Li Yuheng also stopped in his tracks, glaring back defiantly: "What's wrong with asking? You were the one who asked me first!"
The barking of the pursuers seemed to have faded into the distance for the time being.
Shu Bai stared at Li Yuheng for a few seconds: "You have too many questions."
Li Yuheng immediately sensed the warning in his tone.
"Fine, I won't ask then."
He turned and continued walking forward, his tone returning to its usual cadence: "Anyway, it has nothing to do with me."
Shu Bai watched his retreating figure and silently followed.
The two walked one after the other in the gradually darkening alley. The subtle atmosphere that had briefly arisen because of their shared escape had vanished.
Li Yuheng cursed himself in his heart.
Too talkative.
He kicked a pebble away with his paw in frustration.
The pebbles rolled into the shadows, making a crisp sound.
Shu Bai stood a few steps behind him, his footsteps silent.
He stared at the back of Li Yuheng's head, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
That stupid dog...
For a moment, he thought Li Yuheng would continue to press him relentlessly.
Surprisingly, this guy managed to stop the car.
It braked quite cleanly.
Shu Bai couldn't quite describe how she felt at that moment.
That was a bit unexpected.
There was also a feeling that was... hard to describe, like a sense of relief, but also a feeling of emptiness.
He shook his head, trying to shake off this inexplicable emotion.
"Hey," Shu Bai suddenly said.
Li Yuheng didn't stop walking, but turned his ear behind him: "What now?"
“Just now,” Shu Bai’s voice was flat, “thank you.”
Li Yuheng was taken aback for a moment, then sneered: "Thank me for what? Thank me for not betraying you? Or thank me for helping you run away?"
"Yes, we have both."
Li Yuheng stopped and turned to look at Shu Bai, a playful glint in his eyes: "How strange. You actually know how to say thank you?"
Shu Bai coldly replied, "It would be impolite of me not to say it."
"When have you ever cared about manners?"
"You're starting to care now, is that not allowed?"
Li Yuheng stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly grinned and said, "Okay, of course."
He turned around and continued walking forward, his tail swaying gently.
"No need to thank me. Those few small fry were after me anyway."
Shu Bai did not respond.
The two walked on in silence for a while longer.
Li Yuheng suddenly asked out of the blue, "Is your brother... good to you?"
"I was just asking! If you don't want to answer, that's fine too!"
Just when Li Yuheng thought Shu Bai wouldn't answer, he heard a very soft voice behind him:
"very good."
Li Yuheng's ears twitched.
very good.
The words carried considerable weight coming from Shu Bai's mouth.
Given this cat's stubborn and unpleasant temperament, anyone who can be made to admit that something is "very good" must be truly good.
The slight annoyance Li Yuheng felt from being refused an answer inexplicably dissipated.
…
As soon as Li Yuheng and Shu Bai returned to the old neighborhood, a spotted dog rushed out from the depths of the alley in a panic, almost bumping into Li Yuheng.
"Oh! I've finally found you!" The spotted dog was so anxious that it spun around in circles, its tongue lolling out. "I've been looking for you for ages! I've searched everywhere, east, west, and south!"
Li Yuheng felt dizzy from being spun around, and pressed him down with one hand: "Stop. What's the rush? Is the sky falling?"
The spotted dog, panting heavily, stammered, "Big Yellow! And Blackie, Fatty, and the others! They were... they were taken away by that newly opened dog meat restaurant!"
Li Yuheng's ears perked up instantly, and his eyes turned cold: "When did this happen?"
"Just... just now! Less than the time it takes to pee!" The spotted dog was almost crying, "They drove a small truck, had lassos, and only targeted the fattest animals! Big Yellow and the others were looking for food near the garbage dump, they weren't on guard..."
Li Yuheng was so angry he almost laughed.
He remembered clearly that he had told Da Huang just a few days ago to be more alert and not to fall asleep and get caught in the process.
And what was the result?
That idiot actually got caught!
