Chapter 7: Give You Food for a Year: The Way of the World is Understood
Los had never been so embarrassed in his life. The snow leopard's tail is very important. It has always treasured its tail, although this tail is indeed too long and it can only carry it in its mouth sometimes.
But this was the first time that its tail was seriously injured by a bite. It was almost furious when it came, and thought that it had to beat up the stupid leopard before the other party would apologize, but it didn't expect Xu Nian to apologize so straightforwardly.
This made Ross a little confused.
It opened its mouth, shook its tail slightly in dissatisfaction, and then dragged its painful tail up the mountain wall. Seeing this, Xu Nian, who was behind it, thought for two seconds and prepared to leave quietly, but then he heard Los's questioning voice from behind: "Where are you going?"
"Me?" Xu Nian was stunned. His eyes showed innocence. He said, "I have apologized to your tail."
"Is this what I'm talking about?" Los felt that the snow leopard in front of him was not only thin and had messy fur, but also his apology was not very sincere. Los stared at him for a while, and this look made Xu Nian feel something was not good.
His intuition has always been very accurate. When he was a human being, he relied on this intuition to escape being beaten many times. This time he also wanted to turn around and run, but he was on a rock wall halfway up the mountain. When he stepped back, the rocks behind him were a bit loose and he almost slipped.
Seeing this, Los's face changed slightly. He jumped forward, grabbed Xu Nian's back like flowing water, and dragged him to a safe place. Then he said irritably: "Why are you running? Do you want to go down and meet that bear?"
"!" Xu Nian frantically shuffled his limbs, and his claws quickly and firmly grasped the snow leopard in front of him. But this time, Los learned his lesson, and immediately turned sideways, subconsciously swinging the tail behind him where Xu Nian could not catch it.
It really felt sorry for its long, furry tail that was in trouble.
Xu Nian squatted on the ground, lowered his head, licked his paws, and looked a little at a loss. He had not had a good life these days. Recently, he fell off a cliff and was chased by wild beasts. He didn't know how many times he had been frightened. Now he was being stared at fiercely by Los.
Sure enough, it’s really hard to be an animal these days.
"What is your relationship with my brother?" Los frowned and changed the subject stiffly.
"We're friends, very good friends." Xu Nian responded quickly. "It told me a lot about you. For example, when you were a little over a year old, you were hunting and you were trying to catch a vulture, and you were almost kicked over—"
"Okay." Los interrupted Xu Nian quickly. He wanted to shake his tail in annoyance, but when he turned his head to look at his swollen tail, he felt even more depressed. So he simply squatted in front of Xu Nian and looked carefully at the snow leopard in front of him. He didn't know if he liked it a little more, or maybe it was because there was light at this angle, but Los felt that Xu Nian's eyes were very beautiful, more beautiful than the eyes of any snow leopard he had seen. There was a kind of... indescribable feeling.
But it could feel that Xu Nian had no ill intentions.
"Tell me something else." Ross said with a serious expression and cold eyes, "What's your name?"
"Xu...Xunian." Xu Nian answered cautiously.
"Well, my eldest brother should have told you. My name is Los." Los introduced himself, proudly raising his chin slightly. As the king of the snowy mountains, he had reason to be proud. "How did you know my brother? Why did he ask you to come to me?"
Various reasons flashed through Xu Nian's mind, and he quickly came up with one that could convince Los. He immediately sat down in front of Los, his furry paws treading on the snow, and said seriously, "Your brother and I met during the same snowy season."
Anyway, it snows here all year round.
"We met on a high mountain," said Xu Nian.
Snow leopards are usually found in high mountains, and brown bears are usually active below.
"Then it saved me, and we became good friends." Xu Nian was about to start talking nonsense. Anyway, it was impossible for Los to go to his elder brother to verify. Snow leopards will leave their mothers to live alone when they are over one year old. They are solitary. It is estimated that Los doesn't even know whether his elder brother is dead or alive.
He licked his furry paws. Any creature would feel a little guilty when telling a lie, and Xu Nian was no exception. Fortunately, the snow leopard in front of him was a simple-minded one. Except for his bad temper, everything else was good.
"Go on." Los tilted his head slightly, staring at Xu Nian, as if pondering the truth of what he said. His claws casually scratched the snow pile and said, "Why did you two separate? Why did it ask you to come find me?"
