Chapter 35: Xu Nian, the tough-talking leopard: We've been moving around all night! ...
Los refused to come back to live, and Xu Nian had no choice but to go along with it, although he still didn't understand why Los wanted to change his home.
But looking at the other person's appearance, he always felt that Los did not sleep well.
"If you're worried it's not safe here, go to my den up there. I'll sleep here." Seeing Xu Nian's hesitation, Los thought he was worried another beast might come up if he wasn't there, so he said, "The den up there is higher up. I'll guard it from here, so no one can get up there."
"No, no, no, that's not necessary." Xu Nian said meekly and obediently, "I think this place is great."
Although his fear of heights was not very severe, this position was already his psychological limit. If he went any higher, he was afraid that he would accidentally fall to his death. After all, the higher he went, the steeper the slope became. But for a wild snow leopard like Los, even 89 degrees was considered a slope.
Upon hearing this, Los glanced at him lightly, and then continued to lie on the edge of the cliff in silence.
Xu Nian didn't dare to ask Los why he came down the mountain to lie here and enjoy the scenery. Obviously, the view would be better at a higher place, but this place originally belonged to Los, so Xu Nian just lay there obediently.
The marmot was thrown on the ground. Xu Nian was not hungry yet, so he carefully sniffed it, hoping that one day his sense of smell would suddenly recover. But it was obviously just a thought, and his sense of smell showed no sign of improving.
"Don't you want me to stay here?" Los seemed to sense Xu Nian's confusion. He narrowed his eyes slightly, stared at Xu Nian for a while, and said in a bad tone, "I see you want me to leave?"
"Unfair." Xu Nian truly felt wronged. He definitely didn't have that thought. Perhaps it was because the aggrieved look in his eyes was too obvious. When such an accusing look fell on Los, the snow leopard felt a little uncomfortable. It flicked its tail lightly and said in a muffled voice, "Can't you ask more questions..."
"Hmm?" Xu Nian tilted his head slightly and looked at Los, waiting for him to finish what he was going to say.
Los lowered his head and licked his paws. The snow leopard was so entangled that its front paws were overlapped.
But no matter what Los thought, the night would still come as scheduled. As the night gradually darkened, the snow leopard lying in the windward side showed no intention of moving. Xu Nian hid in his own nest and looked at the other party, wondering whether Los wanted to stay or leave.
However, before he could speak, Los had already stood up and walked towards Xu Nian. Xu Nian thought that Los was going to sleep here tonight. When he was about to move inside, he saw Los wagging his tail and walking past him with his head held high.
After Xu Nian realized that the other party really didn't intend to sleep here, he simply stretched out his limbs and went to sleep.
However, unexpectedly, Los, who had originally left, came back. He looked at Xu Nian, who had already got into a sleeping position, with a gloomy face. With a cold snort, Xu Nian opened his eyes, tilted his head slightly, and looked blankly at Los who had suddenly returned. Then, he moved back a little bit in a confused and obedient manner to make room for Los.
"...I won't sleep." Los looked at the space Xu Nian had moved out of, and his mood improved. He gently wagged his tail and reminded him, "I'm right up there, very close to you. If you can't sleep well at night, just call me. I can hear you."
"Oh, okay." Xu Nian nodded. There was no aggression in his eyes. When he looked at Los, there was only trust and dependence on Los.
So Los left here in a good mood, raised his tail, and went back to his new nest to sleep.
…
Kaie walked around during the day but didn't find any prey. He finally found two marmots in the middle of the night. It was a catch-one-get-one-free deal. After biting the two marmots to death, he felt that he was lucky today.
It learned from the experience of having its prey stolen by a vulture last time. This time, it ate the marmot first, and then took the other one and went directly to Los and Xu Nian's nest.
Ever since he knew that the two lived together, Kaie felt that nothing could shock him anymore.
Of course, Kaie, who was kept out of the loop, didn't know that the other two had already gone to sleep in separate nests.
Kaie climbed up with the marmot in his mouth, and felt that these two snow leopards really knew how to enjoy themselves. This place might be a very dangerous place for other animals, but for snow leopards who are very good at walking on cliffs, this is an excellent nest.
However, when it approached Xu Nian with the marmot in its mouth, it suddenly found that Los, who usually found it first, was not in the nest. It thought it had seen it wrong, and immediately looked around and found that Los was really not there!
Xu Nian's furry ears moved twice, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Kaie holding the prey. Because he had just been hunting, Kaie's face and chest fur were covered in blood. He suddenly approached Xu Nian, and scared Xu Nian so much that he crawled out of the nest.
If he could take off from his nest, he would probably fly one for Kaie to see.
Anyone who is sleeping soundly in the middle of the night and opens their eyes to see the furry face of a beast approaching them, with its fangs not even a claw's distance away, will be startled awake.
Xu Nian looked at Kaie, who was holding the marmot in his mouth, in shock. He almost felt his heart was about to jump out and the hair on his body was standing on end. He was so frightened that he just opened his mouth and didn't make any sound.
