"Woof woof!"
The dog, Dao Ye, nodded sternly in response to its master's question.
In the area of Jinbao Town, farmers never killed their draft cattle, nor would they sell them to cattle dealers.
Even if a draft ox grew old and died, they would choose a good spot to bury it properly.
In Zhuxi Village, if an ox died, the village elder, Luo, would lead a grand funeral, performing the kowtow three times before the ox's grave and reciting the "Ode to the Ox" thrice.
Thus, two sayings circulated around Zhuxi Village: "Better to starve than sell your guard dog, better to starve than kill your draft ox."
Draft cattle held a very high status in the hearts of the villagers.
Most people didn't know that draft cattle and farmed cattle for meat had different scents, even their blood smelled different.
This distinction was undetectable to ordinary people, but Tao Qibao was an expert in this regard; it could identify the difference by its sense of smell.
As it passed by this private room, it was suddenly attracted by a wisp of draft ox blood smell.
Tao Qibao immediately realized that a group of draft ox thieves had gathered in this room, which was why it had barged through the door...
After listening to Tao Qibao's "words," Cheng Xiaofan frowned slightly.
This wasn't considered evidence!
The problem was that it wouldn't convince everyone!
It would be best to produce irrefutable proof, something that could instantly send those cattle thieves to their doom!
"Woof woof!"
The dog, Dao Ye, couldn't help but sigh at how tiring it was to deal with humans.
Irrefutable proof? Of course, I have it!
According to my calculations, there's an underground slaughterhouse not far from the outskirts of town.
If I lead you there and we find that hidden underground slaughterhouse, won't we find the ironclad evidence to convict them?
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xiaofan had to marvel at the dog's olfactory abilities.
It had managed to detect an underground slaughterhouse on the outskirts of town based on the blood smell emanating from these people. This dog was truly defying the heavens!
"Dao Suo, there's a slaughterhouse for cattle thieves near the outskirts of town. If we find that slaughterhouse, everything will be clear!"
Cheng Xiaofan said.
Dao Dahai immediately instructed the nearby police officers, "Take these people with you and go to the outskirts of town to search for the underground slaughterhouse!"
"Why should you take us?"
"We're not cattle thieves!"
"Are you police officers really listening to a dog instead of a person?"
The few men immediately shouted and refused to leave the room.
"Shut up!"
Dao Dahai roared, "Anyone who dares not to go will be dealt with by Tao Qibao!"
Upon hearing the name Tao Qibao, the men shivered and immediately became much more compliant.
Several police officers escorted the men, following Tao Qibao downstairs.
The onlookers who had gathered to watch the commotion also followed.
They were all curious if this dog could really find the underground slaughterhouse.
Tao Qibao stumbled at every step, even tumbling down the stairs.
Cheng Xiaofan couldn't help but shake his head and complain to Hu Meihua, who was following him, "You're really something else. How could you let Tao Qibao drink so much?"
Hu Meihua replied, "Tao Qibao insisted on drinking. It threw a fit when we refused!"
This little rascal, it's quite bold to have learned to drink!
As they exited the hotel, Cheng Xiaofan couldn't bear to see Tao Qibao falling anymore. He pushed his motorcycle and yelled at it, "You mutt, get on!"
"Woof woof!"
The dog, Dao Ye, leaped onto the motorcycle but fell off again.
Dao Dahai, seeing this, burst into laughter. "This Tao Qibao really did drink quite a lot!"
As he said this, he couldn't help but worry whether the drunk dog could actually find the underground slaughterhouse.
In the past few days, the cattle theft case had given Dao Dahai a terrible headache.
If this dog could help him solve the case, he would even be willing to call it his ancestor.
"This mutt, it's the first time I've seen it drink!" Cheng Xiaofan replied to Dao Dahai with a wry smile, lifting it onto the motorcycle.
As they reached the outskirts of town, Tao Qibao would occasionally extend a front paw, pointing the way.
Before long, they arrived in front of a derelict factory.
Earlier that year, this abandoned factory had been leased by some locals to be used specifically for collecting scrap materials.
At this moment, several workers were sorting scrap metal at the entrance of the scrap yard. When they saw a group of police officers escorting a few people over, their eyes widened in shock.
"Boss, what's wrong?"
One of the workers asked the group in astonishment.
Dao Dahai chuckled upon hearing this and said to the men, "So you're the owners of this scrap metal collection station!"
"Interesting. I didn't expect Tao Qibao to lead us here!"
"Looks like there's something to this!"
At this moment, Dao Dahai's confidence soared.
"Woof woof!"
Tao Qibao jumped off the motorcycle and led the group through the gate, heading straight inside.
They passed through a door into a large courtyard filled with various scrap materials.
Tao Qibao, wagging its tail, entered a vacant building next to it.
Inside the vacant building, there was a metal plate on the ground with an iron ring.
Tao Qibao grabbed the iron ring and moved the metal plate aside, revealing a hole.
Immediately, a strong smell of blood rushed out from the hole.
"All of you, get down there!"
Dao Dahai yelled at the men.
At this point, he was certain that these men were indeed cattle thieves, and his voice became particularly loud.
The group descended the stone steps along the hole.
In the underground room, several cutting boards were laid out, with a whole ox that hadn't been dismembered yet spread on one of them.
In several basins, various beef offal was piled up.
Dao Dahai's face was grim. He gave the men a cold laugh and said, "Now, do you have anything to say? Speak up and tell me!"
"What, are you all mute now?"
"Can we confirm your identity as cattle thieves now?"
At this moment, the men were going crazy!
Their hidden underground cattle slaughterhouse had been discovered by a dog!
What kind of dog was this?
They even suspected if this dog had been following them all along.
Otherwise, how could it have found its way here?
The onlookers who had followed to watch the excitement looked at the scene before them with a sense of unreality!
"This is simply a divine dog!"
"I dare say even Erlang Shen's Howling Celestial Dog couldn't compare to this Tao Qibao!"
"Why is it called Tao Qibao? It should be renamed, 'Tianni Quan'!"
"Yes, Tianni Quan sounds much better than Tao Qibao!"
"Tianni Quan, I love you so much!"
Hu Meihong's female classmates all wanted to take photos with Tao Qibao.
Tao Qibao had a black line on its face. Weren't we already playing this photo-taking game several times at the hotel while drinking?
Being a famous dog is really not easy!
"Xiaofan, thank you so much for catching these cattle thieves this time!" Dao Dahai said to Cheng Xiaofan gratefully.
Cheng Xiaofan pouted and replied, "This has nothing to do with me. If you want to thank someone, thank Tao Qibao!"
"Woof woof!"
Tao Qibao barked a few times at Dao Dahai.
If you want to thank me, give me something substantial!
Like a few bottles of wine, plus a plate of steamed young chicken!
Ding!
As they emerged from the basement, Cheng Xiaofan's phone rang.
He took out his phone and saw that it was an unfamiliar number.
He pressed the answer button, and a strange voice came from the other end.
"May I ask if you are Cheng Xiaofan?"
Cheng Xiaofan replied, "Yes, I am Cheng Xiaofan."
"Who are you?"
The other party chuckled and said, "You don't need to ask who I am. I'm calling just to confirm your identity!"
*Snap!*
The other party hung up the phone.