Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 419 - Chapter 419 Chapter 401 Searching

Chapter 419: Chapter 401: Searching Chapter 419: Chapter 401: Searching The courtyard was filled with an air of anxiety and irritability.

If it weren’t for the urge to learn more information, Zheng Tan would definitely keep his distance; the atmosphere was too oppressive.

The Master wasn’t home today; he had been invited over by an old friend in the provincial city a couple of days ago. Having heard that something happened in the courtyard, he didn’t bother about the other side and hurried back immediately; he also asked for help from contacts in the provincial city.

The person who took Pei Jie wasn’t a resident here. Local residents, including Da Kang, had never seen that person before. After abducting Pei Jie from outside the courtyard, the kidnapper quickly left. The traces Ermao and the others could follow led only to the roadside, where there were tire tracks of a motorcycle, then the trail was too hard to track further.

The three men split up and drove along the road searching, finding nothing at first. The area was too remote to expect any road cameras. It took Ermao more than half an hour of driving along the road before he found the motorcycle dumped on the roadside.

The person was gone. They assumed that the abductor had dumped the motorcycle and then left in another vehicle. The scent trail ended there, and even with Zheng Tan and Dashan’s help, they could not find the abductor.

The three could only return to the courtyard to think of a solution. Pei Liang was now desperately hoping for a call from the abductor, even if it was a ransom demand, just to get some news, but unfortunately, there was silence.

“It’s my fault,” Wei Leng said softly. Due to his previous profession, he was sensitive to certain special industries, which is why he had asked about that passerby at Da Hao’s house.

“I’m to blame too,” Ermao added. It had been he who pointed in the direction of Da Kang’s place, thinking they should go over and take a look.

Pei Liang had been silently smoking since returning to the courtyard; he waved his hand and said in a hoarse voice, “It’s not your fault.”

Pei Liang knew that all three of them shared the same thought; even if Ermao and Wei Leng hadn’t mentioned it, he would have asked about that person and gone to have a look. After all, in this place, they wouldn’t ignore any potential dangerous characters. This was where the Master lived, and they would not tolerate any threatening individuals.

What Pei Liang wanted to know now was, why had that person taken Pei Jie away?

Based on some information provided by Da Kang, plus the Master’s connections in the provincial city, they had uncovered quite a lot in half a day.

Da Kang was right; the zoo that had employed Dazhi did have issues. Some people were using animals to transport prohibited items to other locations; the people and matters involved were still being investigated thoroughly.

Everyone knew that zoos sometimes exchanged animals like swapping, gifting or purchasing to enrich their collections. In recent years, due to profitable returns from constructing wildlife zoos, many places have started a trend of building these zoos. Although the establishment and development of wildlife zoos have positively contributed to public leisure, scientific education, and tourism expansion, many zoos are facing various issues due to poor management and chaotic operations, such as illegal sales, secretly slaughtering sick and old animals, and even purposefully throwing herbivores into carnivore enclosures to attract tourists with bloodshed.

Due to the lack of scientific planning and market research, coupled with lax approval and supervision from higher authorities, the construction of wildlife zoos has surged. The zoo that hired Dazhi was established amidst such chaotic conditions. With plenty of loopholes and unable to withstand scrutiny, problems were found in abundance upon inspection, and Dazhi’s unjust accusation was merely a minor, unnoticed aspect of it.

The zoo’s issues involved too many administrative departments, which Ermao and the others didn’t care or want to deal with. They were eager to know the connection between Dazhi’s case and Pei Jie’s abduction and wanted to find out who had taken Pei Jie away.

After analyzing the information they had obtained and reflecting on today’s events, the three of them felt that the other party must have some understanding of them; even if they hadn’t met before, the other party might have learned some details through others.

Knowing that they were targeted by Ermao and the others meant things would turn quite unfavorable. Hence, upon sensing danger and possibly accelerating the exposure of hidden crimes, which would lead to severe sentences for them if it all came to light, they might have taken Pei Jie as a bargaining chip to escape.

“Their target was Pei Jie from the start, not Er Yuan and Little Wei,” said Pei Liang. The latter two were too young, hard to take care of, and prone to crying; taking them would be more trouble. But Pei Jie, already ten years old and aware, would be more cooperative after being threatened or intimidated.

Pei Liang knew his son best; he believed that if those people were only using Pei Jie as a bargaining chip to escape, Pei Jie would still be safe now. Pei Jie was a clever child, cunning and playful, better at assessing situations; Pei Liang had never been so grateful for his son’s character.

As long as Pei Jie remained stable and did not anger those people, Pei Liang and the others would have more chances to find answers.

While Ermao and the others were discussing and analyzing the situation, Zheng Tan thought of the people he had seen in the forest when brought in by Dashan. Could those in the woods be involved, and might Pei Jie have been taken there? After all, the forest lacked police and surveillance, making it an easy place to escape after committing a crime.

This night, apart from Er Yuan and Little Wei, the two youngsters, everyone else was destined to be sleepless.

Zheng Tan had planned to rest a bit, but after tossing and turning, he still couldn’t sleep.

Stepping out, he leapt onto the second-floor railing and surveyed the endless dark canopy above.

