Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 413 - Chapter 413 Chapter 397 The Big Cats Test

Chapter 413: Chapter 397: The Big Cat’s Test Chapter 413: Chapter 397: The Big Cat’s Test Zheng Tan noticed that the big cat had been acting a bit strange over the past few days, or perhaps, was it always like this?

Anyway, apart from its first day here, Zheng Tan felt that in the following days, the big cat’s way of looking at him was odd. Every time Zheng Tan turned around to look at it, the big cat did not look away but met his gaze directly, unafraid of maintaining eye contact.

Something was off.

Very off.

Although Ermao and the others thought Dashan was just curious about Zheng Tan, whom it somewhat resembled as a “semi-conspecific”, Zheng Tan did not think so. Perhaps the other cats around were not as bold as Zheng Tan. Uncle Lin had said that in this area, Dashan was the king. The surrounding cats and some domestic dogs, whether tame or wild, would never confront Dashan head-on. Some would avoid Dashan as if they had seen a ghost. Only Zheng Tan was unafraid of, and indifferent toward Dashan, bluntly speaking, as if he didn’t see Dashan as significant.

Zheng Tan wasn’t disregarding him; he just always leaned more towards a human perspective, and aside from the initial curiosity about a special cat, there really wasn’t much else.

Ermao and others, including the elderly Master, surely hoped Zheng Tan would get along well with Dashan, but from Zheng Tan’s viewpoint, they were both males. It was already a great sign that they hadn’t fought over territory and shown their claws. Why should expectations be any higher? Did they really expect the cats to unite like small children, lovingly, equally, and cooperatively?

However…

Zheng Tan glanced diagonally forward. The big cat was lying on a chair, looking in Zheng Tan’s direction with that scheming gaze that Zheng Tan felt.

Zheng Tan had held back these days, just waiting for this fellow to make a move. If Dashan indeed had a purpose as Zheng Tan suspected, there ought to be subsequent actions.

A cat’s patience could be astonishingly good when it came to achieving its prey.

For four consecutive days, Dashan maintained the same attitude, staring at Zheng Tan without making any other move.

Turning back, Zheng Tan continued to watch Er Yuan and Wei Xiaopang drawing at the low table, but his mind started to spin. With the look Dashan had just given, there should be action soon.

Indeed, after about half an hour, Dashan rose from the wooden chair, walked over to Zheng Tan, and squatted right next to him, watching Er Yuan and Wei Xiaopang drawing.

Remembering the initial “pants-pulling” incident, Wei Xiaopang immediately stood up upon seeing Dashan approach, clutching his pants and stepping back several paces, warily watching Dashan. Er Yuan looked at Dashan, then at Wei Xiaopang, didn’t move, but also stopped drawing.

Zheng Tan glanced sideways at Dashan. This guy seemed totally unconcerned about being guarded against by the children, glanced at the paper on the low table, showed no interest, and then looked at Zheng Tan before lifting his paw and waving it at Zheng Tan.

The act of slapping, which on humans might be deemed a sissy behavior, is as ordinary as licking paws for cats. You can’t expect a cat to punch, can you? Moreover, there are several different ways cats slap; how to slap, whether to retract the claws or not, how much to extend them, from what angle to slap, etc., are all determined by different circumstances and situations.

Like now, Dashan held no malice towards Zheng Tan, it was more like a joke or a test as he swiped at Zheng Tan with his claws retracted and not much force.

Because he sensed no malice from Dashan, Zheng Tan did not dodge, and after taking a hit on his head, Zheng Tan did not immediately retaliate but looked at Dashan, closely examining this cat considered by Ermao and Wei Leng to be extremely intelligent and peculiar.

It really seemed like just a test.

After taking the hit from Dashan, Zheng Tan did not immediately strike back, but Er Yuan and Wei Xiaopang, still very young, one almost three and the other three and a half years old, lacked the ability to discern properly. Seeing Dashan slap Zheng Tan, they thought Zheng Tan was being bullied.

Wei Xiaopang remembered his dad telling him to let someone know if Dashan and Zheng Tan fought, so Wei Xiaopang, holding up his pants, rolled out towards the courtyard, running and shouting, “Dad, Dad! Uncle Shan and Black are fighting!”

Meanwhile, Er Yuan, seeing Zheng Tan get hit, took the drawing brush and knocked it towards Dashan. For Er Yuan, Black was naturally much closer than Uncle Shan, and if Black was bullied, it was surely Uncle Shan’s fault, so Er Yuan felt even more obliged to defend him.

The stance was good, but unfortunately, Er Yuan being small and having short arms meant the impact wasn’t strong, so hitting Dashan didn’t really hurt him.

Zheng Tan was instantly touched. Er Yuan was a good kid!

After getting hit by Er Yuan, Dashan’s ears twitched along with a couple of hairs on them, looked at Er Yuan, and then raised a paw to place it on the sketchpad on the low table and pushed it aside.

The sketchpad flipped onto the floor.

This time, Zheng Tan gave Dashan a slap. Er Yuan had defended him, so he definitely had to return the favor for Er Yuan. He didn’t use much force either, the contact was similar to Dashan’s earlier gesture.

Er Yuan, initially pouting because her sketchpad was flipped, suddenly stopped pouting when she saw Zheng Tan slapping Dashan.

Outside the courtyard, those alarmed by Wei Xiaopang’s words also rushed over.

