Animal Detective

They searched the area but found nothing.

Just then, a message came through the PDA. The others had found the horse.

Zhang Qifeng glanced at the coordinates and quickly led Shen Xin toward them.

After covering some distance, Shen Xin could already see Doniya and the others far ahead. Beside them stood an extra black horse.

As he drew closer, Shen Xin’s attention was immediately captivated by this black horse.

First, there was its build. It was clearly a full size larger than the other horses.

Its mane was also incredibly long, like a fringe of tassels hanging nearly to its belly.

And its tail was so long it looked like a giant feather duster.

But most striking of all was how black it was.

Doniya was also riding a black horse, but hers had a reddish sheen to its coat.

Hong Gu’er, on the other hand, was black to the extreme, without a single speck of another color on its entire body.

Just standing there, it seemed to absorb the light.

It was restless.

Doniya was holding its reins, but it suddenly broke free and began to gallop wildly.

It moved with incredible agility, tearing across the plains as if gliding over them.

"Hong Gu’er!"

Doniya shouted, deftly vaulting onto her horse to give chase.

She was an excellent rider, but even she couldn’t catch up.

This was something Shen Xin couldn’t help with; even Liao Lei was useless here.

Only Zhang Qifeng, who had spent a long time on the grasslands, dared to join the pursuit, spurring his horse onward to help corral the stallion.

Just then, Doniya pulled a rope from her saddlebag.

It was neatly coiled.

She let go of the reins with both hands, yet she remained as if nailed to the horse’s back as she quickly unfurled the rope and began to swing it.

She was actually going to try and lasso it!

The loop of the rope grew wider as she swung it, a sight so impressive that Shen Xin couldn’t look away.

Zhang Qifeng quickly shouted for her to stop, that it was too dangerous.

He added that this approach wouldn’t work; the more they chased it, the more it would run.

With that, he reined in his horse, slowing his pace.

Once the two of them stopped their pursuit, Hong Gu’er ran a short distance before gradually slowing down as well.

Shen Xin and Liao Lei rode up to meet them.

Doniya was dejected. "To think I worked so hard to raise him," she said, frustrated, "and he completely ignores me."

Liao Lei said, "He’s obviously in heat. When I found him earlier, I saw another horse in the distance. I don’t know where it ran off to now."

Zhang Qifeng was just as troubled.

He knew of this horse, Hong Gu’er. It was born with an incredibly fiery temperament.

In Chabuqi Village, nearly everyone had tried to tame Hong Gu’er, but not a single person had ever succeeded.

It had even been to the Naadam festival to participate in the horse-lassoing events.

There were far more expert riders there, but they all failed, too.

Because of this, Doniya’s family had given up on tying him up and simply let him be.

He knew where home was and usually didn’t run off.

But now he was in heat and had been lured away by a mare. His mind was filled with primal instincts, making him completely uncontrollable.

"I’ll try again!"

Doniya gritted her teeth and charged out once more.

The result was the same. She couldn’t catch him, and shouting his name was useless.

Shen Xin suggested they try sneaking up on the horse before attempting to lasso it.

Zhang Qifeng shook his head. "Just getting a rope on him is useless. You have to make him *want* to follow. This horse is smart. He simply doesn’t want to come with us."

Watching Doniya chase Hong Gu’er around in circles, Shen Xin hesitated for a moment. "Instructor Zhang, why don’t you let me give it a try?"

Shen Xin had seen videos of horse-breaking online. A group of people would swarm the horse, grabbing its ears and forcing its head down. Then, once someone was on its back, they would hold the reins deathly tight and just let it buck wildly.

Once it tired itself out, it would submit.

The process was quite dangerous.

But Shen Xin had no intention of using that method.

’So many experts from the entire village and even the Naadam festival failed to tame him. I’m not about to challenge his stamina.’

’But I have my talent.’

Shen Xin planned to get close to the horse and put his talent to work.

’Time for a little chat.’

’If I can build some affinity with him, this will be much easier.’

Zhang Qifeng’s first instinct was to refuse, saying it was too dangerous.

But then he remembered how Delun had behaved back at the camp.

He felt Shen Xin was like the legendary hero Hong Guler from the epics.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Qifeng nodded. "All right, I’ll go with you."

He then called for Doniya to stop.

Doniya was panting, her face beaded with sweat.

