Ethan Grant paid no attention and continued to hug Wangcai, sobbing bitterly. To be honest, Mountain Guy had been lying in the house for so long, and he hadn’t cried at all. If Mountain Guy’s spirit in heaven could see this scene, who knows what he would think.

　　Suddenly, there was the sound of someone dismounting. In a moment, Ethan Grant felt a pat on his shoulder and heard someone behind him say, “Young man, young man.”

　　Ethan Grant turned around and saw a girl of about seventeen or eighteen, with a fair, oval face and striking beauty. She wore a tight-fitting Hu-style men’s outfit that accentuated her graceful figure, and her brows radiated a heroic spirit.

　　“You—do you need something?”

　　Ethan Grant looked at the girl and asked through his sobs.

　　The girl saw Ethan Grant’s face covered in tears and looked very guilty. Pointing at Xiao Huang, she said, “Is this—your dog?”

　　Ethan Grant nodded and said, “This is my Wangcai.”

　　The girl hesitated for a moment before saying, “I’m really—really sorry. I didn’t know this was your dog. I accidentally shot it.”

　　Ethan Grant stared at the girl in shock. “What did you say? Wangcai—Wangcai was killed by you?”

Chapter 10: Superb Acting

　　Is this guy an idiot or what?

　　The beautiful girl looked at Ethan Grant with a hint of surprise, feeling a bit puzzled. This was so obvious, yet he only just reacted now. Isn’t that a bit slow-witted?

　　But then she saw that even Ethan Grant’s nose was red from crying, looking utterly pitiful. She didn’t know that it was actually swollen from being beaten by Sean Cooper last night and hadn’t fully healed yet. She thought Ethan Grant must be heartbroken, completely focused on his beloved dog, and that’s why he hadn’t noticed earlier.

　　Thinking this, a strong sense of guilt flashed in the girl’s clear, bright eyes.

　　Of course, Ethan Grant noticed all this. Today was really his lucky day—he’d just stepped out and run into such a kind-hearted beauty. Don’t blame me; if I weren’t at my wit’s end, would I need to use such tricks to make a living? If I asked you directly, you definitely wouldn’t give me anything, so this is my only option.

　　“Young man, I’m sorry. I didn’t know this was your dog.”

　　The girl said, full of guilt.

　　If “I’m sorry” was enough, I wouldn’t be saddled with so much debt. Just say you’ll pay up and stop wasting everyone’s time. Ethan Grant was even getting anxious for the girl, his expression suddenly changing as he stood up, looking agitated. “Why, why did you have to kill my Wangcai? He never did anything to you, and he’s already had such a hard life. Wasn’t his suffering enough for you? Why did you have to kill him? If you want to kill something, kill me instead! You dog-killer!”

　　The girl took a small step back, but her expression remained calm—she wasn’t frightened by Ethan Grant. Maybe she just didn’t want to get too close to someone so dirty. She reached out and said, “Young man, calm down. I told you, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

　　Even if it wasn’t on purpose, you still have to pay! Haven’t you read any books? Ethan Grant was anxious too. She probably had a lot of companions, so he figured he’d better remind her. He shook his head vigorously and said, “I don’t care, I don’t care, you have to pay, you have to pay for Wangcai.”

　　The girl suddenly understood and quickly said, “How about I compensate you?”

　　Now that’s more like it!

　　Ethan Grant was secretly delighted.

　　But just then, the sound of hoofbeats approached. A man of about twenty-four or twenty-five rode over on a tall, fine horse. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and looked dignified and impressive. As soon as he arrived, he asked anxiously, “Eighth sister, what happened?”

　　The girl looked frustrated and said, “Second brother, I accidentally killed his dog.”

　　Crap! Are they going to blame me for scaring the girl and make me pay? Ethan Grant was nervous, but kept his expression unchanged. He didn’t dare to push too hard, so he knelt down in front of Xiao Huang again and wailed loudly, “Wangcai, Wangcai—”

　　A few more people arrived. Leading them was a young man of about twenty, with a face like white jade, dressed in white robes, elegant and handsome. This white-robed young man seemed even more anxious than the tall man who’d just arrived. He asked the girl, “Snowy, what’s going on?”

　　The girl pointed at Ethan Grant and the dog and said, “I accidentally shot his dog.”

　　The white-robed young man breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and said, “It’s just a dog, what’s the big deal? Let’s go, don’t worry about him.”

　　Bastard! You heartless jerk, a dog’s life is still a life! Damn you, just wait—I’ll get you back someday. Ethan Grant cursed furiously in his heart, but he knew that now was not the time to say more. Otherwise, he might anger them or give himself away, and end up with nothing but trouble. Crying was the best option, because he was sure the girl was kind-hearted, and the two men seemed to care a lot about her, so in the end, her opinion would matter most.

　　Cry!

　　Cry loudly!

　　So miserable!

　　So heartbroken!

　　Not another word—whether you compensate me or not, it’s up to you. I won’t force you, and I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

　　I have to say, even though my body has changed, my acting skills are still there. And with this frail body, I look even more pitiful. Anyone who isn’t moved must have a heart of stone.