Don't You like Little Dogs? Now that I'm Taking Liberties, You're Suddenly Reluctant? - Chapter 1

“Be a good boy, puppy. Crawl over here on your own.”

A low chuckle echoed through the cavernous, empty warehouse.

The scent of rust and decaying filth permeated the frigid concrete floor. A small, thin figure struggled to move amidst the stiff, severed limbs scattered across the ground. Every breath he took released a plume of icy white mist.

His filth-stained fingers clawed at the ground. Using the very last of his strength, he crawled toward the pair of polished leather shoes standing motionless before him.

“Good boy.”

The newcomer seemed satisfied with his reaction. He slowly crouched down, gripping the boy’s chin to force it upward, and spoke with a low laugh. “Call me Master, and I will take you away from here.”

“Master.” The scrawny boy did not hesitate. His hands remained pressed to the floor as he used every ounce of strength to lift his head and look the man in the eyes.

His beautiful face was covered in dust and bloodstains, making it clear at a glance that he had been brutally abused.

Jiang Si let out an incredibly delighted laugh. His fingers slowly stroked a patch of the boy’s skin that was still relatively clean. His deep voice fell like a shadow. “Just like a puppy. What is your name?”

“I do not have a name,” the boy whimpered softly, trembling as he used the clean side of his cheek to nuzzle against Jiang Si’s hand.

Jiang Si narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling slightly. “From today on, your name is Pei Ye.”

Pei Ye. To stay by one’s side through the night.

Upon hearing the name, the boy nodded immediately. Like a puppy, he buried his head into Jiang Si’s palm, rubbing against it gently.

“Dirty. You will need a bath when we get back,” Jiang Si said calmly, watching him.

Suddenly, the rustle of fabric and a pained groan came from behind them. Pei Ye spun around abruptly.

A man covered in congealed blood actually managed to stagger up from the pile of corpses. His eyes were cloudy and manic, fixed deathly on the boy within reach. “Do not dare leave.”

Pei Ye shook with terror. With a final burst of strength, he lunged forward, his filthy small hands tightly clutching the hem of Jiang Si’s trousers.

He tilted his deathly pale face upward, his voice shattered and filled with extreme fear and desperation. “Master, save me.”

Jiang Si looked down at him, his lips slowly curving into an expression of profound pleasure. He did not even look at the man struggling to pounce. He simply gave a light, airy laugh. “What a piece of trash. He is not dead yet?”

As the laugh fell, he casually raised the gun in his hand.

The roar exploded in the empty warehouse. The head of the man who had just stood up snapped back as a cloud of blood mist erupted. He crashed heavily back into the pile of bodies, silenced forever.

The aftershock of the gunshot buzzed against the cold warehouse walls, and the smell of blood suddenly grew thick enough to suffocate.

Pei Ye curled up at Jiang Si’s feet, his small body convulsing violently from the close-range blast. The warm liquid that splashed onto him made him snap his eyes shut, a whimper like that of a young animal escaping his throat.

Jiang Si leisurely blew away a thin trail of blue smoke from the muzzle, his eyes lowered to admire the sight of the child at his feet, terrified to the absolute limit.

“So obedient.”

The delight in his eyes was almost overflowing. A strange rush of pleasure surged through his heart.

He slowly leaned down and used the ice-cold barrel of the gun to gently pat Pei Ye’s bloodless cheek. It was a gesture of intimacy that was bone-chilling.

“Puppy, are you coming with me?” His voice was low and smiling, like the flickering tongue of a venomous snake.

“I will go as long as Master does not throw me away.” Pei Ye trembled as he gripped the man’s sleeve in a death grip, as if he had finally caught a lifeline and refused to let go.

Jiang Si’s pleasure intensified. He picked the boy up with one arm, gently stroking the lowered head in his embrace. His deep laughter fell. “What do you call me?”

“Master.” The tiny body in his arms shook uncontrollably, yet he gripped the man’s collar even tighter.

“Very good.”

Jiang Si seemed extremely satisfied with this answer, as well as the uncontrollable fear and dependence radiating from the small body in his arms. He laughed low, the vibrations of his chest clearly reaching Pei Ye.

Carrying the boy with one arm as if he were a newly acquired, interesting toy, he turned and stepped unceremoniously over the wreckage and the warm, viscous blood, walking toward the warehouse door.

In Jiang Si’s arms, Pei Ye felt an unfamiliar warmth, yet he felt unexpectedly safe.

Four hours ago, he had been kidnapped by human traffickers and subjected to a savage beating.

He could not remember much else. He only remembered being thrown brutally onto the cold concrete, the kidnappers’ hideous curses and heavy blows falling like rain.

His ribs had likely snapped halfway through. Every breath brought a sharp, stabbing pain, and his mouth was filled with the salty tang of blood.

His vision was a blur of agony and tears, leaving him able to see only the approaching shadows intended to give him his final lesson.

The cold touch of death had already gripped his throat. He did not even have the strength to cry out.

Just as his consciousness was about to sink completely into darkness, the massive iron doors of the warehouse shattered with an ear-splitting boom, sending wood and metal shards flying.

Then came the rapid, heart-stopping cracks of gunfire, exploding like firecrackers and instantly drowning out the cursing and wailing.

Shadows ran frantically in the chaos and collapsed. Warm liquid kept splashing onto his face.

Amidst the cacophony of screams and slaughter, he looked through his hazy, tearful eyes to see a man in a long black trench coat, walking through the wreckage and the spreading pools of blood as if strolling through a garden.

The gun in the man’s hand was still smoking. His gaze swept coldly over this living hell as if looking at a pile of useless trash.

“There is still a living one,” he said suddenly.

“Such a little thing. Like a puppy.”

His gaze seemed to land inadvertently on the curled-up, dying figure on the floor, pausing for the briefest of moments.

The cold, damp air was gradually left behind as the chilly but fresh night wind brushed against their faces outside. Moonlight spilled over the silent ruins.

Jiang Si suddenly stopped. He lowered his head slightly to look at the little thing in his arms, who was still shivering and burying his face in the crook of his neck.

“Remember this,” he said coldly.

Pei Ye trembled as he looked up.

The man’s icy voice was exceptionally clear in the night, carrying an undeniable weight. “The man who gave you a name and a path to live is named Jiang Si.”

“Jiang as in river, Si as in the waters of the banks. I am your Master.”