Chapter 56: Driven Away by a Dog

“Grandma, I’m back! I want some water!”
Tired from playing, Xixi came home with Tiger at her side. As Aunt Xue opened the door for her, she immediately called out.
But before Aunt Xue could respond, Xixi spotted two strangers, a man and a woman, standing at the top of the stairs.
“Grandma, who are they?” Xixi asked curiously, not noticing the grim expression on Aunt Xue’s face.
The man and woman had also seen Xixi. The woman was fiddling with a dazzling ruby necklace around her neck. Upon looking up and seeing the adorable Xixi and her little yellow dog, she beamed delightedly. “What a coincidence! So, little one, you’re my cousin’s daughter. How beautiful you are! Come here, this is your cousin uncle, and I’m your cousin aunt.”
Introducing herself, she descended the stairs, coming straight over, intending to pick Xixi up. Yet her heavy makeup frightened Xixi, who instinctively hid behind Aunt Xue, peeking out with just her head and saying, “Grandma, she looks like a ghost. I’m scared. Grandma, please ask them to leave.”
“Did you say I look like a ghost?” The woman’s face darkened instantly, and she sneered, “You want to drive me out? This is my house!”
Aunt Xue could no longer restrain herself. “Cousin, you’re being unreasonable. Xixi is just a child; you can’t bully her. And, miss, please return our young lady’s necklace…”
Her words were bold, but her tone and expression betrayed her weakness. Before the woman could reply, the man had already come down the stairs with a cold face, walked over, and slapped Aunt Xue across the face with a resounding crack.
“How dare a lowly servant of this family talk back? You must have a death wish!”
Aunt Xue clutched her stinging cheek, her eyes brimming with tears, unable to speak. Xixi, however, burst into tears and stood in front of her grandma, shouting, “You’re all bad people! You can’t hit my grandma!”
“Well, well, you little bastard, let your cousin uncle teach you a lesson!” The man’s eyes fixed on Xixi’s delicate face, and all he wanted was to give her a hard pinch. As he reached out to grab her, Tiger, the ever-vigilant guardian, leapt between Xixi and the man. Crouching low, Tiger glared menacingly, baring its sharp white teeth and growling in warning.
“Damn mongrel, go to hell!” The man was unfazed by Tiger’s threat and kicked viciously at the dog’s vulnerable belly, intending to kill it with a single blow.
Any ordinary puppy would have been doomed, but Tiger was a quasi-spirit beast raised by Jiang An. In a flash, Tiger leapt aside, dodging the kick and, with ferocious precision, bit down on the man’s flailing left wrist. Blood instantly stained its fangs.
“My god, it hurts! Damn dog!” The man screamed, desperately trying to shake Tiger off, but it clung on relentlessly. The piercing pain from his wrist sent him into a rage. With his free right hand, he pulled a black pistol from his waistband!
Don’t blame me for being ruthless!
Driven by fury, he aimed the gun at Tiger’s head. Aunt Xue, seeing his motion, shrieked, scooped Xixi into her arms, and shielded her with her own body. Yet the anticipated gunshot never rang out. Instead, another, more anguished scream erupted from the man.
Tiger’s intelligence was far beyond that of an ordinary dog. Sensing the danger of the gun, it released the man’s left wrist the moment the weapon appeared, dropped to the floor, and then sprang up again, sinking its teeth into the man’s right wrist—the one holding the gun. Blindsided by the sudden agony, the man fumbled and dropped the gun. Driven mad with pain, he swung his arm, trying to smash Tiger against the wall.
But Tiger used that momentum to leap away, kicked off the wall, and, agile as a martial arts master, landed squarely on the man’s chest. Its forepaws raked wildly, leaving bloody scratches across the man’s face. Terror finally seized him.
“Get away! Get away! Damn woman, why aren’t you grabbing that brat instead?” he roared, struggling to fend off Tiger’s claws.
The woman had been dumbstruck by the scene, never expecting such a fierce battle from the seemingly cute puppy. Shaken from her daze by her man’s shouts, she finally moved, but Tiger had already heard her. Instantly, Tiger abandoned the man, dropped to the floor, and stood protectively in front of Xixi, bristling with hostility.
Terrified, especially by the blood staining Tiger’s mouth, the woman stumbled backward, legs weak, and plopped down on the floor, holding up her hands and crying out in panic, “Don’t bite me! Don’t bite me!”
