The Hand of Confession – Chapter 65

Volume 3: Days of Working at the Manor

Golden Retriever

Real and Fake Golden Retrievers

Shen Maomao almost immediately did as she was told. She picked up the stone lock on the door and fiddled with it by pulling, tugging, and yanking for quite some time, but couldn’t unlock it. Eventually, she simply picked up a large stone from the ground and asked Lou Jingmo, “Sister Lou, should I smash it?”

Lou Jingmo was checking on the condition of Golden Retriever. Hearing this, she looked around to make sure no one was around, then replied, “Smash it!”

Shen Maomao started banging on the big lock with the stone, making a “bang bang bang” sound.

Lou Jingmo first checked Golden Retriever’s pulse to make sure he was still alive, then began pinching his philtrum. (The philtrum is the vertical groove between the nose and the upper lip, and pinching it can be a method to revive someone. This reflects a cultural practice in some Chinese traditions for first aid.)

The old horse beside Golden Retriever pawed the ground with its hind hooves, then lowered its head as if to nudge Lou Jingmo. Fortunately, Lou Jingmo reacted quickly and sidestepped to avoid its big mouth. The old horse snorted twice in dissatisfaction and tried to bite Lou Jingmo’s clothes again.

With a “bang”, the stone lock fell to the ground as expected. Shen Maomao rushed in like a small cannonball, grabbing the old horse’s reins and pulling it to the side: “What are you doing? Is my goddess’s body something you can covet?”

Lou Jingmo: “…”

The old horse seemed to have two flames in its eyes, kicking its legs in frustration.

Shen Maomao held the reins from a distance, pulling them back with both hands and engaging in an unusual tug-of-war with the horse.

“I’m telling you… this auntie is a tenth-dan black belt in judo!” she panted, “Dealing with you… is like child’s play! You better behave and stay still!”

Over there, Lou Jingmo helped Golden Retriever sit up and said, “Keep bragging.”

“Bragging doesn’t cost any taxes,” Shen Maomao chuckled, “How’s Little Golden?”

“He’s not dead, but for some reason, he just won’t wake up.”

The old horse let out a neigh, its left front hoof randomly pawing at the ground, soon digging a deep hole.

The two women consciously ignored it, and Shen Maomao asked again, “So what do we do?”

Lou Jingmo: “When he came, there should have been a small cart with him. After finding it, take them back to the estate first.”

Shen Maomao nodded: “Who’s going to watch the stuff, and who will go find the cart?”

“Moving together is safer.” Lou Jingmo released her hand, and with a “thump,” Golden Retriever fell onto the soft grass. She flipped her wrist, and a red capsule appeared in her palm, “Take this, you drag them.”

Shen Maomao wrapped the reins around her arm, took the small capsule with her other hand, and couldn’t help but swallow hard.

This was the second time she’d seen a prop…

The capsule seemed to be a relatively common prop, with effects that weren’t particularly impressive. According to Golden Retriever, even this most basic type of prop could cover Ren Yue’s tuition for a year.

Lou Jingmo commanded, “Eat it.”

Shen Maomao: “Aren’t we supposed to crush it this time? Are your hands clean?”

Lou Jingmo didn’t say anything, just looked at her calmly.

Shen Maomao couldn’t continue arguing. She closed her eyes and swallowed the capsule. It melted in her mouth immediately, and it wasn’t as unpleasant as she had imagined.

A warm current flowed from her body to her limbs, making her feel like she could now kill a cow with her bare hands, or perhaps… a horse.

“Being a RMB player is just awesome…” Shen Maomao rubbed her hands eagerly, ready to try, “Now I’m truly a tenth-dan black belt in judo! Should I kill this troublesome horse first as a sacrifice to the heavens?” (An “RMB player” refers to someone who spends real money in games to gain advantages, a pay-to-win player basically.)

The old horse’s eyes showed a human-like panic. It yanked on the reins with its neck and then sadly realized that the powered-up Shen Maomao was even more unbeatable. It couldn’t help but bend its front legs and kneel on the ground with a “thump,” then lowered its head and “duang, duang” kowtowed twice to Shen Maomao.

“What the heck?” Shen Maomao was stunned, “Has this horse become a spirit?” (In Chinese folklore, animals can become spirits through cultivation, gaining intelligence and sometimes magical powers.)

The old horse shook its head frantically, letting out a series of meaningless howls from its mouth and lifting a hoof as if trying to gesture something.

“What are you saying?” Shen Maomao stared for a long time but couldn’t understand.

Lou Jingmo furrowed her brows. She looked at Golden Retriever, who was unconscious on the ground, then at the old horse whose every move seemed very human-like, and uncertainly said, “…Golden Retriever?”

The old horse shed two streams of hot tears, nodding frantically.

Shen Maomao released the rope: “What??”

Lou Jingmo asked, “What happened?”

Horse Golden Retriever let out a series of neighs.

Shen Maomao: “…”

Lou Jingmo: “…Forget it, let’s take him away first and figure it out when we get back. Do you know where your cart is?”

Horse Golden Retriever nodded and was just about to lead them to the cart when they suddenly heard a faint groan from Golden Retriever lying on the ground. Then, under everyone’s watchful eyes, he opened his eyes!

Lou Jingmo: “??”

Shen Maomao: “What the heck?”

Horse Golden Retriever was so startled he nearly jumped up. He frantically tugged at Shen Maomao’s clothes with his mouth, his tail whipping back and forth with loud snaps.

