It should be noted that snow leopards are naturally alert and fierce. When they sense a threat, they will often take the initiative to attack. There are four people on this mountaintop, so logically, the snow leopard should definitely strike first.
"Xiaoxue, stop fooling around." Zhuang Rui turned around, patted the snow leopard on the head, then ruffled the fur on its neck. Pointing at Peng Fei and the others, he said, "Xiaoxue, if you don't come with me, you absolutely cannot hurt humans in the future, understand? Unless that person tries to harm you, if you see someone with this thing, run away..."
Zhuang Rui originally wanted to say that no one should be harmed under any circumstances, but then he thought, wait a minute, if poachers come up the mountain, does that mean Xiaoxue is going to be used as a target for them to shoot?
As they were talking, Zhuang Rui took the gun from Peng Fei's hand and fired a shot into the distance. The sound of the gunshot made both Da Xue and Xiao Xue tremble, but Bai Shi stood there majestically, completely unmoved.
Chapter 755 Young Eagle (Part 2)
"See this? If someone has it, bite them, or hide..."
Zhuang Rui placed the gun in front of the snow leopard, seemingly somewhat afraid of the creature. Xiao Xue approached, sniffed it, and then immediately moved away.
"Xiao...Xiao Zhuang, I...I'm saying, what kind of act are you putting on?"
While Zhuang Rui was teaching the snow leopard, Peng Fei and the others were dumbfounded and utterly shocked. Could this wild beast understand human speech? And instead of teaching it properly, they were teaching it to attack humans.
"Uh, this snow leopard was injured, I healed him, and now he listens to me a lot..."
Zhuang Rui realized he had gone a bit too far, so he quickly tossed the Yunnan Baiyao spray in his hand and continued, "Snow leopards won't attack humans anymore. Brother Gesang, you're from the village down there, right? Tell the villagers not to hit snow leopards if they see one; they're the guardians of this great snow mountain..."
Just as Peng Fei raised his gun, Zhuang Rui had already made up his mind not to take the snow leopard away. He would leave it on the snow mountain instead. Even if the snow leopard didn't bite anyone back in the city, it would still be treated like a monster, and Zhuang Rui didn't want his friend to be treated that way.
"No, the snow mastiff is the guardian of our great snow mountain. Hey, it's the one behind you..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Gesang was first taken aback. Then, while examining the snow leopard, he suddenly noticed the female mastiff lying leisurely on the ground with the white lion and immediately started barking loudly.
"Guardian of the Great Snow Mountain, please accept my sincerest..."
This time it was Zhuang Rui's turn to be surprised. After seeing the female mastiff, Gesang immediately knelt down and actually kowtowed to her, muttering incantations. Zhuang Rui shook his head at the sight.
"Damn it, the guardian of my farts is my white lion's wife..."
Zhuang Rui thought irritably, "Oh dear, what if they say the snow mastiff is a guardian spirit and won't let me take it with me?"
Zhuang Rui suddenly thought of a problem, scratched his head in a dilemma, and when he looked down, he saw the snow leopard, which seemed a little impatient with a lot of people, and an idea immediately came to him.
"That Gesang..."
Zhuang Rui's expression suddenly turned serious. When Gesang looked up, he said, "When I was sleeping last night, I dreamed that the Living Buddha appeared to me in my dream. He told me that the snow mastiffs are going to leave the Great Snow Mountain..."
"No, no, the Living Buddha wouldn't give you such a dream. The snow mastiff is the guardian deity of our Great Snow Mountain..."
Before Zhuang Rui could finish speaking, Gesang jumped up, interrupting him, his face flushed red.
For Tibetans, Tibetan mastiffs are their most loyal friends and closest companions.
The day before yesterday, Gyatso told them about the snow mastiffs rescuing the students, which filled them with even more reverence for this guardian of the snow mountain. It was already very polite of Gesang not to turn against Zhuang Rui on the spot for saying such things.
"Damn, such a big reaction?"
Zhuang Rui was slightly annoyed, but still smiled and continued, "Would I joke about a Living Buddha? I'm telling the truth..."
Seeing that Gesang still looked unconvinced, Zhuang Rui said, "Sit down and talk. You've just come up the mountain and must be exhausted. Xiaoxue, go and catch some prey..."
Zhuang Rui wanted to show Gesang and the others that humans and snow leopards could coexist peacefully, foreshadowing what he would say later.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, the snow leopard let out a roar and immediately darted down the mountain, disappearing from sight.
"Is...is this a leopard?"
Gesang was a little confused by the tacit understanding between Zhuang Rui and the snow leopard. This snow leopard was even more obedient than a Tibetan mastiff!
