Chapter 194

Because it had just rained, the old tile-roof area was damp; when Zheng Tan came over, he didn't see a single cat, and today really isn't good weather for coming out to lie on the roof and nap.

After picking up the toy car, Zheng Tan didn't come over here very often; only when idly strolling would he occasionally drop by to see Jiao Wei and them playing with car and airplane models.

He jumped onto a relatively tall tree, looked over the area, and excluded the few tile-roof buildings where students often have activities.

But, before that…

Zheng Tan took a deep breath.

"Aooo—"

After howling several times in a row, the few cats in Dongqu Dayuan who know their own calls would ideally hear it and come running if Jingzhang were present; although that possibility is slim, he still had to try.

After the howl, there was no response from Jingzhang; instead, a few students who were holding some activity in a tile-roof building opened the window and shouted curses.

"Holy shit, what lunatic, howling in broad daylight!"

They only thought it was someone bored or playing a prank making that sound; they never associated it with a cat.

Zheng Tan also didn't have time to compete with those students. Not seeing Jingzhang, and pricking up his ears he still didn't hear Jingzhang's call—maybe because it wasn't there, maybe because he couldn't hear it or it couldn't move; it's a fifty-fifty chance, so he had to try, and besides he had to hurry, given the injury of the cat from Xiqu Dayuan, Zheng Tan couldn't just wait like that.

Although the rain had washed away many smells on the ground, getting close to those old tile-roof buildings still allowed him to pick up something. Zheng Tan, after ruling out some parts, began searching one by one; his black figure darted through the old tile-roof area. From time to time he paused at a windowsill or at a long-unopened door riddled with holes, rust, and gaps, then immediately ran to the next tile-roof building.

When he reached the eighth tile-roof building, Zheng Tan found some bloodstains at the door; further away they were probably washed away by rain, but at the door there was a clear bloody mark with cat paw prints. Zheng Tan sniffed it—it was definitely Jingzhang—but the doors and windows of this tile-roof building were shut too tightly, so Jingzhang must have only stayed here briefly before leaving.

However, following these sporadic bloodstains and faint scent, Zheng Tan found another tile-roof building not far away.

This tile-roof building's door is a wooden plank door, with a notch at the lower right corner; bloodstains surround the notch. Judging by the smell, it is definitely Jingzhang.

Zheng Tan tried; squeezing through, he could still get in through the notch.

Inside this old tile-roof building were stacked some old desks, chairs, and cabinets, likely discarded from the cafeteria and some teaching buildings, locked here for a long time with no one moving them. Everything was covered in dust, and many spider webs could be seen in the corners.

He twitched his nose, followed the smell, and found Jingzhang lying under a table on the inner side.

Zheng Tan didn't know what the wound on the cat from Xiqu Dayuan looked like, but from Jingzhang's condition he could tell last night's fight had been fierce. What relieved Zheng Tan was that this guy was still alive, though his condition wasn't good.

He lifted his paw and gently pushed Jingzhang; there was no response, but its ears twitched slightly.

Beside Jingzhang was a mutilated mouse that looked fairly fresh; presumably it had ended up in Jingzhang's mouth last night, and the extra energy it provided is likely what kept Jingzhang alive until now.

It seems Jingzhang can't move on his own; Zheng Tan could carry him out, but he couldn't lug Jingzhang all the way to the pet center, right? Not to mention ending up on the news, carrying him there would take considerable time, and besides, it's unclear whether Jingzhang's condition could tolerate being jostled.

He needed to find someone to help.

Zheng Tan first tried to move Jingzhang outward, but the notch in the door was still too small; he couldn't get Jingzhang out through that gap. After darting out to check the surroundings and confirming no one was near this tile-roof building, Zheng Tan jumped up and kicked the door with his foot. He didn't aim for the lock, only the notch.

After one kick, a wooden board fell from the notch, making the hole larger.

He moved Jingzhang to the side of the door, but didn't take him outside; the wind outside was fairly strong, and Zheng Tan didn't know if this guy could withstand the breeze, so to be safe he left him inside. Checking Jingzhang's condition again, his breathing wasn't strong but hadn't worsened; he had just made a faint sound, still not fully conscious, so he still needed to hurry and send him to the pet center for treatment.

After Zheng Tan came out of the door, he sprinted toward the science institute building. At that moment, Jiao Wei didn't know which class he was in, Jiao Ma was at work, Er Mao didn't know if he was home—he had been busy lately—after thinking it over, the best option was still to go to the science institute building to look for the "nanny".

Yi Xin copied the prepared slides into a USB drive in Jiao Ba's office, picked up the printed materials, and got ready to head to the meeting room. There was a report session, and the dean himself would come to preside.

As soon as his hand touched the door, Yi Xin heard a "shla" sound of the window being pulled open from that side, turned his head, and saw the boss's black cat jump in.

Associate Professor Jiao, before going abroad, held a meeting in the institute with his graduate students and told them about some sudden situations at home; among the several graduate students, Yi Xin knows Zheng Tan's habits best, so when Zheng Tan stretched out his claws and grabbed his pant leg to pull him outside, Yi Xin felt sure something had happened. Moreover, when Zheng Tan was moving Jingzhang, he also got some blood stains on his body, which frightened Yi Xin, and for a moment he even forgot to call Jiao Ma for details; watching Zheng Tan run toward the window, he quickly put down what he was holding and rushed out of the institute building.

Zheng Tan, waiting outside, soon saw Yi Xin riding a small motorcycle borrowed from someone unknown.

