Chapter 4 Xu Nian: It's just a wounded argali...

“Woo—”

The Alpine griffon vulture circled in the air, its wings spread to stabilize its body, and its sharp eyes scanned the entire plateau, taking everything in.

So a snow leopard following a group of blue sheep in the snow caught its eye.

It has been more than a week since the last time they had a full meal. If snow leopards eat a large amount at one time, the fat stored in their bodies can allow them to survive for one to two weeks. So after a happy week, Xu Nian felt hungry again.

However, the last time he found half a mountain goat seemed to have exhausted his luck. In these many days, he walked around everywhere but did not find even a little bit of meat.

That would have been fine, but he almost encountered a pack of wolves. Fortunately, he acted decisively and ran away with his tail in his mouth.

"Apart from anything else, I have mastered the speed of escape." Xu Nian sighed deeply. He was no longer the snow leopard that walked crookedly, but a snow leopard that could escape extremely quickly.

How can this not be considered a leap forward in growth?

The herd of blue sheep were grazing with their heads down and digging at the snow piles with their hooves, trying to find some food from under the snow. Even though Xu Nian had tried his best to hide his body, with his entire body almost lying low on the snow, his four paws close to the ground, and he was walking slowly and nimbly towards the blue sheep, he was still discovered by the herd of sheep.

Suddenly, the herd of blue sheep that had just been grazing peacefully became riotous.

Once the flock of sheep became riotous, they all started running away. Xu Nian had never seen such a scene before, and he was suddenly a little panicked. Countless hunting scenes suddenly popped up in his mind, but he just couldn't remember how snow leopards hunted.

He could only imitate the hunting methods he had seen in the animal videos, chasing after it quickly, targeting one of the mountain goats, and starting the hunting mode.

He was really chasing the sheep, running for his life, staring at it. He could hear the wind whistling in his ears and feel how fast he was running, but he just couldn't catch up with the sheep!

Xu Nian quickly changed his strategy and attacked another ibex that was closer to him. However, the other party was always on guard and ran away almost the moment Xu Nian changed direction. So Xu Nian was lucky enough to see a ibex jump directly into the crack of the rock wall in front of him.

Xu Nian: ...

He desperately used his front paws to support himself on the ground, trying to stop himself and avoid falling into the crack.

Before becoming a snow leopard, Xu Nian was a little afraid of heights due to some experiences in his childhood. He has tried his best to overcome it. Although he knew that snow leopards are resistant to falls, Xu Nian still did not have the courage to fall from such a high place.

He instinctively stopped at the edge of the cliff and saw that the mountain goats on the opposite side had already started eating grass and even looked back at him with contempt. This familiar scene gave Xu Nian a little heart attack.

However, this time he did not have only this one choice. When he changed his target again and aimed at a smaller blue sheep, he suddenly saw a snow leopard appear on the opposite cliff. It seemed to be running from the other side of the mountain, flying across the rock wall at an extremely fast speed, with its body stretched very long. Even from such a distance, one could clearly see how clear and smooth the muscle lines of the snow leopard were as it flew past.

The big tail that was very troublesome to Xu Nian now became the most advantageous tool for the snow leopard to balance its body. The entire tail was dragged very long and swayed slightly.

The ibex ran away in fright, as if it realized that this snow leopard was completely different from the previous one. It ran as fast as it could between the steep rock walls, but even so, the snow leopard behind it was chasing it almost sticking to the rock wall.

In a direct pounce, the snow leopard bit the blue sheep on the neck. It struggled hard to get a chance to survive, but the snow leopard carried it directly down the mountain wall.

They fell directly off the cliff, leaving long scratches on the rock wall. Even though their bodies were in the air, the snow leopard had no intention of letting go. Its body fell heavily on the rock wall and continued to roll down.

The whole scene shocked Xu Nian. He watched the snow leopard and the blue sheep jump off the cliff together.

“…” Xu Nian turned his head to look at his body with some self-doubt and shuddered subconsciously.

He was already afraid of heights, and now he has even more psychological trauma.

He timidly retracted his thick, furry claws, held his tail in his mouth, turned around and moved further away from the dangerous gap in the rock wall to prevent the mountain goats behind him from pushing him off the cliff.

But he soon saw the snow leopard, which had fallen with its prey in its mouth, climb up from the ground, holding the prey in its mouth, and disappear in the snow after a few jumps, as if the tumbling cliff fall just now had not caused it any harm.

Until this moment, Xu Nian felt for the first time up close what it meant to be the King of Snow Mountains.

It's a life-and-death chase between prey and predator.

"Run away quickly." Xu Nian held his tail in his mouth and immediately turned around and ran away. He was not sure whether the other party looked at him while chasing him, but he knew that snow leopards usually live alone and do not like to share territory with other snow leopards of the same kind.

If he didn't know what was good for him, the snow leopard would probably have used its sharp claws and fangs to teach him the rules of animal survival.

What Xu Nian understands best in his life is knowing what’s appropriate.

Without hesitation, he turned and walked in another direction, trying to stay away from this agile snow leopard of his kind. There were sheep everywhere, and he only had one life. There was no need, really no need to fight so hard.

One day later.

We didn't hunt any sheep the whole day yesterday, but we were very lucky to catch a plateau rabbit. However, this amount of meat is just enough to fill the teeth of a snow leopard. An adult snow leopard can eat half of a blue sheep in one meal.

Xu Nian licked his paws and shook his furry head to shake off the snow. The dense fur on his body protected him from the cold, and his whole body was a little fluffy, especially his tail. It looked like a long strip from a distance, and even more furry when viewed up close.

Perhaps because he caught a living plateau rabbit on his own for the first time, Xu Nian suddenly felt that there was some hope for his future. The depressed mood he had felt yesterday was swept away, and he walked confidently on the snowfield.

