Animal Detective

Shen Xin was once again reminded of the hardships of his previous trip to Ma Chang Town.

After leaving Xingle Alliance, they drove for over a hundred kilometers before finally reaching Wugai Banner.

A banner is equivalent to a county.

It was also the first stop on the way to the Wugai Grassland, so it was quite prosperous.

Zhang Qifeng made a brief stop and took Shen Xin to breakfast.

It was a local specialty: a pot of savory, aromatic milk tea.

It was served in a copper pot with charcoal burning underneath.

Zhang Qifeng didn’t let the shop owner prepare it. He did it himself, adding butter, fried rice, and dried beef, then pouring in milk and brick tea. He continuously ladled the milk tea, then added milk curds, cheese curds, and other ingredients.

Finally, he served Shen Xin a large bowl and told him to try it.

Liao Lei leaned over from the side and reminded him in a low voice, "Don’t force yourself if you don’t like it."

He then said that when he first came here, he couldn’t get used to it either. It took a long time for him to gradually acquire a taste for it.

Shen Xin nodded and took a sip.

The temperature during the day was only 13 degrees Celsius, so it was quite cool. Drinking a bowl of hot milk tea like this made him feel comfortable all over.

It was just the flavor... The milky taste was too strong.

And it had a salty aftertaste.

Shen Xin took a few more sips but still put it down, saying he wasn’t quite used to it.

The lamb shaomai, however, were excellent. He particularly liked the ones with lamb and sand onion filling, which were fresh, tender, and juicy. Shen Xin took an immediate liking to them, remarking that he was a carnivore through and through.

Zhang Qifeng smiled, checking his phone for messages from time to time.

After looking at it, a hint of regret appeared on his face.

Shen Xin noticed and asked him what was wrong.

Zhang Qifeng said, "I’m checking the group chat messages. I’ve sent messages to all the subordinate network groups, telling them to pass the word down and report any sightings of Tianxiong."

"I’m afraid of missing any news. Unfortunately, it’s been several days now, and there’s still nothing."

Shen Xin only understood after asking for more details.

Their jurisdiction was too large and their police force was limited. They also had the task of patrolling the border, so they had developed a large number of Border Guards and volunteer police officers. Using the eight "gachas" in the area as anchor points, they formed a huge grid network.

So they had several work group chats where they could exchange information.

Zhang Qifeng said, "Shen Xin, I think Tianxiong has probably run out of our jurisdiction, and I’m guessing he’s gone very far."

Their jurisdiction covered more than 1,300 square kilometers. It was large, but it was only a few dozen kilometers from east to west or north to south.

Several days had passed, and no one knew how far Tianxiong could have run.

The grassland was vast. It was easy to get lost if you couldn’t tell which direction you were going.

Shen Xin said, "It’s alright. There are people on the grassland. If we expand the search area, we’ll definitely find him."

Shen Xin thought there were only two possibilities.

’Either he lost his way, ran too far, and was found by someone.’

’Or he didn’t go far, but was killed by that Wolf King.’

’Over a thousand square kilometers... It’s such a huge place, and there are wild animals. Finding him will be very difficult.’

If he ran far away, it would be hard for Tian Kui to track him down.

But if it was the second scenario, Tian Kui should be able to track him.

At this point, Zhang Qifeng had lost his appetite. After Shen Xin finished eating, they quickly hit the road.

They continued heading in a generally northwesterly direction.

Once they left Wugai Banner, the roads became much worse. Most importantly, as far as the eye could see, there were hardly any signs of human settlement.

After chugging along for several dozen more kilometers, a small town finally appeared on the horizon.

This was Huergansu Village.

Administratively, it was supposed to be a town, but it was really small. It stretched along the highway, looking as if it had been abandoned deep in the vast grassland.

Zhang Qifeng briefly introduced the town’s situation.

It had a permanent population of just over seven hundred, with only a single clinic and one gas station.

The entire Su Mu had only 1,800 people, which meant a thousand people were scattered across more than 1,300 square kilometers of grassland.

That averaged out to one person per square kilometer.

Truly vast and sparsely populated.

The police station was at the northernmost end of the town, next to its only highway.

The highway was a dead end here. Further on, deeper into the grassland, it became a dirt road.

The police station wasn’t large either, just three rows of low, one-story buildings in a C-shape.

The entire station had a total of 13 official police officers and 9 auxiliary officers.

Twenty-two people.

