Chapter 638 - 528: The Wind in the Mountains

Chapter 638: Chapter 528: The Wind in the Mountains

Shen Xin nodded thoughtfully.

If what Zhou Huayong said was true, then Yang Zeran’s earlier theory—that the three of them had colluded to kill the female giant panda and falsely claim credit for a rescue—wouldn’t hold water.

Liu Baoli had been a Patrol Officer for so many years; he should have known how severe the consequences of killing a giant panda were.

Besides, the reward was only a thousand yuan, with no promotion. The income was completely disproportionate to the risk.

’So even if something did happen,’ Shen Xin reckoned, ’it must have been something else.’

Shen Xin didn’t press the matter further.

They were here to see the scene now. He hadn’t read the case file yet, and asking too many questions might cloud his judgment.

At most, he would just get a general understanding of the people involved first.

Shen Xin then asked Zhou Huayong if he knew anything about Wang Shulin and Wang Erpeng.

Zhou Huayong said, "I know a little about Wang Shulin. His father used to gather medicinal herbs in the mountains but fell and broke his leg, so he couldn’t do heavy labor anymore."

"Anyway, his family has always been very poor. You know the saying, ’the poorer they are, the meaner they get’? That was him. He dropped out before finishing elementary school. My wife actually went to the same school and told me he loved to get into fights even as a kid."

"His parents couldn’t control him, and he never held a proper job. He just messed around, getting into fights. He even seriously injured someone once and then refused to pay the compensation."

"Later, because of the panda ’rescue,’ the bureau arranged a job for him, but he didn’t take it seriously. A lot of people said that whenever he was supposed to be on patrol, he’d disappear as soon as he got into the mountains and run off to the village to play cards."

"It was useless for his superiors to criticize him, so they just let him be."

Shen Xin nodded.

’So Wang Shulin is just a local thug.’

’As for Wang Erpeng, his distant relative, he was probably just a lackey who always hung around him.’

Shen Xin didn’t ask any more questions and changed the subject.

To giant pandas, for instance.

They were deep in the mountains now, in the core area of the nature reserve. In theory, it was possible to encounter a giant panda.

When Shen Xin asked about it, Zhou Huayong wasn’t surprised at all. He smiled and said, "That really depends on luck. Our entire reserve is 180,000 hectares, but there are only 110 giant pandas in total, so the chances of running into them are really not high."

"Of course, it’s not impossible. The temperature is gradually dropping this month, and the arrow bamboo at high altitudes isn’t growing as well, so they’re starting to migrate to mid and low altitudes to escape the cold winter."

"So there’s still a chance we could see one."

"But compared to giant pandas, it’s much easier to see Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys. We have four to five thousand of them in the entire reserve."

Shen Xin nodded.

’It’s true,’ he thought. ’With only about a hundred giant pandas in the entire reserve, the probability of an encounter really is low.’

Besides, they usually lived in the deeper parts of the mountains.

The route they were taking this time was the old Motianling Patrol Route No. 3.

Among the many patrol routes, Route No. 3 wasn’t the longest, but a round trip would normally still take two days.

However, Muxu Ping, where the incident occurred, was near the beginning of the route and not far off. This meant they could make a round trip in a single day.

But because of that, they wouldn’t be going deep into the reserve, so the chance of seeing a panda was naturally very low.

Speak of the devil.

Just as they were walking, Zhou Huayong, who was leading the way, suddenly made a hand signal for everyone to stop.

He crouched down, gesturing for the group to be quiet as he pointed ahead.

Shen Xin craned his neck to look but couldn’t quite make out what it was.

But the sharp-eyed Ding Yuwei beside him let out a soft gasp. She gently tapped Shen Xin and pointed to the woods ahead, whispering, "A Golden Snub-nosed Monkey."

Following her finger, Shen Xin finally saw it.

About fifty meters ahead, a monkey was squatting under what looked like an oak tree.

It wasn’t very large, and its fur wasn’t a brilliant gold color. A more accurate description would be reddish-brown.

