After a round of eating and drinking.

The three grown men began to brag.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chen Wen once again steered the conversation towards the Snow Leopard.

Upon hearing "Snow Leopard," the straightforward Duoji immediately said, "Speaking of Snow Leopard, we previously rescued one. At that time, the reserve even awarded our father with a silk banner and gifted us several livestock!"

Listening to this, Chen Wen was taken aback, "You guys rescued a Snow Leopard?"

Zhaxi Duntu looked slightly reproachfully at his brother and then explained to Chen Wen, "My father is a very skilled veterinarian. Just a few years ago, we were passing by here when we encountered an injured Snow Leopard. Seeing it was on the verge of death, father treated it."

"Speaking of..."

Duoji smacked his lips and pointed to the nearby mountain, "The rescued Snow Leopard should have been found near this mountain, right?"

Hearing this, Zhaxi Duntu nodded, "Yes, I remember it was in the morning?"

At this moment, Gesang Meiduo interjected, "Not morning, it was noon when we were planning to camp, and we encountered that leopard."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wen had already confirmed some things in his mind.

He asked an additional question, "Was that Snow Leopard’s leg bone fractured?"

Huh?

The whole Zhaxi Duntu family looked at Chen Wen with surprise; evidently, Chen Wen was right.

Zhaxi Duntu hesitated for a moment and nodded, "Yes, how did you know?"

"I not only know it had a leg injury, but I also know which leg was injured and that this Snow Leopard recuperated for a period in the valley where you previously stayed!"

As Chen Wen narrated, Zhaxi Duntu was already stunned, Duoji was dumbfounded, and the young girl Gesang Meiduo was wide-eyed in disbelief.

"How... how do you know!"

Gesang Meiduo couldn’t help but ask, "You even know the location of the valley! Have you been spying on us?"

Zhaxi Duntu rebuked Gesang Meiduo; although he didn’t know how Chen Wen was aware, he was certain Chen Wen couldn’t have been spying on them.

After a moment, Zhaxi Duntu asked, "Have you met my son?"

Chen Wen shook his head, unable to hold back a smile on his face.

Upon confirming that Zhaxi Duntu’s family were indeed the herders who had once rescued the Snow Leopard, he couldn’t help but marvel at how small the world was and the coincidence in the events.

He no longer concealed anything and, with a smile, told Zhaxi Duntu the full story: "Here’s how it happened..."

Chen Wen recounted how he got dropped on the high mountains, hunted argali, accidentally encountered the Snow Leopard, and formed an unexpected bond.

After listening to Chen Wen’s narrative, full of stories, Gesang Meiduo’s envy was nearly spilling over.

She greatly admired the kind of wilderness life Chen Wen was living, as it was simply her ideal lifestyle!

At the same time, regarding Chen Wen’s encounter with the Snow Leopard.

Gesang Meiduo couldn’t help but repeatedly exclaim about the fate between Chen Wen and the Snow Leopard.

One must know, Snow Leopards generally fear humans, and encountering a Snow Leopard that has previously been helped by humans is exceedingly rare.

Zhaxi Duntu couldn’t help but say, "It seems like we are truly fated! The Snow Leopard my father healed was once again rescued by you, and you even found our abandoned campsite, truly..."

"Truth is stranger than fiction!"

Gesang Meiduo timely added, causing everyone to laugh heartily.

Indeed, it was so.

Chen Wen also felt that the coincidences encountered in this survival journey were just too many.

And the bond between him and Gesang Meiduo’s family was indeed very deep.

At this time, Chen Wen asked again, "In that valley, there are some tables and chairs, did you guys..."

Zhaxi Duntu nodded, "They were ours; we replaced them with the current camping tables and chairs as the old ones were too heavy to carry, so I discarded them there. If you need them, you can use them directly."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wen was somewhat relieved.

He had been a bit concerned about whether the tables and chairs he was using were deliberately left there by the herders or held any significant meaning to them.

Now he was completely assured.

"By the way, since it’s your father who treated the Snow Leopard, he now..."

Chen Wen said, but noticed Gesang Meiduo’s eyes gradually losing their luster, even Zhaxi Duntu and Duoji’s faces held some sorrow.

He had a sense of foreboding.

"My father..."

Zhaxi Duntu forced a smile and said, "He passed away last winter."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wen expressed his apology, "I’m sorry, I..."

"That’s alright."

Zhaxi Duntu pressed his lips together, smiled and said, "If he knew the Snow Leopard he once saved is now pregnant, he would surely be ecstatic."

Duoji jokingly chimed in, "More than that! I think he’d ride his horse and gallop wildly around the grassland for several laps!"

Everyone laughed again, dispersing much of the sad atmosphere.

At this time, Gesang Meiduo found Chen Wen and whispered a few words to him.

Beside them, Zhaxi Duntu caught a few words, and his face instantly darkened.

"Don’t go! No matter how you look at it, a Snow Leopard is still a wild animal, don’t recklessly approach! Understand?"

Zhaxi Duntu’s tone was stern.

Gesang Meiduo wasn’t really afraid of her dad; she made a funny face at Zhaxi Duntu without saying much, but clearly didn’t take his words to heart.

Watching the interaction between father and daughter, Chen Wen smiled without saying more.

But if Gesang Meiduo truly wanted to see the Snow Leopard, he wouldn’t hinder her.

The Snow Leopard would likely want to see Zhaxi Duntu’s family as well.

Talking about the Snow Leopard, Duoji was quite curious about its situation, he asked more about it, and Chen Wen answered him with full transparency.

After learning that the Snow Leopard was about to give birth soon, Duoji furrowed his brow, seemingly recalling something but in the end, said nothing more, only expressed a desire to see the Snow Leopard’s situation.

Chen Wen felt Duoji wasn’t a bad person and agreed, while beside them Gesang Meiduo excitedly declared she wanted to join them too.

Chen Wen gladly agreed, and Zhaxi Duntu couldn’t say much. He instructed Gesang Meiduo a couple of times, making sure she would listen to Chen Wen.

...

Chen Wen had lunch at Zhaxi Duntu’s house.

Not sure if it was to welcome Duoji or to welcome Chen Wen, either way, this meal was very sumptuous.

After eating, Duoji and Gesang urged Chen Wen to go together to the valley to see the Snow Leopard.

Chen Wen brought them to his valley.

Seeing the familiar valley, Gesang and Duoji both showed a nostalgic expression.

They cautiously walked across the entrance of the valley and were surprised by the valley’s conditions.

Unlike their memories, the valley had become much more expansive.

Moreover, seeing the tables and chairs Chen Wen had modified, both were a bit surprised.

"These seem to be the tables and chairs we abandoned previously, did you transform them?"

Gesang asked curiously.

"Yes."

Chen Wen didn’t hide anything, he directly said, "If you need them, I can later..."

"No need, we left them here to discard them, it’s quite nice to see them being put to use."

Duoji cheerfully interrupted Chen Wen, then looked at the yak jerky Chen Wen was drying, and couldn’t help but give a thumbs-up: "Impressive, this yak jerky is dried almost as well as us locals, handled very cleanly!"

Chen Wen chuckled, explaining, "This is just a facade, it looks good on the outside but tastes awful, with no seasoning added."

Words spoken without intent, yet heard with purpose.

Duoji remembered Chen Wen’s lack of seasoning and planned to mention it to Zhaxi Duntu when they returned.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!

Report chapter

Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter