Chapter 132: Sentinel
Chen Wengang slept until morning, only to wake up and find the space beside him completely empty—both the person and the dog were gone.
He rubbed his eyes and went downstairs, finding Huo Niangsheng sitting on a low shoe-changing stool next to the food bowl. With his hands resting on his knees, Huo Niangsheng was focused intently on watching Halley bury its head in the bowl, eating away. Seeing how absorbed he was, Chen Wengang let out a soft breath and walked over, crouching down beside him to watch as well.
Huo Niangsheng offered a smiling “Morning.”
Chen Wengang’s legs grew sore from crouching, so he took the opportunity to sit down on the carpet, resting his head on Huo Niangsheng’s knee.
Huo Niangsheng let him use his calf as a backrest, ruffled his hair, and Chen Wengang covered his mouth to stifle a yawn.
Halley stopped in its tracks, looking up curiously to see what he was doing. Chen Wengang laughed, murmuring, “You want to see everything, don’t you?” Huo Niangsheng chuckled, scratched the dog’s head, and Halley lowered its head again, eating until the bowl was licked completely clean under their dual gaze.
Xiao Ping was still dutifully acting as an informant.
Mr. Chen used a brush to groom Halley, brushing away piles of loose fur from head to tail; Mr. Chen specifically woke up two hours early and played frisbee with the dog in the garden after eating; Mr. Chen went to the kitchen—it seemed he wanted to cook for Halley himself, and though he burned the pot, the result turned out okay, and Halley licked the bowl clean anyway… Mr. Chen did this, Mr. Chen did that…
The girl was incredibly clever; she managed to earn quite a few red envelopes from her employer just by sharing these updates.
Pet therapy was no longer a novel subject, and during follow-up visits, the doctor expressed a positive attitude toward it. The doctor produced a stack of academic evidence, noting that scientific research showed a significant drop in blood pressure when someone petted an animal. Feeding a pet also increases a person’s sense of value, diluting those thoughts of being worthless or wanting to disappear… Even without the doctor’s explanation, it was plain to see: Chen Wengang had developed a high level of dependency on his dog. They were stuck together for meals and sleep, unwilling to let go.
He was still taking antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication, and the glass shield still isolated him from the outside world. Though he couldn’t break it to walk out, when Halley curled its paws and lay on his chest, when it rested its head on his knees, or when it nudged its snout into his hand to beg for treats, it seemed he was finally catching hold of, and touching, something real amidst the long, tedious monotony of his daily life.
Halley knew nothing of this; it never considered its significance to its owner.
It simply loved being near Chen Wengang, gnawing on its favorite chew toys, genuinely and unreservedly needing him.
If Chen Wengang didn’t feed it, it would go hungry. If Chen Wengang didn’t play with it, it would be bored.
No matter which room Chen Wengang hid in, Halley would always sniff him out within two hours at most. It would wag its tail, demanding touches and hugs. If Chen Wengang stayed up late, Halley would lie beside him, yawning and fighting to keep its eyes open.
It needed him, and he needed it. Which side needed the other more didn’t matter; what mattered was that they had become a symbiont.
Large breeds like German Shepherds require significant daily exercise. As Halley grew, it had more energy that needed to be burned off. It was often torn between Chen Wengang’s embrace and frolicking outdoors, and it learned to express this dilemma by grabbing its leash and urgently shoving it into his hands. It always ended with Chen Wengang compromising, taking its toys and going outside to keep it company. The villa was large enough that the entire courtyard became its playground. It could run wild, roll in the holly hedges, or jump into the fountain to swim.
But even that wasn’t enough; it was always pining for Huo Niangsheng to visit. When Huo Niangsheng came, he would take it to the back hills to play frisbee.
That area was much larger, spreading across the mountains; after a full day there, it could tire itself out to the point of collapse.
Yet no matter where they were, a single whistle from Chen Wengang would send it scurrying back to appear before him.
The puppy grew incredibly fast. In just two months, Halley’s size saw a leap in progress.
Its pointed ears slowly stood up, looking somewhere between a puppy and a full-grown dog. It possessed a majestic outline, though it hadn’t yet mastered how to look fierce. Its temperament remained gentle; it allowed itself to be petted and held, never baring its teeth or barking at anyone without cause.
In the sweltering heat of July, before the summer sun had fully faded, Huo Niangsheng led it to the mountain stream to play in the water.
Chen Wengang followed behind, walking unsteadily along the mountain path.
Halley went wild with joy at the sight of water, splashing into the stream until the water reached its belly, swimming vigorously back and forth.
Chen Wengang sat on a rock, taking off his shoes and socks to soak his feet. The water was icy and refreshing, soothing his spirit.
At that moment, he had no idea what the man sitting beside him was planning. Huo Niangsheng picked a few dog-tail grasses and braided a ring, sliding it onto Chen Wengang’s little finger. Chen Wengang removed it casually, only to hear him suggest sending Halley away for more professional training.
Huo Niangsheng’s goal was clear; from the very beginning, he had intended to cultivate it into a guard dog.
Chen Wengang’s first reaction was reluctance. He realized that sending it away meant a separation of a year or more.
Huo Niangsheng looked at him. Chen Wengang pressed his lips together and stared back for a long time, looking as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t. In truth, his mind was a blank slate for a long time. He couldn’t find a reason to oppose it—Halley was brought back by Huo Niangsheng, and it was his idea to keep it in the first place.
