Forest protection starts with picking up a lynx girl

Chapter 581 Extra: My name is Erniu, and I have a two-legged beast that loves me very much
The desert of Hoh Xil reveals a sense of eternal loneliness.

The sky was extremely low, the clouds were pale like ice sculptures, and the sun's edge was diluted into a hazy halo like frosted glass.

When the permafrost briefly melted at noon, mottled green traces of the tundra appeared, but soon it was frozen into iron blue by the temperature of minus thirty degrees Celsius.

The howling of the wind was the only constant sound in this wasteland.

The figures of the sheep flock wandered at the end of the horizon, and the dust they raised when running gave this uninhabited area some vitality.

A small gray figure slowly walked through the grass by the lake.

The cold air made it sneeze, and its empty stomach showed the embarrassment of not having eaten nine meals in three days.

The temperature has dropped and the climate is too cold during this period, so the prey it had caught with great difficulty four days ago has been consumed by today.

I can't go hungry anymore, otherwise I won't have the strength to hunt.

As a marmot that was forced to live independently right after being weaned due to the accidental death of its mother, it has no strong hunting ability and can only catch marmots, rabbits and small mammals that other beasts look down upon to fill its stomach.

Or if you are lucky, you can pick up some leftover beef or mutton to fill your stomach.

But such opportunities are rare, and the food is either already a bit rotten or so frozen that it is impossible to bite it.

It has been living like this for two years. Perhaps next winter, it will become food for other beasts.

The weather is getting warmer, and it will soon be time for the annual buffet.

It is a feast for other beasts, but for it, it is just a little easier to pick up leftovers. Besides, rabbits and marmots are fatter than in winter, so it can be full by eating two of them.

Today, the snow leopard was lucky. In the fight between the two foxes, it won. It grabbed a marmot and ran away, making the two foxes so angry that they cursed at it behind its back.

Go ahead and scold it, it won't lose any meat. On the contrary, it's okay to scold it a few more times as you can pick up such a big piece of meat.

After eating only half full, it lay in the grass to bask in the sun for a while. Suddenly, it raised its head alertly and looked out from between the tall grass leaves. It saw a large gray-white cat passing by the lake.

The other party also noticed it, but did not come over to beat it. It just looked at it twice and ran away in another direction.

It whirred twice and breathed a sigh of relief (.-ω-)zzz. Even though the opponent was smaller than it, beating it up was a piece of cake.

It knew that the other party had just given birth to two cubs last year and should be single again this year.

After all, last year it didn't understand the rules of the world and ran to the territory of a single mother to steal food. It was already annoying to take care of the cubs, and food was scarce, and now there was another stealer. The big cat exploded and caught the cat and beat it for most of the day. If it hadn't run fast, its skin would have been torn.

More than half a month later, when the first antelope appeared, the annual migration began.

It drooled a lot at the big pieces of meat, and also took the opportunity to eat a lot of lambs that were destined to die at birth.

Today it plans to take a stroll by the lake as usual to see if it can pick up any scraps. It would be great if it could pick up some larger food scraps, which are delicious for the lambs, but they are not very filling.

Just when it was halfway there, it saw a large iron box on the side of the road. The aroma of food lingered around its nose, making it involuntarily move closer.

After making sure that there were no ferocious beasts that could threaten it, it nimbly drilled half of its body into the big creature and found the delicious luncheon meat.

Hey, something seems to be wrong. Why is there something extra on my butt?
Ouch, don’t push me, you’re going to fall on your head!
It was forced into the big iron box and turned its head sharply. When it saw the smiling face of the biped with bared teeth, it was like a beam of light shining into its eyes on a winter night. Suddenly, a feeling of grievance surged in its heart.

"What happened next? Mom, did you give that two-legged beast away?"

Hearing the baby's questioning in a baby voice, Erniu came back to her senses from her memories and looked down at her only baby.

"Later, mom was rescued by a two-legged beast. He gave me delicious meat and also found ways to supplement my nutrition. Otherwise, mom would not have given birth to you and your brothers and sisters."

Erniu stood up and shook her fur.

Today is a warm day, and it's time for the cubs to learn how to hunt.

This child should be the last in its life, and it will not be able to have any more children in the future.

The vast and lonely wasteland in my memory has lost its pale tones, revealing the rare fresh breath of summer.

A large number of Tibetan antelopes return to the heart of the wilderness to give birth, and these beasts will use this time to train their children's hunting skills and store up more fat for themselves to cope with the cold and food-scarce season that lasts for half a year.

