FGCT CH 23.1

Gou Fugui’s froze upon hearing the shocked exclamations from inside the train car—exclamations filled with curiosity, disbelief, and even a hint of schadenfreude.

The ticket inspector, after a brief moment of blank expression, instinctively tried to step into the train car to check what was happening. However, he was immediately grabbed by the beautyFugui.

“Ticket inspector, don’t go! You’re in the middle of checking my ticket. It’s windy and rainy outside, really cold—why not finish checking my ticket first?”

The ticket inspector hesitated for a moment. “But the husky—”

Gou Fugui cut him off directly. “What husky? How could a husky even be here? Just think about it—with its notorious intelligence level that only extends to wrecking homes and its complete lack of recall ability, how could it possibly overcome multiple obstacles, sneak past all the security checks, and accurately locate this exact train car before climbing in through a window?”

“Even if we take an extremely far-fetched scenario where a husky really did make it here, do you think it would actually manage to climb into the train successfully?”

The ticket inspector paused, recalling the huskies he had encountered before. His steps toward the train car faltered.

Seeing this, the beauty Fugui delivered the final blow: “And besides, isn’t it completely quiet inside now? There’s no sign of any commotion. If a husky had really gotten in, do you think it would be this silent?”

“Brother, just check my ticket already. Once you’re done and you’re inside the train, you can go ahead and check each compartment one by one, right?”

This finally convinced the ticket inspector. He listened carefully and, indeed, heard nothing unusual. At last, he resumed checking the ticket.

As he went through the motions, he reflected on all the unusual incidents he had encountered in his six years on the job. Passengers had attempted to smuggle in small hamsters and kittens before, but a husky? That was a first.

So, maybe he really had just misheard. There was no husky climbing onto the train.

……

But why did something still feel off?!

Thanks to Fugui’s quick distraction, the ticket inspector didn’t immediately enter the train car to investigate. By the time Gou Fugui finished the ticket check and stepped inside, the first thing he did was glance at the window Xie Tianlang had opened.

At this moment, there was no one by the window, and it was properly closed as if nothing had happened. There was no dumb yet handsome husky pawing at the glass and kicking its legs outside. Nor were there any other animals gathered outside to watch the commotion.

In fact, there weren’t even any traces of mud or rain around the window—it didn’t look like an entry point for an illegal stowaway at all.

Just as Gou Fugui walked up to the window, the door of compartment No. 5 swung open. Jin Mantang stood at the doorway, quickly waving at him. Looking past Jin Mantang’s body, Gou Fugui immediately spotted the pitifully sprawled-out husky lying on the floor.

Even though Fugui Beauty didn’t have the aggressive temperament of a badger, the sight of this foolish husky instantly spiked his blood pressure and rage levels.

With one step, he entered the compartment, ready to unleash a storm of finger-pointing and scolding. But the husky seemed to know it had caused trouble and dragged everyone down with it. While it didn’t have the alertness of a German Shepherd or the intelligence of a Labrador, it did have an instinct for groveling.

It wagged its tail so hard it spun like a windmill in an attempt to be endearing. At the same time, it covered its eyes with its paws and whimpered pitifully.

That textbook display of submission and appeasement completely threw off Fugui’s momentum. The scolding stuck in his throat, and after a long moment of frustration, he could only let out a single exasperated huff:

“Hmph!”

Apparently, even huskies had survival skills. It had made it this far not just by being dumb, but by knowing when to surrender.

Disgusted by the husky’s pathetic act, Fugui decided to spare his own nerves the headache and turned to Jin Mantang instead. “I heard someone shouting from outside. How did you guys handle it? Did a lot of people see this dumb dog?”

Jin Mantang let out a helpless laugh. “This dumb husky really got lucky. Only two people saw it—a young couple.”

“Captain Xie was the first to climb up. As soon as he opened the window, the cats and the two little squirrels scrambled inside. Then the two toy poodles got carried in by the German Shepherd, which was quick and smooth. The only trouble came from the three large dogs—Blackback, Little Lab, and the husky. But since Blackback and Little Lab are both trained, they jumped in easily on their first try.”

