Chapter 82

Chapter 82

The Pallas’s cat directly opened fire for suppression; the bearded vulture got hit so hard it couldn’t even open its eyes.

Chasing Wind bolted away like a streak.

Lin Qianyu, unhurried in the back, strolled along leisurely and even found time to open the browser on her watch to type: [Being around zebras with low intelligence for too long…] She paused, deleted "low" and replaced it with "extremely low," then continued searching: [What are the downsides of being around extremely unintelligent zebras for too long.]

[Hahaha I can’t, the downside is obvious—she’s probably going to have to cross half the prairie on foot tonight.]

[I’m going to other guests’ livestreams to offer a high reward: someone go film the prairie wolf’s reaction when it sees the zebra came back on its own.]

The livestream chat was lively and bustling.

Lin Qianyu responded to a few comments, and when her watch shone light in front of her, it swept over a broken branch that looked like it came from a soap pod tree.

She tilted her head up, scanning her surroundings. This wasn’t the same path she had come down earlier, but since Chasing Wind ran this way, she simply followed along.

As expected, Lin Qianyu soon found a soap pod tree not far ahead. “I knew it—there’s no way the rescue station is the only place with soap pod trees.”

The rescue station was well equipped, but no one would deliberately plant soap pods there.

She used to think they didn’t grow elsewhere, and when she saw the ones near the rescue station, she’d been curious why that was the only spot on the prairie island that had them.

Turns out it wasn’t the only place—they were just mostly in parts of the forest she hadn’t explored yet.

This time she’d come out with a backpack, planning to collect more.

But when she reached for her shoulder, she suddenly remembered, “My backpack’s on Chasing Wind.”

With nothing to put them in, she simply gave up on climbing the tree for now and leaned back against the trunk, head lowered to keep reading the comments.

Though Chasing Wind had sprinted off, he quickly realized something was wrong and turned back at once.

Since Lin Qianyu had to keep an eye on her watch and watch her step—and had spent a while staring at the soap pod tree—she had barely moved since Chasing Wind ran off and returned.

Noticing her fiddling with the device, Chasing Wind trotted over, tilting his head and trying to look at the screen too. “Whinny! Whinny——!” His tone was anxious.

Lin Qianyu paused for a moment, both helpless and amused. “How could I possibly be messaging Little Wolf?”

Did Chasing Wind think she had come all this way just to tattle on him to Little Wolf?

First of all, Little Wolf didn’t have a watch or phone—he couldn’t receive her messages. And even if he could, without a translator he wouldn’t understand them.

At least with foreign languages, there are voice translators that can relay the message. But there’s no software advanced enough to do that for a prairie wolf.

Chasing Wind paced back and forth on the ground with little hurried steps.

Lin Qianyu simply turned the watch screen toward him. “Look, this is a search engine.”

“Whinny?”

Lin Qianyu pointed at the search bar. “It says: What are the benefits of being around a handsome and dashing zebra for a long time.”

Chasing Wind understood that sentence. Lin Qianyu only had him, this one zebra, by her side—those that had been eaten didn’t count—so!

Chasing Wind nodded. This was praise for him.

[? It’s the middle of the night, I rubbed my eyes thinking I was hallucinating.]

[Wow, so we’re just bullying Chasing Wind because he can’t read now, huh.]Chasing Wind was still grinning foolishly, but suddenly froze mid-laugh, as if something had occurred to him. He cautiously cast a sidelong glance at Lin Qianyu. “Whinny!”

You’re not tricking me, are you?

“How could I possibly?” Lin Qianyu’s expression was indifferent as she pushed away Chasing Wind’s face that had gotten too close.

But Chasing Wind wouldn’t give up.

Lin Qianyu: “Little Wolf?”

“Whinny?!” No exaggeration—Chasing Wind jumped straight into the air, then dashed behind Lin Qianyu in a flash.

No kidding, he’d just done something guilty. Chasing Wind still felt a bit anxious about it.

After hiding himself, he cautiously poked his head out to check the situation, only to find not a single wolf hair in sight—just grass swaying and bending in the wind.

Chasing Wind placed his tiptoeing hoof back on the ground and stepped around a little with a careless air, snorting heavily through his nose.

Seeing him flip his mood at lightning speed, Lin Qianyu’s lips curled slightly. A soft laugh dissolved into the wind. Chasing Wind still reacted immediately, glancing over with raised eyes.