The number of sheep in the herd is much larger now than when it was young, so it doesn't need to run too far to get enough food.

The original wasteland also grew fresh wild grass due to the nourishment of the lake, and was occasionally dotted with beautiful wild flowers.

Erniu planned to take her child to the place where she first met the two-legged beast. It was a bit far and would take about three or four days to get there.

As soon as it came down the mountain with its cub, it saw its son lying on a rock by the roadside.

No matter how long it watched, it was always amazed at how brave it was to give birth to it. With such a large body, it looked like a giant beast and looked even stronger than its father.

This son is good in every way, except that he has a bit of what bipeds call an Oedipus complex. Over the years, he has always been under the protection of his mother, so if he wants to have a cub, he has to go a longer way and try his luck.

After all, none of the male snow leopards around can match it.

Little cub, no, we can’t call it little cub now. The herders around gave it a name, “Sonam”.

Sonam means "happiness, longevity and peace" in the local dialect, but in myths and legends, it also refers to the god of the earth.

Erniu's super-big son walks with a majestic look, and his heroic figure running down the mountain is like a god descending to earth.

It inherited its father's size and abilities, and its mother's personality; it is close to humans but keeps a certain distance.

There were several times in the past when people got lost in the wilderness during snowstorms. It was Suonan who led them out of trouble and drove away the hungry wolves and brown bears for them who were starving and cold.

Erniu was originally the mount of the god recognized by the people in the pastoral areas. Now Erniu's son has taken over his mother's responsibilities and protects the humans on this land.

Next to the snow-capped mountain lake below the highest peak of the wilderness, there is a prayer flag tower built specifically for Erniu and Suonan. Every time the wind blows the prayer flags, it is equivalent to the herders reciting scriptures, with the purpose of praying for the two snow leopards.

This is also where Sonam likes to stay the most. He often lies under the prayer flags to bask in the sun, and wherever he looks is his territory.

Today, Suonan changed the place to rest. The rock was warmed by the sun, and it lay on it with its belly pressed against the rock, which made the leopard dazed.

It was half asleep and half awake when it heard a familiar voice. Before it could open its eyes, a naughty little guy climbed up to its head and jumped around.

Sonam dotes on her youngest sister.

Afraid that it would move too fast and fall, he quickly put his chin on the rock and tried to lower his head from the ground as much as possible.

"Sonam, don't indulge it so much. It's not little anymore and needs to learn rules and skills."

"Okay, Mom." Suonan answered gently with the corners of his mouth raised, but he was still a giant in words but a dwarf in actions. He maintained the same posture for a long time after he finished speaking.

The cub jumped for a while, but before its mother got angry, it stopped. It slid directly along the curve behind its brother's ear to his back, and then slid down his arm to the ground.

The cub had a lot of fun playing and came over to cuddle up to his brother.

"Mom, mom, is my brother going to teach me how to hunt today?"

"No, follow mom. My brother's hunting method is not suitable for you."

After years of raising cubs and living in the wilderness, Erniu is no longer the hunter she once was. Yes, terrible!
It is now very good at hunting, and there is basically no prey it cannot catch.

Seeing his mother confidently leading the way towards the location of the prey, the cub looked back at his brother, feeling very worried.

Sonam smiled at his sister and gently touched the little one's head with his forehead.

"Shh, keep your voice down, mommy will succeed."

Zizi rolled his eyes and followed Erniu with cheerful steps.

Of course it will succeed. Everyone knows that their brother is good at directional deterrence. Any prey that the mother sets her eyes on will be paid special attention by the brother's deterrent gaze. Only the mother doesn't know this and thinks that it is because of his strong hunting ability.

These words were not spoken by it. It was heard by it when its brothers and sisters were chatting in low voices when they came to visit its mother.

In addition to the largest brother, it also has an older sister whose territory is nearby.

The elder sister is very good. It once saw the elder sister hunting, and her style was completely different from that of the mother. Even if it had never seen the world, it knew that the mother's skills were totally inferior to that of the elder sister!
It quietly asked its other brothers and sisters, and heard that brother Sonam, the eldest sister, and the other two brothers it had never met were not taught to hunt by their mother, but by their sister's father, uncle Huangmao, and aunt.

My sister's father is older than my mother, and he was injured in a battle for territory with another male snow leopard, and he didn't survive the winter. If it weren't for this reason, I would have the same father as my brothers and sisters.