As a human being, Xu Nian is a person with strong learning ability. As a leopard, he is also a snow leopard with strong learning ability.

Just by watching a hunt, he learned how to chase faster. Although he cannot be compared with the wild snow leopard, he has already begun to show the posture of the king of the snow mountains.

And this plateau rabbit is the perfect embodiment of his learning results.

Xu Nian didn't know that when he was learning to hunt, the wild snow leopard that had lost half of its blue sheep stayed by its prey and fought off two wild wolves and vultures.

After several fights, Los finally calmed down his anger.

…

Many animals live together in the alpine snowfields, forming a perfect food chain. Among them, the snow leopard is definitely considered the top predator in the food chain.

But there are other large beasts in this food chain.

Xu Nian avoided the snow leopard that jumped off the cliff, but accidentally encountered a wolf. If Los was here, he would recognize it as the wild wolf he had fought with before.

The other party didn't seem to expect to encounter another snow leopard in such a short time.

"Awoo--" The wolf's fur was similar to Xu Nian's, and both looked a little embarrassed. When the two sides confronted each other, the wild wolf lowered its voice and let out a warning growl.

Xu Nian: ...

He was caught off guard and was roared at by the wolf. He subconsciously wanted to retreat, but the wolf's eyes were full of anger. Xu Nian didn't know why he could see anger in a wolf's eyes. He was sure that he had no grudge against this wolf.

But as top predators, snow leopards and wolves are often in a competitive relationship, so it is normal for them to be unfriendly to each other.

Xu Nian's big claws were hooked on the rock, his body was slightly stiff. He looked at the wolf a little guilty, seemingly in confrontation, but in fact he was already thinking about an escape route.

There were still traces of blood on the wolf's fangs, and it was obvious that it had experienced a fierce fight. Xu Nian's furry face seemed calm, but in fact, his tail had slowly drooped and was dragging on the snow, and his ears were pressed back.

Just when the two sides were in a stalemate, the wolf took the lead and took a step forward, trying to test the attitude of the snow leopard in front of him. However, what the wolf did not expect was that the snow leopard dared to rush towards it immediately, looking as if it had won.

The snow wolf immediately tensed its back and rushed forward, ready to fight. Both sides rushed towards each other at an extremely fast speed. Just when they were about to bite each other, the snow leopard suddenly slipped its claws and ran past the wolf's side, even speeding up its escape and quickly disappeared from the snow wolf's sight.

The wolf only had time to brake quickly, and when he turned around, he saw the snow leopard running away in a very cowardly manner.

Pretending to fight but actually running away, only Xu Nian could do such a thing.

"Awooo--" The angry and confused howl of a snow wolf came from behind, with a hint of confusion in the voice.

After hearing the sound, Xu Nian would only run faster. He even planned not to come here again for a while in the future. It was either a leopard or a wolf, and it was too dangerous.

So the snowy owl brothers who landed on the branches saw again the timid snow leopard quickly running away with its tail in its mouth.

…

With the heavy snow approaching, the temperature dropped a lot. Xu Nian shook the fur on his body. His long tail was originally dragged behind him, but when it was cold, it could be used as a scarf or pillow, so Xu Nian simply held it in his mouth. When he slept, he hugged his tail, feeling very safe.

What's worse is that as the temperature drops, there are fewer and fewer prey, and the snow leopard's body consumes energy faster and faster, so the frequency of eating is much higher.

Before I became a wild animal, I only thought that animals were free. Now that I have become a snow leopard, I realize how difficult it is to survive.

"Mountain goat, no, this thing can run on the cliff too fast, I almost fell to death." Xu Nian searched for information about snow leopards in his meager knowledge of snow leopards as he walked. In fact, before going to the internship, he didn't know much about snow leopards, he just thought that this leopard was really good-looking.

In particular, he once saw a wild snow leopard through an infrared camera. The other party smashed the infrared camera with one claw, but that did not prevent Xu Nian from feeling amazed at the sight.

It's so handsome, with smooth fur, vivid eyes, and every move is full of the wildness and tension that only wild beasts can have, as well as the unique free and easy loneliness of snow leopards.

But... Xu Nian looked at himself with some doubt, wondering whether it was possible for him to transform into a snow leopard like that.

In fact, until now, he didn't know what he looked like, but judging from his fur, he could tell that he was a malnourished snow leopard.

"Plateau rabbits, pikas, and rabbits are not easy to catch either." But for Xu Nian, rabbits are already animals with a relatively high success rate. He sighed, walked down the steep slope with his tail in his mouth, and couldn't help but think of the snow leopard biting the blue sheep tightly and falling off the cliff together.

Xu Nian raised his paw and hesitated for a moment before landing on a piece of exposed rock in front of him. He stepped firmly on the stone and looked around. He was now at the bottom of the mountain, which was not that steep. However, he could often hear the howling of wolves at night, which always made Xu Nian a little scared.

But if he went to the top of the mountain, he was afraid of encountering a wild snow leopard that would jump off the cliff as if it were a slope.

After much deliberation, Xu Nian decided to hold his tail and go find something to eat. He would fight against the enemy with his own army and block the water with earth. At worst, he would run away as a sign of respect. If that didn't work, he would just slide down. It was said that unless there was a life-and-death feud, when two beasts met, they would warn each other first. So Xu Nian decided to slip away while the warning was in hand.

So after strolling around, this pseudo "King of the Snow Mountains" finally set his sights on a lone argali. The other party seemed to be injured and was limping, which further increased Xu Nian's confidence.

He couldn't catch up with the blue sheep that also loved to jump off cliffs, so how could he not catch up with a wounded and lone argali?!