“Ahem.” Lin Qianyu gave a light cough, then under Chasing Wind’s gaze, her lips gradually lifted higher and higher—“Haha!”

In the end, she couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud.

Chasing Wind ground his teeth.

Just then, Lin Qianyu suddenly waved her hand toward the distance. “Little Wolf!”

Trying the same trick twice in a short time—no way a smart zebra would fall for it.

Chasing Wind didn’t even turn his head, proudly raising his neck. He was no longer a zebra who’d fall for that kind of trick so easily.

“Awoo——!”

The prairie wolf darted skillfully through the weeds, practically covering the ground in two steps, and rushed to Lin Qianyu’s side, circling around her nervously.

The zebra behind Lin Qianyu mirrored the prairie wolf’s movements. Wherever the prairie wolf went, he would shift forward, staying out of its way while cleverly using Lin Qianyu to shield himself.

“I’m fine. I ran into a honey badger today and came over out of curiosity,” Lin Qianyu crouched down and hugged the little wolf. “Did you come out to look for me?”

“Whine…” The prairie wolf licked her cheek and sniffed at her neck. Detecting the scent of the white lion, he paused, then lowered his head and rubbed against her.

Only after covering up the white lion’s scent did he emerge from Lin Qianyu’s arms.

Guessing what he was doing, Lin Qianyu cupped his cheeks and rubbed hers against him. “Let’s move over to the white lion’s place and build another wooden house with windows. How about that?”

The prairie wolf didn’t seem to care much about where they lived and let out a soft grunt.

That meant he was leaving it up to Lin Qianyu.

She smiled and ruffled the little wolf’s ears. “Wait for me a bit—I’ll go pick some soap pods and then we’ll head back.”

Carrying the backpack she retrieved from the zebra, Lin Qianyu picked a nearby soap pod tree.

Soap pod trees can grow up to thirty meters tall, but clearly the ones in this forest weren’t that high.

Still, they bore plenty of soap pods—each one full and plump, like ripe green beans.

Lin Qianyu shifted the backpack in front of her, plucked a few and tossed them in.Beneath the tree, the prairie wolf looked up nervously at the person above. Catching sight of the sneaky zebra nearby, he keenly sensed something, bared his teeth with a low growl, and slowly began moving toward Chasing Wind.

His steps were slow. When his paws landed on the weeds and dry branches on the ground, the cracking sounds of the crushed twigs were drawn out and prolonged due to his deliberate pace.

Compared to a sudden pounce, this kind of silent, unblinking approach brought a far more suffocating pressure.

Just moments ago, the zebra had been trying to circle around Lin Qianyu and stay out of the prairie wolf’s line of sight. Now, he had shrunk his neck in and even hesitated to step back half a pace.

Suddenly, the prairie wolf let out a fierce roar: “Roar!”

Hearing the noise, Lin Qianyu paused in her soap pod picking, moved her backpack aside, and jumped down from the tree.

“Whinny! Whinny whinny?!” Chasing Wind trembled in fright and started shouting incoherently.

In his panic, he must’ve stepped on something slippery—like a fallen leaf—his hind legs slid out straight and he plopped down onto the ground with a thud. “WHINNY!!!”

I didn’t mean to!!!

I was wrong!!!

That howl in the middle of the night startled a few birds and beasts asleep in the forest, who flapped their wings in alarm.

The prairie wolf’s expression was indifferent. Lin Qianyu landed, slung the hiking pack over her shoulder, stepped forward and hugged the little wolf from behind, resting her hand on his neck, gently smoothing down his fur. “Be good. He already admitted he was wrong, spare him this time.”

[Spare? There’s no such word as ‘spare’ in a prairie wolf’s dictionary!]

[Exactly! Today he dares to leave Sister Lin behind, tomorrow he might dare hit her!]

[LOL, you bunch of drama stirrers—thank goodness Chasing Wind can’t read, or he’d be chasing you down to curse you out.]

[Chasing Wind, I still prefer your arrogant, cocky, world-domineering attitude.]

“It’s really late, let’s head back first.” Lin Qianyu leaned down on the prairie wolf’s back, her voice muffled and carrying a hint of genuine drowsiness. “I’m already sleepy.”