“That left just the husky… which, as expected, was completely useless. It failed three times in a row. When it finally managed to barely grab onto the edge of the window, Captain Xie was just about to pull it in—right when that speedy couple happened to look over.”

“The woman immediately gasped in shock. Luckily, San Chuan, Brother Qin, and I were right behind them. Brother Qin blocked the door for a moment, Captain Xie yanked the husky up and shoved it into the compartment, and by the time anyone else looked, there was nothing to see.”

“I was worried that couple might report us, so I followed them to their compartment and tried to play the ‘animal lovers understand each other’ card. Turns out, the lady actually likes small animals. They didn’t even ask for any hush money—just wanted to stop by and pet the husky along the way. Of course, I agreed.”

“Plus, their compartment—No. 6—is right next to ours. I’ll have Brother Qin and Brother Hu switch rooms with the two people across from them. That way, when the ticket inspector comes through, we’ll have an easier time dealing with it.”

“So I guess we turned a bad situation into a good one.”

After hearing the whole story, Gou Fugui finally felt relieved.

He had been worried about the ticket inspector checking each compartment later. While they could resort to either bribery or intimidation, neither method was guaranteed to work—and could even backfire. It was much better to simply avoid suspicion altogether.

Now, for the first time since boarding, Fugui Beauty truly relaxed. He settled into his seat, letting himself rest a little.

But the moment he sat down, his gaze met Xie Tianlang’s sharp, piercing eyes.

Instantly, his nerves tensed up again, and a guilty feeling crept over him.

Somehow, he felt an eerie prickling from his scalp all the way down his back.

But after a brief moment of guilt, Fugui Beauty immediately turned his head back and faced Xie Tianlang head-on.

Against a werewolf like Xie, the more guilty he acted, the easier it would be for Xie to catch onto something. This was the time to go all in—to be tough and stand his ground!

As long as he didn’t suddenly transform from a full-grown man into Honey Badger Fugui right in front of Xie, there was no way this guy could possibly guess that he could shapeshift—or that he wasn’t entirely human to begin with!

So, Fugui subtly lifted his chin, his gorgeous phoenix eyes locking onto Xie Tianlang’s without so much as a blink. Across the small table, the two men stared each other down.

A strange tension slowly filled the compartment.

The atmosphere grew so thick that Jin Mantang and Song Sanchuan started feeling uncomfortable—like their presence was becoming more and more unwelcome. As if, somehow, they were in the way.

They needed to do something. Anything. Right now.

Song Sanchuan cleared his throat. “Uh… so, how exactly are we going to move Blackback, the husky, and Little Lab over to the next compartment?”

The two squirrels could be stuffed into pockets. The four cats and even the two toy poodles could be hidden under blankets or inside bags. But three large dogs? There was no easy way to smuggle them.

“Oh, about that!” Jin Mantang chuckled. “I actually have two spare large sacks. We can use them to carry Blackback and Little Lab. As for the husky, we’ll just stuff it into Brother Fugui’s big suitcase and lift it through the window.”

“But after the ticket inspector leaves, we need to stall him a bit. We can’t let him go straight to Compartment No. 6—we need to buy Brother Qin and Brother Hu some time to bring the dogs back.”

Gou Fugui thought this plan made perfect sense.

The only issue? It required some serious upper body strength.

At least, under normal circumstances without any strength-type pet bloodline enhancements, it would be impossible for him to lift a husky with and pass it through the train window into the next compartment. But then he glanced at the werewolf across from him—his exposed forearm showcased smooth yet well-defined muscles, each one seemingly demonstrating its owner’s sheer strength.

Xie Tianlang, of course, noticed Gou Fugui’s gaze on his arm. The wolf didn’t particularly flaunt his strength but merely flashed a strikingly handsome smile. Then, he casually picked up the stainless steel train tray beside him and gave it a light squeeze—twisting one corner of the tray into a little spiral.

Gou FUgui：“……”

Right now, he really wanted to check his Cute Creature Handbook for any adorable yet freakishly strong animals to transform into.

Otherwise, he was starting to feel a chill run down his spine, as if he is about to lose something important.

Three minutes after Werewolf Xie’s silent display of strength, the train finally began to move slowly.