Chapter 231

The little police officer tugged at the leash in his hand, intending to lead Heijin away.

But Heijin refused to move, insisting on staying there, so the person and the dog kept pulling at each other.

Heijin was likely impatient, annoyed by the little officer's actions, turned and lunged at him, barking. The officer, thinking Heijin would bite, panicked, the leash slipped from his hand, fell to the ground, and he retreated several steps.

However, Heijin didn't run off, still staying there, sniffing around the area, but he didn't dig any more holes.

Seeing Heijin not flee, the little officer breathed a sigh of relief, but he had no intention of approaching the dog again—just moments ago he'd been scared out of his wits, truly thinking the dog would bite him, only to realize it was just a scare. Still, this dog was far more aggressive than the few he'd seen at the station, merely appearing obedient on the surface.

He shook his head, glanced sideways toward where his superior was, and ran over. Better to have someone else handle this dog—he simply couldn't manage it.

After the officer left, Zheng Tan, curious, jumped down from the tree and walked to where Heijin had dug.

Heijin, who had been sniffing around on the ground, looked at Zheng Tan and immediately rushed over to guard the spot he had just dug—specifically where the black worm was, as if afraid Zheng Tan would disturb it.

Zheng Tan lifted his foot to approach the worm, and Heijin immediately let out a low growl as a warning.

: (no names) maybe none.

When Zheng Tan lifted his foot again toward that side, Heijin growled once more.

After several attempts, Zheng Tan decided not to go that way anymore. He glanced at Heijin, then stretched his neck to sniff more closely at the worm's location, ignoring Heijin's renewed warning growl, knowing that as long as he didn't touch the worm, Heijin wouldn't harm him—Heijin had only issued a warning, not even baring his teeth, a far better attitude than with the little officer earlier.

: (no names)

He felt like vomiting. Zheng Tan immediately pulled his neck back, keeping his distance.

Damn, what a smell! Truly disgusting!

He couldn't pinpoint the exact odor; just the stench was bad enough, and smelling it made him nauseous, wishing he could vomit up everything he'd eaten at the filming site earlier.

Even before getting close, the foul smell was detectable; for humans you'd have to put it right under your nose to maybe notice, but for cats and dogs it's too easy to pick up.

He stopped sniffing the worm. Zheng Tan jumped back up into the tree, having heard someone approaching.

It was the little officer, coming over with Hetaoshixiong. Along the way he glanced at the holes Heijin had dug on the lawn earlier.

"I found nothing unusual. I even poked around with a stick—nothing buried here." the little officer explained. Initially, seeing Heijin dig, he'd gotten excited, thinking he'd uncovered evidence or a corpse, but there was nothing, and the soil showed no signs of disturbance. Though his expertise is lacking, he knows some basics: clearly no one has turned the soil here, at least not in the past month or so.

"Hmm." Hetaoshixiong nodded, examined each of the small holes Heijin had dug, then looked toward where Heijin was staying and walked over.

After Hetaoshixiong approached, Heijin wagged his tail vigorously, seemingly seeking praise.

Walnut Senior Brother, Black Gold, and Zheng Tan looked toward the black cat on the tree.

Walnut Senior Brother calls out, "Black Charcoal?" That's Hei Tan. So Hei Tan appears.

Zheng Tan twitched his ears, didn't lift his head, kept staring at where Heijin had dug, ignoring Hetaoshixiong, as if the call wasn't meant for him—anyway, he wasn't wearing his cat tag now.

"Do you know this cat?" the little officer asked.

Hetaoshixiong shook his head: "Probably mistaken."

"This cat doesn't seem to be raised by locals; its breed looks ordinary, probably wandered in from elsewhere, though it looks quite sturdy." the little officer said. "People around here who keep cats probably raise those distinctive pedigree breeds—few keep this kind."

After saying nothing more, Hetaoshixiong turned to look at the holes Heijin had dug—nothing special there. Just then someone called him, so Hetaoshixiong led Heijin away; Heijin wasn't too happy but followed.

Zheng Tan perched his ears, crouched in the tree, listening to some people nearby discussing that matter; two were talking in low voices, but he could still catch bits.

It seems a homicide occurred in that villa, and the people inside were no longer human—only bones remained.

Zheng Tan didn't sneak in to see the scene, but hearing their conversation made his hackles rise; he felt they were exaggerating—yeah, definitely, too over the top.

A gust blew, Zheng Tan shivered, then decided to head back to the filming site—boredom was better than this.

Not long after Zheng Tan left, Hetaoshixiong, having finished dealing with the person, looked toward the tree's direction, saw the cat was gone, and gave a quiet chuckle.

