Work Text:
Wu Laogou had many virtues, at least if Wu Laogou himself was to be believed, and since no one in their right mind had ever taken it upon themselves to catalogue his flaws on a regular basis, the balance remained firmly in his favor. He was loyal, brave, possessed a very good eye for business, an even better one for tombs, and, without question, the best eye for dogs in all of Changsha.
That last one was not up for debate.
People could argue about the standing of individual families, the value of unearthed antiques, the proper interpretation of feng shui, or even whether Qi Tiezui could actually predict the future or simply said enough things that some of them inevitably came true, but no one questioned Wu Laogou’s knowledge of dogs. He could look at a puppy and tell what kind of temperament it would have two years from now; from the way it placed its paws, he could judge whether it would grow into a good tracker, from a single movement of its ears he knew whether the animal would be brave, cautious, or stupid, and after only a few minutes of observation he could match a dog to a person better than most matchmakers matched husbands and wives.
Perhaps that was precisely why, one morning, he woke up with the conviction that the other masters of the Nine Gates had a serious problem.
They did not have enough dogs.
In fact, most of them did not have any.
This was, in Wu Laogou’s opinion, unacceptable.
At first, he tried to approach the problem rationally. He ate breakfast. Drank tea. Walked among the kennels, checked on the younger dogs, spoke with their handlers, inspected two litters, and personally examined the paw of one of the older trackers who had injured himself the previous day. Throughout all of this, the thought refused to disappear. Quite the opposite. It grew, acquired details, began arranging itself into a plan, and Wu Laogou knew himself well enough to understand that once a plan reached this particular stage, it was already too late.
By noon, there was a list lying on the table.
First Master — Zhang Qishan.
Second Master — Er Yuehong.
Third Master — Ban Jie Li.
Fourth Master — Chen Pi A Si.
Fifth Master — Wu Laogou.
Sixth Master — Hei Bei Lao Liu.
Seventh Master — Huo Xiangu.
Eighth Master — Qi Tiezui.
Ninth Master — Xie Jiu.
Wu Laogou looked at the nine names, then at the dozen or so dogs running around the courtyard, and felt the satisfaction of a man who had just been handed a task by fate that was perfectly suited to his talents.
Then his gaze stopped on the first name.
Zhang Qishan.
The satisfaction transformed into something considerably more malicious.
Wu Laogou smiled slowly.
+++
“No.”
“I haven’t even said anything yet.”
“That is precisely why I am saying it in advance.”
Qi Tiezui did not even look up from the sheet of paper in his hands. He was sitting in his shop, surrounded by everything that, according to him, assisted in reading fate and, according to Wu Laogou, mostly assisted in collecting dust. When Wu Laogou placed the invitation in front of him, Ba Ye read the first two sentences, sighed, and immediately refused.
Wu Laogou sat down opposite him.
“You’re getting a dog.”
Qi Tiezui slowly lowered the paper.
“What?”
“A dog.”
“Why?”
“Because you need one.”
“I do not.”
“You do.”
“Based on what?”
Wu Laogou studied him carefully.
“You’re nervous.”
“I am not nervous.”
“You’re afraid of tombs.”
“I respect tombs.”
“You’re afraid of ghosts.”
“I respect ghosts.”
“You’re afraid of Fo Ye.”
Qi Tiezui straightened.
“I respect Fo Ye.”
Wu Laogou snorted.
Ba Ye narrowed his eyes.
“What kind of dog?”
And that was precisely why Wu Laogou liked him more than he ever intended to admit.
+++
The plan required every one of the other masters to come to the Wu residence one afternoon. He did not tell them exactly why. If he had told them the truth, half of them would probably have found an excuse, Xie Jiu would have sent someone in his place, Huo Xiangu would have declared the whole affair idiotic, and Zhang Qishan would simply have replied that he did not have time.
So Wu Laogou wrote that it concerned a matter requiring the presence of the Nine Gates.
Technically, he had not lied.
The fact that Zhang Qishan arrived precisely on time, in uniform, with Zhang Rishan half a step behind him and the expression of a man expecting at least a political crisis, was merely an additional benefit.
