Chapter 50: Me, Little Rat—About to Move into a Big Villa!
A sixteen-year-old girl—still in the very bloom of her youth—had been pregnant.
Hong Xingwang regretted again that they’d found the remains too late. If they’d discovered them earlier, they might have been able to test whether the father was that homeroom teacher.
But the forensic finding also handed them a motive on a silver platter. The victim’s parents had mentioned the teacher already had a family, and the investigation confirmed it: a “happy family of four,” living a picture-perfect life. If the scandal broke—teacher grooming a student into a sexual relationship and getting her pregnant—he wouldn’t just lose his job. His marriage would be finished too.
“Maybe that’s why he did it,” Hong Xingwang said. He looked like he hadn’t slept all night—dark circles under his eyes, bloodshot whites.
The news that a body had been found at the school spread fast. In Gao City, almost no one didn’t know about it.
But online, people still didn’t know the victim’s identity—let alone that the police were already suspecting her homeroom teacher.
Hong Xingwang hadn’t slept because, after the earlier serial case, Gao City residents had developed deep doubts about the police’s investigative ability. Once this case broke, the higher-ups gave the major crimes unit a hard order:
“Solve it within a week. I don’t care who you call in, and I don’t care what methods you use. But one week from now, I want to see an official police notice.”
It was also Hong Xingwang’s last chance.
If he failed, someone else would be sitting in that major-crimes-chief chair.
If this had been the old days, Hong Xingwang would’ve been panicking. But now, looking at the young man beside him, he suddenly felt he really should’ve slept yesterday.
With Lin Jiangye here, how much effort had they saved?
From finding the skeleton to locking onto a suspect—it took them just one day.
One day! Just one day!
And on day two, they found the victim’s skull. Without Lin Jiangye, they would never have thought to check that long-abandoned, practically sealed-off drainage system.
After the police collected and packed up all the bones, Lin Jiangye was standing in front of two rats.
When Tibetan Mastiff mentioned “rats living in the sewer,” Lin Jiangye had automatically pictured filthy brown sewer rats. But when he looked closely… yes, it was a brown rat—yet it was a fancy rat. A Russian blue fancy rat.
And the key point?
It was actually pretty clean.
[Human! You’re the one who said Lord Rat was dirty, right?! Where am I dirty?!]
This fancy rat was nearly half the size of a kitten, hands on hips, puffed up in indignation as it glared at Lin Jiangye.
Lin Jiangye froze for a second, then immediately corrected his attitude. “My bad.”
Fancy rats were still technically brown rats, but they liked cleanliness. Even living in a sewer, they didn’t look dirty at all—and didn’t even smell.
[Of course I’m clean! This sewer’s abandoned! Aside from that corpse, there’s basically no trash down there! Anything dirty got chased off by Lord Rat!]
It lifted its head proudly.
Lin Jiangye’s finger twitched. He really wanted to poke that round belly.
He forced himself to look at the other one instead—and when he saw the golden hamster hiding behind the fancy rat, he was genuinely startled.
Russian blue fancy rat. Golden Syrian hamster.
Both were pet rodents.
“How are you living down there?” Lin Jiangye frowned. “Were you dumped?”
[Annoying humans! Humans are so annoying! I don’t want to live with humans anymore—what’s wrong with that?!]
The fancy rat’s temper flared up. It spun around like it was going to storm off.
But the moment it turned, it saw two cats, one dog, and two big crows—sixteen long legs total—standing in a perfect wall in front of it.
A tall, unbroken barricade.
Blocking every path.
Damn it. Long legs think they’re so great?!
The fancy rat sucked in a breath, ready to curse—only for Lin Jiangye to stuff a small piece of biscuit straight into its mouth.
Instinctively, it bit down.
And in the next second, its little bead eyes lit up like it had discovered religion.
So fragrant. And totally different from the biscuits humans used to give—no salty taste. Just good.
The golden hamster behind it was timid, but the moment it saw the fancy rat chomping, it got greedy too, squeaking that it wanted some.
Then the hamster got hypnotized by the handmade biscuit as well.
Oh my rat heaven… how could a biscuit be this good?!
Watching the two little ones eat so blissfully, even Opal, Bixi, Tibetan Mastiff, and Caucasian Shepherd ended up watching until they got hungry.
In the end, all the “kids” squatted together, munching the snacks their human handed out—De Mu even got a piece of freeze-dried meat shoved into its mouth.