Gripping a horse with your legs like that for so long is no easy task.

When she heard Shen Xin was going to try and tame Hong Gu’er, she quickly shook her head. "Don’t! It’s too dangerous. When Hong Gu’er gets aggressive, no one can stop him."

Shen Xin assured her it would be fine, that he was confident.

He could handle cold-blooded crocodiles; Shen Xin had faith in his talent.

With that, he mounted Delun and slowly rode closer.

Zhang Qifeng stopped Doniya. "Let him try. Think about it—a man who can train so many outstanding police dogs must have some special ability."

Doniya glanced over at Tian Kui, then fell silent. She stopped and stared at Shen Xin, her eyes filled with worry.

Meanwhile, Shen Xin continued his slow approach.

At a distance of about fifty meters, Hong Gu’er began to stir restlessly.

At forty meters, it turned and bolted.

’So,’ Shen Xin thought, ’forty meters must be its comfort zone.’

So, Shen Xin dismounted and approached on foot.

He closed the distance to twenty meters without incident. Hong Gu’er didn’t run, but it had clearly noticed Shen Xin and turned its head to watch him.

’It’s not running. I can get closer.’

Shen Xin stared at the horse, captivated. ’I have to admit, he’s truly magnificent.’

’Even more stunning than a Ferghana Horse.’

At ten meters, it still hadn’t run. It just turned to face Shen Xin, watching him quietly.

Its eyes were filled with curiosity.

’In my opinion,’ Shen Xin thought, ’the wilder the horse, the smarter it is.’

’Once they’re tamed and accept being cared for by humans, their survival skills start to atrophy.’

’And the stronger their personality, the more unwilling they are to make that compromise.’

"Hong Gu’er."

Shen Xin called out its name, now just a few feet away.

He wasn’t sure if his talent was already kicking in, but Hong Gu’er didn’t flee. It just continued to watch him quietly.

"Easy now."

Shen Xin reached out to stroke it.

Hong Gu’er tossed its head to avoid his touch but didn’t move away. Perhaps, in its eyes, Shen Xin posed no threat.

’You’d be wrong about that,’ Shen Xin thought.

’Every animal that gets involved with me ends up unconditionally "in love" with me.’

’To an animal, I’m very "dangerous."’

Hong Gu’er lowered its head and began to graze.

Shen Xin’s hand landed gently on its neck. The horse flinched but didn’t pull away.

Or perhaps it simply didn’t care.

Shen Xin pressed his advantage, testing the horse’s boundaries.

’Neck, okay.’

’Head... it shook its head, but seems fine with it. Continue.’

’Ears... dodged immediately.’

’Sensitive spot.’

This whole exchange, witnessed by Doniya and Zhang Qifeng from a distance, left them astonished.

"Instructor, look! Hong Gu’er didn’t run!" Doniya said in amazement.

When Hong Gu’er was young, he was so fierce he wouldn’t let anyone near him.

Only after spending a great deal of time with him was she able to get close enough to brush his coat.

But riding him? Unthinkable.

Hong Gu’er was almost six years old. It had taken her nearly six years to build that much of a bond.

And Shen Xin could just casually cradle Hong Gu’er’s head after just a few minutes?

In the distance, Shen Xin continued to stroke the horse.

But the affinity icon still hadn’t appeared.

Shen Xin pulled up a handful of grass and offered it to the horse’s mouth. Hong Gu’er accepted it without hesitation.

Still, no affinity points appeared.

Shen Xin looked into its eyes up close. They were clear, without a ripple of emotion.

He tried to lead it, but it wouldn’t budge.

It even turned its head and snapped at him.

’Guess I haven’t softened him up enough.’

Shen Xin continued trying to build rapport, but to little effect.

After grazing in one spot, the horse would simply wander over to another, completely ignoring him.

Shen Xin frowned. ’Is my infallible Druid talent actually failing me?’

’And to top it off, I have an audience.’

Shen Xin patiently persevered.

After a while, Hong Gu’er snorted, then trotted off to graze in another spot.

Startled, Shen Xin immediately followed.

The horse seemed to have accepted his presence, showing no reaction at all.

The problem was that all of Shen Xin’s friendly gestures were met with complete indifference.

After all this interaction, Shen Xin could tell the horse simply didn’t see him as anything important.

And if it didn’t care, there would be no bonding, and certainly no affinity points.

