In Jiang Xiaoya’s third grade, on the day just before winter vacation, the Swamp Monster took her to look at a house. It was a night of heavy rain. The Swamp Monster led her through the silent streets and stopped in front of an apartment near the middle school in the base’s central district.

The moment the Swamp Monster opened the door, Jiang Xiaoya cheered and rushed inside to look at the rooms, running back and forth through the new home like a little dog inspecting its territory. It bent slightly at the waist and watched her.

Human spiritual bodies were growing stronger, and the water ghosts were also evolving. In this silent competition, even a Swamp Monster standing at the top of the food chain had to keep becoming stronger in order to protect their small home.

Its molting period was approaching. The last time, it had slept for three days in the swamp; this time, it didn’t know how long it would take. When that time came, many water ghosts would be drawn to it, and while it was in deep sleep, it wouldn’t be able to deal with sudden incidents. Ever since Jiang Xiaoya’s first grade, it had been preparing this “safe house.”

It had squatted on the rooftop of this apartment and observed it for a long time—so long that it even picked up passing dogs to check whether they had received rabies vaccinations.

Figuring out things like human property certificates took a great deal of time, but crystal cores could solve most problems. It made sure this safe house was sufficiently secure and hidden. Because it wasn’t considered valuable, it wouldn’t attract attention.

It handed the keys to Jiang Xiaoya.

As a predator that had survived countless bloody battles, the Swamp Monster understood the cruelty of the world better than anyone. It had to ensure that nothing could go wrong before it could feel at ease entering the dangerous molting period. It had even made the worst-case preparations: in Jiang Xiaoya’s room, there were several boxes of crystal cores. Even if it didn’t wake up for a very long time, they would still be enough for her to live on for a long while.

It instructed the child running around the house: where the supermarket, restaurants, and fruit shop were downstairs, and where the money was kept. It stuffed two keys into her pockets. If she lost them all, there was still one hidden in the flowerpot by the door.

In the end, it patted the child’s head and told her that during winter vacation, she might have to live here alone for half a month.

Tomorrow would be the start of winter vacation. It wouldn’t come to pick her up anymore; she could come straight back here and watch TV.

Jiang Xiaoya was a sharp little kid. After the excitement of running around the house faded, she suddenly remembered something—where would it be going that required half a month?

She saw the tall figure heading downstairs to buy her snacks. In that instant, the urgent fear of being left behind surged up in her heart. She dashed down, pouncing toward the Swamp Monster like a little dog.

“Mommy, is your molting period about to arrive?”

She immediately refused to let it leave.

Ah, little troublemaker.

The Swamp Monster coaxed her, telling her that the danger wasn’t great, only that it was afraid she would get in the way. It patiently persuaded her, explaining at length, but the little dog simply refused to come down.

In the end, it was provoked into anger and sternly told Jiang Xiaoya: if she didn’t behave, it would throw her down from upstairs!

Beagle Demon King: “If you dare leave me alone, I’ll throw your precious darling to the water ghosts to eat!”

It was so angry that it laughed. Squatting down, it asked sternly: Jiang Xiaoya, what precious darling do I have?

The Beagle Demon King righteously leaned her head right in front of it.

The unspoken meaning: me.

Swamp Monster: “……”

The narcissistic little dog spun in place twice, then rubbed against the youth’s face again.

In the end, the ferocious monster had no way to deal with her. With helplessness, it could only ask: you really must follow me?

Even if you’ll be dead weight? Even if you’ll cause me trouble?

By third grade, the flesh on Jiang Xiaoya’s face finally no longer looked like Crayon Shin-chan’s.

She nodded solemnly.

Of course she knew she was a hindrance, her mommy’s little drag-along burden. But Jiang Xiaoya understood her mommy far too well. If it were alone, maybe it wouldn’t care that much about its own life or death. But if a little drag-along was waiting outside, if it didn’t wake up then she would be eaten, would run into all kinds of dangers.

—Then it would definitely wake up!

She could, of course, hide obediently in the base’s safe zone and wait for her mommy, but she didn’t want to.

After buying snacks and returning home, before going to sleep, Jiang Xiaoya very seriously told her mommy: if it couldn’t wake up, then in the future she would go pick through trash to eat, beg everywhere. In winter she would even drag her tattered clothes around begging for food: kind people, have mercy, please give some crystal cores.

The youth’s slightly fierce, violent eyebrows and eyes were laughed into softness by anger:

Alright, you little menace, your mommy definitely won’t let you go begging.

But Jiang Xiaoya never believed adults’ words. Sure enough, the next day, Jiang Xiaoya didn’t wait for her mommy to come pick her up!

