Chapter 663 - 550: Walnut’s Return to an Old Haunt (Part 2)

Chapter 663: Chapter 550: Walnut’s Return to an Old Haunt (Part 2)

Liu Baoli was on the mountain year-round, so the most likely time for him to have discovered the giant panda was during a patrol.

So they could definitely add the patrol routes his team frequented in ’09 to their plan and retrace them.

Shen Xin had come up with the entire plan, so naturally, Chang Zhigang and the others had no objections.

The plan was set in motion on the 16th day of the first lunar month, and on the 22nd—January 26th—Walnut finally set off for the Baishui River in a dedicated vehicle.

The team in Wudu had already made all the necessary preparations for their arrival.

After the truck arrived, it didn’t stop, heading straight for Liujiaping Town.

The team from Jin City was also in position.

The team was led by the director of the base’s Research Lab for Endangered Wildlife Ecology and Reintroduction.

His name was Chen Jia Kang. He was quite amicable, with rough skin and a weathered face that made him look older than his years—the telltale signs of someone who spent their life working in the field.

Upon meeting, he didn’t have time for pleasantries with Shen Xin, immediately moving to check on Walnut’s physical condition.

"His spirits are excellent. That’s Prince Shen for you," Chen Jia Kang joked.

He had done his research and knew that Shen Xin got along exceptionally well with giant pandas.

He could even take a giant panda for a stroll all around the zoo.

It was practically unprecedented in the history of panda keeping.

Shen Xin had expected as much.

With Shen Xin by his side the whole way, Walnut ate and drank as usual, completely untroubled by the journey.

"Director Chen, since Walnut is in such good shape, can we skip the acclimatization period?"

The plan included a period for him to acclimatize in a designated area upon arriving at the reserve.

This was scheduled to last at least three days.

But since he was doing so well, saving three days would be a huge advantage.

Chen Jia Kang understood why Shen Xin’s team was so anxious to get started.

He had arrived a few days early and had seen for himself how much importance the people in Wudu—or rather, Longzhou—were placing on this matter.

After turning to consult with his team of experts, Chen Jia Kang agreed.

They could proceed with the plan and head into the mountains the very next day.

The first stop was Hetaoping, the place where Walnut had been discovered.

It wasn’t very far from the nearest road to Hetaoping—only 1.7 kilometers as the crow flies.

There were also several small paths leading into the mountains nearby.

The truck pulled over to the side of the road.

Worried that a large crowd might be overwhelming, everyone else retreated to the perimeter.

Only Ma Tao and Chen Jia Kang stayed behind.

The two of them helped Shen Xin open the crate.

Walnut emerged impatiently before Shen Xin even had to call him.

This secretly amazed Chen Jia Kang.

He was the one who personally managed and executed the country’s giant panda rewilding programs.

He knew full well that pandas undergoing rewilding were typically very timid. When brought to an unfamiliar place, they would often stay in their crates for a long time before daring to venture out.

But here was Walnut, practically bursting to get out.

Little did Chen Jia Kang know that Shen Xin had been talking to Walnut the entire trip. The panda knew in his heart that he was coming home.

In late January, the temperature in Yinping still hovered around zero.

The mountain wind cut like a knife, but Walnut paid it no mind.

He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the scent of the wilderness.

But what followed was a sense of bewilderment.

The forest before him existed only in his memory, making it all feel at once familiar and foreign.

After standing in the mountain wind for a moment, Walnut padded over to Shen Xin’s side and let out a couple of soft calls.

’Where do we go?’

He was lost.

Shen Xin patted his head and smiled. "Come on, follow me."

With that, he took the lead, heading straight for Hetaoping.

They had previously confirmed one thing: Liu Baoli had fed Walnut.

After discussing it, everyone believed this feeding spot must be somewhere near Hetaoping.

Their primary objective was to find it.

The core objective was to confirm whether Walnut’s mother had died at Hetaoping.

Walnut followed along, staying close at his heels.

His obedience made Chen Jia Kang, who was walking behind them, glance over in surprise. He curiously asked Ma Tao how Shen Xin normally cared for Walnut to make him so compliant.

Ma Tao shook his head. "I really don’t know. Sometimes it feels like he can do magic or something. Oh, right, Officer Shen once joked that he’s a Druid. I think it’s some kind of game character."

Chen Jia Kang played online games, so he knew what a Druid was. He glanced at Shen Xin walking up ahead.

’He had to admit, with Walnut following him like that, the resemblance was uncanny.’

There was still snow on the ground in the mountains, which made walking difficult.

But the desolate landscape matched the weather conditions from when the incident originally occurred.

All the while, Shen Xin was silently listening to Walnut’s thoughts.

The panda was filled with curiosity, constantly searching for anything familiar.

At the same time, however, Shen Xin couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment.

’He’d hoped that having Walnut revisit his old home would be the catalyst for him to break through to the third stage.’

’But they were already deep in the mountains, and the affinity level hadn’t changed at all. The plan was clearly a failure.’

The small path was relatively easy to follow, and they reached Hetaoping half an hour later.

Though called Hetaoping, it was really just an open, flat expanse of mountain land. It probably got its name because there used to be many wild walnut trees in the area.

Wudu was, after all, a major walnut-producing region in Longzhou.

Shen Xin had been to this place before, and Yang Zeran and his team had visited more times than they could count.

Now, covered in snow, it was impossible to spot anything useful.

"Walnut, do you remember this place?" Shen Xin asked, gesturing to the area around them.

Walnut glanced all around, then shook his head.

Shen Xin wasn’t surprised. It had been many years, after all.

"No rush." Shen Xin hadn’t expected a breakthrough on the first day. He patted Walnut and said, "Let’s take our time. We’ll walk and see."

The plan for the day was to cover the entire area around Hetaoping.

They needed to give Walnut plenty of time to slowly unearth the images buried in his memory.

He was in great shape. Being suddenly back in the forest was a novel experience for him, and he didn’t feel tired at all. He followed Shen Xin around with great enthusiasm.

They had arrived at Hetaoping a little after nine in the morning and had been wandering the area for over two hours with no discoveries yet.

Chen Jia Kang, who was following behind, suggested they take a break and let Walnut eat first.

The bamboo was ready; the main group behind them was carrying it.

But just then, as they were passing a slope, Walnut slowly came to a halt.

He looked at the slope, then turned his head to gaze into the distance, seeming hesitant.

Shen Xin stopped abruptly. ’Did he find something?’

"Walnut, do you remember this place?" Shen Xin quickly crouched down to ask.

Walnut didn’t make a sound, merely pacing silently nearby as if comparing his surroundings to a memory.

After a few minutes, he turned and headed to the bottom of the slope. He sniffed all over, then began pawing at the earth.

He pawed at one spot for a moment, stopped, then moved to another.

As he kept digging, he actually uncovered a cave at the bottom of the slope.

Walnut turned his head, looked at the view from the front of the slope, and once again seemed lost in a daze.

Shen Xin rushed forward and began digging at the earth with his hands.

It was indeed a cave, but over the years, mudslides had slowly buried the entrance.

After hurriedly widening the opening, Shen Xin took out his phone and shone its light inside.

The cave didn’t look very large, and it was dry inside.

What thrilled Shen Xin even more was that the light immediately revealed a large pile of bamboo inside the cave.

Bamboo, under the right conditions, might not rot for many years.

Shen Xin quickly grabbed his walkie-talkie and notified the main party behind them.

This was very likely the cave where Liu Baoli had hidden and fed Walnut all those years ago.