Northeast leopard.
Its scientific name is Amur leopard, the second largest cat in the Far East after the Siberian tiger. Body length eighty to one hundred forty centimetres, tail length one metre, round head, short ears, yellow fur with black spots.
It lives at the border of Heilongjiang Province, Jilin Province, and Russia. It is said that there are not many wild ones left.
And here is one right now.
Lu Zheng and Lin Wan’s senses are extremely sharp. They spotted this Northeast leopard approaching silently early on.
However, the sika deer under Lin Wan’s control was a bit panicked and also keenly noticed the approaching Northeast leopard, so it decisively ran away.
And Lin Wan, having spotted the Northeast leopard, naturally could not pay attention to the sika deer anymore.
Lin Wan stared into the distance. A Northeast leopard about one metre thirty long in body was crouching behind a bush, gazing intently this way.
“Do you think it will come over?”
“I don’t know, but in theory, if it recognises humans, it should not come over.”
Even larger tigers generally do not hunt humans. These predators are actually quite intelligent. They know which creatures to provoke and which not to.
Sure enough, the distant Northeast leopard licked its lips, then began to retreat slowly.
“Want to leave? That won’t do.”
Lin Wan’s eyes lit up. She stomped the ground with her foot and almost turned into a blur.
The distant Northeast leopard’s pupils shrank sharply. Like a cat, it arched its body and leaped up, then turned to run.
But…
In the next moment, a small hand pressed onto its back.
The Northeast leopard arched its back, turned its head, and bit towards Lin Wan’s arm.
Lin Wan twisted her body, wrapped around the leopard’s neck, and moved to its other side.
She sank her body, one hand pressing the neck, one hand pressing the head, leaning on its back, pinning the entire Northeast leopard to the ground.
“Roar.”
The Northeast leopard let out a low roar, its four claws scrabbling wildly on the ground, but it could not break free from the restraint of the two hands on its back.
“Not bad, quite strong.”
Lin Wan laughed heartily. She suddenly stood up, one hand grabbing the skin at the back of the leopard’s neck, the other supporting its back, and began swinging it in the air like a meteor hammer.
“Awoo.”
The Northeast leopard’s sound changed from a roar deep in its chest to a whimper from its throat.
She swung it for a full minute before Lin Wan put the Northeast leopard down again.
Then, without being pinned again, the Northeast leopard rolled over, exposing its white, soft belly.
“Hee hee hee.”
Lin Wan grinned and reached out to rub the leopard’s belly, then flipped it back over and groomed its fur.
The Northeast leopard, “…”
“It feels empty in its belly. It must have been hungry for quite a while.” Lin Wan touched the leopard’s stomach again.
“Tigers and leopards eat one meal and can last ten days or more. Since it started hunting, it means what it ate before has mostly digested.”
“Oh dear, then we just let the sika deer go. Doesn’t that mean this little cat goes hungry?”
Lu Zheng blinked and hit the nail on the head. “Don’t you think that sika deer would be pitiful if eaten?”
Lin Wan pouted. “It would be pitiful, but isn’t it normal for a leopard to eat a deer? I’m not a saint. I eat meat too. Besides, aren’t vegetables pitiful? Plants are living things too, chopped up, stir-fried in oil. Isn’t that cruel?”
Lu Zheng was speechless. “If you go more extreme, you’d probably just drink the northwest wind.”
Lin Wan laughed. “Have you considered the feelings of the microbes in the northwest wind?”
“…”
Lu Zheng brought the topic back. “Don’t worry. It’s normal for leopards to fail hunts. One success lets it last ten days. And sika deer are so cute. If we hadn’t met one, fine. But since we did, let’s find an ugly one for it to eat.”
“Ugly? What is that?”
Lin Wan was curious. She thought all animals were quite cute.
Lu Zheng smiled and pointed north. “Three li away. You’ll know when you get there.”
“So mysterious.” Lin Wan’s beautiful eyes turned. She stood up and patted the still dazed yet enjoying Northeast leopard.
The Northeast leopard: ???
Lin Wan pointed north, then tugged its neck fur, walked two steps, then looked back at it.
The Northeast leopard understood instantly and followed slowly.
“It’s so smart!” Lin Wan exclaimed.
“Cat and dog family animals should both have decent intelligence,” Lu Zheng said.
The two humans and one leopard advanced slowly through the primeval forest. Lu Zheng and Lin Wan stepped on snow without a trace. The Northeast leopard had wide paws, a light gait, leaving only shallow prints on the snow, without much noise.
“Hmm?”
“Found it?”
“Good grief, you sensed it from that far?”
“You think I cultivate for nothing?”
As they spoke, the Northeast leopard seemed to notice the distant situation too. It sniffed, lowered its body, and slowed its steps.
After a few steps, around some old trees, a big black creature entered the sight of the two humans and one leopard.
Wild boar.
A large wild boar was at the edge of the bushes, huffing and puffing as it rooted around, who knows what for food.
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin. In modern times he ate pork, in ancient times he killed pig demons for pork. Now in the deep Northeast woods stroking big cats, he had to hunt wild boar for the big cat’s meal?
Second Senior Brother was tragic too. When would the pig clan rise up?
“Wow! So big!” Lin Wan looked at the large wild boar. Its body length was longer than the little cat beside her, weight in a whole different league, with two tusks exposed, fierce face. Clearly not to be trifled with.
Even Siberian tigers, unless starving, generally would not hunt adult male wild boars casually, let alone the Northeast leopard two sizes smaller.
So this little cat, seeing the big wild boar, whimpered twice and wanted to retreat.
If it were a group of wild boars, it might try the young ones. But just this one, going up would be delivering food?
“Coward, you’re a leopard, go on!”
Lu Zheng reached out and patted the Northeast leopard’s butt, drawing an angry glare from the leopard. Then, in the leopard’s shocked gaze, he whooshed out.
“Huff!”
Lu Zheng’s movement startled the big wild boar. But before it could turn, he flipped it over.
“Thud!”
The big wild boar rolled up, anger maxed out instantly, turned and charged straight at Lu Zheng.
“Coming right at me!”
“I’ll go!”
Before Lu Zheng could act, Lin Wan darted between them, blocking the boar’s charge path head-on. One punch landed on the boar’s side face.
“Thud!”
The big wild boar flew sideways like hit by a battering ram, crashing into a nearby tree with a boom.
Then, before the boar could stand, a black-and-yellow figure pounced in front of it and bit its neck.
The Northeast leopard seized the opportunity perfectly.
