PCJ – Chapter 281 Sweeping the Mountain

Zhang Jiaohua suddenly felt a sense of mortal danger. He quickly put down his bowl and chopsticks, his expression changing drastically as he cautiously scanned his surroundings. However, strangely, the garden was utterly silent. With the presence of the Mountain Leopard and fifteen adult Mountain Dogs guarding the area, it was nearly impossible for any threat to get close. Yet, Zhang Jiaohua felt an inexplicable sense of danger.

“Jiaohua, Jiaohua, what’s wrong?” Zhang Wenrong asked, noticing Zhang Jiaohua’s sudden change in expression and assuming something had happened.

Zhang Hangao and Zhang Jiagen also quickly put down their bowls and hurried to grab sticks from the corner of the room. After experiencing the black cat attack incident, everyone’s vigilance had increased significantly.

Zhang Jiaohua scratched his head. “I don’t know what’s going on either. I suddenly feel like something is chasing me. What could it be?”

“It must be the fat cat getting scared when it came to the garden that day,” Zhang Jiagen immediately suggested.

“Nonsense, would Jiaohua get scared by a fat cat?” Zhang Hangao scoffed with a laugh.

“That’s true,” Zhang Jiagen chuckled, scratching his head.

“By the way, where’s the fat cat? Has it come back?” Zhang Jiaohua asked.

“No, I haven’t seen it all day. I think it ran off,” Zhang Wenrong went outside to check around and then shook his head at Zhang Jiaohua when he returned.

“Let the Leopard go and look for it. If it’s alive, we need to see it; if it’s dead, we need to find its body,” Zhang Jiaohua said as he went out to summon the Mountain Leopard, which was busy training a group of young Mountain Dogs.

As soon as Zhang Jiaohua gave the command, the Mountain Leopard raised its head and barked a few times. Immediately, all the Mountain Dogs, both large and small, gathered together. The Mountain Leopard sprinted towards Meishan, with all the Mountain Dogs following closely behind.

“Rong Ge, do you think the Leopard will be able to bring the fat cat back?” Zhang Jiagen asked.

Zhang Hangao quickly responded, “I doubt it. The Leopard can’t climb trees. That fat cat is probably hiding deep in the mountains, and as long as it stays up in the trees, the Leopard won’t be able to catch it.”

“Well, wild pheasants can fly, too. If they fly away, the Leopard can’t even grab their feathers, yet the Leopard still manages to bring back pheasants every day,” Zhang Wenrong said irritably.

Zhang Jiagen paused, “That’s true.”

Zhang Jiaohua, however, stood silently, gazing at the dark outline of the distant mountains. Today’s feeling was truly strange. Although he was in a safe environment, he felt a sense of danger. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the sense of crisis was coming from the life essence he had linked to the fat cat. Unexpectedly, this life essence not only allowed him to control the fat cat’s vitality but also transmitted the fat cat’s sense of danger. Zhang Jiaohua knew the fat cat was in danger, but he couldn’t quite determine what kind of danger it was. However, he could guide the Mountain Leopard in the right direction.

In Meishan, the dense forest was now completely shrouded in the night. Although monkeys are not nocturnal creatures, any being that can survive in the wilderness knows how to move through the forest at night. Earlier, the fat cat had gleefully bitten off the tail of a macaque, enraging the macaque leader. It was now determined to tear the fat cat to pieces.

The fat cat had to rely on the bushes to avoid being chased by the macaques. However, its bulky body made moving through the undergrowth difficult. Being overweight without strong power was a tragedy. While the fat cat could use the thorny bushes to slow down the macaques, the macaques found ways to throw large rocks, trying to drive the fat cat out. Several times, the rocks nearly crushed it.

Running was not the fat cat’s strong suit, so it hid in a gap under a dense thicket, panting heavily. Thankfully, the bushes were thick, with a tightly woven canopy overhead, preventing the rocks from reaching the cat. This gave it a moment to catch its breath.

The fat cat regretted its rash decision to come here. It had overestimated its minions, thinking they could help defend its territory. But before long, the territory had already fallen into the hands of the macaques.

No matter how much the macaques screeched outside, the fat cat had no intention of running out. In its current state, leaving the safety of the thorny bushes would soon lead to its death at the hands of the monkeys.

The macaque leader arrived at the spot where the other monkeys had surrounded the fat cat. Its tail had been splinted with sticks and tied with special grasses. Though crude, it was an impressive effort for the macaques.

The leader, frustrated, circled the dense thicket, screeching in anger. But the bushes were simply too thick. The fat cat’s ability to squeeze into such places was instinctual, but the macaques were at a loss. Sending smaller monkeys in would only result in their deaths. So, the macaques gathered rocks and threw them toward the bushes, but the area was large, and the fat cat had chosen its hiding spot well.

The monkeys couldn’t pinpoint the cat’s location and could only throw rocks haphazardly. Exhausted, the fat cat fell asleep under the thicket. It was truly worn out.

Suddenly, the forest was filled with the sound of barking dogs.

The fat cat awoke with a start. Normally, it feared this sound more than anything, as the Mountain Leopard was always training it to be a proper cat. But this time, the barking sounded like music to its ears. The fierce dogs had come to rescue it!

With the arrival of the forty-four Mountain Dogs, the forest wildlife fled in terror.

The macaque leader heard the approaching barks and trembled in fear. Even after climbing high into the trees, it still felt an overwhelming sense of danger.

Unwilling to give up, it glanced angrily at the thicket. If it couldn’t kill the fat cat this time, it feared it would never get another chance. However, the leader knew that if it didn’t leave now, it might not escape the Mountain Dogs. So, before the dogs could surround it, the macaque leader ran off, hoping the dogs wouldn’t spare the fat cat. It had no idea that the dogs had come specifically to find the fat cat.

The Mountain Leopard quickly found the fat cat’s hiding spot, but before it could charge into the thicket, the fat cat rushed out, clinging to the Leopard’s front paws and crying pitifully, leaving the Leopard utterly bewildered.

The fat cat’s plan to rally its old subordinates against the Mountain Dogs had completely failed, nearly costing it its life. Under the Leopard’s watchful eye, the fat cat returned to the garden, its head hanging low, utterly dejected for a long time.