“Brother Gesang, I have to tell you very seriously, the Living Buddha told me in a dream that the guardian deity of the snow mountain will be replaced by that snow leopard. It will protect the safety of the herders like a Tibetan mastiff, find lost cattle and sheep, and bring you good fortune and happiness…”
Zhuang Rui himself didn't quite believe what he was saying. Damn it, it would be good enough if snow leopards didn't eat the herders' cattle and sheep, let alone protect them? Probably not.
"Xiao...Xiao Zhuang, you're not kidding, are you?"
Gesang had lived for over thirty years, but at this moment, his understanding was completely overturned by Zhuang Rui. Even an eight-year-old child knows that leopards eat cattle and sheep, while Tibetan mastiffs protect them. Isn't Zhuang Rui just talking nonsense?
"Ahem, of course, of course I'm not joking..."
Zhuang Rui coughed and said, "It's like this, if the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, you can feed the snow leopards some sheep. I will make up for these losses. After all, the Living Buddha instructed me to do so. Well, I'll give your village 200,000 yuan as payment for feeding the snow leopards in the future..."
Zhuang Rui spared no expense for this friend he made in the snowy mountains. Since he couldn't take it back, he wanted to provide it with a safe environment to grow up in. It was clear that the snow leopard wasn't very old, and with the nourishment of his spiritual energy, it could live for at least another 10 years.
If Xiaoxue really gets too old to hunt in the future, the villagers can take care of her, so that their acquaintance with this big cat will not have been in vain.
"This...this, it won't attack our villagers, will it?"
Gesang felt that Zhuang Rui was talking nonsense. If this made snow leopards stop biting people, wouldn't it be the same as making tigers vegetarian and lions eat grass? It was simply impossible.
"Of course it won't attack the people in your village, and it will even protect you. It's the king of the snow mountains..."
Zhuang Rui had made up his mind. He would take the snow leopard down the mountain later and let it smell the scents of everyone in the village before instructing the snow leopard not to hurt anyone.
"Let's talk about this later..."
Gesang was somewhat dismissive. He looked up at the sky and said, "Let's eat some dry rations and then head down the mountain. It'll be easier going down, and maybe we'll reach the village by tonight..."
"Wait, the meat will be served soon..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head. As soon as he finished speaking, the snow leopard appeared on the mountaintop, carrying a small argali sheep in its mouth. It was even smaller than the one caught yesterday, weighing only about forty or fifty pounds.
"Why aren't you eating lamb?"
Gesang was speechless.
“These are wild sheep, not domesticated ones. Snow leopards are intelligent creatures. Alright, Brother Jiacuo, let’s pack up and go down the mountain after we finish eating…”
Zhuang Rui curled his lip. "I didn't say the snow leopard was going to eat vegetarian food. As long as it doesn't harm your village, that's fine, right?"
While Zhuang Rui and Gesang were talking, Peng Fei and Jiacuo didn't interrupt. But now that they saw the snow leopard's prey, they started working. Peng Fei skinned the sheep, and Jiacuo started a fire. In about ten minutes, strings of tender mutton were hanging on the fire.
"Hey, Peng Fei, cut me some strips of meat, small ones, hey, even smaller, hmm, that's fine..."
Seemingly smelling blood, the fledgling eagle in Zhuang Rui's arms began to chirp and thrash about in the backpack, protesting in its own way.
Holding the strips of meat that Peng Fei had cut, Zhuang Rui awkwardly began to feed the fledgling eagle. However, his feeding skills were clearly no match for those of the mother eagle, and he failed to get the meat into the fledgling's mouth several times. In the end, he simply put the strips of meat in his palm and let the little guy pick them up himself.
"Hey, Brother Zhuang, where did you find this baby pheasant?"
After tossing the remaining argali's innards and some scraps of meat to the white lion and snow leopard, Peng Fei approached Zhuang Rui. Looking at the fluffy little creature peeking out of Zhuang Rui's backpack, he couldn't help but reach out to stroke it.
"Get out of here! Do you think your chicks eat meat?"
Zhuang Rui laughed and scolded.
"Ouch, it's pecking people now..."
As soon as Peng Fei reached his hand in front of the fledgling eagle, it pecked him with its sharp beak. Yesterday, when it pecked Zhuang Rui, it hadn't pecked hard enough to draw blood, but today it pecked a bloody mark directly on Peng Fei's hand.
"Brother Zhuang... Brother Zhuang, is this thing an eagle?"
Peng Fei finally came to his senses. It wasn't that he hadn't thought of it earlier, but he felt that Zhuang Rui and Bai Shi might be able to raid a pheasant's nest, but they probably didn't have the ability to raid an eagle's nest.
"Hehe, it's not an eagle..."
Zhuang Rui kept everyone in suspense, feeding the eaglets and ignoring Peng Fei.
