Animal Detective

Chapter 365 Hongur

Shen Xin felt the hardship of his last trip to Machang Town again.

After leaving Xingle League, it took more than 100 kilometers of driving to reach Wugai Banner.

A banner is equivalent to a county.

This is also the first stop on the way to the Wugai Grassland, so it's quite bustling.

Zhang Qifeng paused briefly and then led Shen Xin to have breakfast.

A local specialty, a pot of fragrant and savory tea.

A copper pot with charcoal burning underneath.

Zhang Qifeng didn't let the shopkeeper cook it; he did it himself, adding butter, fried rice, and dried beef, then pouring in milk and brick tea. He kept stirring the milk tea, then added milk chewing gum, milk tofu, and other ingredients.

Finally, a large bowl was served to Shen Xin, so that Shen Xin could try it.

Liao Lei leaned over and whispered a reminder: "Don't hold back if you don't like it."

Then she said that when she first came here, she couldn't get used to the taste either, but she gradually got used to it over time.

Shen Xin nodded and took a bite.

It was only 13 degrees Celsius during the day today, and the weather was quite cool. Drinking a bowl of hot milk tea like this made me feel so comfortable.

This is the flavor! The milk flavor is so rich.

Moreover, it has a salty aftertaste.

Shen Xin took a few more bites, but put them down, saying he wasn't used to it.

The mutton shumai was quite good, especially the mutton and scallion filling, which was tender and juicy. Shen Xin immediately liked it and said that he was indeed a carnivore.

Zhang Qifeng smiled and checked his phone from time to time.

And after seeing it, there was a hint of regret on his face.

Shen Xin noticed this and asked him what was wrong.

Zhang Qifeng said, "I'm checking the messages in the group. I've sent messages to the grid groups below, telling them to spread the word and report any sightings of Tianxiong."

"I was afraid of missing the news, but unfortunately, it's been several days and there's still no news."

Shen Xin asked for more details before he found out.

Their jurisdiction covers a vast area with limited police resources, and they also have the task of patrolling the border. Therefore, they have developed a large number of border guards and volunteer police officers, forming a huge grid with the eight villages in their jurisdiction as the fulcrum.

So there are several work groups, and we can exchange information in the groups.

Zhang Qifeng said, "Shen Xin, I think Tianxiong has probably already escaped our jurisdiction, and probably gone very far."

Their jurisdiction covers more than 1,300 square kilometers, which is quite large, but it is only a few dozen kilometers in all directions.

Several days have passed, and no one knows how far Tianxiong can run.

The grasslands are vast, and it's easy to get lost if you don't know your way around.

Shen Xin said, "It's alright. There are people on the grassland. If we expand the search area, we'll definitely find them."

Shen Xin felt there were only two possible outcomes.

They either lose their way, run too far, and are eventually discovered.

Or perhaps they were not far away, but were killed by the wolf king.

It's over a thousand square kilometers, such a large area, and there are wild animals there, so it's very difficult to find them.

Once it runs far away, it will be difficult for Tiankui to catch it.

However, in the second scenario, Tiankui should be able to track it down.

At this point, Zhang Qifeng lost his appetite and hurriedly set off after Shen Xin finished eating.

Still heading in the northwest direction.

Once outside of Wugai Banner, the roads become much worse, and most importantly, it's difficult to see any signs of human habitation.

After driving for several dozen kilometers, a small town finally appeared on the horizon.

That is, Huergan Sumu.

The district should be a town, but it's really small. Along the highway, it looks like it's been abandoned deep in the vast grassland.

Zhang Qifeng gave a brief introduction to the town.

The permanent population is only over 700, and there is only one clinic and one gas station.

The entire Sumu has only 1,800 people, which means 1,000 people are scattered across more than 1,300 square kilometers of grassland.

On average, one person is one square kilometer.

It is truly a vast and sparsely populated area.

The police station is located at the northernmost part of the town, next to the town's only road.

The highway ends here; further on, deep into the grassland, it becomes a dirt road.

The police station wasn't very big either, consisting of three rows of low, single-story buildings in a C-shape.

The entire police station has a total of 13 regular police officers and 9 auxiliary police officers.

22 people.

Zhang Qifeng parked the car and warmly invited Shen Xin into the house.

Liao Lei followed, carrying his luggage.