The first sound he heard after crossing the gate was barking.
The second was Wu Laogou laughing.
Zhang Qishan stopped.
Rishan did as well.
Almost everyone was already gathered in the large inner courtyard. Er Yuehong sat at a table beside Yatou because of course he had brought her with him when Wu Laogou had neglected to explain whether the meeting would last an hour or half a day. Qi Tiezui was walking between several kennels and holding a conversation with one of the dogs, a conversation the dog apparently did not find particularly interesting. Xie Jiu stood a little farther away, fan in hand, wearing that particular expression that meant he understood the situation, considered it absurd, and intended to stay only because he wanted to discover just how absurd it could become. Huo Xiangu already looked as though she regretted coming. Chen Pi A Si leaned against a wooden pillar with an expression suggesting that if anyone attempted anything foolish, he would be the first to leave. Hei Bei Lao Liu remained silent. Ban Jie Li likewise did not look like a man who had expected to find a dozen dogs here.
Zhang Qishan looked around.
Then he looked at Wu Laogou.
“Laowu.”
“Fo Ye.”
“What is going on?”
Wu Laogou grinned broadly.
“Everyone gets a dog.”
The silence was impressive.
Somewhere in the back, a puppy barked.
Qi Tiezui raised his hand.
“I would like it noted that I tried to find out beforehand.”
“No one asked,” Xie Jiu said.
“I asked.”
“You asked badly.”
“How can someone ask badly why Laowu is giving away dogs?”
“Apparently, it can be done.”
Zhang Qishan was still looking at Wu Laogou.
“I do not need a dog.”
Wu Laogou had been waiting for those exact words.
“That’s fine.”
“I do not have time for a dog.”
“That is why you’re getting a small one.”
The first shadow of suspicion appeared in Zhang Qishan’s eyes.
Wu Laogou nearly rubbed his hands together.
The plan was beginning perfectly.
+++
First, however, the other dogs had to be distributed.
Wu Laogou approached the task with all the solemnity of a ceremony.
Er Yuehong received an adult dog with pale, soft fur and an exceptionally calm temperament. The animal did not immediately go to him. It approached Yatou first, sniffed her hand, and then, entirely without invitation, lay down beside her feet as though it had just made a decision concerning the rest of its life.
Er Yuehong looked at the dog.
The dog looked at Er Yuehong.
Yatou stroked its head.
“He’s beautiful.”
That was enough.
Wu Laogou saw the exact moment Er Yuehong stopped considering whether he wanted a dog at all.
“Calm,” he explained. “Doesn’t bark without reason. Doesn’t need constant exercise. Good with people, but not demanding. He’ll sit beside her for hours if necessary.”
He did not say: on the days when Yatou does not have enough strength to leave the house.
He did not need to.
Er Yuehong ran his hand over the animal’s head.
The dog closed its eyes.
“All right.”
Wu Laogou smiled to himself.
One down.
+++
Qi Tiezui received a small, fast, hellishly alert dog.
“Why is he so small?”
“Because a large one would knock you over.”
“I’m stronger than I look.”
“Laoba, you were once knocked over by a chicken.”
“That was a special circumstance.”
The dog sat down in front of Qi Tiezui.
Tilted its head.
Qi Tiezui did the same.
For several seconds, they stared at each other.
Then the dog sneezed.
Qi Tiezui jumped backward.
Wu Laogou closed his eyes.
“Yes,” Xie Jiu said. “Perfect.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
The dog, meanwhile, had apparently decided that the matter was settled, because it climbed onto Qi Tiezui’s shoes, sat on them, and refused to move.
Ba Ye looked down.
Something in his face softened.
“Does he have a name?”
“Not yet.”
Qi Tiezui crouched.
The dog immediately licked him on the nose.
Ba Ye made an outraged noise.
Everyone laughed.
Two problems solved.
+++
Huo Xiangu announced in advance that she did not want a puppy.
Wu Laogou knew.
That was why he brought her an adult female.
