The mad dog had just caused trouble in the village, biting his daughter and another child. He grabbed a stick to fight it off but got bitten himself.
With one swing of his stick, the old man killed the mad dog once and for all; it made no more sound.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Xiaofeng and her party, "You must be from the city, right? Mad dogs often lurk around here, so be careful."
Some madness you just can’t see coming; they attack when you least expect it.
"We’re not scared of any mad dogs— if one comes at us, we’ll just kill it with a knife," Feifei dismissed.
"Still, you’ve got to be more careful. If it bites you, rabies is incurable," the old man said, shaking his head at Feifei.
City girls just don’t understand the dangers of mad dogs.
Tossing aside his stick, the old man bent down to drag the dead dog: "I need to find a place to bury it. If other dogs eat its flesh, that would be terrible."
"Old man." A few young men came over from behind. "Is it dead?"
They had heard the news that a mad dog had bitten someone in the village and fled.
"Yes, it’s dead. You’ve arrived just in time; help me bury it," the old man instructed them to help with the task.
"Uncle, you’ve been bitten too. Uncle, you should get vaccinated quickly, we’ll handle the burial," one of the young men in his twenties seized the dog’s legs and started to move.
"What about Huzi and Ugly Girl?"
"Huzi only has two dog teeth marks on his leg, no bleeding. His mother said it’s not necessary to vaccinate him. Niuniu’s arm is more seriously wounded, but she stubbornly shakes her head, saying she doesn’t want to get the injection."
"Nonsense," the old man became angry upon hearing this. "Is getting bitten by a mad dog something to joke about? What use is regret when rabies sets in? I’ll take them to get vaccinated." The old man walked back angrily, determined to get them vaccinated.
Xiaofeng and her group had been silent from start to finish.
From the old man’s words, it seemed like he was a very responsible person.
The Dragon King watched the old man’s retreating figure and noticed his limp; his trouser leg was rolled up, revealing a leg that the mad dog had bitten so fiercely blood was streaming down, while the other leg seemed to have suffered past injuries.
The two young men who arrived later glanced at the group and said with a simple smile, "You killed the dog, right? You’re quite formidable. Not to hide anything from you, recently there have been a lot of mad dogs around the village, not sure where they come from, a real nuisance."
If you get bitten by a mad dog and don’t get the vaccine in time, rabies is a real trouble.
"I’ve heard that if a mad dog bites a normal dog, even the normal dog can turn mad, is that true? If so, does it mean that a mad dog might have bitten many ordinary dogs around here?"
"That must be the case," the young man responded with a smile at Xiaofeng, "Looks like we need to find someone to guard the village entrance."
As they were speaking, the old man had already returned with two kids; the boy was Huzi, older at about twelve or thirteen years of age, just at the mischievous stage of life.
The girl wasn’t young, half of her face was scarred by a burn, and she was simple and foolish. By her figure, she should be in her twenties.
"Wang Ming," the old man called out to one of the young men. "What are you still doing here? I’m telling you, you need to dig the pit deeper and bury it well. Don’t take shortcuts."
"Uncle, don’t worry, we’ll do a good job."
The old man known as Uncle smiled at Xiaofeng’s group and led one older and one younger child towards the city.
"Uncle has had a hard life," Wang Ming said. "He worked in a factory in the Imperial Capital when he was younger, and then the factory exploded, injuring his leg. The worst part was, his daughter was nearby. His injuries weren’t severe, but his daughter was left mentally damaged. As you’ve seen, Ugly Girl isn’t only physically unattractive, but her intelligence is that of a child younger than five, and most importantly, she’s mute."
With a contemplative look, the Dragon King listened to Wang Ming’s story.
Feifei, however, glanced at the sun in the sky, saying, "Young Madam, this kind of thing is common in the countryside, and having grown up there, surely you’ve heard enough. The sun’s getting intense; let’s hurry on our way." Feifei was completely uninterested in what Wang Ming had shared.
In her eyes, the lives and deaths of others were none of her concern.
"It’s precisely because I grew up in the countryside that I know full well the danger of rabies. Feifei, you wouldn’t want to be bitten by a mad dog, would you?"
"You’re the one who looks mad..." The Dragon King gave her a deadly glare, and she dared not finish the word ’dog’.
Not mad dogs, but a pair of despicable lovers—spit.