“Are you stupid? Did I miss someone dropping a rock on your head and giving you brain damage?” Jun yelled, staring at Chen Hao with genuine anger.

“Now, now. I know you’ll miss me, but I can’t take you with me,” Chen Hao said, kneeling next to Jun. He reached out to pat the dog’s head, and Jun had to resist the urge to bite into his fingers.

“Did he fucking say that? ‘Oh, by the way, you can’t take dogs with you.’ No? Shut up then. Let’s go.” Jun shouted, biting the hem of the boy’s pants and dragging him outside. Chen Hao awkwardly hopped along, doing his best not to lose his balance.

“No! Stay!” Chen Hao cried out, but it did nothing to stop Jun. “Grandpa! Hold him down.”

When Jun released his grip on the pants, Chen Hao reached out to grab him, but he was far from a dog catcher. Jun slipped to the side, running circles around him. Old man Wei hobbled out of the house, but even with the both of them combined, they were no match for Jun’s agility.

“What do we do?” the brat asked, lying on the ground to catch his breath. It didn’t help that it was still scorching hot despite the sun going down.

“Stubborn bastard, that’s what he is. Well, what else can we do? Since we can’t catch Jun, let him come with you.”

“But... Won’t the immortal get offended?” The boy looked down, worry written all over his face.

“Bah. If he chases Jun away, then so be it. And if not, you could use some company.”

‘Not like they could say or do anything to stop me. I’ll fight to death with the first bastard that suggests I stay behind.’

The old man awkwardly bent down, bringing his face next to Jun’s. “You better protect him,” he said, staring into the golden retriever’s eyes.

“Aye,” came the response, and whatever the man had heard, it apparently satisfied him.

After a few additional minutes of preparing a few day’s worth of food and drink for Jun, the two of them set out. They walked through the village, saying their goodbyes to the villagers who had accompanied them from birth. Although the crowd had dispersed from the village centre, no one had gone back to work. In a small place like this, this sort of event would be discussed for years to come. No one would miss it just to till the fields.

Along the way, they stopped by Teacher Li’s house. It was one of the biggest buildings in the village, and it was thanks to him teaching the village’s children that Jun could speak, read, and write the language. But, oh no, the horror! A whole squad of assassins waited to ambush him right behind the corner!

“Jhun. I whell mwiss yeuu,” a girl no older than five buried her face in Jun’s fur, crying uncontrollably. A crowd of children surrounded him, lifting his paw and shaking it as if to say goodbye.

Teacher Li was there as well, but his focus was instead on Chen Hao. The two stared at each other, and, finally, the teacher sighed.

“I’m sorry to crush your hopes this early, but the world of immortals isn’t what you think it is. Harden your resolve, steel your heart, and show weakness to no one. I’ve heard enough stories in the capital to know it isn’t all fun and games.”

The teacher’s solemn look made Chen Hao freeze, but he soon nodded, placing his hand against his chest.

“I can’t expect you to understand it now, but you will in a few years. Don’t stand out too much, keep a few cards hidden. The real winners are those who can live to enjoy the most of their immortal lives.”

‘How the hell does he know this?’ Jun thought, sensing a plot in the air.

Teacher Li’s past was shrouded in mystery, which caused many to think he was of noble birth. While Chen Hao engraved these words in his heart, Jun snuck behind him, curiously sniffing his butt. While the smell wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as the immortal’s, Jun could smell some of the “purity” on him.

“Aha! I’ve got you figured out now! Nothing can fool my detective's nose!” he said, indulging in his own thoughts.

“You were probably a highly talented disciple with a promising future in a prestigious sect. Then, you dared to court death by being engaged with another beautiful disciple.” Jun narrated, excitedly running around. The children trailed behind him like a pack of bumblebees.

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“But that’s when a young master took interest in your fiancee. Unfortunately, you weren’t blessed by the heavens, and you got crippled in the process. With nowhere left to go, you left your sect and came here, slowly piecing together your dantian.”

It all made so much sense. This was exactly like one of those novels he used to read before.

“You taught kids here in order to pass on your heaven-defying talent to any promising apprentices. That’s when you saw our Chen Hao and recognized his Hidden Extreme Yang Body. Now, all your hopes are placed on another future disciple. Come on, spit out the name of who crippled you. We will help you take revenge.” Flames of righteousness burned in Jun’s eyes.