She truly was a bit tired—she had napped later than usual this afternoon and hadn’t slept for long.

Short naps at this time of night always made Lin Qianyu feel even more fatigued, and she’d already picked enough soap pods. “Shall we go? Let’s go home.”

The prairie wolf didn’t object and cast a sidelong glance.

Chasing Wind reacted quickly, scrambling to his feet without caring that some dead leaves still clung to him. He trotted over enthusiastically. “Whinny!”

Lin Qianyu swung herself up. “Little Wolf?”

“Roar!”

The prairie wolf shook out his fur and chased after the zebra who had already started running.

With Chasing Wind around, the time it took to get home was cut in half.

If Chasing Wind hadn’t realized and kept going, Lin Qianyu might have had to walk all the way back by herself—possibly until morning.

She twirled a bit of the zebra’s fur between her fingers and shared her thoughts, then paused and corrected herself. “Then again, not necessarily. Little Wolf would’ve noticed I didn’t return and probably brought Chasing Wind to look for me.”

Either way, she wouldn’t have been left walking until morning.

Chasing Wind might be unreliable, but Little Wolf would always be her strongest support.

Galloping across the grassland on a zebra at night—this kind of feeling was actually quite magical.Occasionally, she could still spot little animals with bright eyes looking in this direction.

“This is when a lot of the fluffy ones are active—it’s hunting time.” It was just… the lighting wasn’t good, so Lin Qianyu could only make out the fuzzy outlines and glowing eyes; she couldn’t even distinguish most of the patterns or colors.

The livestream viewers, however, found it fascinating.

Even though everything had a green tint from night vision mode, it didn’t dampen their excitement at all. Every time a little animal appeared, the chat would erupt in messages.

Eventually, they all converged into one line: [Lin-jie, go! Quick before it runs off!]

Later, someone started copy-pasting that line, and soon the whole chat was flooded with it.

Lin Qianyu yawned, feeling a bit chilled from the wind. “Next time. If I see one next time, I’ll definitely go.”

It was the middle of the night—better to let the fluffballs off the hook, and herself too.

She sighed. “Right now, I just want to get home and sleep.”

Crossing this stretch of grassland would bring her to the lakeside near home.

She patted Chasing Wind, who came to a timely stop.

She dismounted and rolled up her sleeves to wash up by the lake. “I’ll rest early today.” Her schedule had been irregular the past few days.

She was so drowsy during washing that she almost nodded off. Barely managing to stay awake, she dried her face, and before heading inside, she saw the sleeping cub and prairie wolf in the shallow pit. She picked up a board and covered the pit.

Once everything was settled, Lin Qianyu said in a tired voice, “Sleep now. Goodnight.”

Then she crawled onto the bed and curled up around the little wolf.

There was barely a moment of transition before she fell into a deep sleep almost instantly.

Inside the dark wooden house, the watch tied to her wrist was still dutifully playing livestream comments. The latest few were all saying “goodnight.”

In the second half of the night, a light rain began to fall.

It drizzled on and on, continuing until the sky was bright.

Inside the wooden house, the sound of rain hitting the roof brought a sense of infinite calm. Just a bed and a phone, and in this quiet rainy setting, Lin Qianyu felt like she could stay in the house all day without going anywhere.

The prairie wolf, seeing that she had woken up, got up and tried to head out to hunt.

But Lin Qianyu, sensing his movement, reached out and pulled the little wolf who had just risen back into her arms. “It’s still raining out. Wait for the rain to stop before you go hunting, okay?”

The house was full of fluffballs, scattered from the yard to inside the room. It was still early. They’d eaten yesterday afternoon, so no one was really hungry yet. Going hunting in the afternoon would be just fine.

As for the cubs, they could have some milk formula.

While picking firewood inside the house, Lin Qianyu suddenly slapped the table. “Crap! My jerky!”

She had rubbed salt onto the meat yesterday and then went out, and when she came back at night, she didn’t check on it at all—completely forgot about it.

She hurried outside to see if the jerky could still be salvaged.

But just as she stepped out and stood under the edge of the wooden house roof, she noticed something. Not far off, on the stone slab used for drying meat, palm leaves were laid out all over.

Palm leaves alone weren’t enough to cover the salted meat, so there were visibly several layers stacked on top, raising the height of the stone slab. To keep the leaves from blowing away, there were even stones placed on top.

