I became incredibly cute after dressing up as an animal!

When Chu Yi went out to check, Lan Xiaoxiao had also woken up.

She wasn't woken up by the noise; it was because Chu Yi wasn't around, and there was an empty space next to her. A cool breeze blew in from the cave entrance, and that's when she woke up.

She got up, shook her fur, and followed the scent of Chu Yi.

Following the scent of blood, Chu Yi walked to the edge of the bamboo forest, his body tense and his ears perked up.

Lan Xiaoxiao staggered over to its side and followed its gaze.

An unfamiliar panda was walking uphill, limping and pausing to catch its breath after each step.

It was an elderly male panda with grayish fur and covered in wounds. The most serious wound was on its shoulder, where the skin and flesh were turned inside out, and blood was flowing down its front leg, leaving a dark red line on the withered leaves behind it.

"..." Lan Xiaoxiao was stunned.

She had seen other pandas in the wild, but never one like this.

The panda's eyes were cloudy, its nose was cracked, and there was dried blood at the corner of its mouth. It trembled with every step it took, as if it might fall apart at any moment.

Neither Chu Yi nor Lan Xiaoxiao moved, nor did they growl to shoo it away.

The old panda also noticed them. It stopped, raised its head, and stared at Lan Xiaoxiao and Chu Yi with its cloudy eyes, making a low sound in its throat.

That was a warning, and also fear. It no longer had the strength to fight, but it was still putting on a brave face.

Chu Yi took a step forward, and the old panda's warning became louder. Chu Yi swayed and almost fell, but he managed to stay upright.

I still want to go back on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Lan Xiaoxiao immediately nudged Chu Yi's shoulder with her head, "Don't go over there, it's scared."

The two bears stood there, watching the old panda.

The distance was neither too far nor too near, and we didn't go any further.

The old panda held on for a few more seconds, then its body suddenly swayed and it fell straight down.

It lay on the withered leaves, the wound on its shoulder pressed against the ground, blood seeping into the ground. It didn't even have the strength to cry out, it could only gasp for breath, its belly heaving violently.

"Ah!" Lan Xiaoxiao ran over immediately, worried.

When the old panda saw her approaching, it tried to raise its head to warn her, but its neck couldn't support its head, and it only raised its head halfway before it fell back to the ground.

Lan Xiaoxiao squatted down beside it and looked down at the wound. It was a laceration with uneven edges, as if something sharp had made it.

She looked at its leg again and saw that a bone was protruding and broken. It hadn't been treated in time and had started to swell and turn black.

"..."

It won't survive...

Lan Xiaoxiao already had the answer in her heart.

This old panda won't make it through the night.

She squatted there, watching the old panda's belly rise and fall, feeling a tightness in her chest.

Even though it was the first time Lan Xiaoxiao had seen it, seeing it on the verge of death still made her feel sad.

It's so old, and it's so badly injured. It's tragic.

Nature is cruel like that.

Chu Yi stood behind her, also looking at the old panda.

Her nose stung with tears.

Chu Yi walked over and nuzzled her face with his head.

Then it turned around and went to the bamboo forest. After a while, it dragged a few bamboo stalks back and put them on the ground. Chu Yi rubbed against Lan Xiaoxiao.

The little bear was unhappy, but eating something made him happy again.

Lan Xiaoxiao didn't touch the bamboo; she simply watched over the panda quietly.

At least it wasn't alone in the final moments of its life.

The old panda woke up once a few hours later.

It opened its eyes, its cloudy pupils darting around. It looked at Lan Xiaoxiao, then at Chu Yi. This time, it didn't growl or bare its teeth. It was too tired to be afraid anymore.

Lan Xiaoxiao quickly grabbed a tender bamboo branch, stripped off the leaves, and held it to its mouth.

The old panda looked at the tender bamboo leaf and its mouth moved. Lan Xiaoxiao put the bamboo leaf into its mouth, and it chewed it!

It eats very slowly, chewing a bit and then pausing, but it is eating.

Lan Xiaoxiao picked another handful of leaves and handed them over. The old panda ate them all, and when it got to the last leaf, its eyes lit up.

A final burst of energy before death.

Lan Xiaoxiao had seen this before; humans also experience this. Before dying, they suddenly become energetic, eat, and talk, and then quickly pass away.

The old panda ate its meal properly. After finishing the last leaf, it made a soft sound in its throat, neither a warning nor a request for help, but more like saying thank you.

Then its breathing slowed down, gradually weakened, and finally its belly stopped moving.

Lan Xiaoxiao watched as the old panda's eyes slowly lost their luster.

Lan Xiaoxiao's eyes stung with tears as she tried to comfort herself, reminding herself that at least the panda had eaten its fill before leaving.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, he nuzzled against Lan Xiaoxiao and licked her eyes.

Lan Xiaoxiao found a soft spot on the hillside and started digging a hole.

Upon seeing this, Chu Yi also joined in digging the hole.

The hole was dug when the moon rose.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Lan Xiaoxiao and I grabbed the old panda by the scruff of its neck and dragged it into the cave.

Lan Xiaoxiao took one last look at the old panda's face, then turned around and used her paws to push the soil in.

Even the first year of junior high school is pushed.

The soil was gradually covered, and it was quickly filled in.

Lan Xiaoxiao stomped on it a few times to tamp down the soil, then picked up a few stones and placed them on top, thus "erecting a monument".

"Eek." Lan Xiaoxiao cried out softly.

Rest in peace.

She turned around, buried her head in Chu Yi's neck, and stopped moving.

Chu Yi lowered his head and licked the back of her head.

On the way back to the cave, Lan Xiaoxiao walked in front, with Chu Yi following behind. She walked very slowly, her mind racing.

Having witnessed a death, she suddenly began to think about many things.

She had never thought about getting old before.

She's only been a panda for a little over three years, she's still young and healthy, she can run, jump and climb trees, but seeing that old panda today, she suddenly realized that she will also grow old, she will also grow old.

What will I do when I get old? What will I do when I get injured? What will I do when I can no longer fight?

Living deep in these old forests, if something happens to them, they're helpless, with no one to turn to for help. Humans can't find them or save them.

Lan Xiaoxiao suddenly stopped.

She had a brilliant idea!

When they get old, they won't live in high places anymore, but they'll live closer to humans, preferably next to the conservation station, or they might just stay at the panda center and never leave!

They don't bite, they're well-behaved, cute, and smart—why not adopt them?!

Lan Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up.

For now, I'll be a wild bear, free and unrestrained. When I get old, I'll go to a retirement center where people will take care of my food, lodging, and medical care, and there will even be bowls of milk and steamed buns!

perfect!

Lan Xiaoxiao's steps instantly became lighter.

Chu Yi watched as the little bear suddenly sped up, tilted his head, and followed.

Something's not right in the wind.

The first thing Lan Xiaoxiao smelled was blood.

Chu Yi also smelled it, and it stood in front of Lan Xiaoxiao, its ears turned to the front.

The sound of branches snapping came from the bamboo forest. It was a heavy sound, not the sound of a panda breaking bamboo, but the sound of a blunt object breaking wood.

A dark figure rushed out of the bamboo forest.

It's a takin!

Not the kind you see from afar on a hillside, but a takin with bloodshot eyes right up close.

It was very large, with high shoulder blades and thick, curved horns with dark red things hanging from them.

It was blood, dried blood, and bits of flesh...

Lan Xiaoxiao instantly bristled!

This takin smells of that old panda! Its horns smell of the old panda's blood.

It was it that killed him!

The bear killer has even tracked us down here!