Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

By the time Gou An returned to the village, it was already dawn.

The atmosphere in the village was unusually strange today, with villagers gathered in front of every household, whispering and discussing amongst themselves.

Their tone was one of fear and regret, and all the topics revolved around He Dazhuang's family.

Gou An's heart tightened, and with a few leaps, he rushed to the earthen slope outside the He family's courtyard wall.

A strong, pungent smell of blood wafted in on the wind, and the courtyard was already crowded with villagers who had come to watch the spectacle.

He stood on the high ground and looked down into the courtyard. His pupils suddenly contracted, and he was filled with shock.

The He family father and daughter both lay on the cold, muddy ground, their faces ashen, each with a fatal wound to their chest, and large patches of dried, blackened blood beneath them, their bodies almost completely drained of blood.

"How did it turn out like this?"

Gou An stared wide-eyed, his heart filled with disbelief.

I happened to be away from the village last night, and in just one night, the father and daughter were brutally murdered.

Could it be that the self-destructing mother insect had other clones hidden inside?

Or is there some other evil spirit lurking nearby causing trouble?

Countless guesses swirled in Gou An's mind, making it impossible for him to determine the true identity of the culprit.

At that moment, the sound of villagers talking in the courtyard reached his ears clearly.

"Where's the complete bear pelt that Da Zhuang hunted back yesterday?"

"Look, the tables, chairs, and chests inside the house are all ransacked. It's probably because some bandits broke in during the night to rob and kill you."

"It's truly a cruel twist of fate. Just when Dazhuang's family was starting to see some improvement, they were struck by this calamity."

Gou An's ears twitched slightly, and he instantly made a judgment.

If it were the mother insect, it would only covet the flesh and blood of living people and would not deliberately take away the bear skin, much less rummage through valuables.

The perpetrator must be human.

While there is a possibility of bandits robbing people, how could bandits so precisely target a family that has just hunted a valuable bear pelt and then strike on the very night they have their prey?

This is too much of a coincidence to be the work of an outsider; the culprit must be hiding within the village.

Gou An still clearly remembered the unique fishy smell of the bear skin. He immediately raised his head, his nostrils flaring, and followed the faint scent to search for the bear skin.

The scent of fur in the air had faded considerably. After tracing the source, Gou An concluded that the bear skin had already been taken out of the village.

He followed the lingering scent, the trail leading along country roads to a nearby town.

It seems the murderer planned to bring the bear into a shop in the city to sell for money.

Without further delay, Gou An quickened his pace and pursued the enemy along the road.

As he reached the town entrance and was about to stop to discern the direction of the scents in the streets and alleys, a figure strode out from inside the city gate.

He was a man around thirty years old with a small mustache, walking hurriedly, his brows revealing an unconcealable panic.

Gou An recognized the man at a glance and immediately became suspicious.

The other party is from the same village as He Dazhuang, and he was among the crowd watching the bear skin yesterday evening.

He stayed in the village last night, but as soon as it was dawn, he went in and out of the town alone, and something seemed off.

Gou An suppressed his presence and silently followed behind.

The man with the small mustache seemed to sense movement behind him and instinctively turned around. He was startled by the yellow shadow in the shadows.

After realizing it was just He Dazhuang's big yellow dog, his face became even more flustered, and he unconsciously quickened his pace.

How could human feet outrun the limbs of a monster?

In a short while, Gou An caught up with him and walked alongside him.

The bearded man stopped, and Gou An stopped as well.

He strode forward, and Gou An followed closely behind, never leaving his side.

This constant following left Little Mustache completely bewildered.

After observing for a moment and seeing that the big yellow dog did not show any ferocity, the little mustache became a little bolder, bent down and raised his hand, wanting to reach out and stroke the dog's head to show goodwill.

Gou An did not dodge, but instead brought his head closer, looking like a docile and obedient dog, but in reality, his nostrils twitched slightly as he carefully sniffed the scent on his body.

The bearded man was completely oblivious to this, muttering to himself, a wicked thought already forming in his mind: "It's a strong and healthy dog. If I sell it to a dog meat shop in the city, I can definitely get a lot of copper coins."

But in that short time, Gou An had already figured it out.

—The man's clothes were covered with the distinctive fishy smell of bear skin.

If someone just casually touched it yesterday while watching, there would only be a faint smell on their fingertips; it would never have soaked into the fabric.

Only by carrying a bear skin all night long could one leave behind such a strong smell.

The truth is now clear: the man before us is the real culprit who murdered the He family father and daughter and stole the bear skin.

"Come on, Big Yellow, come with me into town, I'll buy you some meat buns."

The bearded man smiled and reached out his hand, intending to lure Gou An back into the city with him.

Gou An stood still, motionless.

Perhaps the bearded man had killed someone last night and felt guilty, which is why he deliberately took the secluded path back to the village.

The country lane was deserted, with no one else in sight.

Only one person and one dog remained, staring at each other.

Seeing that Big Yellow remained unmoved, Little Mustache had no choice but to take out half a piece of dried meat from his pocket and offer it to Gou An: "Want to have a couple of bites?"

Gou An remained motionless, showing no intention of paying any attention.

The man with the small mustache frowned, looking troubled.

This yellow dog is quite large, and if I were to try to capture it by force, I might not be able to subdue it and could easily get bitten, which would be a losing proposition.

After weighing the options, he decided to abandon the idea of ​​selling the dog and turned to leave.

But as soon as he turned around, a clear voice rang out behind him: "Did I say you could leave?"

The little mustache shuddered and suddenly turned around to look. The roadside was empty, without a single person in sight.

"Who? Who's speaking?"

He looked around frantically, his expression one of panic.

"Of course it's your grandpa Gou An," Gou An said again.

Upon realizing the voice came from the big yellow dog in front of him, Little Mustache's eyes widened in shock, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

What followed was even more horrifying.

Gou An lifted his forelimbs off the ground, stood up steadily, and his body rapidly expanded and stretched, instantly transforming into a strange appearance with a dog's head and a human body.

"Demon... demon..." The little mustache was so frightened that he couldn't speak clearly. His legs went weak, and he could only stagger backward.

"You know a bit of rap, that's all you're good for!" Gou An reached out and grabbed the bearded man's shoulder, his sharp claws piercing his skin and firmly controlling him.

"Grandpa Demon, spare me! Please don't kill me, I'm sick, my meat doesn't taste good..." The little mustache collapsed to the ground, crying and begging for mercy.

But Gou An wouldn't listen to a single word of pleading and dragged him straight into the deep, dense forest by the roadside.