Even my breath is a burden to me now. The faint strength I gained from the sand-covered piece of bread has now run out. I dragged my lifeless legs along the streets of Shan'ezhou. My eyes could only half-open. In an unexpected moment, I collided heavily with a person coming from the front. My filthy, ragged clothes stained his clean attire.
"Why are you bumping into me like a madwoman? Can't you see where you're going?" he shouted loudly.
At his shouting, people nearby gathered. In their eyes, there was only hatred and disgust. "Please... forgive me. I can't see clearly..." I knelt and prostrated myself. I cannot endure even one more blow. Yet, one man kicked me inhumanely. Using the last bit of strength I found from somewhere, I fled.
"Catch her!" they began to chase after me. Screaming in terror, I ran toward a dark intersection. Out of sheer fear, I tripped and fell in the middle of the road, and a large dog nearby, startled, bit my shoulder hard.
"Ah...!" My death-cry echoed through the deserted road. Although the animal let go and fled, my entire body was soaked in blood. I lay on the ground, mixed with mud and blood, mortally wounded. The sound of human footsteps drew closer and closer. If I am caught like this, they will kill me.
'I cannot die... I still have to look after Chenxi!'
I awakened the final spark of strength within my chest. I could hear my own bones snapping. The pain I felt as my body distorted was unbearable. In a few seconds, I was no longer the wretched woman lying in the mud, but had transformed into a wounded black dog.
When the people ran up, they saw only a mortally wounded dog. "Where is that girl? There's only a dog here!" They ran past me. I wept through the eyes of a dog, yet with a human soul. After a while, I heard soft footsteps.
"Oh... poor thing... what has happened to this animal?"
I struggled to lift my head. Standing before me was my precious sister, Chenxi! She was looking at me with fear and compassion. She does not know that it is her own sister lying here. The moment her hands touched my fur, the power of her pure soul acted as a healing balm for my wounds.
"Poor innocent... I will take you to our home," she whispered.
That night, in the form of a dog, I entered her home. Mother (Fengyi) looked at this visitor from her bed. "Daughter, who is this animal?"
Night fell. Once Chenxi had fallen into a deep sleep, I slowly returned to my true form. Mother gasped. Even after all this time, my mother was able to recognize me. "My... my eldest daughter, Yeyue!" Mother hugged me tightly and began to weep, seeing the unhealed scars upon my body. "Forgive me, daughter... forgive me for the suffering you had to endure because of me."
"Mother, don't cry. I have come now. I will look after sister and you."
Suddenly, Chenxi woke up at the sound of Mother's weeping. "Mother? Who are you talking to?" I immediately took the form of the black dog again. When Chenxi entered the room, she saw Mother stroking the dog's head.
"Who were you talking to, Mother?" she asked in surprise. "I... I was talking to this dog, daughter. It seems he understands what I say," Mother said, wiping away her tears and telling a lie.
Chenxi smiled and went back to sleep. I looked at Mother from the darkness. Now there is a secret in this house. A secret known only to Mother and me.