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墨書 Inktalez
I let Zhang Yuru and Heizi get out of the car, then locked it and walked towards the Chicken Farm.
According to the truck driver's instructions, after arriving at Lancang Lahu Town, we needed to find the Chicken Farm. Behind the Chicken Farm was the area where wild cats were raised.
As we walked in, a strong smell hit us. When we reached the Chicken Farm, just as we were about to enter, we encountered a man wearing a black vest and a cloth hat. His attire clearly indicated that he belonged to an ethnic minority.
On the way here, I had also done some research. In this town, the Han Chinese and the Lahu Ethnic Group roughly occupied equal numbers, so this man was likely from the Lahu Ethnic Group.
Before I could say anything, Zhang Yuru stepped forward and said, "Hey, sir, can you hear me?"
The Lahu man looked at Zhang Yuru and then at me, speaking rapidly in his language. However, we couldn't understand a word.
I approached him and asked, "Excuse me, sir, are you the one who collects cats?"
The man continued to chatter away. It was clear he was very friendly, but unfortunately, it was of no help to us.
At that moment, Zhang Yuru tugged at the man's sleeve and made two soft "meow" sounds.
The Lahu man laughed and then pointed towards a wooden house next door, saying something in his language. Although we didn't understand him, I knew he was directing us to that wooden house.
Zhang Yuru and I walked over. The wooden house was quite unique in its construction—two stories high and made of bamboo with thatched roofing. We had reached the base of a hillside surrounded by tall trees; living here felt like being in a paradise away from the world.
I approached the bamboo house and knocked on the door.
There was no response from inside.
I knocked even louder, “Thump Thump Thump…”
“Who!” A voice from inside the house responded, and it was in Mandarin!
This relieved me; I was most afraid of encountering someone from the Lahu Ethnic Group. That would truly be a disaster.
“It’s me, from Cat Transport!” I lied, fearing that if I admitted I was looking for a cat, the old lady wouldn’t agree. After all, she had paid for that wild cat, and whether she was kind-hearted or just looking for fun, she would definitely come here to demand her Flower Girl back. She wouldn’t be pleased.
“Wait!” The old lady's voice came again, a bit hoarse.
Before long, the wooden door creaked open with a harsh sound.
Behind the door stood an old woman with deep-set eyes. Her hair was gray and somewhat disheveled. The key point was that her eye sockets were sunken, and there was little flesh on her face, making her cheekbones appear very prominent.
I stared at her in shock, feeling a bit scared; her appearance was rather unsettling. I took a small step back.
“Who are you? You’re not the driver, are you?” the old lady asked.
Before I could respond, Heizi suddenly darted forward and barked loudly at the old lady!
The old woman jumped back in fright and slammed the door shut with a bang.
I quickly went to pull Heizi back, urging it to stop barking. “Are you okay, ma’am?”
“Get out! Take your dead dog and get out!” she shouted.
I immediately apologized, “I’m sorry, ma’am. My dog used to be quite well-behaved. I’m really sorry.”
"What brings you here?" the old woman asked from inside without opening the door.
I replied, "Well, grandmother, my cat has been caught and brought here as a wild cat. You see, that cat is my grandmother's lifeline. She's lying in bed, missing it so much that she’s on the verge of death. So, I want to take my cat back."
"That's impossible!" the old woman shouted from behind the door. "All the wild cats have been released into the mountains. This is a sanctuary for wild cats; they should be living in the wild. You can't take it away, and you won't find it either."
"Don't worry, grandmother, I have a dog with me. You don't need to be concerned; I can go up the mountain to look for it myself. Once I find my cat, I'll pay you," I said.
I thought the old woman would agree, but unexpectedly she yelled loudly, "No! Absolutely not! I said no! Hurry up and get out!"
At that moment, Zhang Yuru was also furious. She stepped forward and said, "Hey! Why are you being unreasonable? This is a wild cat shelter. Regardless of legality, that cat belongs to us! What's wrong with us taking it back? Even saying this is polite! Come on, Song Fei, let's go find it ourselves."
"Creak!" The door swung open again.
Heizi growled softly in his throat, showing defiance towards the old woman.
The old woman held a bamboo stick in her hand and said, "Watch your dog! Also, let me tell you, this mountain is mine; you can't enter. If you do, it's trespassing! I'll call the police!"
"Go ahead and call them!" Zhang Yuru was not polite at all. "Old lady, when it comes to the law, I know much more than you do. I'm a police officer myself! You took our cat and won’t return it; that's illegal! Call the police now and let them handle this matter!"
With that, Zhang Yuru picked up her phone to call the police.
