A World Worth Protecting

There were no more snacks and no more furniture left to munch on, but the donkey’s appetite continued to grow with its size. It became more and more alarming. It would continue to bray until it was satisfied. Wang Baole’s frustrations grew as he listened to its endless braying.

Finally, he stared at the pony-size, braying little black donkey and realized that even if he slaughtered the animal, it would barely last him a few meals. He might as well continue rearing it.

Wang Baole snorted at that thought. He surveyed his empty residence and decided to take his little donkey out for a walk. They would go and buy some snacks. When he left this pavilion, he watched as the donkey stared at the door of the residence and licked its own lips. He could sense a headache coming.

He could tell that the creature was wondering if the door could be eaten…

Wang Baole flew into a rage. He grabbed hold of the donkey, leaped, and landed directly on its back.

Wang Baole’s slim, slender body drifted down, and the little donkey fell flat to the ground with a thud. It kept kicking its legs, scratching the floor furiously as it cried.

“Son! Son!”

“You only have that bit of strength in you? In the past two weeks, you’ve almost eaten me out of house and home. You finished all my snacks. I’ve raised you for nothing!” Wang Baole grew displeased at how useless the donkey was. Many students saw the sight as well. They all felt that the donkey was indeed too weak.

Jin Duozhi, especially. His most important mission every day wasn’t studying or cultivation… it was stalking Wang Baole and taking note of his every move, and through that, finding out ways in which he could strengthen his relationship with Wang Baole. Upon seeing the scene before him, Jin Duozhi immediately raced over.

“Godfather, this donkey won’t do. You’re already so thin, but it can’t even carry your weight. That’s just too much!” Jin Duozhi had an incredulous look on his face as he stared at the donkey. He didn’t question where the beast had come from. In his eyes, any opportunity to shower Wang Baole with praises and compliments was a good one.

As Jin Duozhi continued his bootlicking, and the others around them started muttering and exchanging whispered words, the donkey started to glare. No one knew if the donkey understood what they were saying, but it started to bray and, bit by bit, struggled to its feet.

Wang Baole eyed Jin Duozhi. Wang Baole and Jin Duoming were of the same age and generation, and he found it rather nice that Jin Duozhi was calling him his godfather. He nodded, pleased. A high-spirited Jin Duozhi escorted Wang Baole as the latter rode his donkey out of the Dao Mountain Mist Academy.

They left the school, and the donkey continued the journey, panting as its limbs trembled under Wang Baole’s weight. They drew looks of shock from the surrounding pedestrians. They stared at the tiny donkey, then stared at Wang Baole. They all had odd expressions on their faces.

“You see that? Everyone’s looking down on you. They’re all thinking, this donkey is so weak. It looks like it can’t even carry the weight of a thin person.” Wang Baole smacked the donkey’s head, the look on his face that of angry disappointment.

The donkey seemed to understand what Wang Baole had said. It seemed to stutter, then with a loud bray, charged forward in a burst of speed, Wang Baole still on his back. Wang Baole’s eyes brightened.

“That’s it! You can do it! Come on!” Wang Baole was overjoyed. He didn’t expect the donkey to have such pride. He started praising the donkey happily.

However, the donkey could only keep the increased pace for half an hour and was soon exhausted. They hadn’t even traveled that far before it cried ceaselessly and appeared to be starving. When it passed a flowerbed, it leaned forward and, with a sudden bite, ate part of the flowerbed, gobbling up flowers and grass alike.

You mean this works too? Wang Baole was shocked.

The donkey seemed to regain a bit of its strength. It carried Wang Baole along, walking and eating as it walked. It would get a bite of a tree when it saw a tree, get another bite of a parked cruiser when it saw that. When there was nothing left for it to nibble on, it sank its teeth into the curb by the road and ate a huge chunk of it.

Wang Baole fell into a complete daze when he saw that. He grew alarmed, even. He turned his head and looked at the road they had traveled. The donkey had left its bite marks in everything that they had passed by.

The disciplinary department soon arrived amidst the sounding of alarm bells. An exasperated Wang Baole grimaced and paid the fines. He even flashed his identity slip, and they finally released him after a great deal of persuasion on his part. He hurriedly led the donkey back to the academy.