Both Teacher Li and Chen Hao looked down, a weird expression on their faces.

“Ah, sorry about his barking. Jun can probably tell that I’m going away. He won’t stay put.” Chen Hao bowed, making a shushing noise at Jun.

“Well, he’s always been a smart dog.” Teacher Li laughed. “It always seemed like he was paying more attention than even the kids at my lessons.”

A moment of contemplation passed before Chen Hao spoke up.

“I’m sorry, but I have to ask. How do you know so much about the immortals?” he inquired, and that’s when Jun knew they had struck gold. Any minute now the teacher would pass down his inheritance.

“Ah, it’s only a small secret. I didn’t want other villagers to treat me differently, so I lied a bit. I was the tutor of the fourth princess of the Yao Dynasty. Royalty dealt with immortals on rare occasions, and upon my exile, I was taught a minor technique to expand my lifespan.”

Chen Hao’s face lit up as he heard the secret that was always on the mind of so many kids. Deep down, Jun knew the man was lying. His deductions couldn’t be wrong.

“Alright, it’s time you go now. Remember, be careful.” Teacher Li said, ruffling Chen Hao’s hair. He collected the still crying kids, shepherding them inside his house.

‘It can’t be. Well, whatever. Maybe he’s shy and wants to wait until we reach a higher realm.’

When they reached the village square, Sun Ping was already there, her eyes completely red. Her parents were in the distance, both of them holding back tears as they watched their daughter. Nearby, the immortal was trying to console the young genius, but his words had no effect.

“Alright, you’re both here. It’s time for us to leave,” the immortal said when they arrived, paying no attention to Jun’s presence.

Without any further delay or spare words, he made a complicated hand gesture, and without a moment’s notice, the wind picked up, howling like a demon through the village. From above the clouds descended a ship of majestic proportions, illuminated by the glow of a thousand golden runes. The ship’s prow was sculpted in the image of a flying dragon, each scale a work of a lifetime. It was as if a second sun had risen in the sky, gracing the mortals below with its presence.

The immortal pointed at the two disciples, and from the tip of his finger emerged another rune. It hit both of them in the chest, blooming across their bodies like fireworks in the night sky. At the same time, a surge of energy flooded Jun’s body, and his instincts screamed at him—if he didn’t grab onto Chen Hao, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Jun scampered, practically climbing Chen Hao’s leg. Both his teeth and his claws were firmly attached to the boy’s clothes, and in response, the brat screamed out in pain. But, before he could do anything, a pillar of white light engulfed the both of them. Like a bad hangover, it made Jun’s world twist and turn, nausea overtaking him in seconds. He vomited all over the floor.

After a few seconds of recovery, he glanced over to Chen Hao and Sun Ping and saw that both of them fared no better than him. Seeing others suffer had the magical ability to make one feel better. He shuddered, and then realised it was much, much colder here.

The first thing he saw was that they were standing on a smooth wooden floor. All around him were strange phantoms, rushing to be the first ones to clean up the mess. Two jade lion statues turned to them, their red eyes shining with a dangerous light, daring them to do anything malicious. Further past that, the vast plains stretched on and on until they merged with the forest, the trees’ leaves a strange shade of purple.

But all of that was secondary to the crowd of twenty or so teenagers standing on board the ship. Some looked bored, others scared, but no doubt that most were like the two brats by his side—abducted from a random village. Despite that, two figures stood out from the crowd.

The first was a young girl with long, blonde hair. Her curtain bangs partially covered her eyes, but they did nothing to cover up her smile. Her robe was murky grey, but based on the embroidering of a great phoenix, whose feathers reached out to softly caress her sleeves, Jun guessed that it was probably red. It was leagues above what everyone else was wearing, which was probably why she was standing alone.

‘Curse this damned colour blindness.’

The second was a strange boy with similarly long, grey hair. His eyes were slitted, his piercing green pupils glinting from the light of the runes. His robe was pitch-black with motifs of white ghosts reaching up, looking as if they were about to tear the clothes apart. That was what he was able to gather from a second glance, as his first glance was drawn by the massive serpent sitting on the boy’s shoulders, wrapped around his neck. It flickered its tongue as it noticed Jun, staring at him as if he were nothing more than prey. Jun could’ve sworn he saw it gulp when it looked at him.

‘Ah. That’s why the immortal didn’t seem to care about me. Crap.’