"Then something unexpected happened, and your eldest brother and I got separated. We couldn't find each other, but before we separated, he told me to come here to find you, saying..." Xu Nian took a deep breath and stated the reason he had been thinking about for a long time. He said in a resounding voice, "Your eldest brother said that his younger brother, Los, is the most powerful snow leopard on this snowy mountain, and he will definitely be willing to protect me."
Los: ...?
Xu Nian sat very upright, he even straightened his chest, as if he believed the words of this "Los's big brother".
"Is its brain damaged? I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about my big brother." Los wanted to wag his tail again, but he held back. He just said in a strange tone: "Did you know that snow leopards usually keep to themselves?"
"I know." Xu Nian raised his paw and stepped on the snow pile beneath him to ease his nervousness. He said, "But...but I..."
Xu Nian raised his head and looked at Los, then he looked at Los's big tail. He could still hear the howling of wild wolves in his ears. Compared with the wolf pack, the life of the snow leopard seemed more lonely.
Los also heard the howling of the wolves, but he was used to it.
"If you don't like me being by your side, then I'll leave." Xu Nian's furry face was filled with an extremely serious expression, and he said sincerely, "If you are willing to accept me, I can be by your side."
It is good to lean against a big tree for shade. Xu Nian understood this truth. Anyway, Los had no way to verify whether this matter was true or not. It was always better to follow a powerful fellow than to encounter a wolf pack or a brown bear alone.
Xu Nian looked at Los, and he himself didn't realize how his expression made Leopard unable to refuse.
Los stood up and walked towards the top of the mountain wall. It did not answer Xu Nian's words, which made Xu Nian feel uneasy. Just as Xu Nian was guessing what Los was thinking, the snow leopard suddenly turned its head and looked at Xu Nian, seemingly saying casually: "Until my tail forgives you, just follow me."
Xu Nian tilted his furry head slightly, his beautiful eyes filled with a sincere smile.
His smile was sincere. Finally, he didn't have to run for his life from being chased by wild beasts in the middle of the night.
…
The wind was cold. The next morning, after being blown by the wind all night, Los licked the fur on his side. He thought about it all night but couldn't figure out why he had inexplicably agreed to let Xu Nian stay here.
I always feel like something is wrong, but I can't tell what the problem is.
It shook its head, its head aching from the impact of Xu Nian's messy information. When it turned its head, it saw Xu Nian hiding behind a rock to avoid the wind. The other party was sleeping soundly, even turned over and lay down to sleep.
Los originally wanted to wake Xu Nian up, but his eyes suddenly fell on his abdomen. The fur on his abdomen was messy, and it was obvious that he had never been full. His abdomen rose and fell when he breathed, but he still looked much thinner than other snow leopards.
The most important thing was that Los's eyes fell on the wound on Xu Nian's abdomen. It was probably scratched by the sharp edge of the stone when he was climbing the mountain wall before. The injury was not serious, but there was a little blood on his fur.
If it were in the past, Xu Nian would have definitely noticed his injury at the first moment, but he was too tired and nervous. Since becoming a snow leopard, he had only slept soundly and peacefully that night next to Los.
When Xu Nian woke up, he subconsciously hooked the tip of his tail, and then he found that the touch of his tail was wrong when it fell. It was not the feeling of being on the snow. So he immediately turned his head and saw that his tail was resting on Los's body.
He didn't know when this snow leopard had been lying beside him, and now his tail was on the snow leopard's body. Xu Nian suddenly froze. He really did something wrong the moment he opened his eyes.
"you……"
"you……"
The two snow leopards spoke at the same time, and then paused. Los said, "What do you want to say?"
"Are you cold?" Xu Nian laughed awkwardly and said, "To keep me warm."
Los sneered, and before he could speak, Xu Nian immediately apologized very smoothly, saying, "I'm sorry."
Ross was silent.
It looked Xu Nian up and down, then turned its head and said coldly, "Why don't you take your tail away? Do you want me to pick it up for you?"
Xu Nian's big tail moved away immediately. He held his big tail obediently, his ears slightly lowered, and his eyes fell cautiously on Los, as if he was observing this snow leopard with a bad temper.
"Why are you always looking at me?" Los looked back and said, "Watch your tail. It's almost reaching me."
