Animal Detective

Shen Xin had Doniya get on a horse and leave the camp. He told her to ride wherever she wanted, just get far away, and to come back only after she saw Teddy.

Then, with Teddy perched on his arm, he pointed at the departing Doniya, telling the falcon to remember her.

Doniya froze for a second before it dawned on her. "Well now, so you’re using me as bait."

Shen Xin didn’t bother explaining and just nudged her onto her horse.

"Teddy, you’re not allowed to catch me!"

Doniya shouted a warning, then reined her horse around and galloped out of the camp.

Shen Xin waited a few minutes for Doniya to get some distance, then released Teddy.

The falcon circled above the camp once, seeming to not yet understand why Shen Xin wanted him to go find Doniya.

But he went anyway.

He soared high into the sky, instantly becoming a black dot before quickly vanishing from sight.

Shen Xin slapped his forehead, realizing he’d forgotten to tell Teddy to return after spotting the target.

’At that distance, he won’t be able to hear a whistle.’

’I hope he doesn’t actually treat Doniya like prey and catch her.’

But just two minutes later, Teddy reappeared, diving down and landing with his usual precision on Shen Xin’s shoulder.

He chirped twice and gently nuzzled Shen Xin’s cheek.

Instantly, an image of his flight from high above filled Shen Xin’s mind.

The Earth was right below his feet. His perspective was like a radar, rapidly scanning the grassland below.

Then, it continuously zoomed in, magnifying, until it locked onto Doniya, who was galloping wildly on her horse.

Shen Xin’s heart skipped a beat. ’It actually works.’

In the vision, Doniya had apparently seen Teddy. She stopped, looked up, and even waved.

The next moment, the image vanished.

"Amazing."

Shen Xin gave him a thumbs-up.

’With this kind of efficiency, he’s a living, breathing avian radar.’

And compared to actual radar, Teddy could truly see, and then transmit the image directly to him.

Before long, Doniya rode back.

She excitedly said that she had seen Teddy.

"Shen Xin, that’s a Hunting Falcon! You should keep him. You could tame him, make him obedient, and he could help you hunt."

The grasslands have a tradition of taming hawks.

Some people tame golden eagles, and others, Hunting Falcons.

It’s just that in recent years, these birds have become protected species, so it’s not allowed anymore, except for performances in specific areas.

Shen Xin shook his head.

’I have an affinity system, what do I need to tame a hawk for?’

’And if anyone’s being "tamed," it’s Teddy who’s taming me, with his relentless pursuit.’

Just as they were speaking, Zhang Qifeng and the others returned on horseback.

Seeing Teddy, they were surprised and asked why the falcon hadn’t been released yet.

Doniya pointed at Teddy and chimed in first, "Coach, you have no idea. He’s fallen in love with Shen Xin and can’t bear to leave."

Zhang Qifeng looked utterly baffled. "What... What the hell?"

"Don’t talk nonsense."

Shen Xin cut Doniya off and placed Teddy on the ground, taking the opportunity to ask Zhang Qifeng about the situation.

He and Lakshen had both led teams out to assist in the manhunt. Playing with a bird was one thing, but the case was more important.

Speaking of which, Zhang Qifeng pulled Shen Xin aside and said that after a full day of searching, they had found nothing.

They hadn’t found the suspects, nor had they found Tianxiong.

"Old Duan’s side still suspects someone is helping them, that they had assistance in hiding. As for the possibility of them having escaped across the border, it’s not very high."

"And Tianxiong... unfortunately, still no sign of him."

At the mention of Tianxiong, Zhang Qifeng sighed again.

To be honest, Shen Xin wasn’t too surprised by this outcome.

The grasslands were vast. Huergan alone, just one town, covered over a thousand square kilometers.

Never mind deploying a hundred people; even a thousand people would be inconspicuous if you just tossed them onto the prairie.

Besides, the targets were two living people who could hide and move, which only increased the difficulty of the search.

But the overall strategy was sound.

As long as they guarded the border and blocked off escape routes, the suspects would have to show their faces eventually.

There were also the motorcycles and firearms. There were many leads to investigate; he was sure they would be found.

As for Tianxiong.

Shen Xin turned his head to look at Teddy in the distance.

Having settled the most important matter of his life, his appetite had returned with a vengeance, and he was now brazenly feasting on his own courtship gifts.

A moment ago, Shen Xin had been wondering if he could use Teddy to find Tianxiong.

He could ride a horse until he was dead tired, but how far could he really go?

But Teddy was different. He was like a high-altitude reconnaissance drone; even circling the entire grassland wouldn’t take him much time.

However, this ability still needed training. He had to get Teddy familiar with the process.

