Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 410 - Chapter 410 Chapter 394 The Big Cat (Seeking Guaranteed Votes)

Chapter 410: Chapter 394: The Big Cat (Seeking Guaranteed Votes) Chapter 410: Chapter 394: The Big Cat (Seeking Guaranteed Votes) Ermao and his master lived in a small town in the southwest. By the time the three cars arrived at this small town, it was already the afternoon.

The roads here were well-maintained, and fields stretched out on either side of the highway as far as the eye could see.

The mountains weren’t too high. One could see some residential houses from the foot of the mountain to the top, and Ermao’s master’s place was located on the mountainside near the edge of the small town.

“I haven’t been here for a few years, and I’ve found there have been quite a few changes, at least the road has been widened,” Ermao observed, looking at the landscape and buildings outside the car.

“There are more houses, and they’re built better,” Wei Leng added.

Pei Liang, having come here more often, was less sentimental.

“Do you still remember the way?” Pei Liang asked.

“Of course, I do!”

Although there had been some large changes compared to their memories, they still remembered the way. Ermao and Wei Leng didn’t need Pei Liang to tell them; they just drove the car along the road ahead, passing an intersection after which there were slightly fewer houses.

Following the road, they drove up the mountain.

Zheng Tan and Er Yuan in the back seat also looked out the car window. Sitting in the front passenger seat, he had a clearer view. After sitting up, he could see everything in front of him and to the side.

As he was looking, Zheng Tan spotted something squatting on a cement block a hundred meters ahead on the roadside. It was a clump of tan brown.

As they drove past, the block gradually neared, and Ermao, who was driving, rolled down the window and shouted excitedly toward it.

“Gege! Look this way! Look this way!”

The lump on the block moved, stood up to look at the car, shook its ears fringed with long fur, yawned, jumped down from the block, and started running after the car.

Just as Zheng Tan was pondering who this so-called “Gege” could be, Wei Leng’s voice came through the walkie-talkie from the car behind.

“Dashan is still here waiting, as expected.”

Dashan?

Zheng Tan leaned out of the car for a closer look at the large cat running along beside the car.

“Shit!”

Zheng Tan’s heart was pounding again.

Is this mom even a cat?!

Is it?!

Well, maybe it is, since Fierce Cats also belong to the cat subfamily, so it’s a cat, right?

Zheng Tan had always thought that when Ermao and the others referred to “Dashan,” it was some kind of Super Cat like Tiger’s mother, not expecting it to be such a large Fierce Cat!

For Ermao and the others, whether it’s a Fierce Cat, Mountain Cat, Wild Cat, or House Cat, weren’t they all cats? Even if different from normal house cats, they were still cat-like, and for convenience’s sake while outside, they had always simply referred to them as cats.

Ermao slowed down the car. Since they were not far from their destination and not in a rush, he reduced the speed to accommodate Dashan, who wasn’t young anymore. Even if capable of running, jumping, and catching rabbits, he couldn’t overlook the fact that at 20 years old, he had already reached an advanced age for his kind.

“Er Yuan, that’s your Dashan… Uncle.” Initially, Ermao was about to have Er Yuan call him “Brother Dashan,” but considering Dashan’s age, he changed it to “Uncle.” According to the way cats’ ages were calculated, it might even be “Grandpa.”

“Why is he called Dashan and also Gege, like Black is called Heitan and Black Coal?” Er Yuan was puzzled.

Actually, only Ermao called Dashan “Gege” among the locals. Ermao patiently explained the reason to Er Yuan.

Initially, Ermao called it Dashan like everyone else. However, once, when he saw the two tufts of fur on Dashan’s ears blown down by the wind, he was suddenly reminded of a flag on the heads of characters from a Qing Dynasty Gege TV show that the villagers were watching at the time. Since then, Ermao had often jokingly referred to Dashan as Gege, regardless of gender.

Soon, a large courtyard appeared ahead. An old man stood at the gate waiting, the same elderly person Zheng Tan had seen once before, also known as the “Master” by Ermao and his group.

After Dashan ran to the house, he crouched next to the old man, half-closing his eyes and appearing somewhat aloof, but those familiar with him knew this was just a facade. It was similar to the undisturbed expression on the old man’s face standing at the courtyard gate while his heart was already bubbling with joy inside–appearances can be deceiving.

Seeing the children alight from the car, the old man couldn’t stay still any longer and hurried over.

The large cat following the old man scanned Ermao and the others briefly, with its gaze finally settling on Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan immediately felt a tension inside him. The big cat’s gaze brought him a surge of pressure–no malice was intended, yet it made Zheng Tan feel very nervous.

“Gege, come give a hug!”

When he had left years ago, because of Dashan, Ermao always felt that cats were full of tricky ideas, difficult to handle, and neurotic. Later, after getting Heimi, he had gradually changed his views. No matter how many times Dashan had played tricks on them, Ermao had still missed him over the years.

As for Ermao’s hug, Dashan stood there with an aloof demeanor, not moving or struggling, showing no signs of rejection.

While Wei Leng and Pei Liang also felt affection for this large cat, they wouldn’t approach for a hug like Ermao. Wei Leng had been scratched before and feared getting clawed again in front of his wife and child. As for Pei Liang, although he hadn’t brought Qi Da along, there was still some monkey scent on him that Dashan would disdain; he wouldn’t go stir up trouble.

“I want a hug too!” Er Yuan, holding up her Mao Mao skirt, ran over. Under Ermao’s guidance, she gently wrapped her arms around Dashan’s neck and was quickly moved away by Ermao.

