Chapter 429: There Is Still a Cat Named Zheng Tan in This World

The person knocked down by Zheng Tan with an Electric Shock Bullet shot four animals, and the item taken from the animals' bodies had already been found on Er Mao, and the last survivor—the little red panda with a stupid expression—was also taken back to the yard.

In the yard there is Uncle Lin, a senior veterinarian, proficient in surgeries and such; Uncle Lin's home also has a complete set of surgical tools, as well as a specially built operating room for large animal surgeries.

Two days after the operation, the little red panda became lively again; Uncle Lin's skill was one reason, but the key was the youngster's exceptionally strong vitality, and after the wound improved, Uncle Lin took it out to the yard for a walk.

Uncle Lin said the little red panda is only one year old, still a juvenile in its species; probably shortly before the people captured it, its mother drove it away, so it hadn't yet gotten used to living independently. Now that it follows Uncle Lin, it has regained the carefree feeling of its days with its mother, and as long as it isn't driven away again, it will stay here.

The little red panda is very attached to Uncle Lin; Uncle Lin doesn't use a leash or anything to restrain it, and it doesn't run away. Without much prompting, it just stays by his side; the surgical wound gradually heals, and it shows no intention of escaping.

Come to think of it, staying with Uncle Lin means food, drink, careful care, no one pointing guns at it, nothing to worry about. Every day its favorite activity is to hold a big apple, sit in a tree and eat it, then find a sunny spot to sit and start rubbing its face.

Uncle Lin isn't worried it will play hide‑and‑seek; the youngster is usually very clean, doesn't relieve itself everywhere, and Zheng Tan has always thought it has a habit of rubbing its face. In fact, after eating it simply wipes its mouth with its paw or cleans the fur around its mouth, just like a cat licks its paws and wipes its face after a meal.

Because of that, Uncle Lin finds keeping it fairly easy; he can take the youngster out for walks, which is better than walking alone. So Uncle Lin contacted a familiar manager of the local animal enclosure, obtained some permits, and kept the little red panda here for postoperative observation to prevent disease. The people at the nearby zoo had no objections. After all, the zoo has plenty of red pandas; missing one is insignificant, just a casual favor of opening a convenient gate.

Uncle Lin said, it's truly lucky that this little red panda survived. Of the five animals that were locked up, only it made it. Surviving a great disaster brings future blessings, so he named the youngster "Xiao Fu". As he kept calling it, it became "Xiao Fuzi".

The criminals were taken away by the police, their weapons and drugs confiscated. The person knocked down by Zheng Tan with an Electric Shock Bullet, while pleading, insisted on asking who was in the tent at the time. He thought a lot but still couldn't guess who it was. He even analyzed the whole incident to pinpoint which step went wrong that led to this outcome, but he would never have imagined that his two biggest mistakes were greedily pocketing a box and not knowing that there exists a cat named Zheng Tan in this world.

Peijie was also questioned, but his father had instructed him on what to say and what not to say; when he tells lies they come out in a stream. Moreover, during the police interrogation, at some point he suddenly burst into tears, the tears just came. The usual notion that a man should bleed but not shed tears was set aside; Peijie called it strategic crying, within acceptable limits.

The officer in charge of questioning Peijie eventually stopped asking further questions.

Never underestimate children; never look down on these Xiao Pihai, sometimes their scheming is far greater than adults imagine.

Afterward Peijie also promised Zheng Tan that, to repay the life‑saving favor, he would keep the truth hidden forever, "A good man keeps his word, never betrays!"

Actually Peiliang seems quite upright, but unfortunately Peijie didn't inherit his father's sense of justice and instead became steeped in criminal aura.

When Peiliang and Peijie were alone, Peiliang originally intended to counsel the kid to prevent a childhood psychological scar, but found the child's nerves too strong; aside from a minor obstacle, he was fine. Even when recounting the incident, he spoke with clear logic, not only logical but also adept at exaggerated rhetoric, like a storyteller; a perfectly ordinary matter became fantastical in his words.

After being warned by Peiliang several times, Peijie finally reined in his unbridled thoughts.

"I was truly terrified then, Dad. You don't know, in that pitch‑black shed I could only smell the stench of monkey and little red panda waste, see only the cold steel cage, and the nearby little red panda with a stupid expression," Peijie said.

Hearing that, Peiliang immediately frowned in displeasure and said, "What are you saying? That's not 'stupid'; that's 'adorably clumsy!'"

"Oh, that's the spring‑and‑autumn style you mentioned… When I saw its adorably clumsy look, I felt uneasy inside; can I even use the word 'uneasy'?"

Peiliang: "……"

Peiliang took a deep breath, about to speak, when Peijie pointed in a direction. Following Peijie's gesture, he looked to a spot not far from them: Da Shan was there playing with an apple, moving it back and forth with his two paws as if it were a ball. In front of Da Shan stood the little red panda, eyes fixed on the apple Da Shan was moving, its head swaying left and right.

Da Shan was clearly teasing the little red panda; after flicking the apple a few times, he grabbed it with his mouth, jumped onto the wooden plank table in the yard, and placed the apple on the table's edge where the red panda could see it but not reach it, while Da Shan crouched nearby watching.

The wooden plank table was just a little higher than a standing red panda, so the creature rose, lifted its two front paws, and jumped, trying to grab the apple on the table's edge.

At that moment Peijie shouted in a TV‑style eunuch's tone, "Xiao~Fu~zi~!"

The little red panda bouncing around the table turned its head, but its rising motion wavered; distracted, it tipped backward, landed on its rear on the ground, and rolled over.

Peijie withdrew his gaze and said to Peiliang, "See, truly adorably clumsy."