Mistaken? How could that be?!

How could he not realize whether that cat on the tree is Black Charcoal or not?

But, did that cat just now also sniff there?

Was that cat also sniffing around there just now?

They really misunderstood Zheng Tan—he'd only sniffed out of curiosity; there was just that one black worm, the rest was soil and dead leaves, nothing else worth sniffing, and Zheng Tan hadn't noticed any other abnormalities at all.

He Tao stood where he was, thought a moment, had the people who had come over wait, then he led Heijin, turned, and walked back to that tree.

Heijin looked very excited, tugging at the leash and running that way; if Hetaoshixiong hadn't been holding it, it would have charged over.

He carefully dug into the little pit, confirmed that the bug Heijin had found was this one, then He Tao took out a clean small paper bag, put the bug the size of a little fingernail inside, and afterwards checked a few other small pits in the grass nearby, finding no similar black bugs.

On the other side, after Zheng Tan returned to the filming site, Cha Li let out a sigh of relief; although he knew the cat would come back on its own, he still worried each time, because if anything went wrong, his responsibility would be the greatest.

Overall, the filming went fairly smoothly; Zheng Tan felt there wasn't much technical difficulty, almost everything was cleared in one take, and the delay came from the other few.

Back home, Zheng Tan didn't think about the daytime events anymore, keeping his usual routine, and idly wondered where to go for a walk; around Chu Hua Da Xue, the area near Jiao Yuan's school was the farthest, so Zheng Tan decided not to go there for now, and there was no need to check the construction site either, since it was mostly built and another look would be the same.

Which route should I take for a walk?

Zheng Tan decided to wait until Jiao Ma and the others were out, then look at the map; there is a detailed map of the campus and its surrounding area on the desk in the master bedroom, and he would choose accordingly then.

That night, Zheng Tan slept soundly, but someone stayed awake all night—for example, He Tao's wife.

He Tao didn't return all night; after saying he had something to do and leaving yesterday, there was no word, and his phone couldn't be reached. Although he used to turn off his phone during cases, this time He Tao's wife felt uneasy, waiting until morning light, and after the child went to school she called Er Mao.

At this time of day, for Er Mao, it's practically the best time to sleep; when woken up to answer the phone, his tone wasn't pleasant, and he thought about just hanging up, but seeing the caller ID, he immediately answered.

After hearing the senior's wife's words, Er Mao lost all sleepiness.

"His phone has been off; I called his colleagues, and they said He Tao had already left, though it seems there was an emergency, and he left with Heijin, and he hasn't returned yet, and no one at the bureau knows." He Tao's wife said anxiously.

"Have you called Senior Wei's side?"

"No, I don't know the exact situation yet; Xiao Wei just got married not long ago, so I didn't want to bother him. I'm just worried."

"Hmm, I know, sister-in-law; I'll first ask a few friends."

He Tao's wife knows Er Mao's background, and also knows he has some ability; otherwise she wouldn't have called him.

After hanging up, Er Mao scrolled through the numbers and called a few friends. One hour later, Er Mao anxiously scratched his head. The situation wasn't good. Hetaoshixiong's car had been found, but no one was there; the bureau obviously knew there was something hidden, they just hadn't told the sister-in-law. Indeed, the sister-in-law's worry was justified.

Soon after, Er Mao received an email, the information that the person he had asked could gather in a short time; it wasn't comprehensive, but roughly indicated what kind of incident had caused it. Overall, it was a bloody incident triggered by a business rivalry, seemingly ordinary, but the two individuals still had some reputation in Chu Hua Shi, and their company was quite big.

After reading it, Er Mao sat in his chair and thought. Hetaoshixiong had left with Heijin; what was he expecting to find by relying on a dog?

Er Mao decided to go find the cat on the fifth floor for help, just in case.

Although one could borrow a well-trained dog, Er Mao trusts more the black cat living on the fifth floor; even though he usually finds that cat disagreeable, he still has to admit that when it comes down to it, he really has no choice but to seek it out, especially now that the situation concerns his own senior martial brother.

Regarding sense of smell, cats are not necessarily inferior to dogs; the reason people often use dogs for help instead of cats is simply that cats are unwilling to be bossed around and are hard to train, due to their temperament—many of their strengths only fully manifest when it benefits them.

Having seen Xiao Youzi off for a little stroll outside, Zheng Tan prepared to go home, consult a map, and decide where to wander next; as soon as he went upstairs, he saw Er Mao standing at the door knocking.

Upon seeing Zheng Tan, Er Mao rushed up to him and said, "Black Coal, help me out, bro!" (To be continued…)

ps: (4.20)