Chapter 28: You Can Leave Only After Repaying the Debt

If it had been an ordinary dog, such a leap would have subdued the other fighting dog. Unfortunately, neither of today’s contenders was ordinary. One was a near-demon beast, and the other was a king among dogs. Neither gained the upper hand; they advanced side by side, neck and neck.

“Go on, bite—bite—bite!”

“Bite it! Bite it! Bite it!”

Outside the ring, countless gamblers cheered wildly for their chosen dog, having abandoned all pretense. Each was beside himself with excitement.

Some say this reveals humanity’s baser nature; others call it the spirit of blood and battle. Whatever the truth, in this moment everyone was captivated by the two dogs, shouting themselves hoarse, faces flushed crimson.

For nearly five minutes, the bout continued. The crowd roared, and the dogs fought with all their might. One possessed ample battle experience; the other, uncommon intelligence. In a sudden twist, the dog from the Qian family seized the moment when both dogs’ heads were parallel, twisted its neck, and sank its teeth into Dahei’s upper left side. Dahei responded swiftly, jerking his head to the right as the Qian dog bit down, avoiding a direct hit. Only a patch of fur was painfully torn from Dahei’s neck.

Witnessing this, Shen Shi frowned slightly. He had expected Dahei to dominate, but the match was evenly matched, with Dahei even appearing to be at a slight disadvantage.

How could this be? Was the opponent a demon dog?

Shen Shi maintained an outward calm, but internally he rooted for Dahei.

“Kill him, kill him!”

On the other side, the Qian brothers were equally tense. They had wagered too much; a loss would have dire consequences. They, too, were only human, and fear gnawed at them.

Just as the atmosphere in the fighting pit reached fever pitch, the unexpected happened.

Suddenly, the Qian family’s Cavalry General lunged for Dahei’s ear. Clearly, it was battle-hardened, knowing the large blood vessels there could be fatal—or perhaps it could sense them.

Seeing this, many in the crowd could not help but shout, “Bite him, bite him, kill him!”

This is the essence of dog fighting: such primal, wild scenes stir the savage instincts within humanity, sending adrenaline surging.

To them, the outcome seemed imminent. The Qian dog had bitten Dahei’s ear; a glint of blood could be seen, fueling their excitement.

Yet they failed to notice one crucial detail: Dahei was a black dog, and a four-year-old virgin at that.

When the Qian dog injured Dahei, its cold and lonely expression changed to fear. It wanted to distance itself, unwilling to touch Dahei’s blood.

“Well done, General! Attack, attack, bite him!” The Qian brothers, oblivious to this shift, urged their dog on, certain of victory.

But the tides turned unexpectedly.

Just when everyone believed the Qian Cavalry General was invincible and sure to win, something astonishing occurred. After opening its jaws and confronting Dahei for a moment, the General saw Dahei enraged, baring his teeth and lunging anew. The General lowered its tail and fled.

It ran! Such behavior is almost unheard of in fighting dogs. Even when outmatched, most will defend or struggle desperately, never exposing their backs—let alone their tails—to the enemy. To flee is not merely a lack of fighting spirit; it is its outright negation.

The crowd was stunned by the General’s dashing retreat. What was going on? What was the relationship between these dogs?

They could not comprehend why the General, seemingly on the verge of victory, would surrender unless there was some secret collusion.

Dahei, however, thought only of punishing the loser. With a howl, he gave chase.

All signs had pointed to the General’s triumph, yet it ran, refusing to fight. Driven to desperation, it leaped from the ring and escaped. Dahei pursued a few steps, but seeing such cowardice, stopped and stood tall, scanning the crowd as if to declare:

Is there anyone else? Who else dares?

“We’ve won, brother! We’ve won!” Kong Xueli slapped Shen Shi’s shoulder, laughing heartily.

The others, whether spectators or gamblers, felt as though they had been outwitted by a husky. No, it was as if the husky had made fools of them.

Were it not widely known that the Qian and Shen families were at odds, many would have suspected the Qian brothers of conspiring with Shen Shi to cheat them.

Shen Shi smiled, though he suspected something was amiss with the Qian dog. But victory was his, was it not?

The Qian brothers were despondent. They had never imagined their Cavalry General, the undefeated king of dogs, would lose.

Qian Shengwen wailed, “Impossible! How could my Cavalry General run away? Quick, catch it—bring it back!”

Qian Shengju’s face was equally grim, his former air of calm utterly vanished. If one looked closely, his pale face betrayed a twitching mouth.

The Cavalry General had not only lost, but lost in such a fashion—it had fled!

Truly, the enemy’s misfortune is one’s own happiness. Shen Shi was in high spirits. He clasped his hands to the Qian brothers and called out, “Brother Qian, thank you for letting me win. I never expected such generosity. If not for your kindness, I would have lost my house and the old man would have beaten me to death!”

Indeed, insult follows injury. I deliberately said, “It should have been yours,” “your plan should have succeeded”...

The greatest pain in life is not winning or losing, but seeing victory within reach only to lose inexplicably at the last moment.

Nothing is more painful.

Qian Shengju’s face darkened. With a snort, he flung his sleeve and strode toward the stairs, preparing to leave. Yet as the brothers reached the door, the district manager appeared with a band of burly men, blocking their path.

“You cannot leave yet,” the manager said with a cold smile.

The brothers were taken aback. Qian Shengwen asked, “What do you mean, manager?”

“What do I mean?” The manager smiled, devoid of warmth. “You must repay your debts. You have mortgaged and borrowed seven thousand eight hundred coins in our fighting ring. Such a sum cannot be ignored. You must pay before you can leave.”