Song Wei never expected the snow leopard to stay.
So her relaxed and open-minded demeanor was genuinely not an act.
“I just wonder if the mother snow leopard will chase me out the next time I go to see the cub.”
They had been here for almost a month now, and in just a couple of days, they would have to return. She was feeling a bit reluctant to leave.
Song Wei thought that once the mother snow leopard’s injuries healed and she left, they would have no further connection unless she actively sought her out.
Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, a commotion arose outside the tent.
Both Song Wei and Lin Zhen alertly opened their eyes and stepped out of the tent at the same time.
As soon as they emerged, they came face-to-face with the snow leopard, who was struggling to approach while clutching a goat in her mouth.
The mother snow leopard released her grip, dropping the prey at her feet. She sat upright, licked her paws, and gazed at them with innocent, wide eyes.
“Mother Snow Leopard? Is this a gift for us?”
Song Wei was genuinely surprised. She hadn’t expected this snow leopard to understand the concept of repaying kindness.
The mother snow leopard cast a rather aloof glance at Song Wei, then stood up, shook her fluffy tail, and vanished into the night with a few graceful leaps.
Song Wei and Lin Zhen waited until she was gone before examining the prey left on the ground.
It turned out to be a blue sheep.
Song Wei’s eyes curved into happy crescents. “We’ll have lamb to eat tomorrow. The mother snow leopard’s hunting skills are truly impressive.”
Her injuries had only recently healed, yet she had returned to her territory and managed to catch a blue sheep.
As a natural predator of blue sheep, the mother snow leopard was, of course, an expert climber.
After accepting this gift, Lin Zhen prepared a pot of lamb offal soup the next morning.
Feng Tingxuan expressed some regret upon hearing about the previous night’s events.
“How did I not hear any of the commotion? That snow leopard is quite remarkable.”
A wild animal that understood gratitude was indeed extraordinary.
A steaming bowl of lamb offal soup warmed the stomachs of all three.
The little ones also had a treat.
They lapped up the lamb offal soup with great relish.
The grasslands were abundant with resources—plenty of goat’s milk and meat—so the little ones had grown chubbier and rounder.
“What should we do? Should we take these five little ones with us when we go back?”
Leaning against Lin Zhen’s shoulder, Song Wei playfully poked the wolf cub with her finger.
The chubby little cub, which had been standing steadily, toppled over and rolled onto its back.
Lin Zhen watched the wolf cub circling around Song Wei. “If you like them, we’ll take them with us.”
The wolf cub was already eating meat puree. On the train, it would have to be confined to prevent it from running around, and its meals would be simpler.
Taking a grassland wolf back to the forest shouldn’t be a problem.
Once they returned, they could have Wolf One and Wolf Two train it.
If it couldn’t be tamed, they could simply release it into the deep mountains to fend for itself.
Song Wei wasn’t one to be overly sentimental. If they were taking them, then so be it.
They would need to prepare a backpack basket to carry all five of them on the train.
However, they had to ensure they had enough food for the little ones. Fresh meat would be out of the question, but they could bring plenty of eggs. She wondered if there was any milk powder available in the area.
Feng Tingxuan told them, “Perhaps you can try the black market. The towns around here are too small to have milk powder processing plants. The city has them, but we’re too far from the city. Only the black market might have milk powder, and even then, it would be the loose, unpackaged kind.”
Loose milk powder would be fine.
However, before that, they had to return first.
In the blink of an eye, the herding period was coming to an end.
On the day before their departure, Song Wei took the time to specifically bid farewell to the Pallas’s cat family and the snow leopard family.
“This is the last time I’ll bring prey to see you.”
The mother Pallas’s cat had long recovered from her injuries, and the kittens had already begun learning to hunt under her guidance.
This time, Song Wei brought two live pikas.
As soon as the pikas were released, the kittens immediately chased after them, eager to showcase their newly acquired skills.
Then, one of the pikas escaped.
It took all four kittens working together to catch just one pika.
Their hunting skills were truly concerning—would they be able to avoid starvation in the future?
The mother Pallas’s cat, however, remained remarkably composed. Perched steadily on a rock, she allowed the strong wind to ruffle her fur, watching with the calm detachment of a seasoned monk deep in meditation.
“I’ll be leaving soon. I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back next time, and perhaps we may never meet again.”
The competition in the wild was brutal. It was entirely possible that, at some point, they would simply vanish from this world.
This wasn’t pessimism on Song Wei’s part—it was reality.
The kittens, having finished their meal, chirped and pounced onto her legs, eagerly offering their heads and bellies for petting. Round, lively, and mischievous, they were a delight.
Song Wei gently squeezed their tiny paws.
“Strive to live long lives.”
As she prepared to leave, the mother Pallas’s cat climbed down from the rock.
Song Wei scratched under her chin.
“Do you know I’m leaving? It seems you’re a bit reluctant to see me go.”
After saying goodbye to the Pallas’s cat family, the mother led her kittens to stand atop a pile of rubble that blended almost seamlessly with their fur, watching as Song Wei departed.
Song Wei turned back and waved.
Goodbye.
Riding her large black horse, she arrived at the territory of the mother snow leopard.
The mother snow leopard wasn’t home, but Song Wei didn’t hesitate to venture into her domain. Sitting cross-legged at the entrance of the cave, she imitated the snow leopard’s call, calling out twice into the depths.
Before long, the cave echoed with the soft, high-pitched responses of the snow leopard cubs.
Soon, three white cubs adorned with black markings came tumbling out, bold and spirited.
“Meow-rawr!”
Song Wei picked up a canteen hanging from her waist and pulled a bowl from her bag, placing it in front of the snow leopard cubs.
She opened the canteen and poured out a stream of lukewarm, milky-white goat’s milk into the bowl.
The three little ones jostled and squeezed together, eagerly lapping up the milk.
They put their entire bodies into the effort of competing for the milk, their tiny tails trembling with the intensity.
Utterly adorable.
Song Wei rested her chin on her hand, only intervening to steady the bowl when it threatened to tip over from their enthusiastic crowding.
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