There were only three people in the office during the day.

The rest of the people went to handle matters in the villages below.

The village is too far away and the roads are not smooth, so they have to regularly deliver daily necessities to the herders, help them deliver express packages, and solve their problems.

At the same time, they also have to patrol the border.

In Zhang Qifeng's words, their office is not in the town, but in the grassland.

"That was quite tough."

Shen Xin nodded to himself, and in a shady corner of the courtyard, he could still see the snow.

It's already May.

Shen Xin's arrival was warmly welcomed by the three remaining staff members of the institute.

Especially after seeing Tian Kui, a police officer named Tu Rigen's eyes reddened.

It turns out that he took the best care of Tianxiong in their daily lives and got along the best with him.

"Where is Lakshin?" Shen Xin asked.

I don't know how badly he was injured.

Zhang Qifeng sighed and said, "I'm too ashamed to face you, so I'm going out to find Tianxiong."

Having learned yesterday that Shen Xin was coming today, I rode away on horseback early this morning.

Shen Xin said, "He really didn't need to do that; after all, it was an accident."

Shen Xin had come here to see Tianxiong. After putting down his luggage, he suggested that he go to the site to take a look.

We still need to start the search from the site itself.

Zhang Qifeng hesitated for a moment and said, "You've been on a plane all night, why don't you rest a bit before you go? Tian Kui is there too, he needs to rest as well."

Shen Xin shook his head and said no need.

For police officers, there's no such thing as rest or not.

"And Tiankui, it's full of energy."

Shen Xin patted Tian Kui on the head.

Tiankui barked.

【certainly】

Zhang Qifeng stopped insisting.

He then drove Shen Xin to the scene of the incident.

The straight-line distance from here to the border is seventy kilometers.

There were no highways along the way, only dirt roads.

It had snowed a couple of days ago, and now it had melted, making the roads a bit muddy. By this point, Shen Xin was already feeling the power of the grassland.

insect.

The windows must be closed, otherwise bugs will crawl into the car.

Ding Yuwei brought insect repellent for herself, but Shen Xin, being carefree, didn't even think to use it.

Zhang Qifeng said, "It's not time yet. In another month, the mosquitoes will be everywhere, there will be so many it will be frightening."

This grassland has mountains, forests, grass, water, and swamps, which inevitably leads to a large breeding of mosquitoes.

Shen Xin nodded and simply took off Tian Kui's police dog vest.

Wearing a vest, bugs burrow inside, making it impossible to roll around and scratch the itch.

For this reason, Tianxiong only wore a helmet and not a vest; otherwise, the vest would have had reflective strips, making him easier to spot at night.

The road was difficult to travel, so we couldn't drive fast; it took more than an hour to cover just over 30 kilometers.

Then they first arrived at a village called Chabuqiri.

The villages here are incredibly large.

Each had its own pasture, separated by 500 meters, which was considered close proximity.

Outside the village, an area was fenced off with iron railings, and then several container houses were placed in various directions.

This is their second camp.

The grasslands are vast, and it's impossible to make a round trip in a day just by going down there to do errands. Plus, there's the border patrol, so there's even less time.

So they specifically set up this camp so that people could stay here, be stationed here, and take turns on duty on both sides.

It's a shack made entirely of corrugated iron, without even a toilet.

In winter, the snow here can be knee-deep, so you can imagine how difficult it is to live here.

"By the way, Shen Xin, have you ever ridden a horse?" Zhang Qifeng asked.

Getting to the scene of the incident from here is inconvenient by car; it's impossible to cross. Even motorcycles would have a hard time getting there because of various rivers.

Horseback riding is the most convenient.

As Shen Xin entered the courtyard, he saw a horse tied up.

Shen Xin hesitated for a moment, then said, "You can ride it, but it won't run fast."

There's a film and television base in Nanzhu; Shen Xin rode a horse there.

But that's all done slowly.

Later, he rode a donkey, but Wan could not walk fast either. When he ran fast, Shen Xin would fall off.

It's clearly not possible to reach the point of galloping wildly on horseback.

Zhang Qifeng said, "As long as we can ride, let's walk slowly."

At that moment, they picked out a chestnut-colored horse for Shen Xin, which was said to be the most obedient.