[What are you trying to do?!]
There’s an old saying: eat someone’s food and your mouth goes soft; take someone’s gift and your hand goes short.
It applied to spiritually bright little beasts too.
The fancy rat still kept its tone tough, but at least it stopped looking like it wanted to explode.
“I’ll trade you food for information,” Lin Jiangye said, and produced several more packs of those biscuits.
Neither rodent could resist, but the fancy rat still forced itself to hold the line, chin lifted.
[Lord Rat doesn’t know much! If I don’t have what you want, you can’t blame me!]
Bixi’s eyes went huge. Did that little mouse just call itself “Lord Rat”?
Before Bixi could react, Lin Jiangye pinched its beak and pulled it into his arms—he could tell what that tail-lift meant.
Lin Jiangye handed the fancy rat another biscuit. Once it looked satisfied, he asked:
“Do you know any animals that have lived in that sewer for more than five years? I want to learn more about the skull. If you can bring them to me, all these biscuits are yours. And if they can provide useful info, I’ll double the biscuits.”
The fancy rat stared at him suspiciously. Holding the fragrant biscuits tight to its chest, it thought for a moment, then left—taking the golden hamster with it.
Tibetan Mastiff looked worried and nudged Lin Jiangye’s hand.
[What if they don’t come back?]
“No worries.” Lin Jiangye smiled and rubbed Tibetan Mastiff’s head. The fluffy texture under his palm made him not want to let go.
Tibetan Mastiff and Caucasian Shepherd didn’t quite get it. The two kittens lifted their fuzzy triangular heads and looked at Lin Jiangye in confusion.
The sight was so cute that even passersby nearby practically fainted on the spot—and Lin Jiangye himself couldn’t resist. He picked up the two little ones and kissed them one by one.
[Kiss! Crow wants one too!]
Opal saw that three were already piled in Lin Jiangye’s arms and decided to squeeze in too.
Lin Jiangye accepted all comers—kissed each one once, then leaned down and gave De Mu a big kiss too.
De Mu tried to back away, but it was nowhere near fast enough. It got kissed against its will.
“Oh? Against your will? Believe it or not, I’ll tell your wife you’re disgusted with me!” Lin Jiangye grinned, delighted.
Who would’ve thought the cool, cold “tough guy” De Mu from back then was actually whipped?
De Mu had no choice but to flop on the ground and play dead.
The others, feeling the sun was nice and the ground was warm, piled up one on another and drifted into a cozy nap.
When the fancy rat and hamster came back, what they saw was a whole heap of fluffy bodies napping in utter comfort.
The hamster’s eyes filled with envy. Sure, escaping gave them freedom—but it also meant finding food themselves.
Luckily, this was a human school. If they snuck into the cafeteria, they could eat plenty. And the sewer was warm, so even in heavy snow they wouldn’t freeze to death.
But living here meant always being ready to be spotted and killed by humans. And sometimes food scraps had poison mixed in—if the fancy rat hadn’t been sharp, it would’ve died long ago.
If only there were a place where they wouldn’t be trapped in a tiny cage, could run around freely, and not risk starving…
Tibetan Mastiff and Caucasian Shepherd’s ears twitched. They woke first and looked toward the rodents.
When they saw what the rodents had brought, question marks practically started popping above the kittens’ heads.
Lin Jiangye slowly opened his eyes—and the moment he saw what was being carried over, he fell into a long silence.
Wait. You two rats… you can just haul your natural enemy over like it’s merchandise?
Aren’t snakes supposed to be hibernating this season? Why was this one awake?
But then Lin Jiangye compared their size—the fancy rat versus a snake only as thick as a finger—and suddenly “natural enemy” didn’t feel all that terrifying.
When the three got close, Lin Jiangye recognized it: a hognose snake. Pure black-and-white, small all over.
It was still a bit dazed from being carried. When it met the gaze of a crowd of animals far bigger than itself, it flicked its tongue… then tilted its head and instantly played dead.
“Pff—” Lin Jiangye couldn’t hold it in. He covered his mouth and laughed.
The fancy rat was furious. It grabbed the snake’s thin body and shook it hard.
[No playing dead! Get up for Lord Rat!]
But the hognose snake committed to the bit—no matter how the rat shook it, it refused to move.
Even Tibetan Mastiff and Caucasian Shepherd, who’d been itching to mess with it, immediately lost interest and flopped back down.
