Wealthy Woof Chapter 19

Moonlit: This chapter contains dog abuse in one paragraph toward the end.

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After Zuo Ning fully recovered and was no longer lethargic every day, it seemed like being cooped up for too long during his illness had made him restless. The moment he was let out, he was bursting with energy. Before, after Lu Chenghe left for work, he would usually take a nap, but now he didn’t even bother with that anymore. Watching Lu Chenghe’s car slowly drive out of the estate, Zuo Ning immediately turned and ran to the entrance to find Lang Ya to play with.

Previously, Zuo Ning only knew that the two german shepherds were retired military dogs. He had assumed Lu Chenghe had kindly adopted them. But later, he learned that wasn’t the case—retired military dogs weren’t something just anyone could adopt.

It turned out that Lu Chenghe’s cousin, who seemed to be in some high-ranking military position, had recently cracked a major case. These two dogs had made significant contributions to the mission but were seriously injured in the process and could no longer serve. Once they had fully recovered, his cousin sent them to Lu Chenghe.

Apparently, getting these two dogs wasn’t easy. They were even harder to transfer than people. Zuo Ning heard that they used to have a handler, one of his cousin’s subordinates, who had unfortunately died in the line of duty. His cousin had promised that he would ensure the dogs were well taken care of in the future. Although retired military dogs received a pension and had good retirement benefits, it still wasn’t as reassuring as keeping them close. Unfortunately, his cousin didn’t have the time or means to care for them properly, so he sent them to Lu Chenghe instead.

According to his cousin, Lu Chenghe had actually gotten a great deal out of it. Thinking about it, that made sense. Retired soldiers were relatively easy to find—most of Lu Chenghe’s bodyguards were former soldiers, some even from special forces. But retired military dogs were much rarer. In terms of home security, their protection level was likely even higher than having a team of guards at the gate.

Zuo Ning strolled leisurely to the entrance, where Fu Na was lying on the steps, seemingly sunbathing, while Lang Ya was under a tree, scratching at the ground with his paws. Curious, Zuo Ning walked over. “What are you doing?”

Lang Ya glanced at him. “Digging a hole.”

Zuo Ning peered closer but didn’t see anything buried in the dirt. “What are you digging for?”

Lang Ya scooted over to make room. “It’s fun! Come dig with me.”

Zuo Ning looked down at his fluffy white fur. If he got himself covered in mud, who knew how many baths Lu Chenghe would force him to take. So, with great self-awareness, he found a clean spot to sit. “You go ahead. I don’t like digging.”

Lang Ya shot him a puzzled look. “How could you not like such a fun game? You’re such a weird little pup.”

Zuo Ning turned to Fu Na. “Fu Na, why aren’t you playing?”

Fu Na, who had been resting with her eyes closed, lazily opened them. She cast them both a condescending glance and then resumed her quiet goddess-like demeanor.

Zuo Ning had long since realized that Fu Na was much smarter than Lang Ya—so intelligent that she was practically human. If not for the fact that she couldn’t understand human language and could only recognize commands based on syllables, Zuo Ning would have thought she was more human-like than he was.

Just as Zuo Ning was quietly watching Lang Ya’s digging performance, a faint scent of blood drifted through the air. He immediately stood up and sniffed the air to determine the source. Lang Ya seemed to catch the scent as well, instantly turning and sprinting in a certain direction.

Zuo Ning quickly followed. Detecting the scent of blood at home was a big deal—after all, in his twenty years of living as a human, he had never even encountered a burglar. If not for Lang Ya leading the way, he would have been too scared to go searching for the source of the scent alone.

Fu Na, who had been basking in the sun, also stood up. She didn’t rush over but seemed to relax slightly after seeing Lang Ya take action. However, she was clearly more alert than before.

As Zuo Ning chased after Lang Ya, he happened to glance back—and what he saw made him rethink everything. The level of vigilance these dogs had was far beyond what humans were capable of.

Weren’t animals not supposed to become spirits?

Since the estate was built on the mountainside, it took more than twenty minutes of winding mountain roads to drive up from the foot of the hill. Over the years, environmental protection efforts have allowed many small animals to thrive in the area. To prevent any creatures from sneaking into the courtyard, the estate was surrounded by dense fencing, with gaps so narrow that only kittens about one or two months old could squeeze through. For dogs as big as Lang Ya and Zuo Ning, the most they could do was stick their noses out.

Following the scent, the two dogs ran to the fence. Lang Ya paced back and forth along the perimeter, but since he couldn’t get out, he had no way of tracking the source of the smell any further. Unlike the times he spent playing indoors or hanging out with Lang Ya, Zuo Ning had never ventured to the outer edges of the estate before. Now, as he gazed at the dense forest beyond the fence and took in the increasingly strong scent of blood, an eerie chill ran down his spine.

Seeing no signs of anyone injured, Zuo Ning scratched at Lang Ya with his paw. “Let’s go back. There’s nothing strange here.”

But Lang Ya, driven by instinct, refused to leave. He continued circling the fence and then nudged Zuo Ning. “You go back first.”

Zuo Ning glanced around, debating whether to call the butler over to check things out when suddenly, the rustling of grass sounded from outside. Lang Ya, who had been patrolling with his tail lowered, immediately tensed up. His body stiffened, front legs slightly bent. He is poised in an attack stance.

