Chapter 25: Another Trip to Dabai Mountain

At dawn, just as the eastern sky turned pale, an unexpected visitor arrived at the kennel.

Before the figure even appeared in front of him, Aofeng had already opened his wild eyes and bared his white teeth. The other dogs, awakened by the commotion, were barking furiously, making it impossible for him to find peace even with his head buried in his chest.

A voice called out, “Aofeng, no training today. How about we go for a walk?”

Aofeng looked up in surprise, his angry expression softening. That didn’t sound like a bad idea at all.

…

Ever since he completed the obstacle jumping course that day, Song Changfeng had gone a little crazy. He applied to Director Li for special training, and after each morning group session, he held one-on-one sessions with Aofeng both in the morning and afternoon.

The one-on-one sessions took place at the training ground they had used as puppies. Since the next batch of puppies hadn’t been raised yet, Director Li gave them special permission to use the space. The field wasn’t very large, but with only one dog training there, it felt as empty as a stone dropped into the center of a lake.

At first, Aofeng wasn’t used to it. He preferred the other side of the base, where he could sneak a break and watch the other police dogs make fools of themselves during training. But here, it was just him and Song Changfeng, not another soul in sight.

That thought didn’t last long. Song Changfeng soon kicked things into high gear. Every day brought a new training module, and each afternoon came with an evaluation. If Aofeng didn’t pass, they’d repeat the training until Song Changfeng was satisfied.

During this time, Aofeng learned high-jump obstacle courses, hoop jumps, rapid obstacle navigation, and more. Most of the exercises sounded simple and were easy enough to do once or twice, but sticking with them was another story.

It was like practicing martial arts with horse stance¹. Ten people could do the pose perfectly, but if asked to practice it every day, not even one might stick with it.

After each session, Aofeng felt completely drained, like a dead dog. The only thing that revived him was the food. Not only had his breakfast and lunch portions not been reduced, they had actually increased. And during training, Song Changfeng would feed him snacks without Aofeng even needing to ask.

And so, Aofeng had been training here for a full month. Thanks to the intense regimen and hearty meals, he had grown noticeably larger. Standing up, he was now about the size of an adult female dog, looking even more imposing. With his serious expression, he gave off a natural air of authority. Just by appearance alone, he already looked like a qualified police dog.

Because of this, when Shen Yuanhui brought Wang Xiuyun and Shen Doudou to visit, Shen Doudou burst into tears. The chubby little guy hadn’t grown much himself, so he assumed Aofeng wouldn’t either. When he saw how big Aofeng had gotten, he panicked, thinking the training base had swapped dogs on him.

It wasn’t until Aofeng barked and licked his palm just like before that Shen Doudou finally stopped crying and smiled again. Wang Xiuyun fed Aofeng some sun-dried yak jerky while taking the opportunity to lecture the picky little boy, telling him to learn from Aofeng and stop being so choosy with food. Otherwise, he’d never grow tall and would be laughed at by Aofeng. Hearing that, Shen Doudou immediately vowed to stop being picky. He wanted to grow tall alongside Aofeng. That very night, he even ate half a plate of vegetables he used to hate. Whether he could keep it up, though, was another matter.

After the Shen family left, the grueling training resumed. Maybe the evaluator’s advice during the puppy assessment had really struck a chord, because Aofeng felt like Song Changfeng was steering him toward becoming a tracking dog or a search and rescue dog.

Just a few days ago, scent tracking had been added to his training regimen.

Although he had done search exercises before, those involved sniffing toys with various scents and then finding them. This time, Song Changfeng gave him a scrap of cloth to sniff and expanded the search area to the entire front half of the base.

After sniffing it, Aofeng led Song Changfeng straight to the canteen, where they found Xiao Li, the kitchen assistant who served their meals every day. As if he couldn’t tell? The cloth carried many smells, but the strongest were the aromas of various foods. A person just passing by wouldn’t leave that kind of scent behind. Only someone who handled the food regularly would. Another clue was the smell of medicated oil. In the summer, mosquitoes were everywhere, and Xiao Li was a magnet for them, so he always rubbed medicated oil on himself. The cloth had that scent too.

Song Changfeng was stunned. He realized Aofeng hadn’t even sniffed around on the way, just headed straight for the canteen. Clearly, he was already familiar with the scent. Song Changfeng made a mental note to be more careful when choosing materials next time.

As they walked back to the training field, Song Changfeng noticed Aofeng glancing repeatedly toward the base’s front gate. It occurred to him that they hadn’t taken a break in a long time. He decided to take Aofeng out the next day for some courage training. Police dogs needed to visit crowded, unfamiliar places now and then to stay sharp for real missions.

Actually, Aofeng just wanted to see if Little Orange², the cat that lived with the gatekeeper, was around. Ever since becoming a dog, he’d developed a newfound interest in cats.

…

The training base was located far from Anyang City, making trips inconvenient. So when Song Changfeng took Aofeng out, their go-to destination was still Dabai Mountain Forest Park. The base was remote, and there weren’t many lively places nearby.

Last time, during the assessment trip, Aofeng had ridden in a car and the journey took just eleven or twelve minutes. This time, he and Song Changfeng walked, taking about forty-five minutes. Other than feeling a bit thirsty, Aofeng was fine. Clearly, the consistent training had greatly improved his physical fitness.

Song Changfeng pulled a small bowl and a bottle of mineral water from his backpack, poured some in for Aofeng, then took out a special canned meal and placed it in front of him to help him recover his strength.

Aofeng had already eaten before they left, so he wasn’t particularly hungry, but he never turned down a snack. Besides, he’d checked the label – the special canned food for police dogs was made with top-quality ingredients and no sketchy additives. It was even safer than the stuff humans ate. Aofeng dug in happily. After becoming a dog, fame and fortune meant nothing to him. Only the satisfaction of a full belly felt real. In other words, until he was ready for real missions, his only goal in life was eating well.

After eating and drinking their fill, Song Changfeng packed everything up and led Aofeng into the Dabai Mountain Forest Park. They hadn’t even reached the main gate when Aofeng was already stunned.

There had been a lot of people the last time they came, but today there were even more. Was there some kind of event going on?

Aofeng scanned the area around the entrance and quickly figured it out. The park wasn’t hosting any special event – it was just Saturday.

For people who had been busy all week, there was nothing more refreshing for the body and mind than immersing themselves in nature. And most importantly, Dabai Mountain Forest Park didn’t charge an entrance fee. Only specific attractions required extra payment.

So once the weekend hit, the park was always packed. Whether from Anyang City or farther away, people loved coming here to relax.

As Aofeng and Song Changfeng entered, they stirred up a bit of a commotion. A dog that majestic wasn’t something you saw every day in the city. But this time, no one came over asking for photos. In fact, when they approached, the crowd even made way for them.

Aofeng figured it was because Song Changfeng always wore a stern expression when he wasn’t talking, unlike the more approachable Dezi. Either way, it had nothing to do with him. It definitely wasn’t because he looked more intimidating!

Translator’s Notes