Chapter 196 Cat Language
With countless pairs of eyes staring at him from the surrounding villagers, Xia Mufan did not rush forward to talk to Mi Tang. Instead, he followed Chi Juxiang to the old house with everyone else.
Xia Mufan signaled Gong Weiguo and Feng Xiaoyu to come forward and ask what the villagers had seen and heard before and after Tao Nianqiao's disappearance. He then reached out to the rice soup in Chi Juxiang's arms, which was obviously restless: "Old man, give me the rice soup."
When Mi Tang heard Xia Mufan talking, his eyes suddenly widened and he stared at Xia Mufan's face.
[I understand what you say, and you understand what I say, right? 】
Xia Mufan nodded slightly: "Mi Tang must miss Qiao Mei very much, right?"
When Mi Tang heard these words, tears suddenly filled his eyes and kept rolling around in his big round eyes.
The people around were amazed when they saw it.
"Oh, Mitang has a conscience. He is sad to know that Qiaomei is missing."
"Yeah, don't blame it for being disobedient, maybe it's in its mind."
"It's just a cat, what can we do?"
Amid everyone's discussions, Mi Tang arched his waist, exerted force with his hind legs, and jumped lightly into Xia Mufan's arms.
Chi Juxiang picked up the clay pot of tea that had been warming in the charcoal basin, took out tea bowls and distributed them to everyone. Then he took out various awards and certificates that Qiaomei had won during her school years and showed them to Sun Xianbing and Yu Jing, while he kept repeating everything about Qiaomei.
"My daughter Qiaomei is very good at studying. She has been very hardworking since she was young. She gets up early every morning to recite the text while making a fire and cooking. The first thing she does when she gets home from school in the evening is to do her homework. She will not go to bed until she finishes it. Even if she is so tired from working in the fields during the busy farming season that she can't even open her eyes, she will still complete the tasks assigned by the teacher. Qiaomei said she wanted to go out and see the bigger world outside. She wanted to know what the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Guilin landscape, the Lushan Waterfall, and the Welcoming Pine of Huangshan in the textbooks really look like."
Chi Juxiang's words made Xia Mufan feel sad, and he walked out of the main room alone holding the rice soup.
Others thought they were just police officers observing the surroundings and did not try to stop them. The villagers' attention was focused on Gong Weiguo and Feng Xiaoyu.
Gong Weiguo asked questions and Feng Xiaoyu was responsible for recording. The villagers talked one by one about the disappearance of Qiaomei and how they accompanied Chi Juxiang in searching for her.
Mi Tang in Xia Mufan's arms was surprisingly well-behaved. He raised his head slightly, his eyes still fixed on Xia Mufan's face, and made a gurgling sound in his throat, as if he was wondering whether the person in front of him could understand what he said.
Walking to the bamboo forest behind the old house, everything became quiet except for the rustling sound of wind blowing through the bamboo leaves.
Xia Mufan spoke at this time: "Where is Qiaomei? Have you found her?"
Mi Tang was finally sure that Xia Mufan could understand what it said, and immediately let out an "Ah!" and grabbed Xia Mufan's sleeve tightly, tears falling down his face.
[Qiaomei is in town.] 】
[Locked in a dark room.] 】
[I couldn't get close and was kicked out. 】
Xia Mufan listened to its incoherent words and tried to calm down his tone. He carefully asked, "Which town is Qiaomei in?"
【It’s a town for studying.】 】
Mi Tang's tone was obviously getting anxious, but Xia Mufan understood that Qiaomei was in Ji Yang Town.
"When did you find out?"
[Qiaomei disappeared, so I went to look for her. She was locked up in a dark room in town. 】
[I tried to get closer to the house, but was chased out by the dog. 】
[I squatted at the door of the house and screamed loudly, and someone kicked me. He was very fierce. 】
[I asked grandma to save Qiaomei, but she didn't understand. 】
Hearing this, Xia Mufan's eyes dimmed slightly.
Mi Tang's concept of time is a little confused, but from Mi Tang's messy description, it can be inferred that Qiaomei was locked up in a house somewhere in the town when she disappeared.
Who kidnapped Qiaomei?
Five years have passed now, is Qiaomei still in town?
Is Qiaomei still alive?
Xia had too many questions in his mind, so Xia Mufan asked, "Did you go to that dark room again?"
Mi Tang nodded like pounding garlic.
I go there. I go there every day. 】
[But they have a dog at home, and it barks when I get close to it. 】
[The people in their family are very fierce. As soon as they saw me, they threw stones at me, called me a dead cat, and told me to get away. 】
[My leg is broken, look!] 】
Mi Tang raised his front paw to show Xia Mufan. His right front paw was deformed. No wonder he was limping just now.
Xia Mufan touched Mi Tang's front paw distressedly: "Has Qiaomei been locked up in that dark room all this time?"
Mi Tang suddenly started wailing, raising his head and howling at the air. The cry was so shrill that Xia Mufan felt a pang of discomfort in his heart.
[Gone.] 】
[Qiaomei is missing.] 】
[They drove Qiaomei away.] 】
Mi Tang didn't understand why Qiaomei disappeared, but Xia Mufan could figure it out. Tao Nianqiao’s disappearance was no small matter. The police officers at the police station attached great importance to it and continued to visit and investigate in the town. In addition, Mi Tang appeared around the house from time to time, so they were afraid of being discovered, so they moved Qiaomei away.
As long as you are alive, there is hope.
Xia Mufan raised his hand and stroked Mi Tang's head, his eyes firm: "It's okay, I will help you find Qiaomei back."
