You are a cat demon

If it weren't for your craving for food, you wouldn't have risked going under the nose of the mother antelope to ambush the baby antelope, you wouldn't be in this sorry state now, and none of this would have happened...

In the days that followed, whenever you thought about these things, you would be lost in thought for a long time, unsure whether to curse the heavens for playing tricks on you or to thank fate for making your life possible.

You observed the pair of antelopes for two whole days, and pretty much figured out their route. Every day when the sun was high in the sky, the mother antelope would lead her calf to this oak grove to graze on fresh grass, staying for about half an hour. So you lay in ambush in the grass where they usually stayed, waiting for your prey to come to you.

Some purple flowers you've never seen before have grown nearby. They are bright and eye-catching. They weren't there a few days ago, so they must have grown in the last day or two.

The sun gradually rose overhead, and the wind whipped up waves of heat, making it suffocatingly hot. You lay prone in a patch of grass about half a meter tall, hiding in the shade, but even so, you were still struggling to breathe from the heat, like a snowman exposed to the sun, about to melt if you stayed any longer.

Finally, the sound of the mother ibex's footsteps approached from afar, and you were almost steamed to death.

This Chinese serow is about the same size as a mountain goat and is a very agile animal. Both males and females have sharp antlers. Although they seem like useless decorations compared to the antlers of a male sika deer, their strength should not be underestimated. Just two days ago, you were forced to retreat by these antlers.

Just thinking about it makes me angry. You, a dignified cat demon, actually got your right hind leg injured by a herbivore. If you had been bitten in a battle with jackals or tigers, your injury could have been considered a symbol of courage. But you ended up like this because of a failed hunt! If word got out, the other cat demons would laugh their heads off! Where would you put your face then? But who are you? A gentleman doesn't leave a grudge unavenged, and today you're determined to confront it. You're determined to capture that little antelope, tear out its heart and liver, and mend your wounded soul. You were just careless back then; you believed you'd definitely get to eat some delicious antelope meat this time.

As you originally planned, the mother ibex would never have imagined that a cat demon would be hiding in their usual patch of grass, waiting to ambush them. The moment she saw you jump out, she would instinctively turn and run away or freeze in place for a few seconds. In either case, you could take the opportunity to focus on dealing with the baby ibex. However…

"That damned mother serow must have eaten a leopard's gall," you thought resentfully.

The mother ibex did indeed arrive on time with her calf, and you did indeed leap out of the grass and head straight for the calf.

However, plans often go awry. You hadn't anticipated that the mother ibex completely disregarded you. Perhaps driven by fierce protectiveness, perhaps emboldened by her previous victory, or perhaps the sweltering heat made even herbivores irritable, it suddenly tilted its head, snorted, and charged straight at you. Its horns were almost horizontal to the ground, and as it charged, it knocked over several purple flowers on the ground, its horns even piercing through the petals, carrying with it a powerful gust of wind and an intense killing intent.

A chill ran from the tip of your tail straight up to your forehead.

Not wanting to be stabbed through the heart, you twisted your waist with all your might and turned around. But in that instant, your head turned, and a sharp pain shot through your right hind leg, followed by numbness.

You were attacked again by the mother ibex, and this time it was even worse. Last time, you only suffered a small cut and bled a little, without breaking the bone. But this time, it pierced deep inside, its horn completely embedded. The same spot was injured; the old wound hadn't healed before the new one appeared. The pain almost made you faint on the spot.

The mother ibex tossed her head and flung you away.

You rolled a few times on the ground, not daring to stop and rest, fearing that the mother antelope would rush over again and pierce your soft belly with her blood-stained horns. You struggled to get up, limping, and almost rolled and crawled away from the scene, not daring to look back. How could you still think about antelope meat?

Fortunately, you survived.

Luckily you turned around in time, otherwise that horn would have pierced your eye. You couldn't help but feel a chill of fear; if that damned mother ibex had missed a little... well, your life would have been over.

The situation is very bad. Your right hind leg hurts terribly as soon as it touches the ground, far beyond what you can bear. Your leg bone may also be injured. Fortunately, there is still a chance to save it. However, those two bloody holes are still bleeding continuously, and each drop is heartbreaking to see.

The pain in my flesh is even worse.

You sighed, enduring the excruciating pain, and went to search for herbs like *Hemiptera japonica*, which could treat leg injuries. Many herbs grow in the Shennongjia area, and there's an ancient legend about a human named Shennong who, many years ago, tasted hundreds of herbs to test their poisons on himself for the sake of the people. He ultimately died from poisoning by *Gelsemium elegans* (a type of poisonous plant). Do you know what those medicinal herbs look like and where they grow?

You chewed up the herb and spat it onto the wound. The herb tasted bitter, and a bitter taste lingered in your mouth. The taste lingered for a long time, and your tongue almost went numb.

I hope your leg gets better soon...

Then I thought of the one-eyed cat demon's death. It was the height of summer, but you felt as if you were in the dead of winter, shivering uncontrollably.