Chapter 90: Yo—Where Are the Biological Parents? 🙁
[You’ve got another tiger’s smell on you.]
That one sentence froze Lin Jiangye on the spot—he’d just gotten home and was about to pounce over.
But the very next second, he flung himself at Tiger Mom with even more intensity, hugging her tightly.
“Mom, Mom, Mom! Let me tell you—this trip almost scared me to death, wuuuu!”
Jiang Xin and the others walking behind him were already used to it. But seeing Tianheng and Kaiyang shuffle in with their heads hanging low still felt a little strange.
What happened? Didn’t they say they got a Second-Class Merit over there? Why were they still so depressed?
Lin Jiangye clung to Tiger Mom like a nonstop chatterbox, babbling into her ear about everything he’d gone through in Western Qiang—from being pushed aside with Shang Fuyan, to secretly finding the cult temple’s hidden-chamber exits, to Shang Fuyan taking a bullet for him… and only then did he bring up the tiger smell he couldn’t wash off.
“Mom, you don’t even know—he was so filthy! The stink almost made it impossible for me to keep my eyes open!”
Back then, Tiger Mom’s cave in Taibai Mountain had a bit of smell too, but that was normal—wild animals, after all. Not having a smell would be weird.
But that Bengal tiger was different. Its odor was especially strong.
He’d only stayed in that den for a few minutes. Even after showering and coming back, the smell still clung to him!
Tiger Mom listened quietly to his rambling. After he finally finished, she asked about the cubs.
“The cubs? We got there in time. The vet said if they’d gone hungry one more day, all three would’ve starved to death.”
Before leaving, he’d specifically gone to see them—three cubs, bellies full of goat milk, lying warm and snug in their nest, sleeping with their little tummies puffed up.
“I took photos—super, insanely cute!” Lin Jiangye pulled out his phone and opened a whole string of pictures—three tiger cubs in all kinds of sleeping poses.
Seeing the skinny little cubs being fed, warmed, and cared for by humans, Tiger Mom’s eyes softened immediately.
Lin Jiangye continued whispering excitedly beside her.
“Tiger Mom, you have no idea—when the Western Qiang Forestry Bureau saw me bring in three wild Bengal tiger cubs, they almost cried and knelt down to me.”
He really wasn’t exaggerating. Once they heard the story, those people nearly wanted to hug Lin Jiangye and cry.
Three wild cubs!
If Lin Jiangye hadn’t come here—if he hadn’t happened to run into that Bengal tiger, and happened to earn its trust—those three cubs would likely have died.
And beyond the cubs, when they thought of the female Bengal tiger killed by poachers, they practically wanted to tear the poachers into pieces.
But…
“I heard them suspect there’s an internal problem. They said that female tiger had been tagged. They knew she was pregnant. They were even planning to get her some meat after she gave birth to help her recover. But later they never saw her at the original spot again, so they assumed she’d crossed into the neighboring country to give birth.”
Turns out, she’d run into poachers.
They grew suspicious because when they checked the monitoring camera, they found someone had adjusted its angle.
Meaning: the poachers knew a pregnant Bengal tiger was there, and they knew Forestry Bureau staff were monitoring her. When they acted, they deliberately turned the camera away so it wouldn’t capture them killing the tiger.
Then after it was done, they turned the camera back again—pretending nothing happened.
Everyone listening exchanged looks and said with certainty, “Then someone inside their Forestry Bureau must’ve tipped the poachers off.”
Otherwise, it couldn’t have been that perfectly timed.
Lin Jiangye silently agreed. He’d thought the same, but since he wasn’t close with the local Forestry Bureau, he hadn’t said it to their faces.
Still, there was no way he could say nothing at all. He reported it to the city bureau leadership—and also mentioned that he told the Bengal tiger to seek help from the local garrison if it ever ran into trouble.
“If the Forestry Bureau has issues, then just ask the garrison for help. At the very least, soldiers won’t sell wildlife locations for profit.”
Lin Jiangye clearly remembered the city bureau leaders’ mouths twitching hard—like they hadn’t expected him to offer that kind of advice to a Bengal tiger.
But ironically, that move avoided a bad option by sheer accident. It ended up being a good thing.
A mole inside the Forestry Bureau—and now the city public security knew too. Whether the Forestry Bureau wanted it or not, that mole was absolutely getting caught this time.