Seeing this, the old woman immediately changed her tone. "Alright, alright! Young people these days really have no respect for their elders and no morals at all! Hmph! I'm not letting you into the mountain for your own good! This mountain isn't a place you can just wander into; don’t you see what time it is? It’s about to get dark; if you go in now, you won’t come out! Even locals don’t dare to go in; are you two young people looking for death?"
I asked, "Then what about our cat?"
The old woman replied, "Come back tomorrow morning. I'll take you into the mountain then. If you find your cat, take it away; if not, just hurry up and leave! And that useless dog of yours has problems; hurry home and sell it before it bites someone on the street and gets you into trouble."
"Woof... Woof!" Heizi continued to bark at the old woman.
The old woman suddenly slammed the door shut. "I've said all I need to say. You should leave quickly. If I change my mind, you won't be able to go up the mountain either."
Zhang Yuru wanted to say something more.
I pulled on Zhang Yuru's arm.
Zhang Yuru huffed and said, "This old hag really has no sense of reason. She captured our cat, yet it feels like we're the ones in the wrong. And she doesn't look like a kind-hearted person at all! I refuse to believe she would spend so much money on charity, caring for stray cats! Hmph!"
Hearing Zhang Yuru's words made me ponder as well.
Just like Zhang Yuru said, this old woman didn’t seem like someone who would actively take in stray cats. Moreover, these strays were bought with money; even if each cat cost thirty yuan, a truckload of them would still amount to several thousand yuan. Would this old woman really spend that much to help stray cats?
And why was Heizi barking so fiercely at her? Although the old woman looked a bit unpleasant, she was still human, not some ghost or zombie. Why would Heizi suddenly go wild?
I patted Heizi on the head and glanced into the depths of the mountains. The peaks were indeed deep, and with the sun setting, I could feel a chill creeping in from that direction.
For safety's sake, it was clear we shouldn't go up the mountain now. If we lost our lives searching for Flower Girl, it wouldn't be worth it.
I said, "Zhang Yuru, let's find a place to stay first. We can look for a hotel nearby. The old woman promised to take us into the mountains tomorrow; if she doesn't keep her word, we can go in ourselves."
Zhang Yuru readily agreed.
The three of us got into the car. I turned around and tried to see if there were any inns nearby. However, this was just a town, not a tourist spot, and there weren't any large businesses around. To be honest, finding an inn was difficult enough; even locating a place to eat was a challenge. The roads were poor—dirt paths that would surely get muddy during the rainy season.
After driving around for a while without finding any suitable places, I had no choice but to head toward Pu'er City.
The distance from here to Pu'er City isn't short—over seventy kilometers. The key issue is that the road is a rural one, making it difficult to drive fast.
As I was about to turn around and drive, I suddenly saw a Toyota Prado speeding toward my car in the rearview mirror.
"What the hell!" I shouted, slamming my foot down on the accelerator.
With a loud roar, my BYD surged forward, quickly picking up speed.
The Toyota Prado was roaring as it crashed into us.
With a loud bang, both Zhang Yuru and I lurched forward. It was only then that Zhang Yuru realized something was wrong. She shouted, "What’s going on? What’s happening? Is this driver suffering from acute temporary insanity?"
I didn't have the energy to deal with her nonsense; we were in serious danger, and she still had the nerve to joke! Thankfully, I had just accelerated; otherwise, with the Prado's speed of at least one hundred thirty kilometers per hour, we would have been dead!
This was a small town, but fortunately, there weren't many people around. I accelerated rapidly and avoided hitting anyone.
I kept my foot on the gas pedal, the car roaring as it surged toward one hundred twenty. I felt immensely grateful to Liu Yiyi for lending me this car! It could accelerate to a hundred kilometers in just four seconds! If it were any other vehicle, I would be finished by now!
As I drove, I glanced back at the Toyota.
Seeing that it hadn't crashed into me, the driver continued to accelerate and chased after me.
"Is this guy looking for death?" I thought as I sped away.
At that moment, another Toyota appeared on the road ahead—a RAV4. The driver turned the car around and headed straight for me.
Zhang Yuru screamed in terror, "Song Fei! What’s happening? Are there Kong Extremists?"
"Fasten your seatbelt, hold on tight!" I was furious. How dare this flimsy Japanese car try to block me? Did they really think I wouldn't retaliate?
I didn't slow down and charged straight at the Toyota.
As the Toyota RAV4 saw me coming, the passenger leaned out of the window, holding a handgun.
"Thump Thump Thump..."
The gun fired in my direction.
"Thud!"
A bullet struck my windshield, causing a crack to appear with a loud noise, yet surprisingly, it didn't shatter!
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