"Are you sure?"
"No mistake!" Bruce looked south and said with certainty, "The scent is coming from that direction!"
Zoya came over carrying the vegetables she had just bought. Hearing their conversation, she asked worriedly, "Tata?"
"Mm. Let's go take a look." He Xi made the decision at once.
Bruce led the way, with He Xi and Zoya close behind as they swiftly passed through the noisy crowds of Karte Grand Market.
They turned into a narrow alley beside the market.
What had drawn Bruce here were several dark red bloodstains in the corner by the wall.
He Xi quickly surveyed the surroundings.
Several white marks scored the wall, as though claws had raked it hard.
In the corner, a broken wooden crate had been smashed open, wisps of orange cat fur clinging to its splintered fragments.
"It's Tata's..." Zoya stepped forward and crouched down, concern threading her voice.
He Xi's expression darkened as well.
He crouched, pinched up a tuft of fur, then dabbed a little blood with his fingertip.
The blood had not yet congealed.
The area of the fight was small, confined to this little patch by the wall.
It looked as though she had been attacked here and put up a brief but fierce resistance.
There was not an especially large amount of blood, but enough to show that she had been badly hurt.
"Keep looking, Bruce."
"Woof!" Bruce immediately lowered his nose to the ground and began carefully sorting through the scents.
But he was not moving quickly, stopping and starting, occasionally lifting his head to shake it.
"What is it?"
"The smells here..." Bruce explained, "The scent of blood, and... the scents of at least three strangers. They're all mixed together." He Xi frowned tightly.
Tata had said before that she lived in the