As someone with a human soul, Zuo Ning lacked a dog’s natural instincts. Seeing Lang Ya’s aggressive posture startled him—at that size, he could easily take down a person in seconds. Worse still, while they could hear movement, they couldn’t see anything, which made Zuo Ning even more nervous. He instinctively shrank back.

Well, he wasn’t really a dog, so it wasn’t embarrassing to be less brave than one.

A moment later, from beneath a pile of fallen leaves, a small, furry head slowly emerged. It was a little white dog with pointed ears, crawling out hesitantly. Zuo Ning wasn’t knowledgeable about pet breeds, but from its size, he guessed it was either a small breed or just a puppy. Its once-white fur was now filthy, with patches of black and red—likely bloodstains. Sensing the presence of large dogs nearby, the little pup cowered in place, too afraid to move.

Lang Ya wanted to get closer, but the fence blocked him. He stretched out his paw as if trying to pull the little one over. “Come a bit closer. I can’t reach you.”

Zuo Ning, no longer feeling afraid, squeezed half his face through the fence and called out, “What’s wrong? Where did you come from? Are you hurt?”

Unfortunately, the little dog could only whimper in pain, unable to answer any of his questions.

Zuo Ning’s sharp eyes spotted patches of red staining the puppy’s fur—it was definitely injured. He quickly turned to Lang Ya. “I’ll go call someone. If we don’t help, this little guy might die.”

With that, Zuo Ning bolted back toward the house like a gust of wind.

The butler was in the kitchen tasting dishes. Whenever the chef introduced a new recipe, it had to be tested by the butler first before it could be added to the menu. Normally, Zuo Ning would have been drooling over the delicious aromas, but right now, he didn’t have time for that. He followed the butler’s scent straight to the kitchen, pawed at his pant leg, then turned to dash outside. “Woof woof!” Hurry up and come save a life—there’s a dog dying out there!

The butler, of course, had no idea what Zuo Ning was trying to say. He simply bent down to pat his head. “Be good, go play outside. The kitchen isn’t a place for you.” There were too many people bustling around. If this little troublemaker snatched something he wasn’t supposed to eat and got sick, it would be a huge hassle.

Zuo Ning was so anxious he nearly resorted to biting the butler’s pant leg. But he forced himself to stay patient, trying several more times to get his attention. Fortunately, the butler wasn’t slow-witted—he soon realized that Zuo Ning was trying to lead him somewhere. Setting down what he was doing, he curiously followed.

When they reached the fence, he saw Lang Ya there as well. Stepping closer, he finally noticed the tiny, barely-breathing puppy. The sight stunned him.

It was, after all, a little life.

Without hesitation, the butler ordered the security guards to go outside and retrieve the pup. At the same time, he contacted Dr. Wen Ting.

Lang Ya usually didn’t enter the main house. Seeing the butler carry the pitiful little pup inside, he returned to his post at the entrance to continue standing guard.

Zuo Ning, on the other hand, followed all the way inside. The little dog, whether due to low intelligence or extreme pain, only whimpered in distress, completely ignoring any questions he asked.

He had assumed that communication between dogs worked the same way as it did between humans. After all, he and Lang Ya could talk without any issues. But this little pup didn’t seem to understand at all. Maybe once it recovered and was no longer in pain, they’d be able to have a proper conversation.

Wen Ting arrived quickly. Since the butler had given him a heads-up about the situation, he came prepared with surgical tools. The estate’s medical equipment was fairly complete, so he decided to operate directly upstairs. The pup’s injuries were too severe—if they tried to transfer it to a hospital, it might not survive the journey.

The butler stopped Zuo Ning from following them inside. He picked him up and carried him out of the room. Noticing how he kept craning his neck to look in, the butler even cut half an apple to distract and comfort him. Zuo Ning had no choice but to resign himself to waiting on the sofa while the little pup underwent surgery.

By the time Wen Ting finally emerged, it was already late afternoon. However, he shook his head at the butler. “We couldn’t save it. The injuries were too severe.”

Zuo Ning froze.

Wen Ting continued, “We removed seventy-two steel pellets from its body. Three broken ribs. Not a single trace of food in its stomach—just steel pellets. Even worse, its entire esophagus was severely burned and its internal organs suffered major trauma.”

The butler noticed Zuo Ning staring blankly at Wen Ting. Without hesitation, he reached out and covered the pup’s ears. Regardless of whether he could understand or not, things like this shouldn’t be said in front of a dog. Nodding at Wen Ting, he said, “Thank you for your hard work. There are security cameras in this area—we’ll investigate and find out what happened.”

Wen Ting sighed. Some people just enjoyed tormenting small, defenseless animals. This world was full of individuals who looked normal on the outside but were twisted inside. No matter how much they advocated for kindness toward animals, there would always be monsters who found pleasure in cruelty.

Looking at the little dog curled up silently in the butler’s arms, Wen Ting reached out and gently stroked its head. “There are a lot of bad people out there. Make sure you don’t run off on your own, okay?”

This was the first time Zuo Ning had encountered something like this. He had seen similar stories on the news before, but this was the first time it had happened right in front of him.

Back then, when he still saw himself as human, he could brush it off as just another piece of news, something sad but distant. But now… Now that he had accepted his new life as a dog and had acknowledged these fellow canines as his own kind, seeing this kind of cruelty firsthand struck a much deeper chord within him.

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