Henry Thompson instinctively lifted his leg to kick, but quickly put it down.

In front of him, a small black dog also stopped in its tracks. It didn’t bark, but looked at Henry Thompson with eager eyes, as if expecting something.

Henry Thompson laughed and parked his bicycle.

“Black Panther, you seem to be getting faster.”

Black Panther was a name that didn’t really match this skinny little dog, but Henry Thompson still gave it such a domineering name.

This dog wasn’t raised by Henry Thompson; it was a stray that wandered into the neighborhood from who knows where.

Henry Thompson used to live alone, and it felt wasteful to throw away leftover food. Seeing the dog looking pitiful, he would feed it from time to time. After a few months, the dog became attached to Henry Thompson, and now it hardly wandered anymore, usually lying at the entrance of Building 6 waiting for Henry Thompson to get off work.

The other residents of Building 6 knew it was Henry Thompson who fed the dog. Although some people were afraid of dogs, since it was being fed by a third-level inspector, not many dared to chase it away.

Black Panther was usually quiet, and the neighbors gradually got used to it.

Henry Thompson squatted down and patted the little black dog’s head.

Living alone for a long time was actually quite lonely, especially with things weighing on his mind. Having a dog for company wasn’t so bad.

Unfortunately, Henry Thompson was too busy and didn’t have much time to take care of it. At most, he’d feed it something at night when he got home. As for the daytime, sometimes he’d remember to leave some dog food, and if not, Black Panther would just have to find food on its own.

“Woof!”

The little black dog barked softly.

“I’ll give you something to eat in a bit.”

Henry Thompson smiled, a gentle and genuine smile, much more real than the one he wore at the Inspection Bureau.

He stood up and walked upstairs.

The old building was shabby, and the stairs were worn out, with rusty handrails.

The building had six floors in total, but now half the residents had moved out.

Now, only some elderly people remained here to live out their retirement. Henry Thompson hadn’t moved out either, nor did he have the money to buy a place in one of the new neighborhoods. Besides, this was where he had always lived, and after his parents passed away, he never thought about moving.

Black Panther eagerly followed Henry Thompson up the stairs.

302.

He opened the door. The apartment was a bit dark, with the curtains tightly drawn.

The room wasn’t big, just over sixty square meters.

Henry Thompson left the door open, but Black Panther didn’t come in. It just lay at the doorway, waiting for Henry Thompson to feed it.

Today, Henry Thompson wasn’t in the mood to cook.

He found some dog food—he wasn’t sure if it was expired—took out Black Panther’s food bowl, poured in a generous amount, and set the bowl outside the door.

“Woof!”

Black Panther wagged its tail and looked up at Henry Thompson, as if trying to say something.

“Didn’t buy groceries, so you’ll have to make do today.”

Henry Thompson explained, though he had no idea what Black Panther meant. It didn’t matter; maybe the dog was just complaining about the nearly expired dog food.

“You should be glad you have something to eat. Don’t be picky. In a few days, you might not even have this. Then you’ll have to find food on your own.”

Henry Thompson squatted down, watching Black Panther reluctantly start eating, and smiled.

He took out the third-generation vortex from his pocket, thought for a moment, and then removed the jade sword from his neck.

After playing with the jade sword for a while, Henry Thompson fell into deep thought.

Was this jade sword related to some mysterious power?

Could the Eight Great Families from the folk songs also be connected to mysterious forces?

But after all these years, he’d never noticed anything special about the jade sword. As for the whole “recognizing its master by blood” thing, Henry Thompson had been injured countless times as a child, and his blood had stained the jade sword, but he’d never seen any reaction.

“The Starry Sky Sword!”

Henry Thompson muttered. Was this what the Red Shadow was after?

“Woof!”

At that moment, Black Panther, who had just been eating, suddenly stopped and barked at the jade sword.

Henry Thompson turned to look at Black Panther.

Black Panther wagged its tail at the jade sword, seeming eager to approach but also a bit afraid. It didn’t dare get closer, just stared at the jade sword with wide dog eyes from a short distance away.

Henry Thompson raised his eyebrows slightly.

Suddenly, on a whim, he gripped the jade sword and thrust it toward Black Panther. Black Panther instantly leapt away, moving extremely fast.

This time, it was Henry Thompson who was surprised.

But Black Panther, after jumping away, didn’t run off. It just looked a bit aggrieved and barked at Henry Thompson again.

“Hm?”

Henry Thompson raised his eyebrows. Was Black Panther afraid of this thing?

That was interesting.

According to folk tales, white cats and black dogs can sometimes see things humans can’t. Could it be that this black dog saw something on the jade sword?

Black Panther was smart—Henry Thompson knew that much.

Dogs are pretty smart.

If it weren’t, this guy wouldn’t have stuck around, knowing there was food to be had here.

“Black Panther, come here!”

Henry Thompson beckoned. Black Panther was a bit timid and hesitant, but still slowly shuffled over, its eyes fixed on the jade sword.

“Woof!”

At first, Black Panther was a little scared, but gradually, with Henry Thompson there, it wasn’t so afraid anymore.

Henry Thompson watched its reaction closely, frowning slightly.

It seemed this jade sword really was a bit special.

Just as he was thinking this, the next moment, Henry Thompson’s vision blurred. This time, he truly didn’t have time to react. Suddenly, his hand felt light, and when he looked again, Black Panther had already swallowed the jade sword in one gulp.

“Holy shit!”