Slender. Elegant. Dark-coated. Impeccably trained.
She did not approach Huo Xiangu.
She sat three steps away and waited.
Huo Xiangu raised an eyebrow.
The dog lifted her head.
For a moment, they looked like two women negotiating the terms of a contract.
“She won’t follow you around,” Wu Laogou said. “Doesn’t like strangers. She’s calm, but if someone comes in without permission, you’ll be the first to know.”
Huo Xiangu extended her hand.
Only then did the dog approach.
She sniffed her fingers.
Allowed herself to be touched.
“Sensible.”
Wu Laogou snorted.
“I knew you’d get along.”
Huo Xiangu gave him a look suggesting that he should choose his next words very carefully.
He chose none.
Three.
+++
Xie Jiu was more difficult.
Not because Wu Laogou did not know what kind of dog suited him.
He knew perfectly well.
The problem was that Xie Jiu knew too.
When Wu Laogou brought over a slender, medium-sized dog with an extraordinarily intelligent gaze, Jiu Ye looked first at the animal, then at him.
“No.”
“Why?”
“You’re trying to insult me.”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“That is precisely how I know.”
Qi Tiezui laughed far too loudly.
Wu Laogou sighed.
“He’s very intelligent.”
“Mm.”
“Independent.”
“Mm.”
“Doesn’t obey commands if he considers them pointless.”
Xie Jiu closed his fan.
“Wu Laogou.”
“What?”
“This is not a dog for me. This is commentary on my personality.”
“One does not exclude the other.”
Meanwhile, the dog approached Xie Jiu, sat beside him, and ignored everyone else.
Xie Jiu looked down.
The dog looked up.
Xie Jiu sighed.
“I’ll take him.”
Four new acquaintances had been made without any major problems.
+++
Chen Pi A Si said:
“No.”
The dog said, metaphorically:
Yes.
He was young, strong, restless, and stubborn. Wu Laogou had chosen him precisely for that reason. The animal had an enormous amount of energy and needed exercise, consistency, and a person who would not be frightened by his temperament.
Chen Pi looked at the dog.
The dog looked at Chen Pi.
“No.”
The dog approached.
Chen Pi moved his foot back.
The dog approached again.
“Go away.”
He did not.
“Laosi,” Wu Laogou said with satisfaction. “I think he likes you.”
“I don’t care.”
The dog sat on his foot.
Chen Pi stared at him for a very long time.
Er Yuehong hid his smile behind his teacup.
Yatou did not bother hiding hers.
“Chen Pi.”
Chen Pi looked at her.
“He suits you very well.”
That was unfair.
Everyone knew it.
Chen Pi did too.
He looked back at the dog.
The dog wagged his tail.
“…He can stay.”
Five, though Laogou had not expected that particular dog to be so easy.
+++
Hei Bei Lao Liu received a dog who did not try to cheer him up.
Wu Laogou had thought about that choice for a long time. He could have given him a puppy, something small and absurdly cheerful, creating exactly the kind of contrast that would have entertained everyone for the next several months. He could have chosen an enormous fighting dog, because that would have suited Lao Liu’s reputation.
He did neither.
He brought him an older dog.
Not old. Simply older than the others, with graying fur around his muzzle and one ear damaged long ago. The dog was calm. Distrustful. He did not approach people easily.
Lao Liu crouched.
He did not call him.
Did not hold out his hand.
He simply waited.
The dog watched.
Lao Liu watched.
A minute passed.
Then another.
Finally, the animal approached on his own.
He rested his muzzle against Lao Liu’s knee.
The courtyard became strangely quiet.
Wu Laogou looked away, pretending to adjust something by one of the kennels.
Some things did not need to be commented on.
Six.
+++
Ban Jie Li received a dog as agile, fast, and difficult to predict as he was himself. Within the first five minutes, the animal stole Qi Tiezui’s money pouch, dodged Zhang Rishan, leapt onto a bench, ran under the table, and delivered his prize to Ban Jie Li.
Ba Ye was outraged.
Ban Jie Li looked genuinely delighted for the first time that day.
