The two police officers were not able to stay out of the mess. A fight broke out and they had to step in.

A passerby mumbled, “He only tortured cats. What’s the big deal?” This immediately earned him the fury of everyone there. He would have been beaten if the two police officers didn’t step in on time.

Journalists were busy taking pictures. They had gathered enough material today even without getting a quote from the man.

An old man shook his head. “What an idiot. He doesn’t even know when to say what. Some words he needs to keep to himself. He doesn’t even realize he was surrounded by cat lovers.” The old man saw Er Mao near him and quickly left.

The crowd was still there at noon. Zheng Tan decided to leave for lunch then come back in the afternoon.

Zheng Tan analyzed the situation when he got home. He guessed that Er Mao had found out the password of the computer through his cameras. He went back to copy videos of the man torturing cats, then had the cameras removed. He seemed completely unafraid that someone might go inside the house to look for clues. He had gathered media attention and used the internet to steer public opinion into the direction he wanted.

Pictures on the internet came from videos on the man’s computer. He hadn’t done anything in the past few days. He seemed to periodically torture cats to let out steam. It could be days, weeks or months before he tortured another cat. It all depended on how much stress he was under.

The man was away the whole day. However, someone had posted more information on him on the internet. Clear pictures of his face were posted as well. Every day, there were people throwing eggs and pouring paint onto his house. Of course, some of those people were doing damage for fun.

Soon, the province’s main newspapers all reported on the incident. Many psychologists were coming out with their take on his mental state.

However, there were people who used this topic to gather attention. Zheng Tan didn’t care what the true motive was behind many people’s actions as long as the actions suited his need. Cat lovers existed in all industries. As long as the news spread wide, the man would have a difficult time living in Chuhua city. He had already been beaten by an anonymous cat lover.

On the other hand, the incident caused wide debate. Many thought it was odd how fast the situation escalated. How did this incident get into the spotlight? To them, people were making too much fuss over a non-issue. He had tortured cats, but this wasn’t anything new. Why did he get so much attention?

Er Mao was behind all this, but there were other reasons.

If this was a single incident, it might not have caused an uproar. However, a similar case had happened recently. An expert on the matter had said earlier that these were rare occurrences only days before the man was exposed. That expert’s authority was now being questioned.

People weren’t over the first incident when news of this man came out. It was like adding oil to fire. People underestimated how far cat lovers were willing to go to protect their beloved pets. Many were pushing for formal legislation that protected animals.

Also, killing cats was different than torturing cats.

Killing a cat or a dog to many people was no different than killing a pig or cow. The majority of society did not see this as a big deal. Most people were too busy living their lives to care about it.

Torturing was a different issue altogether, especially when someone pushed public opinion in certain directions. If the center of the issue wasn’t cats but whether the animal torturing was just a sign of more serious mental problems, people had to take it seriously. They were worried that if one day torturing cats couldn’t satisfy these people anymore they would turn to harm humans instead.

Could cat torturers one day switch to torturing kids? They were sociopaths. They were scum.

Suddenly everyone was cautious of people who could have harmed animals. A local TV program warned parents about this. Who would want their kids to grow up around people like that?

The student who tortured cats should be thankful someone was now shouldering blame with him.

Zheng Tan had overheard many people guess possible animal torturers on his strolls. People who kicked or scolded animals were now under a lot of pressure. Tiger had peed on a car. The owner found out and managed to control his anger. He drove away without so much as a harsh word to Tiger. If he yelled at the cat, people who didn’t see the cat pee on his car would suspect he hated animals. He would earn the wrath of all the ladies around him.

Zheng Tan looked at Tiger who was cluelessly playing on a tree and yawned. He needed a nap. He was spending too much time on the internet these days. Cats needed a lot of sleep and he wasn’t getting enough.

When he was looking for a tree he ran into Er Mao.

“Black charcoal, are you going out tonight?” Er Mao asked.

Zheng Tan looked at him. What was he planning?

Er Mao smiled. “See you at eight. Meet me at the side gate. If you aren’t there by eight, I’m going without you.”

Night?

Zheng Tan had a feeling it had something to do with the cat torturer. Er Mao had more planned.

He would have to wait until tonight to find out.

All three of the Jiaos were home that night so Zheng Tan could leave without worrying about the kids’ safety. He headed out at quarter to eight. The side gate was a ten minute walk away.

Zheng Tan sat on the side of a flowerbed and watched cars come and go. He watched people get off the bus at the bus stop near him. People came over to tease him but Zheng Tan scared them all away by hissing.

A plain looking car stopped in front of him. The car window was rolled down and Zheng Tan saw Er Mao’s face. He jumped into the car through the window. He immediately recognized the smell in the car. He sensed the smell of that black and white cat and the cat-torturer.

He didn’t see that man but he found the cat in the back.

Zheng Tan looked at Er Mao questioningly.

Er Mao shrugged. “I drove past his box and it meowed at me. It jumped in the car and started sniffing around. Do you think it knows we’re punishing that guy?”

Zheng Tan looked at the cat. He didn’t know what it wanted.

Er Mao started driving.

Er Mao’s driving style was similar to that of Wei Ling’s. The radio was on but he couldn’t stop talking. “The guy’s in the back. He changed his car. It appears that people are still targeting him. When I found him he had bandages on his head.”

They drove to the suburb.

Zheng Tan looked around and his first thought was, did Er Mao plan to kill the man?

“Stay here sweety,” Er Mao said.

Zheng Tan didn’t think Er Mao was talking to him. The cat in the back looked up and meowed lazily. It was a sleepy meow. It stayed in the car even though Er Mao rolled down the window.

Zheng Tan looked around. They were surrounded by bushes. There was light in the distance. The moon was almost full so they had moonlight for lighting.

Er Mao dragged the man out of the trunk. Er Mao seemed very accustomed to doing something like this.

The man’s hands were tied as were his feet. His mouth was taped and his eyes were covered. He looked drowsy and was probably drugged. This was all the handiwork of Er Mao.

Er Mao dragged the man to about ten meters away from the cat. He pulled out a metal stick from the car and asked Zheng Tan, “So, what do you say?”

Zheng Tan ignored Er Mao and looked at the black and white cat instead. It was staring at them in the car.

The cat meowed as if to confirm the man’s identity. It jumped out of the car and walked over.

Er Mao didn’t say anything. He spun the stick in his hand.

The black and white cat walked slowly. Its ears were pulled back and its whiskers were pointing up. It meowed.

Zheng Tan could sense the hostility in its voice. The noise it made wasn’t a warning.

The man had woken up. He started struggling.

The wind was blowing. They could hear the rustling of tree leaves.

It was a beautiful night.