Animal Detective

Shen Xin was planning to go to Taishan.

He had driven all day, but he was young. What was stopping him from just getting up and going?

He parked his car at the Red Gate, had a meal at the foot of the mountain, and took a short rest.

He checked the weather. The forecast for tomorrow was a perfectly clear day, which guaranteed a sunrise.

What was there to even think about? It was time to go.

At ten o’clock that night, Shen Xin set out, leading Tian Kui by the leash.

As for Teddy?

He needed to rest at night and was only active during the day.

Shen Xin had originally thought about not bringing him along.

It was mainly just inconvenient.

He was active during the day and needed to rest at night. And unlike an owl, he couldn’t sleep while standing.

Even if he could, the constant jostling from the climb would ruin his sleep quality, wouldn’t it?

Most importantly, Shen Xin’s heart ached just thinking about Teddy waking up, not finding him, and frantically thrashing around inside his new car.

He had no choice but to stuff him into his backpack, headfirst, and carry him up the mountain.

Although the May Day holiday was over, there were still a great many people climbing at night.

Fortunately, it was dark, and Tian Kui wasn’t wearing his vest, so he wasn’t easily recognizable.

This saved the man-and-dog duo from having to put on a show for the public.

As for the white feathers sticking out of the backpack on his back, everyone was too busy panting for breath from the climb to notice.

Shen Xin’s marksmanship was terrible, but he had no problems with his combat skills or stamina.

Tian Kui had no trouble either. In fact, he seemed to think Shen Xin was too slow and kept tugging on the leash from up ahead.

With so many people around, Shen Xin didn’t dare let go of the leash.

They made their way up with frequent stops, but Teddy slept soundly through it all.

It was nearly one in the morning when they finally reached the Central Celestial Gate.

’I can handle this no problem,’ he thought.

But once he was actually on the Eighteen Bends, Shen Xin realized he had been too complacent.

He had already driven all day and was mentally exhausted. Now, physical fatigue was piling on top of it.

He also only learned after arriving that there were two sections: the "Slow Eighteen" and the "Tight Eighteen."

The saying went that you could grit your teeth and push through the Slow Eighteen, but for the Tight Eighteen, it was no shame to rest when you had to.

’Why have you stopped walking?’

Tian Kui even seemed to look down on Shen Xin. The dog wasn’t tired in the slightest, still leaping and bounding about.

Finally, after much dragging of his feet, he made it to the South Celestial Gate.

After a brief rest, all that was left was the final push to the summit.

He overheard other climbers discussing their plans. Some said they should go to the Zhanlu Platform, mentioning it was flat and better for taking pictures.

But how could Shen Xin settle for that? He had to go to the very highest point.

He immediately led Tian Kui straight for the Jade Emperor Peak.

But when he arrived, he found it was already packed wall-to-wall with people.

A woman next to him, wrapped tightly in a thick cotton coat, gave him a tip, saying he was too late. To get a good spot on the Jade Emperor Peak, you had to arrive in the dead of night.

She recommended he go to Riguang Peak, saying the view there was just as expansive and every bit as good.

She urged him to hurry, or he’d lose his chance at a spot over there, too.

Left with no other choice, Shen Xin led Tian Kui over to Riguang Peak.

He found a large, east-facing rock and claimed it as his spot.

He’d secured a spot, but now the real suffering began.

The summit was shrouded in mist, and a bitter wind howled. Even the rented cotton coat didn’t do much to help.

Tian Kui, on the other hand, was unfazed. He sat there, letting the wind whip his fur into a chaotic mess.

Then there was Teddy, nestled inside Shen Xin’s coat, sleeping as cozily as could be.

It was now three in the morning.

There were still two hours to go until sunrise.

After just a short while, the cold wind gave Shen Xin a splitting headache.

He was bored, too. All he could do was wait in misery.

He couldn’t help but start to feel a pang of regret. He could have been in a hotel, enjoying a hot shower and sleeping in a soft, king-sized bed. Instead, he’d insisted on coming out here to suffer.

He was dead tired, and if he caught a cold, who would be to blame?

’This is just pure self-torture.’

’Besides, it’s just a sunrise. Doesn’t the sun rise every single day?’

’Are all those HD sunrise videos online not clear enough? Not spectacular enough?’

But he had come all this way. The sunk cost was too high to turn back now. He could only tough it out.

Finally, as the crowd around him grew, a red glow began to suffuse the rolling sea of clouds in the distance.

A stir went through the crowd. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but the bright glow of phone screens.

Shen Xin shivered, the jolt waking him up a little.

"Tian Kui, give ’em a howl."

Shen Xin patted Tian Kui on the head.

The dog stared intently at the rising sun and let out a single "WOOF."

"Not like that. Have you forgotten how the wolves on the plains howl?"

’You’ve already had your atavistic awakening. Show some dominance!’ he thought.

Tian Kui seemed to gather himself for a moment. He tilted his head back, and bathed in the rosy dawn, let out a long, drawn-out cry that was nearly a wolf’s howl.

The sound stretched on and on.

There on the still-dark Riguang Peak, it instantly captured the attention of everyone nearby.

"Dude, that’s a Heaven-Howling Dog!" someone yelled.

Shen Xin laughed heartily.

Beside him, Tian Kui howled with even more vigor, his cries directed at the sun, which was just about to break over the horizon. Each howl was louder than the last.

His posture was so intense, it looked as if he was about to enact the myth of the celestial dog swallowing the sun.

