Chapter 57: Poor Kaka

“Shall we go take a look?”

After the competition during the day, Song Changfeng took Aofeng out for a walk that night. About four or five hundred meters from the National Stadium was a bustling commercial street, home to a well-known night market in the area.

Noticing Aofeng staring intently at a grilled sausage stall, eyes unblinking, Song Changfeng couldn’t help but soften. At this age, dogs were naturally gluttonous, and Aofeng rarely begged for food. Just for today, he figured he could buy him one that hadn’t been deep-fried. A little street food now and then wouldn’t hurt.

But when Aofeng heard him say that, he didn’t stop at the sausage stall. Instead, he walked past it, heading toward a trash can about ten meters away.

Was Aofeng going to dig through the trash?

Even Song Changfeng, whose face rarely showed emotion, couldn’t help but react. He wondered if Aofeng had gotten curious about trash cans because of what happened during the competition earlier, when he found a knife in one.

Given that Aofeng had always been a dog with a strong sense of purpose, Song Changfeng figured there had to be a reason for him approaching the trash can. So he decided not to stop him unless absolutely necessary. Still, the thought of a trash can made him sigh. Looks like they’d need to prep some water and pet shampoo when they got back…

In truth, Aofeng had no interest in digging through trash. The fermented stench from the garbage actually hurt his sensitive nose. But he had a reason to be there. Just moments ago, he’d heard a strange sound coming from nearby.

It sounded like a whimper, faint and barely audible, but filled with pain.

As a police dog in training, Aofeng couldn’t ignore someone – or something – being hurt right in front of him. The closer he got to the trash can, the clearer the sound became. After circling it once, he was certain the noise was coming from inside.

He looked up at the trash can, then down at himself, feeling a bit defeated. The can wasn’t even that tall – maybe twice his height if he stood on top of himself…

“Woof!” Aofeng barked at Song Changfeng, catching his attention. Then he lifted his chin and pointed toward the trash can.

Song Changfeng frowned. “You want me to dig through the trash?”

“Woof!” Aofeng’s doggy face turned serious. He was sure of it.

“Is there something in there?” Song Changfeng asked, exasperated.

“Woof!!” Aofeng barked again, clearly saying, Stop talking and just do it.

Staring at the perfectly ordinary trash can, Song Changfeng didn’t know what to say. He figured Aofeng must’ve picked up some bad habits from earlier that afternoon. They’d have to have a serious talk later. To be fair, it wasn’t really Song Changfeng’s fault. The night market was noisy, and even standing close together, you could easily miss quiet sounds. Only Aofeng’s sharp ears had picked it up.

With that in mind, Song Changfeng held his breath and lifted the lid. The top layer was full of discarded scraps from the food stalls. The moment the lid came off, both he and Aofeng gagged in unison.

Song Changfeng took two steps back. Glancing around, he spotted a broomstick with no head lying nearby. He picked it up and used it to push aside the top layer of trash. Beneath it were two or three black garbage bags, probably tossed in by nearby residents. He poked at them with the stick, and when one tore open, revealing some hygiene products, he felt a bit awkward. He glanced around nervously, worried someone might walk by and think he was a pervert.

Deeper down was a large gray woven sack¹, the kind usually used for storing vegetables or grain. Song Changfeng prodded it with the stick. Just as he was about to tell Aofeng there was nothing inside, the sack suddenly moved.

Something alive!

Song Changfeng’s expression turned sharp and cold. He dropped the stick, bent down, cleared away the trash on top, and grabbed the corners of the sack to lift it.

The moment he lifted it, his face darkened further. By his rough estimate, the sack weighed around forty to fifty pounds. With that weight and length, an ominous thought crept into his mind.

He gritted his teeth and yanked the sack up with both hands. Once it was out, he hurried to untie the knot at the top. Whether it was panic or frozen fingers, he couldn’t get it undone. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the winter cold. Frustrated, he tried to tear it open by force.

Sensing something was wrong, Aofeng barked loudly to snap him out of it. Song Changfeng blinked back to awareness, took two deep breaths, flexed his stiff fingers, and patiently worked at the knot.

Soon, the knot came loose, and a furry head drooped out of the sack. Song Changfeng’s tense nerves relaxed slightly. Thank goodness, it wasn’t a person. But the next second, fury surged through him. Even if it wasn’t human, this was still unacceptable!

The moment Aofeng saw that furry head, it was like a jolt of electricity hit him. Not because the dog’s face was covered in blood, but because he recognized it!

“Kaka! Kaka, wake up!” Aofeng barked urgently at the dog in the sack. Kaka, his head hanging low, struggled to open one swollen eye. He tried to give a goofy smile and whispered, “Boss…” The word tugged at his injured mouth, and a low whimper escaped from deep in his throat.

Song Changfeng couldn’t understand their exchange, but seeing Aofeng so anxious made it clear he knew this badly beaten Husky stuffed in the sack.

“Aofeng, we need to get him to the hospital right now. Bite your leash and follow me, understand?” Song Changfeng instructed, then scooped up the Husky and ran.

“Woof!” Aofeng barked, then lowered his head, grabbed the leash in his mouth, and dashed after Song Changfeng.

Song Changfeng remembered checking the local map while planning his trip. There was a pet hospital near this commercial street. As he ran with the Husky in his arms, he kept confirming the route. The sight quickly drew attention, especially with a German Shepherd trailing behind, leash in mouth, sprinting to keep up.

