When they returned to Spring City, Shi Dazhuang was still playing at the World Expo Park with Yu Meiren. Qingmu went to pick them up and take them back to the hotel. As it turned out, a skinny little yellow cat also got into the car with them.
Qingmu lamented that he was constantly dealing with cats today. He had just encountered a white cat that looked like Thailand royal cat in Mama Yao's dream, and now he had seen a half-dead orange cat.
Yu Meiren held the cat in her arms, stroking its back and saying, " Qingmu -Yeye, it's so obedient." Then she said to the cat, "This is my Qingmu -Yeye, call out to it."
The cat opened its mouth and meowed, but the sound was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.
Shi Dazhuang explained, "We met a stray cat on the road, and it followed us all the way. The Beauty felt sorry for it and insisted on taking it in. I thought that since the Beauty would be following a rough man like me around all day in Wuzhong, it would be good for her to have a companion, so I agreed."
Qingmu said, "Be careful with stray cats, they might catch diseases."
"Don't worry, I've already taken it to the vet for a bath and a basic check-up. Aside from being a little weak, it's fine." Shi Dazhuang stretched. "I haven't done anything all day except deal with this cat."
Yu Meiren was probably too tired, and she quickly fell asleep in the back seat while holding the cat. The little yellow cat lay quietly in Beauty's arms, looking very well-behaved, but Qingmu felt something was wrong. He had felt something was off when the cat meowed earlier; what kind of cat makes such a soft sound?
He probed it and immediately discovered that the cat's Mental Power was extremely weak. Felines generally have much stronger Mental Power than ordinary animals, and in some ways, they are no weaker than humans. However, this cat's consciousness was so weak that it was barely better than an insect's, and it couldn't even support a complete dream space.
Qingmu was certain that this was not simply weakness caused by hunger. If this mental state occurred in a person, in folk terms, it would be a case of an incomplete soul. A more scientific explanation would be congenital deficiency, but this explanation is not actually scientific, because science does not recognize things like "spiritual independence" or "dying without illness."
Qingmu reminded Shi Dazhuang, "This cat probably won't live long. The Beauty will be heartbroken. You should be prepared."
Shi Dazhuang said, "Is it really that bad? The doctor said it's quite healthy, just malnourished from being a stray for so long. With proper care, it should be fine."
In truth, Shi Dazhuang wasn't sure either. Because of his profession, he was very sensitive to life and death, and when he saw the cat, he immediately felt that it was too weak, as if it would die at any moment. Perhaps it was for this reason that Yu Meiren's kindness was further aroused, and Shi Dazhuang had no choice but to let Beauty take it back and discuss it further.
"I'll leave the pet's health to you from now on, you're the expert!" Shi Dazhuang said.
"When did I become a pet expert?" Qingmu asked, puzzled.
Shi Dazhuang said, "If you can raise Crow so well, cats will be a piece of cake for you."
"You mean Boss Coal? Anyone can be fed as long as there's food!"
Qingmu sighed as he thought of the Crow. He always felt that the bird was becoming more and more talkative, its speech becoming increasingly fluent, almost like it was becoming a spirit. He was truly afraid that one day ordinary food would no longer satisfy its appetite, and it would come up with some kind of mischief.
Taking in a cat is easy, but bringing it back to Wuzhong is not. First of all, hotels don't allow pets. Shi Dazhuang is also embarrassed to board the cat with his friends, especially since most of his friends are police officers and they are all very busy.
Moreover, Shi Dazhuang had already bought plane tickets for the three of them to return to Wuzhong, so there was definitely no time to get a quarantine certificate for the kitten and complete the pet transport procedures.
The two inexperienced men were at a loss. After asking around, they finally found a specialized pet delivery company. The company said they specialized in pet transportation and guaranteed that any animal handed over to them would be delivered to its destination on time and would be carefully cared for during the journey, ensuring the pet's nutrition and safety.
Although the price was a bit high, at least the cat problem was solved, and the two men felt like they had fought a battle.
During dinner, Yu Meiren asked Qingmu, "Where is Aunt Jingjing?"
Qingmu said, "She went back to her hometown."
Yu Meiren said, "Aunt Jingjing is such a wonderful person, Qingmu Yeye, will you marry her?"
"Emmmm..." Qingmu was completely taken aback by Yu Meiren's question.
Shi Dazhuang laughed loudly from the side and said, "You, Qingmu Yeye, are a block of wood."
Yu Meiren nodded like a little adult. "Hmm! Still a greenhorn!"
Back at the hotel, after putting Yu Meiren to sleep, Shi Dazhuang went to Qingmu's room and asked him, "What exactly did you do last night? More than 180 traffic violations in less than 24 hours! Luckily I gave you a heads-up, otherwise this car would have been totaled."
Qingmu lit a cigarette for Shi Dazhuang, then turned on his phone and sent Shi Dazhuang a recording.
After listening for a while, Shi Dazhuang gave Qingmu a thumbs up. "Great! It's such a waste that you're not a criminal investigator."
"Just treat me as your informant." Of course, Qingmu wouldn't tell Shi Dazhuang everything that had happened between him and Ma Fuqing. Otherwise, given Shi Dazhuang's status and personality, knowing the whole truth would put him in a difficult position. Qingmu had also cut off the beginning and end of the audio recording, leaving only the part where Ma Fuqing confessed to his crimes.
"With this recording, we can wipe out Ma Fuqing's entire gang in one fell swoop."
Shi Dazhuang vaguely guessed something, knowing that Ma Fuqing was probably impossible to catch. But Qingmu didn't say anything, he didn't ask any more questions.
The next morning, Shi Dazhuang returned the car and then went to the police station to hand over Ma Fuqing's recording to the police in Spring City. Shi Dazhuang had originally planned to arrange a joint operation with the police in Spring City after he returned to Wuzhong, but since Ma Fuqing's recording mentioned Medicine Granny and Mu Ka, it was naturally combined with the recently concluded major drug bust case in Southern Yunnan, and the specific operation was handed over to the provincial department. Shi Dazhuang was happy to take it easy, since he would get a share of the credit in the end anyway.
In the afternoon, they arrived at the airport and boarded a flight from Spring City back to Wuzhong. Shi Dazhuang had booked the same airline and the same model of plane as when they came, so theoretically, they were very likely to encounter the same group of flight attendants. However, Yao Jingjing was not on the plane. Qingmu remembered that she had said she was going back to work today, but he didn't know if she had taken leave or was on another flight.
Although they didn't run into Yao Jingjing, they did run into another acquaintance.
As soon as he boarded the plane, Qingmu saw a plump woman sitting in the first-class seat, her lips painted with a bright red lipstick that looked like pig's blood.
The plump woman paused for a moment when she saw Qingmu, then hurriedly pulled out her boarding pass from her purse and waved it in front of Qingmu, excitedly saying as if she had just exposed a con artist who had given a riddle, "The boarding pass for first class is the same as for economy class!"