Zheng Tan led the way ahead, Yi Xin followed behind. The Old Tile House area is not far from the Life Science Institute building; Zheng Tan runs fast, and he also chose a route easy for the motorcycle. At this time, there weren't many people on the campus main road, let alone the more remote Old Tile House area, so Yi Xin rode a bit faster, he was also anxious; if something really happened to the three members of the Jiao Family, what should we do?

But soon Yi Xin realized the cat had brought him to the Old Tile House area. He rarely comes here. And when Zheng Tan pushed Jingzhang out of the door, Yi Xin felt embarrassed.

His pants had several tears from the cat's claws, basically ruined; he also missed the important report meeting personally hosted by the dean, and in the end it was just for a stray cat whose owner was unknown.

When he came out, Yi Xin told the dean he had an urgent matter; the meeting was about to start, so the dean didn't ask much, but after the meeting the dean would surely ask for details—how should he make up an excuse? Telling the truth definitely wouldn't work; he would surely be reprimanded.

Sigh!

No matter what. Since we're here, this cat in front of us definitely needs to be saved.

Unable to find anything else at the moment, Yi Xin simply took off the coat he was wearing—after all, the coat wasn't worth much, and he hadn't washed it in about ten days. He wrapped Jingzhang in it, placed it in the motorcycle's rear trunk; it was a bit tight, but he made do.

Zheng Tan jumped onto the motorcycle himself; this time he just needed to follow to the pet center.

However, when Yi Xin rode to the campus gate, he suddenly realized he wasn't sure which road to take to the pet center; he knew the best nearby pet hospital was the Exactly So Pet Center, but he had only heard of it and never been there.

Fortunately, there were many taxis coming and going at the campus gate; Yi Xin parked his small motorcycle, then grabbed the cat and flagged down a taxi that had just dropped off passengers, opened the door and got in, and Zheng Tan also jumped onto the car.

"Hey, this cat..."

"Master, saving a cat's life beats building a seven-story pagoda!"

Driver: "..."

Finally, the driver's face twitched; he looked at the injured cat Yi Xin was holding in his arms, then at Zheng Tan crouched on the car seat, warned Yi Xin that if the cat defecated, urinated, or vomited in the back seat there would be an extra charge, and then he drove off.

Drivers who often run this area are very familiar with the Exactly So Pet Center; besides, the pet center isn't far away, so they arrived soon.

The veterinarian examining Jingzhang's injuries also wondered why there had been so many recently scratched cats.

After confirming Jingzhang had no life-threatening danger, Zheng Tan listened to the veterinarian's complaints and began to think. Besides the cat from Xiqu Dayuan and Jingzhang, could any other cats have been attacked?

Jingzhang stayed at the pet center for treatment; at noon, Yi Xin called Jiao Ma, briefly explained the situation; Jiao Ma immediately rushed to the pet center, and to thank Yi Xin, she specially called the dean of the Life Science Institute, saying she had something to attend to, so Yi Xin would come help and miss the meeting.

After Yi Xin left, Zheng Tan didn't need to worry about the remaining matters; Jiao Ma notified Jingzhang's owner and also called Jiao Wei, telling them they didn't need to look for Zheng Tan at lunch.

Jingzhang still needed to stay two days at the pet center for observation; after Jiao Ma sent Zheng Tan back to Chu Hua Da Xue, Zheng Tan returned to the Old Tile House area. Previously he had been rushing to find Jingzhang and hadn't paid attention to other details; now not in a hurry, he decided to search thoroughly.

Since Jingzhang chose to hide here instead of running straight to Dongqu Dayuan, the place of the fight must be relatively close.

When that thief cat left, it had encountered Jingzhang and the cat from Xiqu Dayuan; although there are many cats on campus, certainly more than just Jingzhang and the Xiqu Dayuan cat were wandering outside last night, why only these two were seriously injured? Most likely, the thief cat was seeking revenge for that claw strike, but Zheng Tan himself hadn't shown up, so Jingzhang and the Xiqu Dayuan cat "ran into the gun barrel."

Moreover, the rain last night was opportune; perhaps the attacker stopped pursuing Jingzhang because of the rain; otherwise, judging by the injury's severity, the attack was so fierce, almost desperate, and would not have let Jingzhang go so easily—after all, compared to the Xiqu Dayuan cat, Jingzhang's wounds were just slightly lighter.

Finally, Zheng Tan found some traces of cat fights in a small grove at the edge of the Old Tile House area; moreover, when he arrived, he saw a cat with white fur and a black tail named Guiyuan sniffing around in the grove, seemingly searching for something to identify; upon seeing Zheng Tan, it quickly left.

Hetaoshixiong had said that A Wu had been warned not to appear at Chu Hua Da Xue, but his cat hadn't been warned; this cat might have been sent by A Wu, so it probably didn't participate in last night's incident.

Regardless of whether A Wu's cat would confront the thief cat, Zheng Tan couldn't swallow this anger.

Although Jiao Ba said we should keep a low profile, that doesn't mean we have to endure the anger! On our own turf, letting it out personally feels satisfying.

Since they didn't run into me last night, those cats will definitely come back; perfect—if they come, they shouldn't leave.

Zheng Tan stood up and sharpened his claws on the thick tree trunk, tearing off several pieces of bark.

These cat claws need to be filed to stay in top shape. (To be continued..)

ps: (3.16) Only in the past two days did I notice the peach blossoms have bloomed too. But how many people can tell peach blossoms from cherry blossoms? I often hear people calling peach blossoms cherry blossoms; when posting on microblog, don't get it wrong.