They're still using the shameful excuse of "being fat"!
Shu Bai stood to the side. Although he couldn't understand dog language, he could guess about 70-80% of what was going on from Li Yuheng's instantly gloomy face and the spotted dog's anxious expression.
"Something happened again?" he asked Li Yuheng.
Li Yuheng scratched the ground with his paw in frustration: "Dahuang and a few other fat dogs were taken away by the newly opened dog meat restaurant."
He turned to the spotted dog and asked, "Which house? Where is it located?"
"It's that new 'Wangfulou' restaurant that just opened at the south end of the street!" the spotted dog exclaimed. "The signboard is red! I secretly followed them for a while and saw their car drive into the backyard!"
“Wangfulou?” Li Yuheng scoffed. “The name is quite auspicious.”
He looked at Shu Bai, his eyes questioning.
Shu Bai didn't say anything, but just flicked its tail slightly, indicating that it would go along.
"Lead the way," Li Yuheng said to the spotted dog.
…
Li Yuheng and Shu Bai followed the spotted dog, hurrying all the way to the south street entrance.
Sure enough, a newly opened shop stood out.
The signboard, with its red background and gold lettering, reads "Wangfulou" in large characters. Two stone lions stand at the entrance, their necks adorned with comically red ribbons.
Although it wasn't officially opening time yet, unsettling noises were already coming from the backyard.
The sounds of iron cages clattering, suppressed sobs, and rude shouts from humans filled the air.
The spotted dog was so frightened that it trembled and hid in the corner, too scared to go any further.
Li Yuheng gestured for him to leave, then exchanged a glance with Shu Bai.
The two silently circled around to the side of the shop, found a secluded corner, and Shu Bai lightly leaped onto the wall, while Li Yuheng used the pile of miscellaneous items as stepping stones to climb up as well.
The scene in the backyard made Li Yuheng's eyes freeze instantly.
Several iron cages were piled up in the corner, containing seven or eight dogs, including Big Yellow.
They were all huddled together in fear, their eyes filled with terror.
A burly man wearing a greasy apron was roughly washing the ground with a hose.
Another tall, thin man sat on a small stool, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, counting a stack of banknotes.
In front of him was a small altar with a smiling ceramic God of Wealth on it, and three sticks of freshly lit incense sticks in the incense burner.
The tall, thin man finished counting the money, smacked his lips in satisfaction, stuffed the banknotes into his pocket, then bowed to the statue of the God of Wealth, muttering something under his breath:
"May the God of Wealth bless our shop, may it prosper and be bustling with customers... This location is really well chosen, lots of dogs, and they're fat..."
He paused, a greedy yet cruel smile spreading across his face.
"Once we finish processing this batch, we'll catch a few more. I heard there were cat abusers in this area before? Tsk, what a waste. If we caught those cats, we could make some good dishes..."
Li Yuheng sneered: "Did you hear that? They've even come up with the menu for us."
Shu Bai didn't respond, but rubbed its front paws against the brick wall, leaving a few white marks.
"Hey, silly cat, here's the way, you to the left and I to the right. Let's open the cage first."
"Do you need to tell me?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the black and white figure shot towards the backyard like an arrow.
Li Yuheng clicked his tongue and followed closely behind.
The two people in the backyard only felt a blur before their eyes, and before they could see what it was, the tall, thin man screamed.
Sparse white claws precisely scratched his hand holding the money, scattering banknotes all over the floor.
Li Yuheng bit the water pipe in the burly man's mouth and pulled hard, drenching him with a jet of water.
"Damn it! Where did these stray cats and dogs come from!" the burly man roared, wiping the water from his face.
When the big yellow dog in the cage saw Li Yuheng, it excitedly rushed towards the cage door: "Boss! I knew you would come!"
Li Yuheng slammed his claw on the iron cage lock, the ghostly energy causing the lock to snap open. He didn't forget to curse as he did so: "Shut up, you're so fat you should be caught and made into soup!"
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