The Married Alpha Who Refuses to Be a Heartthrob (A/B/O · Alpha POV) - Chapter 23

Looking out the window of this room, one could see the abandoned backyard. Wei had stood right here to paint The Dog of Life and Death.

Kaes examined the canvas. It wasn’t large—small enough to hold in one hand—and the paint hadn’t fully dried yet. Beyond that, there was nothing particularly remarkable about it. “When did you finish this?”

Wei: “No idea when that weirdo will come pick it up today. I stayed up till three last night to finish it. He didn’t specify the size, so I made it smaller to get it done.”

Kaes couldn’t detect anything unusual and handed the painting to Long Shi. Long Shi examined it and also deemed it an ordinary piece.

Long Shi placed the painting on an easel and asked Wei, “Did you notice anything strange while painting?”

Wei scratched his head. He’d barely made it through the night, finishing just in time. After a moment’s thought, he said, “When I finished, I saw a faint white glow where the dead dog lay. I thought it was mist, but I didn’t dare go closer. When I woke up the next day, the light was gone, so I buried the dog.“

”Let’s go check the backyard.” Long Shi headed outside.

By the time they reached the backyard, a crowd had already gathered. They’d heard about the dead dog in Wei’s backyard and were chattering away.

Kaes ordered the burial site dug up. Wei brought several shovels, and the attendants began digging through the soil.

People outside the fence pressed their faces against it, craning their necks to see.

“That dead dog was dumped in his yard? What rotten luck.”

“You bet. A few days ago, some lunatic was clutching that dog, grabbing people and begging if anyone could save it.”

“I’m so hungry. My bowl is filled with dead dog chunks. When will I get to eat?”

They dug up the soil, expecting a stench to rise, but found nothing inside.

Wei exclaimed in shock, “How could it vanish? I clearly buried it right here!”

Kaes pondered. This seemed utterly bizarre. “Keep digging. Dig deeper. Dig around it too.”

Perhaps the shaman had secretly moved the corpse.

Several people dug numerous holes in the backyard, yet found no trace of the dead dog’s body.

Wei suspected the witch doctor had hidden the corpse inside his house. Panicked, he searched every corner but found nothing.

When Kaes asked about the white mist-like light, Wei couldn’t explain it either. After all, he hadn’t gone to investigate. Plus, he’d only used candles from the yard to illuminate the corpse. Exhausted, he’d initially thought it was a sleep-induced hallucination.

They investigated the meals that had turned people on this street into dog carcasses, only to discover that even food prepared on other streets was transforming into dog remains. The phenomenon quickly spread throughout the entire city.

Kaes and his team arrived at the empty square, instructing those affected to dump the dog carcasses onto the ground.

Seeing so much dog meat, everyone feared their own pets had been killed. Yet when they returned home, their dogs were still alive.

The square reeked from the mountain of dog carcasses piled high. All the carcasses had white fur, and households with white dogs confirmed their pets were still alive.

Kaes had the carcasses pieced together, forming several rows of dead dogs. To their shock, every dead dog appeared to be the same one—the very dog Wei had painted.

Long Shi crouched down to examine the dead dog’s head closely. Even the bulging eyes were identical. “How could they all be the same dog? How did that sorcerer do it?!”

“He’s far more than just a sorcerer.” Kaes was still trying to make sense of it all. This enemy was hard to pin down. “He’s an SSS-rank sorcerer and necromancer. He can control any corpse or specter… I suspect this dead dog might also be controlled by a magic stone, just like the nun.”

Kaes had already given the nun’s soul magic stone to Vinsen. Even when the mad sorcerer demanded it, he refused.

“But we can’t enter the other dimension. We can’t find the magic stone, nor can we find that wizard.” Long Shi frowned. This time, the other dimension seemed even more concealed; they couldn’t locate the entrance at all.

“Finding the magic stone in the other dimension should be easier than finding the wizard,” Kaes stated his plan. “We’ll figure out how to locate that space. First, we need to address the civilians’ food situation.”

Now even restaurants couldn’t operate. Any cooked food turned into dog carcass chunks, though water and liquid foods remained safe. People could still drink water, wine, and eat rice gruel to survive.

Kaes and Long Shi arrived at the residential streets. Everyone was deeply distressed. Some, starving, resorted to eating raw vegetables, only to have them turn into dog carcass chunks in their mouths.

The carcass pieces were poisonous—people died instantly from a single bite.

posted notices and sent men door-to-door warning against eating raw food or dog meat.

Before long, dinner time arrived. As at noon, cooked food was inedible, raw food was off-limits, and they resorted to liquid meals again.

