Animal Detective

Chapter 374 Seeking only wealth, not trouble
In the darkness, Donya felt a jolt and abruptly turned her head.

In the darkness behind them, a few will-o'-the-wisps slowly approached.

It unfolds in a triangular shape, and then has three heads.

We were sandwiched between them.

Donya quickly pulled a dagger from her bosom, but her hands and feet still felt icy cold.

What's this? Just out of the tiger's mouth, into the wolf's den?
Just then, Hongur blew through his nose, moved his hooves, and slowly stood to the side, turning his head to look at Donya.

There are no stars tonight, but there is a moon.

On the 20th of the lunar calendar, a waning gibbous moon hung half-hidden in the night sky through dark clouds.

Donya could vaguely see Hongur turn his head and look at her calmly.

Donya understood that look in her eyes.

It's as if it's saying: Don't be afraid, I'll take you away.

Donya suddenly felt a stinging sensation in her nose.

This hound, whom he had raised from a cub to adulthood for six years and who had never shown him any kindness, actually knew everything. It had already saved him once today.

This is the second time.

Sniffing, Donya grabbed Hongur's mane and mounted the horse.

"Okay, Honggul, let's go."

Donya patted Honggul's neck and said the same thing again.

a few hours ago.

Donya searched and asked her way to the village where the mare's owner lived, but she couldn't find Honggul.

Just when she was having a headache, Donya thought of Peony Valley.

Hongul didn't see the mare he wanted, so he ran off again to chase after love.

But it didn't know that the mare had been taken home by its owner. It probably subconsciously thought that the mare was still waiting for it in Peony Valley.

With that in mind, Donya spurred her horse straight to Peony Valley.

She came from the north and arrived at almost four o'clock in the afternoon.

The entire Uyastae Mountain range runs east to west, with the main peak at the easternmost point. Therefore, Donya's first stop was at the foot of the main peak.

Donya did not see Honggul from afar.

Slowing down, Donya planned to circle around Mount Uyastae.

From this vantage point, with a commanding view, one can see clearly for kilometers around.

Honggul, dressed entirely in black, is quite conspicuous on the grassland.

As a result, after walking a short distance along the foot of the mountain, Donya spotted a motorcycle not far away in the gentle area between the two mountains.

This is not a grazing area.

Although the peonies in Peony Valley have long been harvested, people still come here regularly.

The peaceful grassland made Donya subconsciously assume they were just ordinary herdsmen, so she walked over to ask if they had seen Honggur.

As we rode closer, we saw a bonfire burning under a small poplar tree.

A motorcycle was parked not far away. There was no one around, except for two black travel bags and... a cage next to the campfire.
Several simple folding cages, some of which were also used to house animals.

Donya looked around but didn't see anyone.

Upon dismounting and looking ahead, I saw a cage containing several chipmunks, and another cage containing several birds.

Donya recognized them at a glance: some were larks, and the rest seemed to be sparrows and larks.

They were all somewhat listless.

There was also a mesh screen underneath the travel bag.

Donya's expression changed slightly. Thanks to Lakshin and his team's continuous propaganda, she immediately realized that these might be poachers.

Putting aside other things, just last year, there was a case in the neighboring village where someone was arrested for poisoning a lark.

Donya immediately took out her phone, ready to call Lakshin to report the incident.

On the grasslands, everyone has an obligation to report poachers.

Unfortunately, the phone signal was only one bar, and the call didn't go through.

I tried again, but it still didn't work.

Knowing the signal was weak, Donya thought for a moment and took photos of the scene with her phone to preserve evidence.

Then prepare to leave, go a little further away, and make the call again in a place with a signal.

The campfire was still burning, indicating that the other party was still nearby.

Just after taking the photo, I suddenly heard someone shout from ahead.

Looking up, I saw two men rushing down the hillside higher up ahead.

They were located on slightly higher ground, and Donya hadn't seen them earlier.

"Hey, what are you doing? Stop right there!"

The two ran very fast, and one of them shouted.

He was speaking Chinese, but with a heavy accent, which was not authentic.

Donya cursed under her breath, quickly mounted her horse, and turned it around to leave.

The other side has two legs, while I have four; I should be able to escape.

Even if you ride on two wheels, it's not necessarily as good as a horse on a grassland full of streams.

In her haste, Donya turned her head a few times, trying to remember the two people's faces.

Both of them were wearing military green windbreakers, had short hair, were about the same height, and were both dark-skinned and thin.

One of them might be a little taller, and he had a mustache, but he couldn't run as fast as his companion.

Donya only glanced at it briefly; the surrounding area was full of rocks, so she dared not be careless.

After running only thirty or forty meters, without warning, a sudden sound echoed through the mountains.

boom!
The moment the sound appeared, Donya felt the horse beneath her suddenly jerk as if it had been stabbed hard with a fork, and it reared up abruptly.

Donya instinctively tightened her grip on the reins, but still felt her body tilt backward, and she and the horse beneath her crashed heavily to the ground.

This throw sent Donya reeling from the fall, and the pain made her vision blur.

The horse's urgent neighing could be heard nearby, a clattering sound as it frantically struggled to its feet after falling.

Around the campfire.

The shorter man raised his right arm, holding a jet-black pistol in his hand, the smoke from the muzzle still lingering.

The man with the mustache was slow and slapped his companion on the back of the head.

"Are you fucking crazy? Who told you to fire?"

The man who fired the gun widened his eyes: "She's trying to run."

The man with the mustache had a flat face, dark yellow skin, a beard, and thick eyebrows, but his single-eyelid eyes shone with a sharp light. He was furious and kicked his companion to the ground.