Kaie was puzzled by his terrified look, but remembering that snow leopards are easily frightened, he could understand. He put the marmot on the ground and said, "I'm delivering prey, not trying to sneak up on you."
Xu Nian sat on the ground, took two deep breaths, and then suppressed his panicked heartbeat. He looked at Kaie helplessly, then glanced at the marmot on the ground, closed his eyes tightly, opened them again, and whispered, "Actually, you can give it to me during the day."
"Isn't it because they're afraid it's not fresh anymore? Besides, those vultures are always watching." Kaier flicked his tail. Without Los around, he suddenly felt much bolder. He raised his chin and said, "You'd better keep an eye on your prey. I advise you to eat it quickly, otherwise those birds will snatch it away."
This is a very painful experience!
"Okay..." Xu Nian licked his paws and gently rested his tail on the snow. Being startled awake in the middle of the night was not kind to the snow leopard's heart. His ears drooped a little listlessly. He looked at the prey without any appetite. He nodded and said, "Have you been robbed?"
Kaier, who was about to leave, lost his temper when he heard this. He immediately retorted, "Nonsense! That's not happening!"
Xu Nian looked at it, then nodded and said perfunctorily: "Okay, I believe it."
Kai'e's tail hair stood on end. The sensitive, fragile, and face-conscious snow leopard immediately turned its head and was about to explain the matter to Xu Nian when it suddenly stopped. It subconsciously took a step back, then nodded very sensibly, turned around without looking back, jumped off the rock wall, and ran away from Xu Nian's sight.
The attitude changed so quickly that Xu Nian was a little surprised.
If Xu Nian looked back, he would have found a snow leopard on the rock wall behind him, preparing to come down quietly. The other party was right behind him, staring coldly in the direction where Kaie left.
The other party was very quiet, and even when it jumped off the rock wall and landed on the snow, it was very light and skillful, so much so that Xu Nian didn't notice it when he lowered his head and picked up the marmot to return to the nest.
Then, Xu Nian was frightened for the second time that night.
Xu Nian really felt that his heart would have problems sooner or later. He watched Kaie leave, and when he turned around, he saw Los squatting behind him with a gloomy look. Fortunately, the snow leopard could withstand such repeated shocks.
"Am I that scary?" Los saw Xu Nian flying up in fear, and said with some displeasure, "See how I flew up."
"..." Xu Nian sighed deeply, his head feeling a little heavy. He lay on the ground, his tail swaying gently, and said in a muffled voice: "Why are you walking without making any sound? And why didn't you appear from the front, but instead came down from this side of the cliff?"
Los would never admit that he couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and was planning to lie down here. He raised his paw and licked it, then glanced in the direction Kaier had left, then looked away guiltily and said, "I came down immediately after hearing Kaier's voice."
Upon hearing this, Xu Nian opened his eyes and looked at Los, then turned his face slightly and half-knelt on the ground, waiting for Los's next words.
"The new nest is very comfortable. I won't come down here in the middle of the night for no reason." Los glanced at Xu Nian again. Seeing that he was still in a state of exhaustion, his heart moved slightly. His raised paw froze for a moment, and then he stood up and moved closer to Xu Nian. He sniffed him and asked, "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
"No, I'm just too sleepy." Xu Nian was really sleepy. He usually slept at this time.
Los responded, walked around, and then looked at Xu Nian and said, "There are no other snow leopard traces. Go to sleep. Next time Kaie comes over in the middle of the night, call me."
As for what to tell it to do, it will naturally let Kaie know when the time comes.
Xu Nian nodded drowsily and lay in the nest. He closed his eyes and listened to the whistling sound of wind and snow, as if a monster was roaring in his ears. He held the furry tail in his arms, providing a little warmth.
The place that he had just managed to warm up had become cold again. He was a little suspicious whether the temperature had dropped again recently, otherwise why did he feel that tonight was colder than last night.
But even so, he was so sleepy that he fell into a dream. He was awakened by a nightmare and felt a little itchy in his abdomen. He opened his eyes and saw that Los had returned here at some point and was resting beside him.
Xu Nian thought he had seen it wrong, so he opened his eyes twice to make sure that Los had really crawled back quietly in the middle of the night.
It was still quiet, without any movement. If Xu Nian had not been awakened by a nightmare in the middle of the night, he probably would not have known that Los had gone back to his nest to sleep.
But he was very sensible and didn't say anything, continuing to close his eyes and sleep.
As if realizing that Xu Nian was not sleeping well, Los turned his head and gently licked the side of Xu Nian's face. He covered Xu Nian's furry belly with his tail and used his back to shield him from the wind and snow.
Until the next day, when Xu Nian woke up, there was no leopard around him.
Xu Nian: ...
He had to admit that Los was really energetic. He would go to the new nest at night, return to the old nest in the middle of the night, and return to the new nest before dawn. He would just move around with his tail in his mouth all night.
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