Wilderness Survival with Druid System

Duoji came back again; it had only taken him a little over ten minutes.

And this time, Zhaxi Duntu was with him.

Zhaxi Duntu did not enter the cave; at this point, any unfamiliar person going in would put pressure on the Snow Leopard, causing its labor to be interrupted or even fail.

Zhaxi Duntu might not understand veterinary medicine, but he knew at least this much.

At the same time, he pulled Gesang, whose worry showed clearly on his face, out of the cave.

He left Chen Wen and Duoji to tend to the Snow Leopard.

Duoji entered the cave and set the bag he had brought on the ground.

By now the Snow Leopard’s condition had gradually stabilized, and Chen Wen found a moment to glance at what Duoji had brought.

There were gloves like the ones doctors wear during surgery, some disinfectant medicines, and a few bottles and jars Chen Wen couldn’t see clearly.

"These are things my father left behind. These are veterinary medicines he compounded. I’m not sure which ones might be useful, so I brought them all."

As Duoji spoke, he laid these things out at the outer edge of the cave.

He did not go further in.

Chen Wen asked, "How long will this stage last?"

Duoji shook his head slightly. "Hard to say, but I remember my father mentioning that all animals’ labor basically has three stages. The first is the contraction stage, where the cervix slowly dilates and the contractions go from weak to strong."

"The second stage is the delivery of the fetus—that’s when the little Snow Leopards are born."

"The third stage is the expulsion of the placenta and the interval phase. Wild animals often have several cubs in one litter. After they deliver one cub, they expel the placenta, rest for a while, then repeat the second stage and continue giving birth until all the cubs are born."

Listening to Duoji’s explanation, Chen Wen nodded slightly.

But he was also a bit puzzled—how did Duoji know so many technical terms?

Or rather, how did his father?

Duoji seemed to pick up on the meaning in Chen Wen’s gaze. He smiled and added, "My father went to school. With support from national policies, he even went down to a veterinary hospital in the lowlands to study for a while."

Since the two of them were standing at the mouth of the cave, Zhaxi Duntu could hear their conversation.

Zhaxi Duntu said, "Yes, and our father was one of the earliest organizers of the Qiangtang Nature Reserve. After my brother and I were able to herd on our own, he worked in the reserve full-time and saved a lot of animals."

Hearing this, Chen Wen felt a surge of solemn respect.

The earliest organizers of the Qiangtang Nature Reserve could be called key figures in the recovery of the Tibetan antelope and the plateau ecosystem.

If not for them, there couldn’t possibly be so many Tibetan antelope today.

And the Mountain Extreme Challenge was also meant as a tribute to people like them.

After chatting a few more minutes with Zhaxi Duntu, Chen Wen also got a clear picture of his father’s situation.

Back to the matter at hand.

Chen Wen said to Duoji, "You two should go back and rest first. I’ll stay here and watch the Snow Leopard. Once it enters the second stage, I’ll send the Golden Eagle to inform you, and you can come over then."

At this, Duoji nodded.

He knew very well that right now, their presence here had more negative than positive impact on the Snow Leopard.

Better to wait until after the Snow Leopard delivered and then come help.

And with Chen Wen being the only person the Snow Leopard trusted, he was the most suitable one to stand guard here.

The three of them took their leave and departed.

...

However, Chen Wen had not expected the first stage of the Snow Leopard’s labor to last so long.

This stage went on for a full six to seven hours and didn’t end until around seven or eight in the evening.

During this stage, the Snow Leopard was extremely sensitive and alert.

But Chen Wen didn’t notice any signs of dystocia; on the contrary, the Snow Leopard’s performance was fairly normal.

It was almost exactly as Duoji had described.

That allowed Chen Wen to relax a little.

Maybe there wouldn’t be complications?

But around seven or eight in the evening, the Snow Leopard began to show abnormalities.