Tiger did not attack. Instead, it whipped its head around, scaring the man who had been reaching for the gun back into retreat. The standoff that followed was almost comical: two adults, paralyzed by fear, unable to move because of a small dog.
“Well done, Tiger!”
Xixi, having wriggled free from Aunt Xue’s shielding hands, was oblivious to the danger just past. She only knew that Tiger had chased off the bad people and praised him joyfully.
The man had never anticipated his scheme would be foiled by a dog. Already shaken by his wounds, he began inching backward, pulling the woman with him. Both eyed Tiger nervously, trying to edge around them and escape, praying the crazy dog wouldn’t give chase.
Fortunately for them, Tiger’s sole duty was to protect his little mistress. He didn’t attack further, but watched silently as they fled in disgrace. As he left, the man spat a threat: “Fine! I’ll let this go today! Tomorrow you’ll see how powerful we are. No one who crosses the Song family comes to any good!”
“Woof! Woof!”
Tiger suddenly barked twice. The man, in the midst of his bravado, recoiled in fright and bolted, slamming the door behind him.
“It hurts! Take me to the hospital, now!”
The battered couple staggered to their car. Enclosed at last, their nerves settled a little. The man, after a moment’s thought, carefully took out his phone and dialed a number.
Beep—
“Hello, Tang Lin?” A deep, magnetic male voice answered.
“Ying—Ying-ge? I, I…” The man stammered.
“Judging by your tone, you botched the job. Fine. Just make sure I never see you again,” came the reply, amusement lurking in the voice, but to the man, it was ice-cold and terrifying.
“No, no, it’s not that!” He knew explaining would only irritate the man further, so he hurried to clarify, “It’s just—it’s more difficult than expected. Ying-ge, please, give me another chance. I need the ‘Nails’ in Lin City to help me!”
“The ‘Nails’ in Lin City? Fine, one more chance. You’ll receive what you need shortly. But, dear cousin, do not disappoint me again.”
“I won’t! I swear!” The man’s voice dripped with flattery, and his ingratiating smile was obvious even over the phone.
After hanging up, he exhaled heavily, his face still clouded with gloom. Soon, a text message arrived. He checked it; a trace of satisfaction finally appeared on his face.
At the entrance to the villa community—
Diagonally across the street, a window on the second floor faced the main gate. Inside, three men were present: two playing cards, the third watching through binoculars with intense focus.
Suddenly, the door opened and a burly, scar-faced man strode in. The three men inside immediately stood and greeted him respectfully, “Brother Ma!”
This was Scar Ma, a trusted subordinate of Gao Chao whom Jiang An had met. He nodded and asked, “Anything unusual?”
The watcher grinned, “Nothing suspicious, don’t worry!”
Ma grunted, sat down, and someone lit a cigarette for him. “Brother Ma, what’s this job about, anyway? Used to be, we looked after the club and hung out with girls. Now we’re holed up in this turtle shell, bored to death.”
“Yeah, it’s been days,” another chimed in.
“Tired of it already?” Ma sneered, exhaling smoke. “If you don’t want the job, I’ll call someone else to take your place!”
“No, no! We’re just complaining. It’s an honor to work with you every day, Brother Ma,” the first quickly backtracked with a forced laugh.
Bang!
Ma suddenly slammed the table, nearly making the others drop to their knees in fright. His expression was stony as he barked, “An order from the gang is a big deal! If it weren’t for my good relationship with Boss Chao, you wouldn’t even have a shot at this job. What do you know? Speak up! Have you been slacking off when I’m not here?”
“No, absolutely not!” The lackeys trembled with fear.
Still unsatisfied, Ma was about to continue his tirade when the watcher suddenly called, “Brother Ma, there’s something odd. Come take a look!”
Ma’s expression shifted and, forgetting his act, hurried over. The watcher explained, “That silver car—the one that just left—when the man and woman drove in, nothing seemed amiss. But now, the man looks injured. I saw blood all over his face.”
Following the description, Ma quickly found the vehicle in question. Through the binoculars, it was clear enough—just as the man had said. Only after the car had driven off did he lower the binoculars.
“Brother Ma?” his subordinate asked, noticing Ma’s uncertain expression.
After a moment’s thought, Ma decided it was better to make a call and risk a tongue-lashing than miss something important and cause bigger trouble.
“Wait here. I’m calling Boss Chao right now.”