Lights were still on in the courtyard’s first floor; Ermao and the others were all downstairs. In the evening, a few people from the provincial city had come to help them find the child and brought some possibly useful news. It seemed unlikely that anyone on the first floor would get any sleep tonight.

Sensing something, Zheng Tan looked towards the corner of the wall.

Dashan was awake, having hopped onto the boundary wall where he was squatting and stargazing. The hall could only provide a view around the courtyard’s main gate, so Dashan kneeling at the corner of the wall went unnoticed by Ermao and the others.

After pondering for a moment and making a decision in his heart, Zheng Tan hurried downstairs.

Upon hearing the noise, Dashan turned his head to look at Zheng Tan. His body was too big for the narrow wall, appearing somewhat discordant, but he stood very steadily nonetheless.

Zheng Tan jumped onto the wall, stopped beside Dashan, and then climbed over into the courtyard. After taking a few steps, he looked back at Dashan. “Buddy, care to make a trip?”

Dashan crouched on the wall, staring at Zheng Tan for a few seconds, probably still not understanding what Zheng Tan intended to do so late at night. Usually, since Dashan always accompanied the Master, his schedule had gradually become similar to the old man’s, and he wouldn’t roam around at night. But now, seeing Zheng Tan wanting to leave, he was unsure whether to follow or not.

He looked back at the lit room on the first floor, turned his head again, and jumped down from the wall.

Seeing Dashan follow, Zheng Tan felt more at ease. Although he had followed Dashan to that area before, he might not remember the way clearly. With Dashan as a guide, Zheng Tan could avoid some detours.

Indeed, Zheng Tan still decided to go to the place where they had seen the suspicious character and the tent. Even if he couldn’t find Pei Jie there, he might still find some other clues based on the people and objects in the area. From the conversation he had eavesdropped on between Ermao and her group, the people in that forest were very likely related to Dazhi’s situation, which also meant they could be connected to the person who took away Pei Jie.

The night was filled with endless unknowns and dangers, and many nocturnal animals that posed a considerable threat to Zheng Tan were active. Zheng Tan took down the cat card and hung it on a tree. That way, even if he ran far, Ermao’s side would not receive the alarm prompt. Before truly finding useful information, Zheng Tan did not want to divide Ermao and her group’s attention.

In fact, nighttime travel wasn’t that troubling for Zheng Tan. After all, a cat’s night vision is pretty good, and unlike humans, he wouldn’t be disoriented in the darkness. However, the journey was much slower than last time. One reason was that Dashan wasn’t accustomed to moving around here at night, and sneaking out late also filled Dashan with unease, fearing a scolding upon return, which made him less decisive than before.

As dawn approached, Zheng Tan passed through a place and caught a familiar scent. It was left by Pei Jie, and another by the person who had taken Pei Jie away.

Pei Jie had indeed been brought here!

The trip was worthwhile.

For easier movement at night, Zheng Tan hadn’t worn a vest, so he couldn’t carry a phone. Without his phone, and the cat card left in the courtyard, he needed another way to notify Ermao and the others. Zheng Tan and Dashan would stand no chance against those people alone.

Dashan also recognized Pei Jie’s scent and began running with more determination, no longer hesitating as he had before.

The person who took away Pei Jie must have entered the forest by a different route, probably to shake off the pursuit of Ermao and her group.

Following the scent, Zheng Tan and Dashan picked up the pace. By this time, the sky was already brightening. Normally, Dashan would already be up and active, starting the “alarm clock”. Even without sleep for the night, Dashan seemed much more alert at this time, of course, part of that was due to the excitement of finding Pei Jie’s scent.

It was the same place and the same cloth tent holding animals. Originally, there were only two tents around, but now there was one more, indicating somebody had joined.

With previous experience in mind, Zheng Tan did not approach immediately. There was a guard by the tent who looked as if he might be asleep, but Zheng Tan dared not take the risk. Those people were too vigilant; even a slight carelessness could lead to a disastrous loss.

Dashan didn’t move either, each action cautious and stealthy, as if afraid of startling anyone on that side.

Zheng Tan thought for a moment and then retreated to a distance, moving out of the range of their vigilance.

After Zheng Tan moved, Dashan quickly followed suit.

It had to be said that Dashan was indeed very intelligent, not because he learned quickly, but because he knew his limits. He was aware he was no match for these people and understood that rash action would bring no good. Therefore, after finding Pei Liang’s scent, what he considered was to go back and report.

Dashan planned to pull back first and then bring others over. However, after running a few steps, he noticed Zheng Tan still lingering behind without intending to follow, so he stopped and waited.

Zheng Tan waved his hand, signaling Dashan to hurry back on his own. He decided to stay and observe the situation, ready to act in an emergency if needed, as Pei Jie was just a child after all.

Seeing that Zheng Tan truly had no intention of leaving, Dashan continued running for a few steps, stopped to look back, ran a distance again, looked back, and upon seeing that Zheng Tan was not following, he ran off.

Zheng Tan believed that Dashan could bring Ermao and the others over, as Dashan understood some simple words and even the “yes or no” tail-wagging game.

As long as he could bring the people over, that was enough.

Zheng Tan climbed up a tall tree to observe the people below and also to rest a bit, as he was somewhat tired from the long walk. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (NovelFire.net) to vote for it with your recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.NovelFire.net to read.)