Detective City
"How boring!"
Lan Yangyang sat in the classroom, dozing off with boredom. Ever since their last time in the Sky Island, there hadn't been any new adventures for a long, long time. It was just too dull.
"Lan Yangyang, stand up right this instant!"
Principal Slow Goat was in the middle of explaining a math problem when he suddenly noticed Lan Yangyang slumped over his desk, fast asleep. He slammed his hand down on the desk and yanked Lan Yangyang to his feet.
"Principal, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, it's just that it's so boring!"
Wincing in pain, Lan Yangyang looked at the Principal standing right in front of him and began bowing frantically over and over again, offering his apologies.
"Do you find my lectures boring? When class is over, copy down everything I just taught one hundred times and bring it to me tomorrow for inspection! At your age, you need to focus on your studies instead of constantly dreaming about going on adventures. If Hui Tailang catches you one day, you won't even know how to run away."
Principal Slow Goat's face was flushed with anger, and once again, he used Hui Tailang as a cautionary tale to discipline Lan Yangyang.
"Yes, Principal!"
Not daring to talk back, Lan Yangyang could only manage a reluctant agreement. He remained standing until the lesson finally ended and the bell rang for recess.
Fei Yangyang and Xi Yangyang grabbed a football and rushed out of the classroom, while Lan Yangyang strolled unhurriedly out of the school, found a random tree, and fell fast asleep within seconds.
"Ah, studying and exercising are just too exhausting! Sleeping is so much better!"
Drooling as he spoke, Lan Yangyang drifted straight off to sleep. Suddenly, while deep in dreamland, he felt someone repeatedly shoving him. He blinked his eyes open in a hazy daze.
"Stop messing around, Xi Yangyang. I'm not playing football!"
Still drooling, Lan Yangyang hadn't the slightest inkling that something was wrong. The next second, as he opened his eyes and turned his head to look, he suddenly spotted a pair of gray hands all over his body.
"This familiar color... could it be?!"
Staring at the gray hands before him, cold sweat slowly beaded on Lan Yangyang's forehead, and a wave of bad premonition rushed straight to his head.
"Haven't see you in a few days, Lan Yangyang. Long time no see?"
Waving his hand, Hui Tailang greeted Lan Yangyang with the utmost familiarity, which made sense given they had already crossed paths over five thousand episodes.
"It's Hui Tailang!"
Lan Yangyang froze for three full seconds before snapping back to reality and jumping straight to his feet to run.
Alas, because he was far too slow, Hui Tailang grabbed him with a single swift grapple and stuffed him straight into a burlap sack.
"You wretched Hui Tailang! You rotten banana, stinky durian! Why do you always pick on me?!"
"Because I like to, got a problem? Be a good little sheep now, I'm taking you home to be my guest!"
Laughing, Hui Tailang randomly picked a patch of tall grass to conceal himself, heaved Lan Yangyang onto his back, and jogged all the way to the entrance of Sheep Village.
"Once I jump over this, the little sheep is mine!"
Rubbing his hands together with Lan Yangyang still on his back, Hui Tailang prepared to escape through a hole he had dug beforehand right next to the Sheep Village iron fence.
Suddenly, as Hui Tailang parted the tall grass, he spotted a red "X" mark.
"What on earth is this? Such a childish little trap—does it really think it can fool the great Hui Tailang?!"
With a light chuckle, Hui Tailang stepped right over it, only for the ground beneath him to suddenly snap with a sharp crack.
"Why do I have this terrible feeling?"
Cold sweat broke out across Hui Tailang's forehead as the ground split apart, revealing a hidden spring underneath that launched him straight up into the air.
"Wretched little sheep! I will definitely catch you next time! I'll be back!"
Crying out at the top of his lungs, Hui Tailang flew off into the distance, dropping the burlap sack he had been carrying. Lan Yangyang curled himself into a tight ball, wrapping his arms and legs together, and tumbled right out of the bag.
"Hehe, goodbye, Mr. Hui Tailang!"
Raising his hand, Xi Yangyang waved at the flying Hui Tailang—polite, but only just barely.
"Lan Yangyang, you're always getting caught by Hui Tailang precisely because you're too lazy. You should be like me and work out more!"
Fei Yangyang teased Lan Yangyang while taking the opportunity to flex his muscles and show off his bronze-toned skin.
"Pfft, how could a cute boy like me ever turn into something like that? I'd rather leave the protecting to you guys—I knew you'd come for me anyway!"
Blinking his eyes, Lan Yangyang paid zero attention to what Fei Yangyang had just said, making it clear that having them protect him was more than enough. After all, rather than reflecting on his own flaws, it was always easier to point fingers at others.
Lan Yangyang stood up, dusted the dirt off his clothes, and ambled over to a hammock strung between two trees. With a graceful flip, he was fast asleep once again.
