Wealthy Woof Chapter 66

The little stray dog licked its lips, savoring the lingering taste of meat. Seeing that the big white dog truly meant no harm, it tentatively said, “I don’t know what you want.”

Zuo Ning couldn’t help but roll his eyes—of course, it didn’t know; he hadn’t asked yet. Noticing that the fur on the little stray dog’s neck seemed to be stuck together with something resembling blood, he asked, “Are the people here treating you badly? Always keeping you locked up and not feeding you enough?”

The little stray dog lay down on the ground. “Yeah, those kids are really mean. They always kick me and throw stones at me. You look so good. Are all the dogs outside as good-looking as you? And do they wear clothes?”

Afraid of giving the little stray dog a distorted view of the world, Zuo Ning quickly replied, “Most don’t wear clothes. Only a small number wear them when it’s cold. By the way, what’s your name?”

The little stray dog wagged its tail. “My name is Wang Cai.”

Zuo Ning: “Good name.”

Hearing the compliment, Wang Cai was clearly delighted and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s your name?”

Previously, this little stray dog seemed very timid, even fearful of people and Zuo Ning himself. That’s why Zuo Ning had planned to use a mix of threats and bribes to get some answers. But after exchanging just a few words, he realized that this dog had no defenses at all. Whoever treated it kindly would receive its goodwill directly.

Zuo Ning couldn’t resist opening another bag of jerky to feed it. Wang Cai, seeing that he wasn’t eating, pushed a piece toward him. “You eat, too. This is really delicious. I’ve never had anything this tasty before.”

Zuo Ning said, “You can eat it yourself. I’m full, so all of this is for you. Wang Cai, have you seen any strangers in this village?”

Wang Cai replied while eating, “I’ve seen many. Recently, there have been lots of strangers.”

Zuo Ning continued, “Here’s the thing: I have a human friend who went missing around three or four days ago. That person is very tall and good-looking and has visited your village before. The strangers who have come recently are all looking for him. Have you seen my friend?”

Many people believe dogs identify individuals by scent, but dogs also rely on their sight. It’s unclear whether the hunting instinct isn’t as strong as it used to be, but over generations, most dogs now use scent mainly to distinguish between other dogs, while relying on their vision for other recognition. After all, dogs look quite similar to one another. Without scent, it would be almost impossible to tell them apart.

So, after Zuo Ning described Lou Jiu’s appearance, Wang Cai ate as he thought about it for a while before replying, “There was a very good-looking human who came to our village before. That person even fed me something soft and sweet—it was the tastiest thing I’ve ever had.”

Zuo Ning thought to himself, You’ve lived your whole life here in the village—there are plenty of delicious things you haven’t had before. Based on Wang Cai’s description, Zuo Ning was sure the person who fed Wang Cai was Lou Jiu.

He quickly asked, “Do you know if that person came to the village recently? Where did they go?”

Wang Cai replied, “They came, but then disappeared.”

Zuo Ning immediately thought, What the heck, are we switching from mystery to horror now? The room was eerie, the perfect setting for a horror story—something like an abandoned village with ancient tombs, ghostly women, or corpse rituals. So, he quickly grabbed the bag of jerky and said to Wang Cai, “Come outside with me. Let’s talk out there. There’s plenty of meat for you to eat.”

Wang Cai hesitated but ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation of the meat. He followed Zuo Ning outside. There, he spotted a human sitting on a chair, which made Wang Cai visibly wary. He shrank into a corner, too scared to come out.

Zuo Ning had no choice but to sit near the corner and feed him piece by piece. “Tell me more—how did that person disappear?”

Seeing that the man on the chair wasn’t moving and was partially shielded by an object, Wang Cai started to feel a bit safer. He finally said, “One day, the village suddenly got very noisy. It sounded like people were fighting. A lot of them rushed to the front, and then I didn’t see that person anymore.”

Zuo Ning quickly asked, “Was it during the day or at night?”

Wang Cai confidently replied, “At night.”

After thinking for a moment, Zuo Ning asked, “And since the fight, has anything unusual happened in the village?”

Wang Cai happily nibbled on the jerky Zuo Ning had just given him, holding it between his paws. As he thought hard about the question, he suddenly said, “Burning grass. Everyone’s been burning grass.”

“And anything else?”

Wang Cai thought for a while longer but couldn’t come up with anything. Finally, he shook his head. “Can’t think of anything else.”

Zuo Ning tossed the remaining small bags of jerky in the bag to Wang Cai and explained how to tear them open. Then he turned and dashed off to find Lu Chenghe.

