Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 414 - Chapter 414 Chapter 398 Intent

Chapter 414: Chapter 398 Intent Chapter 414: Chapter 398 Intent When Zheng Tan followed Dashan away into the distance, Ermao’s phone started to beep incessantly. Due to the special device on Zheng Tan’s cat card, as long as Zheng Tan was a certain distance away, there would be an alarm sound on Ermao’s phone.

Thus, Ermao had a clear understanding of Zheng Tan’s outings. However, since Master said with Dashan around, there would be no issues, Ermao had not taken any action.

It was not until the afternoon, when they saw both Dashan and Zheng Tan return, that Ermao and Wei Leng finally relaxed. Others may not know, but these two were quite aware that this cat, being ferociously black, was not just any docile feline but was much capable of causing trouble. Moreover, before they came, they had assured the Jiao Family; it would be tough to explain if any incident occurred.

Therefore, after Zheng Tan returned to the yard, he listened to Ermao express opinions for about twenty minutes.

Dashan only went out once or twice a week, and if it were twice, it was rarely on consecutive days. Thus, even the old Master had not expected that Dashan would continue to take Zheng Tan out the next day. Moreover, this trip was far longer than the previous day’s, and they set out in the morning.

Zheng Tan followed behind Dashan, and with yesterday’s experience, he had slightly adapted by now.

The path today was very similar to yesterday’s for the most part, except, towards the later part of the route, Dashan chose some paths that were tougher for humans to traverse. Whether it was the narrow, steep mountain stone paths or the dense forests difficult for humans to navigate, these were not much of a challenge for a cat. What Zheng Tan needed to do was to be vigilant for any potential dangers around him.

Zheng Tan would not place all his hopes on Dashan. Even if Dashan was an experienced wild hunter, he might not detect every potential threat nearby. Therefore, Zheng Tan still had to stay cautious and alert.

Zheng Tan had also accompanied the Jiao Family on a field trip outdoors in the past, the time they found the red mouse, and Zheng Tan had survived a period in the wilderness. Several years had passed, and now, that tense nerve-wracking feeling was rising again.

This was the wild life, without mercy, only survival mattered, and a small oversight could lead to fatal consequences.

With nerves tightly wound, Zheng Tan kept walking with Dashan. He knew there were dangers here, but he wanted to know what Dashan’s real purpose was. Without figuring it out, Zheng Tan always felt something was amiss.

Although it was already mid to late October, and autumn would have certainly set in at Chuhua City with temperatures dropping and fewer mosquitoes and other insects in the wild, it wasn’t the case here.

The winter temperatures here were higher than the central regions, except for some high mountains, otherwise, one would hardly see a speck of snow throughout the winter. Perhaps due to the temperature, as Zheng Tan walked through the woods, he could hear many mosquitoes buzzing, sometimes fluttering right in front of his eyes, making one itch to slap them dead right away. However, Zheng Tan endured. The motion of slapping mosquitoes was too big and could easily alarm some dangerous species.

It was nearing noon when Dashan caught a bird to eat, and Zheng Tan made do with a few fruits. Unless absolutely necessary, Zheng Tan really didn’t want to touch raw food in the wild again.

When Dashan saw Zheng Tan eating the fruits, it seemed curious, sniffed them, and then, disdainfully, walked away to continue with its meat.

Having eaten something, they were no longer very hungry. Zheng Tan squatted on a tree branch to rest, pondering. They hadn’t seen a single human figure in this area. Walking for so long, he hadn’t found any signs of human activity. How much farther did Dashan intend to go?

Having previously experienced an expedition to hunt the red mouse, which ended up taking several days or even longer, Zheng Tan did not want to repeat that experience.

Maybe, should he head back soon?

As he was thinking, Zheng Tan’s ears twitched, and he suddenly looked in one direction.

If he hadn’t misheard just now, it seemed that there were people talking over there.

Turning his head to look at Dashan on another tree branch, Dashan was also looking in that direction, its expression serious as usual, but its eyes carried a chill. Zheng Tan had seen similar expressions many times; it’s the look cats have when they are hunting and playing with their prey. However, compared to those cats whose hunting eyes carried interest, Dashan’s eyes had more of a coldness, like a true predator produced by nature, making Zheng Tan feel a chill in his heart.

Could it be that Dashan’s purpose was the people over there?

Given Dashan’s demeanor, it must have known about the people there.

In a place almost entirely wild and far from any villages or towns, Zheng Tan had thought there would be no human activity here.

Hearing the noise over there, Dashan moved. Its movements were light yet swift, stealthily approaching.

Zheng Tan followed behind, trying to discern from the sounds what might be happening over there.

From the sounds, there was more than one person, seemingly searching for something.

Glancing at the big cat ahead, Zheng Tan thought, could they be looking for this fellow?

But that seemed unlikely. Dashan usually lived over by the yard and even if it came here, it wasn’t frequently. It hadn’t come here yesterday; the people were probably searching for something recently lost.