“Good dog.”
“Give me back my money!”
The dog placed the pouch at his new owner’s feet.
Ban Jie Li picked it up.
“What money?”
“Laosan!”
Seven.
+++
Wu Laogou himself, of course, already had dogs.
According to Qi Tiezui, this was cheating.
According to Wu Laogou, it was the benefit of having made good life decisions earlier.
That left only one man.
In truth, everyone had been waiting for him from the beginning.
Zhang Qishan had spent the entire ceremony observing with the patience of a man who had understood that there were certain things beyond his control. He did not protest again. Did not attempt to leave. He stood beside Zhang Rishan and occasionally glanced at the dogs, though he did so discreetly enough that someone less observant might have assumed he was not interested in them at all.
Wu Laogou was observant.
That was why he had already begun smiling.
“Fo Ye,” Wu Laogou called at last.
Zhang Qishan looked at him.
“Yours,” he added without missing a beat.
Wu Laogou bent down.
And picked up a dog.
Silence fell.
Qi Tiezui made a strangled sound.
Xie Jiu turned his head away.
Er Yuehong closed his eyes.
In Wu Laogou’s hands was something that could only, through an act of great generosity, be described as a majestic representative of its species.
The puppy was small.
Very small.
He had short legs, ears much too large for his head, one sticking up and the other flopping down, fur in several shades that apparently could not come to an agreement, and a face that looked as though someone had attempted to assemble a dog from parts belonging to three different animals.
Wu Laogou was extraordinarily proud of him.
“Here.”
Zhang Qishan stared.
The puppy stared.
Qi Tiezui covered his mouth.
“Why?” Zhang Qishan asked.
“He suits you.”
Ba Ye choked.
Zhang Qishan slowly shifted his gaze from the puppy to Wu Laogou.
“How?”
Wu Laogou had been preparing this answer since morning.
“He has a strong personality.”
The puppy sneezed.
“He’s brave.”
The puppy attempted to bite his own paw.
“He isn’t afraid of anything bigger than himself.”
The puppy noticed his tail and began fighting it.
Xie Jiu lowered his fan in front of his face.
“Very similar.”
“Jiu Ye.”
“I said nothing.”
Zhang Rishan was staring somewhere over Fo Ye’s shoulder with the expression of a man fighting for his life.
Wu Laogou held out the puppy.
“Fo Ye?”
Zhang Qishan looked at him.
Then at the dog.
He held out his arms.
The courtyard immediately became quieter.
Wu Laogou almost felt disappointed. He had expected at least some resistance. Maybe a look. Maybe a comment. Instead, Zhang Qishan simply took the puppy, supported him with one hand beneath his chest, and for a moment examined him with the same concentration he might have used when studying a military map.
The puppy licked his finger.
Fo Ye raised an eyebrow.
Wu Laogou felt his plan veer abruptly in a direction he had not anticipated.
Zhang Qishan stroked the dog’s head.
The puppy immediately tried to climb up his chest.
Something very small changed in Zhang Qishan’s face.
Wu Laogou saw it.
Xie Jiu did too.
Er Yuehong probably did as well.
It was barely a loosening around his mouth, a shadow of warmth in his eyes, but it was enough.
Wu Laogou suddenly felt guilty.
Because a joke was a joke, but a dog was not a toy. The puppy really would grow attached to Zhang Qishan, and Zhang Qishan — apparently much to his own surprise — might grow attached to him in return.
“Laoda,” Wu Laogou said, considerably less maliciously now. “If you really want—”
“No.”
Zhang Qishan handed the puppy to Zhang Rishan.
Wu Laogou blinked.
Rishan blinked.
The puppy licked Rishan’s chin.
Zhang Qishan turned around.
And began walking across the courtyard.
Wu Laogou stared after him.
“Where are you going?”
“To choose a dog.”
“You already got your dog!”
Zhang Qishan did not even turn around.
“That is Rishan’s dog.”
Rishan looked at the puppy.
The puppy looked at Rishan.
His tail began wagging so violently that his entire body followed along with it.
