©WebNovelPub
Holding On to My Man-Chapter 53
Translator: Callis
Editors: Cat, Evan
"Woof, woof……"
It was difficult for Gu Bai to bear being carried by the scruff of his neck like a cat by Emperor Tianchen. Right now, he was a dog! A dog! He wasn't a cat, so being carried like this hurt!
After several rounds of comforting himself through self-hypnotism, he had already very quickly adapted to his current form as a dog. His four paws were incessantly moving in the air.
His two front paws were positioned in a respectful manner, and his pair of eyes showed a wretchedly shameless, meng-selling expression. A grievance-filled 'woof woof' sound came from his mouth. Don't look too much…… It was too cute!
"Which palace did you come from?"
Emperor Tianchen's deep eyes flashed and showed a little interest. He placed down the brush he had been using to write an Imperial edict with, smiled, and asked.
He typically didn't like pets, feeling that they were both dirty and noisy. But today, somehow, he couldn't move his gaze from the little puppy.
Its fur was snow-white and its body was round with four short legs. It was very cute and a delight to look at, and its expression was especially vivid and clever. He seemed to see the grievance in its eyes.
Grievance?
Emperor Tiancheng noticed that the way he grasped the little puppy seemed to be somewhat wrong, so he changed his movement. He was still holding onto Gu Bai's neck with one hand, whilst his other hand helped support Gu Bai's butt. The little pet was so cute that it was extremely likeable.
"Woof, woof……" Your Majesty, Your Majesty!
Gu Bai felt very comfortable being held by this very careful action, especially when Emperor Tianchen smiled at him like this. The feelings of the original host seeped out, stirring up his emotions.
How would a dog express that they liked something? Naturally, it was to lick, lick, lick!
So Gu Bai shed tears in his heart, and his body couldn't resist reaching its tongue out to lick Emperor Tianchen's palm.
The emotions in the original host's heart left him with a fanatical adoration for Emperor Tianchen, and he was unable to tear his eyes away from him. His heart contained only Emperor Tianchen, and his soul was filled with Emperor Tianchen. His entire body and soul belonged to Emperor Tianchen!
Despite knowing that these emotions didn't belong to him at all, Gu Bai was unable to control his own behavior at the moment. The emotions of the current host were much stronger than those of the previous ones. Sure enough, the original host really was a Yao.
Gu Bai could only mouth words of prayer in his heart to comfort himself. This wasn't him! This wasn't him! This stupid-acting dog definitely wasn't him!
"Woof……"
However, all of his growls had turned into barks. Damn it, it was still an incomparably touching, lovely bark.
Gu Bai's heart collapsed. He licked Emperor Tianchen's hand while staring at the handsome man in front of him, wanting to cry without tears.
The other felt a warm and soft little tongue streaking across his palm. Emperor Tianchen's deep eyes darkened. He didn't feel nauseated, and instead, he felt the bottom of his heart tremble. There was a kind of indescribable soft-heartedness.
The eunuch by his side saw that he seemed to like it very much, so he very sensibly stepped forward to ask, "Your Majesty, this slave will immediately check which palace this dog is from……"
"Go then……"
Emperor Tianchen nodded while pulling Gu Bai in front of him to carefully observe him. He was amused watching Gu Bai. This dog was actually intelligent. Seeing the emotions in its eyes change, Emperor Tianchen felt that it resembled a human.
A moment later, the eunuch came back and gave a report.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, this dog was a tribute sent from the Western regions last month. It had been kept in a cat-dog house. It was looked at by Her Majesty Imperial Concubine Ru. Today, it had been prepared to be sent over to Her Majesty's palace. The result was that the dog ran out of its cage en route. The two eunuchs involved are currently standing outside of the palace hall……"
"Imperial Concubine Ru? Then, just send it over……"
Upon hearing Su Xinru's name, Emperor Tianchen showed a slight smile.
Although he didn't go wild with joy with a soft gaze at Su Xinru's name as the original host had recalled, the manner in which he treated her was more special than the other concubines.
Gu Bai hadn't noticed this, because when the original host's body heard the words "Imperial Concubine Ru", a wave of fear washed over him, and he instinctively began to tremble. In the plot, the torture he had faced under Imperial Concubine Ru's hand was too deep and profound.
"Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof……" My dear Majesty da-ren, I won't go! I want to hug your thigh!
He put in a lot of effort to try to suppress this body's fear, and Gu Bai quickly began to cry out. Right now, he had no ability to protect himself. He couldn't fall into Su Xinru's hands, or he would definitely die.