“Little Wolf?” Lin Qianyu was sure she had completely forgotten about the salted meat last night—there was no way she had done any of that.“Whine…”

Lin Qianyu stepped back into the house, rubbing the well-behaved prairie wolf as her eyes filled with laughter. “It was you, wasn’t it? It had to be you.”

There was no need to even ask.

[Yes! I can vouch! It was definitely Little Wolf who did it.]

[Damn it, if I’d known there’d be Little Wolf footage at night, I would’ve stayed up no matter what. Now I missed it and can only watch the replay, sobbing…]

[I’ve already made it into a GIF and keep rewatching it. Want it? Press 1.]

Lin Qianyu noticed that last comment. “1. I’ll DM you.”

Comment: [???]

But upon opening the message panel, she saw the private messaging function was still being upgraded in the watch’s backend—so she had to give up.

Still… if it’s already a GIF, there’s no way Little Wolf’s face isn’t all over Weibo too.

Lin Qianyu opened Weibo and, unsurprisingly, saw related trending topics about the prairie wolf.

#Has the intelligence of prairie wolves been underestimated?#

#A prairie wolf who helps you dry meat—sure you don’t want to keep one?#

#Prairie wolves are nationally protected Class II animals#

…

The last two hashtags were quite amusing when read together.

Admiration on top, handcuffs underneath.

Lin Qianyu casually clicked into one of them and, as expected, saw last night’s footage of Little Wolf.

Judging by the timestamp on the screen, the prairie wolf had gone out in the first half of the night.

And it was right after a bolt of lightning had flashed.

The sudden burst of light in the sky had alerted the sleeping fluffballs in the yard, but the brief flash of lightning didn’t leave a lasting effect.

Shortly after the lightning, the wooden house’s door was slowly pushed open from inside. The prairie wolf squeezed out through the gap, then turned back to carefully shut the door before hopping out of the shallow pit.

At that time, the rain hadn’t started yet. The prairie wolf looked at the meat on the stone slab, then turned and left the frame for a while. When he came back, he was holding a thick bunch of palm leaves in his mouth, with a few other types of leaves mixed in—likely gathered from various trees.

He carefully laid the leaves over the salted meat, circling the slab to cover every corner completely. Even after that, he still had more palm leaves left.

So he kept stacking them on top until the last leaf had a place. Only then did he finally walk away.

But he had only taken a few steps when he stopped, turned back to look at the pile of leaves, and left the frame again—this time returning with stones to press them down.

Once the stones were in place, he seemed finally at ease. He turned and ran back to the yard, used his paw to gently push the door open just a crack, then nimbly slipped back inside.

That was where the video ended.

[This is a prairie wolf? I’d believe you if you said it was a person in a wolf costume!]

[This suddenly reminds me of the time I was drying flowers—I told my boyfriend over and over to keep an eye on them. Came back from a work trip to find them all moldy. He didn’t know a thing. My boyfriend isn’t even as good as a prairie wolf.][Little Wolf is really so smart! Realized it was going to rain and came out in the middle of the night to cover the salted meat, sob... I love him so much, I want to keep one.]

Raising one was out of the question.

After watching the video, Lin Qianyu also thought her Little Wolf was truly clever. She pounced onto the wooden bed, grabbing the prairie wolf’s paws and lifting them up left and right. “So good. As a reward for saving my salted meat, how about I make you stir-fried salted meat with chives next time?”

“Whine…”

Okay.

“Haha.” Lin Qianyu laughed out loud. “You don’t even know what I’m saying—how can you say okay?”

The prairie wolf blinked. “Whine?”

No?

Seeing him respond so earnestly, Lin Qianyu burst into even more laughter.

Just as she was hugging Little Wolf and rubbing him, her watch buzzed twice.

Lin Qianyu raised her hand and tapped to open the message.

Nie Lingyang: [Qianyu-jie, are you free now? I need a little help with something.]

Lin Qianyu: [Mm, what is it?]

Nie Lingyang took a while typing, then sent: [I’ll come find you, let’s talk in person. It’s a bit complicated.]

Lin Qianyu guessed it probably had something to do with the tawny lion from yesterday and replied: [Okay.]

“A guest will be coming over in a bit.” Lin Qianyu pinched the prairie wolf’s ears into all sorts of shapes. “I might need to step out for a bit.”