Zhang Qifeng parked the car and warmly invited Shen Xin inside.

Liao Lei followed with the luggage.

In the middle of the day, there were only three people at the station.

The rest had all gone to handle business in the "gachas" below.

The gachas were too far and the roads were poor. They had to regularly deliver living supplies to the herdsmen, help them with package deliveries, and solve their problems.

At the same time, they also had to patrol the border.

In Zhang Qifeng’s words, their office wasn’t in town, but out on the grassland.

"That sounds really tough."

Shen Xin nodded to himself. In a shaded corner of the courtyard, he could still see patches of snow.

’And it’s already May.’

Shen Xin’s arrival was met with a warm welcome from the only three people left at the station.

Especially after seeing Tian Kui, an officer named Turigen’s eyes even turned red.

It turned out that he was the one who usually took care of Tianxiong the most and got along with him the best.

"Where’s Lakshen?" Shen Xin asked.

’I wonder how his injuries are.’

Zhang Qifeng sighed and said, "He was too ashamed to see you. He went out to look for Tianxiong."

When he learned yesterday that Shen Xin was coming today, he left on horseback early in the morning.

Shen Xin said, "He really didn’t have to do that. It was an accident, after all."

His purpose for coming this time was to find Tianxiong. Shen Xin put down his luggage and immediately suggested going to the scene to have a look.

’We have to start the search from the scene.’

Zhang Qifeng hesitated. "You’ve been rushing all night, catching a flight. Why don’t you rest a bit before going? And Tian Kui needs to rest too, right?"

Shen Xin shook his head and said it wasn’t necessary.

’As a police officer, there’s no such thing as taking a break or not.’

"And Tian Kui is full of energy."

Shen Xin patted Tian Kui’s head.

Tian Kui barked.

*Of course.*

Zhang Qifeng didn’t insist.

He immediately got in the car and drove Shen Xin toward the scene of the incident.

From here, the straight-line distance to the border was seventy kilometers.

There were no paved roads along the way, only dirt tracks.

It had snowed a couple of days ago and was now melting, making the roads a bit muddy.

By this point, Shen Xin was already feeling the power of the grassland.

The bugs.

They had to keep the windows closed, otherwise, the bugs would swarm into the car.

Ding Yuwei had given him bug repellent to bring, but Shen Xin, being carefree, hadn’t even thought to use it.

Zhang Qifeng said, "This isn’t even the peak season yet. In another month, the mosquitos will really be flying everywhere. It’s terrifying how many there are."

This stretch of grassland had mountains, forests, grass, water, and swamps. It was inevitable that a large number of insects would breed here.

Shen Xin nodded and simply took off Tian Kui’s K-9 vest.

When wearing the vest, bugs could crawl inside, and he wouldn’t be able to roll around to scratch the itch.

That was why Tianxiong had only been wearing a helmet and no vest. Otherwise, the vest had reflective strips, which might have made him easier to spot at night.

The road was difficult, and they couldn’t drive fast. It took them over an hour to cover just over thirty kilometers.

They first arrived at a gacha called Chabuqi Day.

The villages here were anything but ordinary in size.

Each family had their own pasture. A distance of five hundred meters between them was considered being close neighbors.

On the outskirts of the village, an area was fenced off with iron railings, and several shipping container homes were arranged inside.

This was their number two outpost.

The grassland was huge. When they came down to handle business, a round trip in one day was impossible. Add border patrols to that, and it was even less feasible.

So they had specifically set up this outpost where they could stay, stand guard, and rotate shifts between here and the main station.

They were just simple metal-sheet houses, without even a toilet.

In the winter, the snow here could be knee-deep. One could only imagine the hardship of living here.

"By the way, Shen Xin, have you ever ridden a horse?" Zhang Qifeng asked.

From here, it was inconvenient to drive to the incident site. A car couldn’t get through, and even a motorcycle would have a hard time because of the various rivers.

Riding a horse was the most convenient way.

When they entered the yard, Shen Xin had seen horses tied up.

Shen Xin hesitated for a moment, then said, "I can ride, but not fast."

There was a film studio over in Nanzhu, so Shen Xin had ridden a horse before.

But that was always at a slow walk.

Later he’d ridden a donkey, but it couldn’t walk fast either. If it ran, Shen Xin would be bounced right off.

He was clearly not at the level where he could gallop wildly.

Zhang Qifeng said, "As long as you can ride, that’s good enough. We’ll go slowly."