"I knew he'd say that. Oh well, let's go play football, Xi Yangyang!"
Spinning the football on the tip of one finger, Fei Yangyang called out to Xi Yangyang, ready to head to the pitch. Right at that moment, the Turtle Mailman came scurrying over.
"Xi Yangyang, I have a letter and a package for you. Please sign for them!"
"Huh? A letter for me? Who on earth would be sending me mail and a package? How strange."
The Turtle Mailman waddled up, poked Xi Yangyang's foot, and repeated that he had mail and a package waiting for him.
Xi Yangyang scratched his head in bewilderment, trying to recall recent events. It seemed there was nobody who would send him a letter or a package, and he certainly hadn't bought anything online.
"Oh! What is it? Let me see!"
Fei Yangyang's eyes lit up as he eagerly rushed over, declaring that he wanted a peek too.
Xi Yangyang took the pen and signed for the delivery. Once the Turtle Mailman handed over the envelope and the package, he turned and marched straight out of Sheep Village, heading in the direction of Wolf Castle.
Though Hui Tailang had been blasted into the sky, upon crashing back down near Wolf Castle, he executed an utterly graceful spinning maneuver before landing to absolute perfection, taking zero damage whatsoever. It was all about maintaining that effortless style.
"Nailed it!"
Perched atop Wolf Castle, Hui Tailang struck a pose and couldn't help but compliment his own coolness.
"What are you posing for? Where's the sheep?!"
Just as Hui Tailang was busy showing off, a frying pan came hurtling through the air and smacked him squarely on the head.
Red Wolf stomped over, fuming as she demanded to know where the sheep was.
"The sheep? Well, about the sheep... you see... I actually caught the sheep... but it got rescued!"
Hui Tailang stammered nervously in explanation. Seeing the look on his face, Red Wolf knew instantly that he hadn't caught anything at all, and she silently raised the frying pan in her hand.
"My dear wife, I am so sorry!"
Staring at the frying pan looming before him, Hui Tailang swallowed hard and dropped to his knees with crisp, practiced efficiency.
"You think kneeling down is going to make me—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the Turtle Mailman arrived at Wolf Castle with astonishing speed.
The doorbell rang, leaving Red Wolf and Hui Tailang blinking in confusion, wondering who it could be.
"Who's that? Hui Tailang, why aren't you going to check?!"
"Oh, oh! Right away!"
Realizing he had narrowly escaped a truly harrowing disaster, Hui Tailang didn't dare waste a single second. He spun around, rushed down from the top of the castle, and threw the main gates open.
"Who is it? What do you want at my castle? Don't you have anything better to do?!"
Hui Tailang yanked the door open and barked angrily, only to find himself glaring down at the Turtle Mailman.
"Your letter, and here's your package!"
Unlike his demeanor when dealing with Xi Yangyang, the Turtle Mailman used a cold, indifferent tone as he shoved the letter and parcel straight into Hui Tailang's hands.
"What's with that attitude? Sure, I might be a little bit evil most of the time, but do you really have to treat people so differently?"
Fuming with indignation, Hui Tailang signed for the delivery and slammed the heavy doors shut without looking back.
"Seriously, what is wrong with that guy's attitude? And besides, who on earth would send me a letter and a package?"
Hui Tailang and Xi Yangyang found themselves sharing the exact same puzzled thought at the exact same moment, before both of them lowered their gazes to examine their envelopes.
"Detective City!"
"Detective City!"
Uttering the name in unison while framed in the exact same thought, they looked at the address written on the front. It was a city built entirely around a detective theme, hence the name Detective City.
"Who on earth could have sent this?"
"Wait, who is this? Do I even know anyone who lives there?"
Both Hui Tailang and Xi Yangyang furrowed their brows in confusion before glancing down at the sender's name.
"Mumu!"
"Mumu!"
Shock struck Hui Tailang and Xi Yangyang simultaneously. Neither of them had expected the letter to come from Mumu.
"I can't believe it's actually from Mumu!"
"It's from Mumu! Didn't he become a top-tier detective?!"
With tacit agreement, Hui Tailang and Xi Yangyang tore open their respective envelopes and began reading the messages inside.
"Hi, how are you guys doing? I'm Mumu."
"It must have been a really long time since we last parted ways. I've successfully landed the position of head detective and earned promotions all the way up to Detective City."
"If you have the time, you should come visit Detective City and hang out. I've already bought the tickets and put them right inside the package. I'm looking forward to seeing you all!"
"Mumu"
"Detective City!"
The rest of the surrounding sheep gathered around Xi Yangyang to read the letter, suddenly swept away by fond memories of the past.
"It's Mumu! If you hadn't mentioned him, I almost would've forgotten. It really has been a long time since we last saw each other—three whole seasons have passed!"
