Animal Detective

The highway Tianxiong was on started from Wugai Banner and led directly to the Wugai Grassland Scenic Area.

It happened to be the May Day holiday, so there were quite a few cars on the road.

There were tour buses and many cars from people on road trips.

Tianxiong observed for a moment before moving to the side of the road.

Half of his left ear was gone, and his body was covered in wounds. Filthy and disheveled, he was a pathetic sight.

He stood motionlessly by the road, quietly watching the cars drive past one by one.

He let out a bark every so often, trying to attract the attention of the passing vehicles.

But no car stopped.

As he stared, Tianxiong suddenly whipped his head around.

A hundred meters from the highway, behind a pile of gravel and a patch of weeds, a pair of eyes was hidden, staring intently at Tianxiong.

Tianxiong ignored it, turning his head back to continue his steadfast vigil.

Finally, an SUV passed Tianxiong, drove a short distance, and then slowly came to a stop.

Tianxiong’s eyes lit up, and he quickly ran toward it.

Inside the car was a family of three on a road trip.

A seven or eight-year-old girl in the back seat rolled down the window and said excitedly, "Mom, look! It caught up to us."

The woman said she saw it, then rummaged through her bag for a sausage. She bit it open, peeled off the casing, and handed it to her daughter.

It was the daughter who had seen Tianxiong, said he must be hungry, and asked them to stop and feed him.

"Don’t open the door."

The father in the driver’s seat reminded them.

By now, Tianxiong had arrived. He sat obediently beside the car, looking up at the girl.

"Here you go!"

The girl tossed out the sausage.

Tianxiong caught it accurately in one bite and swallowed it in a few quick gulps.

He was starving.

After finishing, he didn’t get anxious or restless. He just continued sitting there obediently, watching the girl.

"Mom, he’s so well-behaved." The girl leaned against the car door, holding out her hand for another sausage.

The woman had noticed too. Tianxiong was impossibly well-behaved.

She subconsciously made a couple of clicking sounds with her tongue.

Tianxiong immediately turned his head to look at her.

As the woman peeled another sausage, she said, "Did he get into a fight? He has so many injuries."

The girl said, "Mom, why don’t we take him to a vet? Look, his ear is even bitten off."

The man leaned over to look, then shook his head. "Forget it. It’s a stray dog. It’s not safe."

The woman nodded, thinking the same thing, and then tossed out the sausage.

Tianxiong instinctively moved to catch it, but then stopped abruptly.

The sausage flew over his head and rolled to a stop on the roadside.

Tianxiong spun around, bared his teeth, and let out a low growl from his throat.

"Mom, there’s another one," the girl said with surprise, pointing into the distance.

Dozens of meters away, a brownish-yellow wolf with a coat of black fur down its back and a snow-white belly slowly emerged from the weeds.

Like Tianxiong, it was covered in mud and wounds, and it was even limping on its left hind leg.

But as it slowly approached, its presence was imposing.

Its eyes, in particular, were cold and filled with killing intent.

Tianxiong’s reaction startled the woman. Only then did she notice the wolf in the distance. She paused, instinctively assuming it was another dog and that the two were about to fight over the food.

"Mom, give it another one. There isn’t enough to go around," the girl in the back seat said.

The woman picked up a sausage, bit open the casing, and threw it forcefully.

The wolf was not startled by the thrown object. It continued its slow approach, walking right past the sausage on the ground without even a downward glance.

With its head lowered, its cold gaze remained locked on Tianxiong.

Tianxiong had already assumed a fighting stance.

Just then, the man suddenly said, "Holy shit, look at its tail! That’s a fucking wolf, isn’t it?"

He exclaimed in alarm and hurriedly rolled up the window.

The woman was also startled. "For real?"

The man pointed out the window. "Look! Its tail hangs straight down. It’s definitely a wolf. And it clearly looks different from a dog. It has to be."

