Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 415 - Chapter 415 Chapter 399 Another Incident Occurred

Chapter 415: Chapter 399: Another Incident Occurred Chapter 415: Chapter 399: Another Incident Occurred Zheng Tan couldn’t distinguish what the somewhat transparent, sticky substance under his feet truly was. Perhaps it carried the scent of some animal, but with his limited experience, he was unable to guess. All he could discern from Dashan’s somewhat fearful eyes was that this was not a good sign.

Even those people whom Zheng Tan perceived to be very dangerous did not elicit such an expression from Dashan. If this was due to an animal, then it must be one that sat at the very top of the food chain in this forest, far above Dashan.

As long as it wasn’t some animal’s feces or mucus, Zheng Tan lifted his foot and wiped the sticky liquid from his paw on the grass nearby while surveying his surroundings.

The sticky liquid wasn’t only present here. As Zheng Tan stood up and looked around, he saw some more of it not far to the front left, past some low bushes.

After some thought, Zheng Tan chose a fairly tall tree to climb, deciding to take a look around and see if he could find anything–at least he would have an idea of what he was dealing with.

Even if Dashan knew exactly what it was, he wouldn’t be able to tell Zheng Tan. If Zheng Tan wanted to know, he would have to find the answer himself.

Standing on a tree branch more than ten meters off the ground, Zheng Tan looked in the direction where he had seen the sticky substance. About twenty meters away, there was a brownish-gray mass on a small patch of grass between two trees. From Zheng Tan’s angle, it wasn’t clear what it was just yet, but the area was covered in a lot of sticky substance, just like the ones he had stepped on earlier.

Listening carefully to his surroundings, there were no sounds of other people or large animals. After glancing around to ensure there was no other danger, Zheng Tan gauged the distance to another tree, gathered his strength, and jumped!

Below, Dashan paced back and forth restlessly, stopping every few steps to examine the sticky substance. When he approached and sniffed it, he was extremely cautious, retreating quickly after just a couple of sniffs as if additional sniffs could invite danger.

As Dashan was carefully tracing the trail of the sticky substance with his nose, the noise above startled him, and he bolted away on reflex. After realizing it was Zheng Tan who had made the noise, Dashan peeked out from behind a tree and looked up, following Zheng Tan’s figure with his gaze. Hesitating for a moment, he still lifted his foot and followed.

If the animal was a land creature, approaching from above would be relatively safer for Zheng Tan. Fortunately, he had long perfected his skill of jumping from tree to tree, and there were many trees here. After leaping between several trees, Zheng Tan came to a branch above the brownish-gray mass and looked down.

The brownish-gray mass wasn’t very large; otherwise, Zheng Tan wouldn’t have had the courage to approach it. Even though it was on the ground, it didn’t mean it was harmless. Moreover, it appeared roughly the size of a wild rabbit.

Thinking this, Zheng Tan studied the mass carefully, and the more he looked, the more it resembled a wild rabbit.

A rabbit?

Indeed, it really seemed so.

However, that rabbit was covered in a sticky layer and looked somewhat disfigured, as if… it had been digested and vomited back up.

Many animals, such as the feline species, wolves, wild dogs, and others usually shred their prey during eating, tearing the flesh off bit by bit, rather than swallowing it whole like this.

Yes, that rabbit, seemingly digested, had been vomited out still intact, with no signs of being torn apart, and Zheng Tan did not see any obvious wounds on it.

The kind of animal that could swallow its prey whole and feed this way made Zheng Tan think of that cold-blooded, hair-raising creature–the snake. And judging by the current situation, it was no small snake.

A snake that could swallow a rabbit could definitely swallow Zheng Tan. The wild rabbit was quite large, much bigger and fatter than the one Dashan had caught yesterday. If such a creature could be easily swallowed whole, let alone Zheng Tan’s small cat form–with his current size, he had no advantage in stature.

If the sticky fluid was something like snake stomach acid and enough was vomited out to cause great wariness in Dashan, the snake’s size must be significant.

Thinking back on the blob of sticky fluid he had stepped in and then observing the crawling marks left in the other sticky spots below, Zheng Tan could infer that the snake had not only vomited up this one rabbit; it had regurgitated before, then crawled in this direction, leaving some marks along the way, vomited again here, and then…

Zheng Tan looked at the large tree he was in, which was quite old and tall. He climbed a bit higher and looked ahead.

The trees ahead were not as dense, with mostly weeds and smaller shrubs. It was for this reason that Zheng Tan could see what lay beyond.

Zheng Tan had initially thought that the snake that spat out the rabbit might be as thick as an adult’s calf, but now it was clear that he had underestimated its size–it wasn’t the calf, but the thigh that was thick.

Moreover, about two meters from the snake, there was more vomit, with about six or seven rabbits ejected, more or less digested to the same degree as the previous one.

It seemed unlikely to Zheng Tan that wild pythons would consume so many rabbits of similar size in one go, unless someone was raising them specifically to feed the snake. The fat rabbits didn’t look like the kind that survived in the wild – they were likely specially bred by someone.

And what would be the purpose of keeping such a large snake?

On the way over from Pei Liang’s hometown, Zheng Tan had heard from Ermao and others that this province did have many snake breeders due to the climate, with many individuals raising snakes, turtles, and flowers, and surely there were those who raised large snakes as well. He just hadn’t anticipated encountering one here.