Over there, Wei Xiaopang also felt an itch and waddled over.

Wei Leng wanted to stop, but the master said, “It’s okay, Dashan wouldn’t hurt a child on purpose.”

Wei Leng, having taken a step forward, could only stop; however, he reminded his son to just give a brief hug.

Wei Xiaopang responded and went straight to Dashan with open arms. Perhaps because it was his first encounter with such a big cat, Wei Xiaopang was thrilled and seemed to have thrown his father’s advice of “just a brief hug” to the back of his mind. He tightened his arms and rubbed his face against Dashan’s. In Wei Xiaopang’s mind, cats should be like the ones at Er Yuan’s home, Heimi and Black, friendly.

Ermao subtly stepped back while holding Er Yuan.

Wei Leng planned to retrieve his son but was blocked by a cane extended from the side, leaving him feeling anxious inside.

The older man wore a mild smile as he watched the scene.

Fortunately, Wei Xiaopang did not continue hugging but released his arms, turned around, and said to Wei Leng, “Dad, let’s take a photo!”

Ermao moved Er Yuan another step backward.

Before Wei Leng could react, his wife had already taken out the camera, clearly interested in the special big cat, Dashan.

“Come on, Little Fatty, smile, 3-2-1!”

As Wei Xiaopang grinned for the photo, he suddenly felt a chill down his lower body. Before he could retract his smile, the camera clicked.

Zheng Tan: “…”

The big cat deliberately pulled down Wei Xiaopang’s pants in front of everyone right before the photo was taken.

Ermao covered Er Yuan’s eyes.

The older man’s smile deepened.

“Ha, Wei Leng, that just like that time…” Pei Liang couldn’t help but laugh.

“Cough!” Wei Leng shot Pei Liang a threatening look, stopping the rest of his words, and went to pull up Wei Xiaopang’s pants.

Before, when the brothers were here, they couldn’t discern this cat’s temper and would often get embarrassed owing to its unpredictability. Standing behind this cat was the master, their main support. Even when the master wasn’t home, it was difficult to find it whenever it chose to hide. Indeed, they felt helpless around it.

Wei Leng had been scratched before, had his pants and shoes pulled off to be stuffed with bird eggs; Pei Liang too was pranked with small bugs in his cup, and crickets and snakes stuffed in his beddings. Senior Hetao, due to his professional habits, was particularly keen on watching his surroundings. Every time Senior Hetao visited the master, Dashan would squat outside his window, staring inside doing nothing but watch, making Senior Hetao spend the night in unease, drenched in cold sweat, haunted by continuous nightmares, feeling the gaze of a sinister beast’s eyes Lurking in the darkness just inches away. These incidents were too numerous to recall, so much that Wei Leng and the others didn’t even want to remember them.

The older man’s home didn’t have many children, but with this cat around, it was as troublesome as numerous naughty children combined. A naughty child would only misbehave for a few years, but this cat had been causing trouble for twenty years and might continue doing so if things went smoothly. Not only was it mischievous, but it also had developed a peculiar temper just like the older man. Even though many felines naturally have odd temperaments, learning from the older man only exacerbated it. Despite its somber appearance, sometimes carrying an air of aloof arrogance, in the blink of an eye, it would be up to mischief again.

Although the others were curious, Pei Liang chose not to continue. Everyone had their embarrassing moments here. Revealing Wei Leng’s incidents would lead to his own being exposed as well. What was the point? Now, they were all fathers, discussing privately was one thing, but in front of adults and children, it was best not to.

Ermao explained to Er Yuan, “Uncle Dashan doesn’t like being hugged all the time, unlike Heimi. Got it?”

Er Yuan nodded earnestly.

Zheng Tan, looking at Wei Xiaopang’s reddened face and Ermao’s complex expressions, seemed to understand something.

While a few people were talking in the courtyard, someone walked in from outside.

“Oh, we have a visitor.”

The visitor, about fifty, was dressed in somewhat faded blue cloth clothes and carried a case as he entered.

Upon seeing the visitor, Ermao, Wei Leng, and Pei Liang all smiled.

“Uncle Lin, you’ve arrived.”

“So it’s Ermao, Wei Leng, and Pei Liang who have returned, bringing their wives and children too. No wonder I sensed a festive atmosphere before even entering,” Uncle Lin said.

“Let’s talk inside.” The older man stepped into the house first, beckoning the others.

They moved stuff from the car first, tidied up the room, and let Uncle Lin chat with the older man in the hall.

While tidying up inside, Gong Qin inquired about the identity of Uncle Lin who had arrived.

“Him? He’s sort of a health practitioner.”

“Oh, so he’s one of the health practitioners for the old master you mentioned.”

“Not exactly, he isn’t the master’s health practitioner; he’s Dashan’s.”

“Dashan?!”

Not only was Gong Qin surprised, even Zheng Tan, who was eavesdropping nearby, was shocked. A cat having its own health practitioner!

“The year I left, he started doing acupuncture for Dashan,” Ermao continued calmly.

“Acupuncture?!!”

“Yes, did you think Dashan was naturally durable? It’s all thanks to Uncle Lin’s help.”

Zheng Tan was unsettled, damn, even a cat gets such VIP treatment with a personal health practitioner and sophisticated treatments like acupuncture! (To be continued. If you like this story, feel free to vote or send monthly tickets on Qidian (NovelFire.net). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.NovelFire.net to read.)