Xu Nian held his tail in his mouth, feeling a little puzzled, but still nodded to show that he understood.
Los lowered his head and licked his side, then stood up and walked to the side. He was used to standing next to the cliff without any fear. When hunting, he would jump off the cliff no matter how high it was. If he was lucky, he could take away the prey. If he was unlucky, he would get injured and then get up and recover for a few days.
"From now on you..." Los turned his head and saw Xu Nian stretching, his front paws supporting the ground, the base of his tail curled up, his big furry tail swaying gently, the tip of his tail curled up, and his whole body stretched out as hard as he could. When Los saw Xu Nian's appearance, the words on his lips got stuck.
"What's wrong?" Xu Nian asked in confusion.
"..." After being interrupted by Xu Nian, it forgot what it was going to say. Los turned around depressedly and continued to blow cold wind towards the cliff.
Los thought for a long time, but couldn't remember what he was going to say to Xu Nian. Whenever he thought of this question, the image of Xu Nian stretching would inevitably appear in his mind.
The hateful snow leopard had a narrow waist, a big furry tail, and a soft whimper. Los licked his fur silently, and then sighed deeply.
"Is your tail feeling better?" Los actually noticed Xu Nian walking towards him, but Xu Nian was very sensible and did not get close to Los. He just stopped at a distance. Los thought Xu Nian was quite sensible in this regard.
Snow leopards need to know their limits, not to mention that they are all male snow leopards. Not driving Xu Nian out of the territory was already a mercy for Los. After all, his tail was still injured, and the culprit had to take responsibility to the end.
Listening to Xu Nian's question, Los casually swung his tail lightly, indicating that although his tail was not broken, it was not in much better condition. When he thought of this, Los became angry again.
"What were you thinking? You bit me so hard!" Snow leopards' tails are very sensitive. Los didn't want to admit that at that moment, he felt like all the fur on his body had exploded. He angrily said, "Thank goodness my tail is strong, otherwise it would have broken right here."
Xu Nian pressed his ears and looked at Los guiltily. This obedient and self-blaming look made Los shut up. He turned his head, but in less than two seconds he glanced at Xu Nian again, looking at Xu Nian very casually.
It kept a stern face, looking serious and indifferent, such a cold and domineering snow leopard.
"The argali went flying, and my back was numb from the pain. Then, when it bit my tail, I couldn't feel anything. I thought my back bones were broken, or maybe my tail was broken, so I didn't feel anything." Xu Nian's furry paws looked a little heavy. When he was anxious, he liked to step on rocks or snow piles under his paws. So he squatted on the ground, stomping his front paws back and forth in the snow, and said honestly, "So when I get anxious, I use more strength."
"...Of course you won't feel anything no matter how hard you bite." Los gritted his teeth and said, "Because that's my tail!"
I almost bit off its tail.
After going around in circles, the topic came up again, and Xu Nian raised his paw and vaguely pointed it towards Los, trying to show goodwill.
"You're the only one who's been knocked away by an argali sheep." Los snorted coldly, "And twice."
"Have you been watching?" Xu Nian asked.
"What else?" Los bared his fangs and threatened Xu Nian slightly, then said, "I didn't know you back then, so I was lucky I didn't go up and beat you up. Do you know what it means for a male snow leopard to enter another male's territory and capture prey there?"
Even though Xu Nian lacked knowledge about snow leopards, he could guess that this kind of question was most likely a provocation.
As expected, Los immediately answered his own question: "This is a provocative act, not to mention that you are biting my tail."
"However." Los glanced at Xu Nian's retracted claws. His eyes moved, and finally he stiffened his neck and said, "Even an argali can knock you away. What threat can you pose to me?"
When it said this, it looked arrogant, so Xu Nian swallowed the words "Your tail is injured" and did not say it out loud.
Xu Nian, the snow leopard, is very good at judging the situation.
"Then...where is the sheep?" Xu Nian suddenly remembered that he had actually been hungry for a long time. He licked his retracted paw and asked cautiously and tentatively.
"Of course it was hunted by me. How could a wounded argali escape from my claws?" Los opened his paw pads to let Xu Nian see how powerful his claws were.
In Xu Nian's eyes, the furry paw pads looked like a snow leopard wearing a big furry slipper. His own paws were already very big, and Los's were obviously even bigger than them, making them very conspicuous.
