Chapter 72: Growing up for many years: Am I a real snow...

Because of Los' "injury", Xu Nian was able to start living a life of supporting his family.

Raising an adult snow leopard is not easy. At least the prey is enough to worry Xu Nian. He lies beside Los, and every day he is either concerned about how Los's wounds are recovering and whether there are any sequelae, or thinking about what to eat next and where to find prey.

Los looked at the snow leopard beside him with a thoughtful look on its face, leaned over and licked it. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he suddenly felt that Xu Nian seemed much more stable.

"Let's expand our search area tomorrow." Xu Nian turned around and stated the conclusion he had drawn after an afternoon of pondering. "While there are marmots here, they're clearly becoming fewer and fewer. We need to keep moving forward. More prey should be ahead."

Los's furry ears twitched, and he looked at Xu Nian and muttered something. There was a serious expression on his handsome face. Xu Nian in deep thought made Los feel very novel.

"Are you listening to me?" Xu Nian noticed that Los was staring at him. He subconsciously tilted his head slightly and asked, "Los?"

"I'm listening," Ross said.

"Then what did I say?" Xu Nian wagged his tail, raised his chin slightly, and half-closed his eyes.

Los paused, taking in the other man's expression, then leaned over and nudged Xu Nian. Xu Nian, imitating Los's usual manner, chuckled and said, "I knew you didn't listen. I told you I needed to expand my search for prey tomorrow. Wait here for me."

Xu Nian's tail swung gently. The almost 100% hunting success rate in recent years has greatly inflated Xu Nian's self-confidence. He shook his tail proudly, and he couldn't wait to show his hunting skills to Los.

"Okay." Ross responded.

Its long furry tail was placed behind it, with the tip of its tail slightly raised. In fact, it knew what Xu Nian had said before, but it just wanted to tease Xu Nian.

Seeing Xu Nian's proud look, a brief smile flashed across Los' eyes.

"I'll do it tomorrow..." When Xu Nian was about to say something else, Los's tail was already wrapped around Xu Nian's waist. He raised his paw and used a little force to make Xu Nian lie down on the ground obediently. Then he leaned over to lick Xu Nian and comb his messy fur.

At first Xu Nian was ready to resist and wanted to finish his words, but the feeling of having his back licked felt quite comfortable, so he simply lay down. After humming softly twice, he half-closed his eyes and said vaguely, "You have to be careful with your injury. It hasn't healed for such a long time. It must be an internal injury. The sequelae are very troublesome. Anyway, I'm telling you, you may not understand, but you just have to remember one thing: I will definitely not harm you."

As he spoke, his furry ears trembled and his tail wagged happily at first. After being made more comfortable by Los's nudging, he simply turned over his body gently, revealing part of his soft belly, obviously very comfortable.

They had often done this before, so Xu Nian didn't think there was anything wrong.

Perhaps it was because hunting in the past few days was really too tiring. After lying on his back for a while, Xu Nian felt a little sleepy. He subconsciously half-closed his eyes, began to feel sleepy, and fell asleep in a short while.

Los heard Xu Nian's breathing gradually calming down, so he stopped moving and his gentle gaze fell on the snow leopard lying on its back in front of him. He suddenly understood why Luo Yin was so reluctant to leave Xu Nian.

In fact, after thinking for a long time, it had already suspected that the reason why Luo Yin appeared in the previous territory was not for its territory, but most likely for Xu Nian.

After all, Xu Nian is so handsome and so special, how could there be a snow leopard who doesn't like it.

Los had completely forgotten what he said when Xu Nian bit his tail.

After observing Xu Nian for a while, Los naturally half-lay down beside Xu Nian. He even changed his posture to make Xu Nian sleep more comfortably.

It gently lifted its nose, sniffed Xu Nian's scent, then closed its eyes and took a short rest. However, its ears were always erect, and it would wake up immediately at the slightest movement.

Xu Nian was simply in a deep sleep. He probably wouldn't wake up even if there was no movement or a mountain collapsed.

The next morning, when Xu Nian woke up, he saw Los half-lying beside him. He was looking outside, as if listening to the movements around him. However, when Xu Nian woke up, his ears moved slightly, and then he turned his head to look at Xu Nian.

The early morning sun fell on Los. The long-awaited sun made the group of wild animals breathe a sigh of relief, at least temporarily relieving the pressure of survival. Too many animals had died in the blizzard during this period. They were numb but had to keep moving forward.

Not only Xu Nian and Los felt relieved, but the blue sheep and other animals also began to look for prey in groups of three or two. Xu Nian didn't expect that after the weather cleared up, he would see so many blue sheep. He had been looking for them everywhere a few days ago.

As if sensing Xu Nian's confusion, Los explained, "At this time, they also need to come out and move around. If it snows, they will look for a safe place to minimize their own energy consumption, so they are difficult to find."

Upon hearing this, Xu Nian nodded, not quite understanding. However, after seeing so many mountain goats, he immediately gained confidence in hunting mountain goats today.

Just yesterday he boasted that he would get some blue sheep for Los to eat, and today he will definitely be able to do it.

Just like before, Xu Nian went hunting, and Los followed him not far away, quietly surrounding the other mountain goats, allowing Xu Nian to feel the joy of a successful hunt.

