor was it particularly docile, but it did excel at sniffing out threats and guarding territory. Besides, dogs were known for loyalty; that trait alone helped compensate for its lack of a...0