Chapter 233

Er Mao perhaps could not be certain whether this pile of feces was human or dog's; even if it was a dog, it was not necessarily Heijin, he merely guessed it might be Heijin.

Zheng Tan, however, was quite certain this was Heijin's doing, but he didn't understand—obviously cats have the habit of burying feces, especially outdoor cats, which bury it better; he had heard people say this seemed like a cat's instinct—except Zheng Tan himself.

Regarding this behavior, people have many speculations; one is that cats, as independent hunting animals, try to conceal their traces as much as possible, even though they have now been brought into human society, they still retain their wild habits and instincts.

And as canines, which usually just go after defecating, they actually go to the trouble of burying feces?

Could this also be one of Heijin's recent training items?

How arduous it must be for the trainer when training!

Zheng Tan was thinking when his ear twitched and he looked in a direction; then he jumped onto a nearby big tree, climbed up a bit, and looked that way.

Behind a dense patch of shrubs a hundred meters away, which had few leaves and was of unknown species, a pair of dog ears was revealed. The small shrub patch was surrounded by many withered yellow plants, and the dry grass beside it had been burned, so the yellow of the dry grass and the burnt black made Heijin's figure inconspicuous; to human eyes it was not easy to notice.

At that moment the dog's ears were turning, paying attention to the surroundings; it seemed to have noticed the movement from Er Mao's side and was cautiously moving this way.

Indeed, 'professionally trained.' Zheng Tan thought.

Er Mao noticed Zheng Tan's reaction and immediately became alert. He was about to hide himself, but suddenly paused, looking at the cat on the tree; the cat's appearance did not look like seeing a stranger or something extremely threatening, but rather like seeing a familiar person or thing.

Could it be…

Although he thought there might be no threat, Er Mao still acted cautiously, hid himself, and looked toward the direction Zheng Tan was heading.

Soon, Er Mao discovered Heijin.

However, Heijin still hesitated when looking at Er Mao. After all, it is not easy for it to accept strangers. Even though it had seen Er Mao a few times, it still couldn't get close. Hetaoshixiong also took several months before gradually getting close to Heijin.

Upon seeing Heijin, Er Mao was very happy, but Heijin cannot speak. Er Mao asked a few questions. He saw no much reaction from Heijin. However, when Er Mao asked about Hetaoshixiong, Heijin heard the familiar name, had a slight reaction, then looked in a direction.

Looking along this cement road, one cannot see the end; currently not even a vehicle is in sight.

However, Er Mao could already infer from Heijin's reaction where those people and Hetaoshixiong might have gone; it seems Hetaoshixiong had no choice but to leave first, unable to bring Heijin, leaving Heijin to wait here. Combining this with the few new messages he had received, Er Mao deduced a place and decided to drive there to check.

Er Mao had Zheng Tan and Heijin wait here; he went to fetch the car, coming from the parking side, which wasn't far; he already had a rough route in mind.

Zheng Tan also didn't feel like walking, and was happy to wait here.

After Er Mao left, Zheng Tan lay on the tree watching the road, estimating the time, wondering when Er Mao would come; if Er Mao got lost, would he himself experience another vagrant life?

Just thinking about it feels miserable.

Zheng Tan twitched his whiskers; he certainly didn't want to go vagrant, and now he was hungry—what could there be to eat around here? Field mice?

After all, he is not a real cat, so he still hopes to finish the business quickly and go back.

Looking at Heijin curled up in the grass below, even though most of the grass here is withered yellow, Heijin still chooses places with some grass or many trees, favorable for concealment, and does not linger long in open areas; even when burying feces, the chosen spots are relatively concealed. It may not be doing it well enough, but for a dog it is already remarkably rare.

If Hetaoshixiong never returns, or if Heijin never meets them, will this dog keep guarding here? Zheng Tan thinks it's quite possible.

After about half an hour, Er Mao drove over in his car, got out and opened the rear door, gesturing for Heijin to get in, but Heijin stood there, looked at Er Mao, and didn't move.

Zheng Tan jumped into the car first, while also rummaging for the food Er Mao had left in the car; there was also his own rations; to work, one must first fill the stomach.

Not knowing whether Er Mao had succeeded in his work, Heijin glanced at Zheng Tan lying on the car seat eating something, tilted his head, looking as if puzzled and uncomprehending, but still jumped into the car.

Zheng Tan originally thought Heijin got into the car because of the food, but after getting in Heijin didn't touch Zheng Tan's food; even if Zheng Tan generously offered it to its mouth, it wouldn't eat.

"Heijin, when with Hetaoshixiong, only eats food fed by Hetaoshixiong; food from others he simply won't eat. Hetaoshixiong, his wife and children, and this dog are still in the adjustment period; although they have become somewhat close, feeding has not yet succeeded." Er Mao said after seeing the situation in the rearview mirror.

Zheng Tan watched the dog beside him, its mouth watering from smelling the food, almost drooling; he felt the dog must be very hungry, yet it was holding back and not eating; he was greatly impressed—if it were Sahala's lot, it would have snatched it and run.

The car had been driving for about an hour; Zheng Tan took a little nap; upon waking, he looked out the window and saw not far off a mountain; there are many mountains here.

The place Er Mao wanted to go was on a mountain; the car couldn't easily get there, and he hadn't asked the few households living at the mountain's base to keep watch; he himself found a spot to park.

