Chapter 39

Bloodstone 4, Love

Angler and Mofei walked side by side on the road. It had rained lightly earlier, leaving the ground somewhat wet. It was mealtime, so the street was crowded with pedestrians and vehicles. Angler, extremely unskilled at navigating, maintaining balance, and prone to bumping into lampposts, was closely watched by Mofei. Whenever Angler veered towards an obstacle, Mofei quickly pulled him away. Ace walked consistently by Angler's side, never crossing over to Mofei's, which intrigued Mofei. However, after some time, he realized Ace was escorting Angler. Huskies, being large and wolf-like in appearance, intimidated passersby who would avoid them, making Angler's walk much easier.

Seeing Mofei’s gaze fixed on Ace, Angler seemed to understand his thoughts and said, "You shouldn’t underestimate Ace's intelligence."

Mofei, taken aback, looked up at Angler.

"Indeed, dogs aren’t the most intelligent in the animal kingdom," Angler continued, "There are many species with higher intelligence than dogs, but none have the same depth of love for humans. Speaking of which," he paused, stroking his chin, "did you know, Mofei, that our country is where canids first appeared in the world?"

"Really?" Mofei was surprised, "How long ago?"

"Around thirty-five million years," Angler thought for a moment, then added, "But domestic dogs, as in those tamed and bred by humans, only started appearing around ten thousand years ago."

Mofei, slightly puzzled, asked, "So early in history? Dogs were domesticated in the Stone Age?"

"Yes," Anger nodded, appreciatively saying, "Mofei, you have much more common sense than Oss. Oss would never know that ten thousand years ago was the Stone Age. In his view, everything before the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties were monkeys, and only later did they turn into humans. His understanding of evolution is that monkeys suddenly transformed into humans."

Mofei couldn't help but laugh, finding it very much like Oss's style.

"Dinosaurs were extinct about sixty-five million years ago," Anger stated. "Humans appeared over five million years ago. Of course, there are records of human footprints found on 350 million-year-old trilobite fossils, which must have been left by aliens!"

Mofei wanted to laugh, but upon turning, he saw Anger looking at him intently, as if he would not continue unless Mofei showed agreement.

Mofei quickly nodded, saying, "Right, those footprints from that time must have been left by aliens. Life forms were not even fully developed then, let alone humans."

"Yes," Anger nodded in satisfaction, continuing, "Canids have existed much longer than us, and I believe they once stood at the top of the food chain... Of course, apart from humans, they still are at the top now."

Mofei nodded, unsure what else to do.

"Domestic dogs evolved from ancient wild canids, commonly known as wolves," Anger reflected. "I’ve always believed there must be a very touching story between the first person to domesticate a dog and the first wolf that became a dog. Such deep emotions must have been embedded in that wolf’s memory, passed down through generations."

Mofei chuckled, asking, "Anger, do you really like dogs that much?"

Anger glanced at Mofei, shaking his head, "It's okay. I'm just stating facts. Otherwise, why do dogs remain loyally devoted to humans despite being mistreated? But speaking of evolution, humans indeed transformed rapidly, evolving from primates who just learned to use fire to modern humans who foolishly scorn all other creatures and even each other."

"That's a rather profound topic, not suitable for discussion while digesting," shrugged Mofei, hailing a cab on the roadside. Turning to Anger, he said, "We should get going, or it'll be dark soon."

"Yes," Anger nodded, telling Ace, "We're taking a ride, Ace."

The taxi stopped, and the driver hesitated upon seeing Ace. Anger assured him, "Let Ace in, I'll pay double the fare."

The driver, seeing the advantage, casually asked, "It won’t have an accident in the car, right?"

Anger chuckled, "Young children have less control over their bowel and bladder than dogs. Would you dare ask that to a parent with a child?"

The driver was left speechless. Mofei opened the car door, Angler gestured to Ace, who jumped into the car, and Angler sat down, letting Ace rest on his lap.

Mofei took the front seat, instructing the driver to head to the sanatorium.

After driving for a while, the driver curiously asked, "After you go to the sanatorium, are you coming back?"

Mofei glanced back at Anger, who was gently stroking Ace’s neck fur, and said, "Hmm, we'll probably stay overnight at Grandma's."

"If you can stay overnight, better do it at the sanatorium," suggested the driver. "That highway isn't very safe."

"Not very peaceful?" Angler asked curiously, "Are there bandits?"

"Ah, no," the driver replied, "that road is quite well-lit and busy with traffic, but recently, there have been several murders."

"Homicides? I haven't heard of them," Anger mused.

The driver explained, "They weren't criminal cases. They involved pedestrians taking evening walks and being hit by cars."

Mofei was surprised and asked, "That street is wide with sidewalks. How could pedestrians be killed by cars?"

"There have been ongoing investigations about it," the driver said mysteriously. "Apparently, the same vehicle was involved in several incidents."

"Was it done deliberately?" Anger frowned. "That sounds like a criminal case."

"The thing is," the driver continued, pausing briefly, "a few witnesses said it was an old Dongfeng truck, and some even noted the license plate number. The traffic police investigated... I heard this from a friend at the taxi company who knows someone in the traffic police. The license plate belongs to a Dongfeng truck with a history. Ten years ago, it hit someone and fell into the river. The driver died, and the truck was never retrieved from the deep waters."

Anger and Mofei exchanged glances, both thinking of the term 'ghost car.'

"Are you talking about a ghost car?" Mofei asked.

"Oh no..." the driver quickly shook his head, cautioning, "Better not talk about such things. Who knows? But it's still early now. The accidents usually happened around nine or ten at night. If it gets late, don't come back. The sanatorium should have a place for you to stay. Better safe than sorry."