And not a very deep shade at that.

But you had to admit, it was different from a common monkey. It was fluffy, beautiful, and had a noble air.

It wasn’t causing a fuss either, just clinging to the trunk and picking lichen off to eat.

Every movement was slow and deliberate, unhurried and unruffled, exuding an air of elegance.

What was that saying online? "Every time someone praises a Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, the monkeys on Emeishan get cyberbullied."

Seeing the contrast, there really was a difference.

Zhou Huayong glanced around and said this was likely a young monkey that had just finished nursing. He added that the troop must be nearby and that they should try not to startle them.

But it was obvious they had already been noticed.

Animals have a keen sense of smell. In the distance, branches swayed, and several Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys came swinging through the canopy, traveling together.

One of them, likely the young monkey’s mother, anxiously leaped down from a tree and pulled her child into her arms.

Four of them had appeared in total.

Among them was one with especially vibrant fur and a sturdy build. It perched on a treetop, looking over at them warily.

Zhou Huayong quietly explained to Shen Xin’s group of four that Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys are social animals living in sizable troops. He said they are polygynous, and this one was likely the head of this family unit, usually called the alpha male.

The muscle of the group, and with off-the-charts good looks.

Shen Xin nodded in strong agreement.

’He’s right, the looks are stunning. After all, this is the prototype for Sun Wukong.’

This one was completely wild; there was a definite difference compared to the Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys in a zoo.

The four visitors watched with fascination. Zhao Tianxing curiously asked if they could feed it.

Zhou Huayong shook his head. "Don’t. Our principle is to disturb them as little as possible, so let’s just go around them."

’That makes sense. In a nature reserve, they’re the main characters.’

Zhou Huayong led the group on a detour around them.

But as it turned out, they hadn’t gone far when the alpha male, which had been watching them warily, deftly leaped down from its branch and approached them.

Surprised, Zhou Huayong stopped in his tracks.

The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey stopped about ten meters away, not getting any closer, and quietly observed the group.

Behind it, the three female monkeys also slowly drew near.

"Old Zhou, what’s this about? Is it looking for food?" Chang Zhigang asked in a low voice.

Zhou Huayong shook his head, saying he didn’t know. He said it was unlikely, as they normally never fed the animals.

Just then, the male monkey took a few more steps closer, its large, dark eyes sizing up the humans.

He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but Shen Xin felt like it was... looking at him.

Shen Xin gave it a small wave.

In response to the wave, it came closer again, stopping two meters away. After sizing up the group once more, it approached again, walking straight up to Shen Xin.

It sat down in front of him, tilted its head back, and stared intently at Shen Xin.

The next moment, an affection icon appeared above its head.

’Huh,’ Shen Xin thought, surprised. ’It really did come for me.’

’And they’re not wrong when they say these Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys have good temperaments and are friendly to people. It’s true.’

’It’s already showing affection.’

Shen Xin reached out a hand to pet it.

It flinched instinctively but then didn’t move away. Instead, it grabbed Shen Xin’s hand and gave it a little tug.

Shen Xin followed its pull and crouched down.

It tilted its head slightly, still staring at Shen Xin with eyes full of curiosity, as if wondering, ’What is this thing? And why do I like looking at it so much?’

Zhao Tianxing wore an "I knew it" expression.

Ding Yuwei and Yang Zeran, of course, were no longer surprised. From tigers and elephants down to cats and dogs, animals always showed a special preference for Shen Xin.

Zhou Huayong, Chang Zhigang, and the others, however, were astonished.

"That’s incredible," one of the accompanying patrol team members said in amazement.

Zhou Huayong watched in silence, his eyes also filled with shock and surprise.

This wasn’t a wildlife park, where the Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys saw humans all day, had zookeepers, and were quite familiar with people.

This one was completely wild.

And as the head of its family, responsible for the safety of the entire troop, the alpha male was usually extremely vigilant and could sometimes even be aggressive.