Shen Xin put his hands on it again, trying to lead it away.

It just swung its powerful neck, knocking Shen Xin aside. It flicked its tail and threw him a sideways glance.

It was as if to say, ’Leave me alone.’

Just then, Zhang Qifeng called out from a distance, "If it’s not working, just leave it! We’ll figure something else out!"

"Instructor Zhang, I want to try a little longer!"

At this point, Shen Xin’s competitive spirit was fired up.

’I refuse to believe it. I can handle all your relatives with ease. There’s no way I’m going to fail with you.’

But even as the sun slanted west, dipping toward the horizon, he had made no progress.

’If this were any other animal, the affinity icon would have shown up ages ago.’

But Hong Gu’er showed no reaction whatsoever.

Shen Xin figured the horse might be like Tian Kui—wild, untamable, and in love with freedom. Maybe it needed to be subdued by force after all.

But as he felt its powerful muscles, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of fear.

’This beast weighs hundreds of pounds.’

On the other side, seeing the sun sink behind the mountains, Zhang Qifeng called out again, telling Shen Xin to come back if it wasn’t working so they could regroup.

Doniya agreed, saying that worst-case, they could just leave Hong Gu’er out here. He was strong enough to fend for himself, so he’d be fine.

Shen Xin wasn’t ready to give up.

’If I leave now, wouldn’t this past hour of effort be completely wasted?’

Just then, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Another horse had appeared at the foot of the distant mountain.

He looked closer and saw it was a pinto horse.

Most of its body was snow-white, with patches of grayish-black on its belly and legs.

It stood in the distance, grazing leisurely.

Liao Lei immediately shouted, "That’s the one! That’s the horse I saw earlier!"

Shen Xin glanced at Hong Gu’er.

’So that’s the mare that lured you out here?’

’Have to admit, she’s a beauty.’

Her mane and tail were snow-white, flowing like tassels.

"Instructor Zhang, is that a wild horse?" Shen Xin shouted.

Zhang Qifeng took out his phone to snap a picture, then shook his head.

Doniya explained, "Not a wild horse. There’s only one species of true wild horse on the grasslands, and they’re extremely rare. This one is probably a stray—a horse that ran off and has been living in the wild so long it’s become feral."

Shen Xin understood.

He turned and patted Hong Gu’er. ’Your girl’s here. Why aren’t you reacting?’

Hong Gu’er flicked its tail and, with a SQUELCH, dropped a massive load.

Shen Xin broke out in a cold sweat. ’He must be in his post-nut clarity phase.’

But looking at the white mare in the distance, an idea suddenly struck Shen Xin.

’This guy is too independent to be coaxed away. So, what if I just lead his ’wife’ away instead?’

At that thought, Shen Xin immediately mounted his own horse and rode toward the mare.

When he got within fifty meters, she reacted.

Seeing that he’d put her on alert, Shen Xin immediately dismounted and approached on foot.

The mare raised her head and watched him quietly.

’Doniya said she’s a stray, which means she was once raised by humans.’

Perhaps for that very reason, when Shen Xin got close enough, the mare didn’t flee. Instead, after a moment’s pause, she took the initiative and approached him.

Once she was near, she stared at Shen Xin with her big, dark eyes, sizing him up.

When she saw Shen Xin extend his hand, not only did she not shy away, she even stuck out her tongue for a lick.

The next moment, the affinity icon appeared above her head.

’Now that’s more like it,’ Shen Xin thought. ’My talent has rarely ever failed me.’

Bar of Affinity.

Shen Xin stepped forward, cradled her head, and stroked her gently.

She resisted slightly at first—it had probably been a long time since she’d been this close to a human—but she quickly adapted and began to nuzzle against him.

Shen Xin pulled up a handful of grass and offered it to her. As she chewed, her affinity rose to 2 Bars.

"Come on."

With no reins to hold, Shen Xin simply beckoned for her to follow.

Smart as a whip, she immediately started to follow him.

And just like that, Shen Xin had sweet-talked a stray horse into following him.

Shen Xin deliberately led the white mare right past Hong Gu’er.

Hong Gu’er, who had been grazing, lifted his head and watched fixedly as Shen Xin led the mare away.

After a moment, he began to follow them at a leisurely pace.

Shen Xin rejoiced inwardly.

’As expected, a good scheme never fails.’