After saying all that, Lin Jiangye went right back to clinging to Tiger Mom and acting cute.
“Mom, Mom—look at those little tiger cubs! They’re so adorable!”
Like tiny kittens—just mew mew mew nonstop!
Tiger Mom slowly turned her head. Her big, knowing eyes locked onto him—then she suddenly swung a paw.
Lin Jiangye didn’t even have time to react. He went tumbling down the slope—rolling faster and faster.
“Mom—ah Mom Mom—ahhhh!” His voice faded as he rolled farther away. By the time Jiang Xin and the others snapped out of their shock and chased after him, Lin Jiangye was already sprawled at the bottom of the incline.
Jiang Xin stared at Tiger Mom in disbelief.
Tiger Mom showed not a shred of worry—only the joy of having punished a naughty cub.
Asking an elderly female tiger to “go have babies”—wasn’t that begging to be slapped?
Even as a joke, no.
Lin Jiangye finally crawled back up only to see Tiger Mom calmly licking her paws, washing her face. When she saw him, she let out a cold snort.
Lin Jiangye didn’t dare run his mouth again. Tiger Mom had only given him a light punishment—a gentle shove to make him roll a couple times and wake up.
If she truly got angry, that paw wouldn’t be a joke.
He whined and rubbed up against her again. This time, Tiger Mom didn’t strike.
—
While Lin Jiangye lazed at home resting, the Wen’an District sub-bureau was wailing pitifully on the other side.
Why?
Because Shang Fuyan was being transferred to the city bureau’s Criminal Investigation General Team—walking in with the Deputy Captain position.
But that wasn’t even the worst part.
The worst part was: Captain Shang didn’t just get promoted—he took Consultant Lin with him!!!
You—you going is one thing! Why take away their cheat code too?!
The Major Crimes Unit head felt like the sky was collapsing. Sure, he’d also been promoted to deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, but he didn’t feel happy at all.
“Wuuuu my Consultant Lin! Captain Shang, how could you take him away?!”
The one wailing just as hard—no, even harder—was Qi Gaoyang. He’d been promoted too, taking over Shang Fuyan’s old spot: Captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment.
But his crying was louder than Deputy Captain’s, because from Shang Fuyan’s direct squad, Shang Fuyan took Yan Zhou and Yan Keke with him too.
The sky really was falling.
Seeing their ghost-wailing performance, Shang Fuyan thought for a moment and decided to turn around and leave.
Grown men in their thirties—crying for what? If something truly needed Lin Jiangye’s help, would Lin Jiangye refuse?
Besides, Wen’an District wasn’t even far from downtown. It was like a thirty-minute drive.
Yan Zhou and Yan Keke were laughing themselves to death. They hadn’t expected they’d be promoted and get to report to the General Team too.
This was great—now they could stay with Consultant Lin again!
“Captain Shang, Captain Shang! Before we go to the city bureau, can we go eat at Consultant Lin’s place?”
Shang Fuyan paused and turned back, looking helplessly at Yan Keke.
“You want to go pet the cat, don’t you?”
Yan Keke grinned—then immediately got a solid knock on the head from Shang Fuyan.
“Take it easy. This time we’re entering the General Team largely thanks to Consultant Lin’s face.”
Under the normal promotion track, Shang Fuyan should’ve gone from detachment captain to deputy director of the sub-bureau, then transferred into the General Team’s Major Crimes Unit, and only after that rise to deputy captain of the General Team.
But Lin Jiangye’s merits were becoming impossible to suppress. Even if he wasn’t an official public employee, in the eyes of both Yue City and the capital, he was basically half a cop.
So really, how could they keep him in a tiny sub-bureau forever?
Yan Keke kept grinning. “Don’t sell yourself short, Captain Shang. With your merits, you should’ve gone to the city bureau ages ago.”
It was just that many people thought he was still young and wanted to keep him in the sub-bureau a bit longer to “temper” him.
This cult case hadn’t been made public, but within their circle, the ripples were huge.
Conservatively speaking, Captain Shang would at least receive Second-Class Merit this time. Combined with his accumulated achievements before, jumping multiple ranks was completely normal.
A few days later, when the wound on Shang Fuyan’s chest was mostly healed, a whole group of people came in force to Lin Jiangye’s home.
For convenience, they decided to barbecue at the Lin house—after all, Shang Fuyan had promised to grill meat for Lin Jiangye.
So when Lin Jiangye saw a group of people standing at his door, arms full of ingredients, grinning like idiots, he waved helplessly.
“Fine, fine—do whatever you want.”
Jiang Xin and the others immediately took the food, smiling, and started washing and cutting it. As for Lin Jiangye—the homeowner—and Shang Fuyan—the recently injured—both got kicked out into the courtyard to bask in the sun.
Shang Fuyan sat on Tiger Mom’s other side and suddenly hugged the Amur tiger’s big head, inhaling deeply.
Tiger Mom looked at him with helpless eyes—as if accusing him of learning Lin Jiangye’s bad habits.
Shang Fuyan smiled, rested his head against Tiger Mom’s back, and pointed at his chest.
“Hurts.”
Tiger Mom had no choice. A dignified “Mountain God,” an adult tiger over ten years old—she couldn’t exactly bicker with a “cub.”
Meanwhile Lin Jiangye was hugging her too, heh-heh-ing on the side. The sun warmed Tiger Mom’s body until it was toasty. She didn’t feel as soft as a cat, but that wide, solid back gave a deep sense of safety.
“Did Director Zhou tell you what your benefits and status will be like once you transfer to the city bureau?” Shang Fuyan glanced back, saw everyone busy in the kitchen, and lowered his voice to speak in private.
Lin Jiangye shook his head. Back then he’d agreed to stay at the sub-bureau mainly for the bonus money.
Wait—
“Don’t tell me if I go to the city bureau I won’t get bonuses anymore?” If so, he’d quit immediately!
Shang Fuyan pinched the bridge of his nose. “How could there be no bonuses? Of course there are. Besides bonuses, you’ll get fees each time you join an operation. And if you’re dispatched elsewhere, you’ll get travel allowances too.”
Lin Jiangye hadn’t had travel allowances originally because nobody expected other regions would start eyeing him. But now he’d been to multiple places—of course the money should be made up.
“After you enter the city bureau, you won’t need to sit there in the office. If there’s something, I’ll contact you. As for others inviting you—within the city, decide yourself. For outside the city, it has to go through my review before it reaches you.”
Besides money, the city bureau had also discussed Lin Jiangye’s safety for days.
First, firearms—he absolutely needed proper issuance. Lin Jiangye wasn’t some nobody anymore, and nobody could guarantee someone wouldn’t try to retaliate.
Sure, Bai Zhengwen watched over him—but what if?
Second, benefits. There would be no “five insurances and one fund,” but holiday gifts and subsidies would still be provided.
And lastly, the city bureau granted Lin Jiangye authority equivalent to Shang Fuyan’s position. Meaning: he could intervene in any case investigation within Yue City. Even if he was dispatched out of city, as long as he participated in a case, he had the right to know the truth.
Lin Jiangye thought for a moment and asked, “So you mean, if the cult case had only been discovered after we entered the city bureau, then when we went to Western Qiang, we would’ve been qualified to know everything—including their real plan?”
Shang Fuyan nodded. Once he entered the city bureau, his rank and position wouldn’t allow some operation team leader to fool him like that.
“That’s good. What Western Qiang did at the start really was irritating.”
Even if it was meant to fish out bribed officers, he and Shang Fuyan hadn’t done anything wrong—so why should they be treated like that?
Now it was different. Shang Fuyan had been promoted. In the future, the people he dealt with would be city bureau leaders or provincial officials. And along with him, Lin Jiangye would also be treated with proper respect.
Lin Jiangye was satisfied. He hugged Tiger Mom again and rubbed hard.
After everyone ate and drank their fill, Qi Gaoyang and the others shed a few more tears, earning Lin Jiangye’s sympathy. Without thinking, he promised they could contact him anytime they needed help later.
Since he was off-staff, Lin Jiangye didn’t need to report to the city bureau with Shang Fuyan. He kept staying at home, playing with cats and dogs, and also monitoring zoo construction progress.
Just like that, a month passed.
Then Lin Jiangye suddenly received a request from Gao City.
A kidnapping case had occurred there: the victim’s aunt had kidnapped her brother’s child, had an accomplice pose as the kidnapper to extort money, and planned to split the ransom fifty-fifty.
“And then? Isn’t it already obvious? Did the culprit run?” Lin Jiangye asked curiously.
But from the other end—Hong Xingwang—he heard an even more miserable piece of news.
“They’re gone. Not just the aunt—the child is gone too.”
They had caught the aunt’s accomplice and, from his mouth, learned where they were hiding.
Yet when the police broke in, what they found was a floor smeared with blood—and an empty, hollow room.
The aunt was missing. The child was missing. Whether the victim’s family called, or the accomplice called, the aunt’s phone never connected.
“What’s even stranger is that we can’t find any clue of the aunt leaving the apartment complex.” Meaning she definitely didn’t leave through any normal route.
After listening carefully, Lin Jiangye asked Hong Xingwang what they thought.
“We suspect people from the loan sharks she owed might have shown up.” Their investigation showed that the aunt kidnapped her nephew to use the ransom to pay off all her debts.
Her brother had already cut ties with her long ago, because she kept gambling, borrowing, and defaulting.
And since she’d lost all her assets, in order not to get beaten to death or sold off by the loan sharks, she set her sights on her little nephew.
“The victim’s parents had their child late in life and spoiled him like crazy—they were willing to pay one hundred million to get him back.” And now? The child was gone, and the criminal was gone too.
One hundred million… that family was seriously rich.
“What did Captain Shang say?”
Hong Xingwang gave a little hehe on the phone. “I haven’t told Captain Shang yet… but we know your appearance fee. The city bureau has approved it. Now it’s up to you.”
This case involved Gao City’s richest family. If they couldn’t solve it, the city bureau would be drowning in trouble afterward.
“I’ll take the case,” Lin Jiangye said. “But I need to tell Captain Shang first.”
Cheers erupted on the other end instantly.
When Lin Jiangye called Shang Fuyan and told him about the case, the man let out a cold snort.
“That guy…”
Having Lin Jiangye’s private number and daring to act first and report later… If Shang Fuyan could move around like before, he would’ve gone to Gao City and warned Hong Xingwang in person.
“I’ll talk to their city bureau,” Shang Fuyan said, sounding helpless. “You focus on finding the child first.”
Lin Jiangye, as usual, took Bai Zhengwen with him. Since they were searching for a person this time, he went to ask the German Shepherd if it wanted to help.
The German Shepherd originally didn’t feel like moving. But after getting kicked by the Border Collie beside it, it reluctantly nodded.
[Fine. Let’s go.]
Lin Jiangye stared at it with dead-fish eyes. Ever since the German Shepherd got a wife, it had been squatting at home and never going out. Diamond could at least say it was old and didn’t want to move. The Border Collie had a whole litter to care for. But what was the German Shepherd doing at home?!
“At your age, you should be out there making waves!” Lin Jiangye accused, heartbroken.
The German Shepherd was completely unmoved.
[Oh. But I already made my waves.]
It was a retired police dog! Did you hear the word “retired”?
“Retired dogs can be rehired! Besides, you’re not alone anymore—you’ve got a whole family to feed! Don’t you need to earn money to buy your wife new clothes, jewelry, bedding, and a doghouse?”
The German Shepherd, the Border Collie, and the pups all lived in a two-story doghouse villa. It looked spacious now, sure—but when the kids grew up, would there still be room for a family of five?
The German Shepherd gave him a strange look.
[When they’re grown, you kick them out. I’m not like you humans.]
Oh right… animals did chase grown cubs out.
Before Lin Jiangye could find another argument, the German Shepherd added:
[But you’re right. Border Collie needs a new outfit!]
And jewelry! A pretty wife should wear the prettiest jewelry!
Proud chest-out dog.jpg
Lin Jiangye kept his dead-fish eyes on it as it climbed into the car. After a long moment, he pressed a hand to his forehead and sucked in a sharp breath.
No matter how smart the German Shepherd was…
it was still a dog.
A real dog. Truly.
Besides the German Shepherd, Lin Jiangye brought Yuheng, Bixi, and Opal. Those four were experienced at finding people.
With the address Hong Xingwang provided, Bai Zhengwen quickly brought them to their destination.
They went straight to the apartment building where the suspect and the kidnapped child vanished. Because there was blood residue on the floor, Hong Xingwang strongly suspected something had happened to both of them, so he sealed the place as a crime scene.
When two people, two dogs, and two crows reached the floor, the elevator doors opened—and they immediately heard loud arguing outside.
Lin Jiangye stepped out and saw Hong Xingwang clutching his forehead, wearing a troubled expression, refusing the group in front of him who were trying to force their way in.
“Why won’t you let us in?! Maybe my child didn’t disappear at all—maybe Fang Mian hid him in there!” The speaker was a woman. From her voice she sounded older, though her careful upkeep made her look much younger than her real age.
But now, this pampered woman was acting like a lunatic—completely unreasonable.
The moment Hong Xingwang saw Lin Jiangye, his eyes lit up like a torch. “Consultant Lin! You’re finally here!”
That one line instantly pulled everyone’s attention. The noisy group followed his gaze and all locked onto Lin Jiangye.
They didn’t know who “Consultant Lin” was, but seeing a young man arrive with two dogs and two birds, their brows knitted tightly.
Was this an investigation, or a picnic? What kind of nonsense was this?!
Lin Jiangye keenly sensed the hostility in their eyes, but he didn’t bother with them. He asked Hong Xingwang what happened.
Why were they screaming at the crime scene entrance?
Hong Xingwang sighed and gave a bitter smile.
“They’re the victim Fang Dongling’s family. This is the father, Fang Song. The mother, Xing Shanyue. Their eldest son, Fang Hexuan. Their second daughter, Fang Tianwei. They suspect the culprit—the aunt, Fang Mian—hid the youngest child inside and want to go in and search.”
But this was a crime scene. Even family couldn’t barge in.
Lin Jiangye nodded. He said nothing—only patted Yuheng and the German Shepherd on the head and had them go in to search.
The officer guarding the door stared blankly at Hong Xingwang. Hong Xingwang immediately gestured for him to move aside.
The moment those two big dogs were allowed in, the family got even louder.
“Do you really want to find the victim?” Lin Jiangye suddenly asked.
But when he turned and faced the family up close, Xing Shanyue—who was about to speak—froze.
Not only her. Everyone in the Fang family, and even nearby officers, started looking back and forth between Lin Jiangye’s face and theirs.
Because Lin Jiangye looked way too similar to the Fang family.
Especially to their daughter Fang Tianwei—at a glance, they looked exactly like siblings.
Fang Tianwei frowned, then suddenly grabbed Xing Shanyue’s arm hard. “Mom!”
Xing Shanyue shuddered and snapped back, eyes filled with lingering fear and suspicion.
“I…”
“If you have any ability—or any evidence—to prove the youngest child is inside, show it. If not, can I assume you’re deliberately trying to destroy the crime scene?” Lin Jiangye continued calmly, as if he hadn’t noticed everyone’s suspicious looks.
“Bullshit! That’s my youngest son! How could I hurt him?!” Fang Song finally snapped back and shouted.
The young man in front of him let out a mocking laugh.
“That’s hard to say. Take me, for example—I’m an orphan. The orphanage director said I was found near a trash bin. That means my biological parents wanted me to freeze to death in the cold.”
He turned slightly, revealing a pair of icy eyes.
“So you see—not all parents love their children.”
After saying that, Lin Jiangye stared straight at Fang Song and Xing Shanyue.
The two of them turned deathly pale. Panic flashed in their eyes. And on Xing Shanyue’s face, there was even a faint trace of guilt.
So it really was them…
Lin Jiangye took a deep breath, turned sharply, and walked inside.
The moment he turned his back, he squeezed his eyes shut hard. It felt like heavy iron and lead had sunk into his chest, dragging his heart downward.
Their similar faces had sparked suspicion in him too—but his first thought hadn’t been “are they my parents?” He’d only assumed they were relatives.
But if they were only relatives, hearing those words wouldn’t make them look terrified.
Who would be terrified?
Parents who had personally thrown their child beside a trash bin in a snowstorm.
Even if they hadn’t done it with their own hands, they definitely knew. Either way, as biological parents, they were not innocent.
When he opened his eyes again, Lin Jiangye had regained his calm.
He wasn’t a child anymore—he’d long passed the stage of desperately craving family love.
Besides, he already had Tiger Mom—a mother he chose himself. Wasn’t that ten thousand times better than some “birth mother”?
[Dad…] The two crows on his shoulder and in his arms didn’t understand why his mood had suddenly crashed, but instinctively rubbed against him to comfort him.
“I’m fine…” Lin Jiangye spoke, only to realize his voice was hoarse.
He exhaled heavily, then forced himself forward. “I’m fine. Work first.”
That family didn’t know what kind of madness they were on, insisting so strongly that the child was hidden inside.
Lin Jiangye surveyed the apartment. It was a duplex, nearly two hundred square meters total.
According to police investigation, it belonged to a friend of Fang Mian.
On the way here, Lin Jiangye had already checked the floor plan. Every space matched the layout—there couldn’t be some hidden secret room.
Before long, Yuheng and the German Shepherd came back. Both shook their heads, indicating there were no hidden living people or bodies inside.
“How is it, Consultant Lin?” Hong Xingwang wiped sweat from his forehead. He’d finally managed to deal with those people.
But…
“No. No living person, no corpse. They had zero reaction,” Lin Jiangye said.
Yet when he lifted his head to look at Hong Xingwang, he found the Fang family’s eldest son and second daughter standing at the doorway, staring at him without blinking.
Hong Xingwang followed his gaze, turned, and sighed helplessly.
“They might come talk to you later. Do you need me to contact Captain Shang and have him come over?”
As Gao City police, Hong Xingwang couldn’t be too hard on the Fang family without evidence.
But Shang Fuyan was different.
Even ignoring the Shang family background in the capital, just his position as deputy captain of Yue City’s Criminal Investigation General Team meant he could offend the Fang family without it mattering.
Lin Jiangye saw through Hong Xingwang’s intent immediately. Still, the other man meant well—he was trying to protect him.
“No need. I’ll handle it myself. Besides, don’t I still have someone waiting behind me?”
Hong Xingwang suddenly remembered the man beside Lin Jiangye, and his heart settled at once.
“Go ask them why they’re so sure the child is hidden inside.” After sending Hong Xingwang away, Lin Jiangye went to the blood-splatter area.
The police found blood on the first-floor stairwell wall. Judging from the pattern, someone likely grabbed Fang Mian’s head and smashed it into the wall, then let her slide down.
And with the door lock being pried open, no wonder police suspected loan sharks.
But the question was: how did they find the friend’s apartment?
And loan sharks usually wanted money. They only used other methods when a debtor truly couldn’t pay. But if Fang Mian had already gone as far as kidnapping her nephew, then as long as they waited a bit, they could’ve gotten the money.
Why make a big scene and come in person?
Unless… they believed the ransom wouldn’t reach them.
Hong Xingwang came back, face full of confusion.
“They said they had a dream—dreamed the child was trapped in a cramped space, crying for Mom and Dad.”
Lin Jiangye felt the confusion in Hong Xingwang’s eyes infect his own. What kind of garbage reason was that?
A dream? And you want to barge into a sealed crime scene?
Was that not just an excuse to destroy evidence?
Hong Xingwang scratched his head, trying hard to give them an excuse.
“Just treat it like they were too traumatized and lost their minds.”
Finding out your sister kidnapped your youngest son was already shocking enough. Then you prepare the ransom, thinking you can buy him back—only to discover your sister and your child both vanished.
Worst of all, you don’t even know where to start looking.
A temporary mental breakdown in that situation was… understandable.
Lin Jiangye rubbed his brow and asked other questions.
“Did Fang Mian contact anyone else? You said there’s no clue of her leaving the building—no CCTV? What about the surrounding shops’ cameras?”
Hong Xingwang shrugged helplessly. Of course they’d checked. They just found nothing.
“She used a phone card registered under someone else’s identity. The building elevator CCTV was destroyed. The person was masked—can’t see the face. Cameras at nearby exits are intact, but we didn’t see any unfamiliar person entering or leaving.”
So they also suspected she’d escaped through some unofficial route.
But they’d asked the building management repeatedly and gotten no answer.
“Alright… I get it.” There wasn’t much else to see here. The key now was finding how they left.
Just as he was about to go, Lin Jiangye paused and asked Hong Xingwang for photos of Fang Mian and the kidnapped child Fang Dongling—video, if possible.
“You’ve already sealed all exits. Then let Gao City’s birds check whether they’ve seen them.”
Even if they disguised themselves, it didn’t matter—so long as the birds could recognize iris color.