She didn’t have an umbrella, but she did have a straw hat.

When she’d woven it, she’d intentionally made the brim wide—to block the sun before, and now it could serve to block the rain.

Nie Lingyang arrived shortly after sending his message.

Lin Qianyu only knew because she heard the cubs outside calling.

She hadn’t expected Nie Lingyang to arrive so quickly. Fortunately, she’d just about finished adjusting the brim of the hat. Putting it on, she stepped out of the wooden house.

“Shhh… quiet,” Lin Qianyu glanced at the water still boiling. “Once it’s ready, I’ll mix up milk powder for you all.”

She picked up two cubs and placed them under the wooden boards. Before the cubs could pounce again, she stepped over the shallow pit. “What did you want to see me for?”

Hang Sisi had come with Nie Lingyang.

Each of them was carrying a zebra.

Hang Sisi said, “Delivering zebras.”

She curved her eyes in a smile and nudged the zebra forward. “We got lucky with our traps and caught two zebras. After discussing it, we decided to give one to you, and one as compensation to the lion.”

“No need. You two keep them and eat them yourselves,” Lin Qianyu declined. “I haven’t done anything to deserve this. I can’t accept something from you for nothing.”

“You haven’t done anything? Qianyu-jie, don’t be so humble. If you hadn’t come yesterday, quitting the competition would’ve been the best-case scenario for us. That lion had already started climbing the tree.”

Hang Sisi shook her head. That feeling of being trapped up a tree by a lion was something she really never wanted to experience again.“If you hadn’t talked the lion around, it might not have even agreed to accept our compensation.”

Even if they had been willing to make amends, without a way to communicate, the exchange wouldn’t have been possible.

Whether it was the lion or the zebra, the key was Lin Qianyu acting as the bridge between them. That’s what made resolving the issue so seamless.

“We brought this zebra all the way here—we can’t just carry it back now. With these little arms and legs of mine, if you make me haul it back, I’ll die halfway from exhaustion.” Hang Sisi had long been in the habit of pushing things onto Lin Qianyu, but in this case, she didn’t even need to push. She just let go of the zebra—if Lin Qianyu didn’t take it, then that was that.

Lin Qianyu said helplessly, “You came just to give me the zebra?”

No wonder they hadn’t said anything in the chat. If they had typed it out, she would’ve refused on the spot—so instead, they just brought it straight over.

Nie Lingyang replied, “Yes, and no.”

He was confident when giving the zebra, but when it came to asking for help, he got a bit awkward.

Lin Qianyu: “Hm?”

Nie Lingyang sighed and stammered, “So, you know how we said we’d give the lion a zebra as compensation? After we caught the zebras today, we went to meet it at the agreed tree.”

“It wasn’t there?”

“It was.” Nie Lingyang covered his face. “But it looked like the whole pride was there.”

He couldn’t say for sure whether it was every lion, but from a distance, there were at least a dozen—so most likely the full pride.

Lin Qianyu: “……”

No wonder they hadn’t delivered the zebra.

Nie Lingyang might be brave, but at the end of the day, he was still just a regular person. Even facing one lion made his legs go weak.

If not for Lin Qianyu mediating, there was no way he or Hang Sisi would’ve dared to approach a lion.

And now… there wasn’t just one.

Go? Too scary.

Don’t go? But they’d already promised the lion a zebra.

They had the zebra now—just needed to hand it over. Nie Lingyang really didn’t want to be seen as someone who went back on his word.

So, caught between choices, they used the zebra delivery as a pretext to come ask for her help.

“I’ll go with you.” After hearing the full story, Lin Qianyu nodded. “Wait for me.”

Nie Lingyang let out a breath of relief the moment he heard that. “Okay! Thanks, Qianyu-jie!”

Lin Qianyu washed her face, thought for a moment, and decided not to bring a backpack.

“Little Wolf, Doudou, I’m heading out for a bit. Stay home with Xiao Huang and Xiao Hui to watch the house.” She tied up her hair, then turned to see the prairie wolf squatting in the courtyard and walked over to kiss his fluffy little head.

“Wait for me inside—don’t get your fur wet.”

After a round of random affectionate rubs, she waved with a smile as the little wolf sat dazed, “I’m off!”

When going to meet the lion pride, Lin Qianyu didn’t bring any of the fluffballs—not even Chasing Wind.

