Chapter 112: An Uninvited Guest

“Brother Song, I heard Aofeng bit you?”

Some news spreads like it has legs. In less than half a day, everyone in Yuntai Town who knew this man and his dog had already heard about it.

Looking at the curious face in front of him, clearly waiting for an explanation, Song Changfeng couldn’t help feeling a bit exasperated. He’d already explained this several times. But there was no helping it. The moment their team returned, the first thing they did was send him to the infirmary. When people asked along the way, they said he’d hit his head and got bitten. As for who bit him, it was obvious. Their team only had one police dog, Aofeng.

“Well, it was like this…”

Though he didn’t feel like repeating it, Song Changfeng still explained again to clear Aofeng’s name. After hearing the whole story, the guy in front of him looked deeply impressed, staring at Aofeng with admiration in his eyes.

“Aofeng is amazing! Brother Song, can you teach me how to train dogs? I want to apply for a police dog next year!”

“Get lost!” The team captain came up from behind and shooed away the young officer who was practically drooling over Aofeng.

“Comrade Changfeng, you’re injured right now. How about taking a proper rest? A helicopter’s coming tomorrow with supplies. We could arrange for you to leave with the seriously injured,” the captain said with concern. Song Changfeng was a good comrade, always hardworking and sharp in criminal investigation. A promising talent like him deserved some extra care.

Song Changfeng was stunned for a moment, then quickly shook his head. Technically, this was only their second day here. If he left now, wouldn’t people laugh at him forever for being a weakling?

To better convince the captain, he stood up and showed off his physical condition from all angles. After a full afternoon of rest, his head felt much better. He had blacked out for a moment when he hit it, but the doctor had checked and confirmed there was no internal injury. As long as he avoided bumping it again, the swelling would go down in a few days. As for the bite from Aofeng, it didn’t hurt anymore. Aofeng had been careful. The pain had been worse than the actual injury. Still, he’d gotten a rabies vaccine, which had been flown in by helicopter.

Seeing that he couldn’t persuade him, the captain could only give a few more reminders and quietly decided to tell the others not to assign Song Changfeng any heavy tasks for the next few days.

Aofeng lay not far away, gnawing on a big bone the cook had specially stewed for him, watching the people coming and going around Song Changfeng like he was enjoying a show. At the moment, he was quite glad he wasn’t human. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get a moment’s peace either.

After finishing the bone, Aofeng looked at the greasy bandages wrapped around his front paws with some distaste. They were filthy. If it were his own paw, he might force himself to lick it a few times, but the bandages? No way.

After a bit of inspection, Aofeng carefully bit at the knot in the bandages and undid both of them, tossing them aside. The moment they came off, he felt much more comfortable. Animals naturally dislike being restrained. He rolled over and lay on his back, fluffy belly facing the sky, front paws raised.

Don’t get the wrong idea. A tough guy like him would never act cute. He was just trying to get a better look at his wounds. But after staring for a while, he realized both front paws looked perfectly fine. If not for the lingering stain of the medicine, he’d have doubted whether he was ever injured at all.

Sure, it had just been some abrasion and swelling from overuse, but still, shouldn’t there be at least a trace left? Aofeng tilted his head, staring at his front paws in disbelief, completely puzzled.

“Click!”

The sound from nearby caught Aofeng’s attention. He turned his head and saw Song Changfeng holding up his phone, aiming it at him. Realizing what he looked like right now, Aofeng froze, then quickly rolled over and lay flat. Another embarrassing photo added to the collection. Aofeng was fuming. This guy might look cold on the outside, but he was secretly a little pervert. Over the past year, who knew how many silly photos he’d taken? And who knew if he’d posted them in his social feed? Aofeng had to pretend he didn’t know. After all, what self-respecting dog understands anything about selfies and social media?

Song Changfeng sighed. Aofeng had grown more serious as he got older. It was rare to see him acting playful like this, belly up like when he was a pup, and he’d only managed to snap one photo.

He opened his photo album, which was almost entirely filled with pictures of Aofeng—his face covered in food, tripping and face-planting while playing, lying on his back asleep with his belly rising and falling. Every picture was adorable, and he couldn’t bear to delete a single one. Of course, it wasn’t just him. Everyone else at the base was the same. Those who were married or had girlfriends had a few other kinds of photos, but the single guys? Their albums were nothing but dogs. Maybe that was just the universal curse of all pet owners.

The interruption made Aofeng forget all about how quickly his leg had healed. But Song Changfeng noticed. He took a photo and sent it to Xu Dong along with the earlier one showing the injury.

Xu Dong replied almost instantly with a question mark. Looked like the guy was slacking off at work again.

Song Changfeng explained the situation. Xu Dong took about ten minutes before replying.