Seeing Xu Nian happy, it also became happy.

The running ibex and the chasing Xu Nian rushed past the rock wall one after another. Los assisted the hunting from a close distance. Under the long-lost sunshine, running would bring up some tiny snowflakes, which fell on their soft fur.

Xu Nian bit the blue sheep hard. He imitated Los's way and bit it hard, not letting go no matter how the prey struggled. He held the prey in his mouth with blood on his face, coming against the light, and his furry fur seemed to be coated with a layer of golden light.

"Have I grown a lot compared to before?" Xu Nian asked.

"Yes." Los was not stingy with his praise, especially since the other person was Xu Nian. He gently wagged his tail and said, "Of course, you have grown a lot, which is beyond my expectation."

This was not to deceive Xu Nian, but to tell the truth. In fact, when Los saw Xu Nian and even agreed to let Xu Nian follow him, he never thought that one day Xu Nian would grow up to be the independent person he is today.

These words pleased Xu Nian to a great extent. He raised his tail high, obviously very excited. In fact, Kaie had said before that Xu Nian had made great progress, but at that time Xu Nian was just a little surprised and happy. But now, it was Los who praised him. Xu Nian puffed out his chest very proudly. With the blood of prey on his face, he looked like a real snow leopard.

A truly grown king of the snow mountains.

Xu Nian returned to Los and walked closer to him. He walked around Los and let him see his agile figure. He felt that his body shape was much better than before.

"Excellent." Los thought the other party was asking for praise, so he immediately moved over and rubbed Xu Nian twice, saying, "Very impressive, Nian Nian."

Xu Nian's furry ears twitched slightly. He subconsciously glanced at Los, but did not correct the other party's change in address.

At this moment, there was still a snow leopard wandering in the place where the avalanche had occurred before. It really couldn't find any trace of Xu Nian. The last breath disappeared in a pool of blood. Luo Yin suspected that Xu Nian was eaten by vultures.

But as to why no bones were found, Luo Yin guessed that it might be the work of the wolves.

However, although it did not find Xu Nian, it smelled the scent of Los. After smelling the scent of Los, Luo Yin's tail fell off with a snap. It thought for a while and stepped on the snow somewhat at a loss.

Although he often fought with Los, pretending to be his younger brother and killing the male snow leopard his younger brother raised was not a good thing no matter how you looked at it.

Just when it was about to search twice more, a small avalanche occurred here again. Luo Yin strolled around the periphery for a few times, and after thinking for a while, he decided to leave first as it was not safe here.

As for Xu Nian and Los... when it comes back here next spring, it will tell Los that Xu Nian is dead.

However, Luo Yin could almost foresee that he would have a fierce battle with that useless brother.

After all, his useless brother was not only bad-tempered but also stubborn. Once he made up his mind about something, he would never change. When Luo Yin thought about this, he felt a little guilty.

Luo Yin left the dangerous snow mountain with its tail in its mouth and walked in the direction of the prey's migration. It looked back at the snow mountain from time to time, and finally turned around and ran towards the distance without looking back. Soon its figure disappeared into the mountains and forests.

…

At this moment, the two snow leopards that Luo Yin was worried about were snuggling with each other in the cave. After they had eaten their fill, they licked each other's fur and prepared to follow the prey and move forward.

Further ahead is a place that Los has never been to.

"Will we come back next spring?" Xu Nian paused and added, "Back to our previous nest."

"That nest is gone," Los said. After a brief pause, he added, "But we can come back next spring. I'll find a bigger and better nest."

It realized that Xu Nian was actually a very nostalgic snow leopard. It felt that Xu Nian was reluctant to leave his previous place. Luo Yin leaned over and licked Xu Nian gently to make him feel more secure.

Xu Nian raised his eyes and looked at the majestic snow leopard beside him. He nodded and said, "Yes, we will definitely come back."

What Xu Nian missed more than this place was this snow leopard. Whether as a human or a snow leopard, he had to admit that Los was the first one to desperately protect him and the first one to treat him well sincerely.

"Luo Yin and I..." Upon hearing this, Xu Nian immediately guessed what Los was going to ask and immediately replied, "Compared to Luo Yin, you are my best leopard friend."

Luo Yin had actually been kicked out of the category of good leopard friends by Xu Nian, but he certainly couldn't say that in front of Los.

Los was indeed easy to coax. Although his expression did not change when he heard this, Xu Nian had become accustomed to not looking at Los's expression, but instead focused directly on his tail. After all, his tail was much more honest than Los's mouth.

Sure enough, after saying this, the tail was lifted up almost to the point of curling up.

The snow leopard's tail, which is almost as long as its body, is really beautiful. Xu Nianduo looked at it twice, then quietly retracted his gaze and gently fell on the tail behind him.

His body is not as big as Los, and his tail is naturally not as long as Los, but it is fluffier than Los. When it sways gently, it looks like a large feather duster. It is not difficult to imagine how furry it would feel in the hand.

While Xu Nian was thinking, Los had already squatted on the ground. He raised his paw and looked at the tip of his tail swaying left and right in front of him. After enduring for a long time, he still couldn't help but use his paw to gently poke the big furry tail, which could almost be called a "large cat toy".

Xu Nian became so sensitive that his fur stood on end almost instantly, and he turned into a big furry ball.