And their method of communication.

Shen Xin couldn’t see a real-time feed; he had to wait for the falcon to return to see the images.

So, when he should return, and how he could remember what he’d found—Shen Xin needed to figure out a reliable method for that.

Moreover, Shen Xin couldn’t help but wonder, ’It’s been several days. Could Tianxiong already be dead?’

As dusk fell, Lakshen finally returned.

Unsurprisingly, he had found nothing either.

Under these circumstances, Shen Xin felt ever more strongly that having Teddy help with the search was a good idea.

「The next day.」

It was a rare sunny day.

「Far away, near a highway on the Wugai Grassland.」

In the morning, Tianxiong once again ambled over to the side of the highway to forage.

His appearance immediately attracted the attention of passing cars.

The day before yesterday, Tianxiong and the she-wolf had appeared by the roadside.

The same thing happened yesterday, and then a passing tourist posted a video of them being fed online.

A wolf that wouldn’t eat meat but would eat custard pies.

You couldn’t make this stuff up.

It went viral.

And as time went on, more tourists saw the reports and learned that a wild wolf had appeared near the highway here, begging for food from humans.

Of course, this wild wolf also had a little sidekick.

A stray dog.

If you saw the dog, the wolf was nearby.

One after another, cars pulled over to the side of the road.

Someone had already opened their window and thrown out some food.

A sausage link rolled to a stop at Tianxiong’s paws.

Tianxiong looked down at it, then looked up, seeming reluctant.

[Come on, talk about preferential treatment.]

’When the she-wolf shows up, they toss custard pies, roast chicken, and fresh meat her way.’

’But for me, the quality of food is going downhill.’

Just then, the she-wolf slowly appeared.

Her arrival drew numerous gasps from the crowd.

A real, live wild wolf!

The she-wolf’s hind leg wasn’t as lame anymore.

For the past few days, she had been constantly chasing and fighting, tearing her wounds open and giving them no time to heal.

Most importantly, she hadn’t been eating, so her nutrition was poor.

These last few days, food hadn’t been an issue. The custard pies, in particular, were high-sugar foods with astonishing energy, and the she-wolf was rapidly recovering her strength.

Wolves have excellent self-healing abilities. After being injured, they will constantly lick their wounds.

Their saliva contains components that kill bacteria and promote blood clotting, which helps wounds heal.

Lakshen’s shot had only grazed her and hadn’t broken the bone. Now that she had rest and food, she was recovering quickly.

This she-wolf was the real darling of the passing tourists.

Ninety-nine percent of the tourists had never seen such a rare animal up close.

There was a Wild Wolf Valley further up the grassland, but the wolves there, to put it bluntly, had been tamed into dogs and had long since lost their wild nature.

Therefore, the moment the she-wolf appeared, people began to toss food to her.

And it was a luxurious spread.

Custard pies were the baseline.

Then there was also freshly bought beef.

One young man, astonishingly bold, actually got out of his car, crept closer, and tossed a piece of fresh beef in front of the she-wolf.

He even turned around and called to his companion to take a picture of him with the wolf.

The she-wolf didn’t move, her narrow eyes watching Tianxiong.

Tianxiong was watching her too. Seeing the fresh beef, he decisively abandoned the rice cracker near his mouth and charged toward the she-wolf.

The she-wolf instantly adopted a combat stance.

However, Tianxiong’s target was the beef on the ground. With a brilliant feint, he lured the she-wolf to the side, then swiftly changed direction and pounced on the beef.

All around them, phone after phone was pointed in their direction.

The fight between the wolf and the dog had become a recurring show.

In the words of a popular online comment, "This is a wolf on flat plains being bullied by a dog."

And then there was Tianxiong, rebellious to the bone.

The she-wolf’s leg wasn’t as lame anymore, and her speed had returned. She quickly lunged back, intercepting Tianxiong just in time to protect the beef.

The young man even shouted, "Hey, don’t snatch it! If you want some, I’ll give it to you."

He took another piece of meat from his pocket and threw it to Tianxiong.

Unexpectedly, this action suddenly provoked the she-wolf.

Her goal had always been clear: kill Tianxiong and get her revenge.

She was very intelligent and had been observing the whole time.

Eating the humans’ food was merely a means to recover her strength.

She wasn’t gluttonous.

As the one who had once been the Wolf King, she did not lack for food.

And she had already noticed that while she was recovering her strength thanks to the humans’ feeding, Tianxiong was recovering his strength as well.

So she immediately made a decision.

’I can’t let the humans keep feeding Tianxiong.’

So, upon seeing the young man’s action, the she-wolf suddenly shot forward and lunged at him.