He unleashed a string of Mongolian curses, yelling, "Just run! Why did you shoot, you bastard!" With those curses, the man with the mustache rushed forward in a frantic rush.

Donya's horse struggled to get up, but couldn't stand up.

Donya, who was still dizzy from the fall, had just gotten up when the man with the mustache ran up to her.

He was incredibly decisive, raising his leg and kicking Donya to the ground again.

The blow was quite forceful; Donya was hit in the shoulder, and the pain made her see stars.

The man who fired the gun quickly caught up and pinned Donya down.

Donya groaned, feeling as if her body had fallen apart, utterly powerless to resist.

A few meters away, Donya's horse had stopped struggling and was lying on the ground, panting heavily and whimpering.

The situation was brought under control, but the man with the mustache was still furious.

He paced back and forth for a few steps, clutching his head, but couldn't resist rushing over and slapping his companion's head repeatedly.

"Fuck, is your brain filled with shit?!"

"What the hell did I tell you? We're after money, don't you understand?!"

His eyes widened, and he roared at his companion, spitting as he spoke.

The man who fired the shot shrank back, and weakly defended himself, saying, "But she saw it and even took pictures with her phone."

Still talking back?
Enraged, the man with the mustache kicked his companion to the ground, then went up and kicked him several more times, cursing, "Let her take pictures, what's it to you?"

"Does she even know who we are? This grassland is so vast, where is she supposed to find us?"

"Now that's settled, tell me how to do it."

"Hold!"

"Did I ever fucking say that we're after money, not to cause trouble?"

The man who fired the gun didn't dare to resist and cried out in pain, begging for mercy.

The man with the mustache stopped, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down.

He glanced at his companion, then turned to look at Donya on the ground.

Donya had just recovered from the series of blows.

"Brother, what do we do now?" The man who fired the gun asked cautiously, clutching his head.

The man with the mustache's eyes flickered for a moment, then he turned and walked to the horse. He pulled out a pistol from his waistband, and without even blinking, coldly shot the horse in the head, blowing it apart.

Then he turned back, grabbed Donya's arm, and dragged her directly towards the campfire.

Donya was in pain from being pulled, and she hurriedly tried to pry the man's hand off with one hand, kicking her feet on the ground in an attempt to struggle, shouting, "What are you doing? There are police here, they will arrest you."

A man's hands are like iron clamps; you can't pry them open at all.

Donya grew up on the grasslands and worked hard from childhood, but she was still a woman and couldn't fight back. She was forcibly dragged to the campfire.

"Shut up!"

As Donya continued to scream, the man with the mustache pressed a pistol directly against the center of Donya's eye.

The gun had just been fired, and the muzzle was still hot. Being close by, Donya could still smell the distinct odor of gunpowder, and she was immediately too frightened to move.

"The rope," the man with the mustache snapped, turning his head.

The man who had followed and fired the shot hurriedly opened his travel bag and pulled out a bundle of rope.

The man with the mustache took it, dragged Donya to the tree, and tied her tightly to the tree.

Donya's arm ached, her whole body ached, her hair was disheveled, and she looked at the two men, tentatively saying, "Are you going to kill me? There are police here. If you kill me, you won't be able to escape."

“If you let me go, I won’t say anything. I came out to find a horse. I told my father when I came, and he knew I was coming here.”

"Please, don't kill me. I swear I won't tell the police."

When the man who fired the gun saw Donya mention the police, he glared at her and tried to step forward again.

He was kicked to the ground by the man with the mustache, who then glared at him and said, "What do you want to do!"

The man who fired the gun looked away in fear and quickly shook his head.

The man with the mustache pointed his gun at him, signaling him to behave, then stepped forward and searched Donya, immediately finding her phone.

Without even looking, he threw it on the ground, pretending to stomp on it, and even raised his leg, but then suddenly stopped, picked it up, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Then continue searching.

There was a bag of food and a small dagger that was kept close at hand. The scabbard was beautiful and inlaid with agate.

The man casually tossed it into his travel bag.

Then he got up, went to the dead horse, and searched the saddlebags.

They returned after finding nothing.

He plopped down by the campfire and pulled a bottle of water out of his travel bag, gulping it down several times.

The man who fired the gun tried to come closer.

"Get the hell away from me."

The man with the mustache glared at him, startling the man who had fired the gun, who quickly sat back down.

The man glanced at Donya.

Donya huddled timidly, looking at herself with fear.

He then took out his phone again and asked for the lock screen password.

Donya quickly replied.

The man opened the app as he wished, but finding no signal, he checked his WeChat messages, contact history, and photos.

Saw a photo.

In the photo, Lakshin is holding Tianxiong's hand, and Donya is squatting down, hugging Tianxiong for a photo.

Lakshin was wearing a police uniform, and Donya was smiling brightly.

The man's eyes flickered, he searched through his phone again, and then turned it off.

Just then, the man sensed something and suddenly looked up.

High in the sky, a large white bird took flight from the mountains, spread its wings, circled in the air, and flew towards the main peak on the other side.

"elder brother!"

The man who fired the gun quickly pointed to the sky and shouted.

The man with the mustache hurriedly got up, took out a small monocular telescope from his pocket, and squinted to observe the distance.

Donya also looked up, her gaze following the large bird.

It's very large, with a wingspan that appears to be one meter.

Donya feels like a falcon.

There are golden eagles and saker falcons on the grassland, but in Donya's memory, saker falcons are all brownish-brown. She has never actually seen a white one.

(End of this chapter)