Chapter 221: Chapter 217: Do Brother a Favor Chapter 221: Chapter 217: Do Brother a Favor The young officer tugged at the leash in his hand, planning to lead Black Gold away.

But Black Gold refused and stubbornly insisted on staying there, so the officer and the dog pulled against each other.

Apparently, Black Gold had lost patience too and, very annoyed by the young officer’s behavior, spun around, charged at him, and barked. The officer, thinking Black Gold was about to bite, tensed up and his grip loosened, letting the leash fall to the ground as he stumbled back several steps.

However, Black Gold did not run off; he stayed in the same spot, sniffing around the area, but he stopped digging holes.

Seeing that Black Gold did not run away, the officer breathed a sigh of relief. However, he decided he no longer wanted to deal with this dog. He had been truly frightened just moments before, thinking the dog was going to bite him, even though it turned out to be just a scare. But this dog was much fiercer than any he had seen at the station; it only looked obedient on the surface.

Shaking his head, the young officer looked towards where his supervisor was and ran over there. It was better to have someone else handle this dog; he simply wasn’t up to it.

After the officer had left, Zheng Tan, curious, jumped down from the tree and walked to the spot where Black Gold had been digging.

Black Gold, still sniffing around on the ground, looked at Zheng Tan and then quickly ran to guard the spot he had been digging, specifically, where the black bug was located, as if he feared Zheng Tan might disturb the area.

Zheng Tan stepped towards the bug, and immediately, Black Gold gave a low growl of warning.

He withdrew his foot. The warning sound stopped immediately.

He attempted to step forward again, and Black Gold growled lowly once more.

After several tests, Zheng Tan decided not to walk over there any further. He glanced at Black Gold and then stretched his neck closer to the spot where the bug was to sniff carefully. He ignored the warning growls Black Gold issued again, knowing that as long as he didn’t touch the bug, Black Gold wouldn’t do anything to him. Black Gold was only growling this time, not even showing his teeth, a much nicer attitude than he had shown the young officer before.

Gag—

A feeling of nausea overcame him. Zheng Tan immediately retracted his neck, distancing himself a bit more.

Damn, what is that smell? It’s disgusting!

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the smell was; it was foul enough to make Zheng Tan wish he could vomit everything he had eaten earlier at the filming location.

The horrendous smell was detectable even from a distance, and while humans might only notice it if they deliberately sniffed close up, it was all too easy for cats and dogs.

Zheng Tan stopped sniffing the bug and jumped back up into the tree, hearing someone approaching.

The person coming was the young officer, and he was accompanied by Senior Hetao heading in this direction. Along the way, the officer also glanced at the holes Black Gold had dug in the lawn.

“Didn’t find anything unusual. I even poked around with a stick; there’s nothing buried here,” the young officer explained. He had been initially excited when he saw Black Gold digging, thinking something like evidence or a body might be uncovered, but there was nothing, and the soil showed no signs of recent disturbance. Although his professional knowledge wasn’t great, he knew some basic things, like the fact that the soil here clearly had not been moved recently, at least not in the past month or so.

“Hmm,” Senior Hetao nodded, and after inspecting the small holes Black Gold had dug, he walked towards where Black Gold was.

Upon Senior Hetao’s approach, Black Gold wagged his tail hard, as if seeking praise.

Senior Hetao patted his head but didn’t immediately check the holes Black Gold had dug; instead, he looked up at the black cat in the tree.

“Black Coal?” Senior Hetao called out.

Zheng Tan moved his ears but didn’t lift his head, continuing to watch the spot where Black Gold had been digging. He didn’t look at Senior Hetao, acting as if he wasn’t the one being called. After all, he wasn’t wearing his cat card now.

“Do you know this cat?” the young officer asked.

Senior Hetao shook his head. “I probably got it wrong.”

“This cat doesn’t seem to be a local pet; its breed isn’t anything special, probably just a stray from somewhere else, but it looks pretty sturdy,” the young officer said. The people around here likely had those distinctly unique pedigree cats; there were fewer like this one.

Without further comment, Senior Hetao turned to examine the holes Black Gold had dug up. There didn’t seem to be anything special. Just then, someone called him and Senior Hetao, leading Black Gold, left. Black Gold was a bit reluctant but followed anyway.

Zheng Tan perched in the tree, listening to some people nearby discuss the situation. Two people were talking; their voices were not loud, but Zheng Tan could hear a bit.

Apparently, a murder had occurred inside that villa, and moreover, the people inside were no longer recognizable, reduced to just bones.

Zheng Tan hadn’t sneaked into see the scene, but listening to the conversation made his fur stand on end. It felt like those two were exaggerating—yes, definitely, it was too exaggerated.

A gust of wind came by, and Zheng Tan shivered. He might as well head back to the filming site; it was less boring than here.