While Golden Retriever was rubbing his eyes, Lou Jingmo gave Shen Maomao a meaningful look. Shen Maomao received the signal, immediately understanding, and began to gently pat Horse Golden Retriever’s head to calm him down, also pulling him aside, away from her body. At the same time, she paid special attention to Golden Retriever’s shadow on the ground, which looked completely normal and stayed right where it should be.

Lou Jingmo tentatively asked, “Golden Retriever? How are you?”

Golden Retriever’s body got up, showing a fearful expression: “There’s a ghost on the farm! Sister Lou, Sister Rabbit, we have to run!”

There seemed to be no abnormality.

Shen Maomao looked at Golden Retriever, then at the old horse, feeling deeply conflicted.

Which one of them is the real one? Golden Retriever isn’t just playing the role of the Horse Supervisor (a reference to a position held by Sun Wukong in “Journey to the West”), but he’s also caught in a “True and False Monkey King” situation. Has he taken up the script of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven? (This refers to the famous Chinese novel where Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, holds a position and later faces a doppelgänger challenge.) They’re not the Buddha either!

The old horse seemed to sense her hesitation, tears welling up in its eyes, making its large eyes appear especially dark and bright.

Such a moist gaze made Shen Maomao feel a bit guilty, so she quickly patted his small horse face to comfort him, winking at him with her back turned to his body.

Horse Golden Retriever snorted loudly.

Lou Jingmo said to him, “What’s going on with you?” While speaking, she observed his shadow, but since Golden Retriever was moving only slightly, there was no noticeable delay in the shadow. So she added, “Let’s find your cart first. We can talk while we walk back.”

“But inside…” Golden Retriever shook his head fearfully, not wanting to go back.

Shen Maomao half-jokingly said, “This is your task. If you don’t complete it, aren’t you afraid you’ll be in big trouble when you get back?”

Golden Retriever was frightened: “Then let’s go back… I remember I left the cart inside.” With that, he prepared to lead them back into the farm.

Shen Maomao held the reins, and the old horse refused to walk with her. But she dragged it along, causing it to stumble, reminding it that she had used a prop and was now incredibly strong.

Horse Golden Retriever was terrified, tears streaming down his face. He kept making anxious “neighing” sounds.

Shen Maomao scratched her head awkwardly, “What should I do? This horse doesn’t want to go.”

Lou Jingmo said calmly, “Did you waste the prop? Just drag it along.”

Shen Maomao: “…” Isn’t that a bit too much?

Horse Golden Retriever lay down on the ground dejectedly, pretending to be a dead horse, giving up on trying to resist. Meanwhile, Lou Jingmo and Golden Retriever were already heading deeper into the farm.

Not daring to stay behind alone, Shen Maomao pulled the old horse along, as easily as if she were pulling a feather.

Tears fell from Horse Golden Retriever’s eyes, blending into the damp soil. He remembered running under the sunset that day—it was the youth he had lost…

---

The baron’s farm was very large. Just inside the gate was a wide expanse of pasture. The grass here was lush and tender, growing well without much care.

The three people and one horse walked a short distance and saw a small Western-style house and a few granaries.

There were no guards in sight.

Golden Retriever seemed to be afraid of something, turning his head away, not daring to look inside. He pointed behind the house and said, “I was attacked there…”

Lou Jingmo asked, “What attacked you?”

“It was a shadow,” he replied.

Lou Jingmo narrowed her eyes.

On the way here, she noticed that Golden Retriever’s shadow didn’t have any delay, so she still couldn’t be sure whether the human or the horse was the real Golden Retriever. Although she was inclined to believe the old horse was Golden Retriever, that was just her intuition and didn’t confirm the truth, leaving her unable to act rashly.

Two words—troublesome.

Golden Retriever continued, “I came to cut the pasture and saw the farm manager’s family. Everything was fine, and I had already loaded the grass onto the cart and was ready to leave when I was attacked by the shadow of their child.”

At this moment, the sun was high in the sky, and the shadows of the three people and the horse were right beneath them. The shadows of the buildings and trees were short, looking completely non-threatening.

“Is the theme of this scenario about taking care of your shadow?” Shen Maomao, who had been chased by a shadow herself, wondered. Although she didn’t know what would happen if it caught up with her, she was sure it wouldn’t be good. “So how did you end up unconscious? Did you run to the farm gate by yourself?”

“Yeah, I left the cart behind and ran, but then all their shadows chased me…” Golden Retriever seemed confused as he spoke. “I don’t know how I passed out, but when I woke up, I saw you guys.”

Horse Golden Retriever neighed again, sounding a bit urgent.

But no one understood what he was trying to express. Golden Retriever’s gaze fixed on him, looking puzzled. “Speaking of which, I didn’t bring this horse. Where did you find it?”

Even though it was a very plain look, it made Horse Golden Retriever tremble uncontrollably, instinctively seeking to hide behind Shen Maomao to avoid danger.

Shen Maomao was so small that she couldn’t really shield him, so he lowered his head, pressing it against her back.

“Hey, don’t think you can act like a rogue just because you’re a horse. I’m loyal to Sister Lou in life and death…”

Lou Jingmo, with a blank expression, replied, “No thanks, pass.”

Shen Maomao: “…”

Lou Jingmo stood at the front, her eyes scanning the surroundings, paying particular attention to all the shadows on the ground. She couldn’t spot any suspicious human shapes besides themselves, unsure whether the farm manager’s family was hiding or simply not around.

After thinking for a moment, she said, “Try not to walk in shaded areas; go around them.”

The three of them nodded, choosing a path with almost no shadows to proceed. They quickly went around the house and reached the back…

---

---