While he was calling out, Gu Bai forcefully fell onto Emperor Tianchen's body. The dog's instincts prompted him to do his best to lick Emperor Tianchen's face, covering the other's face with shiny spit.
"Your Majesty, this slave ought to die; this slave will send this dog over….." The palace eunuch by his side cried out in fear.
The eunuch's sudden scream made Gu Bai tremble. He broke from the original host's state of mind, regained control of his body, and immediately cried tears of blood.
Fuck, he committed a dog's crime again. Would His Majesty slaughter him……?
Thinking of this, he carefully raised his eyes to see Emperor Tianchen's expression, then shamelessly took the initiative to beg for forgiveness in a wronged voice, crying out, "Woof… wu……"
"I will withdraw, as I've scared it……"
A face full of wet liquid didn't make Emperor Tianchen feel disgusted, but there was an illusion of his heart quivering. He noticed that the dog in front of him seemed to tremble a few times as if it had been scared. Emperor Tianchen couldn’t help but give the eunuch a cold and strict look and let him withdraw.
"Yes."
The eunuch lowered his head in fear and hurried down. After all, His Majesty, standing in front of him, was a bloody tyrant who had trampled on the bones of the dead.
Besides, it was a mystery when it had started, but His Majesty's temper had become more and more violent and volatile. Even Her Majesty Imperial Concubine Ru, whom he had doted the most on, wouldn't be pardoned if she had made a mistake like she would've been in the past. A monarch's heart truly was difficult to gauge.
When the eunuch withdrew, Gu Bai let out a sigh of relief in his heart. However, in order to ensure that he wouldn't be sent away from Emperor Tianchen, he quickly continued to cry out.
While crying out, he poked out his tongue again to lick Emperor Tianchen's hand. After licking, he used his face to rub against it, showing that the dependency was very clear.
"You want to follow Zhen?" Emperor Tianchen saw his coincidental actions and guessed.
"Woof, woof…"
Gu Bai's eyes brightened, showing his joy. He quickly barked and vigorously nodded.
His human-like nodding action made Emperor Tianchen stunned. He immediately put his hands under Gu Bai's arms to lift him up so he could inspect him at eye-level. Emperor Tianchen's eyes were filled with a smiling expression.
"You nodded. Could it be that you understand what Zhen is saying?"
Of course! Gu Bai grabbed the opportunity to nod quickly, showing off his uniqueness. With such a smart and high IQ little dog, what hesitation was there? Quickly accept!
This time, Emperor Tianchen's eyes brightened. If his eyes weren't mistaken, this dog had just understood his words. It was the first time he had seen this type of intelligent dog.
Thinking about this, Emperor Tianchen rubbed Gu Bai's head and continued to speak.
"If you can truly understand Zhen, then can you tell Zhen what your name is?"
"Woof, woof……"
It was time for him to show off. Gu Bai's heart was full of joy, and he called out twice, indicating that Emperor Tianchen should set him down. The other understood and placed him on the desk, observing him with flickering eyes.
Gu Bai wasn't afraid of showing off his difference and allowing Emperor Tianchen to think of him as a Yao. In the plot, Emperor Tianchen's temperament was out of the ordinary; he was very wise and knowledgeable.
Because Su Xinru's system was too mysterious and difficult to guard against, he would absolutely not lose the protection of the emperor's purple Dragon Qi and become a prisoner.
When he was on the Imperial table, Gu Bai looked left and right, then bit the brush on the desk. He dipped it in the prepared ink and painstakingly wrote the crooked and twisting character "Bai" on the fine rice paper.
"Woof, woof……"
After he finished writing, Gu Bai turned his head towards Emperor Tianchen and barked twice, proudly wagging his tail vigorously with his butt shaking as well. It was as if he wanted to express that there was no other dog as smart as him under the heavens!
"You're called Bai? If you can really understand Zhen and know how to write, are you a Yao?"
When Emperor Tianchen looked at the writing on the rice paper, he didn't feel that the little dog in front of him was a monster and that he had to restrain his fear, but brightly laughed, his interest momentarily increasing.
Not only could it understand human words, it could even write them. Just what were this little dog's origins……?
Emperor Tianchen's interest greatly increased. Just as he was about to continue teasing Gu Bai and seeing how smart he was, the eunuch who had just withdrawn came up to deliver a report.
"Your Majesty, Her Majesty Imperial Concubine Ru is requesting an audience……"
Suddenly, a voice broke through the beautiful atmosphere. A trace of displeasure flashed across Emperor Tianchen's handsome face. His brows furrowed, giving off a dignified mark.