She had promised the tawny lion a zebra—if they brought the wrong one, it’d just cause trouble.The two of them took turns dragging the zebra—bringing one along wasn’t exactly hard work.

Hang Sisi held a large plantain leaf overhead to block the rain. “Qianyu-jie, want one too?”

“No need, I’ve got a hat.” Lin Qianyu tucked in the edges of her straw hat. “Let’s walk faster, it’s not good to keep the lions waiting too long.”

Lions weren’t just some big cats with good tempers.

Not all lions were as gentle as the white lion she’d met. Besides, Nie Lingyang had seen the pride before coming to get her, and by the time they walked back, the tawny lion had probably been waiting for quite a while.

If it got impatient, the compensation deal might fall through.

Nie Lingyang was practically hanging on Lin Qianyu’s every word at this point. He immediately responded, “Okay.”

Then he grabbed a zebra leg behind him and picked up speed—by the end, he was practically running.

Lin Qianyu glanced at Hang Sisi, and the two exchanged a look. She raised a hand to hold down her hat and gave a signal.

Hang Sisi nodded, and both of them took off running.

——

When a pride of lions was gathered together, it was usually for hunting. During sunbathing, they preferred to be scattered or lie in pairs. But right now, the lions under the tree could only be described as a pile.

Lin Qianyu looked over—this didn’t seem like a single pride. It didn’t look like only one group.

But lion prides usually competed with each other, so it was unlikely two prides would get along and gather like this, the way they were now.

The tawny lion’s coat looked slightly darker than the others.

When it saw Lin Qianyu approach, it stood up immediately and walked to the front of the pride.

Perhaps it was the leader. Once it moved, the others followed suit and got up as well.

Nie Lingyang was in the lead, but his steps involuntarily slowed as the lions rose to their feet. They did not look friendly.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Lin Qianyu had already passed him and casually patted his shoulder.

“Hi.” Lin Qianyu showed no fear facing the crowd of lions. In a good mood, she greeted them. “We’ve brought the zebra. See if this one’s a good size.”

However, the tawny lion didn’t seem interested in the zebra at all. Instead, it turned and gave a loud roar. “Roar!”

Look!

Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow. “Look? Look at what?”

Before she could figure out what was going on, the lion pride had already closed in.

Nie Lingyang’s breath caught. Instinctively, he reached for his stick—ready to charge, whether he could win or not, at least he’d have a weapon in hand.

“Don’t move.” Lin Qianyu quickly stopped him. “They’re not trying to attack. Stay still.”

When animals approached, Lin Qianyu could clearly sense whether they had hostile intent.

These lions were mostly just… curious.

【???】

【What’s going on! That lion isn’t keeping its word! It brought backup and surrounded Lin!】【Ahhh?! Then what do we do? Lin-jie doesn't have any fluffies with her! And there are so many lions.】

【It’s okay, it’s okay. Trust Linlin. If something really happens, she should at least be able to climb a tree and hide.】

Lin Qianyu’s tree-climbing skills were well-known among her longtime fans.

Moreover, to walk into a lion pride like this—fans who trusted her deeply all believed she must still have something up her sleeve.

Surrounded by the pride, Lin Qianyu didn’t move.

The atmosphere was tense.

Nie Lingyang clutched the wooden stick in his hand. Even though Lin Qianyu had told him to stay back, he only took a few steps away, remaining alert. He wouldn’t make the first move—

But if any lion made a move on Lin Qianyu, he would be the first to charge in.

With that thought, his grip on the stick tightened again.

For a moment, even the wind on the grassland seemed to stop.

And then—

“Awro!”

“Wuu?”

“Awroo awroo!”

…

The lion pride erupted in overlapping calls. Just by the tone alone, you could hear their surprise.

Lin Qianyu, who had remained silent, finally closed her eyes briefly after hearing the meaning behind their words. “I am not a white lion that’s lost all its fur.”

“What do you mean there’s really a human-like lion in the white lion pride?”

“It’s not that this lion can talk to humans—it’s that I, a human, can talk to you.”

Nie Lingyang’s taut nerves froze. “...Huh?”

Hang Sisi was briefly bewildered, then quickly bit her lips, thinking of the most depressing thing she could just to suppress her laughter—but still failed, her face flushing red as she tried to hold it in.