Qi Tiezui sat down.
Not on a chair.
On the ground.
Because his legs had given out from laughing.
“Fo Ye just gave his dog to Rishan!”
“He did not give him away,” Xie Jiu corrected. “He decided he had been meant for Rishan from the beginning.”
“That’s even worse!”
Rishan was still standing there with the puppy in his arms.
“Fo Ye…”
Zhang Qishan stopped beside the last of the larger kennels.
And that was when Wu Laogou stopped laughing.
“Oh no.”
+++
The dog’s name was Heifeng.
Wu Laogou had not intended to give him to anyone.
He was large even for his breed, black, broad-chested, and built in a way that suggested that if he chose to stand between a man and a door, the door ceased to be an option. He was not a young dog. He was already several years old, fully trained for guard work, and experienced. He did not bark unnecessarily. Did not react nervously. Did not trust strangers. He could track, guard territory, respond to commands and, most importantly, judge a threat independently.
He was one of Wu Laogou’s best dogs.
Zhang Qishan stopped in front of the kennel.
Heifeng lifted his head.
“Laoda.”
Zhang Qishan did not answer.
“Laoda.”
Heifeng stood.
Wu Laogou felt uneasy.
“Fo Ye.”
Zhang Qishan opened the gate.
“No.”
It was the first time that day Wu Laogou said the word completely seriously.
Zhang Qishan stepped inside.
Heifeng did not move.
For a moment, the man and the dog simply looked at each other.
There was nothing funny about it.
And that was precisely why everyone gradually fell silent.
Zhang Qishan did not crouch. Did not hold out his hand immediately. He stood calmly, allowing the animal to decide. Heifeng watched him for a long time, then took one step closer.
Zhang Qishan lowered his hand.
The dog sniffed his fingers.
Another step.
And one more.
Finally, he stood beside his leg.
Wu Laogou closed his eyes.
He had lost.
He knew it.
The worst part was that, as a man who understood dogs, he knew exactly why he had lost.
Heifeng did not need a man who would spoil him. He did not require constant attention. He needed someone calm, consistent, confident, someone whose boundaries were clear and who was worth trusting.
Zhang Qishan needed a dog who would not demand care every hour of the day.
A dog capable of taking care of himself.
A dog who could guard the house while he was gone.
A dog who could bark once and know he would be understood.
Wu Laogou had wanted to make a joke.
Instead, he had accidentally found Zhang Qishan the perfect dog.
He hated it when fate developed a sense of humor at his expense.
Zhang Qishan stroked Heifeng’s neck.
“This one.”
Wu Laogou sighed.
“I knew it.”
“You did not.”
“I did.”
“Laowu.”
“Fine. I did not.”
Qi Tiezui leaned out from behind Xie Jiu’s shoulder.
“Laowu tried to give you the ugliest dog in the courtyard.”
Rishan looked at the puppy in his arms.
The puppy looked back.
Qi Tiezui went pale.
“I… I didn’t mean it like that,” the fortune-teller tried to defend himself.
Rishan stroked the dog’s head.
“Ba Ye.”
“He’s beautiful,” Ba Ye called quickly.
“Just now you said—”
“He is exceptionally beautiful.”
+++
By evening, the Wu residence looked like the aftermath of an extremely specific battle.
Every master of the Nine Gates had a dog.
Or rather, ten people had dogs, because Zhang Rishan was also returning home with a puppy Zhang Qishan had, without consulting anyone, assigned to him as a personal responsibility.
The most surprising thing, however, was how quickly everything began to look natural.
Er Yuehong’s dog lay beside Yatou, his muzzle resting on her foot, while Er Yuehong occasionally looked down to make sure the animal was not bothering her or putting too much weight on her. Qi Tiezui’s dog had found a place beneath his chair and reacted to every sudden noise exactly half a second before his owner, which Xie Jiu declared extremely promising. Huo Xiangu’s female never strayed farther than a few steps from her, yet not once demanded attention. Xie Jiu’s dog sat beside him and watched the other animals with an expression so suspiciously similar to his owner’s that Wu Laogou began to suspect some sort of supernatural phenomenon. Chen Pi continued insisting that he did not want the dog while simultaneously feeding him pieces of meat from his own plate. Lao Liu sat in silence, the older dog lying at his feet as though they had been doing it for years.