After they returned to the academy, the donkey continued its habit of eating the first thing it set its eyes on. The teachers and students grew increasingly curious. Everyone gasped in shock when they saw it take a bite out of the statue standing in the school’s public square.

“My god… what are his teeth made of?”

“It… it actually managed to bite into that!”

Wang Baole’s head swelled even bigger amid the commotion. He grabbed hold of the donkey and dragged it back to his residence hastily.

He finally realized how unfussy an eater the donkey was. It didn’t matter if it was something that could be eaten or couldn’t be eaten. As long as it was hungry, anything was food to it!

What in the world is this creature? After they returned to his residence, Wang Baole stared as the donkey raced towards the doors of his residence. He didn’t even have the chance to stop the creature before it sank its teeth in and bit off a big chunk of the door. Wang Baole’s head started throbbing again.

The door was made of metal, not wood or stone, but the donkey chewed a few times before swallowing. It seemed to find the taste of metal quite delicious, and it opened its mouth wide, intending to take a second bite. Wang Baole panicked. He twisted the donkey’s ear and pulled it aside and started shouting angrily.

“You’ve gone too far. This is my home. Are you trying to start a revolt?” Wang Baole roared. That seemed to frighten the donkey. It immediately clamped its mouth shut. A small fragment of the chunk of the door it had bitten off earlier fell from its mouth and landed on the floor with a loud clang. It stared at Wang Baole with an innocent look in its eyes.

Wang Baole saw the donkey’s reaction and approved of its behavior. He scolded it for a while more before sending it to one corner. He snorted. While deliberating about what to do with the donkey, Wang Baole pulled out a bag of snacks from his storage bracelet. They were snacks he had set aside specially. He was just about to eat it.

At that very moment… the donkey’s eyes widened. Its four hooves stomped the floor, and with a sudden burst of startling speed that surpassed even the speed of lightning, it appeared before Wang Baole. Before Wang Baole could even react, it opened its mouth and snapped it shut the next moment. It swallowed Wang Baole’s snacks whole.

Wang Baole was stunned. He stared at his empty hands, dazed. Then, he looked up and saw his donkey. It was munching and staring back at him with the same innocent look in its eyes. He went mad that instant.

“Stupid ass, you’re really planning to climb all over me!” Wang Baole flew into a rage. He had to punish the donkey so that it would learn to behave after that. He summoned his mosquitoes out.

Nine ordinary mosquitoes instantly flew out and charged towards the donkey. They shot out like arrows, approaching the donkey in an instant. Their buzzing resounded in the room, but as they were about to sting the donkey, the latter’s eyes brightened. It opened its mouth swiftly and, in a few mere mouthfuls, swallowed all nine mosquitoes. It turned and gave Wang Baole a pleased look.

Wang Baole’s eyes widened, and he gasped. The donkey had been quick when it had snatched the snacks out of Wang Baole’s hands, but Wang Baole’s attention had been on his snacks. He had noticed the donkey’s speed, but he hadn’t truly realized how fast it was. He did now. This surprised him. Then, he recalled that the donkey had been immensely fast when he had ridden it earlier outside the academy.

Looks like this donkey isn’t completely useless. Wang Baole mused. He thought this might be a natural talent the donkey possessed. He wasn’t comfortable with how pleased the donkey seemed with itself though. There was still a need for a lesson; else the donkey would run wild.

He snorted and suddenly walked over quickly. The donkey wasn’t given any time to react before Wang Baole stood before it and held it down firmly. As the donkey’s eyes widened, its four hooves kicked, and it brayed ceaselessly, Wang Baole summoned the nine mosquitoes again. They started stinging the donkey.

After a dozen swollen bite marks, Wang Baole finally released his hold on the donkey. He watched as it tried desperately and failed to scratch at its itches, then spoke coolly.

“This is just a lesson to…” Before he could finish what he intended to say, the donkey brayed loudly and dashed towards the doors. Wang Baole stared with wide eyes and open mouth as it munched rapidly and ate the entire door. It seemed dissatisfied after finishing with the door and turned towards the door frame. It took a few bites out of that as well.

As it ate, the dozen swollen bite marks on its body started to disappear…

Wang Baole stared in disbelief as the donkey stood beside the ruined frame of the nonexistent door and stared at Wang Baole smugly. It started braying.

“Son! Son!”