“Brother Song, I asked my professor. He said rapid healing is usually a good sign. It means Aofeng has excellent physical fitness and strong cellular regeneration. But there’s one thing to watch out for: if the wound is deep and the surface heals before the inside does, it could lead to internal inflammation or infection. Judging by the photo you sent, though, the wound doesn’t look that deep.”

With that explanation, Song Changfeng finally relaxed. Ever since learning that Aofeng had a special constitution, he’d been quietly worried. Fortunately, so far, all the unusual traits seemed to be beneficial.

…

In the blink of an eye, a week had passed. After reinforcements arrived from surrounding cities to support the rescue efforts at Mount Daheng, everyone’s workload eased considerably. By the third day, they had combed through nearly every building in Yuntai Town and the Mount Daheng Scenic Area, rescuing all the survivors. The remaining days were spent recovering the bodies of those who had tragically perished in the disaster.

The earthquake had struck so suddenly that many people were buried without warning. When their bodies were recovered, many still held the same posture they had in life. The national broadcasting station sent reporters to cover the story, producing three full episodes that recounted the moving events that had taken place here. The broadcasts sparked a nationwide wave of donations and relief efforts, bringing a ray of warmth to the grief-stricken city of Hengzhou.

Aofeng appeared in a few minutes of footage across the three episodes. Of course, it wasn’t for saving Song Changfeng last time, but for something else entirely.

On the fourth day, Song Changfeng’s team received a mission to head into the scenic area, specifically to a cluster of stilt houses¹ halfway up Mount Daheng. The main road there had collapsed in the quake, and due to the terrain, helicopters couldn’t get close. The injured were trapped. Along with several other teams, they were tasked with carrying the severely wounded out on stretchers.

Naturally, Aofeng went with them. A group of about a hundred people set off up the mountain, each carrying supplies on their backs. These were for the teams already working inside, who wouldn’t be able to come out anytime soon.

Along the way, Aofeng seemed distracted, his gaze constantly drifting toward the dense forest lining the narrow mountain path. The Daheng Mountain National Nature Reserve was a 5A-rated² scenic area, thanks to its pristine ecological environment. With a forest coverage rate of 85%, it was home to many rare plants and wild animals. Here, even a random weed by the roadside could be a nationally protected species³.

Aofeng had the persistent feeling that something in the forest was watching him. The gaze didn’t feel hostile, but being watched by something unknown was still unsettling. He kept wanting to rush over and check it out, but he was afraid of slowing down the team.

Maybe he could sneak over for a quick look? Aofeng hesitated. Ever since arriving here, he hadn’t worn a leash. He was free to move around, and the rescue team members all knew him and trusted him.

With that thought, Aofeng began to slow down, trying to quietly drift to the back of the group so he could slip into the forest unnoticed and find out what was watching them. But his plan didn’t last even a minute before Song Changfeng shot him a curious look. Aofeng had no choice but to pick up the pace.

After walking a bit more, Aofeng felt the gaze in the forest grow more intense, almost burning. He could vaguely sense that whatever it was, it was anxious. What could it be? Aofeng slowed down again.

“Aofeng, what’s wrong?” Song Changfeng asked.

Aofeng glanced at him, then looked toward the forest. In the end, he decided to go check it out. If he didn’t, his curiosity would drive him crazy.

“Is there something in there?” Song Changfeng followed his gaze. All he saw were tall trees and low shrubs. But knowing Aofeng’s sharp senses, he figured it wasn’t just idle curiosity. Aofeng wouldn’t act like this just to play around.

Song Changfeng stepped forward and spoke with the team leader. The captain hesitated at first, but as soon as he heard that Aofeng might have discovered something, he immediately agreed. Song Changfeng chuckled. Clearly, Aofeng had more sway than he did.

With permission granted, Song Changfeng motioned for Aofeng to lead the way. Aofeng trotted ahead happily, his tail swaying unconsciously from side to side.

As they entered the forest, the air grew damp, carrying a mix of fresh greenery and the earthy scent of soil exposed by the earthquake. Surprisingly, it smelled rather pleasant. After taking a deep breath, Aofeng lowered his head, nose close to the ground, and began searching for the uninvited guest from earlier.

After sniffing for a while, Aofeng indeed picked up something. He caught a strange scent, one he had never encountered before. Judging by the smell, it likely came from some kind of animal. Whatever it was had lingered here briefly, and based on the trail, it seemed to have followed them all the way.

Could it be that some forest creature, curious after seeing so many people, had secretly followed them? But the Daheng Mountain National Nature Reserve saw plenty of tourists. Animals living near the outskirts shouldn’t be that curious about humans.

Aofeng kept sniffing, determined to track down the intruder. He figured the creature wasn’t very large. The traces it left behind were faint, suggesting either a small animal or a juvenile of a larger species.

Just as he neared the spot where they had entered the forest, Aofeng suddenly noticed the scent veered deeper into the woods. Should he go further in? He stared into the shadowy forest ahead, lost in thought.

Translator’s Notes