Shortly after Zheng Tan left, Senior Hetao, having dealt with the people, looked towards the tree and saw the cat was no longer there. He chuckled softly.

Mistaken identity? Impossible!

How could he not have noticed whether the cat in the tree was Black Coal or not?

But, had the cat also been sniffing around there?

When he was led by the young officer to look at the pit in the lawn, he had noticed that Black Cat was sniffing around the area guarded by Black Gold. If there was nothing unusual, why would both the cat and dog sniff around there?

This really was a misunderstanding for Zheng Tan. Zheng Tan had sniffed out of curiosity, finding only a black insect there along with soil and dead leaves. There was nothing else noteworthy to smell, and Zheng Tan hadn’t noticed anything unusually strange.

He Tao stood still and thought for a moment, asking the person who had come over to wait a bit. He then took Black Gold by the leash and walked back towards the tree they had visited earlier.

Black Gold seemed very excited, pulling on the leash and running towards it. If Senior Hetao hadn’t been holding on, it might have sprinted over.

He carefully examined the small pit, confirming that the insect Black Gold had found was indeed the same one. He Tao then took out a clean little paper bag, placed the insect about the size of a thumbnail inside it, and then checked a few other small pits on the lawn but did not find any similar black insects.

Back at the filming site, Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. Although he knew this cat would return on time, he was always anxious and fearful each time; after all, if anything went wrong, the responsibility was on him.

Overall, the shooting went smoothly. Zheng Tan felt there was no technical content involved. He almost always got it in one shot. The delays were caused by the other cats.

After returning home, Zheng Tan no longer thought about the events of the day. He maintained his usual routines and considered where he might go next. Around Chuhua University and a bit farther towards Jiao Yuan School, Zheng Tan decided not to go that way for now. There was no need to visit the construction sites either, as the building had mostly been erected; there was nothing new to see.

Which route should he take for his walk?

Zheng Tan decided to wait until Jiao Ma and the others were not at home and then look at the map. There was a detailed map of the campus and its surroundings on the desk in the master bedroom. He would choose accordingly then.

That night, Zheng Tan had a peaceful sleep, but someone else was up all night. For instance, He Tao’s wife.

He Tao had not returned home that night. He had said he had to go out for work and hadn’t been heard from since. His phone was also unreachable. He had previously turned off his phone while working on cases, but this time, He Tao’s wife felt particularly uneasy. She waited until dawn and after the children went to school, she called Ermao.

Ermao was still sleeping at the time; to him, the best sleep usually came around eight or nine o’clock in the morning. Waking up to the phone call, his tone was not very pleasant, and he thought of just hanging up, but as soon as he saw the caller ID, he answered immediately.

After hearing what his sister-in-law said, Ermao was wide awake.

“His phone has been off, and when I called his colleague, they said He Tao had left long ago, apparently in a rush, and took Black Gold with him. He hasn’t returned, and no one at the station knows either,” He Tao’s wife said anxiously.

“Did you call Brother Wei?”

“Not yet, I still don’t know the specifics. Wei just got married not long ago, so I didn’t want to bother him. I’m just worried.”

“Hmm, I know, sister-in-law. I’ll ask a few friends first.”

He Tao’s wife was aware of Ermao’s connections and capabilities; otherwise, she wouldn’t have called him.

After hanging up, Ermao scrolled through his contacts and called a few friends. An hour later, Ermao scratched his head in frustration. The situation was not good. Senior Hetao’s car had been found, but not him. The station obviously knew more than they told his sister-in-law; indeed, her concerns were justified.

Shortly after, Ermao received an email. It contained information obtained by someone he had asked for help; it wasn’t comprehensive, but it gave a rough idea of what had happened. It seemed to be a bloody incident triggered by a corporate battle, seemingly common, but these two were somewhat famous in Chuhua City and ran significant businesses.

After reading it, Ermao sat on the chair, deep in thought. Senior Hetao had left with Black Gold. What was he expecting a dog to find?

Ermao decided to seek help from the cat on the fifth floor; it was better to be safe than sorry.

Although he could borrow a well-trained dog, Ermao trusted the black cat living on the fifth floor more. Although he often disliked that creature’s behavior, he had to admit that when it really came to crucial moments, he could only turn to it, especially now when it concerned his Senior Brother.

In terms of scent detection, cats are not necessarily inferior to dogs. The reason dogs are often chosen to assist and not cats is simply that cats do not like being controlled and are harder to train due to their independent nature and temperament. They typically only showcase their abilities when it benefits them.

After taking Little Youzi out for a quick walk, Zheng Tan prepared to return home and look at the map to decide where to walk next. As he climbed the stairs, he saw Ermao standing at the door knocking.

Seeing Zheng Tan, Ermao rushed up to him, “Black Coal, do me a favor!” (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian [qidian.com], cast a monthly vote, and support me. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep