158: Chapter 158 A Small Migration Leads to Great Merit

Xiao Chai walked at the front on four perfectly fine legs.

Ten minutes ago, it was still whimpering and holding up its front leg, almost forcing Jiang Rumu and Lu Cheng to carry it down the mountain.

Now, it was stepping over mud puddles and navigating around tree roots with excessive agility.

Li Li followed behind, retreating along the marks carved into the tree bark.

Lu Cheng supported Jiang Rumu, turning back to check behind them every two steps.

"Teacher Li, did we go past that turn just now?"

"No."

Li Li looked at the tree trunk.

"The seventeenth mark. The direction is correct."

Lu Cheng looked down at the path.

"You carved all these markers when you came up?"

"How else would I get out if I didn't carve them?"

Li Li looked at Xiao Chai in front.

"If we relied on it to lead the way, we'd end up circling all the way to Huizhou by tonight."

Xiao Chai turned back to howl, then continued to dart forward.

Jiang Rumu was wrapped in a fire blanket, her trekking pole tapping into the crevices of the stones, and she remained silent.

After walking for a few more minutes, the trees began to thin out.

The stone steps were revealed.

A shout came over the walkie-talkie.

"People spotted! Three people coming out of the north side of the woods, and a dog!"

Two Firefighters ran over from around the corner.

The leader glanced at Li Li, then looked toward Jiang Rumu and Lu Cheng.

"Teacher Li, is everyone here?"

"Everyone is here. Jiang Rumu, Lu Cheng, and a Husky."

The Firefighter looked down at Xiao Chai.

Xiao Chai stopped, lifted its right front leg, and started limping.

The Firefighter was stunned.

"Is the dog hurt?"

Li Li didn't turn back.

"It thinks it's hurt."

Xiao Chai put its front leg down, acted like nothing happened, and ran forward.

The Firefighter opened his mouth but didn't say anything in the end.

Having worked as a Firefighter for so many years, this was his first time seeing a dog pull a scam.

——

Walking down the stone steps, they encountered Firefighters carrying fire hoses uphill every so often.

Some had sweat dripping down their chins.

Some had legs that were already starting to shake.

No one stopped.

When Li Li passed by them, a Firefighter recognized him.

"Motorcycle Brother! Did you find them?"

"Found them."

"Awesome!"

"Don't be awesome, your hose is about to fall."

The Firefighter looked down and hurriedly hoisted the hose on his shoulder.

When they reached the two-kilometer mark, the end of the hose was right by the roadside.

Li Li paused and looked back at the mountaintop.

From here to the top of the mountain, there was still nearly two kilometers to go.

Vehicles couldn't go up.

Water couldn't go up.

They could only rely on people to carry them up one roll at a time.

At this speed, it would take a long time to get the hose to the top.

Jiang Rumu walked up beside him and also looked at the smoke above.

"The fire hasn't been extinguished yet."

"Yeah."

"Can it be extinguished?"

"Yes."

Li Li withdrew his gaze.

"It's just slow. The mountain is going to suffer."

Jiang Rumu nodded and didn't ask again.

The group continued downward.

After Lu Cheng recovered, her pace sped up a bit.

Xiao Chai ran ahead to clear the way, turning back every so often to confirm that everyone was still there before darting forward again.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the North Gate plaza.

Fire trucks were lined up in a row.

Two layers of cordon tape had been set up.

The perimeter was full of people, with a sea of raised mobile phones.

As soon as Li Li stepped out of the mountain path, Shen Jue's voice exploded.

"Sister!"

He rushed over from the edge of the plaza, his shoelaces undone, stepping on the heels of his shoes.

Running up to Jiang Rumu, he looked her over from head to toe.

"Sister, are you okay? Your hands? Your feet? Does the ash on your face hurt? Where's the dog?"

Jiang Rumu pressed down on his shoulder.

"I'm fine."

Shen Jue's whole body sagged with relief, almost sitting on the ground.

"When I couldn't get through on the phone, I almost went to hijack a motorcycle."

Jiang Rumu looked at him.

"Do you have a driver's license?"

"No."

"Then what are you hijacking?"

Shen Jue shut up.

Ji Shen handed over a bottle of water.

Jiang Shiyu took tissues out of his pocket and handed them to Lu Cheng without asking anything further.

Tao Qianzhi stood in the back holding a thermos, waiting until there were fewer people before stepping forward.

"Xiao Jiang, you're not hurt, are you?"

"No, thank you, Brother Tao."

Qi Wanyin came over from beside the fire truck.

She hadn't taken off her fireproof suit yet, and her hat was hanging on her arm.

She didn't call out to anyone, directly grabbing Jiang Rumu's wrist to examine it.

"Do you have any abrasions on your palms? Did your nails split? What about your knees?"

Jiang Rumu was taken aback for a moment.

"Sister Qi, I'm really fine."

After checking her elbows and knees, Qi Wanyin let her go.

"As long as you're fine."

She casually brushed the ash off Jiang Rumu's shoulder with a quick movement.

Jiang Rumu looked down at her cuffs and didn't say anything else.

Li Li took off the first aid kit.

Su Nianzhi walked over from the side, her fireproof suit sleeves rolled up three times.

"Li Li, are you okay? That cut on your left arm."

She reached out to touch it.

Li Li sidestepped, putting some distance between them.

"No need to look, it's a minor injury."

After saying that, he turned and walked toward Shen Jue.

His movements were quick.

Su Nianzhi's hand hung in mid-air, then she pulled it back.

The trekking pole in Jiang Rumu's hand tapped on the ground.