The snake was coiled up, motionless, its state of life uncertain. To vomit almost all of the ingested food meant it must be in discomfort. No wonder such a large creature could frighten Dashan. If the snake was dead, that would be one thing, but if it was alive, it was certainly a high-risk creature.

Zheng Tan dared not approach any closer. Looking down at the extra-cautious Dashan, he thought it best to leave quickly. Curiosity could kill a cat.

Moving gently on the branch, Zheng Tan prepared to depart, but just as he shifted his steps, he heard sounds of people coming their way, running fast.

It was the three individuals they had encountered before.

Could it be that they were searching for this large snake?

Dashan had already heard the noise and hidden himself away. Zheng Tan didn’t leave immediately but climbed down from the tree and hid behind the trunk.

The three men seemed to be in a hurry to find their target, and Zheng Tan, unable to contain his curiosity, followed not far behind them unnoticed.

Zheng Tan thought that if things went south, he’d immediately retreat; by then, even if those three men spotted Zheng Tan and Dashan, they wouldn’t have the energy to pay them any mind.

While Zheng Tan was contemplating, the three men had quickly approached, stopping only about ten meters away after spotting the large snake.

They whispered among themselves, with Zheng Tan unable to understand what they were saying. But clearly, this snake was their target; upon seeing it, their eyes lit up with joy, and they even seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Two of the three took out guns they were carrying, while the third man picked up a stone nearby and threw it at the large snake.

The stone, the size of a fist, hit the snake, but it didn’t react at all.

Seeing this, the man who threw the stone continued walking forward, approached the snake, and boldly lifted its tail to check; after confirming something, he nodded back at his two companions.

Only then did the two with guns feel at ease to approach.

Watching them tampering with the snake, Zheng Tan knew that it was either dead or on the verge of death, or completely incapable of resistance.

Zheng Tan had thought they would simply drag the snake away, but instead, he saw one of them take out a foldable knife, turn the snake over slightly, and then make a cut near the tail.

After making the cut, the man prodded around inside with the knife and then pulled out a small glass vial with cracks in it; some blood had gotten inside. Inside the vial were some light yellow substances that hadn’t fully dissolved in the blood. Zheng Tan didn’t know what it was, but it was certainly not anything good–perhaps another illegal “medicine”.

Zheng Tan had heard about people using animals to transport “medicine,” as it could evade drug-sniffing dogs or some people’s gaze. A snake this large was indeed a good storage place. Perhaps due to some reason, the vial inside had cracked, the drug leaked out, ultimately leading to the death of the large snake.

It seemed he had uncovered another astonishing secret.

Should he tell Ermao and the others?

No, Zheng Tan immediately dismissed the idea in his mind.

This time, Ermao, Wei Leng, and the others had brought their families for a simple vacation, to visit the elderly–it would be inconvenient for them to get involved. If they did get involved, it would be troublesome. Who knows, these people might be desperate criminals; who else would dare to do such things without courage?

These people were too dangerous.

Forget it, there are professionals to handle this. Zheng Tan decided not to worry; after all, he was just a cat, not Superman who punishes evil and promotes good.

After fussing about for a while, the three men dragged the snake away, presumably to find a suitable place to dispose of it. They had already retrieved what they wanted, and the snake was dead, so they wouldn’t bother carrying the cumbersome creature back with them.

Only after the three men left did Zheng Tan come out of hiding.

This time, Dashan also had no intention of staying in the area any longer and quickened his pace on the return journey.

Had Dashan discovered the secret hidden within this incident? Zheng Tan was skeptical; however, the possibility was slim. Dashan was smart, but not likely to understand these matters–its focus seemed to be only on the people as if it had an old grudge with them.

When they returned to the home of the elderly, Zheng Tan finally let go of the worry that had been weighing on him. It had not been an easy trip out–tense and frightening, and he had even encountered those troubling issues.

Seeing the two children playing and painting in the yard, Zheng Tan decided not to bother. Jiao Ma and Mr. Jiao had said not to make trouble when they came out; if it didn’t concern him, Zheng Tan would pretend he hadn’t seen anything. At the most, could he make an anonymous report later?

He had brought a mobile phone with him this time; when leaving, he could make an anonymous report.

After deciding, Zheng Tan felt much more relaxed. He even felt in the mood to pick up a lighter that seemed to have been unused for a long time from the kitchen shelf and play with it.

There weren’t many people around; Ermao and the others hadn’t returned yet, and the two mothers in the living room were chatting, watching the two kids in the yard and not paying attention to Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan flicked the lighter on and off, on and off, repeating this many times. After a while, Zheng Tan chided himself for being so bored that playing with a lighter could occupy him for minutes.

Putting the lighter aside, Zheng Tan looked over.

Dashan was standing not far away, staring in Zheng Tan’s direction, looking at Zheng Tan and then at the lighter thrown at his feet. Dashan walked over, pushed the lighter around, tried his paw at it, couldn’t figure it out, tried again, still to no avail.

Zheng Tan didn’t stay there, leaving Dashan to puzzle over the lighter.

So when Master returned with Ermao and the others from outside, he only saw Zheng Tan with the two children. After searching, he found Dashan next to the kitchen; when he found Dashan, he was still fiddling with that lighter, and after an hour, it still hadn’t managed to light the little gadget.

With a snap, Dashan slapped the lighter away, then stared at Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan’s whiskers twitched, ‘Why glare at me if you can’t light it?!’ (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.NovelFire.net.)