Yu was almost scared out of her wits and cried out in alarm, "Chen-ge'er, Xiao Youran, come back quickly!"

I ran alongside them as I walked.

But the kitten ran fast, and the Jiang siblings were just as fast, turning a corner in the blink of an eye.

As Yu Shi turned the corner, she nearly bumped into Jiang Youchen and barely managed to stop.

The next moment, her eyes widened in surprise.

The kitten was lying under a boulder, whimpering sadly at the large eye peeking out from the crack in the boulder.

Yu was terrified and, trembling, tried to pull the brother and sister back.

Xiao Youran said, "Fourth Aunt, is this the kitten's mother? She died so tragically."

Ms. Yu stopped in her tracks.

Is he dead?

Jiang Youchen asked the question that was on her mind, "Sister, how do you know she's dead?"

Xiao Youran said, "Her eyes have lost their soul."

Jiang Youchen: ...

Yu: ...

Xiao Youran broke free from Yu's hand, ran to the kitten's side, and gently stroked the kitten's head. "Little kitten, don't be sad."

The little kitten rubbed against her palm and whimpered twice towards the eyes peeking out from the crack in the rock.

Little Yu looked at Madam Yu, "Fourth Aunt, can I take it back and keep it with me?"

Ms. Yu opened her mouth, unsure how to answer.

Could she say that this wasn't a kitten but a big cat?

Little Youran is only four years old. Does she know how scary and dangerous big cats are?

But... if she tells her abruptly, won't it scare her?

She thought for a moment, then picked up Xiao Youran and said to Jiang Youchen, "Let's hurry down the mountain."

Xiao Youran was being held and couldn't resist, so she could only stare longingly at the kitten on the ground.

The kitten meowed twice in her direction and then suddenly followed her on its short legs.

Ms. Yu carried Xiao Youran down the mountain quickly, only to find that the kitten had been following them the whole time when they reached the foot of the mountain.

Jiang Youchen turned to look at it, squatted down to hug it, but it dodged away.

Xiao Youran watched as the kitten followed her all the way. She struggled to climb off Yu Shi's body, then ran up to the kitten and picked it up in one swift motion.

The kitten nestled obediently in her arms and let out two more affectionate meows.

Xiao Youran giggled, "Good little kitten."

Yu dared not say anything more and strode towards the village.

She rushed into Zhou's house, excitedly exclaiming, "Sister-in-law! There's a tiger on the mountain!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou was so frightened that she immediately stood up. "What...what did you say?"

Yu quickly added, "No, no, no, it's not a live tiger... no, no, it's not a live tiger! That big tiger is probably already dead!"

She was so excited that she became somewhat incoherent.

Zhou first breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that he's dead..."

Then she stared wide-eyed in shock, "A dead tiger? When did it die?"

After calming herself down, Yu said, "It looks like it was brought down by the landslide last night... and then it was crushed to death by a boulder... This morning, I took the Jiang siblings up the mountain, intending to hunt a couple of rabbits, but instead we saw that big tiger... and another one..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xiao Youran ran in carrying the kitten. "Auntie, isn't this kitten cute?"

Before Zhou could even process what Yu had said, she saw a "kitten" being held up in front of her.

She's going crazy.

Is this a kitten?

If Ms. Yu hadn't mentioned the big tiger earlier, she might have thought it was a "little cat" at first glance.

As if guessing what she was thinking, the kitten actually opened its mouth and meowed.

Yu: !!!

Jiang Youchen: !!!

What are you doing, a little tiger trying to meow like a cat? Have you no shame?

Xiao Youran stroked her head and said happily, "Little kitten, you're so good at this! You'll be with me from now on!"

Zhou clutched her chest, feeling like she was about to have a heart attack.

At this moment, Madam Su also came in, smiling and saying, "I didn't know where you two siblings had gone this morning. So you went up the mountain?"

Little Ranran ran to her mother's side and said, "This time, my brother held Ranran's hand the whole time and didn't let Ranran fall. He also picked up a kitten."

Jiang Youchen finally made her presence known, "This kitten was found by my sister, and it only lets her touch it."

Xiao Youran nodded, "Yes, Mom, can I keep it? Hmm, this kitten's mother just died, so pitiful!"

At this moment, Jiang Youchen realized: ...

The kitten's mother is the adult cat...

So this kitten isn't a kitten, but a big cat?

Why did he suddenly feel his legs go weak?

He said to Xiao Youran, trembling, "Little sister, this isn't a kitten, it's a big cat! Let it go!"

Xiao Youran glared at him, "What big cat? It's clearly a kitten!"

She turned to her mother, "Mother, do you think this is a big cat or a kitten?"

Mrs. Su smiled indulgently, "Of course it's a kitten, it's so small. Since our little Ranran likes it, you can keep it."

Jiang Youchen: ...

He felt there was still a chance to save her, "My mother is a..."

At this moment, Zhou interrupted her, saying with delight, "Little Ranran said she's a kitten, so she must be a kitten! Chen-ge'er, would you take your little sister to find a suitable place to build her a nest?"

Jiang Youchen didn't understand, but since his aunt had said so, he had no choice but to take his sister and leave.

Yu said tremblingly, "Sister-in-law, that is..."

Zhou said to Yu Shi, "Fourth sister-in-law, don't you think Ranran is our family's lucky star?"

Yu nodded in agreement after a quick thought, "What you say, sister-in-law, is so true! Little Ranran came the night before last, not only solving our food problem but also securing three mountain strongholds for us. And today, we even found that huge tiger on the mountain! I was just about to come back and tell you, sister-in-law, so the clansmen..."

Before they could finish speaking, Madam Su, who had been happily listening to the two men praise her daughter, suddenly clutched her forehead in horror and stammered, "What...what big tiger?"

Ms. Yu quickly explained, "It's a big tiger that just died! This morning, when we went up the mountain, Ranran found a bunch of edible black fungus, so we picked a lot of it. We also found a big tiger trapped under a rock. Don't be afraid, the tiger is dead."

As she spoke, she untied the cloth bag filled with black fungus that was tied to her body.

Su patted her chest, panting, "I was almost scared to death."

Then she became smug, "Of course I know our little Ranran is a lucky charm!"

Zhou and Yu: ...

However, that's not the point right now. Continuing from what she was about to say, Madam Yu said, "Sister-in-law, shouldn't we talk to the clan chief and ask a few people to help carry the tiger's carcass down the mountain? The tiger skin is probably crushed by the stones, but tiger meat is a good thing, and tiger bones are excellent medicinal materials! They can fetch a lot of money!"