"Hey, Brother Zhuang, tell me, where did you get this little eagle? I want to get one too..."
It's said that men can't resist the temptation of playing with hawks and raising dogs. At this moment, Peng Fei's eyes were full of envy. If it weren't Zhuang Rui in front of him, Peng Fei would have been tempted to snatch it from someone else.
"I've already told you, this isn't an eagle, it's a golden eagle, understand?"
Zhuang Rui laughed and said, "Haven't you seen the TV series 'The Return of the Condor Heroes'? The giant eagle in that show is this little guy's ancestor..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui mention him, the fledgling eagle chirped a few times and gently pecked at Zhuang Rui's palm. Peng Fei was incredibly envious of this scene, wishing he could be the one to be affectionate with the little guy, not Zhuang Rui.
"This is the eagle's cub, Xiao Zhuang, where did you get it?"
Gyatso, who had already started the fire, came over and recognized the fledgling eagle at a glance. However, his eyes were no different from Peng Fei's—full of envy, jealousy, and hatred. He was practically ready to snatch it away.
"Yes, its mother was injured, and I healed her, so to repay my kindness, it gave it to me..."
Zhuang Rui showed no embarrassment at lying and made up a reason on the spot. Although it was true that he had treated the mother eagle's injuries, he was also the culprit. This statement was definitely an attempt to glorify himself.
Chapter 756 The Young Eagle (Part 2)
"Brother Zhuang, I think you majored in finance in college, right? I didn't hear that you studied veterinary medicine when you did it."
Upon hearing this, Peng Fei circled Zhuang Rui a few times, and the words he uttered caused Zhuang Rui to spit out the mouthful of barley wine he had just taken a sip, all over Peng Fei.
The main problem is that Zhuang Rui's reason is too lame. Putting aside whether Zhuang Rui has the ability to heal wild animals, this matter is just too outrageous. First, he saved the snow leopard when it was injured, and then he saved the female eagle when it was injured. Does that mean that all the animals on this snowy mountain run to Zhuang Rui when they are injured?
"Ahem, I'm a good person, and I have special abilities—I can communicate with animals. Of course they listen to me. I'd give them anything, even a fledgling, and they could come with me..."
Anyway, the Golden Eagle couple weren't around, and even if they were, they couldn't refute Zhuang Rui, so Zhuang Rui simply started spouting nonsense. You can believe it or not, it's up to you.
"Xiao Zhuang, you...you little fledgling, can you let me have you...?"
Gyatso suddenly spoke up, looking quite embarrassed. Simple Tibetans don't allow people to ask outsiders for things, and Gyatso had to muster up a lot of courage to say those words.
"Give it to you? No way, absolutely not..."
Zhuang Rui was taken aback for a moment, then immediately waved his hand and refused.
What a joke! For this little eaglet, I almost risked my life and the white lion's life. Zhuang Rui values this little thing more than anything. I wouldn't trade it for a mountain of gold.
"Xiao Zhuang, how about I trade you, this little fledgling eagle, for a hundred sheep, ten fine horses, and thirty yaks?"
Gyatso didn't give up and first offered his price, which was definitely not low, probably several hundred thousand in total.
This is all of Gyatso's wealth. He had entrusted his cattle, sheep and horses to others for herding, and now he was prepared to squander all his fortune to buy this fledgling eagle.
“No, Brother Gyatso, to tell you the truth, even if you brought me a mountain of gold and silver, I wouldn’t sell this little guy. It really was a gift from the golden eagle…”
Zhuang Rui didn't even need to consider it. As soon as Jiacuo finished speaking, he refused outright. Not to mention that he didn't lack money, even if he went bankrupt now, Zhuang Rui would not consider selling the fledgling. At worst, he would go back to the mountains and become a savage, where he would still have food and drink. Uh, in that case, he would definitely lose his wife.
Seeing Zhuang Rui's resolute words, Gyatso's face darkened. He had already made two requests, both of which were rejected by Zhuang Rui. The pride of the Tibetan people prevented Gyatso from asking a third time.
As for Zhuang Rui's claim that the golden eagle gave him a fledgling, Jiacuo didn't believe a word of it. Golden eagles are extremely protective of their young, and they would fight anyone who approached their cave, let alone give a fledgling to someone else.
In Jiacuo's view, Zhuang Rui must have secretly taken this fledgling eagle when the golden eagle was away. Zhuang Rui was unwilling to sell it, and Jiacuo had no choice but to blame himself for not having such good luck.
"Brother Jiacuo, you can have anything else you want, but I really can't let you have this little thing..."
Zhuang Rui was also a little embarrassed. He had gotten along well with Jiacuo along the way and didn't want to ruin the relationship because of this, so he quickly explained.