Wu Laogou looked at all of them and felt something he absolutely did not intend to analyze.
This was supposed to be a joke.
At least partly.
He liked dogs, and he liked his people, even if describing the Nine Gates as his people was complicated. They were not family. Not exactly. Family was too simple a word for something like them. They were connected by business, obligations, old favors, secrets, rivalries, shared threats, and all those unspoken things that formed between people once they had stood on the same side enough times while someone else was trying to kill them. They could argue. They could obstruct one another. They could drive each other completely mad.
And yet Wu Laogou knew them.
He knew which of them needed silence.
Which needed movement.
Which needed loyalty without questions.
Which needed something gentle.
Which needed something strong.
Perhaps that was exactly why finding the right dogs for them had been so easy.
Dogs were simpler than people.
But sometimes people’s needs were not.
“Satisfied?”
Xie Jiu appeared beside him.
Wu Laogou looked at him.
“With what?”
Jiu Ye glanced meaningfully toward the courtyard.
“You accidentally made eight people happy.”
“Nine.”
“Fo Ye does not look particularly happy.”
They both looked toward the gate.
Zhang Qishan was just leaving.
Heifeng walked beside his left leg.
Without a leash.
Without a command.
Perfectly in step.
Zhang Rishan followed behind him with the puppy in his arms. The little dog had already fallen asleep, sprawled across his forearms belly-up with one paw resting against his uniform.
“Laoda!” Wu Laogou called.
Zhang Qishan stopped.
“Remember that Heifeng needs plenty of exercise!”
Fo Ye nodded.
“And don’t feed him table scraps!”
Another nod.
“And don’t let him sleep in the bed!”
Zhang Qishan looked at him.
Wu Laogou pointed a warning finger.
“I’m serious.”
“He will not sleep in the bed.”
Wu Laogou exhaled in relief.
Rishan looked at the dog beside Fo Ye’s leg.
Then at Fo Ye.
“He’ll sleep beside the bed.”
Zhang Qishan continued walking.
Wu Laogou closed his eyes.
Xie Jiu laughed quietly.
+++
Three days later, Wu Laogou visited the Zhang residence.
Officially, he had come to discuss business.
Unofficially, he wanted to check on the dog.
Heifeng met him at the gate.
Wu Laogou stopped.
The dog did too.
“Heifeng.”
His tail moved once.
Just once.
Wu Laogou felt offended.
“I raised you.”
Heifeng stared.
“I trained you.”
The dog yawned.
“Traitor.”
“Laowu.”
Wu Laogou looked up.
Zhang Qishan was standing on the steps.
Heifeng immediately turned and walked over to him.
Wu Laogou felt another stab of betrayal.
“Three days.”
“What?”
“It took you three days.”
Zhang Qishan looked at the dog.
Heifeng sat beside his leg.
Fo Ye rested a hand on his head.
“Good dog.”
That was all.
Two words.
But Wu Laogou knew Zhang Qishan.
He also knew dogs.
He saw the way Heifeng closed his eyes beneath his new owner’s hand. He saw Zhang Qishan’s thumb move automatically through the fur between his ears, without thought, as though he had been doing it for months.
He sighed.
“Fine.”
Zhang Qishan raised an eyebrow.
“He suits you.”
“I know.”
“Don’t look so pleased with yourself.”
A sudden pounding of footsteps came from inside the house.
Then Zhang Rishan’s voice.
“No!”
The small, ugly puppy burst through the door.
There was something white in his mouth.
Wu Laogou narrowed his eyes.
Rishan appeared a second later.
Missing one glove.
The puppy had the glove in his mouth.
Zhang Qishan looked at the dog.
Then at Rishan.
Then back at the dog.
Wu Laogou started laughing.
“Fo Ye!”
“No.”