Lin Jiangye, on the other hand, was having the time of his life. Before the fancy rat could explode, he reached out and lightly patted its head.
“Alright. Put it down. Leave it to me.”
The fancy rat clutched its head, glaring at him, but with the huge size difference it could only sulk and sit down, cheeks puffed.
[Rat… Rat wants to go back…]
The golden hamster squeaked quietly from behind it.
The fancy rat wanted to leave too—but it was waiting for the promised biscuits. Their stash back home was running low, and once the next snow came, they wouldn’t be able to come out for food. They’d have to hide below and keep warm.
And if their reserves weren’t enough…
They’d go hungry. Maybe even starve.
The fancy rat regretted it now—not for escaping, but for dragging the golden hamster out with it.
The hamster wasn’t suited for life outside. It yearned for freedom too, sure, but it would live far better in a human home.
The fancy rat glanced at the human who was reaching out to tease the hognose snake, and its small eyes suddenly lit up.
At that moment, Lin Jiangye was gently poking the “playing-dead” hognose snake with a fingertip. “Alright, stop pretending. I’ve got something I want to ask you. If you can answer me, I’ll trade you some food—deal?”
The long, skinny hognose snake immediately turned to look. Its winter food supply was running short too—if this human could help, it wouldn’t need to risk going out into the cold!
“But before that, I’ve got a question,” Lin Jiangye continued, still poking lightly. “Don’t you need to hibernate? Isn’t this temperature cold for you?”
The snake might be thin and long, but it was actually all chubby fat underneath.
The hognose snake flicked its tongue and hissed:
[N… not cold.]
Its voice sounded like a kid just about to enter adolescence—clear, a little slow, a little dopey. Weirdly adorable.
Oh no. He really liked that voice.
[It’s warm down there—totally not cold. And it’s clean! It just can’t find food, and it’s lazy, so it sleeps all the time!] the fancy rat immediately exposed its secrets.
The hognose snake froze for a long while, then replied slowly:
[Not lazy… not hungry. Don’t wanna move.]
Mm. Yup. Definitely lazy.
Smiling with crescent eyes, Lin Jiangye handed the snake a small piece of biscuit too. After watching it chomp away happily, he finally brought up the skull.
[Oh, that… snake knows.]
The hognose snake flicked its tongue in satisfaction. The biscuit was fragrant and delicious—the best little biscuit it had ever eaten—so it was more than willing to help.
The skull had indeed appeared five years ago. As for why it remembered so clearly… that was the day it had been abandoned by its owner.
Someone tossed the skull down into the drainage system. A few days later, the blood stench and rot smell got so strong the snake couldn’t stand it.
[Snake wanted to leave…]
But that was when it ran into a terrifying pack of rats.
The snake shrank—well, it didn’t have a neck, so it just curled into a tight ball.
That rat swarm was horrifying: a whole flood of them, pouring in. The snake was forced to stay near the skull, using the stink as camouflage to hide itself.
Later, poison was thrown into the drainage. Every rat that ate it died. The few survivors were chased off later when the fancy rat moved in.
And the snake—trapped beside the skull for years—only finally got out after that.
Lin Jiangye thought for a moment, then asked whether anything else had fallen down when the skull was thrown in—like a weapon.
There had been. And not just one.
[Something shiny fell… oh… and something heavy fell too.]
The police had only found the skull in the drain; nothing else.
According to the snake, it had hidden both items to keep the rat swarm from taking them.
“Can you give them to me?” Lin Jiangye asked. “I’ll grant you one request. How about that?”
Those two things weren’t useful to the snake anymore. Maybe they once were, but now they were just clutter.
The hognose snake’s eyes lit up. It lifted its head high:
[Snake doesn’t wanna starve… but… snake doesn’t wanna live in a tiny box.]
It spoke much faster this time.
At the same time, the golden hamster’s eyes lit up too. It wanted the same thing.
Lin Jiangye understood instantly: it wanted a free-roam life—no cage.
And for Lin Jiangye, that request was laughably easy.
“Then come home with me,” he said. “I’ve got an entire hill. You can sleep in a different spot every day. If you think it’s cold outside, sleep in my courtyard—there’s floor heating. Even the yard stays around five to ten degrees Celsius.”
“I’ll even build you a little nest so you can sleep comfortably. How about it?” Lin Jiangye poked the chubby snake again.
