Animal Detective

Forget about later. Today, we settle this with our lives.

In an instant, the wolf and the dog vanished into the grassland.

The remaining tourists could only stare, dumbfounded, their faces ashen.

The young man’s pained screams were still echoing in their ears. Only now did many of the tourists begin to process what had happened.

No matter how many custard pies it ate, that wolf was still a wolf.

「Meanwhile.」

Far away in the Gacha, Shen Xin had just seen off Lakshen and the others for the search party and their daily patrols. Now, back at the camp, he was greeting wave after wave of herdsmen.

Word that Doniya had rescued a Saker falcon from poachers had already spread the day before.

But the falcon hadn’t left. It stayed, and it was so conspicuous, circling high above the Gacha from time to time, that no one could possibly miss it.

A rumor was going around that the falcon had fallen in love with the young police officer from the city, which was why it refused to leave.

Many of the herdsmen, drawn by the tale, had come to see the situation for themselves.

What kind of charm could this young police officer possibly possess to attract the king of the prairie birds, the very symbol of courage?

Besides Shen Xin, only Liao Lei and two auxiliary police officers remained at the camp.

Teacher Chen and his team had collected samples and left yesterday, only to return first thing this morning.

Right now, he was surrounded by herdsmen, giving them a lesson on Saker falcons.

To better understand Teddy, Shen Xin listened in as well, asking quite a few questions of his own.

He learned that Saker falcons are monogamous.

Once a pair has bonded, they travel thousands of miles to reunite every breeding season.

They will only seek a new mate if their partner dies.

He also learned about the Saker falcon’s eyesight.

He found out that they hunt during the day and have some degree of night vision, but it’s nowhere near as good as an owl’s.

Owls, those sneaky bastards, can’t beat falcons and hawks during the day, so they’ll launch sneak attacks on their nests in the dead of night.

Teacher Chen said there were confirmed cases of owls preying on hawk and falcon chicks at night.

During the day, however, a Saker falcon’s eyesight is among the best in the animal kingdom.

They can even see in ultraviolet.

This allows them to see the trails of urine left on the ground by animals like hares and mice.

And human urine, too.

In other words, at a crime scene covered in bodily fluids, a Saker falcon would be able to see all those traces in broad daylight.

As they were speaking, Teddy returned.

Swooping down with a whistle, it landed in the center of the camp to a chorus of gasps.

The herdsmen were all hiding inside the building.

There were too many of them, and they were afraid of startling him.

Teddy had a field mouse clutched in his talons. He looked around, chirping softly.

"Stop looking around. He brought you back something to eat, so go on and greet him," Doniya said, giving Shen Xin a cheerful push.

Shen Xin let out a soft sigh and went out to meet him.

The moment he saw Shen Xin, Teddy hopped over to greet him and dropped the field mouse at his feet.

Eat.

He had quickly settled into the role of a male bird during mating season.

During this phase, his job was to go out and hunt, providing the female with the energy she needed to breed.

What else could Shen Xin do? He could only toss the field mouse back to Teddy, tell him he was already full, and that he should eat it first.

Teddy tilted his head, looking at Shen Xin with a puzzled expression.

Who fed you?

Shen Xin was speechless. ’It’s a little early to be worrying about me cheating on you,’ he thought.

After Shen Xin urged him to eat, Teddy finally started pecking at the mouse. He quickly ate it clean, then hopped onto Shen Xin’s shoulder and nuzzled his cheek affectionately.

The herdsmen inside clicked their tongues in amazement, pulling out their phones to take pictures.

Before long, Teddy grew restless and flew off to hunt again.

Teddy couldn’t sit still, and Shen Xin couldn’t afford to be idle, either.

Lakshen and the others were out searching for Tianxiong, but work at the station couldn’t just stop.

Besides, finding Tianxiong was supposed to be his responsibility in the first place.

So, once the visiting herdsmen had been sent on their way, Shen Xin pitched in to help Liao Lei and the others with their duties.

He had worked at a police station for a year, after all, so he was familiar with the duties.

And this police station on the grassland had even more to do.

Helping herdsmen repair their pens and enclosures, conducting anti-fraud and fire-prevention campaigns, visiting solitary elderly herdsmen, handling household registration services—the list of tasks was long.

Shen Xin mounted Delun and, bringing Tian Kui and the necessary equipment, rode to a nearby Gacha to process ID cards for villagers who had made appointments.

He didn’t have to worry about Teddy. During the day, no matter where he went, the falcon could always find him.

The busy day passed quickly.

Lakshen didn’t return until just before dark. He was covered in dust from a long day of searching, but still, he had found nothing.

It was as if the two poachers had vanished from the face of the earth; they couldn’t be found, dead or alive.

Shen Xin was busy rigging up a nest for Teddy inside the building using wooden planks and nails.

