Chapter 25: You Can Understand Cat Speech Too?

Jiang Yuan looked back and saw a man in his fifties or sixties, wearing a black jacket and a deep blue bucket hat.

The cow cat cried out, "I've been digging in the dirt here these past two days, and this human keeps chasing me away!"

Hearing this, Jiang Yuan's eyes flickered slightly.

She withdrew her gaze, leaned down to pull the cow cat into her arms, and left in silence.

The man kept staring at Jiang Yuan's retreating figure until she was out of sight before turning around.

He looked toward the spot where the cow cat had been digging. As his gaze landed on the half-exposed finger, his expression changed abruptly, a look of terror surfacing on his face.

As Jiang Yuan walked toward a crowded area of the park holding the cow cat, the system's voice rang out.

[System 009: New mission triggered: Help Xixi. Mission reward: Elephant Dictionary. Mission failure: Ten thousand needles piercing the heart.]

Jiang Yuan looked down at the kitten in her arms and asked softly, "What is your name?"

The cow cat answered obediently, "My name is Xixi."

"Did you see who buried your owner in the ground?"

"I saw, but I don't know who he is."

"Wasn't it that man just now?"

"No."

Jiang Yuan frowned. "Then what happened before he buried your owner?"

Xixi blinked its cat eyes, thinking hard. "That day, Master took me out and met that person. Master told him that once he got his bonus, he would buy a big house to live in."

"A bonus?" Jiang Yuan was puzzled. "What kind of bonus?"

Xixi: "Master bought a piece of paper outside and said he won a prize, that he could get a lot of bonus money."

Jiang Yuan: "A lottery ticket?"

Xixi: "Yes, yes, yes! That's what Master and the others were talking about—a lottery ticket!"

Jiang Yuan could already guess the gist of it.

Xixi's owner had won the lottery, and someone, driven by greed, had killed him.

Seeing that she wasn't speaking, Xixi added cautiously, "Miss, that human should be gone by now. Can we go dig in the dirt again? I'm afraid Master will get bored staying in the ground."

"You don't know, my Master is so afraid of being bored. He always makes me play with him."

"I haven't played with him for several days; he must be very bored!"

Jiang Yuan froze for a few seconds, then reached out to rub its head. "Silly Xixi."

Xixi tilted its small head in confusion. "Why are you calling me silly?"

"I'll tell you after I call the police." Jiang Yuan took out her phone to make a call.

She sat on a pavilion holding Xixi, not knowing how to tell it such a cruel truth.

Its owner would never be bored again.

Seeing that Jiang Yuan didn't seem anxious at all, Xixi felt a bit angry.

It jumped down from her arms, staring at her with round cat eyes. "Miss, are you unwilling to help save my Master?"

"No," Jiang Yuan explained gently. "The two of us cannot save your owner."

Xixi was puzzled. "Why? Can't we just dig Master out of the ground?"

Jiang Yuan sighed. "Xixi, even if we dig your owner out, he won't be able to stay with you anymore."

The tiny cat face was filled with confusion. "Why?"

Jiang Yuan looked up at the sky, her tone heavy. "He has already gone to heaven."

"Heaven..." Xixi murmured, its mood suddenly turning low. "Master is dead, isn't he?"

Jiang Yuan remained silent.

Suddenly, her phone rang.

She answered it; it was the police.

They had already arrived at the entrance of Blue Bay Park.

Jiang Yuan looked at Xixi. It held its head low, ears pressed back, looking quiet, lonely, and sorrowful.

"The police are here. They will rescue your owner from the ground."

After Jiang Yuan spoke, Xixi did not react.

She let out a breath and stood up to walk toward the park entrance.

Among the responding officers, Jiang Yuan spotted a familiar figure.

"Miss Jiang?" Si Heng was somewhat surprised. On second thought, he narrowed his eyes and asked, "Are you the one who reported it?"

Jiang Yuan nodded. "Yes."

*The third case,* Si Heng thought to himself.

Jiang Yuan followed the officers' lead, and as they walked, she spotted Xixi.

"You must be lying to me!" Xixi said aggrievedly. "Master definitely won't die!"

Since there were others around, it wasn't convenient for Jiang Yuan to talk to Xixi. She simply stopped, picked it up, and held it in her arms, stroking its back rhythmically to soothe it.

"Is this the cat you're raising?" Si Heng asked.

Jiang Yuan shook her head. "I just met it. It's the one that led me to discover the body."

Si Heng's eyebrow twitched imperceptibly.

The appearance of the police attracted much attention and many followers, including the man who had been chasing the cow cat away.

At the easternmost corner of the park, as soon as Si Heng's team arrived, they discovered the small section of a human finger protruding from the soil.

His expression turned solemn as he ordered his subordinates to record the scene and begin digging.

"That exposed finger was dug up by the cat," Jiang Yuan spoke softly, standing beside Si Heng.

Si Heng's gaze fell upon Xixi.

How could a cat know there was a person buried in the ground?

And how did it lead Jiang Yuan to find them?

"Boss!" An officer approached Si Heng. "The body has been excavated."

**

Jiang Yuan held Xixi and accompanied Si Heng's team to the police station to give a statement.

As she was leaving, Si Heng called out to her at the station entrance.

"Miss Jiang."

Jiang Yuan stopped and turned to look at the upright, righteous man. "Is there something else, Captain Si?"

"Is it a coincidence?" Si Heng walked toward her with long strides, his expression complicated.

Meeting his gaze, Jiang Yuan said indifferently, "What are you trying to say?"

Si Heng glanced at the cow cat in her arms. "Besides being able to understand dogs, can you also understand cats?"

Hearing this, Jiang Yuan's eyelashes trembled slightly; she suddenly didn't know how to answer.

He had actually guessed it?

No, that wasn't right.

That day, when she picked up Zhan Zhan and Momo, she ran into Si Heng buying fruit. Could it be that he also saw her later when she went to eat coconut chicken?

Jiang Yuan pursed her lips and asked, "Were you also at Haile City that day?"

Si Heng explained, "Someone posted a video online, and I happened to come across it."

Jiang Yuan: "..."

*How did I not come across it myself?*

"Miss Jiang, you haven't answered my question yet," Si Heng said gently. "I don't mean to pry into your privacy, but this is very important to us."

After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Yuan nodded slowly.

Si Heng gazed at her, his dark eyes shimmering like bright stars in the night.

The next day, Jiang Yuan was invited to the police station again.

This time, she wasn't taken to an interrogation room, but to the internal office of the criminal investigation team.

"Miss Jiang." Si Heng placed a steaming cup of coffee near her hand. "The weather is a bit cold; have something hot to warm up."

Jiang Yuan: "..."

She glanced at the steaming coffee before her gaze returned to the man. "Captain Si, please just get straight to the point."

A faint smile played on Si Heng's lips, and he stopped beating around the bush.

"The results of yesterday's investigation are out. The deceased is named Zou Yueming, 32 years old, parents deceased, unmarried, and lived alone with only a cat—which should be the cat you were holding yesterday."

(End of Chapter)