Henry Thompson was momentarily stunned. The next second, he grabbed the black panther’s dog head and said, somewhat annoyed, “Spit it out!”

Damn it!

What’s wrong with the black panther today?

Usually, even if you feed it, it never snatches things directly.

The key is, this dog is acting a bit shameless today.

At first, it looked scared, but as soon as Henry Thompson got distracted for a moment, it bit down in one go. What’s that supposed to mean?

A feint?

Trying to lower his guard?

These days, even dogs know how to play tricks?

“Woo woo!”

The black panther clamped its mouth shut, refusing to let go.

Henry Thompson was getting angry now. He pinched the dog’s mouth, grabbed the black panther’s tail, not giving it a chance to escape or bite, and shouted angrily, “Ungrateful mutt, I feed you for nothing! This is a family heirloom, and you want to eat it too!”

“Spit it out!”

Henry Thompson let go of the tail, grabbed the black panther’s neck, and started prying open its mouth with his other hand.

“Woo woo!”

The black panther still wouldn’t let go, but Henry Thompson was strong enough. After a while, he managed to force the dog’s mouth open.

The jade sword was right inside the black panther’s mouth.

Henry Thompson was speechless and a bit disgusted, but since the Starry Sky Sword was so important, he couldn’t just abandon it because it was dirty. He still took the jade sword out, then slapped the black panther’s head in annoyance.

“And to think I feed you all the time, but at a crucial moment, even you don’t listen.”

“Ungrateful dog!”

Henry Thompson scolded it for a while. Normally, this dog was very well-behaved. He didn’t expect it to pull something like this now. It was also Henry Thompson’s fault for letting his guard down around it, actually letting this guy snatch it away.

“They say barking dogs don’t bite, and you really fit the bill!”

Henry Thompson cursed a few more times, looking at the now sticky jade sword, full of disgust and helplessness.

So filthy!

“Woof woof!”

At this moment, the black panther didn’t struggle. Its dog eyes just kept staring at the jade sword, as if reluctant to part with it. The previous fear had long since disappeared.

Its tongue even stuck out, wanting to lick the jade sword again.

But Henry Thompson, thoroughly disgusted, slapped its head, forcing the tongue back in.

“Woof woof!”

The black panther knew who was boss here. Soon, its eyes turned to Henry Thompson, full of flattery and pleading, as if hoping to lick the jade sword again.

Henry Thompson was first disgusted, then frowned slightly.

He glanced at the black panther. Normally, it wasn’t like this—it was very obedient, otherwise Henry Thompson wouldn’t have kept it.

Sometimes when Henry Thompson had food, the black panther would be drooling, but as long as Henry Thompson didn’t give it any, it would never try to snatch it.

“You want to eat this?”

Henry Thompson waved the jade sword. The black panther immediately stared at the sword, looking eager, but also seemed conflicted by Henry Thompson’s words, as if weighing something. Soon, its head actually shook.

“Hm?”

Henry Thompson was taken aback. Did it understand?

Dogs can be perceptive, so it’s not impossible.

But what does shaking its head mean? It doesn’t want to eat it?

If you don’t want to eat it, why keep staring?

You just snatched it a moment ago.

“Weird.”

Henry Thompson muttered. The Starry Sky Sword must be special—he’d thought about this when he heard the folk song. But after so many years, Henry Thompson really hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

Today, on a whim, he wanted to take a closer look, so he took out the jade sword beside the black panther to examine it, and then this incident happened.

If he hadn’t heard the folk song and gotten curious about the jade sword, Henry Thompson might have worn it his whole life without ever taking it off for a closer look.

And then the black panther wouldn’t have tried to snatch it.

“This black panther really wants it. Does this thing tempt the black panther? Or all dogs?”

“What’s so special about the Starry Sky Sword?”

Henry Thompson’s thoughts began to wander again.

While he was distracted, this time the black panther didn’t snatch it, but suddenly stuck out its tongue, and with a slurp, licked the jade sword again, getting Henry Thompson’s whole hand covered in drool.

Henry Thompson was instantly disgusted, slapped its head, wiped his hand on its fur, and was a bit annoyed.

“If you snatch again, don’t expect to get any food from me in the future!”

“Woof woof!”

The black panther actually shook its head again, its tail wagging wildly, as if saying it didn’t snatch, just wanted a lick.

This time, Henry Thompson vaguely felt something was off.

He looked at the black panther, then at the jade sword. Anyway, it was already filthy from being licked, and he’d have to wash it later—boiling water, even.

Thinking it over, Henry Thompson raised the jade sword again. “You still want to lick it?”

The black panther nodded!

“Turned into a spirit or something?”

Henry Thompson’s eyes flickered. This was crazy. The black panther had always been smart, but never like today—it seemed to understand everything he said.

After a moment’s thought, Henry Thompson handed over the jade sword again. The black panther glanced at Henry Thompson cautiously, then quickly stuck out its tongue and licked the jade sword, its eyes full of satisfaction, just like after eating something delicious.

“Why does the black panther lick this?”

“Does it taste good?”

As if!