Animal Detective

In the container house, a map was spread out on a table, with Shen Xin and Lakshen gathered around it.

Their expressions were as serious as if they were studying the global political situation.

"There’s a lot of no-man’s-land," Shen Xin murmured.

Lakshen nodded and explained, "The herders used to roam everywhere. The fewer people went to a place, the more lush the water and grass were."

"But the sheep would dig up and eat the grass roots. No one managed it. They’d graze one area bare and then find another, with no concept of overgrazing. That’s why the pastures degraded so severely."

"In recent years, we started relocating the herders into centralized communities, assigning them specific pastures to give the grasslands a chance to recover."

"That’s how these large no-man’s-lands came to be. You could honestly walk for dozens of kilometers and not see a single living soul."

Shen Xin understood. He circled a few areas on the map.

’Tomorrow, I’ll have to focus more effort on these uninhabited areas.’

’They probably got lost.’

With no landmarks on the grasslands, it was easy to get lost.

Lakshen and his men weren’t afraid, though. They had satellite phones for positioning anytime, and they occasionally patrolled the no-man’s-land themselves.

Just as they were discussing this, Zhang Qifeng walked in carrying a pot of noodles.

Seeing their brows furrowed in worry, he offered some encouragement. "Alright, so we didn’t find them today, but there’s still hope for tomorrow. An army marches on its stomach. Let’s eat first, get our strength back, and keep trying tomorrow."

It was a pot of instant noodles, nothing special, but the chunks of beef in it were each as big as an egg.

It looked just like the picture on a braised beef instant noodle package.

The men gathered together, and just as they were eating from their bowls, someone pushed the door open.

It was Doniya’s father, Uncle Emuqi.

He rushed in and asked anxiously, "Director, Instructor, have any of you seen Doniya? I can’t get in touch with her, and it’s almost dark, but she hasn’t come back yet."

Lakshen quickly put down his bowl and asked what was going on.

"It’s Hong Gu’er again."

Emuqi looked vexed. "After lunch, Hong Gu’er jumped the fence and ran off again."

"I told Doniya to just let him be. His heart belongs to the deep grasslands; you can’t keep him penned up."

"But Doniya snuck out to find him when we weren’t looking. We haven’t been able to reach her since. I wanted to ask if you’d seen her while you were out."

He was so anxious his forehead was beaded with sweat.

Lakshen quickly had him sit down and comforted him, "Emuqi, don’t worry. The kid probably just rode too far and lost her phone signal. I’ll ask around."

He took out his phone and sent a message to all his grid community groups, asking if anyone had seen Doniya.

Shen Xin glanced at Lakshen, ’Should I have Tian Kui track her?’

’Finding someone on the grasslands is no easy task.’

’Especially at night.’

The police had satellite equipment. That was how they had located Lakshen after he was attacked.

But a normal person’s phone didn’t have satellite capabilities.

To reverse-locate a phone via satellite, it first had to connect to the network and upload its position.

Before Shen Xin could even speak up, Lakshen suggested seeing if Tian Kui could help with the search.

"I think that’s a great idea," Emuqi said, nodding repeatedly as he looked at Shen Xin with hopeful eyes.

Previously, in the neighboring *gacha*, a child had come home late, and the frantic parents had turned to Tianxiong for help. The dog had found the child.

Unable to contact Doniya, he had come to Lakshen specifically with the hope of using a police dog to help find her.

There was no reason to refuse.

Shen Xin immediately called to Tian Kui, who was dozing on the bed, and got ready to leave.

They would go on horseback.

Doniya’s home was over a kilometer from the camp.

On the way, Lakshen explained to Shen Xin that Doniya had grown up on the grasslands. She knew it wasn’t as peaceful and serene as it looked.

She was well aware of the significant risks of spending a night in the wild.

Also, Emuqi and his wife only had one daughter, and Doniya was very filial. She wouldn’t just run around outside and make her parents worry.

It was already eight o’clock and completely dark. For her to not be back yet, something must have held her up.

Hearing this, Shen Xin instinctively grew tense.

He had a very good impression of Doniya.

