Chapter 50: Rescuing the Snow Leopard and Learning News of the Third Peak

Hearing the words "big cat," the first thing that came to Chu Feng's mind was that snow leopard.

He hurried over to Du Dahai.

Sure enough, he laid eyes on the so-called snow leopard.

It really was it.

At this moment, the snow leopard was lying flat on the ground.

Its entire body was crimson, soaked in blood, though the bleeding seemed to have already stopped.

Only a wound on its back remained.

That gash still hadn't healed.

One could see the blood-red fluid steaming faintly in the cold air.

Lying right beside the snow leopard was a man.

This person looked rather miserable.

Covered entirely in blood, he had countless wounds numbering too many to count.

Du Dahai grabbed Chu Feng and said, "Let's go, hurry up and leave. We can't go any further ahead."

"Just because of this big cat?"

"Of course not because of this big cat. This big cat alone isn't enough to reduce a person to this state. For that fellow to be injured like this means the path ahead must be extremely dangerous! Chu Feng, Huzi just doesn't have any luck today."

Du Dahai pulled at Chu Feng.

Clearly, he intended to give up on continuing their search for medicinal herbs.

Chu Feng, however, shook his head and said, "At the very least, let's go take a look at what's going on with that person. That fellow is different from Tian Zhuang. If he dies up on the mountain, our Yulong Village might really be in deep trouble."

Du Dahai was momentarily stunned.

Upon second thought, that was indeed the case.

This batch of government runners all hailed from Xueitie City.

None of the runners from that place were easy to deal with.

Furthermore, they were notoriously clannish and fiercely protective of their own.

Should even a single one of them die on Yulong Mountain,

let alone their Yulong Village,

even Xueling Town would likely face severe repercussions.

"Let's go, I'm coming with you."

Du Dahai drew his firewood chopper, seemingly hoping to intimidate the snow leopard across from them.

Yet the snow leopard merely cast a lazy glance at him and did not move an inch.

Chu Feng did not pick up any weapons.

Nor did he approach the injured man first; instead, he stepped closer to the snow leopard.

Throughout the process of nearing the snow leopard, Chu Feng's nerves tensed to the breaking point.

However, remembering the snow leopard's previous actions, Chu Feng wanted to give it a try.

Before he had even taken two steps, the snow leopard realized that Chu Feng was approaching it, and it immediately bared its fangs.

Its expression was a mix of fury and terror.

Its sharp teeth were aimed fiercely straight at Chu Feng.

Its claws dug into the snow, looking as though they might rear up at any second to deal Chu Feng a vicious swipe.

"Xiaofeng!"

Du Dahai was so frightened his voice trembled violently.

Yet Chu Feng showed not a shred of fear.

Slowly, he arrived right in front of the snow leopard.

One hand reached out toward the beast's forehead.

The snow leopard was entirely unwilling, still baring its teeth and even hopping in place slightly, trying to scare Chu Feng away.

The next instant, Chu Feng's hand directly touched its forehead.

At that exact moment, the snow leopard grew still.

It seemed to resign itself to its fate.

Lying on the ground, it panted heavily.

The wounds covering its body had long since left it without the strength to continue roaring at Chu Feng.

"Be a good cat, I'm not here to hurt you."

Chu Feng spoke in a gentle, soothing tone.

Standing nearby, Du Dahai was completely dumbfounded.

He never would have imagined that such a ferocious big cat

would actually lie down obediently when faced with Chu Feng,

stopping its baring of fangs.

"Xiaofeng... you goddamned bastard, aren't you the Mountain Deity reincarnated?"

"If you say I am, then I suppose I am." Chu Feng merely chuckled, offering no defense.

The next moment, he brought his bamboo basket around to the front.

If he remembered correctly, the basket contained plenty of herbs that could be pounded into hemostatic medicine.

"Don't move, alright? Considering you saved my life twice, I'm going to patch you up, so don't you dare swipe at me with a paw."

To be honest, Chu Feng felt a bit nervous at this moment as well.

A wild beast remained a wild beast.

They did not understand human nature.

Nor could they comprehend the complex emotions of human beings.

Even if someone was trying to help them,

these beasts were still quite capable of launching an attack.

Therefore, throughout the process of applying the medicine,

Chu Feng remained equally cautious, keeping his absolute guard up against the snow leopard's massive head.

These herbs had just been picked.