Kaes realized Lanqi had been cursed by the sorcerer. Long Shi suggested they venture outside the city to see if they could cook food. The two men, accompanied by several attendants and a cook, went beyond the city walls. Yet the food they cooked still turned into dog carcass chunks.

Not only was the city cursed, but anyone who had ever stayed within its walls was cursed too. No matter where they went, they couldn’t eat normally.

…

Abe hid in his room, having eaten nothing all day. He lay on his bed, still dazed and pretending to be dead. Thinking of Keith returning tonight, it felt like his life was over.

A maid entered carrying a bowl of thin porridge: “Young Master, please drink this porridge. The entire city is cursed by that wicked wizard. If the governor doesn’t deal with him, none of us will be able to eat.”

The maid approached the bedside. Abe remained lying down, only turning his eyes to look at her.

The maid bent down to coax him: “Young Master, the cook tried several times to get this right. If it’s too thick, it turns into poisoned dog meat. Please get up and eat.”

“I won’t eat.” Abe suddenly sat up and swung his arm, sending the ceramic bowl crashing to the floor.

The bowl shattered, porridge spilling everywhere. The cracking sound seemed to trigger Abe’s pent-up emotions. He screamed, “Let that witch doctor poison me! I don’t want to live anymore! Ah!”

“Young master, don’t say such things! I’ll fetch a broom and rag.” The maid hurried out of the room.

Abe truly felt utterly despondent. He thought he might as well die by eating dog meat—one bite would kill him, and it wouldn’t be too painful.

After the maid left, Abe slipped out of the governor’s mansion alone. The atmosphere on the streets today was unusually gloomy, likely because everyone was going hungry.

Some clever folks tried to exploit loopholes by eating raw meat, only to find it turned into dog meat in their mouths. Many died that way.

Arriving at the square, Abe stared in shock at the piles of corpses on the ground. So many dead dogs, all identical in appearance.

Now, people could only survive by drinking water and eating thin porridge. Kaes and Long Shi were still investigating everywhere, searching for solutions.

He had considered ending his life by eating dog meat, but upon reaching the square, hesitation gripped him. He saw many others struggling on the streets—he wasn’t the only one burdened by troubles.

Perhaps he should let go of his despair, return to living alone, and use his healing magic to save others while earning his keep.

“Abe.” A cool, masculine voice sounded behind him. “I’ve been searching everywhere for you.”

Abe turned to see Erlan accompanied by several mage attendants. He bowed respectfully: “What might the Inspector require of me?”

Erlan appraised the Omega, who stood slightly shorter than him. He could still detect that milky scent, mingled with the fresh grassy aroma of cultivation. His loathing for Omegas only deepened.

Disgusting Omega.

“Nothing much. Just wanted to have a talk.” Erlan’s face remained icy as he closed in on Abe. The Alpha’s innate presence forced Abe to step back involuntarily.

“A talk?” Abe stammered. “What happened with Shu was truly an accident. I’m sorry, Inspector.”

Erlan wasn’t one to be dismissed with mere words. His voice was like a demon’s whisper, his eyes glinting with a bewildering light as his crimson lips parted: “Abe, obey my command.”

In that instant, Abe froze as if under a spell, his body rigid, his eyes vacant.

“Go eat the dog meat.” Erlan’s beautiful red lips uttered venomous words, his low, soft voice lulling one into drowsiness.

Abe’s power was a full tier below Erlan’s—a significant gap. Combined with Erlan’s proximity, Abe was swiftly subdued. He crouched down, clutching a piece of dog meat, and began to gnaw at it. After just a few bites, he collapsed, convulsing until death.

The square reeked of rotting corpses. After the initial crowd of onlookers dispersed, patrols no longer came here. With poisoned dogs lying about, theft was impossible, and Kaes hadn’t assigned guards. Only Erlan and his entourage remained.

Erlan regarded Abe’s lifeless form, his expression as cold as ever. He boarded his carriage and returned to the manor.

……

The dead dog incident remained unresolved when Kaes received word of Abe’s death.

One crisis followed another.

Arriving at the scene, he saw Abe’s corpse lying among the dead dogs. His eyes were open, frozen in the act of shoving dog meat into his mouth, his face turned ashen.

Kaes couldn’t fathom why Abe would take his own life. To everyone else, it looked like he’d committed suicide by eating dog meat.

He sent Abe’s body to the church, where it would undergo a series of rituals before being transported back for burial.

By the time these matters were settled, night had fallen. Kaes waited at the harbor ahead of schedule for the ship carrying Keith and the others.