Subconsciously, Chen Wengang had always defaulted to the idea that Huo Niangsheng was Halley’s “real” owner. So, whatever he said, went.
Huo Niangsheng seemed to read his thoughts. He wasn’t overly forceful, but he eventually persuaded Chen Wengang by explaining that working dogs had an instinctual need for work and value to realize—Halley might not necessarily be happy living a life that was just about playing with toys.
Chen Wengang nodded in agreement, and a date was soon set.
He stood at the door as Huo Niangsheng took Halley away.
The sudden emptiness beside him left Chen Wengang feeling disoriented; he lost his appetite and his focus. Fortunately, two months later, there was a turn of events—a jeep drove into the courtyard. The man who stepped out was a middle-aged man with dark, tanned skin, sturdy muscles, and powerful arms marked with a few light pink scars. He had a slight regional accent and introduced himself as a retired military dog trainer.
He opened the trunk, and Halley bolted out, wagging its tail enthusiastically as it lunged at Chen Wengang by the door.
To help Halley get along with others, it had stayed at the training base for two months. Once they had bonded well enough, Huo Niangsheng paid a high price to hire the trainer to return with it. The trainer lived in the villa for a year, using the back hills as a training ground.
He directed workers to put up wire fencing on the back hills and set up obstacle courses and bridges.
While everyone was busy, Chen Wengang would go to the scene to watch.
As the trainer hammered in nails, he would tell stories about his life in the military. He had trained many military dogs; they were like his children and his students. A German Shepherd had retired the same year as him, and after filing several reports to his superiors, he had finally been granted permission to take it home.
They had truly enjoyed a few happy years—the man was satisfied, and the dog was satisfied. Sadly, it had passed away from old age last year.
It was a slightly melancholic story, but with no deep regrets.
Halley loved class. It was highly excitable, physically capable, and had no trouble climbing or jumping.
Chen Wengang had nothing to do every day, so he acted like a parent, watching the training from the sidelines without missing a single lesson.
Huo Niangsheng seemed to have discovered a new interest. While he wasn’t always free to attend every day, he was deeply involved in the training process. Whenever the trainer needed an assistant, he cooperated perfectly. The two men actually hit it off quite well.
Crawling forward and jumping over high walls—Halley mastered these quickly. Its only weakness was a fear of fire.
When they practiced crossing fire barriers, the trainer lit a hoop of fire. Halley would run in circles, refusing to jump no matter how much they encouraged it.
Eventually, even Chen Wengang was called over to stand on the other side. He couldn’t bear to see it struggle: “Forget it, forget it. Let’s not learn this.”
Unexpectedly, upon hearing his voice, Halley shook its head, ruffled its fur, and at Huo Niangsheng’s sudden shout of “Go!”, it took off running. It ran faster and faster, stretching out its body, launching into the air, leaping through the licking flames of the hoop toward Chen Wengang.
It leaned its head against his thigh, rubbing against him, and Chen Wengang’s eyes turned red as he embraced it.
The rest of the day’s lessons were abandoned. Huo Niangsheng simply said that was enough for today, and the trainer, experienced as he was, didn’t find anything strange about it. He packed up quickly, not forgetting to praise Halley for its progress before he left.
Chen Wengang patted Huo Niangsheng twice, staining his clothes with tears.
In the end, he couldn’t say why he was weeping. He felt deeply exhausted and hollow inside, but there was also something heavy pressing down on him, leaving him breathless, something that needed to be washed away, something that had to be let out.
Huo Niangsheng just held him, as if he understood: “Cry, just cry.”
Halley stood nearby for a while, looking up at them. Then, it lay down one leg at a time, resting its body across Chen Wengang’s feet and sniffing his pant leg.
In subsequent training, Halley learned to attack and fight. This was the first time its ferocity was unreservedly revealed.
Chen Wengang recorded a video that later circulated widely among the villa’s staff, with everyone marveling at it—in the footage, Huo Niangsheng had changed into camouflage gear and led Halley onto the field. The trainer, wearing protective gear, cracked a whip in provocation. The dog lost its harmless facade, baring sharp fangs and letting out a threatening growl. Huo Niangsheng patted it, leaned down, and shouted “Attack!” It shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, sinking its teeth into the trainer’s padded arm.
The trainer struggled to swing his arm and made a show of fighting back, but Halley held on tightly, refusing to let go until he pinned the man to the ground.
When class ended, the trainer was panting and soaked in sweat. He didn’t mind, simply taking off the protective gear and waving for the camera to come closer. He proudly showed off his arm to the camera; even with the protective padding, the skin underneath was bruised and bloodied.
Faced with the trainer now without his protective gear, Halley became friendly again, wagging its tail excitedly.
The trainer laughed heartily, pulling snacks from his pocket to feed it.
He continued to chat animatedly, telling Huo Niangsheng about his past life in the military, mentioning that even now, old comrades still called to ask for dog-training tips. His eyes were full of nostalgia, saying that one really shouldn’t leave the training field—if you idle away for two or three months, you get rusty immediately.
When the one-year training period ended, Halley wagged its tail at the villa gate to say goodbye to him.
It was truly a formidable, imposing dog now—obedient and disciplined, like a guard always ready to defend something.