The woman said, "I remember the travel guide saying you can’t see wolves around Ula Gai anymore, only in Wild Wolf Valley. How can there be a wolf here?"

There are wolves on the grassland, but due to human influence, their population is very small—fewer than two thousand across the entire steppe.

They are now a Class II nationally protected species.

The man didn’t rush to drive away. He just watched and said, "That’s just what they say. Maybe one just happened to wander over."

The moment he finished speaking, Tianxiong shot forward with a WHOOSH. After getting close to the wolf, he kicked off the ground and veered sharply to the right, attempting to circle behind it and attack from the rear.

This wolf was also extremely experienced. Although one of its hind legs was injured, its explosive power was still astonishing.

Almost at the exact moment Tianxiong changed direction, it lunged sideways.

Tianxiong rolled on the ground, deftly dodging the attack, then instantly counter-attacked, and the two began tearing at each other.

The two were actually not that different in size.

Prairie wolves are medium-sized wolves to begin with, and this one was a she-wolf, making her even lighter—a little over thirty kilograms.

And Tianxiong, despite having the genes of a Wuhui hound, was a mixed breed. He was well-fed and raised to be strong, so his weight was actually greater than the she-wolf’s, coming in at nearly thirty-five kilograms.

Furthermore, when the she-wolf had attacked Lakshen earlier, her leg had been grazed by a bullet.

Over time, the wound worsened. After being bitten by Tianxiong as well, she had gradually developed a limp.

But her ferocity remained, and her combat experience was immense.

In a wolf pack, the Wolf King is often a mated pair. If the male dies, the female automatically becomes the new Wolf King.

And any wolf capable of becoming a Wolf King, even a female, possesses extreme combat prowess.

Tianxiong, having been trained, also had rich combat experience. He grappled with the she-wolf in a flurry of vicious bites, then quickly disengaged.

The she-wolf turned to chase, but after just two steps, Tianxiong immediately wheeled around for a surprise attack.

The wolf and dog were instantly locked in combat again, rolling wildly on the gravel and kicking up clouds of dust.

The couple in the car watched, dumbfounded.

Just then, Tianxiong disengaged again and began circling nearby.

The she-wolf lowered her body, bared her jaws to reveal sharp, bloody fangs, and stared fixedly at Tianxiong, letting out a ferocious snarl.

"See? I told you it was a wolf!" the man said, pointing at the she-wolf.

How could anything that vicious be a dog?

As he spoke, he quickly pulled out his phone and started taking pictures.

He wasn’t the only one; other cars behind them had also pulled over, having clearly noticed the fight.

Tianxiong was just as fierce, but after a moment’s standoff with the she-wolf, he suddenly relaxed his aggressive posture.

’This is boring.’

Tianxiong glanced at the she-wolf and sauntered right past her.

They had fought like this an unknown number of times already.

The she-wolf was dead set on hunting Tianxiong down and killing him.

But with her bad leg, she had never succeeded.

Tianxiong wanted to kill her, too.

And so, the wolf and dog had been locked in this struggle until now.

Tianxiong was prepared for a long battle, so he decided to call a truce and eat first.

He was starving.

Tianxiong walked over to the sausage and gulped it down in a couple of bites.

He then went over and ate the other one.

Then he sat outside the car again, looking up obediently at the couple inside.

The she-wolf, having been ignored, charged over in a rage.

Tianxiong turned and ran. After putting some distance between them, he looked back at the she-wolf.

’Is this ever going to end?’

He turned and went to another car, where he sat down just as obediently, looking up for food.

The window was half open, and a man inside threw down an egg-yolk pie.

Tianxiong lowered his head and ate it.

The she-wolf slowly closed in again.

’If she wants to fight, we’ll fight. Who’s afraid of who?’

The man in the car was quite bold. He rolled the window down a bit more and threw an egg-yolk pie at the she-wolf.

It landed right at her feet.

The she-wolf ignored it completely, her eyes fixed on Tianxiong.

The people in the car held up their phones, buzzing with excitement.