Zhang Qifeng, leading the horse, instructed Shen Xin that the key was to relax his body. The stiffer you are, the more firmly you sit in the saddle, and the more violently you bounce when you run, which your body can't handle.

As he spoke, he carefully led the horse to Shen Xin.

Unexpectedly, the horse turned its head to look at Shen Xin, then came closer, lowered its head slightly, and nuzzled against Shen Xin.

Shen Xin immediately understood that this was his talent coming into play.

Sure enough, the next moment a favorability icon appeared above the horse's head.

Horses are different from donkeys. They have been domesticated by humans for a long time and are naturally close to people and are quite docile.

Moreover, horses are smarter than donkeys.

Most importantly, it's not stubborn.

Shen Xin tried to mount the horse, but the tall, powerful horse made it difficult for him to get on.

Just as Zhang Qifeng was about to lend a hand, the horse in front of him suddenly squatted down on its front legs and lowered its body.

Shen Xin was stunned, and Zhang Qifeng was equally stunned.

The horse crouched down, and Shen Xin immediately sat on the saddle.

The horse then slowly stood up again.

Zhang Qifeng's eyes widened, and he muttered something.

"Zhang Jiao, what did you say?" Shen Xin didn't hear clearly, but thought the horse was very obedient and intelligent, so he asked Zhang Qifeng what its name was.

Zhang Qifeng quickly replied, "Call him Delun."

I still felt a sense of disbelief.

When Lakshin went to Nanjiang before, he said that he heard Shen Xin was particularly good at training police dogs and had a natural affinity for animals.

He said Shen Xin was like Hong Gu'er.

In the legendary songs of the grasslands, Honggur is hailed as a lion, a son of nature, and possesses a spiritually gifted iron-blue horse.

He could understand horse language. During battles, his iron-blue horse repeatedly gave him dangerous signals, helping him turn misfortune into good fortune and making him invincible.

Even in dire straits, a swan came to his rescue.

Shen Xin took the reins and called out, "Delun!"

Delun did indeed turn his head and look at himself.

"good."

Shen Xin stroked the horse's mane, stepped into the stirrups, gently touched its belly, and pulled the reins. Delun then leisurely strode off and walked away.

Steady and unhurried.

"Tian Kui!"

Shen Xin gave a shout, and Tian Kui darted off behind him, running freely across the grassland.

Shen Xin remembered some of Tianxiong's videos that Lakshen had sent him before.

They were also running wildly across the grasslands.

In such an environment, they can probably truly let go of all constraints and run freely.

Zhang Qifeng snapped out of his daze and quickly mounted his horse to catch up.

Shen Xin tried to run faster.

As a result, he shouted "Giddy up!" and Delun accelerated, causing Shen Xin to bounce up and down so much that he almost fell to the ground.

Zhang Qifeng, riding alongside, reminded him: "You must relax your body. You need to follow the horse's momentum. Also, your buttocks should be off the saddle, and your weight should be on your legs. You need to get into a horse stance."

"Horse stance, horse stance, is the stance you take when riding a horse."

Shen Xin has a good learning ability, and Zhang Qifeng's mention of the horse stance was a wake-up call for him.

With a push of his feet, he stepped into the stirrups and lifted his buttocks off the saddle.

At first, I wasn't used to it, but with my hand on the reins, I had a fulcrum, and I tried to follow the rise and fall of that force with my body, and I quickly got the hang of it.

At this moment, Delun seemed to realize that Shen Xin had adapted and gradually began to speed up.

"You can lower your upper body a little, but make sure your feet are firmly planted. If something feels wrong, don't panic. Pull back the reins slowly so the horse knows you're slowing down," Zhang Qifeng explained repeatedly.

Shen Xin shouted "Understood!" and then shouted "Giddy up!"

Delun ran even faster, galloping wildly across the grassland.

Beside him, Tian Kui followed swiftly like an arrow released from a bow.

Liao Lei followed behind and couldn't help but say to Zhang Qifeng, "He's amazing."

Zhang Qifeng nodded in deep agreement.

Thinking back to when I taught Liao Lei and the others to ride horses, it took a lot of hard work.

Then look at Shen Xin, it seems like he was born with this skill.

"Hongur".

He muttered something to himself, spurred his horse, and quickly sped up to catch up.

(End of this chapter)