Chapter 116: Cat Food

For three nights in a row, the Fu’an Community remained calm and uneventful. Aofeng finally let out a sigh of relief, but his eyelids were starting to droop from exhaustion.

There was no helping it. He snuck out every night to keep watch, then had to patrol the streets with Song Changfeng during the day. He could only snatch a bit of rest here and there. It was utterly draining.

So, that night, Aofeng slept deeply. By the time he woke up, the sky was already turning pale with the first light of dawn. Heading out now would be far too risky. If someone discovered him, his kennel door might be locked for good next time.

Left with no choice, Aofeng lay sulkily in the kennel, waiting for morning. His mind was still preoccupied with the safety of the cats and dogs in Fu’an Community, so much so that he didn’t even hear Song Changfeng coming to take him for morning training.

After calling him twice, Song Changfeng crouched down and gave him a curious look. Aofeng grew uneasy. Had Song Changfeng noticed something? But that couldn’t be. He hadn’t gone out last night.

Fortunately, Song Changfeng only stared at him for a few more seconds before standing up and opening the kennel door to let him out.

It was around six o’clock. There weren’t many people out yet. The two of them jogged out of the Municipal Bureau and stopped at a fork in the road. Song Changfeng asked, “Where should we go today? People’s Park or over to Changxing Street?”

Song Changfeng liked talking to Aofeng. Even though Aofeng couldn’t speak, his reactions always made Song Changfeng feel like they were genuinely communicating.

Aofeng didn’t pick either option. Instead, he looked toward a smaller path. Song Changfeng caught on. “You want to go that way today?”

Aofeng gave a serious bark. That’s right—he had decided he needed to check on Fu’an Community. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to relax all day.

Song Changfeng, of course, had no idea what Aofeng was thinking. He just assumed Aofeng was curious and wanted to explore a new route. But as they ran, he started to feel something was off. Aofeng didn’t act like this was his first time on the path. He kept his eyes straight ahead, running with clear purpose, as if he knew exactly where he was going.

Though puzzled, Song Changfeng stayed quiet and followed along. After all, in his mind, Aofeng had always been the definition of reliable.

After running for over ten minutes, Aofeng stopped near the south gate of Fu’an Community. The gate was already open. Since it was an old neighborhood, there weren’t many restrictions on visitors during the day, so Song Changfeng was able to follow Aofeng inside.

They arrived at a bike shed packed with electric scooters. Aofeng barked twice into the shed. Soon, there was a rustling sound, and a small orange head poked out from between the bikes, meowing at Aofeng.

The moment Song Changfeng saw that orange head, he understood—Aofeng had come to visit a friend. Wasn’t that Da Ju, the one they’d seen on the wall the other day?

But he didn’t remember ever bringing Aofeng here. How had he found the place so precisely? The answer came quickly. Da Ju must have “told” Aofeng. The two were now chatting away, meows and barks flying back and forth, clearly enjoying themselves.

Song Changfeng took out his phone, opened the camera, switched it to silent mode, and quietly started recording Aofeng’s daily life again. Today, Aofeng seemed especially engrossed in the conversation and didn’t even notice the camera. Normally, he would’ve run off the moment the phone came out.

Right now, Aofeng truly hadn’t noticed Song Changfeng filming. He was focused on listening to Da Ju’s report about what had happened the night before.

Apparently, after Aofeng missed their agreed meeting time, Da Ju went out on patrol alone. He’d rested well during the day and was full of energy at night. He leapt from tree to tree, walked along walls, his seemingly plump body moving with surprising grace. His bright, gleaming eyes scanned every corner, missing nothing in the dark.

After a full circuit with everything appearing normal, Da Ju was about to return to his secret base when a San Hua¹ suddenly darted out from behind a building. She was running fast, as if something terrifying was chasing her.

Da Ju immediately went on alert. He jumped down from the tree and blocked her path, startling her so badly her fur puffed up. When she recognized Da Ju, the San Hua finally relaxed.

Once she calmed down, Da Ju asked what had happened. The San Hua recalled the incident and couldn’t help showing fear again. She said that while passing a certain building, she suddenly heard the cry of a kitten. The sound was weak and pitiful. With her strong maternal instincts, she followed the sound without hesitation. But just as she was about to reach the open area, she suddenly remembered what the police dog had warned them about in recent days. That snapped her out of it immediately.

It was hiding in the bushes behind the building, listening closely to the cries. It noticed something odd: the sounds were repeating. After a few cries, they would start over again. It also realized that there hadn’t been any kittens that small around the community lately. So what exactly was making that sound?

Thinking of the demon who had been cruelly torturing and killing cats recently, San Hua couldn’t help but shiver. She was a very timid cat. Once she figured it out, she immediately turned and bolted, not daring to go any farther.

