Become a Cheetah
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Monty took Luo Qiao along another path, going through tall grass and entering a patch of bushes. What came into view were undulating rocks and hills.
A lone fig tree stood beside a rocky mountain made of a pile of boulders. This place was only three to four hundred meters away from the edge of his territory, but Luo Qiao had never been here before.
Cheetahs didn't like this kind of place. The view here wasn't open, always blocked by obstacles, unsuitable for cheetahs to run at high speed to chase prey. It was a good ambush spot for leopards though.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Luo Qiao stop, Monty turned his head and looked at him in confusion.
"Where is this?"
"My territory."
This concise sentence abruptly choked Luo Qiao. Thinking about Monty's territory and then comparing it to his own small patch of land, the difference between a large landlord and a poor peasant was too obvious, damn it!
Luo Qiao really wanted to ask Monty why he brought him here, or perhaps he should ask himself why he followed him in a daze.
Just because he helped him? Well, it was indeed because he helped him. To be precise, he saved him. Thinking carefully, what was the difference between this and a soft girl promising herself to a hero after being rescued?
Luo Qiao refused to admit that he was shocked by his own thoughts.
"No need to worry so much."
Monty walked up to Luo Qiao and twitched his ears.
"I won't do anything to you, at least not now. If you lick me again, this guarantee will be more effective."
Hearing Monty's words, the cheetah dad with his family was even more worried...
Luo Qiao looked at Monty uneasily. Should he turn around and run away with the two small cheetah cubs? But behind him, a group of lions had occupied his home.
As the saying goes, there are wolves in front and tigers behind. For him, there was a leopard in front and lions behind.
Which choice was more miserable?
Seeing Luo Qiao hesitate, Monty simply transformed into his human form, picked up Luo Qiao in one arm, and said to the two small cheetah cubs.
"Follow me."
Luo Sen and Luo Rui originally wanted to make a sound, but they were frightened by Monty's gaze. They looked at each other and could only lower their ears, obediently following Monty.
Monty walked very fast, and the two small cheetah cubs could barely keep up. Passing through the bushes, what was under their feet was no longer dry grass but bare sandy soil and broken rocks. Without the scorching heat of the daytime sun, the sandy soil felt a bit soft to step on, and Luo Sen and Luo Rui found it novel.
Luo Qiao worried about his future fate. He wanted to run but was concerned about the two small cheetah cubs, so he could only let Monty carry him all the way, finally stopping under the fig tree.
Putting down Luo Qiao, Monty transformed back into a leopard. His tail brushed against Luo Qiao's body.
"Be good and rest here. Don't run around!"
Luo Qiao nodded quickly, called the two small cheetah cubs to his side, and the three cheetahs stood under the tree, watching the leopard climb to the top of the tree in a few leaps. As soon as Luo Qiao turned around, he heard a low growl behind him, immediately stopped, lay down on the ground, and didn't move.
Luo Sen and Luo Rui also realized that their father was in a very bad situation now and obediently leaned against Luo Qiao and lay down. The night wind was cool, and the three cheetahs could only huddle together for warmth.
Luo Qiao and the two small cheetah cubs all began to miss the rock cave that could shelter them from the wind and rain and was covered with dry grass.
A gazelle that Monty had caught was hidden in the fig tree. Those warthog meats couldn't fill his stomach at all. Playing with the lions on an empty stomach had long left him starving. Monty plucked the gazelle's fur, spat it out, and looked at Luo Qiao under the tree, then took a big bite of the gazelle meat and continued to look at Luo Qiao.
Sure enough, just one lick and letting him go was still too much of a loss.
He should have licked him a few more times!
Luo Qiao felt uneasy under Monty's gaze. He raised his head and saw a few tufts of fur floating down from the tree to the ground. Then a bloody smell wafted through the air. Was that leopard eating something?
Standing up and walking forward to sniff, sure enough, gazelle meat.
However, it was fine for him to eat, but what was with taking a bite and then looking at him?
Was he eating with his meal?
Luo Qiao was shocked by his own thoughts again.