The car had been modified; Er Mao wasn't afraid of theft; even if it were stolen, compared to Hetaoshixiong's side, even if it couldn't be recovered, it wouldn't matter much.

After getting out of the car, Heijin followed Er Mao for a stretch, then began sniffing around; obviously it had detected a familiar scent, not necessarily Hetaoshixiong's, but also some other people's.

After Er Mao saw the mark left on a tree, he felt a bit more reassured; just as before, he followed the marked signs to feel his way forward. Heijin was a bit ahead of Er Mao. While Er Mao tracked the marks, he also compared Heijin's route.

As for Zheng Tan, the matters were taken care of by the person and dog ahead; as an amateur, he just needed to follow.

It is winter; many trees on the mountain have shed their leaves, but there are also some evergreen species, so it doesn't look completely bare. While following up the mountain, Zheng Tan still had the mood to glance around at other places.

After walking a stretch, Er Mao suddenly stopped and called Heijin to halt, not letting it go further, because a mark had an additional, not very obvious stroke; and that stroke told Er Mao that there might be surveillance equipment or the like ahead.

Er Mao pulled out his phone, found no signal. If there were surveillance equipment ahead, he himself would be fine, but this cat and dog would be uncertain; the chance of exposure is extremely high.

After thinking, Er Mao had Heijin and Zheng Tan stay here. Don't run forward, especially Heijin; Er Mao explained for a long time. He didn't know how much the dog could understand or take in. However, after Er Mao walked a few steps forward and turned back, he found Heijin had already gone to some bushes to prepare to hide.

It seems the words were heard in a few sentences.

Regardless of how much Heijin could understand, Er Mao just needed the dog not to follow up and stay here.

Zheng Tan jumped onto a tree whose leaves were still green; he still felt it was safer up there, anyway in this season insects and snakes are few, so he needn't worry about those.

After Er Mao left, Zheng Tan stayed on the tree; the surroundings were very quiet, Heijin's side also made no big noise; bird calls were very clear, lending the place a desolate feeling. Lack of liveliness.

Zheng Tan lay on the branch; anyway, Heijin was on guard below, and even if someone came, they wouldn't pay special attention to a cat hidden in a tree; Zheng Tan is much safer than Heijin.

Suddenly, Zheng Tan's ear twitched, he opened his eyes and looked in a direction. The Heijin hiding behind the bushes also heard the movement, yet remained still and quiet in place.

Zheng Tan's higher vantage point lets him see more clearly than Heijin.

That is a field mouse; now in winter, it likely came out to forage due to lack of food. Zheng Tan doesn't eat such things, and now he has no mood to catch mice for fun, so he pretends not to have seen it and lets the field mouse go.

However, watching the field mouse gradually approach this way, this fellow is quite bold; likely it usually doesn't see many natural enemies around here, but as it neared, it probably smelled something, stopped, and cautiously looked around.

Whoosh!

Zheng Tan saw Heijin leap from the bushes and dash toward the field mouse; observing the motion of catching the mouse, Zheng Tan felt this dog was definitely not catching for the first time; likely it had caught mice at home before.

The field mouse couldn't escape from Heijin's claws; Zheng Tan only heard the mouse give two brief cries before it fell silent; looking again, Heijin had already carried the mouse back, lain in the dry grass bunch, and started eating. While eating, it paused to stay alert, ears pricked, listening carefully, ensuring no one approached before continuing to eat.

Listening to the sound of Heijin gnawing the field mouse, Zheng Tan felt moved, thinking this dog really has talent, or rather its former trainer had talent. At the same time, this shows the dog has endured hardship, likely having carried out missions together with soldiers. Previously, hearing Wei Leng say, sometimes on missions without food they would forage on the spot. As for what they gathered, the varieties were many, including field mice, snakes, and such animals.

It really would be good to let some dogs that like to waste food come and see. When Zheng Tan was at the pet center, he had seen several times some dogs licking a kibble and spilling two while eating dog food; after finishing, the staff would sweep the spilled kibble off the floor and throw it away; the owners thought it was nothing, and Zheng Tan at the time didn't think it a big problem, but now comparing, he suddenly felt it's better to be thrifty.

After eating, Heijin lay down again behind the bushes where it had been. Zheng Tan looked and saw not much blood on Heijin's body; the blood around its mouth was being licked off, and would probably be gone soon.

Not knowing when Er Mao and Hetaoshixiong will finish their business, Zheng Tan lay on the tree thinking. Fortunately, he had eaten some in the car when he came, so he's not starving now, but if they had to wait a few more days like this, he doesn't know whether he would end up eating field mice like Heijin.

Just then, Zheng Tan felt a chill, looked uphill, and saw someone coming. Not an animal, a person!

Heijin obviously also heard it, stopped licking its mouth, and paid attention to the direction the sound came from.

Soon, Zheng Tan saw the newcomers—two strangers with a slight accent, not locals; when they arrived, Zheng Tan had overheard two locals chatting, and their accents were different from those of the two strangers.

The route those two were taking was still some distance from where Zheng Tan was staying. When the two went down the mountain, one of them was still holding a walkie-talkie and speaking. From listening to their conversation, Zheng Tan learned that there was also a resting place near the mountain's base, and the two were preparing to go there.

Zheng Tan thought for a moment, climbed down the tree, and quietly followed them.

Heijin, hiding behind the bushes, was puzzled.

Shouldn't it be standing by in place? How did that cat run off? Should it follow them or continue standing by? (To be continued...)

ps: (4.22)