Fei Yangyang said in delighted surprise, while Mei Yangyang and Nuan Yangyang huddled together to chat about it. Only Lan Yangyang remained fast asleep in his hammock, completely ignoring them.
"Aren't you going to get up, Lan Yangyang? Mumu invited us to Detective City! It's way better than here, and they've got all sorts of delicious food we never get to eat!"
Knowing Lan Yangyang's personality inside and out, Xi Yangyang simply opened the package, pulled out six tickets, and waved them back and forth teasingly.
"What?! Delicious food I don't usually get to eat? I'm going! I have to go!"
At those words, Lan Yangyang's eyes snapped wide open. In a flash, he sprang to his feet with a loud thud and scampered right over.
"I'm going!"
Scene transition: After finishing his letter, Hui Tailang opened his package, pulled out three tickets, and stared at them quietly.
"Since it's Mumu's kind gesture, I suppose I should go!"
"Who sent that letter?"
Red Wolf called out as she walked down from the top of Wolf Castle, asking who had sent the mail in Hui Tailang's hands.
"Ah, this letter is from Mumu! He sent us three tickets and said we can go visit him in Detective City whenever we have time!"
Faced with Red Wolf's inquiry, Hui Tailang answered truthfully and handed the three tickets over.
Red Wolf took them, examined the illustrations of Detective City printed across the tickets, and her eyes instantly lit up.
"Not bad at all! This Detective City looks like a lot of fun! Our son will definitely want to go too. Hui Tailang, go pack our luggage right now."
"You got it, my red one! I'm on it!"
At Red Wolf's command, Hui Tailang spun on his heel, bolted into the bedroom, and frantically packed and bundled up all their belongings.
Back in Sheep Village, the little sheep were discussing the trip to Detective City with Principal Slow Goat.
"I see. So it's a letter from Mumu. Since it's such a kind gesture from him..."
Glancing at the letter in his hands, Principal Slow Goat nodded and gave his permission for Xi Yangyang and the others to head to Detective City.
"Oh, hooray! I'm going to eat so much delicious food! Technology City must have tons of snacks I've never tried before—they're bound to be amazing and super tasty!"
"Ooh, I wonder if there'll be lots of fun stuff in Detective City! I hope they have a professional football pitch!"
"Wow, a big city! It's definitely going to have tons of gym equipment, and it must be so bustling and lively!"
"Detective City looks so pretty just from the pictures! There are so many skyscrapers—it must look gorgeous when you look down from up high!"
"A big city is bound to have lots of soft, fluffy things! Like cloud-like chairs, cloud-like sofas, or maybe even furry carpets! Big cities must be so luxurious!"
The Principal stood in place, watching the five kids chatter away with endless fantasies, wearing a look of helpless resignation.
"You can go, but this trip can't be for nothing!"
Clearing his throat, Principal Slow Goat walked over to the side, pulled out a massive stack of homework assignments, and dropped them onto the ground.
"You can go, but you have to carefully observe the big city and write a travel reflection anywhere from 5,000 to 30,000 words! Consider this your assignment for the trip."
"What?!"
"No way!"
"I refuse, that's too much torture!"
"Oh, alright."
"Hooray! That way nobody's schoolwork will fall behind!"
The expressions on the faces of the five sheep varied completely. Lan Yangyang, Xi Yangyang, and Fei Yangyang complained as usual; Mei Yangyang caved and compromised; while Nuan Yangyang beamed with delight.
"Alright, we've wasted too much time already. Pack up your homework and get moving!"
"Wait, Principal! Can't I skip writing it? Or maybe write a little bit less? Please, Principal, pretty please?"
Just as Principal Slow Goat told everyone to pack their luggage and make sure not to forget their homework—especially the homework—Lan Yangyang stepped forward and started wheedling and acting spoiled in an effort to get out of the assignment.
"In that case, you don't have to write it!"
"Really, Principal? That's amazing!"
After a moment of thought, the Principal spoke. Hearing his reply, Lan Yangyang leaped into the air with joy.
"You won't have to write a travel reflection. Instead, you'll write a separate essay describing Detective City, with a minimum word count of 10,000 words!"
"Are you kidding me?!"
In the end, Lan Yangyang had truly lifted a rock only to drop it on his own feet.
"Hang in there, Lan Yangyang! I believe in you—I'm sure you can manage 10,000 words. I'm going to go write my 5,000-word reflection now!"
"Good luck, Lan Yangyang! 10,000 words minimum!"
Speechless and wearing a mask of utter speechlessness, Lan Yangyang glared at Xi Yangyang and Fei Yangyang as they relentlessly teased him.
"Let's go, kids! It's time to catch the bus to Detective City!"
