From the leopard's expression, Shen Xingmian discerned a clue: it seemed to intend to rely on him.

Could it be that this little country bumpkin, who had never eaten cooked meat before, was so captivated by its deliciousness on his first try that he wanted to stick to the person who gave him the cooked meat?

It's quite possible.

Judging from how quickly it ate earlier, it must have been very hungry. But where is the male leopard?

What if the husband just went hunting, encountered some trouble, and didn't return home for several days? How heartbreaking it would be if he finally managed to return home after overcoming numerous difficulties, only to find that his wife and children were gone.

She didn't really want to bring the leopard with her anymore.

Moreover, these leopards are all adults, and their temperaments are already set. It's unlikely that they would recognize you as their master. It would be like having a time bomb planted next to you, constantly testing your vigilance.

If this goes on for too long, won't she be exhausted?

It looks a bit fierce, and it might not be able to get along peacefully with the snowball...

Shen Xingmian considered many things, and finally decided to give this leopard, who was about to become a mother, some benefits, as a way of making the encounter worthwhile.

As for taking it away, let's forget about it.

There are so many animals in the mountains, she can't just keep raising every one she meets. Besides, she has so many mountain trails to walk on recently, and who knows what else she might encounter later.

Although the baby leopard must be very soft and cute when it is first born, she must restrain herself from eating too much when it grows up!

I can't afford to raise them.

There are just too many people and animals waiting for her to feed them; even the wealthiest family can't sustain this situation.

After thinking it through, Shen Xingmian no longer hesitated. She threw out a male wild boar from her spatial storage. It wasn't tasty and it was quite noisy, so she decided that was it.

Fearing that the pregnant leopard would be less effective in fighting and unable to defeat the wild boar, Shen Xingmian deliberately stabbed the boar first, sparing it the pain of being torn apart.

While she was doing these things, the mother leopard squatted to one side, tilting her head and quietly watching her, looking quite docile.

Shen Xingmian said cruelly, "This is for you. I don't have any more, and it will go bad. It'll definitely last you a while! I wish you a smooth delivery. I'll be going now, bye-bye."

After saying that, she took a step back to create distance, then turned and ran quickly into the distance, fearing that the leopard might suddenly pounce and attack her from behind.

She's not stupid; she doesn't think that the animals outside are as smart and sensible as Snowball, knowing how to appreciate being fed and never hurting her.

She ran for a while, then stopped, panting. Looking back, she saw that the leopard had followed her. The wild boar on the ground was no longer visible; it ignored her, just tilting its head and continuing to look at her.

Goodness, is it too full, or has it decided to follow me?

She even knows how to act cute! How annoying!

No, it's not necessarily about being cute. Maybe felines are just naturally cute, and if you look at them for a while, you might get the illusion that they're harmless.

Shen Xingmian shook her head, trying to shake off the influence of this illusion on her; she couldn't be fooled.

After running for a while, this time she paid special attention to the movements behind her and realized that the leopard was still following her.

Moreover, he didn't chase her continuously. Instead, he watched her run far away before getting up to chase after her for a while, then stopped and let her run for a bit longer.

I feel like I've been played for a fool...

I'm so angry.

Shen Xingmian couldn't care less about the waste of the wild boar; this adorable creature in front of her was about to become her "big trouble."

Finally, with no other option, unable to outrun her opponent or bring herself to fight, she could only release snowballs in hopes of scaring them away.

However, you have to control the snowball and not actually rush in to attack; after all, she's pregnant.

As soon as the snowball left the space, it smelled an unsettling odor.

It doesn't remember from its childhood that it was supposed to be in the forest; instead, it thinks that space is where it belongs.

Upon spotting the leopard not far away, it immediately crouched down slightly, lowering its center of gravity, as if preparing to charge and fight.

Shen Xingmian quickly patted it and shouted to the leopard in the distance, "I already have one at home, I really can't afford to keep it. You should go back quickly, or the wild boar will be stolen and we'll go hungry."

She didn't know if the leopard could understand her, but she had already warned it.

Shen Xingmian stopped paying attention to it; with Xuetuan around, she was sure her back wouldn't be pounced on.

Upon jumping onto Snowball's back, Shen Xingmian noticed that all of its muscles were tense. It seemed that it wasn't as bold as it appeared on the surface; it was quite nervous as well.

Hugging Xue Tuan's neck and lowering her body, Shen Xingmian signaled that Xue Tuan could leave.

Snowball glanced back and, seeing that the big guy opposite didn't seem to be moving, then spread its paws and ran away.

The snowball ran quite a distance before gradually slowing down and becoming a pacing motion.

Shen Xingmian knew it was tired from running. She looked at the sky and realized it was time to go back to her space to rest.

After the two returned, Shen Xingmian fed Xue Tuan meat before eating her own meal. After finishing, she put the dishes that had been soaking all day into the dishwasher and waited for them to clean themselves.

In the past few days, her spatial abilities have been very effective in harvesting fruit. After practicing for long periods of time at night, she can harvest all the apples from a tree in just a few minutes.

But small things like hawthorn require more time and effort, and she hasn't tried them yet.

For her, this was already a huge achievement. Finally, she could transport the fruit back to the warehouse for storage without having to climb the tree or bother others.

Although it's a bit slow, she has plenty of time and patience. With repeated training, she'll definitely become more and more proficient.

Filled with anticipation and joy, Shen Xingmian drifted off into a deep sleep.

*

Xiao Yanyue hasn't been sleeping well lately, and she keeps dreaming about Mianmian. In her dreams, Mianmian encounters bad people outside, and although she doesn't suffer any losses, she's still furious.

He really wanted to comfort her, but he found that there was something between them; he could see her, but she couldn't see him.

So all they could do was worry helplessly.

Even after waking up, this anxious feeling lingered in his body, making it impossible for him to concentrate on anything.

He knew this wasn't good; he needed to spend more time and energy improving himself instead of indulging in idle thoughts.

He probably wouldn't have insomnia if anyone else went on a long trip alone, or even stayed away for three years, but since it was Mianmian who left, he couldn't control his emotions.

The master noticed that something was wrong with him, but he didn't say anything to him. Instead, he told him with certainty that Mianmian would be fine and that she would definitely come back safely. He just needed to wait patiently.

If I neglect my studies because of her departure, it will be a burden for her.

The word "burden" brought Xiao Yanyue to his senses. He knew he couldn't continue in this daze, so he worked even harder.

During the day, I practice martial arts, pushing myself to the limit. This way, I'm so tired at night that I can fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, which makes things much more peaceful.