Before Los could feel proud for a while, he heard a grunting sound. He subconsciously pricked up his ears and turned his head to look. He saw a trace of embarrassment on Xu Nian's face.
"Are you hungry?" Los's eyes fell on the other person's almost starving stomach.
"Not bad..." Xu Nian wanted to hold back and catch a rabbit later, but his stomach didn't give him face. The sound of his stomach growling became more and more obvious. For a moment, the two snow leopards fell silent facing each other.
The first one to speak was Los. He stood up and walked past Xu Nian with his tail dragging on the ground. Normally, he would walk with his tail in his mouth, but now his physical condition obviously did not allow it.
Xu Nian was still squatting when he heard Los say, "Come with me. There's still half a mutton. Don't starve to death."
Xu Nian's eyes lit up, and he looked at Los with surprise. This made Los subconsciously clear his throat and continued, "Eat whatever you want. It's just hunting a lamb."
It said it so casually, as if hunting an argali was just a matter of going with the claws.
"Thank you." Xu Nian said very politely. The snow leopard's furry face had a submissive expression, which made Los couldn't help but look at it a few more times. Obviously, the fur was so messy and it looked very thin, but he just couldn't help but look at it again and again.
Those eyes seemed to be able to speak.
Along the way, Los led the way in front, and Xu Nian followed behind him, walking on the snow. Fortunately, Los's tail was injured and he couldn't run fast, so Xu Nian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
When they arrived at the argali, a vulture that liked to eat carrion landed on it. Los pounced on it directly, and the vulture immediately spread its wings and flew away. It was completely different from its previous arrogant look when it was fighting with Xu Nian for food. Xu Nian looked at this vulture that bullied the weak and feared the strong, gritted his teeth, and thought that he had to work harder, otherwise he would be bullied wherever he went.
"Eat." Los squatted next to the argali. The vulture had already eaten some, and there was not much left, but it was still easy for Xu Nian to fill his stomach.
When the vulture saw Xu Nian preparing to eat the argali, it spread its wings and let out a cry, apparently unwilling to give up the food that was already in its mouth. Finally, Los stood up and stared at it, as if it would be its prey if it pounced on it again. The vulture was too lazy to bother with this snow leopard with a very bad temper, and flew away after flapping its wings twice quickly.
The argali had only been dead for a day, and in such a low temperature environment, the meat was still fresh. Xu Nian leaned over to sniff it, then opened his mouth and took a bite, but he knew how to handle human relationships and gave the biggest piece of meat to Los.
Los was still staring at the circling vultures when a piece of meat fell in front of him. He subconsciously took a step back in shock, his whole body tense. Then he saw Xu Nian pick at the meat with his claws and said, "The most delicious meat is yours."
Los lowered his eyes and looked at the large piece of meat under his claws, then looked at the little meat left on the argali skeleton, and finally his gaze fell on Xu Nian with a very complicated look.
"For me?" Ross asked.
Xu Nian was so hungry that he felt dizzy and just wanted to have a quick bite. He nodded quickly and said, "Yes, this is for you."
"..." Los opened his mouth and looked down at the piece of meat. His furry ears twitched slightly twice. His injured tail curled up subconsciously, almost like a mosquito coil, and then stretched out again.
Its face seemed calm, but its tail revealed that it was going through a fierce ideological struggle in its heart at the moment. It was hard not to notice this big furry tail. Xu Nian had tried his best to ignore it, but this tail was really too eye-catching.
Xu Nian cautiously reminded: "Be careful with your tail, it's finally getting better."
Then, the long, furry tail suddenly stiffened. Los took a deep breath, turned his head and picked up his injured tail. He didn't care whether it hurt or not, and walked to the side, saying as he walked, "I'm not hungry, you eat it yourself."
Xu Nian looked at Los in confusion as he disappeared from his sight with his hands and feet holding his tail. He could only lower his head to eat the remaining argali meat, but soon he heard a sound coming from the side of the mountain wall. When he looked up, he saw Los flying directly across the gap in the mountain wall, biting a blue sheep cub hiding in the middle, and taking it away.
The argali meat in front of him had not been finished yet, but Los brought back a baby blue sheep and casually threw it in front of Xu Nian, saying, "Eat it, you are almost starving."
The poor novice snow leopard was indeed starving to death, with only fur covering its body.
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