Having sat in the bamboo basket for so long,

they had long since frozen into icy chunks.

Chu Feng stuffed the herbs into his mouth and began chewing them up.

Even though his mouth was frozen to the point of numbness, preventing him from speaking clearly, he did not stop.

The finer the pulp, the better the medicinal efficacy.

随后, he applied the chewed-up herbs to the wound on the snow leopard's back.

Seeming to touch the injury, the pain caused the snow leopard to squirm slightly.

Realizing that Chu Feng was treating it,

it immediately quieted down again after that brief twitch.

That sudden movement had given Chu Feng a good scare as well.

Seeing that the creature had gone still once more, Chu Feng continued his work.

"Those hemostatic herbs are extremely precious, and you're giving them to a big cat instead of a human?"

Du Dahai had not dared to approach the snow leopard from the very beginning.

Seeing Chu Feng use such precious medicinal ingredients to treat a snow leopard, he found it rather incomprehensible.

"Oh right, there's still a person over here."

Chu Feng hurried over to the side of the injured man.

He felt the man's face; it was cold.

"He's dead, no point in treating him."

"Is it really that hasty? Shouldn't we check more thoroughly?" Du Dahai said, speechless.

"How else am I supposed to check? His body is already cold..."

Despite saying that, Chu Feng still slid his hand inside the man's chest.

There was actually a lingering trace of warmth trapped within.

"He's actually still alive."

Chu Feng hastily exposed the man's wounds and spat a mouthful of saliva onto them.

"What are you doing?" Du Dahai asked, speechless.

"There was still a bit of medicine left in my mouth, better not waste it."

Du Dahai: "..."

Seeing that Chu Feng was paying it no more attention, the snow leopard stood up and slowly ambled away.

Only then did Du Dahai dare to approach.

They carefully examined the face of the government runner.

He looked rather like a pale scholar, nothing like a catcher or constable at all.

However, Chu Feng didn't dwell on it; saving lives took precedence right now.

In this freezing weather, having suffered such severe injuries,

to be frank, the fact that he was still breathing was already a stroke of divine grace.

They stripped away the man's outer garments.

The clothes were completely soaked in blood.

If he kept wearing them, the blood would freeze into solid ice,

greatly accelerating his death from hypothermia.

Just as the two of them were administering first aid, the man suddenly snapped his eyes open.

One hand clamped in a death grip around Chu Feng's arm.

With Chu Feng's formidable physical strength, how could he possibly be controlled by the injured man?

He instantly executed a counter-maneuver to pin the runner.

"We're here to save you, I'm a mountain ranger of Yulong Mountain."

To prevent any misunderstandings, Chu Feng stated his identity at top speed.

Upon hearing these words, the man's grip indeed grew weaker.

"You're a mountain ranger? A mountain ranger of Yulong Mountain?"

"What, am I not famous enough?"

"Since you're a mountain ranger, you must know how to hunt. Go help, there's a black bear! And a tiger too."

As soon as those words left his mouth, the man lost consciousness and passed out once more.

Chu Feng and Du Dahai exchanged blank stares.

A tiger and a black bear?

What did that have to do with them?

"Why don't we just leave," Du Dahai suggested.

"It's no use, this guy already knows we're here," Chu Feng said.

They shouldn't have saved this fellow in the first place.

How wonderful would it have been to let him fend for himself?

Now, they couldn't very well kill him outright.

Still... a tiger and a black bear...

If it were just Chu Feng alone, he certainly wouldn't entertain any wild ideas about those two beasts.

But right now, there were over a hundred people up on the mountain.

With them around, perhaps there was a chance to reap some benefits.

"Then what should we do?" Du Dahai asked.

"Kill him! Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know!"

"No way, my good ancestor, please don't have such thoughts. Killing a government runner is a crime punishable by the extermination of the nine familial clans." Du Dahai hurriedly pulled Chu Feng back.

If the authorities found out about this, the entire village would be doomed.

"Then you take him back down. Rescuing a runner shouldn't get your nine clans exterminated, right?"

"And what about you?"

"Didn't you hear? The man asked me to go help. Refusing would probably get my nine clans exterminated too, wouldn't it? It's better for just one person to go than two; if I need to run, I can move faster. Hurry up and carry him back, and make sure he doesn't freeze to death on the way."

Chu Feng calculated his little scheme to perfection, shouldered his bamboo basket, and strode off in the direction of the Third Peak.