Mofei nodded in agreement but noticed Anger seemed intrigued, thoughtfully stroking his chin. Mofei felt a bead of sweat on his forehead, knowing Anger might want to deliberately walk back around nine or ten just to see the ghost car.

After a nearly half-hour drive, they arrived at the sanatorium. It was almost dark, with streetlights lit and the sanatorium bustling with elderly residents chatting and enjoying post-dinner activities.

The gatekeeper at the reception smiled and opened the door for Anger and Mofei. Ace followed, curiously exploring this unfamiliar and lively place.

"Anger."

From nearby, a familiar, kind, and gentle voice called out. Mofei and Anger looked towards the sound and saw Anger's grandmother, Emma, sitting on a white bench, waving at them.

Anger and Mofei quickly walked over to her.

"Emma, what are you doing?" Anger sat next to his grandmother and noticed she had a bunch of yarn in her hands, seemingly engaged in some sort of knitting craft.

"I've been learning some knitting techniques recently, so I wanted to knit a scarf," Emma replied with a smile, lifting her head to greet Mofei, "Mofei, how have you been?"

"Hello, Emma," Mofei greeted her politely.

"Anger, you look well," Emma gently touched Anger's cheek, observing, "I can see you're happy."

Anger smiled, and at that moment, Ace approached and looked up at Emma.

Emma was both surprised and delighted, "Who's this? A new member of your family?"

"This is Ace," Anger introduced, patting Ace's head, and asked Emma, "Doesn’t he resemble Mofei?"

Mofei felt a bit helpless, but to his surprise, Emma earnestly nodded, saying, "He does, indeed!"

Mofei, sensing he and Anger shared a similar thought process, didn't argue further. He set down the cake box he was carrying, asking Emma, "We brought you a strawberry cake. Would you like some?"

"I love strawberry cake. Did you make it?" Emma inquired.

"Yes," Mofei nodded, opened the packaging, cut a slice for Emma, and distributed the rest to the other elderly ladies nearby. As a young and handsome man, Mofei immediately became the center of attention among the lively grandmothers, blushing but not minding the affectionate banter.

Seizing a moment while Mofei was distracted, Emma quietly asked Anger, "Are you enjoying living with Mofei?"

After a moment's thought, Anger nodded, saying, "Overall, it’s been quite pleasant lately. I’ve solved some cases, and... well, there’s one case that was particularly poignant."

"Poignant?" Emma's face showed surprise as she exclaimed, "Anger, I've never heard you use words like 'sad' or 'poignant,' especially when it comes to cases. I always thought you lacked empathy."

Anger frowned slightly, asking, "Do I?"

Emma nodded, "Certainly. Adopting pets, showing off a strawberry cake with some pride, feeling sorrow for others' misfortunes – these are things I've never seen in you before."

Feeling somewhat puzzled, Anger thought for a moment and asked, "What was I like before?"

Emma looked at Anger for a long time and smiled, "Mofei really is an extraordinary person."

Anger, confused, looked at Emma, asking, "Is this a change of topic?"

"Hmm..." Emma touched Angler's cheek and said, "Angler, there's a magical power in this world that can make people sentimental, immersed in it, constantly changing, even to the point of forgetting their former selves."

"What power?" Anger asked, perplexed.

Emma smiled mysteriously, remaining silent.

Anger was about to ask further when Mofei approached, asking, "Are you thirsty? Shall I pour some tea?"

"I'll go," Emma said with a smile as she stood up. Angler held her hand, saying, "You haven’t given me your answer yet."

Emma pointed towards Mo Fei and said, “Mo Fei should know the answer.” Finishing her words, she went to pour tea with another elderly lady.

“What answer?” Mo Fei, sitting next to Anger, stroked the neck fur of the approaching cat, Ais, and heard Anger say, “Emma posed a difficult question, saying you know the answer.”

“What question?” Mo Fei asked casually, “Let’s hear it.”

“Well,” Anger began, “Emma said that there is a magical power in this world that can make people sentimental, lost in it, constantly changing, even forgetting what their former selves were like.” He looked at Mo Fei, “What power is that?”

Mo Fei paused, then chuckled, continuing to scratch Ais’s itch, who purred contentedly.

“Do you know it?” Anger, seeing Mo Fei's smile, realized he indeed knew the answer.

Mo Fei lifted his head, turned to Anger, and after a moment's gaze, asked, “Why would Emma ask you such a question?”

After pondering, Anger said, “Tell me the answer first.”

Mo Fei, looking directly into Anger's eyes, slowly replied, “I think it’s love.”

Anger blinked, stroking his chin, deep in thought. As he looked down, Mo Fei raised his eyes, smiling softly at him.

Emma, walking over with a teacup from afar, was captivated by Mo Fei's gaze. A chuckle from another elderly lady beside her broke the silence, “Emma, that young one, truly heartwarming.”

“There are three youngsters, which one are you referring to?” Emma playfully inquired.

“Alright, the one with four legs and dark circles around its eyes.”

“Haha…” Both elderly ladies suddenly burst into laughter.

Caught off-guard, Anger was interrupted by the laughter. He looked up, catching Mo Fei's lingering gaze, and both were momentarily startled.

“Tea.” Emma handed the cups to Mo Fei and Anger.

“Uh, I'll take Ais for a run on the grass.” Mo Fei, a bit flustered, stood up with his cup, called Ais, and the eager cat quickly followed.

Anger, lost in thought, watched Mo Fei walk towards the nearby lawn, then picked up a frisbee to play with Ais.

“Does Mo Fei know the answer?” Emma asked Anger with a smile.

Anger took a sip from his teacup, slowly turned his head towards Emma, and whispered, “Emma, you're quite mischievous.”