At last, the dawn glow scattered the darkness, and from within the vast sea of clouds, a sliver of fiery red poked its head out.

A massive cheer erupted across Riguang Peak.

Some people raised red flags high, waving them with pride.

At that moment, for reasons he couldn’t explain, an indescribable sense of heroic grandeur swelled in Shen Xin’s chest as he gazed out at the boundless sea of clouds.

Just then, perhaps because the cheers from the crowd were too loud, Teddy stirred from his sleep inside Shen Xin’s coat.

He backed out of the coat, scrambled expertly onto Shen Xin’s shoulder, and stared blankly at his surroundings.

’Where have you brought me this time?’

"Holy shit!"

"Hey, handsome! What the hell is that thing?!"

Gasps of shock rippled through the crowd.

Shen Xin didn’t say a word. The heroic feeling was still surging through him as he lifted Teddy up.

The biting wind was the signal for takeoff.

Teddy, now a little more awake, turned his head toward the red sun in the east. His jet-black eyes gradually grew incredibly sharp.

The next moment, with a sharp cry, Teddy beat his wings and soared high into the air.

Countless people on Riguang Peak gasped, craning their necks to watch Teddy ascend.

The mountain wind howled. Teddy was like a kite on a string; with just the slightest beat of his wings, he soared straight up.

Taishan’s peak is only fifteen hundred meters above sea level, but a Hunting Falcon can easily fly to altitudes of two or three thousand meters.

At that moment, a southeasterly wind was blowing across the summit.

Teddy faced east, not even needing to flap his wings. He let the strong wind hold him aloft, bobbing as if he were floating in the ocean.

The heroic passion in Shen Xin’s chest could no longer be contained. He faced the rising sun and let out a great roar.

"I must ascend the highest peak; all other mountains will look small below!"

Shen Xin wished for nothing more than to have a pair of wings like Teddy, to soar through that sea of clouds.

As if hearing Shen Xin’s innermost thoughts, or perhaps just because a cool breeze had finally woken him completely, Teddy let out another cry. Amidst the gasps of everyone on the summit, he beat his wings powerfully and shot into the sky.

Even high above the thousand-meter peak, he became a black speck that blended into the sky.

Just as everyone was craning their necks, trying to spot him, he reappeared.

Like a sharp arrow piercing the heavens, he whistled through the air at an incredible speed and plunged headfirst into the distant sea of clouds.

His speed left everyone dumbfounded.

One moment he vanished into the sea of clouds. The next, he shot skyward once more.

It was as if he were roaming freely through the sea of clouds.

His body was snow-white, allowing him to blend in with the sea of clouds, but beneath the sliver of the red sun on the horizon, his feathers reflected the dawn’s rosy light.

It gave him a faint golden sheen as he flew with abandon through the clouds.

He would circle, then soar, then roll and dive.

The sight made Shen Xin’s eyes burn with emotion.

If Shen Xin’s eyes burned with passion, the eyes of those around him burned with envy.

’We all came to see the sunrise. How dare you steal the show like this?’

In the distance, Teddy was having the time of his life.

This boundless world made him feel as if he were dreaming he was back on the plains.

The only imperfection was that his cry lacked the majestic grandeur of a professional "voice actor" like the Red-tailed Hawk.

If he could have done that, weaving through the sea of clouds while his cry echoed across the mountains—now that would have been a perfect scene.

But Shen Xin could cry out.

He put his fingers to his lips and let out a long, piercing whistle.

He didn’t know how far the sound traveled, but Teddy heard it.

He shot out of the sea of clouds, bathed in the dawn’s light. With a wingspan of over a meter, he rode the wind and, to the astonishment of the crowd, landed precisely on Shen Xin’s raised arm.

A perfect curtain call.

At that moment, Shen Xin was in high spirits, feeling an unprecedented sense of clarity and freedom.

Only then did he feel that all the night’s exhaustion had been worth it.

The moment Teddy’s body made contact with his, a flood of images poured into Shen Xin’s mind.

His perspective shot skyward.

In the distance, the red sun was about to emerge fully. Below, the mountains lay hidden in a sea of clouds.

He was seeing through Teddy’s eyes, experiencing it all firsthand. The feeling of the vast Earth spread out beneath him was so real it was unbelievable.

The next moment, Teddy shot into the sky.

He passed through layer after layer of clouds and mist, as if trying to punch a hole straight through the sky.

With a sharp turn in midair, he suddenly dove.

The dawn glow was on the horizon, and the ground rushed up to meet him at an incredible speed.

Shen Xin couldn’t help but hold his breath, his heart pounding wildly.

Finally, he plunged headfirst into the sea of clouds.

Inside the vast, white mist, it felt like moving through primordial chaos. Suddenly, his perspective pierced through the clouds, and his vision was filled with golden light.

Shen Xin snapped back to reality, his heart still thumping from the thrill.

But the feeling of soaring through heaven and earth was still vivid in his mind.

Exhilarated, Shen Xin felt the urge to shout out loud again.

Just then, someone nearby shouted, "Hey, handsome! Do another one!"

Shen Xin turned to look.

The looks in everyone’s eyes could no longer be described as simple envy.

"Alright!"

’With such a beautiful view, and the ability to experience it so immersively... not taking the chance to really fly would be a complete waste of the trip.’

With a lift of his arm, Teddy, as if their minds were one, shot toward the sky once more.