The irony was, not long after the snow leopard departed, at a certain moment, Ming Ruan’s body suddenly grew heavy, and he plopped right onto the ground.
The bubble that had confined Ming Ruan for so long burst apart, dispersing instantly into thin air, leaving only a Space Button that dropped down beside Ming Ruan. Ming Ruan vaguely guessed that this thing was similar to an Executor protective measure. It must have detected that his current location was relatively safe and automatically deactivated.
So, the snow leopard had been helping him just now?
Ming Ruan scrambled up from the ground.
Now that he could move freely, and since he had already encountered a snow leopard suspected to be his mission target, there was no way he was going to leave!
Discovering his light brain was still displaying a blue screen and couldn’t contact the outside world, Ming Ruan did a bit of mental preparation, then followed the snow leopard’s plum blossom-shaped paw prints in the snow, step by step, sticking close to the cliff wall, walking back to the spot where he had previously gazed at the snow leopard from afar.
Unfortunately, the paw prints just cut off abruptly at the cliff edge. Within his line of sight, there was no trace of the snow leopard.
No matter! Fluffballs needed to be slowly reeled in!
Near where the snow leopard’s paw prints disappeared, Ming Ruan found a protruding large rock and placed the tube of nutrient solution on it, even using snow to build a conspicuous circle around it.
Then he stuck to the cliff wall again and slowly walked back towards the more open platform. Because he was pressing so tightly against the rock face, his arm and even the side of his face accidentally got scraped, with a little blood seeping out. The body’s owner didn’t pay these small wounds any mind.
Over the next day or two, Ming Ruan first relied on his days of experience with Forest Patrol to scrounge up some interstellar-specialty berries, the kind that still hung on the branches in winter. He ate some himself, and piled every last one of the rest onto that protruding rock.
The young man, wrapped in cold-weather gear from the Space Button, shuffled back and forth, huddled like a little penguin, moving step by cautious step along the cliff. He’d put down some scraps of food scavenged from who-knows-where, then hurriedly hide, occasionally poking his head out cleverly to scan the surroundings, just like a hunter observing whether his trap had caught any top-quality prey.
Seeing the bait untouched and intact, the young man was visibly disappointed, drooping for half the day. He’d find a clean rock to curl up on like a little mushroom, arms wrapped around his knees, chin resting on his kneecaps, lost in thought.
Little did he know, all of this was being watched by his prey.
The snow leopard had somehow circled around to the mountain behind Ming Ruan. From its high vantage point, it watched the young man fall asleep leaning against the cliff face. With a sweep of its tail, it nimbly looped back, leaping down to the rock where the young man had piled the food.
The snow leopard approached, its nose twitching slightly as it carefully sniffed and examined the items, then couldn’t help but glance towards Ming Ruan. Two tubes of nutrient solution…
He hadn’t expected that after the Protective Device deactivated, Ming Ruan wouldn’t leave. Instead, he persistently appeared before him, and now, he’d even sent over all his nutrient solutions, spending the whole day eating nothing but a few fruits scrubbed clean with snow himself.
What did this mean? He himself had already beastified; what was there left for Ming Ruan to seek or demand?
The snow leopard’s paw reached forward and scraped inward, then it slowly lay down, its big, long tail sweeping around to the front, resting near its mouth. The tail swished back and forth; it seemed the leopard wanted to bite it but held back.
Could it be that the Ming Family’s situation had changed? Or the Jin Family… Jin Qianyu was about to subconsciously think deeper, but suddenly realized: he was just a snow leopard now. None of this was his concern anymore. Without him, the Jin Family would naturally groom someone else to keep worrying. He couldn’t be bothered to think about it.
The snow leopard swung its tail back to its rear and, in two or three strides, the big leopard vanished from the small platform.
The wind blew quietly through. After two or three seconds passed, suddenly, a silver-white blur shot back up, swiftly scooped up a mouthful of something, and disappeared again. Only then did the small platform return to complete tranquility.