Hong Xingwang nodded hard. This was exactly why he’d urgently called Lin Jiangye in.
The crime happened only one day ago. Those people might not have left Gao City yet. They could still use the city’s birds to find them.
If the suspects really left…
…yeah, then they were screwed. (:???)
Hong Xingwang clutched his head in misery. Ever since this case landed on his desk, his hair had been falling out like crazy.
This morning, his wife even thought he was going bald. QAQ
Lin Jiangye patted his shoulder, full of sympathy.
He was about to take the cubs downstairs to check other exits. The moment he stepped out, the two Fang family members guarding the door moved in immediately.
“Can we talk?”
But before they could approach, Bai Zhengwen and Gao City’s Major Crimes Unit members blocked them, eyes sharp and wary.
Bai Zhengwen was worried they might hurt Lin Jiangye.
As for the Major Crimes Unit?
Don’t get in the way of Consultant Lin solving the case, damn it. (???)
From the moment Lin Jiangye stepped out until he left, he didn’t give them a single glance. Even when they shouted behind him about doing a DNA test, he didn’t react at all.
When the elevator doors closed, Fang Hexuan and Fang Tianwei stared at each other in disbelief.
“He really doesn’t care at all?”
Did he truly not care—or was he pretending?
Either way, now that he’d left, they transferred their anger at being ignored onto the man blocking them.
“You dare stop me?!” Fang Hexuan snapped.
But when the man showed his credentials, the anger cut off instantly.
The moment they saw the words “Capital,” the siblings didn’t dare speak again.
Someone from the capital? Why in Gao City?
No—more importantly: why would a capital officer be guarding that young man? That made no sense!
Bai Zhengwen gave them a deep look, sneered, then turned to the Major Crimes Unit.
“Guard the crime scene. Don’t let unrelated people in.”
The other officers didn’t know who Bai Zhengwen was, but seeing even the Fang siblings get shut down meant this man had serious background.
If a “big shot” told them to do something, of course they’d obey. Heh.
Bai Zhengwen rushed to catch the next elevator. When he got downstairs, he saw Lin Jiangye standing at the apartment entrance, looking up at something.
He walked over and followed Lin Jiangye’s gaze—
and saw a pelican on a high-rise balcony, enjoying the view.
“You think… it was here yesterday?” Lin Jiangye compared angles. If that pelican had been there yesterday, it could’ve seen, through the glass, the exact spot matching the blood stain area.
Lin Jiangye didn’t wait for Bai Zhengwen’s answer. He had Bixi bring up a dried fish as a bribe.
Bixi carried a dried fish nearly half its body size and flew in circles to the pelican’s balcony.
The dried fish Lin Jiangye provided was simply sun-dried fish—no seasoning. To humans it smelled strongly fishy, but to a pelican, it was a unique delicacy.
[Fish! Little bird, where did your fish come from~]
Bixi fell silent for a moment. That flirtatious tone made crow uncomfortable—itchy feathers, even wanting to smack the pelican in the face with a wing.
But for Dad, the little raven endured.
It set down the fish and asked if the pelican wanted to make a deal with the human below.
[That human! If you’re willing to trade—one question, one dried fish! My dad has lots of dried fish!]
Seeing the raven puff its chest proudly and call the human “Dad,” the pelican snorted.
[Be careful—humans might throw you away!]
Bixi hated hearing that and immediately cawed in protest.
[No way! I’m Dad’s child!]
[Not biological.]
Humans don’t even necessarily treat their biological children well—let alone non-human “children.” Calling it a child was just sweet talk.
But the raven in front of it said something that shocked the pelican.
[So what if I’m not biological! Dad’s mom is an Amur tiger! The Mountain God treats Dad super well and super gently!]
And she was exceptionally gentle with a little crow like it too! It could dance on the tiger’s head! It could even pat the tiger’s butt!
The pelican was stunned—eyes practically popping out.
It had heard humans call pets “son,” “daughter,” “baby,” sure…
But it had never heard of a human recognizing an animal as their mother.
And an Amur tiger, at that!
A pelican that had seen the world knew what tigers were. One roar, and its feathers would explode. How did that human overcome his fear?
No.
It needed to go see this magical human for itself.
If a human could acknowledge a tiger as his mom… could it acknowledge a golden eagle as its dad?