Shen Xin was now struggling with what to do about him.

’I can’t stay on the grassland forever. I’ll have to leave sooner or later.’

’What will happen to Teddy then?’

Thanks to his high "favorability," the falcon was incredibly clingy, almost never leaving his side.

Shen Xin had specifically asked Teacher Chen about it.

He’d asked if Saker falcons were like dolphins, who were known to commit suicide out of grief.

Teacher Chen said they didn’t. He also told Shen Xin not to overestimate the intelligence of birds, saying they were nowhere near as smart as dolphins.

The so-called mourning behavior—circling above the nest and crying out—was likely just an instinctive habit of waiting for a mate to return.

That was what the teacher said, but Shen Xin had his special talent. A bird had already accepted him as its mate, so he couldn’t judge the situation by conventional logic.

’What if I leave and Teddy dies?’

Of course, Shen Xin had considered taking Teddy back with him.

But he knew, just thinking about it, that it would be extremely difficult.

He finished the nest and lined it with hay.

Now that it was dark and Saker falcons don’t hunt, Teddy stayed in his nest, calling out to Shen Xin incessantly.

"What’s he chirping about?" Lakshen asked curiously.

"Who knows."

Shen Xin didn’t look at him. ’He’s probably telling me to come back to the nest and rest,’ he guessed.

It got dark around eight. There wasn’t much for entertainment on the grassland, so once night fell, the herdsmen generally stayed indoors.

Lakshen and his men had been on the move all day and would have to continue again tomorrow.

Just as they were all getting ready to rest, something else came up.

Lakshen took a phone call, his expression changing slightly as he urgently asked when they had lost contact.

Shen Xin, who had been scrolling on his phone nearby, quickly looked up at Lakshen.

The others in the room all turned to look at him as well.

After hanging up, Lakshen said in a grave voice, "Sangbu hasn’t come home. His parents can’t reach him. They said he went out alone on his motorcycle this evening."

"This could be trouble."

Shen Xin was taken aback.

He vaguely remembered the name. A young man from the village he’d met before.

He was also one of the village’s volunteer Border Guards.

It was already almost ten o’clock.

Seeing everyone rise, Lakshen motioned for them to wait, saying he would go ask for more details first.

He said that Sangbu was a grown man; it wasn’t that easy for him to just go missing.

He left on horseback and returned a short time later, his expression grim.

Zhang Qifeng had gone back to town, so the other veteran officer, Old Chen, asked Lakshen about the situation.

"Don’t ask."

Lakshen sighed. "The kid confessed his feelings and got rejected. He couldn’t handle it, and now who knows where he’s run off to."

He’d only found out after going to Sangbu’s house and asking his parents.

They said Sangbu hadn’t been acting right ever since he got back from Doniya’s home in the evening.

He was quiet, wouldn’t say what was wrong when asked, and seemed extremely agitated.

Lakshen then went to Doniya’s house, where he learned that Sangbu had gone to confess his love to her in the afternoon and had been rejected.

Riding off alone on his motorcycle like that... he was asking for trouble.

"Hah, what was that foolish kid thinking," Old Chen remarked.

Tian Jian also shook his head. "It can’t be helped. So many guys are after Doniya."

Lakshen cut them off and told everyone to get ready to search.

Shen Xin immediately got to his feet.

He’d dealt with this kind of thing plenty of times back at his old station.

A failed confession, a broken heart, running off alone to threaten suicide... you always had to go looking for them, afraid they’d lose control and actually do it.

Besides, a search like this was a job for Tian Kui.

But the moment he moved, Teddy stirred, running over with a flutter of wings and an insistent chirp.

Shen Xin poked his head with a finger. "You get to go out and gallivant all day, but I can’t even leave the house?"

Teddy paid him no mind and just kept squawking.

Seeing this, Lakshen quickly intervened. "Shen Xin, you stay here. We don’t know how long this search will take. You should get some rest."

Shen Xin glanced at Teddy, who was now holding his sleeve in his beak and refusing to let go. He resisted the urge to give him a smack.

He had no choice but to give up. He let Tian Kui go with Lakshen.

Having spent the last few days together, Tian Kui was already familiar enough with Lakshen.

Just as they were about to set off, Doniya arrived on horseback, insisting she join the search.

Lakshen quickly stopped her, saying it was too dangerous in the middle of the night.

In the end, Liao Lei was left on duty while Lakshen took the remaining four men and set out with Tian Kui.

"How could this have happened?"

Doniya stamped her foot anxiously. "If I had known this would happen, I would have..."

She stopped mid-sentence, shooting a quick glance at Shen Xin.

Shen Xin didn’t notice her glance. He was too preoccupied with his Teddy problem.

’People can be chauvinistic, but a bird? How can you have the same problem?’