âOkay!â Everyone stood up cooperatively and walked toward the tents.
Not long after they walked away, a white light quickly emerged from the grass and ran to the place where Leng Ruoxue and the others had been eating, picked up a piece of meat, and started eating heartilyâ¦
Uh! So itâs a little leopard!?Cold sweat dripped down Leng Ruoxueâs and the othersâ foreheads. Alas! They were nervous for nothing.
Leng Ruoxue stood still as she sized up the palm-sized little leopard. This little fellow was quite beautiful. It was snow-white and fluffy, and there was a silver stripe in the middle of its forehead that stretched all the way to its back. Its big black eyes were watery as it looked at them cautiously. Moreover, judging from the expression on the little leopardâs face, it seemed to be in a dilemma. It probably wanted to run but couldnât bear to part with the grilled meat!
Leng Ruoxue carefully walked toward the little leopard. Alas! She had always had no defense against cute little things, especially when she saw such a cute little fellow. She couldnât help feeling a little emotional!
âLittle guy, donât be scared! Big Sister wonât hurt you,â Leng Ruoxue coaxed softly.
âReally?â the little leopard asked in his childish voice uncertainly.
âReally. Big Sister never lies to children!â Leng Ruoxue smiled very gently, afraid that she would scare the little thing.
âIâm hungry,â the little leopard said pitifully while staring at Leng Ruoxue with his big, grape-like black watery eyes.
âUh! Poor child!â Leng Ruoxueâs heart ached. She approached the little leopard and handed him another piece of grilled meat.
âThank you,â the little leopard thanked her very politely. Seeing that Leng Ruoxue seemed very easy to get along with, he wasnât so scared anymore.
âLittle leopard, where is your family?â Leng Ruoxue asked curiously. If she was not mistaken, this little guy should have just been born! A cub this small shouldnât be too far away from his mother.
âI donât know either,â the leopard cub said, a little choked up, tears welling up in his black eyes.
âDonât cry!â Leng Ruoxue hugged the little leopard and coaxed.
âWuu wuu⦠I donât have a family.â The more he thought about it, the sadder he became, and the louder he cried.
âGrandpa, Iâll leave him to you.â Leng Ruoxue was dumbfounded as she handed the little leopard to Leng Qingtian. Her grandfather was more experienced than her in bringing up kids.
âThunder Night,â Leng Qingtian called helplessly. This cub was too young, and he couldnât take care of him well. He had never taken care of Thunder Night during Thunder Nightâs childhood.
âMaster, this is a newborn snow leopard cub. Send him back quickly. The mother leopard is very fierce.â Thunder Night hurriedly said as soon as he appeared and saw the little snow leopard in his masterâs hand.
âUh, this little guy came alone. He said he had no family,â Leng Qingtian explained.
âThunder Night, Iâll leave this cub to you,â Leng Qingtian added, and then he put the crying leopard on Thunder Nightâs back.
Smelling the scent of his kind, the little snow leopard immediately stopped crying and slowly got up on Thunder Nightâs broad back.
After climbing onto Thunder Nightâs head, the little snow leopard said in a childish voice, âIâm hungry!â
Thunder Night stretched out his big paw, grabbed the little snow leopard from his head, put him on the ground, and gave him a piece of meat.
âEat!â
âThank you, Uncle.â The little snow leopard took the meat, thanked him, and then wolfed it down.
âGrandpa, you are the best,â Leng Ruoxue praised.
âOf course,â Leng Qingtian said proudly while wiping the cold sweat off his forehead. Uhh! He was also forcing Thunder Night to put a square peg into a round hole!
âLook at how smug you are!â Old Man said with contempt.
âYou are jealous. I understand,â Leng Qingtian quickly retorted.
âGrandpa, take your time bickering! Iâm going to bed.â Leng Ruoxue went directly into her tent, and Freak hurriedly followed.
âHmph! Iâm going to bed too.â Leng Qingtian entered another tent.
âFine, Iâll sleep too. Whoâs afraid of who?â Old Man followed suit.
âEveryone, rest early!â Leng Ruohan said helplessly. These old men would feel uncomfortable all over if they didnât bicker for a day. But their feelings for each other also improved the more they fought.
After Feng Da and the others went to sleep, Leng Ruohan sat down by the fire alone. Only Thunder Night and the little snow leopard accompanied him.
âBig Brother.â Leng Ruoxue emerged from the tent not long after and sat down beside her brother.
âXueâer, arenât you sleeping? Whereâs Ye Chen?â Leng Ruohan asked curiously.
âBall Ball isnât back yet, so Iâll wait for him. Freak is asleep,â Leng Ruoxue explained simply.
As she spoke, a chubby little body pounced into Leng Ruoxueâs arms.
âBig Sister, Iâm back,â Ball Ball said tenderly as he rubbed himself against Leng Ruoxueâs chest.
âBall Ball, donât leave anymore. Itâs already very late,â Leng Ruoxue warned.
âOkay. Big Sister, quickly take a look at the treasures I brought back.â Ball Ball pointed at the pile of whitish things on the ground.
âBall Ball, Big Sister donât know what these are!â Leng Ruoxue said helplessly.
âBig Sister, Ball Ball is worthy of being a treasure-seeking beast. These are indeed good things, but you donât need them now.â Qing Jueâs voice sounded in Leng Ruoxueâs head.
âQing Jue, what are these things?â Leng Ruoxue asked curiously.
âHehe, Big Sister, I wonât tell you now!â Qing Jue kept her guessing again.
âStinky Qing Jue, youâve turned bad.â Leng Ruoxue pouted her pink lips in complaint.
âBig Sister, even if you know now, you wonât need them. Iâll tell you when you can use them,â Qing Jue comforted with a smile.
âAlright then!â
Leng Ruoxue was a little depressed as she cut off her connection with Qing Jue and said to Leng Ruohan, âBig Brother, Iâm going to bed.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âHurry up and go!â Leng Ruohan urged.
Leng Ruoxue stood up and walked toward her tent.
â¦
The next day, everyone woke up, had breakfast, and continued on their journeyâ¦