Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl-Chapter 161: There is Birth, and There is Death

Jinya startled and leaped to the side, revealing the animal behind her.

Chen Ying shone the flashlight and hey, a familiar face.

"Weren't you off to find Mr. Lynx across the way? Why did you suddenly come back?"

"You, you bad egg. You just tricked me away so this mother could take over my territory, didn't you?"

Chen Ying was at a loss; had this guy been watching too many human soap operas? That shouldn't be the case, given its silly demeanour, it didn't seem like one that had much contact with humans.

Jinya couldn't be bothered with it. More importantly, she was worried about Little Jin at the moment, everything else could step aside. One more peep and she'd settle it with a fight.

The lynx bared its teeth and approached, wanting to teach Jinya a lesson.

Little Jin crawled out from under the thermal blanket, stepped in front of Jinya, arched its back, and posed for attack.

"What are you all doing, about to fight?"

A strange voice came, carrying a naturally amiable quality.

Chen Ying shook the flashlight again, and wow, black and white coloring, round head, big ears, a bamboo shoot in the left hand, and a stick of bamboo in the right.

The bamboo shoot it ate was that kind that had just sprouted from the bamboo root, looking very fresh and tender.

The giant panda was very Zen-like, "So what if a strange friend has arrived? I've had two in my territory, and I didn't feel anything was amiss."

Chen Ying turned to look at Jinya, who paused, "I don't know, I left first."

But with the situation at home, Leopard Sister and her mate, Jinya and Little Jin, all had come out; Great Bai and Jiaojiao may also follow suit.

The lynx seemed to know this strange giant panda.

There were no conflicts of interest between them and their diets didn't overlap, hence they coexisted peacefully.

Distracted by the giant panda, the male lynx found itself unsure whether to keep fighting with Jinya.

While it hesitated, Leopard Sister suddenly dropped from the sky.

"What are you doing? Is there a gathering?"

True to being a fashionable leopard that lingered outside human areas, such human phrases flowed naturally from her mouth without any hint of awkwardness.

Leopard Sister casually spoke, then came over to tug at Chen Ying.

"Hurry, Old Leopard is in a bad shape."

Chen Ying was startled and immediately stood up, but glanced at the tent, then back at Jinya and the male, a little worried about Old Gao's safety.

"Go, I promise not to fight."

Jinya sensibly touched Chen Ying's fingers, "I'll hold back. We'll fight when you return."

Okay, thank you Jinya!

The lynx's curiosity was intense; hearing Leopard Sister mention Old Leopard, it immediately thought of the old Flower Leopard who had been wandering the edge of its territory.

It had thought about fighting, but the other side refused to fight and hid instead.

So, it was already near its end, eh?

Seeing Chen Ying leave with Leopard Sister, the male lynx's eyeballs swiveled, it took a few steps back, then suddenly followed.

Jinya wanted to rush over and stop it, but Little Jin caught hold of her stubby tail.

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"Don't go." Little Jin watched the black and white giant panda with a wary gaze, "You promised to help Two-legged Beast protect his companion."

Jinya glanced at the motionless tent, sullenly lay down, her mouth twitching as she seethed with her gaze at someone sleeping soundly inside.

Exhausted to the point of barely being able to open his eyes, Old Gao had a night of nightmares, chased by unidentified creatures.

In the forest, not too far away, underneath a fallen tree, Old Leopard no longer had the strength to stand.

Brother Leopard was beside it, appearing utterly helpless.

He nuzzled Old Leopard's cheek with his nose, emitting a low, mourning growl.

Chen Ying ran over, touched Old Leopard's heart area, then checked its pupils, and let out a somewhat powerless sigh.

It was a natural decline; beyond the help of human effort.

Brother Leopard didn't know what to say, he smelled an odor on Old Leopard that was both foreign and familiar.

He didn't know if this leopard was his mother, but by the instinct of bloodlines, he found it impossible to harbor any hostility towards Old Leopard.

Old Leopard also had moments of lucidity.

As the sky gradually brightened, Old Leopard moved slightly, smacking his lips as if he was hungry.

Brother Leopard quickly dragged the hunted food over, bumping it against Old Leopard's mouth.

But Old Leopard could no longer stand up, much less tear apart the prey.

Leopard Sister rubbed her head against Brother Leopard, bit off a piece of meat, and as she had fed their little leopards in the past, she chewed it and then fed Old Leopard.

But after two or three bites, Old Leopard couldn't take it anymore; he simply couldn't swallow the food.

Leopard Sister still wanted to try, but Chen Ying stopped her.

It wasn't the leopard's nature, nor was it necessary.

Old Leopard probably had only a couple of breaths left—a swallow, and he would be gone.

Chen had already contacted the local Protection Station; the staff were on the mountain and already making their way to him.

But, the night paths through the forest were difficult to navigate and progress was slow. They asked him to wait a bit longer.

Just after seven o'clock, the Forest Patrol Officers from the Protection Station arrived.

Without approaching the leopards too closely, they stopped at a distance of nearly a hundred meters.

Chen crouched on the tree trunk and shook his head at them, signaling to wait a bit longer.

Unable to find the dead beast, there was nothing they could do, but having discovered it, they must find a way to take it back for harmless disposal.

Some might question the point of this, but it was necessary to ensure the dead creature wasn't carrying pathogens that could contaminate the flora and fauna of the conservation area.

For animals like Old Leopard, where it was certain they had died of natural causes, professionals could identify them and take measures, like deep burial, nearby.

If it died from disease, or under abnormal circumstances, it required testing and quarantine back at the station before deciding on how to handle it.

When the Protection Station staff encountered the corpses of rare wild animals in the wilderness, they were obliged to report it.

After waiting a while and ensuring that Old Leopard had peacefully passed on, Chen approached and patted Brother Leopard's head.

"Go on, you return first. I'll take care of the rest."

"You can't let other animals eat it," Brother Leopard said with a low tone, his voice heavy with sorrow.

He regretted not finding Old Leopard sooner.

In the last moments of Old Leopard's life, he failed to communicate with him successfully.

"He would be pleased. He didn't die alone and forsaken in the wild; he had you by his side,"

Brother Leopard let out a couple of sobs, dragging the uneaten prey closer to Old Leopard.

"I don't want to eat this. Leave it for him."

Chen hesitated, took a glance back, and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, no problem."

Brother Leopard licked Old Leopard's cheek, stood for a few seconds, then cried softly as he ran away.

Leopard Sister followed without hesitation, quietly and tenderly.

Watching the two leopards disappear from view, Chen looked up, "How long do you plan to watch?"

The Male Lynx stood up and shook his fur, leaping onto a nearby tree stump.

"It's dead."

"I know."

"Do you plan to eat it?"

Chen narrowed his eyes at Mr. Lepus as if to say, what a callous thought.

"I wouldn't eat it, but don't you get any ideas. Beware of Brother Leopard and Leopard Sister coming after you—both of them are strong fighters."

Mr. Lepus licked the corner of his mouth and sneezed, "I'm not interested. I'm just wondering how you'll handle it. There's something in the sky that will eat it. I've seen it."

It took Chen three seconds to realize that Mr. Lepus was talking about scavenger birds like vultures.

Of course, scavenging wild beasts that could not find food wouldn't pass up such a feast either.

Fortunately, Old Leopard had run into him first.