Another gust of cold wind blew, and the two small cheetah cubs huddled even closer. Luo Qiao finally succumbed to instinct and led the two small cheetah cubs to a sheltered rock.
"You wait here. Dad will go find something."
Seeing Luo Qiao get up and move, Monty stopped eating and watched him until Luo Qiao returned to the tree and said to him.
"I'm going to find something, not run away."
Monty nodded, indicating he understood, and then continued to eat meat, but the look in Luo Qiao's eyes made his heart palpitate, clearly indicating that if he dared to run, he could just wait and see!
Luo Qiao didn't go too far before finding the dry grass he needed. He carried a large bundle back to the rock and spread it on the ground. Although it wasn't as comfortable as the rock cave, it would at least allow him and his children to sleep more comfortably.
Luo Sen and Luo Rui actively helped, but their mouths were too small, and their claws could only scatter the dry grass everywhere. They were busy but only making things worse, and in the end, Luo Qiao chased them to the side.
Monty curiously watched Luo Qiao's flurry of activity until Luo Qiao settled the two small cheetah cubs and lay down himself, even rolling over comfortably, before he suddenly understood.
"Are you learning from ostriches?"
Monty dragged the half-eaten gazelle to another branch and then lay down on a branch facing Luo Qiao.
"Huh?"
"If you're not learning from ostriches, what are you doing building a nest?"
A flock of crows flew over Luo Qiao's head. He didn't know how to explain to this purely wild beast the difference between simply sleeping and sleeping comfortably. Anyway, Monty always slept in trees, so communication was difficult.
Logically speaking, Monty gave him food and saved him, so he shouldn't be so afraid of him anymore. But Luo Qiao was just wary of this leopard, perhaps due to his previous bad behavior, or perhaps it was the instinctive vigilance and submission of a wild beast towards the strong. In short, it was difficult for Luo Qiao to speak calmly and properly with Monty.
In fact, he didn't have the chance. Every time this leopard saw him, he was either being a rogue or acting like a rogue. Even if he looked handsome, it couldn't hide his rogue bully nature.
What was depressing was that this 'flower-like beauty' 'rogue bully' had also saved him...
Luo Qiao's head hurt from thinking, and he rolled over again, simply pulling the two small cheetah cubs close, not wanting to think about anything, and went to sleep!
Monty watched Luo Qiao roll around with great interest until he hugged the two small cheetah cubs into three balls.
Luo Qiao was only concerned with his troubles, unaware that felines would only voluntarily expose their belly in front of trusted individuals. The few times he was forced to do so before didn't count! Unfortunately, he had just rolled in front of Monty more than once, and had defenselessly curled up his front paws, exposing the softest part of his body to Monty.
This ignorance pleased Monty. The leopard, in a good mood, lay on the branch, his two hind legs dangling naturally from the branch, his front legs crossed, his chin resting on his front legs, closed his eyes, and slowly fell asleep.
As for whether the cheetah would run away after he fell asleep, Monty wasn't worried at all. Even if he really ran, he was confident that he could catch this cheetah again.
"Dad..."
Luo Rui called out softly, while Luo Sen opened his eyes and looked at the leopard on the branch. "Dad, he's asleep. Aren't we running?"
"Hmm."
Luo Qiao nodded with his eyes closed, and by the way, hugged Luo Sen and Luo Rui even tighter.
"Don't think so much, go to sleep. At least here, there won't be lions and hyenas."
Everything else could wait until they woke up. Occasionally acting like an ostrich wasn't a bad thing. Building a nest, however, was another matter.
"Oh."
The two small cheetah cubs were frightened and had fled overnight. They were already exhausted. After Luo Qiao licked their ears and foreheads, they fell asleep before long.
In Luo Qiao's territory, Felix and Ero returned to the lion pride silently. Only the injured lioness saw them; the other lions were still fast asleep. But the wound on Felix's body was too obvious. When the lions woke up, they would definitely see it.
Felix smacked a stone away with his paw in frustration, while Ero lay down lazily without saying a word. The injured lioness closed her eyes as if she hadn't seen the two male lions.
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