He could still remember her pulling him along to pray devoutly to Tengri for Tianxiong’s safe return.

Before long, the group arrived at Emuqi’s home.

Doniya’s mother and grandmother were beside themselves with worry.

Nearby villagers and the *gacha* secretary, Habutu, had also rushed over.

Shen Xin cut to the chase and had them bring an article of Doniya’s clothing for Tian Kui to smell.

He also went to the stable to have the dog get the scent of the black horse Doniya had been riding.

The grasslands were wide open.

A person on horseback moves quickly; it’s better to track the horse than the person.

Tian Kui barked once.

[Understood]

After confirming the scent source, the group set off immediately.

Four people from Lakshen’s side went, and three young men from the village joined them, making a party of eight.

Emuqi wanted to go too, but Lakshen talked him out of it.

He was getting old; he’d be better off staying home and looking after his family.

In truth, Lakshen shouldn’t have gone either. He still hadn’t fully recovered from his injuries.

The doctor had told him to get more rest, but here he was, running all over the place.

Doniya had left on horseback around two in the afternoon, so it had only been six or seven hours.

The scent trail was relatively fresh.

Tian Kui led the way. After leaving the *gacha* and circling briefly, he headed straight west.

The group followed with flashlights, a large crowd moving as one.

The tracking went smoothly. There were a few turns along the way, but the overall direction was west.

Halfway there, a thought struck Shen Xin. He turned to Zhang Qifeng beside him and said, "Instructor Zhang, you don’t think she went to Peony Valley, do you?"

They had found Hong Gu’er near Peony Valley just yesterday.

And they’d brought back a mare along with him.

This morning, a herder had come and led the mare away.

Perhaps for that very reason, Hong Gu’er had escaped again to chase after his love.

When Doniya went out to search, she might have thought of this and headed to Peony Valley to look for him.

Zhang Qifeng’s eyebrows shot up. "That’s a real possibility," he said with a nod.

He immediately called Lakshen over, explained the situation, and suggested splitting off a group to head directly for Peony Valley.

From their current position, it was still nearly thirty kilometers to Peony Valley.

Following Tian Kui’s tracking was slow.

If they went directly, they could be there in half an hour. If she was there, it would be for the best, saving Tian Kui the extra effort.

Lakshen considered it for a moment and agreed.

So, Zhang Qifeng took Liao Lei and one of the young men from the village. The group of three spurred their horses and rode off.

Meanwhile, Shen Xin’s group of five continued to follow the trail.

In the darkness, Tian Kui had a clear objective, charging ahead with decisive movements.

The scene couldn’t help but stir up emotions in Lakshen.

Just then, a message came through on one of Lakshen’s grid community groups.

Someone had run into Doniya a little after two in the afternoon.

Doniya had asked him about Hong Gu’er and then headed north.

"North?" Shen Xin turned to look out into the vast darkness.

To be honest, Shen Xin could no longer tell north from south or east from west.

It looked like it would be overcast tomorrow, too; there wasn’t a single star in the sky.

And even if there were, Shen Xin didn’t have the skill to navigate by the stars.

Lakshen, however, immediately realized what was happening. He guessed that Doniya must have been heading for the *gacha* where the mare’s owner lived.

Sure enough, after tracking a bit further, Tian Kui veered north.

’So my guess that Doniya went to Peony Valley was wrong.’

’But it’s not a big deal.’

’We’re looking for someone, so we should check all the likely places anyway.’

Zhang Qifeng’s group had a satellite phone, so they wouldn’t get lost and could rendezvous with them at any time.

Lakshen was thinking the same thing, so the group followed Tian Kui and turned north.

They tracked for nearly another half hour when Lakshen’s satellite phone suddenly rang.

It was Zhang Qifeng.

He answered.

Shen Xin was right beside him and saw his expression change drastically after just a few words.

"What’s wrong?" Shen Xin asked hurriedly.

Lakshen didn’t have time to explain. After a few grunts of acknowledgment, he said in a low voice, "Old Zhang, don’t panic. The horse is dead, but if you didn’t see her, then she should be okay. Expand your search area and look around carefully. We’re on our way."

