HLM – Chapter 37 The First Soul Heart

Old Wang was at a loss and quickly tried to calm it down. “I was telling Bowen to scram, not you. What’s with that submissive expression on your face?”

The sturdy pup seemed quite curious about the military commander. It timidly lifted its head to look at the little parrot, its thick tail curling up slightly and wagging twice. Just as it opened its mouth to bark, the commander immediately lowered his head and roared ferociously, “Ah, your mom exploded!”

Startled by the scolding, the pup quickly shrank back, hiding behind Wang Bo. Then it squeezed its head between his legs, peeking timidly yet curiously at the inner courtyard of the castle.

The Heart of the Castle had made the ancient fortress a livable place. Not only humans and birds, but even dogs found it comfortable here. Since entering, the pup had become more lively. It no longer lay around reflecting on its “crimes” but trotted happily around the courtyard instead.

Seeing this, Wang Bo couldn’t help but smile.

That afternoon, Charlie called and said everything was going smoothly in Wellington. The funding had been approved, but they needed to open a bank account under the name of the town. Future development funds from the government would be deposited into that account. He also asked Wang Bo to prepare some documents and make a trip to Wellington later to handle the town’s financial matters.

However, ever since the mastiff pup came to the castle, Old Wang’s attention had been entirely on it. He didn’t pay much attention to Charlie’s words. The little guy needed care and affection now. Wang decided to be like a father to him—he was determined to win its heart!

Bowen had said mastiffs were suitable for free-range rearing—just throw them outside and forget about them.

But Old Wang didn’t do that. He set up a little nest for the pup in his bedroom. Though it was just a mat laid on the floor, it meant being closer together, allowing their bond to deepen.

The commander was clearly unhappy with this arrangement. Before bed, he kept staring at the pup, his tiny black eyes glinting coldly.

In the little parrot’s mind, the bedroom was its territory.

The pup didn’t have the courage its mastiff ancestors had, who would boldly roar at wolves and bears. After being stared at by the commander for a while, it got scared, tucked its tail, and turned toward the bed to sleep—offering its butt to the commander.

Old Wang wanted to cuddle the pup to sleep, but the weather was too hot, and the pup gave off a lot of heat. After all, it had quite the appetite. That evening alone, it had eaten a whole bag of dog food and over half of an 11-inch pizza—worth around thirty-plus New Zealand dollars.

And that was just dinner. Estimating its daily intake, it could eat up to a hundred dollars’ worth of food. No wonder its previous owner couldn’t afford to keep it—it was still just a puppy! How much more would it eat when it grew up? No average person could raise such a beast.

At dawn, as the morning sun rose, Wang Bo yawned and got out of bed. The pup’s ears twitched, then it opened its eyes and yawned too, following closely behind him.

Wang Bo picked it up and helped loosen its skin a bit. The little guy had made a lot of progress since coming to the castle. It no longer sat facing the wall in despair—it liked moving around now, which was a good sign.

Although the pup was still young, its size wasn’t small—about as big as an adult medium-sized dog. Lying on his lap, it felt quite heavy. Most of the weight came from its bone structure. It was actually quite skinny—touching it felt like skin and bones.

The mastiff’s fur was short and coarse. When Wang Bo petted it yesterday, it felt rough and even a bit prickly. He didn’t know much about dogs, but he knew that wasn’t normal.

Later, he asked Bowen, who confirmed that it was due to a lack of vitamins and exercise.

Helping loosen a mastiff’s skin allows better sunlight absorption, which in turn helps with vitamin intake. It also strengthens the emotional bond between dog and owner. Right now, the pup was clearly enjoying Wang Bo’s attention—eyes squinting with pleasure, mouth open in a goofy grin, chewing its own paw playfully.

Meanwhile, the commander sat coldly watching from a nearby tree. The moment Wang Bo put the pup down, the parrot immediately flew onto his lap, spread its wings, and lay there like a thug—challenging him to do something about it.

Old Wang was speechless and had no choice but to groom its feathers for a while too.

In truth, he didn’t need to do this. African Grey Parrots love preening themselves. They constantly maintain clean, smooth feathers to reduce drag when flying.

After serving both of his little masters, Wang Bo opened the Heart of the Lord. Before going to bed last night, he’d checked the draw disk—it had turned a pale green, which meant it was almost ready to be used again.

The draw disk’s frequency wasn’t easy to determine. It seemed to depend on the density of the green mist on the sand table. After several draws, the mist would lighten in color and become less dense—but he still didn’t know how to replenish it.

As expected, the draw disk had turned pale green again. He tapped it with his finger, and it began spinning rapidly.

“Stop,” Old Wang said expectantly. He was curious what kind of Heart he’d get this time.

The pointer gradually slowed down, spun two more laps, then finally landed in the Soul Heart zone. The words “Soul Heart” twisted and transformed into “Pet Heart,” and a thumb-sized green heart symbol popped out.

This was the first Soul Heart he had obtained. All the previous ones were related to the territory.

He scratched his head and picked up the Soul Heart. He had a rough idea now: the Territory Heart was used on the Dominion of Sun’s sand table, while the Soul Heart probably affected animals within the territory.

There were undoubtedly countless animals living across the vast 1,000-square-kilometer land, but Old Wang was sure he’d use it on his own pets—either the commander or the pup.

He thought of giving it to the pup. The mastiff’s mental state was still a bit fragile. But that would be unfair to the commander. The parrot had been with him since the very beginning. Even when he was kidnapped, it had never abandoned him.

“I’ll give it to you next time,” Old Wang said, glancing at the pup. He waved the little parrot over and tried to apply the Soul Heart to it.

But it didn’t work—the Pet Heart remained in his hand.

He thought for a moment. The Territory Hearts were used directly on the sand table. Maybe the Soul Heart worked the same way?

Following that logic, Old Wang opened the sand table, located the little parrot, and placed the Pet Heart onto it.

Sure enough, the Pet Heart instantly fused into the commander’s figure, and a faint green glow appeared over the parrot’s previously gray body.

As soon as it received the Soul Heart, the parrot’s spirit was revitalized.

It closed its eyes, slowly spread its red tail feathers, and its body puffed up. When it opened its eyes again, it was like someone who had just woken from a deep slumber. Wang Bo could even sense a spark of intelligence in its gaze.

Recalling how the Territory Hearts had strengthened and improved the land, Old Wang was filled with anticipation for what the Soul Heart would do.

He looked at the little parrot and said, “Commander, come on, call me Daddy! Say ‘Daddy’!”

“Ah, ah—your mom exploded! Your mom exploded!” the commander screeched, folding up its feathers and shouting more and more cheerfully.