Chapter 37 It Just Doesn’t Make Sense (2/2)

He walked around the garden a bit, and then went back to where Sophie was. Not that he was still thinking of approaching her, but he returned because he had noticed that all of the stray cats and dogs had run towards her.

There were now some other people there other than Sophie. All of them were cradling large loaves of bread which they tore to strips and fed to the cats and dogs.

Li Du looked around, but didn’t see any bakeries nearby.

A voice suddenly rang out from behind him. ”Hey, mate. Do you want to buy some bread?”

Li Du jumped in shock. Turning around, he saw a young black man. Laughing in embarrassment, he asked, ”How did you get so close to me? I didn’t even notice.”

The young man also laughed, showing two rows of pearly white teeth. ”I’m a thief. I know the art of stealth. Alright, let’s not waste your time. This bread is fresh from the oven, and the cats and dogs like it. Twenty dollars. Do you want it?”

Li Du was shocked. ”This bread, for twenty dollars? It should cost only two dollars!”

Normal sourdough bread like this was very cheap. Such a large loaf would usually only cost two or three dollars, not 20.

The black young man smiled cunningly. ”But the chance to approach a beauty is worth at least 20 dollars, isn’t it? This is an honest price for a brother. Are you a tourist? This is the lowest price I’ll give to a tourist.”

Li Du understood what he was saying. The young man thought that he was after Sophie.

To him, 20 dollars was now a small sum. He passed it to the young man for the bread. Holding the loaf, he blended into the small crowd feeding the strays.

He truly hadn’t bought it to approach Sophie, but to get near the cats and dogs. He squatted on the ground, tearing the bread into strips and placing them in front of him. When any cats or dogs came close he would let the bug out and try to burrow it into their heads.

Following his instructions, the bug flew over, landed on their heads and did its best to burrow down but failed. The cats and dogs didn’t even realize that it was there.

He tried this with almost all of the cats and dogs. Ten minutes later, Li Du was so exhausted that he was huffing and puffing, but the bug was still flying in the air.

He was confused. Why is it that the bug could burrow into Ah Meow’s brain but not other animals’?

He stood up suddenly; as a result of squatting for a long time and exhaustion, he nearly blacked out, and swayed on his feet.

An old man with a ruddy complexion and eyes that crinkled up like the moon caught him before he could fall. The old man smilingly said, ”Young man, the pretty girl is gone.”

Only then did Li Du notice that most of the people had left and that Sophie was nowhere to be found.

He smiled bitterly. ”You misunderstand, sir. I admit that there was a very beautiful girl here, but I wasn’t here for her. I was here for these little fellows, I swear to God!”

The old man looked at him with interest, nodding. ”No need to swear. I believe you. Your gaze is frank and honest. It’s quite obvious that you’re not lying.”

After speaking with the old man a little, Li Du felt better and called a cab back.

When he got home there were some people out walking their dogs. He resumed doing his experiments, still to no avail. The bug couldn’t fly into the animals’ heads at all!

Having gained nothing except fatigue, Li Du had to force himself to stay awake until after lunch. Then, unable to resist any longer, he fell into a deep sleep in his bed with Ah Meow.

Ever since obtaining the bug he had been able to sleep soundly, almost undisturbed by dreams, and would wake up feeling fresh and rested.

The sky was bright when Li Du woke up and yelled happily, ”Hello to a beautiful day!”

The door opened with a bang and Hans popped his head in. ”Yo, you handsome pig! It’s half past eight. We have less than an hour until the auction!”