Lu Chenghe was in the village chief’s house, two houses away, with a big fire pit inside. A group of people sat around the fire pit. Nie Yong was smoking one cigarette after another, while Shen Tao silently watched the sparks flying from the fire, occasionally poking at it with a stick.

When Zuo Ning ran in, Lu Chenghe immediately scooped him up, fearing he’d charge recklessly into the room without looking and end up in the fire pit—turning into literal roast dog meat.

Zuo Ning let out a couple of yelps while in Lu Chenghe’s arms, then wriggled, trying to get out and leave. Lu Chenghe said a quick word to Nie Yong and Shen Tao before carrying little Pudding back to the house.

Meanwhile, Wang Cai was still hiding among some objects, gnawing on the jerky. When people passed near him, he shrank even further into the corner, pressing against something until he couldn’t back up any more. Only then did he lower his head and continue chewing.

Lu Chenghe placed little Pudding on the ground and asked, “Did you get any information?”

Zuo Ning barked eagerly, but he wondered how he could relay such complicated details to Lu Chenghe.

As he struggled with this, Lu Chenghe patted his head and said, “It’s okay, take your time. If a full sentence doesn’t work, describe it word by word. Use the intelligence you show when tattling, and it’ll be fine.”

Zuo Ning couldn’t help but shoot Lu Chenghe a sideways glance. He couldn’t detect a single compliment in what was just said.

However, finding the person was the priority, so Zuo Ning didn’t argue. He jumped onto the bed and lay down on the pillow.

Lu Chenghe asked, “Going to sleep?”

Zuo Ning quickly shook his head, “Woof woof!”

“Not sleeping, so does that mean it happened while someone was sleeping? At night? When it was dark?”

Zuo Ning immediately replied, “Woof!” Then he sat up, barking several times at Lu Chenghe.

Lu Chenghe instantly understood, “An argument?”

Zuo Ning nodded eagerly, then pulled the blanket with his paw, burying himself completely under it. He poked his paw out to tap Lu Chenghe, before covering his head entirely and then peeking out at him.

Lu Chenghe said, “So, at night, there was an argument, and then the person disappeared?”

Zuo Ning shook his head vigorously, then barked a few times at Lu Chenghe, moved to another spot, barked again, and then moved to yet another spot to bark some more.

Lu Chenghe raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t Lou Jiu arguing, but a lot of people arguing?”

“Woof!”

Lu Chenghe patted Zuo Ning’s head. “Is there any other information?”

Zuo Ning nodded, then jumped off the bed and walked outside. Lu Chenghe followed him, watching as Zuo Ning tried to bite at some wild grass by the roadside but couldn’t tear it off. Lu Chenghe picked a blade of grass and handed it to him. Holding the grass in his mouth, Zuo Ning returned to the house where Lu Chenghe had been earlier. He dropped the grass into the fire pit, then turned to look at Lu Chenghe.

Seeing this, Lu Chenghe narrowed his eyes and immediately picked up little Pudding, calling out to Nie Yong and Shen Tao, “Come here.”

The two exchanged glances and quickly followed Lu Chenghe.

Lu Chenghe pieced together the information Little Pudding had conveyed and relayed it to them.

Initially, they hadn’t considered any other possibilities—they simply thought Lou Jiu had taken things too far this time and gotten himself into trouble. Accidents in remote mountain villages were all too common; every year, countless professional adventurers disappeared without a trace, let alone someone like Lou Jiu, who wasn’t physically adept.

Although Lu Chenghe didn’t reveal the source of his information, they assumed he must have gotten something out of a villager. Since Lu Chenghe shared it with them, the information was likely reliable. Now, the situation was clear: either they escalated the matter and thoroughly searched to confirm whether Lou Jiu was still in the village, or they discreetly used search dogs or Little Pudding to investigate further. Given that the villagers had been willing to call the police and even allowed dogs to be brought in, it suggested they weren’t afraid of a search.

Thinking about the dogs, Nie Yong suddenly said, “Do you remember when Old Lu first arrived, the village chief told him to keep a close eye on Little Pudding so the kids wouldn’t grab him and roast him?”

Shen Tao replied, “So, you’re saying the village chief might be in the know? That’s why he told Chenghe to watch over Little Pudding—to prevent the dog from wandering freely and actually discovering something?”

“I think that might be the case. Even if the villagers are greedy for meat, Little Pudding is clearly brought in by us outsiders. No matter how thoughtless they are, they wouldn’t just grab and roast him—they’re not uncivilized savages. Old Lu, what do you think we should do now? If we escalate things, they might act impulsively, but if we search in secret, we risk wasting time.”