There was a warm aura around Xia Mufan that made Mi Tang feel close to him. Mi Tang finally stopped wailing and looked at Xia Mufan pitifully.
[I'll take you to find it, I remember their house!] 】
As long as we can find the place where Qiaomei once stayed and the family that abducted Qiaomei, we will definitely be able to find her whereabouts. Xia Mufan felt that the fog in front of his eyes was cleared away. He was not willing to waste another minute and picked up Mi Tang.
"Okay, you lead the way, and we'll go find it together!"
Xia Mufan put down the rice soup and said softly, "Wait in the car, we'll leave right away."
Mi Tang meowed in response and quickly ran to the village entrance.
Xia Mufan walked into the main room and made a gesture to his teammates. Gong Weiguo and others immediately stood up and gathered around Xia Mufan.
Xia Mufan said, "Let's go to the town."
Seeing that they were about to leave, Chi Juxiang hurried forward to persuade them to stay: "Police comrade, you have worked hard on the way, please stay for lunch. Although there is nothing good in the countryside, we still have bacon and chicken at home. I can't let you go hungry to help me find Qiaomei."
Xia Mufan's voice was gentle, but his attitude was firm: "Let's go to the town to look for clues, and then we won't have dinner."
After saying goodbye and leaving, the villagers accompanied them all the way to the village entrance.
Chi Juxiang insisted on stuffing the car with the chickens she raised and the bacon she made during the Chinese New Year, but was stopped by Gong Weiguo and others.
Yu Jing drove away in a flash, leaving Chi Juxiang holding a snakeskin bag and wiping tears: "What a good police comrade, it's almost noon, why don't you stay for a meal?"
No one noticed that the rice soup was missing.
Cats in rural areas are all free-range. Put a bowl of water in a fixed place and don’t pay much attention to it. At least there are mice to eat and they won’t be hungry.
Therefore, Mi Tang's departure did not attract anyone's attention.
At this moment, Mi Tang was nestling in Xia Muchan's arms, staring out the window.
Feng Xiaoyu looked at the yellow and white tabby cat in Xia Mufan's arms and asked uncertainly, "Is this the rice soup raised by Tao Nianqiao?" Tabby cats are everywhere in the countryside, and yellow and white cats are the most common. Feng Xiaoyu thinks all cats look the same.
Xia Mushige nodded: "Yes, it is rice soup."
Gong Weiguo asked: "How did you bring it here?"
Xia Mufan's expression was very serious: "Mi Tang knows where Qiao Mei is."
As soon as this was said, everyone opened their mouths wide and asked in unison: "How do you know that Mi Tang knows?"
Xia Mufan explained seriously: "Do you still remember what Chi Juxiang once said, that Mi Tang ran away for the whole day when Qiaomei disappeared?"
Everyone nodded: "Remember."
Xia Mufan said: "Although cats' sense of smell is not as good as dogs', it is still much more sensitive than humans. Most people can't find Qiaomei, but Mitang was raised by Qiaomei, and can accurately find its little master just by its sense of smell. So today it was calling anxiously and biting Chi Juxiang's trouser legs desperately, obviously trying to drag her to find someone."
When Gong Weiguo heard this, he slapped his thigh in joy and said, "Great, if Mi Tang finds Qiao Mei, then don't we have a clue?"
Feng Xiaoyu also showed a look of joy in her eyes and touched Mi Tang: "Mi Tang, you found Qiao Mei, why didn't you ask the police for help at that time?"
Gong Weiguo glanced at her and said, "You are stupid. Even if Mi Tang asked the police for help, who would understand him? Didn't you see that when we arrived at the village just now, he pulled his grandmother's trouser legs hard to pull her out, but was kicked away by the villagers. Even Grandma Chi didn't understand, how could others understand?"
Feng Xiaoyu thought about it and it made sense. She looked at Xia Mufan with sparkling eyes, "Luckily we have Xia Xia on our team! Who would pay so much attention to a cat? Even Qiaomei's grandmother ignored Mi Tang. No wonder the police from the police station ignored this clue."
The members of the special operations team have already tacitly accepted that Xia Mufan has special skills in communicating with animals. Everyone looks to Xia Mufan with hope: "Captain Xia, where can we find Qiaomei?"
Xia Mufan's words were brief: "Let's go to the town first, Mi Tang will lead us to find someone."
Not all cats are as smart as Coal Ash. Mitang has no clear concept of time and his descriptions of things are a bit rambling. It is almost impossible to get him to tell the exact location.
However, Mi Tang would run to the town every now and then. He had a deep impression of the house where Qiaomei had been locked up before. As long as he took it to the town, he could find the place where Qiaomei had stayed.
Arriving in the town, Yu Jing stopped the car.
Mi Tang rushed out quickly and ran forward quickly, and Xia Mufan and his teammates followed closely behind.
After running for a while, Mi Tang seemed to realize something. He stopped, turned around and looked at Xia Mufan, meowing twice.
【Follow me closely.】 】
[Hurry up, it's just ahead.] 】
Xia Mufan quickened his pace.
The car stopped near the town government, which is the town center. Mi Tang ran towards the southeast, getting farther and farther away from the town center.
The street scene in front of him became more and more familiar. The gas station that he had just left in the morning was right in front of him. The coldness in Xia Mufan's eyes grew deeper and deeper.
Mi Tang finally stopped and started meowing at a store.
[It’s right here!] 】
[Qiaomei is locked up at the back.] 】
[There was a big dog, very fierce.] 】
[When the people in the room saw me, they hit me with bricks. They were very mean. 】
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