Right away, they picked out a horse for Shen Xin that was said to be the most obedient, a bay-colored one.

Zhang Qifeng led the horse over and taught Shen Xin that the key was to relax his body. The stiffer you are, the more solidly you sit in the saddle, and the more violently you’ll be bounced around when the horse runs, which your body can’t take.

As he spoke, he carefully led the horse in front of Shen Xin.

Unexpectedly, the horse turned its head to look at Shen Xin, then moved closer, lowered its head slightly, and proactively nuzzled him.

’This is my talent at work.’

Sure enough, a favorability icon appeared above the horse’s head in the next moment.

Horses were different from donkeys. They had been domesticated by humans for a long time, were naturally close to people, and were sufficiently docile.

Plus, horses were smarter than donkeys.

Most importantly, they weren’t stubborn.

Shen Xin tried to mount the horse, but it was a tall steed, and he couldn’t get up on his first try.

Just as Zhang Qifeng was about to help, the horse in front of them actually bent its front legs and lowered its body.

Shen Xin was stunned, and Zhang Qifeng was equally stunned.

With the horse half-kneeling, Shen Xin easily settled into the saddle.

Only then did the horse slowly stand up again.

Zhang Qifeng’s eyes widened, and he muttered something.

"Instructor Zhang, what did you say?" Shen Xin didn’t hear clearly. He just felt that the horse was so well-behaved and understanding. He asked Zhang Qifeng for its name.

Zhang Qifeng quickly replied, "It’s Delun."

He was still in disbelief.

Before, when Lakshen went to Nanjiang, he had said upon his return that he heard Shen Xin was exceptionally good at training K-9s and had a natural affinity for animals.

He said Shen Xin was like Hong Guler.

In the epic poems of the grassland, Hong Guler is hailed as the Lion, the Son of Nature, who possessed a psychic, steel-blue horse.

He could understand the language of horses. In battle, his steel-blue horse would often send him signals of danger, helping him turn misfortune into fortune and emerge victorious every time.

When he was in a desperate situation, swans even came to his rescue.

Shen Xin took the reins and called out, "Delun."

As expected, Delun turned its head to look at him.

"Good boy."

Shen Xin stroked its mane, put his feet in the stirrups, gently tapped its belly, and tugged the reins. Delun leisurely started walking forward.

Steady and stable, neither too fast nor too slow.

"Tian Kui!"

Shen Xin called out. Behind him, Tian Kui shot out with a WHOOSH and began to run freely across the grassland.

Shen Xin remembered some videos of Tianxiong that Lakshen had sent him before.

He had also been galloping across the grassland.

’In an environment like this, they can probably cast off all restraints and run truly free.’

Zhang Qifeng snapped back to his senses, quickly mounted his own horse, and followed.

Shen Xin tried to go a bit faster.

He shouted "Giddy-up!" and Delun accelerated, immediately bouncing Shen Xin up and down so violently that he almost fell off.

Zhang Qifeng rode up beside him and reminded him, "You have to relax your body! You need to follow the horse’s momentum. Also, lift your butt off the saddle, put your weight on your legs—you have to get into a horse stance."

"A horse stance! That’s what it’s named for—riding horses."

Shen Xin was a quick learner, and Zhang Qifeng’s mention of the horse stance was a wake-up call for him.

He pushed down with his feet in the stirrups and lifted his butt off the saddle.

He wasn’t used to it at first, but with his hands gripping the reins for support, his body tried to follow the rhythm of the horse’s movements. He quickly got the hang of it.

At this point, Delun seemed to sense that Shen Xin had adapted and gradually began to pick up speed.

"You can lean your upper body forward a bit. Make sure your feet are firm in the stirrups. If something feels wrong, don’t panic. Pull back on the reins, slowly, and the horse will know you want to slow down," Zhang Qifeng continuously explained the key points.

Shen Xin shouted that he understood, then yelled "Giddy-up!" again.

Delun ran even faster, letting its hooves fly as it galloped wantonly across the grassland.

Beside him, Tian Kui kept pace like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Liao Lei, following behind, couldn’t help but say to Zhang Qifeng, "He’s amazing."

Zhang Qifeng nodded in deep agreement.

He remembered how much effort it had taken to teach Liao Lei and the others how to ride.

Now, looking at Shen Xin, it was as if he were a natural.

"Hong Guler."

He muttered to himself, then spurred his horse and quickly accelerated to catch up.