Become a Cheetah
o0o
Returning to the rocky hill, Luo Qiao immediately went to inspect the cave Monty had mentioned. Apart from scattered dry grass and a dried pool of blood, there was no trace of the warthog. He sniffed carefully—other than the leopard’s scent, there were no signs of other predators. Yet the warthog had vanished without a trace. Could it have run off on its own?
Luo Qiao circled the bloodstain, then dismissed that idea. If the warthog had escaped, why was there no blood elsewhere? The only possibility was that someone else had eaten it.
It couldn’t have been lions or hyenas—so who was it?
Just as Luo Qiao was racking his brain, Luo Sen and Luo Rui, who had been playing and chasing each other near the cave entrance, suddenly cried out.
“Dad!”
The cubs’ voices sounded off. Luo Qiao rushed out immediately to find the two young cheetahs with their neck fur bristling, staring tensely at the grass.
“What’s wrong?”
Following their gaze, Luo Qiao spotted an odd bulge in the dry yellow grass a few dozen meters away. When he saw what was hidden in the grass, he instantly knew where the warthog had gone.
Looking back, Luo Qiao couldn’t help but shudder. Luckily, the cubs hadn’t found the warthog or gone back into that cave. If that giant snake had swallowed the two cheetah cubs instead of the warthog, he wouldn’t even have a place to cry!
But why had this python appeared so early? It was over a month sooner than he’d expected. Had that gazelle already been digested? This guy’s digestion speed was ridiculously fast.
The python noticed Luo Qiao and the two cubs, lifting its head to glare coldly at the three cheetahs, making it clear: "I’m not to be messed with. Even if I’m sluggish with a full belly, I can still swallow another cheetah without issue!"
Luo Qiao knew the python wasn’t venomous, but its strength was terrifying, and it had a massive mouth with sharp teeth. Even if those fangs were meant for swallowing rather than tearing flesh, they were still intimidating. The thought made Luo Qiao recall a bizarre advertisement slogan: "Good teeth, good appetite! Strong body, hearty meals!"
But whether this guy had good teeth or not, he’d stolen their breakfast and was now threatening them. Did he really think they were pushovers?
In truth, the python hadn’t planned to bother the cheetahs. But after digesting its last meal. a gazelle, it had grown hungry again. Luo Qiao’s territory was barren, and with a ready-made warthog right there, only a fool would pass it up.
After eating, however, the python realized its mistake. Its suddenly expanded waistline made returning home impossible—if it tried, it would likely get stuck in the cave entrance.
Only then did it dawn on the python that swallowing a lean gazelle under a hundred pounds was nothing like gulping down a hefty male warthog. It would take at least one or two months before it could squeeze back into its burrow.
And so, the python once a proud homeowner was now homeless, wallowing in deep sorrow.
All I did was have a meal…
With its burrow uninhabitable, the python turned its attention to the rocky hill, which had plenty of caves for shelter. But before it could pick one, Luo Qiao returned with Luo Sen and Luo Rui.
Luo Qiao had no idea what the python was thinking. All he knew was that his earlier hope of peaceful coexistence was now impossible. Considering his and the cubs’ safety, he couldn’t let this unpredictable serpent live. No one wanted to wake up inside a python’s stomach.
Besides, he and the cubs had only eaten one rabbit since morning. With no other prey in the territory, their only option for a full meal was to sacrifice this gentleman right here.
As for whether other predators would move in once the python was gone, that was a problem for later.
Luo Qiao stared unblinkingly at the python, his amber eyes filled with killing intent. The python wondered if it was seeing things. Normally, cheetahs wouldn’t provoke a python, but this one looked dead set on murdering it.
If the python knew Luo Qiao not only wanted to kill it but also eat it, what would it think? Most likely, it’d decide this cheetah had lost his mind.
Luo Qiao made up his mind. He led the cubs up the rocky hill, instructing them to keep a distant watch on the python. If anything seemed off, they were to run immediately.
“Dad, what are you doing?”
“Remember what I told you?”
Luo Qiao shifted forms, grabbing Luo Rui for a good rub—the furball had grown, but he was still just as squishable.
“That guy is our emergency food supply. He ate our breakfast, so he’d better be ready to pay with his flesh.”
With that, Luo Qiao leaped down from the hill. He needed to gather some tools. Though the python was sluggish now, once it regurgitated the warthog, it could still vanish in an instant. To catch it, he had to cut off all escape routes.
Rubbing his nose, he thought, If only I’d befriended that honey badger earlier. This python’s got enough meat to share—perfect for splitting the spoils.
As Luo Qiao searched for suitable branches to trap the snake, Monty—patrolling the territory’s borders—ran into trouble. A pack of wild dogs suddenly ambushed him.
Chased relentlessly, Monty climbed a tree to evade the dogs’ attacks. He had no intention of fighting them, but he wanted to know why they’d targeted him out of nowhere.
No prey, no provocation—the attack was bizarre. Besides, this was his territory. There was no way he’d let a bunch of outsiders act so brazenly!
Leopards are cunning, vengeful, and petty. Once again, Luo Qiao had nailed it.
Once the wild dogs left, Monty descended and stealthily followed their trail. Concealing his scent and tracks, he moved undetected. The dogs, thinking they’d driven the leopard off, had no idea they’d just invited disaster upon their pack.