A jolt went through Shen Xin’s heart.

’The horse is dead!’

’What happened?’

Lakshen hung up, his expression as grave as it could be. He signaled for Shen Xin to slow down slightly, then lowered his voice. "There’s trouble. Old Zhang found Doniya’s horse over in Peony Valley."

Shen Xin cut in, "What about her?"

Lakshen said, "They didn’t find her. The problem is, the horse was shot dead."

In the dark of night, his gaze was profound, his expression utterly grim.

’A gun?’

Shen Xin was horrified. A chill shot straight up his spine.

’The horse was shot dead, so what about her?’

Shen Xin had been in gunfights before; he knew all too well how terrifying guns were.

’Before the barrel of a gun, all men are equal.’

But having experienced high-stakes situations, Shen Xin knew this was no time to panic. He took a deep breath to calm himself and said, "Director, let’s not panic just yet."

"We don’t know what Doniya ran into, but killing a horse and killing a person are two completely different things. Since they didn’t see a body, she should be okay."

"Let’s get over there quickly and assess the scene first."

"Also, should we notify the Banner and request backup?"

"Right, are Instructor Zhang and his group armed?"

If they weren’t, it would be extremely dangerous if they encountered the shooter.

Lakshen quickly replied that they were.

They worked on the grasslands where there were too many unknown dangers, so they were always armed.

He immediately called the Banner to report the situation.

Shen Xin at once had the rest of their group turn toward Peony Valley.

"Officer Shen, did they find Doniya?" one of the young men from the village asked.

Shen Xin nodded but didn’t mention that the horse had been shot dead.

As the horses picked up speed, Shen Xin took the opportunity to suggest that the two young men from the village stay behind and escort Tian Kui to Peony Valley at a slower pace.

The two were reluctant and anxiously asked what had happened to Doniya.

Lakshen caught on, understanding why Shen Xin wanted the two of them to stay behind with Tian Kui.

’It’s too risky for the villagers to come along.’

He barked, "Cheng Ge’er! We’ve already lost Tianxiong. We can’t let anything happen to Tian Kui. You two have to watch him for me. If anything happens to him, you’ll have me to answer to!"

After speaking, he tossed them a satellite phone and then, along with Shen Xin and another officer named Tian Jian, galloped straight for Peony Valley.

They spurred their horses into a wild gallop.

After two days, Shen Xin had gotten the hang of riding and was able to keep up.

Meanwhile, Lakshen had already contacted the Criminal Investigation Division from the Banner.

A case involving a firearm and a missing herder was no small matter.

They said they would set out immediately to provide support.

But Wugai Banner was a long way off; it would take them at least two or three hours to get there.

While they were riding, Shen Xin asked Lakshen about gun control on the grasslands.

’Who would be so brazen as to just open fire like that?’

’Back in Nanjiang, a single gunshot would put the entire city on alert.’

At this, Lakshen’s face clouded with frustration. He said the situation wasn’t optimistic.

"We’ve carried out confiscations many times, but we can never get them all."

"You’ve seen it yourself. This place is huge, and it’s right next to the border. There are always channels for smuggling firearms in."

"On top of that, you have the privately owned ones, especially hunting rifles. In the old days, what family on the grasslands didn’t have a hunting rifle?"

"Let me just give you some numbers. Last year, in all of Suihar, there were over a hundred firearm-related cases. We confiscated over two thousand guns of various types and more than two hundred thousand rounds of ammunition."

"So, the situation has improved, but we still can’t completely eliminate the problem."

"But here in Huergan, I’m especially strict about guns. I can assure you, there isn’t a single gun in our eight *gachas*."

"So why would a gun suddenly show up out of nowhere?"

Lakshen’s brows were knitted tightly in a worried frown.

Shen Xin sighed softly, silently flicking the reins to speed up.

He couldn’t help but remember the night before by the bonfire, when Doniya had sung with passion and pulled him and the others up to dance.

It was as if he could still hear her laughter, clear as a bell.

’Please, let that girl be alright.’