After finishing his meal, Chen Wen had been sitting at the cave entrance, watching the Snow Leopard closely.

Suddenly, just as he was letting his guard down for a moment—

The Snow Leopard’s body began to heave violently; the base of its tail lifted, and it let out a series of short, sharp roars.

Chen Wen’s expression changed; he immediately straightened up and looked at the Snow Leopard.

At this moment the Snow Leopard had its forelegs braced against the ground, hind legs stretched straight, head buried between its forelegs, adopting a posture similar to that of a canid giving birth.

Chen Wen had previously seen a friend’s dog go into labor, and the posture had looked just like this.

He immediately realized that the Snow Leopard had entered the second stage of labor—the fetal expulsion stage.

"Go to that group’s camp from before and bring them here."

Chen Wen gave the Golden Eagle a light pat and sent it off to notify Zhaxi Duntu and Duoji.

After the Golden Eagle left, Chen Wen rummaged through the medicines Duoji had brought.

He had no idea which drugs might be useful; he just picked up the disinfectants.

...

At Zhaxi Duntu’s camp.

Even though it was already seven or eight in the evening, neither Duoji nor Zhaxi Duntu felt the least bit sleepy.

"Why is there still no word?"

Duoji couldn’t help muttering, his emotions all over the place.

By his estimate, the Snow Leopard should be delivering its cubs by now.

Zhaxi Duntu motioned for him to calm down. "Don’t worry too much. Father was just speaking in general terms back then."

"Besides, we’ve already notified the reserve. The professional veterinary team will be here by tomorrow morning, for sure. The Snow Leopard will be all right."

Duoji nodded.

Just as he was about to say something else, a faint flapping sound suddenly came from outside the tent.

Zhaxi Duntu warily pulled open the tent flap, only to see the Golden Eagle beating its wings outside.

"That’s the Golden Eagle Chen Wen tamed!"

Zhaxi Duntu recognized it, then turned to Duoji. "It’s here to tell us to go over."

Duoji shot up from his stool and said at once, "Come on! Let’s go take a look!"

The two of them put on their headlamps, mounted their horses, and rode quickly toward where Chen Wen was.

...

Duoji and Zhaxi Duntu arrived in a hurry.

Once they entered the valley, they saw a somewhat anxious-looking Chen Wen.

"What’s the situation now?"

Duoji asked quickly.

Chen Wen shook his head. "I don’t know. About ten or maybe twenty minutes ago, the Snow Leopard should have entered the second stage you talked about, but no cub has been born yet."

At this, Duoji’s face changed slightly.

Still, he said, "It could be that the time just isn’t up yet. Generally, about half an hour to deliver one is considered normal."

Hearing this, Chen Wen felt a bit more at ease.

He led Duoji to the mouth of the cave, and by the light of their headlamps they observed the Snow Leopard’s condition.

After watching for a while, Duoji said, "Still within the normal range. Let’s wait outside. If it goes smoothly, the first little Snow Leopard should be out before long."

Chen Wen nodded.

He and Duoji went back outside to wait, but as time passed second by second—

The Snow Leopard’s pained roars grew from louder to gradually weaker.

And the cub never appeared.

Before long, both Chen Wen and Duoji realized something was wrong.

It had been far too long!

Duoji asked Chen Wen to take him to check on the Snow Leopard again.

Very soon, Duoji’s brows furrowed tightly.

He took a deep breath and voiced the possibility Chen Wen had already anticipated: "The Snow Leopard is at least eight or nine out of ten likely having a difficult labor!"

Chen Wen drew a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm. "Then what should we do? Or rather, what can we do?"

Duoji tapped his own head, searching his memory for the knowledge he’d learned from his father.

Scratching his hair, he said, "We’ve already notified the reserve, but the professional vets won’t get here until tomorrow morning, maybe even noon."

By then it would definitely be too late.

Chen Wen looked at Duoji, his gaze firm. "Then it’s up to us."

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