Seeing the situation in the courtyard, Ermao and Wei Leng immediately relaxed, it didn’t seem like much of a fight after all, probably just a misunderstanding by Wei Xiaopang.

Er Yuan had already picked up the sketchpad, and seeing Ermao coming over, she tottered over to tell on Dashan.

“Dad, Uncle Shan is bad!”

Listening to Er Yuan explain the situation, although Er Yuan’s expressive ability was limited, the group could still roughly guess what had happened here just now.

“Er Yuan, good boy, Uncle Shan and Black were just playing.” Ermao explained.

“Really?” Er Yuan asked curiously.

“Of course it’s true, look, neither Uncle Shan nor Black are mad, right? This is a way for cats to express friendship!” Ermao said.

Zheng Tan: “…” Friendship my ass!

In the afternoon, the three kids were taken inside to sleep, while Ermao and the others went around for a walk, revisiting old haunts in search of old memories, and also visiting some families whom they hadn’t managed to visit the day before. All of them were acquaintances from their time living here. Hearing that Ermao and Wei Leng had returned, many people brought food and drinks over, and naturally, Ermao and the others had to express their gratitude.

Building relationships is mutual; they couldn’t be maintained by just one side. Moreover, the elderly needed to live here for a long time, maintaining good relationships with others was also a help to the elderly. While the villagers might not be able to help much, at least they could give some care, ensuring the elderly wouldn’t feel too lonely.

In the courtyard, Zheng Tan lay on a chair in a shady spot, sleeping. Compared to indoors, he preferred this kind of outdoor environment that was closer to nature.

Perhaps because he now had the body of a cat, he also had some feline habits. Cats spend most of their time sleeping every day; however, this sleeping isn’t like a deep sleep. Often, they just lie quietly, eyes closed, giving off a “do not disturb” vibe, but their ears are alert, always aware of the surroundings.

The ears twitched, and Zheng Tan opened his eyes to look. Approaching was Dashan.

Usually, at this time, Dashan would be hiding in some lush tree around the courtyard. It was hard to find him; otherwise, Zheng Tan wouldn’t be resting in the courtyard. But now, the big cat that should have been in a tree outside the courtyard had come up to Zheng Tan.

This time Dashan didn’t make any moves. After looking at Zheng Tan, he walked toward the courtyard gate, taking a few steps and looking back at Zheng Tan, even meowing softly.

Was that an invitation to follow? Zheng Tan wondered.

Curious about Dashan’s intentions and having nothing else to do, Zheng Tan stretched, then jumped off the chair.

Seeing Zheng Tan follow, Dashan continued walking out.

Zheng Tan followed Dashan out of the courtyard, walking farther and farther. Looking back at the courtyard that was almost out of sight, Zheng Tan paused, then looked towards Dashan.

Noticing Zheng Tan hadn’t followed, Dashan stopped and waited, seemingly displeased with Zheng Tan’s sudden halt.

What exactly does this guy want to do? Zheng Tan wondered.

After hesitating, Zheng Tan continued following. Ermao could locate Zheng Tan based on the cat card, so even if Zheng Tan got lost in the woods with Dashan ditching him, there was no need to worry. Furthermore, Zheng Tan wanted to explore even farther areas, so he kept following Dashan.

Dashan led Zheng Tan away from the familiar, not-so-high mountains, and away from the village scattered with houses, into the wilderness of the forest. There were no paths here; initially, there were signs of human activity, but the farther they went, the fewer signs of humans there were, instead, there were often scents of small wild animals.

Zheng Tan followed Dashan, wary of their surroundings.

Dashan’s wilderness survival skills were strong. Though he moved with apparent ease, he was always alert to everything around them.

Zheng Tan learned a lot but didn’t do much except follow. He didn’t engage in activities like teasing rabbits or raiding bird nests like Dashan did.

Seeing Dashan’s behavior, Zheng Tan understood why many ecologists and ornithologists had negative views on cats. In regions where cats were not native, the introduction of even one could pose a significant threat, let alone slightly bigger ones.

As natural hunters, cats wouldn’t stop moving just because they weren’t hungry. After eating their fill, if they encountered prey, they’d still play with it. They wouldn’t take into account the ecosystem, the food chain, invasive species, or such; they simply acted as they pleased.

Dashan caught a bird that Zheng Tan couldn’t name, and knock over a couple of bird eggs. When it was about time, on their way back, he also caught a rabbit. His survival skills and knowledge of the area always allowed Dashan to find prey and hunt it easily.

Zheng Tan followed Dashan on a loop out and back and started mulling things over.

Master hadn’t mentioned much about Dashan’s outings; Zheng Tan only knew that Dashan would go into the wilderness once or twice a week. The elder didn’t intend to keep Dashan confined at home, and since Dashan always returned on time, the elder had become used to it and no longer worried much.

This big cat was very intelligent. Having been by the elder’s side for twenty years, being raised by the elder like a child for twenty years, surely it must have learned something. Compared to other cats, it was clearly sharper, something even Ermao had verified, and Zheng Tan could feel it too. And that was why he was curious about what exactly Dashan wanted to do.

Zheng Tan felt that this afternoon’s venture seemed like another test by Dashan; he didn’t think that Dashan was merely fulfilling the duties of a host by just taking him for a walk in the wild.

The second test is done. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to recommend and vote on Qidian (NovelFire.net). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.NovelFire.net to read.)