That afternoon, the temperature dropped sharply. The sky grew extremely gloomy, and soon light snow began to fall. Strange magnetic field fluctuations appeared in the swamp across from the base. Because the values skyrocketed, the base’s alarms were sounded and it entered a state of alert. Jiang Xiaoya heard the teacher say that the base gates were about to close.

Jiang Xiaoya panicked and rushed out with her schoolbag on her back.

She had to cling to her mommy like a ghost—this powerful conviction made the little dog sprint through the snow, cutting through the cold wind, trampling snowflakes as she huffed and puffed all the way home!

Finally, right before reaching the door, she shouted loudly: Mom—!

I’m here to cause you trouble!!

Swamp Monster: “……”

That night, many water ghosts indeed arrived. Jiang Xiaoya was chased up to squat on the second floor. Through the crack in the window, she saw violent winds sweeping snowflakes along, the gloomy sky seeming to brew a storm. She felt deeply uneasy, asking every few minutes: Mommy, are you still alive?

From downstairs came the Swamp Monster’s irritable heh-heh sounds. Along with the shrill screams of water ghosts being torn apart, the swamp seemed to come alive, surging and swallowing every intruder. Dealing with wave after wave of water ghosts was already annoying enough, and upstairs there was still a dead kid endlessly calling for mom.

The Swamp Monster’s gaze gradually grew vicious.

At last, heavy footsteps sounded outside the door on the second floor. Jiang Xiaoya thought the water ghosts had broken through the defenses. But when she opened the door, the Swamp Monster stood there, its entire body splattered with blood, murderous aura surging. Its vertical pupils had turned snake-like, letting out dangerous heh-heh sounds:

Dead kid, are you calling souls?

This night that was originally fraught with danger and turbulent undercurrents turned into utter chaos.

Perhaps because it was winter, some of the water ghosts had been frozen, so there weren’t that many drawn over. In about two days, everything was dealt with, and it could enter slumber. Before sleeping, Jiang Xiaoya was chased up to live on the second floor by her mommy, while the Swamp Monster left the main prison building where they lived and went to a more distant abandoned cell block.

Jiang Xiaoya promised Mommy that she would behave. But after Mommy fell into deep sleep, she secretly went downstairs. The snow was falling heavily, the entire swamp blanketed by snowflakes like a quilt. She pushed open the door and saw the frozen, sleeping Swamp Monster.

Because it had fallen into a dormant state, its body had completely lost warmth. Its long hair was frozen stiff with ice. Even the tips of its hair had hardened from the cold. Its massive body looked like an ice sculpture. It looked pitiful.

The little dog sighed. She had known since she was little that all adults were liars.

Jiang Xiaoya moved back and forth through the wind and snow, trip after trip, dragging fire basins, books, and bedding. Her cheeks were flushed red as she carried the fire basin to the side of the enormous creature. She kept transporting burning charcoal like this, over and over, until the ice on the Swamp Monster’s body finally melted.

Mommy had stuffed a lot of food into the refrigerator—enough for Jiang Xiaoya to eat for a long time. Jiang Xiaoya had plenty of winter vacation homework to do. She also had to squat beside the enormous creature, guarding against the fire growing too strong and roasting Mommy until smoke came out. At the slightest disturbance, Jiang Xiaoya would climb up to the second floor to check outside for danger.

While on patrol, Jiang Xiaoya felt for the first time that the house was so quiet. All sounds had disappeared, leaving only the snowflakes falling silently.

When Mommy was around, the swamp was Jiang Xiaoya’s hometown. She could run wildly from home all the way to the grassy fields at the end of the lake and roll around. The swamp was berries, water lilies, and pant legs rolled up for splashing in the water. But once Mommy fell asleep, the swamp outside was no longer beautiful—full of danger, deep and terrifying.

In summary: Mommy was Jiang Xiaoya’s hometown!

The Beagle Demon King was diligent and brave, patrolling the house every day, werwer-ing everywhere. At the slightest movement, she would dash over to check. Most of the time, it was just a false alarm. Until one night, Jiang Xiaoya heard rustling sounds drawing closer. This year, the temperature had dropped sharply. The swamp had frozen solid, and most of the water ghosts were frozen inside it, making it unlikely for them to approach.

What Jiang Xiaoya worried about was the base patrol team. She attended Chuntian School, and everyone’s future dream was to join the base patrol team. They were responsible for protecting the base and going out to search for supplies. But patrol teams were not friendly toward non-human beings. If they searched the house and saw Mommy sleeping, it would be over.