“But I haven’t said anything!”
“No.”
The puppy ran past them.
Rishan went after him.
Heifeng watched the little dog with the dignity of an older soldier observing a recruit who had just started running in the opposite direction from the rest of the unit.
Wu Laogou wiped his eyes.
“You know what the best part is?”
Zhang Qishan remained silent.
“That little one really does suit you better.”
Fo Ye looked at him with a cold expression beneath which even Wu Laogou could detect the faintest trace of a threat.
Wu Laogou stopped laughing.
“Rishan. He suits Rishan. Your adjutant. I said Rishan.”
“Mm.”
+++
After a month, something strange had happened in Changsha.
The dogs had become part of the Nine Gates.
It had not happened officially. There had been no ceremony, nothing had been entered into any documents, and absolutely no one intended to admit that Wu Laogou had been right.
It simply turned out one day that Er Yuehong’s dog had his own place backstage at the theatre and knew perfectly well that he was not allowed onto the stage during a performance. Qi Tiezui’s dog learned to bark whenever his owner spent too long bent over his books without eating, which Ba Ye regarded as a conspiracy orchestrated by Wu Laogou. Huo Xiangu’s dog would not allow strangers to approach her from behind. Xie Jiu’s dog began bringing him stones for Go, though no one knew who had taught him to do it. Chen Pi’s dog ran beside him during training, and whenever Chen Pi returned exhausted, he lay down nearby and kept watch until he got back up. Lao Liu’s older dog slept beside his door.
Heifeng, meanwhile, guarded the Zhang residence.
But at night, he lay beside Zhang Qishan’s bed.
Exactly as Rishan had predicted.
Rishan’s little dog, of course, slept in the bed, between his owner’s legs.
Wu Laogou was not surprised by that.
What surprised him was something else.
One evening, the Nine Gates gathered at Zhang Qishan’s residence. It was late, the discussion had gone on much longer than they had expected, and the dogs — because apparently everyone had completely lost their minds — had come along with their owners.
Wu Laogou was the last to step out into the courtyard.
He stopped on the stairs.
Through the open door, he could see the people gathered around the table.
Er Yuehong was speaking quietly with Xie Jiu. Qi Tiezui was protesting something Huo Xiangu had said. Chen Pi pretended not to listen. Lao Liu remained silent. Ban Jie Li was smiling. Zhang Qishan sat at the head of the table, calm as always.
Under the table were the dogs.
Each beside their person.
Some were sleeping.
Some were watching.
Heifeng lay beside Zhang Qishan, his enormous head resting on his boot. Rishan’s little dog slept curled into a ball on the chair beside his owner.
Wu Laogou leaned against the doorframe.
He said nothing.
He did not need to.
Because perhaps that was what he liked most about dogs.
A dog did not ask what you were to the man sitting on the other side of the table. He did not care about old conflicts, alliances, family names, or positions within the Nine Gates. He did not know who was First Master, who was Ninth, who owed whom a favor, or who had threatened whom with a knife the last time they met.
A dog knew only who his person was.
Perhaps, sometimes, people needed something equally simple.
“Laowu.”
Wu Laogou looked up.
Zhang Qishan was watching him.
“Are you coming in?”
For a moment, Wu Laogou stood without moving.
Then he smiled.
“I’m coming.”
He stepped inside.
And when, several hours later, the Nine Gates finally began heading home, the streets of Changsha witnessed something they had probably never seen before and were decidedly unprepared to see.
Nine masters.
Nine reputations powerful enough to make sensible people step aside.
And an entire pack of dogs.
At the very front walked Zhang Qishan with Heifeng at his side — both upright, calm, alert, and looking as though they were about to take control of all Changsha.
Behind them walked Zhang Rishan.
In his arms, he carried the smallest, most awkward, and, according to Wu Laogou, still objectively ugliest dog in the entire group.
The puppy was asleep.
Rishan looked happy.
Wu Laogou looked at them and thought that, in the end, perhaps he really had chosen well.
He did not say it aloud, however.
He did not want Fo Ye becoming too pleased with himself.