The hognose snake grew more and more excited. Its small head rested on Lin Jiangye’s hand, tail swishing like an overjoyed dog—except, you know, a dog-snake.
On the side, the fancy rat’s heart started itching too. It tugged the hamster and ran up to Lin Jiangye.
[Can you take it with you too??]
The hamster stared at the human with pure longing. A whole hill! That was exactly the life it dreamed of—freedom, and no hunger.
Lin Jiangye wasn’t surprised the hamster was tempted. He was more surprised the fancy rat itself didn’t want to come.
[Lord Rat can take care of himself! Don’t need humans!] it declared, proud as ever.
The hamster immediately started crying and tugging at the fancy rat, not wanting to be separated—but the fancy rat still refused.
Lin Jiangye didn’t force it. He only told it that if it ever needed help, it could come to Yue City.
“As long as you make it to Yue City and find any crow or stray dog, tell them you’re looking for Lin Jiangye. They’ll guide you to me.”
The crows and stray dogs all remembered him. As for stray cats… aside from Boss Sang Biao, probably not many did.
The fancy rat’s eyes went wide. It hadn’t expected the “backer” it found for its friend to be this powerful.
[So… are you the lord of that city?]
Lin Jiangye: “???”
Wait—no, no, no. You absolutely cannot say that. This is a socialist society. No “lords.” If someone misunderstood, he’d be finished.
Lin Jiangye pressed a finger to the fancy rat’s mouth. “Alright, enough questions. Snake-snake—take us to the two items.”
The hognose snake flicked its tongue and wriggled forward, leading Lin Jiangye back into the drain. In a spot stuffed with fallen leaves, it revealed its hidden “spoils.”
One was a ring—clearly engraved with the names of the victim and the homeroom teacher.
The metal necklace could still leave room for excuses, but this ring? It was enough to confirm an inappropriate relationship with a minor student.
The other item was heavier—much heavier.
An axe.
Lin Jiangye stared at the axe—nearly as long as the snake itself—and couldn’t help wondering how the snake had even managed to hide it.
The hognose snake, now coiled around Lin Jiangye’s wrist like a bracelet, explained calmly:
[Just cover it with stuff.]
The snake couldn’t drag it. The rat swarm had tried to move it once, but something happened halfway through. After that, the snake covered it with leaves so no other animals would take it.
With a gloved hand, Lin Jiangye lifted the axe and weighed it. It wasn’t that heavy—but more than enough to dismember a body.
The drain was dry, and the axe still held a wide smear of dried blood. Disgusting.
Lin Jiangye glanced at the handle. If they were lucky, maybe the police could still pull the killer’s fingerprints from it.
After handing all of it over to the police, Lin Jiangye said goodbye to the fancy rat and went home with the golden hamster and the hognose snake.
Skull found. Weapon found. Proof of the victim’s connection to the suspect found.
The rest was for the police.
Back home, the hamster got nervous seeing the cats and dogs, so Lin Jiangye placed it on the far side—diagonally opposite the pets.
As for the hognose snake, it didn’t care. Anywhere was fine.
So Lin Jiangye installed a small little house for it in the yard, hanging it up in a tree.
After settling the two new “kids,” Lin Jiangye waited for Gao City’s official police update—only to get a shocking piece of news:
The suspect had escaped.
Just as Lin Jiangye was baffled, Hong Xingwang called, asking him to help track someone down.
“What happened? How did he get away?” Lin Jiangye couldn’t understand.
On the other end, Hong Xingwang sounded furious, breathing hard.
“The fingerprints on the axe handle did match him. So we went straight to his school to bring him in. But the bastard was unbelievably alert—he realized something was wrong immediately, and he took a student hostage to force us to clear a path.”
They tried to chase him after he drove off, but he knew the area better. He slipped into side roads and vanished.
“We chased him all the way to a wildlife park—then he disappeared. Even the cameras didn’t catch him. Mr. Lin, I’m begging you—help us.”
Hong Xingwang sounded like he was about to cry.
What kind of mess was this?!
Lin Jiangye rubbed his forehead too—but the moment he heard “wildlife park,” his interest sparked.
Hiding anywhere else would’ve been smarter. Hiding in a wildlife park?
That was basically delivering merit points to him on a platter.
And it just so happened he’d recently bought land—he could swing by and see how other people even ran a wildlife park.
Perfect timing.