"Holy shit! See? I told you it was a wolf."

"Why isn’t it eating?"

"Duh, it’s a carnivore."

"I’ve got a preserved duck leg."

The man in the passenger seat immediately unwrapped a preserved duck leg and tossed it toward the she-wolf.

Tianxiong immediately looked up and barked once.

’Hey, where’s mine?’

He turned his head to glance at the she-wolf.

’She won’t eat it.’

As always, the she-wolf remained unmoved and suddenly charged.

Tianxiong turned and fled. Using his agility, he dodged around the she-wolf and dashed to snatch the duck leg off the ground.

The she-wolf turned to chase, but Tianxiong was already far away.

"That dog snatched it! Throw her another one."

Urged by the driver, the passenger threw another preserved duck leg to the she-wolf.

The she-wolf turned her head and let out a low growl at the car.

’Will you people never quit?’

The fight had taken a lot of her energy. She stood by the road, staring at Tianxiong from a distance, conserving her strength.

More and more cars were stopping, and many people were filming with their phones.

The she-wolf paid them no mind. She only had one target.

Meanwhile, Tianxiong had finished his duck leg, but it wasn’t enough. He now had his eyes on the one next to the she-wolf.

He approached slowly.

Seeing his chance, he suddenly charged, trying to snatch the duck leg from the ground.

The she-wolf immediately lunged with a fierce pounce.

Tianxiong stopped on a dime and dodged, not wanting to get tangled up with her.

Right now, he just wanted to fill his stomach.

’Once I’ve got my strength back, it won’t be too late to deal with her.’

The she-wolf didn’t pursue. She knew he was hard to catch, and she was well aware that Tianxiong wanted to kill her too, so he wouldn’t leave.

Tianxiong was clever. He turned and went back to the cars to beg for more food.

Just then, the she-wolf noticed the duck leg at her feet. She twitched her nose, having caught the scent of food.

She was hungry too.

Her pack had been attacked and scattered by another pack. Her mate was dead, and only three wolves, including herself, remained.

Starving, they had chosen to attack Lakshen and his group.

In the end, not only did they fail to get any meat, but her own son was killed by Lakshen.

With such a deep-seated hatred, killing Lakshen wasn’t enough for the she-wolf; she had to kill Tianxiong as well.

After a moment’s hesitation, the she-wolf moved closer and began to gnaw on the duck leg on the ground.

She took the first bite and paused.

Then she turned her head and looked at Tianxiong, her expression seeming to say, ’How could you eat something so disgusting?’

’But if Tianxiong can eat it, so can I.’

The she-wolf lowered her head and started to eat.

She was famished. After gnawing for a bit, her gaze fell on the egg-yolk pie not far away.

After some hesitation, she went over and took a bite.

Her eyes flickered.

A flavor she had never tasted before made her pause.

Sweet...

From deep within her body, a strange craving for sugar emerged.

The she-wolf immediately devoured the egg-yolk pie, then turned her head toward the car that had thrown the duck leg.

"Look, she’s hooked! She wants more."

The two men in the car weren’t scared at all; on the contrary, they were thrilled.

The man in the passenger seat immediately threw another sausage.

The sausage rolled to her feet. The she-wolf twitched her nose but didn’t move.

The passenger had a realization. ’She doesn’t like this one.’

He quickly threw another egg-yolk pie.

Only then did the she-wolf gulp it down in one bite.

"Holy shit, she likes these!"

The passenger hurriedly opened the entire large bag of Daliyuan egg-yolk pies they had in the car and threw them out one by one.

The she-wolf was truly starving and accepted all comers.

Besides, she felt the egg-yolk pies contained something her body needed, something she craved.

On the other side, Tianxiong had managed to get more food.

Someone with a takeout container of roasted chicken generously tossed half of it to Tianxiong.

Tianxiong devoured it with relish.

While eating, he turned his head to glance at the she-wolf not far away.

’Are egg-yolk pies really better than roasted chicken?’