Before Lu Chenghe could reply, Shen Tao couldn’t help but express his doubts, “I still feel like it’s unlikely. Lou Jiu has cooperated with this village several times and could be considered their ‘God of Wealth’. He might even be their only hope of connecting with the outside world. I think they’d treat him with respect and deference. Who would dare lay a hand on him?”

Lu Chenghe said, “Speculating won’t help. It’s better to find him first and ask later.”

Hearing this, the other two knew Lu Chenghe intended to escalate the situation. However, he didn’t share the specific plans.

By evening, Lu Chenghe informed the village chief that some supplies Lou Jiu had purchased in advance for the villagers had arrived and would be delivered shortly. He asked the chief to gather everyone in the village square to distribute the items and count heads.

When saying this, Lu Chenghe noticed a flicker of surprise and hesitation in the village chief’s eyes. However, the hesitation lasted only a moment before the chief feigned happiness and walked off.

Lu Chenghe’s expression darkened, and the two men who had been casually talking while observing the chief exchanged glances. Clearly, the situation wasn’t as simple as they had thought.

When the news spread about the distribution of supplies, the villagers—every household—came out happily. The village wasn’t large, with only a few households, mostly consisting of the elderly, women, and children. Some young people, still home for the New Year, were also present.

As the villagers gathered, the chief organized them and gave a formal speech. Suddenly, the loud roar of engines filled the air. Everyone looked up, only to see a group of helicopters flying toward them.

Earlier, the village chief had said that the supplies would be delivered by those helicopters. Some had marveled at how extravagant it sounded. Now, seeing it happen, everyone tilted their heads to look up, rendered speechless. Even as the downdraft from the descending helicopters stung their faces, they stood rooted to the spot, unable to look away.

Soon, rope ladders were dropped from the helicopters, and highly trained personnel in black uniforms with full gear swiftly descended. Their speed was so remarkable that before the people on the ground could react, a few of them had already landed.

Some villagers stood frozen in confusion, as the scene didn’t match the explanation they’d been given earlier. Others, who had pieced things together, turned to leave the small square, only to find themselves surrounded by the returning rescue teams. There was no way out. Any attempt at violence would result in them being pinned down and subdued almost instantly.

The village chief turned to Lou Jiu’s three friends, his face a mix of shock and surprise. Trembling slightly, he asked, “What is the meaning of this?”

Nie Yong responded with a sly and cold smile, “I hope the chief can give us a good explanation for this later.”

Zuo Ning, cradled in Lu Chenghe’s arms, got a prime view of the scene, with helicopters encircling them. His fluffy white fur was whipped into disarray by the strong winds, and he tilted his head upward with a silly, dazed look—utterly ridiculous. The image of it could have been pulled straight out of a movie.

Earlier in the afternoon, when Zuo Ning had overheard Lu Chenghe making a call to his cousin’s contacts, he thought it might not happen so quickly. Deploying special forces wasn’t something that could be done on a whim; it required layers of approval. Whatever reason Lu Chenghe’s cousin had used to mobilize this team, Zuo Ning just hoped it wouldn’t backfire.

Lu Chenghe covered Zuo Ning’s eyes, then unzipped his jacket and tucked the little dog’s upward-facing head inside. A cold for a person is easy to deal with, but a sick dog is a bit trickier. In this case, the saying that dogs are more delicate than humans was absolutely true.

The entire crowd began to stir. For people who had hardly received any education in their lives, the village chief was the ultimate authority—what were the police or even the nation’s power compared to him? In their minds, the government existed to serve them; surely no one would dare to actually open fire on them. After all, there’s a saying: “The law does not punish the masses.” As long as the whole village stood united, who could really do anything to them?

However, the special forces were not there to play around. They had encountered such villagers many times before and promptly subdued them, tying them up one by one.

It wasn’t long before someone in the village located Lou Jiu. No one could have guessed the audacity of these villagers—to falsely claim that Lou Jiu had gone missing in the deep mountains and even call the police to cover their tracks. Somehow, they even managed to deceive the search dogs. If this hadn’t been uncovered, the authorities would eventually have left after failing to find anyone, leaving the case to be written off as just another mountain accident.

When Lou Jiu was found, he had been starved for several days, had a broken leg, and looked utterly miserable and frail. However, upon seeing his childhood friends, he still managed to raise his hand and weakly greet them, “Hi.”

Nie Yong nearly wanted to hurl a shoe at his face.

Shen Tao, smiling faintly, turned to the now pale-faced villagers and said, “Now then, I think it’s time we had a proper talk.”

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