Chapter 2
Ning An shook his confused mind and snorted.
She listlessly licked her meatless paws, looking out at the endless prairie. The grass in her stomach seemed to be rebelling. Ning An didn't know the limit of a lion's endurance of hunger, but she felt a little dizzy now.
Thirsty, so thirsty...
Ning An struggled to open her tired eyes, seeing the blue sky, she thought maybe this was dream. She had suffered from heart disease since birth, unable to do any strenuous exercise or have any strong emotional fluctuations, even her daily diet was planned, not too much or too little.
For a full twenty years, she had been like a porcelain doll, while her peers played happily, she could only watch enviously in the cold white bedroom, the whole world seemed to have forgotten her. Her mother died in childbirth, and her father, who deeply loved his wife, couldn't accept the fact that she caused his lover's death, so he never saw her after she was born, but still kept her alive. Yu Nian lived twenty years, it seemed as if no one in the world cared about her. Finally on her twentieth birthday, she was free, when her heart disease flared up, she personally turned off the call bell. So is this dream now?
She wandered aimlessly around the area, chewing on the grass no longer able to save her eyes from turning slightly green. Ning An thought that although meat could not be eaten raw, fish and shrimp should be fine.
Finally, she bowed to her fate and dragged her paws to the edge of the pond.
Looking at the turbid pond water, I have some doubts whether this water quality can support fish and shrimp.
Ning An wrinkled his nose and sniffed the water tentatively.
It stinks, like a smell of stinky mud. Could the creatures that can survive in this pool be piranhas?
Ning An stretched out a paw and tentatively tried to touch the water.
As soon as she lowered it, a huge mouth suddenly opened in the water. The sharp teeth that smelled of rotting flesh stretched to their full extent before her, and she could clearly see the mud that she had not yet swallowed in her throat.
Holy shit!
Ning An quickly retreated, and his mouth snapped shut.
Then something in the water began to crawl swiftly on all fours, its thick tail thrashing wildly. Dirty mud and water were splashed everywhere as the ugly creature scrambled up with lightning speed, as if it wouldn't be worthy of being called the God of the Mud Pool unless it could devour this grassland overlord today!
Ning An quickly did a backflip and landed on all fours.
The two-meter-long huge crocodile in the water had climbed ashore and was chasing her butt and biting it madly.
Ning An had thought she'd be a coward, but not this much. She just wanted to catch a fish or a shrimp. Before she could even sip a sip of water, this thing chased her and bit her for dozens of meters.
Just as Ning An was about to hit the big thing with his claws, the sound of rustling grass suddenly filled the air.
Her body stiffened and she slowly turned her head to look over.
It was pitch black, and I couldn't see a thing. This grassland was incredibly pristine, the grass richer than the typical African savannah. If I didn't dig through it, I wouldn't see anything. But then, the feeling of being locked onto by a large beast suddenly hit me, and my scalp tingled.
Ning An let out a howl and ran away.
This time it's not an illusion, this is definitely not her illusion!
There's definitely something behind me!
That thing keeps following her ahh ...
Ning An was so frightened that her soul almost flew out of her body. She really used her full potential as a lioness. She ran to the bushes behind her and backed away madly, her ears blown into airplane ears by the wind. She fell to the ground dizzy and could not get up.
No, she couldn't run any longer. If she ran for another second, she would have to go see her grandmother.
Ning An fell to the ground and waited for the thing behind her to bite her.
Just die.
But after waiting for a long time again, something came out.
They are not large beasts, but a group of stupid antelopes eating grass everywhere.
Even in the last second, as a knowledgeable woman, Ning An still had her rationality. Protecting wildlife is everyone's responsibility.
But not including this second.
At this moment, she decided to give up her bottom line and cherish her life.
A lion's life is also a life. It doesn't matter where it lives.
After convincing himself, Ning An slowly got up and hid quietly in the bushes.
She crouched behind a patch of grass the same color as her fur, inching closer. The antelope in front of her was completely oblivious, nibbling the grass leisurely, its eyes wide open as it gazed up at the sky.
Ning An locked onto the dumbest-looking one among them, deciding he could win this time. He slowly raised his butt.
Just as I was about to sprint, a deep, rumbling purr vibrated through the air behind her, so low it felt like it came from the earth itself.
The hair all over his body stood up in an instant. Every instinct screamed at her to flee, but a deeper, more primal fear rooted her to the spot. Slowly, mechanically, she turned around.
Crouched in the shadow of the tall grass was a panther. But it was unlike any she had ever seen or imagined. He was colossal, his sleek black form rippling with power that seemed to warp the air around him. He wasn't just an animal; he was a presence. His fur was the purest obsidian, absorbing the light, and his eyes were pools of molten amber, fixed on her with an unnerving, ancient intelligence.
He did not snarl or threaten. He simply watched, his gaze heavy and assessing. He exuded a calm, absolute authority that made the crocodile seem like a frantic child. This was the true master of this land.
Ning An: "..."
...What kind of grassland has a creature like this?!
Her breath hitched. All thoughts of hunting vanished. Her body lowered itself to the ground in a posture of submission she didn't know she possessed, her ears flat against her skull. A small, terrified whimper escaped her.
The great panther observed her for a long, silent moment. Then, with a grace that belied his immense size, he rose. He turned his head, his powerful muscles coiling, and his amber eyes locked onto the herd of antelope.
In a blur of motion too fast to follow, he was gone. There was a brief, confused cry from the herd, a rustle of grass, and then silence.
He returned as silently as he had left, dragging a large antelope. He dropped the fresh kill gently on the ground before her, then took several steps back and sat, wrapping his long tail around his powerful paws. His intense gaze remained on her, expectant but not aggressive.
Ning An stared, her mind reeling. The fear was still a cold knot in her stomach, but it was now tangled with utter bewilderment.
He... hunted for her?
"For me?" she whispered, her voice barely audible. She glanced from the prey to the majestic panther and back again, waiting for some trick, some sudden attack. But he just watched, a king bestowing a favor upon a subject.
His deep, calm presence seemed to imply a simple question: Well? Are you going to eat?