Still, what were these people up to?

Dashan didn’t get too close and stopped at a certain distance, hiding in a large tree where the dense branches concealed its figure.

Zheng Tan also hid, watching as the people drew nearer.

The people were speaking with a regional accent, which Zheng Tan could not understand clearly, but from their actions, he knew they were indeed searching for something. Moreover, Zheng Tan sensed a smell of blood on these people.

These people were dangerous, the type one should stay away from. This was Zheng Tan’s instinct.

There were three of them, appearing to be in their thirties, probably used to being outdoors, evident from their darkened skin. They spoke softly, their gazes occasionally sweeping through the surrounding bushes and grassland.

Hidden behind a bush, as the three people approached nearer, Zheng Tan grew more nervous, breathing more cautiously too.

The good part was, when they were about ten meters away, they likely felt the bushes here were too dense and difficult to navigate and didn’t notice any suspicious traces, so they changed direction and left.

It wasn’t until those people had gone a good distance that Zheng Tan finally took a deep breath.

Dashan then jumped down from the tree, the branches making a creaking sound with his movement. Fortunately, those people had walked far away and couldn’t hear it.

After jumping down, Dashan looked in the direction the three people had left in and his ears twitched, ensuring the trio hadn’t returned before he started moving again.

Zheng Tan followed Dashan, unsure of what he intended to do but certain it was somehow related to these people moving about deep in the woods.

What next?

With just two cats, even if they held a grudge, what could they do to those people?

Even if Zheng Tan turned into a person, he wouldn’t be able to stand against any of those three. Of course, that would be a different story if he were to resort to other means.

Dashan didn’t seem intent on chasing after those three people but instead headed in another direction.

Half an hour later, Zheng Tan saw a simple shelter made from cloth and wood, and from inside, he could hear the sounds suggesting that some animals were contained within.

Poachers?

That doesn’t feel right. Although there indeed exists a large stretch of wild forest here, home to many feral dogs, wolves, and wild boars, there aren’t many rare animals around–this was something Zheng Tan had heard from Ermao.

If really poaching, what were they hunting here? Wolf pelts?

At that moment, two men came out of the tent, one of them yawning and smelling of alcohol, heading towards another nearby tent; the other man walked around the area before leaning against a tree to sit down and lit a cigarette, suddenly looking over when he heard something.

Whoosh–

A brownish-yellow figure flashed through the bushes and swiftly disappeared.

The alert look in that man’s eyes vanished. As long as it wasn’t human, they didn’t care about other animals.

Zheng Tan hid behind the cloth shelter, watching as that man spotted Dashan then leisurely leaned back against the tree again, seeming not at all worried.

This person was very alert.

Dashan’s movement had been very slight, only pausing momentarily as he neared the shelter likely due to the scent of the animals inside, slightly shifting his feet to step on a thin branch.

After the man sat back down, Zheng Tan lightly lifted the thick cloth hanging on the ground at the edge of the shelter. He didn’t go in, just lifted the cloth slightly to peek inside.

There were ventilation slots left at the edges of the shelter, and external light shone through. As such, even though it was relatively dark inside the shelter, Zheng Tan could still make out the situation inside using the dim light.

Inside were five cages, two housing monkeys and three housing red pandas–not the small kind, but the animals often covered in reddish-brown fur.

Both the monkeys and the red pandas looked to be in poor condition, lethargic and scarcely moving within their cages.

Zheng Tan doubted again whether these people were truly poachers. Keeping them alive but barely attending to their health, could they be poachers?

As he watched, Zheng Tan suddenly felt a chill, quickly let the cloth fall back into place, and moved quickly away from the spot.

After Zheng Tan had left, the man who had been leaning against the tree appeared next to the shelter.

“What’s up?” asked the man who had earlier entered the tent.

“Nothing, just other animals getting close,” replied the man by the shelter.

“Oh, as long as it’s not human, it’s fine,” said the other man, his tension immediately easing. He yawned and walked back into the tent, “I’m going to sleep for a bit; I’ll take over your shift after I wake up.”

Zheng Tan watched the two men from behind a tree not far away. Compared to the three men they had encountered earlier, he could make out a few words from these two, which gave him a hint about their conversation.

Zheng Tan didn’t go over to pry further; Dashan seemed to understand that they shouldn’t approach, so they decided to head back. However, Zheng Tan felt that Dashan was still somewhat reluctant.

Reluctance couldn’t help much, and those people were not the kind Zheng Tan wanted to provoke.

As they were walking back, Zheng Tan pondered over the two men and the monkeys and red pandas caged in the shelter, being cautious of any danger around but failing to notice what was under his feet. Suddenly feeling something underfoot, Zheng Tan paused and looked down.

He noticed some sticky stuff where he had stepped, not knowing what it was; it felt pretty disgusting. Dashan was wary of this, glancing nervously around as if there might be some dangerous object nearby. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (NovelFire.net) or cast a monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.NovelFire.net.)

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