Chapter 98

He stopped and turned to look at Yan Kexing.

Yan Kexing met his gaze, and before he could speak, he said, "Found it?"

Shi Wen, "There seems to be a faint smell of horses. Why don't you come and help us look for horse manure nearby?"

Yan Kexing over with a flashlight. "Okay."

There was indeed horse manure nearby, but the smell was very faint, Shi Wen was impossible to get any information about the horses from it.

The grasslands in summer are so vibrant that the excrement of various animals decomposes and is destroyed very quickly. Even if Shi Wen a special bloodline, they cannot obtain any more valuable information from this pile of horse manure.

Shi Wen, "Strange, the smell I'm smelling isn't horse manure; it's stronger."

Yan Kexing: "Is there any loose horsehair nearby?"

Shi Wen, "That makes sense. Let's look again."

After searching for a while, they indeed found a tuft of horsehair.

The horse's hair still had some of its grease on it, Shi Wen could detect likely came from that grease.

Compared to the diluted smell of feces, the scent of a horse's secretions is more concentrated and longer-lasting, and it is also more effective at locating a single horse.

Shi Wen always made sure I wasn't mistaken.

"Found it!" Shi Wen, his spirits lifting. "The horse really did leave in this direction. Let's keep looking!"

Yan Kexing: "I'll also have someone check the surveillance footage in this direction to see if we can find any clues."

Shi Wen, "Great! If we use a two-pronged approach, we're sure to find that herd of horses!"

Chapter 98

Shi Wen them searching downstream along the river.

As dawn broke, Shi Wen found the second clump of horse hair, along with some horse manure.

Judging from the freshness of the horse manure, the herd of horses did indeed continue walking downstream along the river.

As the sun rose, Yan Kexing the river.

Shi Wen squatted down next to the hoofprints, gesturing with his palm to indicate their location. "These should be the tracks left by the herd of horses we're looking for. I saw their hoofprints at Zhake's house; I can't be wrong."

Yan Kexing: "I also have a gut feeling that these are their hoofprints."

Shi Wen looked up at the river in front of him and said, "So they crossed the river and went into the mountains? Goodness, can horses even swim?"

Shi Suo, following behind, seemed to have heard the key phrase: "Hissing sound—"

Shi Wen reached out and patted its neck. "Okay, stop protesting, I wasn't talking to you."

Shi Suo snorted and wagged its tail, which had already been tied up.

Shi Wen asked Yan Kexing, "What do we do now? Should we swim across? Or take a detour upstream and downstream? I reckon even if we take a detour, we'll still have to get back to where we are on the opposite bank later."

Yan Kexing: "It's a long detour. Let's see if the Shi Suo can swim across. If it can, then I'll take you there."

Shi Wen was quite certain. "It can. It's a pretty good swimmer."

Shi Wen all the animals in my house that hang out with the dogs can swim, even the baby camels can swim a bit.

Perhaps because the two tiger cubs loved swimming, they got the other little ones to love the sport too.

Yan Kexing said, "Wait here for a moment, I'll try leading Shi Suo."

Shi Wen, "I'll go with you."

Yan Kexing refused. "I'm stronger. Shi Suo gets swept away by the water, I can pull it back. If you come with me, I'll be distracted."

At this moment, it was indeed best not to cause trouble. Shi Wen nodded and took a step back.

Yan Kexing led Shi Suo into the river.

Shi Suo quickly understood that it needed to swim to the other side. Without Yan Kexing leading it, it started swimming on its own.

Yan Kexing by, protecting him the whole time.

The man and his horse swam to the other side in a few minutes.

After the horse got ashore, it shook its head vigorously to shake off the water droplets.

Yan Kexing his head, wanting to swim back, but Shi Wen Shi Wen from the other side.

Shi Wen took off his clothes and said readily, "No need to come over, I can swim there myself."

With Shi Wen's current strength and agility, swimming in the wild would be incredibly easy for him.

He swam across the river in a few steps, still wearing his clothes, and then put them back on.

The opposite bank of the river was covered with silt, and the hoofprints of horses Yiqing visible.

Shi Wen's eyes widened. "We weren't wrong, they really did come this way! They went into the Linzi, no wonder we couldn't find them before!"

Yan Kexing: "Let's go, let's continue searching along the Linzi."

Shi Wen, "Let me make a call first, and I'll find someone to go and watch the ranch."

Yan Kexing: "Let Gong Jiang and the others go; they've arrived."

Shi Wen, "Alright, let's keep looking."

The Linzi here are not dense, so they can ride horses directly.

Compared to grasslands, Linzi have far fewer disturbances.

Shi Wen quickly found the path the horse herd had taken, thanks to his rich experience and keen sense of smell.

When they searched again, they almost never took the wrong path.

By the afternoon, they had arrived at a town under another city.

The mobile phone operator also sent them several text messages, welcoming them to visit and reminding them not to cross the border.

Shi Wen began to worry. "Could this herd of horses have wandered off to a foreign country?"

Yan Kexing: "It shouldn't be that bad. Didn't you say the horse manure was getting fresher and fresher?"

They had been running for most of the day, from the grasslands to the forests, over the mountains, and back to the grasslands. Now they were exhausted.

The two let their horses graze freely nearby, while they rested against a tree trunk.

The wind blew through the Linzi, a little cool and carrying a bit of moisture.

Shi Wen leaned against Yan Kexing, absorbing his body heat, and drifted off to sleep.

He didn't know how long he had rested, Shi Wen vaguely heard a horse neighing. He immediately looked up and alertly surveyed his surroundings. "It sounds like a horse is neighing, did you hear that?"