On the protruding rock, the berries had been swept clean, leaving only the two lonely tubes of nutrient solution behind.
…
Success!
“Woohoo!”
Upon discovering the berries were gone, Ming Ruan couldn’t help but pump his fist in a tiny celebration!
He had long since realized the snow leopard was circling around to the mountain on his side, occasionally watching him from the high ground. So he’d deliberately exaggerated his emotions a bit, showing some vulnerability, striving to convey the message: I really, really want to get close to the leopard.
And the snow leopard, having received this information, hadn’t refused, nor had it run away. That meant he could be bolder and start the next step!
Thus, Jin Qianyu discovered that ever since he’d scooped up those berries that day, Ming Ruan had become increasingly audacious by the day. He no longer hid to secretly observe, but openly appeared right before him. The leopard scaled walls as if flying; Ming Ruan applauded. The leopard lay down to rest; Ming Ruan inched closer bit by bit.
Unknowingly, what had started as one human and one leopard each occupying opposite sides of the mountain cliff turned into each occupying two ends of the same side, and then into only two or three steps of distance between them.
The snow leopard lifted one eyelid, glancing at Ming Ruan.
Ming Ruan halted his sneakily creeping feet and grinned sheepishly at the snow leopard, pretending nothing had happened.
Jin Qianyu: “…”
Anyone who had dealt with Jin Qianyu knew he was always swift, decisive, and never dithered. He meant what he said and never went back on his word. People he’d rejected would never appear before him again. Now, facing Ming Ruan, he always felt like he was kneading a piece of that sticky, glutinous rice cake. He couldn’t tell what filling was wrapped inside this cake; he couldn’t throw it away, but holding onto it just made his hands sticky.
Thinking of this, the snow leopard fiercely stood up and shook its body. Just then, a strong gust of wind raced through the mountain cliff, sweeping fallen snow back into the air. For a moment, it was as if a blizzard had descended upon the cliff.
Ming Ruan saw the previously languid snow leopard’s eyes sharpen, staring intently at the cliff filling with wind and snow. Power seemed to transmit from its spine to every muscle in its four limbs, its entire leopard body drawn taut like a fully pulled bow. In the next instant, whoosh, it shot out again.
The snow leopard was like a divine beast out of a legendary epic, freely soaring through the wind and snow. It seemed to borrow the gale’s force, riding the wind, chasing the snow.
Ming Ruan could tell; it truly loved this kind of activity, and it was very happy.
When the fluffball was happy, Ming Ruan was happy too. Just like countless times before, he clapped vigorously and shouted praise: “Leopard Cub is so amazing!!”
His words were shredded by the fierce wind, the fragments drifting into the ears of the snow leopard within the gale. It quickly finished this session of stretching its limbs.
Ming Ruan watched the snow leopard leap high and land lightly, as if delivered onto the platform by the wind itself. Only this time, the snow leopard didn’t stop far away to rest by itself. Instead, it walked towards him without pausing.
The snow leopard drew closer and closer, that crisp, cold scent of wind and snow assaulting his face.
Just as Ming Ruan was pleasantly surprised, he saw the snow leopard open its blood-red maw wide.
Ming Ruan: ?
He subconsciously shut his eyes and scrunched his neck. The next instant, he felt a tightening at the back of his collar, and his whole body seemed tumbled inside a washing machine—a moment of dizzying disorientation.
But very quickly, Ming Ruan felt himself lying on a fluffy surface. Beneath his hands was thick, soft, dense fur. With a little pressure, he could even feel the springy, hard muscles flexing beneath.
Ming Ruan abruptly opened his eyes and found that, somehow, he had been flipped onto the snow leopard’s back by it and was now riding on top! This, this! Heavens!! Even Ming Ruan couldn’t help it; he had to use that terribly coy gesture of covering his mouth to stifle the squealing, whistling noises threatening to erupt from him like a boiling kettle! What did this mean? Was this really okay?!
