Immortal Takeout - Chapter 24

“You know what? I bought Haha a purple cotton candy-patterned harness before! He loved it so much!” Mr. Ma Daha said.

‘Woof…’ Mr. Grey Dog let out a muffled bark.

Purple cotton candy… it sounded so pretty just hearing about it. Ta Nuo expressed his admiration.

A similar aesthetic sense instantly bridged the distance between the two. Ta Nuo thought to himself that although Mr. Ma Daha seemed a bit emotional and unreliable, he truly had exceptional taste when it came to choosing dog leash colors. A sincere smile on his face, Ta Nuo seriously discussed dog leash styles and color trends with Mr. Ma Daha for nearly five full minutes.

Luo Xiang turned to leave, but Ta Nuo grabbed his arm. Luo Xiang tried to shake him off for a while but couldn’t free himself. He stopped and looked at Ta Nuo sideways.

Ta Nuo said, “Don’t go. I’ll treat you to fried chicken later.”

Luo Xiang looked at him, silent.

“Fried chicken doesn’t taste good when it’s cold.”

Luo Xiang stopped walking. Ta Nuo grinned foolishly at him. Luo Xiang’s brows furrowed tightly, forming a fine Sichuan character between them.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ma Daha rubbed Mr. Grey Dog’s head back and forth over twenty times, utterly delighted. He sighed wistfully, “I never thought there could be two such similar dogs in the world. You look exactly like my Haha. You’re so handsome, Men Ji.”

Mr. Grey Dog, strenuously enduring the dizziness brought on by concussion-like symptoms, silently offered up his furry head.

‘Woof…’

Mr. Ma Daha sniffled as he rubbed, lamenting, “If only my Haha were still here… I miss my Haha so much.” He kept repeating Haha’s name, which sounded like strange laughter.

Ta Nuo felt he was somewhat pitiful. After thinking for a long moment, he stammered out some comfort: “Don’t be sad. Your Haha might be living very well now. Living in the human world is very hard; leaving this world might actually allow for great achievements. And as humans, we must look forward. Don’t be too obsessed with the past. Cherish the dog before you.”

For some reason, Luo Xiang let out a laugh. Ta Nuo looked at him curiously. Luo Xiang turned his head away, not looking at him.

Mr. Ma Daha, his head drooping, finally released Mr. Grey Dog’s head. “I think what you said is very right,” he said, suddenly lifting his head and wiping his nose vigorously. “It’s profoundly enlightening, strikes me like thunder, shakes me to the core, and prompts deep reflection.”

Ta Nuo blinked, not understanding any of it.

“In the past, I always fantasized that Haha had just left temporarily, that he was actually living well somewhere I couldn’t see. That one day, we would meet again and continue living together. But actually, that thought is ridiculous and unrealistic.”

Mr. Grey Dog listened in silence.

“I need to move on! I need to pull myself together!” Mr. Ma Daha clenched his fists and stood up, like a theater actor, full of passion. “I need to live my life well, carrying Haha’s will, do the work of the survivor well, and live properly on his behalf.”

Ta Nuo didn’t know what role a “survivor” was, but he was still moved, and nodded vigorously. So right, so right! He almost wanted to clap his hands in applause.

Mr. Grey Dog let out a “Woof” and weakly slumped down, covering his nose with his front paws, burying his face. The other black-and-white Husky turned its head away, pretending to gaze into the distance as if nothing was wrong.

“Friend, let’s add each other as contacts!” After declaring his resolve, Mr. Ma Daha suddenly changed the subject and grabbed Ta Nuo’s hands. “Meeting like this is fate, fate decreed by heaven! Let me introduce myself first. I’m Ma Yuliang. ‘Ma’ as in tall and horse-like, ‘Yu’ as in a delicate jade, ‘Liang’ as in a respectable woman. My friends all call me Ma Daha. You can call me Daha.”

Ta Nuo listened, somewhat bewildered. Why did Mr. Ma Daha’s name sound so long?

“Although I’ve decided to let go of the past, I still think your dog is really cute. Can we add each other as contacts? I want to see him often! I won’t be demanding, just post some photos of Men Ji on your social feed. But speaking of which, the name Men Ji really isn’t very nice. Are you sure you won’t consider using the name Haha?”

Both of Ta Nuo’s hands were held tightly; he couldn’t break free for a moment and looked helplessly at Luo Xiang.

Luo Xiang curled the corner of his mouth slightly but said nothing.

“What does ‘add each other as contacts’ mean?” Ta Nuo asked quietly. Did it mean becoming good friends? He never expected that the number of spirits or humans wanting to be friends with him these past few days would be more than the total from the previous nineteen years combined.