Sure enough, with the help of brother Sonam Mo Mimi, my mother successfully hunted a Tibetan antelope.

The cub ran over happily and was about to blow a rainbow fart to his mother, when he saw his mother's body suddenly go limp and the whole leopard fell on the prey.

The cub was so scared that it let out a shrill scream. Suonan, who was not far away, also ran over and approached his mother cautiously.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

Erniu was in a daze for a moment. She didn't know what happened. She suddenly felt a little dizzy, and then her legs went weak and she fell down.

This feeling came and went quickly, and now it felt like there was nothing wrong with it. Maybe it was just tired?

Erniu herself didn't care, but Suonan looked at her mother carefully with a serious expression. After making sure that she was not injured, he stepped back two steps and let her mother and sister start eating.

It couldn't remember how long it had been since it last saw the Twolegs. It remembered that the Twolegs came to see its mother that year, and then its mother moved away from where she used to live.

It quietly asked its mother why she wanted to leave. Its mother didn't say anything at the time, but she looked in the direction of the two-legged beast with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Suonan doesn't understand, but he respects his mother's decision. Even without the two-legged beast, he can still protect his mother.

Erniu tore open the antelope's neck and called her daughter to eat it.

It lowered its head and tore off a piece of meat. While eating, it suddenly looked up into the distance.

A familiar breath came from afar, awakening the face deep in my memory bit by bit.

Erniu stared blankly at the convoy of two-legged beasts approaching and stopping not far away.

Unlike other wild animals, it has ridden in two-legged animals' cars and knows what those big guys are used for.

A few minutes later, several Twolegs got off the car, but only one of them walked towards it. The other Twolegs stood there and looked at them.

A roaring sound slowly rose in Erniu's head, like the sound of a heartbeat, or the sound of blood rushing wildly. She could no longer see anything else but the face with a few more lines than in her memory.

Erniu rushed forward for a distance, then slowly stopped, stood there, and stared at the two-legged beast walking towards her.

"Little dirty boy, no, you are an old dirty boy. Look at your face, it is covered with blood, don't you know how to wipe it off?"

Familiar smell, familiar voice, familiar person.

Erniu sat down slowly, reluctant to take her eyes off the two-legged beast's face.

"You, why are you here?"

"I came to see you. It's because our Erniu didn't want to go home." Chen Ying reached out and rubbed Erniu's head. "Don't worry, I won't take you away. I just came to see if you are okay. Here, do you know what to do now?"

Yes, of course it knows!

She lay down obediently and let the two-legged beast's warm hands caress her whole body.

"Not bad. It seems you take good care of yourself." Chen Ying raised his head and glanced at Suonan who was a little further away, and the little snow leopard hiding between Suonan's legs.

He could see that the little leopard was healthy, and with Erniu and Suonan around, he didn't necessarily have to check on the little guy. He just picked up his phone and took a photo.

Erniu put her head on Chen Ying's thighs and lay on her back, just like she did before, making it easier for him to touch her soft belly.

Chen Ying chattered a lot to Erniu, including Sister Bao and Brother Bao, Jin Ya and Xiao Jin, and Jin Ya's auspicious daughter.

Listening to the gentle words of the two-legged beast, Erniu fell asleep unknowingly.

Since leaving the two-legged beasts, it has rarely slept like today. It doesn't have to think about anything, worry about anything, and its whole body is wrapped in a full sense of security, just like when it was a child, curled up in its mother's warm belly, feeling so happy.

The time of reunion is always short.

Erniu didn't sleep for too long. When she woke up, she saw a boy playing with her daughter. The boy's face looked a bit like a biped. Well, she couldn't really tell the difference. The animals all identified each other by their breath.

The boy had a scent of sunshine on him, which was not exactly the same as the scent of grass and trees on the two-legged beasts, but it also made the beasts very happy.

Looking up at the slightly red sky, Erniu stood up, shook her hair, let out a roar, and called her daughter and son to go back.

It walked forward a few steps, but couldn't help but look back.

Goodbye my two-legged beast. When I was in the most difficult time, I met a kind-hearted God. From then on, I had my own home and children.

The cycle of life has never stopped. Today's meeting and parting is a highlight in our lives.

I will remember every moment I spend with you, and I will never forget that I was born to belong to this world.

My name is Erniu. I have a two-legged beast who loves me very much. I will embark on the cycle of life with his love and blessings.

(End of this chapter)