Time Travel: My Comfortable Life After Going to the Countryside

"Liu Xiangyang, stop looking for me and let's go back. I can't walk anymore." Zuo Qingqing could no longer keep up with Liu Xiangyang's pace and was trailing behind him by six or seven meters.

The two searched the mountain for several more hours but still found no new footprints.

"It seems we won't find it this time, so let's just let it go and go back." Liu Xiangyang saw that Zuo Qingqing was already exhausted, so he had no choice but to turn back.

Neither of them spoke the rest of the way. Zuo Qingqing was too tired to speak, while Liu Xiangyang was unwilling to give up and was still looking around, hoping to find any overlooked clues.

The mountain forest fell into a deathly silence in the afternoon. After walking for almost a day, the only sound was the "crunching" of the withered branches and fallen leaves under the snow.

Liu Xiangyang walked ahead, with Zuo Qingqing following seven or eight meters behind. Her breath came out in puffs of white air, making the scenery in front of her seem somewhat ethereal. Liu Xiangyang's black bearskin cloak became the only landmark in her blurred vision.

Liu Xiangyang suddenly stopped in his tracks, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

Behind Zuo Qingqing's right side, behind a shrub bent by the weight of snow, a yellow and black mottled shadow suddenly appeared.

Its movements were so fast, like a dark golden lightning bolt, that it struck Zuo Qingqing's throat and back with perfect accuracy!

The body was stretched into a smooth, deadly line, and the sharp claws were fully extended.

Those amber vertical pupils held no emotion, only absolute focus as they locked onto their prey.

"Qingqing! Get down!!!" Liu Xiangyang roared.

Perhaps it was the instinct for survival, or perhaps it was muscle memory from the past, but she didn't have time to think. Her body acted before her consciousness, and she lunged forward, falling into the thick snowdrift.

"Swish"

The sound of a sharp blade cutting through the air brushed past the back of her head.

She smelled a fishy odor, and something huge, heavy, and extremely sensitive brushed past her back.

A muffled "bang" was heard, mixed with the "ripping" sound of fabric tearing.

Zuo Qingqing felt a burning pain in her right shoulder blade, as if it had been rubbed hard by a red-hot iron.

The immense impact sent her rolling half a circle in the snow, and the shotgun landed three meters in front of Liu Xiangyang.

The Amur leopard landed lightly a few steps away, silently, its four paws pressing several deep dents into the snow.

It lowered its body slightly, its thick, long tail tip swaying rapidly in small movements, and a low, threatening "grunt" sound came from its throat.

His amber eyes swept coldly over Zuo Qingqing, who had fallen to the ground, before quickly locking onto Liu Xiangyang, who was closer and more threatening.

Zuo Qingqing struggled to kneel up, a piercing pain shooting through her right shoulder.

She turned her head to look and saw that the shoulder of her thick, dark blue cotton-padded coat had been torn open with a tear that was at least a foot long. Inside, the grayish-white cotton wadding was mixed with strands of bright red, which was quickly seeping into the fabric.

The wound wasn't deep, but the claw marks were sharp, and the cold wind rushed in instantly, making her shiver.

Liu Xiangyang had already taken a step forward, and he had somehow gripped a short spear in his hand, his eyes fixed on those cold, beastly pupils.

The veins on his forehead throbbed, and his breathing was heavy, but his hand holding the spear was extremely steady.

The leopard stared at the iron tool in Liu Xiangyang's hand, then glanced at the injured Zuo Qingqing, seemingly reassessing the risks and rewards of this hunt.

The two humans and the leopard stared at each other, neither daring to break the balance.

Liu Xiangyang noticed that Zuo Qingqing's right hand, which was supporting her on the snow, was trembling. With such a low temperature, she probably wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer. Her spatial abilities absolutely could not be exposed, so they had to think of another way.

The icy air felt like a knife scraping as I inhaled it into my lungs.

Liu Xiangyang knew he couldn't wait any longer, and a crazy idea popped into his mind.

The leopard's patience was wearing thin. Its amber vertical pupils darted between Zuo Qingqing and him. It shifted its weight slightly backward, its target still the injured Zuo Qingqing.

"You beast! Watch me!" Liu Xiangyang suddenly roared, took a big step forward, and slammed the short spear in his hand into the snow in front of him.

He spread his arms and pounded his chest, making a "thump thump thump" sound, like an enraged male bear.

Instead of retreating, he took a sudden step forward, attracting the leopard's attention. His muscles tensed, and his eyes were full of provocation.

"Come on! Look here!" Liu Xiangyang took two more steps forward, completely blocking Zuo Qingqing behind him.

At this moment, the distance between the man and the leopard was less than five meters.

The gurgling sound in its throat stopped abruptly.

The yellow and black shadow transformed into a deadly bolt of lightning once again, rushing straight towards Liu Xiangyang's front!

The gaping maw was aimed directly at his throat.

He could clearly see the leopard's sharp, white teeth, and the foul stench wafted directly at his face.

Just as the leopard's forepaws left the ground and its body was completely airborne, at that very instant, when the old force had been unleashed and the new force had not yet been generated.

Liu Xiangyang made a move!

Instead of retreating, he pushed off with both legs and leaned back, almost lying down, and slid towards the leopard's soft belly!

With its powerful physique, it leaned back and charged towards the leopard, its body almost parallel to the ground.

Suddenly, a hunting knife appeared in his empty hands. He gripped the handle tightly with both hands, and the blade stood upright.

"Pfft"

Using the full momentum of the leopard's attack and his own weight, the hunting knife slashed open the soft belly exposed when the leopard pounced!

"Splash!"

The leopard's scalding blood drenched Liu Xiangyang's face and body.

Without the abdominal covering, the internal organs, under the influence of gravity, fell to the ground with a "thud," turning the white snow into a bright red.

With a "thud," the leopard crashed heavily behind Liu Xiangyang, twitched twice, and then lay motionless in front of Zuo Qingqing.

Those amber eyes were fixed on Zuo Qingqing without moving.

The intense stench of blood mixed with the warm, foul smell of entrails exploded in the cold air, making one want to vomit.

Liu Xiangyang was panting heavily, puffs of white breath coming out one after another.

He wiped the blood off his face and walked towards Zuo Qingqing.

"Liu...Liu Xiangyang! Are you alright?"

Zuo Qingqing was completely stunned by the lightning-fast and incredibly fierce battle.

Seeing Liu Xiangyang covered in blood, he scrambled over, his face completely pale.

"Don't come any closer! The gun! Give me the gun first!" Liu Xiangyang still gripped the blood-stained hunting knife tightly in his right hand, while drawing a short spear in his left hand and watching the leopard, which was still twitching slightly, warily.

Zuo Qingqing snapped out of her daze and hurriedly scrambled to the hunting rifle a few steps away, grabbed it, and pointed the trembling gun at the leopard.

Only when he was certain the Amur leopard was completely still did Liu Xiangyang exhale a long, drawn-out breath, like a taut bowstring, his forehead instantly beaded with cold sweat. He looked down at his own body, then at the spreading bloodstains and the leopard's carcass on the snow.

"I'm fine, let me see the injury on your shoulder." Liu Xiangyang walked to Zuo Qingqing's side.