He had never encountered a situation like this, where one would approach on its own, and get so close.

Faced with such an adorable Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, Shen Xin didn’t hold back and simply picked it up.

It weighed about forty-something jin, as heavy as a small child.

It didn’t resist, letting Shen Xin hold it in his arms while it continued to tilt its head back and study him with curiosity.

At this point, even the three female monkeys drew closer, slowly gathering around Shen Xin.

The young monkey from before, after a curious look, even started pulling on Shen Xin’s pant leg and climbed up onto his shoulder.

"Don’t I look cool?" Shen Xin asked Ding Yuwei to take a picture of him to commemorate the moment.

Ding Yuwei resignedly took out her phone.

After the picture was taken, Shen Xin wanted Ding Yuwei and the others to take a picture holding the monkey too.

But it was a no-go. As soon as Ding Yuwei got close, the alpha male in his arms turned its head and watched her warily.

When Ding Yuwei reached out her hand, it actively pushed it away, unwilling to let her touch it.

"Honestly, sometimes I wonder what kind of special constitution you have," Ding Yuwei said with a helpless look on her face.

Shen Xin gave a smug smile.

’Too bad I don’t have any food on me.’

A few steps away, Chang Zhigang stared blankly at Shen Xin and muttered to himself, "He really is different."

Zhou Huayong heard him and curiously asked what was different.

Chang Zhigang didn’t explain, his gaze growing deeper.

Chang Zhigang didn’t know much about Shen Xin’s background, only that his superiors had told him a so-called expert who solved cases with the help of animals was coming.

That was why when Shen Xin had said earlier that he wanted to start with the giant panda from back then, Chang Zhigang hadn’t thought much of it.

But Chang Zhigang still didn’t have a complete picture of Shen Xin’s abilities.

Now, however, he did.

Chang Zhigang now had a visceral feeling that Shen Xin was different.

With the case on his mind, Shen Xin didn’t linger for too long.

This Golden Snub-nosed Monkey was well-behaved, too, unlike the monkeys on Emeishan that would block your path and try to pick your pockets.

Shen Xin put it down and said he had to go. The monkey didn’t chase after him, just stayed where it was, watching Shen Xin’s group leave.

For Shen Xin, it was a beautiful chance encounter.

And his inner anticipation began to grow.

’I’ve run into a Golden Snub-nosed Monkey. Can a giant panda be far behind?’

Unfortunately, they didn’t encounter a giant panda by the time they reached Muxu Ping.

There were just too few of them.

"This is the place."

Chang Zhigang stopped, his expression complex as he surveyed the surroundings. He touched a birch tree and said, "I remember back when the case happened in ’09, I don’t think this tree was even here. Look at it now, it’s gotten so thick."

Shen Xin said nothing, scanning the area.

Nine years. Nine springs, summers, autumns, and winters. While it might not be a case of seas turning into mulberry fields, the place was still the same, but the people were gone.

At least to Shen Xin, this was just an ordinary patch of mountain forest. He couldn’t see the slightest trace of a crime scene.

Shen Xin turned his head to look back at the path they had come from, his heart heavy.

Back then, Liu Baoli and Hu Zeyang had come through this forest and run into their killer.

They were brutally murdered out here in the wilderness.

No one knew what had happened that day.

The killer might have left behind traces like footprints, but he was more like a gust of wind in the mountains, appearing and disappearing without a sound.

Shen Xin walked around in silence, inspecting everything.

He found nothing. He had no new ideas.

Slowly, a sense of powerlessness began to well up from deep within him.

’A case like this is just too difficult.’

After a long while, Shen Xin said, "Chang Zhi, let’s go."

He had seen it. There was no need to look any further.

Chang Zhigang patted Shen Xin’s shoulder and nodded slightly.

He could understand what Shen Xin was feeling at that moment.

Over the years, he had returned to the scene time and time again. He always arrived full of confidence, determined to solve the case, hoping he might find something new.

But every time he left, he was filled with nothing but despair and helplessness.