He pulled Gu Bai's body, his hand stroking his soft fur. After feeling the warmth, Emperor Tianchen's expression finally eased, hinting that he would allow the other person to enter.
"This servant pays respects to His Majesty….."
Very quickly, a beautiful and graceful woman dressed in green palace clothing came up.
Although Gu Bai knew what Imperial Consort Ru looked like from the plot and the original host's memories, when he saw her now, even if he was experienced and knowledgeable, he had no choice but to sigh, as she truly was such a beautiful person.
With a willowy waist, snow-white skin, and bright and beautiful facial features, Imperial Consort Ru, whose entire body, even her silken hair, had been enhanced by the system, was so beautiful she looked like she had been sculpted.
But this kind of beauty was very fake, which made Gu Bai feel as if she was wearing a mask. When he sighed over how powerful the other's system was, he couldn't help but sweat for Su Xinru. There was no lunch that could be eaten for free. He didn't think that the other's system was a good golden finger at all.
While Gu Bai was observing Imperial Consort Ru, the other was also watching him.
Su Xinru paid her respects, but also simultaneously rested her heavy gaze upon Gu Bai. She secretly pondered in her heart: This was the spiritual dog that the system spoke of? Aside from it being good-looking, it wasn't much different from ordinary dogs.
From the thoughts in her heart, the system made a sound: Releasing a task, ask for the spiritual dog from His Majesty. Success will be rewarded with painting and calligraphy skills, failure will be punished with the loss of delicate, snow-white skin.
After hearing the sound, Su Xinru's spirit was jolted, and she quickly collected herself. She immediately showed a gentle and loving smile towards Emperor Tianchen.
"Your Majesty, this servant heard that her dog ran over here. This dog had just arrived and doesn't understand the rules, you must not blame it. This servant will bring it back to properly educate it……"
"Woof, woof, woof!" Educate your sister!
Just when Su Xinru finished speaking, Gu Bai called out loudly and interrupted her. He was emotionally stirred up and his eyes were angry, baring his fangs with an expression that was full of hostility.
When the original host was killed by Su Xinru, the effect on the original host was profound. Even in this moment, when the original host's soul wasn't present, the emotions left in his body reacted very intensely, so much that it was difficult for Gu Bai to suppress them.
In addition, he currently had no ability to protect himself. Gu Bai would absolutely not go with her, so after he called out, he turned his body and buried his head against Emperor Tianchen's chest.
Emperor Tianchen took note of his change in mood. The color of his deep eyes shifted. He continued to softly pet Gu Bai's head, like he was consoling him, before indifferently speaking.
"Zhen likes this dog very much, Zhen will raise it……"
Su Xinru's expression twisted. She hadn't expected Emperor Tianchen to refuse. There was a penalty if she didn't complete the task, so she quickly continued, "Your Majesty, this dog……"
Before she finished speaking, Emperor Tianchen's expression turned frigid. This cold gaze stopped any additional words from continuing to come out, and she didn't dare to say any more.
Although she was currently Her Majesty Imperial Consort Ru and should be very pampered, she understood very well that Emperor Tianchen was quintessentially cold-blooded and unfeeling, a ruthless monster.
With Emperor Tianchen's fear-inducing, ice-cold gaze focused on her, Su Xinru could only choose to give up.
Seeing her tender and snow-white skin lose its luster, she saw that Gu Bai was in Emperor Tianchen's arms before she finally left, feeling vexed.
Waiting until after she left, Gu Bai finally let out a sigh of relief in his heart. Just before, he had paid attention to the change in Su Xinru's appearance. He was even more alert. Even though he didn't know exactly what the other's system was, since it was able to control a person's appearance at will, it wasn't to be underestimated.
In addition, he had just noticed the feeling of being spied on. This Yao body's perception of danger was very strong. He guessed that Su Xinru's system absolutely wasn't a simple computer program. There should be a spirit in the other.
However, there was one thing he was sure of. That system had no way of attacking by itself. It could only manipulate others to reach its goal.
Thinking of this, Gu Bai lifted his head and looked at Emperor Tianchen with heated eyes. This time, he decided that he had to hug Emperor Tianchen's thighs very well in order to fulfill the task.
Taking note of Gu Bai's heated gaze, Emperor Tianchen's heart skipped a beat, and his ice-cold expression revealed a smile. This dog wouldn't be a hindrance. With one hand, he held the puppy, and with the other, he resumed reading though the Imperial edicts.
I keep imagining Gu Bai as a super fluffy corgi even though I know that’s not what he is…(ノ>▽<。)ノ