Some people found it amusing and pulled out their phones, ready to capture the scene and upload it to a short video platform. Others frowned, thinking it was dangerous for such a large German Shepherd to be running loose without a leash.

Song Changfeng had no time to worry about what others thought. He kept running while scanning his surroundings, and finally spotted the sign for the “Loving Heart Pet Hospital” next to a flower shop.

Inside, a nurse looked up at the sound of the door being pushed open, and was immediately startled. She shouted, “Dr. Zhang, come quick! This dog’s life is in danger!”

She wasn’t overreacting. The Husky in front of her looked absolutely pitiful. Its head was cracked open, blood matted into its fur and already dried. One of its front legs was bent at an unnatural angle—clearly broken. Its right eye was swollen shut, and there were tears at the corners of its mouth.

Dr. Zhang came out from the back, and the sight shocked him as well. He immediately called for his assistant to help carry the injured Husky into the operating room.

When the red light above the operating room lit up, Song Changfeng and Aofeng finally breathed a sigh of relief. That was when Aofeng realized he was still holding the leash in his mouth. He quickly spat it out and even gave a few disgusted hacks. His expression was complicated. It seemed he was getting a little too used to carrying things in his mouth.

A young nurse led Song Changfeng to make a payment. Since the dog’s condition was unclear, he paid a 3,000 yuan deposit first. If it wasn’t enough, he’d pay more later. If there was extra, it would be refunded. When he returned, he saw Aofeng sitting solemnly across from the operating room. He crouched down, patted Aofeng’s head, and reassured him, “Don’t worry, the doctor will take care of him.”

Aofeng let out a very human-like sigh. What on earth had that silly dog gone through? And where was its owner? Had it gotten lost again? Aofeng had observed earlier that the dog tag that should have been hanging from its collar was missing.

A string of questions troubled him, but he had no answers.

Clearly, Song Changfeng was thinking the same thing. That Husky had a good appearance, and its fur felt smooth and well-kept. It was obviously raised with care, not a stray. Plus, Aofeng had been with him these past few days. How could he know this Husky?

“Aofeng, you know that Husky, don’t you?”

Aofeng looked into his eyes and nodded.

“Where did you meet him?”

Aofeng thought for a moment, unsure how to explain, then stood up and barked twice in the direction of Anyang City.

Song Changfeng tried to interpret the gesture. That way? What was over there? Southwest?

Anyang City!

“You met him in Anyang City?”

Aofeng quickly nodded.

Anyang City. Husky. When Song Changfeng connected those two things, a flash of insight hit him. He remembered! When he first got to know Aofeng, he had asked around to learn more about the dog.

One story stood out: Aofeng had scored 120 points during an evaluation. At the time, Song Changfeng was puzzled. The test was only out of 100 points—how did it get 120?

After someone explained, he learned that the extra 20 points were a bonus. During the evaluation, Aofeng had conducted a long-distance search and rescue of a Husky. The judges were so impressed they awarded him additional points. Other than that, Song Changfeng hadn’t heard of any other incidents involving Aofeng and a Husky.

Thinking of this, he quickly asked, “Is that the same Husky you rescued back then?”

Aofeng’s eyes widened in surprise. He practically shouted, Sir, you’re amazing! You figured that out? No wonder you graduated from the police academy. He nodded vigorously.

With the Husky’s identity confirmed, a new question arose. Jingdu was so far from Anyang. There was no way the Husky came here on its own, and it was unlikely someone else had brought it here against its will. The only explanation was that its owner had brought it.

So, had the owner been angered by the Husky and done this to him out of spite? Song Changfeng didn’t think so. Anyone willing to pay the high cost to ship a Husky to Jingdu wouldn’t turn around and abuse it like that.

Could it be that the Husky got lost and ran into someone who enjoyed abusing dogs, who then beat it and dumped it in a trash bin?

That theory wasn’t far-fetched, but the truth would need to be verified from multiple sources. The immediate priority was to contact the Husky’s owner. Then the owner could report the incident as intentional property damage. Since there’s no law against animal cruelty, there was no way to file a report for that.

Now the problem was, how could he find the Husky’s owner without going to the police? Back then, how had Dezi found the owner and returned the dog?

Wait! The dog tag had a phone number.

Song Changfeng perked up, then sighed. He’d already noticed earlier that the Husky had no identifying information on it.

That left only one option: ask Dezi. He had called the owner before—maybe the call log was still there.

Song Changfeng pulled out his phone, just about to call Dezi, when he noticed several missed calls. They were all from his instructor, Pan Zi, and Zhou Xiaoyong. He’d silenced his phone during the afternoon competition and forgotten to turn the sound back on. They were probably worried because he’d been gone so long.

He tapped one of the missed calls and dialed back. The call connected quickly, and Pan Zi’s anxious voice came through the receiver. “Song, where did you take Aofeng? It’s so late and you’re still not back, and you weren’t answering your phone!”

“Sorry, I had my phone on silent this afternoon. Just now, we…” Song Changfeng gave a quick summary of what had happened.

Before he could finish, the voice on the other end said, “Wait there. We’re coming over now.”

“Wait… hey, hello? Hello?” Song Changfeng called out in confusion, but the line had already gone dead.

Well, let them come. It’d be good to check the area anyway, see if there were any similar cases nearby.

Translator’s Notes