Mr. Ma Daha didn’t hear Ta Nuo’s question. His spirits high, he directly pulled out his phone and opened the ‘add contact’ interface. The phone operated slowly, taking a long time to load before finally displaying a QR code interface.

Ta Nuo stared curiously at Mr. Ma Daha’s phone screen. He roughly knew what this thing was. Otter Big Brother had said that mobile phones were humans’ thousand-mile ears and messenger jays. Using this little box, you could send messages to distant friends, even hear their voices and see their faces. Ta Nuo found it very interesting. Otter Big Brother had once brought home a black mobile phone, but the signal in Hundred-Leaf Forest was truly too poor, so Ta Nuo hadn’t been able to personally experience the charm of the talking little box.

Mr. Ma Daha irritably patted the phone’s chipped and peeling back, muttering, “This phone is too broken, it’s almost a brick. I need to buy a new one.” He was actually very reluctant. Many photos of Ma Haha were still in this old phone. He wasn’t someone who adapted well to new technology, instinctively resisting any change. What if he changed phones and all of Haha’s photos were lost?

But when something is old, it’s old. One day, it needs to be replaced by something new. The pursuit of convenience is one of humanity’s cruelties.

Mr. Ma Daha smiled self-deprecatingly, looked up, and gazed expectantly at Ta Nuo.

Ta Nuo widened his eyes and looked back at him.

The two stared at each other, at a loss. After an awkward half-minute passed, Mr. Ma Daha couldn’t help but prompt, “Your phone?”

Ta Nuo suddenly understood, then became flustered and panicked. He slowly reached his hand toward his pocket, forming a fist in the empty space. Mumbling, he looked at Luo Xiang again, sending a distress signal.

Luo Xiang pretended not to see.

Ta Nuo pleaded, “Fried small fish are delicious too. I’ll bring you some next time.”

Mr. Ma Daha’s gaze shifted between the two of them, clearly feeling puzzled.

Luo Xiang tilted his head, thought for a moment, then jerked his chin toward Mr. Ma Daha and said, “Let go.”

Mr. Ma Daha instinctively released Ta Nuo’s hands, pulling both hands back tightly against his chest. Luo Xiang fished out a sleek black full-touchscreen phone from his pocket and silently added Mr. Ma Daha as a contact.

Mr. Ma Daha was utterly confused. He scratched his head, looked at his own phone, then at Ta Nuo, and suddenly caught on. “Oh—” he drew out the sound, “So you two are ‘that’.”

‘That?’ Which ‘that’? Ta Nuo didn’t understand, so he could only press his lips together and smile. Luo Xiang tossed the phone to him. Ta Nuo caught it and hugged it to his chest.

Mr. Ma Daha, believing he had perceived the truth of the situation, laughed heartily and said generously, “It’s fine, it’s fine, you don’t have to act like it’s nothing. I’m very accepting, you can tell from my funky hairstyle. I think it’s great, really great.”

He said “great” three times in a row, then stopped, sneaking a glance at Luo Xiang before pulling Ta Nuo aside and whispering in his ear, “Buddy, I’m only telling you this because I feel a connection. When it comes to men, you gotta be tough to take the initiative. Letting the one at home control even adding contacts? That’s just losing face. You need to rise up!” He waved his fist in an encouraging gesture.

Ta Nuo thought, ‘Humans really are a bit strange’. He smiled sheepishly.

Mr. Ma Daha, frustrated at Ta Nuo’s ‘hopelessness’, gave Mr. Grey Dog’s head another rub, then, holding his Husky’s leash, walked away, looking back every few steps. He glanced at Mr. Grey Dog several times, finally waved at Ta Nuo, made a fist-pumping gesture, turned, and left.

Ta Nuo waved back continuously.

Only when Mr. Ma Daha had completely disappeared from sight did Mr. Grey Dog sit up from the ground. He hung his head, his beautiful large ears drooping limply, looking rather dispirited.

Ta Nuo comforted him, saying, “Mr. Ma Daha seems to have cheered up. Don’t worry too much.”

Mr. Grey Dog said, “The year after I left, I tried to visit him once. But he got too agitated back then, and I had no choice but to leave. I’ve always been very careful, keeping my distance every time I went to see him, thinking there wouldn’t be another accident. This fried chicken shop was my human’s favorite before, but from what I observed, he hadn’t been here for several years. I never expected to run into him at the fried chicken shop today. I’m very sorry for causing you trouble.”

‘Poft—’ Luo Xiang spat a chicken bone from his mouth, accurately landing it in the trash bag.