Barrage:

【……】

【Hahahaha?! Huh? For real? These majestic, regal lions turn out to be a bunch of chatterboxes?】

【Help—thinking back to those nature documentaries with roaring, hunting lions—now I can’t unsee the gossiping. Totally ruins the cool image.】

【Someone speak up for Lin-jie, please! That glorious hairline of hers just got dragged for being a bald lion—I’m crying from laughter.】

The lion pride, after Lin Qianyu’s continued explanation, fell silent.

Then, they erupted into cheers again.

“Awro?!”

It’s true!

She really talked!

So she is the poor white lion that stood up and lost all its fur!Lin Qianyu: “……”

She pinched her brow—she had never felt so powerless.

There was just no continuing the conversation.

“You, you leave the zebra for them, then you can go.” Lin Qianyu sighed softly. “I’m leaving first.”

If she stayed any longer, she felt like the pride would start asking why she was shedding so much fur.

This was the definition of talking past each other.

After walking a couple of steps, Lin Qianyu seriously turned back to the tawny lion and said, “About the hairless white lion that can speak human language—don’t spread it around.”

She really didn’t want to step outside in the morning only to have some random bird shouting that line.

The tawny lion nodded. “Roar…”

【Hahaha, Lin-jie’s expression is more intense than when she’s hunting.】

【Gotta keep it under wraps, or how will she explain it to the next island?】

Nie Lingyang also realized what was going on and placed the zebra down a short distance from the tawny lion, then turned to follow Lin Qianyu.

Lin Qianyu said, “Go ahead and laugh if you want.”

Nie Lingyang’s mouth twitched. “I’m not—wuu… hoohoo, I don’t want to laugh…”

Lin Qianyu gave him a glance. Nie Lingyang was already tearing up from holding it in.

Hang Sisi, walking a step behind, also had watery eyes. “Will there be a trending post saying, Shocking! Lin Qianyu’s true form is actually—!”

They both wanted to laugh but didn’t dare to. It was killing them.

Lin Qianyu wavered between whether she should silence the lion pride or these two.

She raised her arms and slung them around their shoulders. “I can’t deal with the lions… but you two, I can.”

Her gaze slid from Hang Sisi to Nie Lingyang.

The two of them instantly stopped laughing.

A chill ran down their necks.

Hang Sisi tugged the edge of the banana leaf down to cover half her face. “Ahem… Hey, Qianyu-jie, look over there. What’s that? Something’s throwing stones!”

Changing the subject, she pointed toward the grassland.

Lin Qianyu’s mind was still full of lions, so she answered half-heartedly at first, not reacting much.

Then she suddenly paused. “Throwing stones?”

Nie Lingyang let out a surprised sound too. “Oh wow, it really is! That’s funny—what animal is that? Another new species we don’t have back home?”

Following the direction Hang Sisi pointed, Lin Qianyu unsurprisingly saw a fluffed-up ball of fur furiously kicking stones with its hind legs.

Those were probably stones the Pallas’s cat had gathered after coming back, even more than the ones Lin Qianyu had used when training it.

Not far from the Pallas’s cat stood a grounded vulture.

The stones didn’t fly far, or high, and the cat couldn’t really channel its strength into them effectively.So, under these circumstances, in order to deal with the vulture, the Pallas’s cat resorted to diligent practice combined with firepower suppression.

The vulture, which had landed due to underestimating its opponent and failed to take off in time, was pelted so hard it couldn’t even open its eyes.

With fierce momentum, the Pallas’s cat picked up the last stone with its paw and flung it with all its strength.

— Whoosh —this throw went much farther than it had during practice.

It drew a perfect arc through the air and landed squarely on the vulture’s head.

The vulture was nearly buried under the stones, with nowhere to run.

The victorious Pallas’s cat was thrilled. It flicked its tail and was just about to dash forward to capture its prey when it noticed someone nearby. While running, it hissed a warning without even turning its head.

The heavy rain had significantly impaired the fluffballs’ sense of smell, making it hard to detect or distinguish scents from afar.

The Pallas’s cat paused mid-step, didn’t spare the vulture a glance, and ran excitedly to Lin Qianyu, “Awoo!”

It meowed while pointing its fluffy paw in the vulture’s direction, “Awo!”

Look!

Author’s Note: More updates during the day~ Good night, sleep early, love you all.