Jiang Xiaoya’s heart pounded violently. Although the Swamp Monster had told her that it wouldn’t die, at most it would just sleep a little longer—and although Jiang Xiaoya knew that as soon as it rained, Mommy would become very powerful, and even if she were captured, she would still be able to come home—at that moment, Jiang Xiaoya still became nervous.

She felt that she had grown up, no longer the little brat from the year before last who waited in the electrical well for Mommy to come save her.

Jiang Xiaoya was Mommy’s little dog knight. She had to protect her Mommy.

She dashed upstairs and rummaged through the house, pulling out a gun that she didn’t know where Mommy had picked up. Her heart was pounding wildly, her palms sweating. With alert little dog eyes, she glanced around and quietly approached.

However, the door slowly opened a crack—

Woof-woo~

Woo~

───♡───

Jiang Xiaoya’s little dog friend, Ah Huang, had come to seek refuge with her. Winter was too cold. Ah Huang had gotten separated from its mommy. There was nowhere in the swamp to hide from the wind and snow, and nothing to eat. Although it was very afraid of Jiang Xiaoya’s mommy, it was about to freeze to death, so it had no choice but to come woof-wooing to find Jiang Xiaoya.

Jiang Xiaoya shared her roasted sweet potatoes and instant canned food with Ah Huang. When patrolling, she now had an extra companion. She chattered endlessly with Ah Huang, and Ah Huang replied with woof-woofs. The little beagle spirit body was released, chasing Ah Huang through the snow. It was no longer lonely at all.

The winter snowflakes continued to fall slowly like this.

But once the snow stopped and the temperature rose a little, Ah Huang went back to look for its mommy.

Jiang Xiaoya also had to wait for her own mommy. Carrying a chill from outside, she burrowed into Mommy’s long hair and rested her head on its shoulder: if Mommy didn’t wake up for too long, she would turn into an old Yaya!

The little dog fell asleep, and so she didn’t notice that when the snow stopped, the slumbering behemoth moved slightly.

Like shedding a heavy cocoon of the past, the youth’s long, slender limbs became much more well-proportioned, and some of the childishness faded from his features. He looked already in his early teens; the not-so-obvious Adam’s apple became more pronounced, and his height grew taller—no, simply enormous.

At the instant of waking, the Swamp Monster became nearly three meters tall. But after noticing that Jiang Xiaoya had become palm-sized and that the house was almost unable to contain him, his vertical pupils pondered for a moment, then he slowly shrank himself back to his original size. He looked much more normal that way.

Those muddled, ferocious vertical pupils became unprecedentedly bright.

His world had always been blurred, utterly lacking the ability to capture color. Everything, to his eyes, was like looking through frosted glass. The difference between reeds and humans was only in height. When he had first picked her up, raising Jiang Xiaoya was, to him, no different from raising a plastic bag that could make noise.

He tried very hard to see Jiang Xiaoya clearly, but from when she was a tiny infant until now, he had only ever been able to make out vague outlines.

Now, for the first time, he saw Jiang Xiaoya clearly—

The behemoth leaned closer, examining her carefully.

Her head was small, her body was small.

She had a nose, eyes, and a mouth.

Little Yaya is really pretty.

The Swamp Monster thought sincerely.

Jiang Xiaoya opened her eyes and saw the Swamp Monster right in front of her nose.

The mommy who had never been able to see her clearly, the mommy who used to feed her food into her nose when she was little—this time—accurately tapped the tip of her nose.

Jiang Xiaoya was overjoyed. The little dog grabbed Mommy and ran outside at full speed.

“Mommy, Mommy! Look outside, it’s so pretty!”

Mommy couldn’t distinguish most of the colors in the world. Like a tour guide introducing a new world, the little dog pulled him outside to see the bright, beautiful world.

The white of the snowflakes, the blue of the sky!

All things were bright and romantic.

But for the Swamp Monster walking behind the little dog, he hadn’t seen enough of the baby he had raised. He listened absentmindedly, responding perfunctorily, his gaze always fixed on the back of her head, imagining what Jiang Xiaoya must have looked like last year, the year before, and even smaller.

What color is blue?

It is the little dog’s scarf flying in the snow.

What color is white?

It is the little dog’s pom-pom bouncing up and down.

All the brilliant colors of the world bloomed along with the little dog’s running.

The youth lowered his head and spoke for the first time:

“Xiaoya.”

The running little dog stopped, turning her head back in astonishment.

The clear, precise pronunciation, carried by a hoarse, magnetic youthful voice, was like a snowflake falling by her ear.