The sound was not loud.

Lu Cheng lowered her head to wipe her face, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, someone screamed on the perimeter of the plaza.

Immediately after, a middle-aged man shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Whose dog is this! Get the dog away! I'm calling the police!"

The crowd scattered.

Li Li looked over.

Xiao Qian.

The small grey-and-white figure was lying on a man in white, its two front paws pinning his arms down tightly, its mouth biting onto his pant leg and dragging him back.

The man was lying on the ground, his hat crooked, his left foot twisted, and he was still struggling.

Someone nearby wanted to step forward to pull the dog away.

"Hiss! Hah!"

A ball of fur darted out from the bushes.

The Leopard Cat arched its back, baring its teeth at the approaching person.

The crowd backed away again.

"What kind of cat is this?"

"Is it wild?"

"Don't touch it! It's trouble if you get scratched!"

Li Li ignored the Leopard Cat.

He stared at the man in white on the ground.

White short-sleeved shirt.

Hat.

Injured left foot.

The build was also correct.

This was the man in black from the mountain.

He had changed his clothes.

The man was pinned down by Xiao Qian, but his right hand was still fumbling into his pants pocket.

It wasn't struggling.

It was grabbing his phone.

The screen lit up.

His thumb began to swipe.

Li Li's voice sank.

"Don't let him delete the phone!"

This shout stunned the plaza.

Shen Jue was the closest, and he froze for half a beat.

The man in white's fingers were faster.

The chat history was disappearing as he scrolled down.

The distance was too great.

The crowd was blocking them.

Li Li couldn't rush over in time.

In the next second, a stone flew out from the side, passing over Xiao Qian's head.

Slap.

It hit the back of the phone squarely.

The phone flew out of the man in white's hand and tumbled twice on the ground.

Ji Shen shook his wrist.

"I haven't retired, my aim is still there."

Shen Jue finally reacted.

He rushed over in three steps and slid to his knees.

His knees hit the asphalt, tearing his pants.

He got the phone.

The screen was still lit, and the delete page hadn't closed.

Shen Jue held up the phone.

"Brother Li! Got it!"

The doors of two police cars opened simultaneously.

Four police officers ran over.

The leading young police officer pressed on his body camera.

"What's going on?"

Cheng Songyan also arrived from beside the command vehicle, his walkie-talkie still clutched in his hand.

The man in white was lying on the ground, lifting his neck, shouting until his voice cracked.

"Police! I want to report a crime! This dog bit people! And they snatched my phone!"

He struggled twice.

Xiao Qian pressed down with its paws, and he lay back down.

Li Li walked to him and squatted down.

"This person is the one who started the fire."

The man in white paused, then started shouting again:

"You're talking nonsense! On what grounds..."

Li Li interrupted him.

"On the mountain, you wore black clothes, carried a flat backpack, and had an injured left foot. I've seen you."

The man in white choked.

"You snatched a Firefighter's combat uniform, tried to blend in and get down the mountain, then later changed into a white short-sleeved shirt."

Li Li pointed to his pant leg.

"You can change clothes, but you can't change a foot injury. This injury was caused by my dog earlier; it's already scabbed over. And you can't change the smell of gasoline on you."

Cheng Songyan stepped forward, lowered his head to sniff, and quickly backed away.

"There's a smell of gasoline."

The young police officer signaled immediately.

Two police officers stepped forward, dragged the man in white out from under Xiao Qian's paws, and pinned his hands behind his back.

The third police officer took the phone from Shen Jue and put it into an evidence bag.

The man in white was hoisted up, still shouting:

"I didn't do anything! That dog attacked me! I want to get an injury examination!"

Jiang Rumu walked over and one sentence made him give up hope.

"The injury on your foot was caused by another one; everyone saw that he didn't come over just now. You can get an injury examination, the bite marks are different."

Xiao Qian finally let go.

It stood up and shook its fur.

The Leopard Cat leaped from the side and jumped onto Xiao Qian's head.

Its two front paws rested between Xiao Qian's ears, and its tail hung down and swayed.

Xiao Qian stood still.

Then, carrying the Leopard Cat, it walked back with its head held high.

The whole place was quiet for two seconds.

Immediately after, the sound of mobile phones taking pictures erupted.

Xiao Qian walked to Jiang Rumu's feet and sat down.

The Leopard Cat was still perched on its head, scanning the people around.

Xiao Chai stood five meters away, its tail slowly drooping.

It moved forward two steps.

The Leopard Cat bared its teeth at it.

Xiao Chai backed away.

Jiang Rumu bent down, petting Xiao Qian's head with one hand and gently touching the Leopard Cat's back with the other.

"Thank you."

Xiao Qian rubbed its head against her knee.

The Leopard Cat didn't dodge.

Li Li watched Xiao Qian.

A four-month-old female Husky.

Tracking, locating, subduing the suspect, protecting the evidence.

A complete package.

Xiao Chai lowered its head to sniff its own paws, very quiet.

Shen Jue, squatting nearby and rubbing his knee, couldn't help but speak up:

"Does this cat... count as an unofficial Firefighter?"

No one answered.

The walkie-talkie suddenly exploded with sound.

It wasn't a routine report.

Several Firefighters' shouts came through the channel in succession.

"The wind direction at the top of the mountain has changed!"

"The fire front has turned! Pushing north!"

"The direction of the firebreak is completely exposed!"

"Everyone evacuate!"

The sound behind was swallowed by static.

Li Li turned to look at the mountaintop.

The thick grey-black smoke was turning around, pressing down toward the North Gate direction.

The fire was rushing down.