Da Ju had the same thought after hearing her out. But as the lord of this area, Da Ju was far bolder. He decided to go check it out. If it really was that demon, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes – he’d make sure to teach him a lesson. At night, humans were no match for him.

To the cat’s disappointment, when Da Ju arrived at the open area, there was no sound at all, nor any sign of a person. After searching around, he could only return in frustration.

“Take me there!” Aofeng said. Since that person had shown up, there had to be some trace left behind.

Da Ju led the way, with Aofeng following close behind. Song Changfeng had no idea where they were going and could only tag along in confusion.

The community was fairly large. It took them about six or seven minutes to walk from the south gate to the spot where San Hua had heard the sound the night before.

The layout of the community was rather interesting: odd-numbered buildings were all on the left, even-numbered ones on the right. The open area where the sound had been heard was between Buildings 9 and 11. The place was overgrown with plants and thick vegetation. Due to poor management by the property office, mosquitoes and other insects were rampant in the summer, so hardly anyone ever came here to hang out.

Aofeng walked in and quickly found some traces. Part of the grass had been flattened, likely by someone standing there the night before. So, the demon really was someone from this community. He had chosen to lure kittens between Buildings 9 and 11 – did that mean he lived in one of them?

With that thought, Aofeng searched around some more and found a few pieces of cat food in a patch of grass. They didn’t smell like they had been laced with any drugs or other substances. He quickly called Da Ju over to see if he recognized the food.

Da Ju came over, sniffed at it, then popped one piece into his mouth. Before he could even swallow, he exclaimed in surprise, “I’ve had this before!”

“Where? Do you remember who gave it to you?” Aofeng asked excitedly.

Da Ju tilted his head, thinking for a moment. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. “I ate it by the roadside. A human woman gave it to us. She was really nice.”

A girl? Aofeng frowned. That didn’t match the footprints they’d found in the park earlier.

“What about anyone else? Has anyone else given you this kind of food?”

Da Ju shook his head firmly. “This one’s really tasty. I’ve only ever had it from her.” He remembered it had a strong fish flavor, very pungent and delicious, exactly the same as what they’d just found here.

That was strange. Could someone have disguised themselves as the girl and scattered the food to lure the kittens? Or maybe they just happened to buy the same kind? Or… was she actually an accomplice?

“Aofeng! We need to go!”

Song Changfeng hadn’t come in. He stood outside, scratching his arms as he called out. The early morning mosquitoes were vicious, and the bites were unbearably itchy. After standing there just a short while, his arms were covered in welts. Seeing that it was getting late and they still had to patrol the streets today, Song Changfeng had no choice but to interrupt Aofeng and Da Ju’s meeting.

Aofeng quickly gave Da Ju some instructions. “Get one of the cats to keep watch here, then go find that girl who feeds you this kind of food. See if she’s been acting strange. I’ll come back tonight!”

That person had failed last night. He would probably try again today.

Da Ju watched Aofeng leave, then turned to gather the cats for a meeting. He had to tell everyone what had happened yesterday.

…

That night, at ten o’clock, Aofeng, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them wide once he was sure the night shift had started. With practiced ease, he escaped again. He activated every muscle in his body and sprinted out at full speed, afraid he would be too late and let the demon succeed.

Running with all his might, he quickly arrived at the Fu’an Community. Da Ju, who had been waiting on the wall, let out a quick meow to signal that he had news.

Da Ju had spent the whole day guarding the spot where the girl usually fed the cats. It wasn’t until dusk that he saw the girl walking over, light on her feet. When she saw Da Ju, she smiled and greeted him, then crouched down and started calling out “meow meow” while beckoning with her hand, trying to lure Da Ju over.

Because of his earlier suspicions that morning, Da Ju was a bit wary and didn’t walk over to her like he usually did. The girl didn’t get upset. Instead, she turned around, pulled a small packet of cat food from her bag, carefully tore it open, poured some onto a leaf, then stepped back a few paces to wait for Da Ju to eat.

But Da Ju didn’t go for the food. He kept watching her warily. The girl looked a little puzzled and muttered to herself, “Not hungry today?” Before she could figure it out, two tiny kitten heads poked out from the grass and eagerly pounced on the food on the leaf.

The adorable kittens caught her attention. She quickly poured out some more food, and as the kittens came over to eat, she reached out to pet them. Her expression was one of pure bliss, completely entranced by the joy of cuddling cats, clearly unable to pull herself away.

Could someone like that really be the one hurting and killing kittens? Da Ju didn’t want to believe it. If it really was her, he might never trust another human again.

After hearing Da Ju’s account, Aofeng made a preliminary judgment: this girl probably wasn’t the accomplice they had imagined. Genuine affection couldn’t be faked—especially not with sensitive little animals like these. Any hint of malice, and the animals would never willingly approach.

Translator’s Notes