Chen Yu lowered his eyes to look at Ruan Xingyao.
She had clearly heard what Jiang Zhen said over the phone, yet when Chen Yu looked at her, she turned her head away and pretended as if she hadn’t heard a thing.
Chen Yu sighed helplessly and said into the phone, “Alright, I’ll ask Expert Ruan about it later.”
After hanging up, he asked, “Xingxing, what do you think I should tell him?”
Ruan Xingyao replied, “It won’t take long to train them properly, but… isn’t it a bit much to just take them away like that?”
Chen Yu said, “I’ll talk to the higher-ups and find a reasonable arrangement, okay?”
Ruan Xingyao’s eyes flickered, and she said, “Let’s make it a rental system then.”
That way, there might even be some extra income.
The more she thought about it, the more possible it seemed.
Mumbling to herself, she said, “Let me think it through.”
Her money-minded little expression was so adorable that Chen Yu couldn’t help but let his gaze linger on her face.
Xie Lin noticed this.
His eyes darkened slightly as he stepped forward, standing beside Ruan Xingyao.
In a low voice, he asked, “Yaoyao, should we go check on Old man Yu now?”
Ruan Xingyao thought for a moment.
Since today was just for giving the dogs a briefing rather than actual training, she nodded.
“Sure.”
She also wanted to see how Old man Yu and those little animals were doing.
After agreeing to rent his land to the Ningcheng Police Department, Old man Yu had moved with the surviving circus animals to a small corner on the west side.
Compared to the clean, orderly training base that had been newly arranged, this side looked much more dilapidated.
From a distance, Ruan Xingyao frowned slightly.
She looked at Xie Lin with suspicion. “Why is Old man Yu’s place so messy?”
Logically, since Xie Lin had arranged people to clean and organize the base, Old man Yu’s area should’ve been tidied up as well.
But judging by the state of his place, that clearly wasn’t the case.
Xie Lin said helplessly, “You know Old man Yu’s temper. He wouldn’t let our people touch anything.”
Ruan Xingyao was speechless for a moment.
That old man really was eccentric.
Without saying more, she knocked on the courtyard gate.
However, there was no sound for a long while.
Ruan Xingyao looked at Xie Lin in confusion, silently asking, “What’s going on?”
What puzzled her even more was that she couldn’t hear any of the little animals’ sounds either.
Xie Lin didn’t know exactly what had happened either.
After a few seconds of silence, he said, “Kick the door open.”
Ruan Xingyao stepped aside to give him room, and Xie Lin lifted his leg and kicked the door open.
When they entered the yard, they found piles of leftover construction materials—it seemed these were the remnants from repairing the base.
Farther inside stood a small, low house.
The door was ajar.
Before they even entered, Ruan Xingyao and the others already saw Old Man Yu lying on the ground.
Everyone was startled.
Xie Lin rushed forward first, hurrying to Old Man Yu’s side.
“What happened?” Ruan Xingyao asked.
From the looks of it, he had been lying there for quite some time.
What on earth was going on?
Xie Lin bent down to check for breath.
After confirming that Old Man Yu was still breathing, he said to Ruan Xingyao, “He’s still alive. Let’s get him to the hospital.”
Chen Yu had already ordered someone to bring the police car around.
Rather than waiting for an ambulance, driving him there directly would be much faster.
“I’ll go with him to the hospital,” Xie Lin said. “Stay in touch at all times.”
He knew Ruan Xingyao still had other things to take care of.
Ruan Xingyao nodded; she had no objections to this arrangement.
She walked through the small house and entered the backyard.
There was a small shed there, with several cages of various sizes beneath it—the same ones she’d seen the last time she came.
Only now, most of them were empty.
At first, she thought the animals had been moved elsewhere, but now she realized—they were all lying inside, half-dead.
The reason she hadn’t heard any sounds before was because they had deliberately gone quiet, even suppressing their heart voices.
She walked closer and released a bit of spiritual energy to check on their condition.
The moment she did, her heart sank.
These little creatures had lost all will to live—nearly every one of them was consumed by the desire for death.
She noticed several were even banging their heads against the cages repeatedly, trying to kill themselves.
Yet, she soon understood why.
These animals had been tortured in the circus, their bodies covered in wounds and illness, their minds severely damaged.
She had already sensed as much the last time she came here.
However, back then, she had only just arrived in this world herself and barely had any spiritual energy to help them.
Now that her spiritual energy had recovered, she naturally wanted to do everything she could for them.
But before Ruan Xingyao could take any action, she suddenly heard the faint voices of the little creatures in her mind.
[So strange… Have we seen this person before? She smells nice… such a familiar scent.]
[I remember now! Isn’t she the fragrant one who came looking for Little Black Snake last time?]
[Oh, it’s her, huh? Hmph, she said she’d come visit us again, but she never did! What a liar!]
[Liar, liar, big liar!]
Listening to the little creatures all calling her a liar made Ruan Xingyao’s head ache.
She raised a hand to scratch her head and said helplessly, “I’m sorry, I’ve just been really busy and couldn’t come see you sooner. But from now on, I’ll visit often, okay? Let’s get along from now on, alright?”
[We don’t believe what liars say.]
[Yeah! Don’t believe! Don’t believe!]
[Last time you came to find Little Black Snake, so who are you here for this time?]
[Hmph, we’re all going to die anyway. Why even bother coming to see us?]
[But… she smells so nice. I like her. I still want to snuggle with her.]
Ruan Xingyao heard a weak little voice among them.
It was a sickly-looking little lion.
She was surprised—this little lion hadn’t been here last time, so Old Man Yu must have taken it in afterward.
She walked over and gently poked the lion’s head. “Thank you, little lion.”
Thank you for liking me.
The little lion nuzzled into Ruan Xingyao’s palm, sticky and affectionate, rubbing against her for comfort.
Ruan Xingyao released a surge of spiritual energy, channeling it to heal the small creatures.
The little lion closest to her received the most energy, its body relaxing as it slumped over with a soft, contented purr.
The injuries and ailments of these animals were far more severe than those of the dogs at the breeding facility.
Ruan Xingyao spent a long time carefully healing every single one of them.
[Eh? So strange… Why does my leg not hurt anymore?]
[My back doesn’t hurt either… it actually feels really nice.]
— The end of the Chapter–
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