Chapter 1

In the vast, open wilderness, although it was already past the harsh winter and into spring, the wind still blew cold through the bones. Apart from the clop of hooves, the riders were mostly unwilling to speak, and the horses were not moving fast, mostly just ambling along.

“Woof woof! Woof woof!”

In the desolate wilderness, a sudden burst of barking startled the riders. It wasn't fear, but the suddenness of the barking... There were no villages nearby. Moreover, since the war began, few people had enough to eat. If there were any stray dogs, they would have been hunted and eaten long ago, so how could they still be around now?

The person leading the group reined in his horse and turned to look at a person in the middle, who was completely wrapped up, including his head and face. The person raised a hand and gestured for him to go and check.

Before he could spur his horse to go, everyone saw two grayish-blue dots quickly approaching. When they stopped, they turned out to be two animals with dark green backs and slightly lighter bellies, with pointed ears that made them look like a cross between dogs and wolves. They had satchels made of some unknown material tied to their backs, which were bulging with contents. They stopped about five to six meters away from the group, barking at them warily.

“Form up!”

The riders quickly formed a formation, and the person protected in the middle raised a hand: “Wait!”

The voice turned out to be that of a woman. She pulled down the veil covering her head, revealing a beautiful face: “These are trained hunting dogs.”

The group was hesitant, and the person who had given the order to form up said: “General, we see that they are trained, but they look like wolves.”

The woman smiled slightly: “Although I have never seen this kind of dog before, I have trained a few hunting dogs. Besides the fact that they are carrying things and are not wild, just by looking at their eyes and expressions, these two dogs do not have any intention to attack. Instead, they seem to be trying to lead us somewhere.”

The group observed closely, and the dogs did not show any aggressive posture. Their eyes were not as intimidating as wolves, and they seemed to be pleading with the group. They barked a few times, ran a few steps back, and when the group did not move, they came back and continued barking, repeating the process.

Clearly, the group centered around the woman. Although they thought what she said made sense, for safety, they did not want to act rashly. However, the woman insisted on pushing through the group and riding towards the dogs.

Seeing someone approaching, the dogs continued running north, occasionally looking back. If the group stopped, they would bark a few times, as if urging them to follow. This made the woman quite curious, wondering what these intelligent dogs wanted to show her.

Following the dogs for nearly a mile, they could see a blue human-shaped object lying on the ground, with two more dogs with dark backs and yellow bellies, also with pointed ears, guarding it. Around them were scattered several bags made of unknown material, three large ones and two small ones. Not far away was a strange two-wheeled vehicle made of some kind of metal, with thin wheels.

“Woof woof!”

Seeing someone approaching, the two guard dogs barked a few times, running around the person who seemed to be their owner, wagging their tails frantically and barking urgently.

“Indeed, they are trained! What good dogs!”

The woman looked at the two dogs with affection. As she approached, the blue object turned out to be a person, wearing clothes and shoes made of unknown material and with a strange style, lying face down and motionless.

The dogs ran to the person, barking and circling around them, occasionally looking at the woman and her group, and licking the face of the person on the ground. The four dogs worked in an orderly manner, two on each side, pulling the person towards the woman and her group by their clothes.

The woman finally realized what was happening and clapped in amazement: “What excellent dogs! They must have come to get us to help their owner. Such intelligent dogs are rare. Ma Sanbao, go and check.”

“Yes.”

A man in his thirties, who was with the woman, stepped forward. He did not act rashly but first addressed the dogs: “I have no ill intentions. I just want to check on your owner. If I can help, I will.”

The dogs did not seem to understand, but they released the clothes they were holding and sat back, watching the man called Ma Sanbao. If he were to harm their owner, they would attack immediately. This cautious and composed posture made the woman even more amazed and fond of the dogs.

Ma Sanbao, who had accompanied the woman on hunts, knew that panicking and hesitating would only alarm the dogs. He calmed himself and walked steadily over to check. When he turned the person over, it was a young man, who, even with his eyes closed, looked young and handsome. His hair was very short, like a monk who hadn't shaved regularly, but he wasn't wearing monk's robes and had no signs of a tonsure. His skin was smooth and tender, showing no signs of long-term labor or archery skills, which was quite unusual. He checked the man's breathing and quickly reported:

“Princess, it's a young man, and he's still breathing. He has thin calluses on his right middle and index fingers, but the rest of his skin is fine and white, not like someone who works hard or is skilled in archery. His clothes and shoes are made of materials and styles I have never seen before, and his hair is very short and unusual. I don't know if he is a monk or a layman.”

The woman glanced at the unconscious young man: “Is there anything to identify him?”

Ma Sanbao felt the young man's pockets but found them empty. He scanned the area and noticed the scattered bags. After a brief inspection, he reported back: “Princess, the young man's clothes and the bags he carries are of a style I have never seen before. The openings are locked with intricate locks. Unless we cut the clothes and bags with a knife, we cannot open them.”

The woman pondered for a moment: “Since the intelligent dogs brought us here to help, it must be fate. We can slowly find out his identity. Let's take him back and have the physician examine him.”

“Yes.”

“Good dogs, we will take your owner back for treatment. Do not bite anyone, understand?”

The dogs barked once and did not move, watching as the group lifted the young man onto a horse. Then, they stood up and circled around the bags and the strange two-wheeled vehicle, barking. The group understood the dogs' meaning and found it amusing. Ma Sanbao chuckled: “Princess, look, these dogs even know how to protect their belongings.”

The woman was also amused: “In that case, let's take the things as well.”

Ma Sanbao went to pick up the bags, and the group helped to move them. The dogs sat and watched, not attacking. Once the group had gathered the items, the dogs ran to the horse carrying the young man, following along and occasionally looking at their owner, which made the group even more amazed and curious about the owner of these intelligent dogs...

What kind of person could have trained such intelligent and human-like dogs? What was their background?