The snow leopard turned its head to look back at Ming Ruan. It took a small, deliberate step forward. Ming Ruan understood tacitly. He wrapped both arms around the snow leopard’s neck.
In the next moment, the snow leopard gradually accelerated, carrying Ming Ruan as it raced along the mountain cliff. The wind whipped Ming Ruan’s hair straight back and forced his eyes shut. He had no choice but to crouch even lower, burying his face into the warm, fluffy fur.
After the snow leopard accelerated to its peak, it seemed to have fully accounted for Ming Ruan’s weight. The next second, it launched into even bolder leaps and bounds! Ming Ruan felt his body rising and falling. It was an extremely perilous, utterly insane act, yet he couldn’t muster any fear. Even after getting used to it, he actively lifted his face, opened his eyes, and took in the sight of this unimaginable spectacle.
What roller coaster? What pirate ship? What horseback riding? How could any of that compare to riding a parkour-performing snow leopard!
Ming Ruan held his breath until the “Leopard-Mobile” sped back to the starting point and unceremoniously dumped him off.
Ming Ruan, finally, took a deep breath and bounced up, super ecstatic: “So thrilling! So fun! Leopard Cub is the best!!”
After venting his excitement, Ming Ruan spun around the snow leopard in circles, an unstoppable torrent of rainbow farts gushing out and aimed straight at the snow leopard without a second thought.
Jin Qianyu, who had been observing Ming Ruan, was so startled that he retreated a step.
Jin Qianyu had always loved extreme sports. He considered them his ideal way to relax. Every time he recalled the sensation of falling freely and unrestrained through the wind, or climbing up or sliding down the mountain in the most primal way, he could feel his heart beating warmly, vividly—free, boiling, truly alive. But unfortunately, before his beastman transformation, he’d only gotten to do it once. And whenever that topic came up, those people would invariably pale, displaying worry, anxiety, blame, earnest well-meaning lectures, anger…
Fine, Jin Qianyu didn’t care about any of that.
But someone like Ming Ruan, whose eyes would sparkle so brightly, staring at him unblinkingly, and who would so sincerely cheer, applaud, and shout praise for him every single time… he was meeting such a person for the first time.
Seeing that Ming Ruan seemed genuinely happy, Jin Qianyu decided to simply take him for a ride. And Ming Ruan’s reaction… did not disappoint him.
The leopard narrowed its eyes and flicked its tail, patting Ming Ruan’s shoulder.
“Not bad.”
Based on this alone, he didn’t mind spending a bit more time with Ming Ruan. Setting other matters aside, even interacting as fellow enthusiasts would be quite nice.
The snow leopard lifted its head to look at Ming Ruan: Take a break, then go again?
Ming Ruan: “When can we go again!”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Relying on a few rounds of parkour, Ming Ruan successfully closed the distance with the snow leopard. That proximity even briefly surpassed what he’d achieved with the previous flock of fluffballs. After all, he’d never ridden the wolf, or the white tiger, or the lion before!
The sky darkened slightly; dusk had arrived.
The snow leopard studied Ming Ruan, who showed no intention of leaving and would probably just find some little nook to curl up and sleep. After a brief moment of thought, it walked up to Ming Ruan and beckoned him with a flick of its tail.
That thick, fluffy tail tip hooked in a beckoning motion, and Ming Ruan felt his very soul sway. In a daze, he scrambled to his feet and followed.
The snow leopard led Ming Ruan along some easier paths. Before long, they arrived before a rocky cave entrance shielded by shrubs. The snow leopard slipped smoothly through a gap in the shrubs. Ming Ruan pushed the shrubs aside with one hand, and the full interior of the rocky cave was revealed to him—it was filled with traces of the snow leopard’s habitation. Looking again, the snow leopard was lounging comfortably inside, its tail sprawled casually on the ground. It lifted its eyes to look at him.
Ming Ruan gulped.
“How… so suddenly… and so fast…?”