Luo Qiao finally found two decent branches, snapped from a fallen dead tree—likely toppled by elephants, the only creatures strong enough to bring down such a thick trunk.
After sharpening the tips, Luo Qiao tested their edges and nodded in satisfaction. Just as he turned to leave, he heard Parson’s voice. Turning, he saw the cheetah brothers.
Recently, the Hosby lion pride had lingered near the border, blocking Parson and Jairo’s path to Luo Qiao’s territory. Only the wildebeest herd’s river crossing had drawn the lions away. The brothers waited a full day to confirm the lions were truly gone before hurrying through the Hosby territory to find Luo Qiao.
“Long time no see.”
Parson stepped forward, sniffing Luo Qiao’s scent. He paused briefly but then acted as if nothing was amiss, eyeing the branches in Luo Qiao’s hands. “What are you planning to do with those?”
"This? For catching snakes."
"Catching snakes?!" Jairo exclaimed in disbelief. "What do you want to catch a snake for?"
"To eat."
"Eat?!"
Not just Jairo, even Parson sucked in a sharp breath this time. A cheetah catching and eating snakes?
"Do you think you're a honey badger?!"
Jairo’s voice rose again. Luo Qiao rubbed his ears. "You’re too loud. What’s so strange about it?"
This isn’t strange?!
Parson and Jairo exchanged glances. Was Luo Qiao just too unconventional, or were they the ones falling behind the times? Since when did cheetahs start eating snakes?
Luo Qiao shook the branches, then looked at Parson and Jairo’s dumbfounded expressions before suddenly curling his lips.
"Brothers, want to try some snake meat?"
o0o
On the rocky hill, the two cheetah cubs obeyed Luo Qiao’s orders. After he left, they climbed to a higher rock and settled down. At this height, unless the python vomited up the warthog in its belly, it couldn’t possibly reach them. Even if it tried, the cubs could easily escape with their speed.
When Luo Qiao returned with Parson and Jairo, the python was still in the same patch of grass where Luo Qiao and his sons had found it, it hadn’t moved at all. Since it intended to settle on this rocky hill, it wasn’t about to leave easily.
Parson and Jairo finally saw the 'snake' Luo Qiao had mentioned. Once again, they were speechless.
"This is what you call a ‘snake’?"
"Yeah."
"That’s a python!"
"It’s still a snake."
Jairo had no retort. He glanced at his brother, genuinely wanting to ask: "Bro, you’re into him, are you sure you’re not just asking for trouble?"
Parson tilted his head at a forty-five-degree angle, refusing to answer that question.
The python, now noticing that the cheetahs had multiplied to five, sensed something was wrong. But Luo Qiao wasn’t about to give it a chance to escape. He charged forward with his branch.
Luo Sen and Luo Rui had been ordered to stay on the rocks, but Parson and Jairo couldn’t just stand by and watch. They rushed in as well, following Luo Qiao’s earlier instructions, they went for the python’s tail.
The python would soon regret its earlier arrogance. Luo Qiao was about to teach it a lesson: Underestimating cheetahs comes with a price.
Parson and Jairo tried several times to bite the python’s tail, but it kept dodging. Luo Qiao, seizing the moment while the python was distracted, raised his branch and drove it straight into the python’s body—not at its neck, but at the swollen bulge in its belly. The large surface area made it an easy target.
Putting all his strength into it, Luo Qiao pierced right through.
The moment he struck, Luo Qiao leaped back. As the python lunged at him, Parson and Jairo seized the chance to clamp down on its tail. The python was thoroughly enraged now—it was going to kill these three cheetahs!
But to kill them, it first had to regurgitate the warthog in its stomach to lighten its body and regain agility. Yet no matter how wide it stretched its jaws, the warthog seemed glued inside, refusing to come out.
The python froze, mouth gaping. What the hell is going on?!
And so, the three cheetahs watched as the six-meter-long python retched and gagged like it had food poisoning—straining, heaving, and eventually forgetting its original purpose, vomiting just for the sake of vomiting.
Parson and Jairo glanced at the branch embedded in the python’s body, then at Luo Qiao, and instantly understood. They’d wondered why Luo Qiao had stabbed it there, now they got it.
Unless the python tore its own skin open or pulled the branch out, it would never spit up the warthog.
At this point, the python’s last escape route was sealed.
Luo Qiao raised his second branch.
The Y-shaped branch slammed down, pinning the python to the ground before it could react. Luo Qiao put his entire weight into holding it down, and as the python writhed, he shouted.
"Quit staring—help me!"
Parson and Jairo snapped out of their shock. Jairo bit down on the python’s tail again, while Parson shifted forms to help Luo Qiao immobilize it.
Seizing the opportunity, Luo Qiao grabbed a rock and smashed it against the python’s head.
After a few heavy blows, the python lay motionless—dead. Luo Qiao and the brothers exhaled in relief. The two cubs scrambled down from the rocks, rubbing against Luo Qiao in admiration.
"Dad, you’re amazing!"
Luo Qiao ruffled their heads, then picked them up and planted a kiss on each, in high spirits.
Jairo walked over to Parson, licking the blood from his lips. He glanced at Luo Qiao and muttered under his breath, "Bro, you noticed it too, right? He smells like a leopard."
Parson gave him a look but said nothing.
Aigoo poor parson
ReplyDelete