Calling out to the group, Principal Slow Goat led Xi Yangyang and the others off to the transit station to catch a bus bound for Detective City.
Throughout the entire journey, however, Lan Yangyang was subjected to double-barreled mockery from both Xi Yangyang and Fei Yangyang.
"I'm all set, Red. We can head out whenever!"
"Come on, son, let's go, Hui Tailang!"
Hugging all the luggage by himself, Hui Tailang led Xiao Huihui and Red Wolf to a different station, boarding a bus that headed toward Detective City at the same time.
Detective City: Departure, The Theft Case
"We're here!"
Before long, the bus arrived in Detective City, pulling up alongside a station platform to open its doors. Xi Yangyang stepped out first and gasped in admiration at the bustling cityscape before him.
Yet aside from his awe, Xi Yangyang spotted another bus parked nearby, from which none other than Hui Tailang was stepping down.
"Hui Tailang!"
"Xi Yangyang!"
Wolf and sheep locked eyes, both feeling a sudden, awkward tension as a flock of virtual crows cawed across the sky...
"Sigh, you got Mumu's letter too, right? Since we're both here to see him, why don't we..."
"Call a temporary truce!"
With that, Xi Yangyang extended his hand. Hui Tailang paused in thought, glancing back at Red Wolf and Xiao Huihui behind him.
"Whatever, I'm just here to take my family on vacation anyway, so I'll spare you guys for now!"
Nodding, Hui Tailang reached out and shook hands with Xi Yangyang, sealing the agreement for a temporary peace.
"Ugh, I'm starving! I need food!"
Lan Yangyang shuffled out looking like a lost soul. The pain, the sheer agony—all the way here, he had been bullied and forced by the Principal to write over 2,000 words, leaving a staggering 7,000 words still to go!
He was only staying for three days total; how was he supposed to survive this?!
"Hui... Tai... lang! Wait, Hui Tailang!!!"
The moment Lan Yangyang caught sight of Hui Tailang, he froze dead in his tracks—especially when he saw Xi Yangyang shaking hands with the wolf.
"Ahhh, help! Hui Tailang's gonna eat me!"
Without stopping to think, Lan Yangyang spun around and bolted, terrified that if he ran too slowly, Hui Tailang would grab him in a reverse grapple and toss him straight into a pot.
"Hui Tailang, you stinky durian, rotten banana! Did you really follow us here just to catch a sheep? Don't you ever get tired of this?!"
Sticking up his middle finger to express his utmost contempt for Hui Tailang, Lan Yangyang hadn't even run two steps before tripping over a rock shaped like a face.
"Agh, what is this?! Why is there a rock like this in the middle of the city? Screenwriter, what are you even doing?! I hate the plot of this feature film!"
Lan Yangyang howled in helpless frustration, but it did him no good—he tripped anyway, turning into a rolling ball that bounced all the way over to Hui Tailang and crashed straight into his arms.
For three awkward seconds, time stood still. Trembling from head to toe as he clung to Hui Tailang, Lan Yangyang looked up, utterly terrified to his very core!
Despite the promise he made to Xi Yangyang earlier, Hui Tailang stared down at the plump little sheep delivered right to his doorstep, and a sinister grin spread across his face.
"Hui Tailang!"
Giving him a speechless look, Xi Yangyang knew precisely what the wolf was thinking just by using his toes.
Catching the look in Xi Yangyang's eyes, Hui Tailang hurriedly scratched his head in embarrassment, quickly deposited Lan Yangyang back into Xi Yangyang's arms, and cleared his throat twice to defend himself.
"Hmph, it's not like that! I was just trying to mess around and play with Lan Yangyang a little."
"Really?"
"Really!"
Though Hui Tailang's expression was sincere, Xi Yangyang found the drool dripping from the wolf's mouth equally sincere.
"Let's just get into the city already!"
Deciding not to argue any further, Xi Yangyang cast one final glance at him and turned to call out to the rest of the group.
A short while later, everyone disembarked, grabbed their luggage, and took a deep breath as they gazed at the bustling expanse of Detective City, finally stepping forward onto the threshold of their journey.
"Detective City, here we come!"
Following Xi Yangyang's cheerful battle cry, the gang and Hui Tailang's family marched right into Detective City.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! This place is amazing! Look at all this food—strawberry cream puffs, chocolate seaweed crackers!"
"Whoa, they even have durian-flavored garlic!"
"What?!"
As Lan Yangyang ambled into Detective City and marveled at the food displays all around him, he blurted out that last sentence, causing everyone to turn their heads in unison.
Sure enough, hanging over a nearby stall was a sign that genuinely read: *Durian-Flavored Garlic!*
The whole group gave a synchronized deadpan look, before following Lan Yangyang's gaze a little further down to spot a display of *Spicy Strip Cream Puffs!*