Peiliang said nothing.

Seeing Peiliang showing signs of anger, Peijie quickly changed the subject: "Well, back to the point. Dad, even if that big brother Qi Da Da had been there, he might not have done better than Hei Tan. That cat is really awesome; why don't we keep one at home? A pure‑black one."

Peiliang snorted, "Do you think every black cat is a black coal?"

"Well, just like Qi Da Da has only one, there's only one black coal."

"One is enough." Peiliang thought to himself: one can handle this kind of matter; if another showed up, would it overturn the heavens?

As the day of return approached, the originally scheduled departure time had already passed, because this incident kept them here an extra week. After wrapping up everything here, everyone finally planned to head back.

Er Mao and the others did not tell the elder about what happened in the forest, but who is the elder? When Er Mao's few tails twitched, the elder already knew what kind of mess they were making; even if they covered it well, the elder sensed the inside story. It didn't matter. Now the youngsters have families and careers, know right from wrong. He trusts his few disciples, won't ask much, just lets them lend support from behind.

Only, the elder would never have thought that everything was caused by a single black cat.

The investigation into using animals to transport illegal goods will continue for a while; this time they'll likely purge some people from top to bottom, but that no longer concerns Zheng Tan and his group. The problematic zoo has been sealed, and its animals redistributed to several better‑regulated zoos.

Precisely because of this incident, higher authorities issued new policies, imposing stricter requirements on zoos and tightening management monitoring.

When three cars left the yard, Zheng Tan looked out from the rear window.

The morning sun had risen, shining over the land.

On a large stone near the yard, the little red panda, having just finished breakfast, sat there rubbing its face. At the yard's entrance, the elder, Uncle Lin, and Da Shan stood, watching the three cars recede. The sunrise bathed them, gilding their outlines.

When Zheng Tan returned to Chu Hua Shi, it was already December.

During this period Chu Hua Shi's temperature dropped sharply; when Zheng Tan left, people were still wearing short sleeves, but now they are in thick jackets.

Each time he returns from a long trip, Zheng Tan feels his mood become very calm and at ease, as if the restlessness has settled.

Knowing Zheng Tan was returning today, Jiao Ba specially came from the Institute of Biological Sciences back to Dongqu Dayuan. He glanced at Zheng Tan—hmm, not thin, spirits high, seems to have had a good time outside.

Er Mao didn't tell the Jiao family about that matter; he only asked a few extra questions when handing Zheng Tan the treasure chest, noticing Jiao Ba didn't seem to know the inside. Er Mao couldn't help asking, "Teacher Jiao, aren't you curious what's inside the chest?"

Jiao Ba, carrying the chest and bag upstairs, heard Er Mao's words and said, "I'm curious, but I respect their **."

At home, whether it's Jiao Yuan, Xiao Youzi, or Zheng Tan, whatever they collect themselves, Jiao Ba will not force them to show it.

Er Mao sneered inwardly, "Even a cat has ** rights."

However, after learning the chest's origin was linked to Fang San Ye's family, Er Mao began to wonder whether to get a similar set of gear for his own daughter; then any clueless brat could be shot with a gun.

Zheng Tan returned home, feeling just as he did when he left last month; Jiao Yuan's scent had faded a lot, Xiao Youzi's scent had also lightened a bit. Today is Thursday, the weekend is near, Xiao Youzi will be back soon, and Jiao Yuan, too, I guess.

After packing, he also swapped Zheng Tan's cat tag back, and Jiao Ba was heading to the Institute of Biological Sciences. As he left, he said to Zheng Tan, "I'm going to the institute; Er Mao said you ate this morning, it's not yet lunch time. If you're hungry, help yourself; the food is still at the usual spot."

After Jiao Ba left, Zheng Tan rolled twice on the sofa and stretched lazily; although the long ride left him a bit weary, he still wasn't sleepy after half a day of mulling. He went to the balcony and looked at the neighboring balcony.

Qu Xiangyang had long moved out, bought a big house, is now a dad, but reportedly still stays home a lot. The neighboring balcony no longer has T‑shirts with StarCraft, Spider‑Man, Star Wars, SpongeBob prints; instead there are some female students' clothes.

The neighboring house was rented to three graduate students—female—of Qu Xiangyang's parents. Qu Xiangyang had once helped tidy the room and smashed six cockroaches, plus several other insects.

Because Qu Xiangyang turned the house into such a mess, his parents rented it to female students, at least the girls would be tidy and not turn a decent house into a dog's den.

Zheng Tan had met those three female students; they looked passable, and after getting used to them, he thought they were decent. Good temperament, good character, sometimes they invited Zheng Tan over to play and share food. All good people.

Actually, the three female students' favorite was the General on the fourth floor; unfortunately the General has been sent south for winter, otherwise they'd often hear him belt love songs downstairs. Residents would tease Professor Qin, making him awkward many times. Poor Professor Qin—those love songs, especially the explicit ones, were mostly not taught by him!

After sunbathing on the balcony for a while, Zheng Tan still wasn't sleepy, so he decided to go downstairs for a walk.

Da Pang isn't home; the old lady took him to visit relatives. A Huang is on the grass playing "Sit‑in‑a‑Row" with Xiao Hua and Niu Zhuangzhuang, Jingzhang…

No sign.

Zheng Tan walked around, came to Old Man Lan's small flower garden; in front of Zheng Tan, a student rode a small tricycle past and knocked on the door, then inside there sounded three kinds of dog barks.

Zheng Tan walked over and peered inside to look.

First barking was the tabby native dog 'Shunfeng', the second was the yellow native dog 'Qianli', the third was... the Jingzhang standing on the flower arbor. (To be continued...)