Ta Nuo glanced at him, then turned to comfort Mr. Grey Dog, “It’s alright, I don’t mind. It’s actually good that you got to see each other.”

Mr. Grey Dog nodded and said, “I think he’s more mature than before. I’m relieved.”

So Mr. Ma Daha was even ‘less’ reliable in the past? What kind of person must he have been? Ta Nuo wondered.

Perhaps sensing Ta Nuo’s confusion, Mr. Grey Dog explained somewhat apologetically, “You know, humans always have all sorts of misunderstandings and preconceived biases about us.”

Ta Nuo blinked. He didn’t know that. “Like what?” he asked cautiously.

Mr. Grey Dog was silent for a moment, then said, “For example, according to human rumors, between a Husky and its owner, one of them is bound to go crazy.”

‘Poft—’ Luo Xiang spat out another chicken bone.

Ta Nuo’s mouth fell open in surprise. Was it really that… miraculous?

The more Mr. Grey Dog spoke, the more ashamed he felt. “Actually, a personality like Ma Yuliang’s isn’t really suitable for raising dogs like us.”

Ta Nuo asked curiously, “Who is Ma Yuliang?”

Mr. Grey Dog paused. “Ma Yuliang is Ma Daha. ‘Ma’ as in tall and horse-like, ‘Yu’ as in a delicate jade, ‘Liang’ as in a respectable woman.”

Ta Nuo made an “oh” sound and nodded repeatedly. The name was so long he had almost forgotten it.

Mr. Grey Dog continued, “But he’s not a very planned person. Getting a dog was just a whim. I was a ‘Sunday Dog’…”

“What’s a ‘Sunday Dog’?” Ta Nuo interrupted quietly. “Sorry, I have a lot of questions.”

“It’s alright. ‘Sunday Dog’ is a common term, also called a ‘backyard dog,’ because these dogs usually don’t live more than a week after arriving in a human family. Some humans, in cramped, limited spaces and conditions, breed dog breeds unscientifically for profit, not hesitating to harm the dogs themselves. Dogs bred under such violent conditions are often sold as puppies to unsuspecting humans with no breeding experience.

From the outside, Sunday Dog puppies look almost no different from normal dogs. After a week or two of a safe period, the puppy’s physical condition declines sharply, and problems erupt comprehensively.

I was once one of those ‘Sunday Dogs’.”

Just as Mr. Ma Daha had said, Mr. Grey Dog’s original name was indeed Ma Erha. And before becoming Ma Erha, he was a Sunday Dog, purchased from an unscrupulous puppy mill as a New Year’s gift. At first, the young child in the human family liked him very much, dragging him everywhere. Ma Erha experienced happiness and warmth in his dog life for the first time. He felt extremely happy.

Ten days later, Ma Erha’s Sunday Dog symptoms began to appear. He vomited, had diarrhea, and couldn’t eat or sleep peacefully. Upon hearing that treating a pet required a lot of money and effort, the humans hesitated. Coincidentally, the human child’s novelty had worn off and they no longer liked Ma Erha. So, on a cold winter morning at the beginning of the Spring Festival, Ma Erha was put into a cage and thrown into a garbage bin.

“I remember that day, the sky was very, very cold, with sporadic drizzling rain. My fur was completely soaked. But my stomach felt like it was on fire, so the cold weather actually made me feel a bit better. It’s just that the smell in the trash bin was really unbearable for a dog. I lay in the bare cage, thinking I was probably going to die.

I was only a few months old, but I had already seen enough death. I knew my mother was locked in that sunless building, constantly being impregnated and giving birth. I knew she was sick, had been sick for a long, long time. I knew many of my siblings hadn’t survived the first few weeks. Separation, illness, death, hunger—these words always surrounded me.

Lying in the stinking garbage bin, I thought, actually, death isn’t such a big deal. Anyway, I had already experienced a human family, and experienced so-called human love. Before I left the puppy mill, I heard the older dogs in the shop discussing it. They said living with a human family was the happiest thing possible. You get lots and lots of good food, you get lots and lots of petting, there are humans to play with you, walk you, take you to do many, many interesting things.

I used to fantasize that even though the puppy mill was so terrible, if one day, ‘my’ human appeared, took me home, and from then on shared his home with me, I would definitely be very happy, just as happy as they said. If I could wait for that day, then all the suffering I endured before would definitely be worth it.

I waited and waited, and finally waited for the human who took me home.

But what is human love, really?

I was still lying in a place as foul-smelling as the kennel I was born in. My limbs were still cold. I was still facing death.

Human love… is nothing more than this.”