The cave was pitch black. Li Dai inched her way deeper inside until there was no light left at all. The only passage sloped downward, growing steeper and more damp, forcing her to crawl forward like a tortoise.
Even so, this body was far too frail and small.
She did not know how long she had been crawling through the damp, muddy tunnel, growing both exhausted and starved.
Ahead, there was light!
Overjoyed, Li Dai felt happiness arrive far too suddenly. She misstepped, lost her balance entirely, let out a cry of "Ah," and tumbled down the tunnel.
Her head banged against something, and the pain caused her to pass out.
After rolling for who knows how long, she heard a splash and plunged into freezing water.
Finding it hard to even breathe, she was forced awake! Only then did she realize she was in the water.
She never expected that the end of the cave beneath the rockery at the Li Estate would lead to an underground river. This must have been the passage connecting to the outside.
Li Dai floundered in the water for a good while before finally breaking the surface.
She choked violently on a mouthful of water.
Fortunately, she had known how to swim in her modern life, or she likely would have drowned.
Ignoring the bone-chilling cold and her gnawing hunger, Li Dai swam hard toward the outside.
By the time she made it out and collapsed onto the riverbank to catch her breath, she was so exhausted she felt like she was dying.
At least she had made it through.
Otherwise, perishing before even leaving the starting gate would hardly be amusing.
"Wuwu..."
A weak sound came from not far away. Startled, Li Dai jerked her head up to see a dying Little Milk Dog sprawled among the overgrown weeds by the riverbank. Its fur was pure white, but blood kept welling up from its body, showing it had been heavily injured.
Those eyes looked at her pitifully.
Human and dog stared at each other in silence for a long while.
For some reason, the phrase "bound by a shared misfortune" popped into Li Dai's mind.
Without looking, she knew her own wretched state right now was probably no better than the Little Milk Dog's.
After watching it for a moment, the reason it looked so familiar finally dawned on her.
It looked so much like Wangcai, the dog she used to raise in her modern life!
A deep wave of homesickness surged into her heart.
With her gone, how was Wangcai doing? How was her mom? Unable to find her, would her mom be heartbroken?
She deliberately forced herself not to think about these things.
Just thinking about them made her feel like she was going crazy.
She had lost Wangcai, but heaven had compensated her with another one, which wasn't too bad.
At least she could quench her thirst with this temporary solace.
Thinking of this, Li Dai could not help offering the Little Milk Dog a friendly smile.
Yet she had no idea how much she looked like a creepy auntie trying to lure away a child.
Sure enough, a flash of wariness and alertness crossed the Little Milk Dog's eyes, instinctively sensing that this human had malicious intentions.
Unaware of the Little Milk Dog's expression, Li Dai slowly climbed to her feet. Ignoring her drenched clothes, she walked over to the Little Milk Dog and scooped it up in her arms.
"Poor little thing, come with Big Sister from now on! I guarantee you'll have meat every day!"
"Wuwu wuwu..." I don't even like meat! Don't try to tempt me! Let me go!
"So excited? I knew we shared the same tastes." Li Dai stroked its fluffy head, marveling at how nice it felt.
The Little Milk Dog: "..."
"You're so cute, how about I give you a name?" She rare felt in the mood to tease.
"Wuwu wuwu..." No! I have a name! And it's super fierce and majestic!
"Wangcai! How about Wangcai?" Completely oblivious to the Little Milk Dog's protests, Li Dai said excitedly.
From now on in this world, she would have Wangcai to keep her company!
"Wuwu wuwu... Wangcai? What kind of ghost name is that? Isn't that what you call a puppy?! Despicable! Too despicable! To think that I, a majestic Holy Beast, am being given a dog's name!"
Death before dishonor.
"Don't move! I knew you'd be happy with Wangcai, hehe!"
"Wuwu..." I'm not happy! Not at all!
Although it had been badly injured and reverted to its infancy, all its memories remained intact. How could it be mentioned in the same breath as a dog?
This was too much bullying for a beast!
Unaware of the Little Milk Dog's gloom, Li Dai's spirits soared now that she had Wangcai.
This was a small grove not far from the underground river. It was nearly dark, and the temperature had dropped significantly. Her clothes were still wet, and as the wind blew, she shivered violently from the cold.
Deciding to make the best of it, Li Dai found a spot to start a fire, dried her clothes, and took out a dry flatbread that had gone soggy from the water to munch on.
Now, she was extremely hungry, and lacking any strength to fight, she had no ability to hunt game or the like. She simply had to make do with the food in her pack.
Suddenly, a burning gaze locked onto her.
She looked up to see the Little Milk Dog staring at her pitifully, its eyes filled with naked longing.
"Want some?"
"Wuwu wuwu..." Yes!
"Come here, lick my finger and I'll give you some!"
In the past, she loved playing this kind of game with her own Wangcai.
"Wuwu wuwu... Lick your finger? You've got to be kidding me. A majestic Holy Beast like me would never do something so degrading!"
It turned its head away, ignoring this bad person!
"Yo, angry?" Li Dai found it somewhat amusing when she saw it turning its backside toward her.