Chapter 192: Seeing a Familiar Little Animal Again

Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Seeing a Familiar Little Animal Again

When Liang He and Hoder successfully arrived by the water source with the two Beast Beasts, Cedriel cast a disgusted sidelong glance at the Mengji Snow Leopard without being noticed.

He wondered how a guy like Kuang Ye had ever become an Imperial Admiral. Did he just rely entirely on reckless brute force? If Liang He hadn’t called out to stop him just now, who knew where he would have charged off to. Or perhaps he would have crashed right through the fence, failed to brake, and tumbled into the river. Then he would have swallowed a few mouthfuls of the poisoned river water with a heavy GULP before ending up bedridden and unconscious, just like the Iron-eating Beast.

"Cedriel, what are you thinking about?"

Liang He walked up to the Mojin King Tiger and patted his head in confusion. She had wanted him and the Mengji Snow Leopard to sniff around and see if there were any unusual scents. Instead, Kuang Ye had bolted over in a flash, while the Mojin King Tiger remained completely motionless.

"AWOO?"

He realized he had been so focused on mentally roasting Kuang Ye that he hadn’t even heard Liang He calling him. He had totally messed up.

"Are you tired? I’m sorry. We haven’t been able to catch the bad guy, so I had to bother you two for help. Thanks for your hard work." Liang He gently hugged the Mojin King Tiger, feeling as though she were exploiting the fluffy creatures. They were innocent animals who should have been living carefree lives. Instead, they had to stay up late, guide her and Hoder to the center of the forest, and even help hunt down a culprit.

"AWOO!"

Cedriel really wanted to say that it wasn’t hard work at all and that he was more than happy to help Liang He. However, the words only came out as another howl. Sighing silently to himself, he affectionately nuzzled Liang He’s palm before walking toward the riverbank to get to work.

"MEOW?"

The Mengji Snow Leopard hadn’t quite figured out the situation yet. Fortunately, to put Liang He at ease, the Mojin King Tiger helped explain things to his companion. Afterward, the two Beast Beasts began sniffing around.

"Liang He, will this really work?" Hoder still felt a bit apprehensive. Honestly, if it were a matter of sending a Federation Marshal and an Imperial Admiral to the battlefield to kill enemies, he would have absolute confidence. But relying on their sense of smell to track down a poisoner? No matter how he looked at it, it just didn’t seem reliable. They probably wouldn’t even be as effective as military dogs.

"Let’s just try it for now. You stay here with them, and I’ll take a look around the perimeter," Liang He said. She reminded the Mengji Snow Leopard and the Mojin King Tiger not to get too close to the water source so they wouldn’t fall in. In truth, the Mengji Snow Leopard didn’t like water anyway, so Liang He was far more worried about the Mojin King Tiger, who loved playing in it.

"Cedriel, you absolutely must not play with the water here. It isn’t clean and will make you sick, understand?"

"...AWOO."

Cedriel felt completely helpless. His image was entirely ruined. Still, he gladly basked in Liang He’s care and could only offer a well-behaved response to reassure her.

Once she was sure both Beast Beasts understood, Liang He finally felt comfortable walking away. She crossed the fence and began searching for small animals that might have seen a suspicious person.

"There was such a massive commotion a few days ago. I wonder if the small animals even dare to come here anymore," Liang He muttered to herself as she searched.

Originally, the center of the forest had been largely devoid of human presence. Aside from watching out for natural predators, the animals could safely drink here to sustain their daily needs. But ever since the water source was poisoned, hundreds of animals had fallen unconscious. To the other animals, it probably looked like they had simply dropped dead. It was only natural for them to be terrified, panicked, and too afraid to approach.

"SNORT... GRUNT..."

The sudden sound of pig-like grunts caught Liang He’s attention. Thinking it was a wild boar that had wandered in, she raised her guard and scanned her surroundings but found nothing unusual. Aside from the swaying shadows of the trees, there was nothing else. That was, until she had a sudden realization and looked up at one of the branches.

"A koala?"

Aside from wild boars, a koala was probably the only animal that sounded like a pig. Actually, they were born with that voice. It was hard to say who was mimicking whom, so her assumption wasn’t entirely accurate.

"SNORT... GRUNT!"

Liang He approached quietly to avoid scaring the little creature. When she stood under the tree and took a closer look, she realized it wasn’t just any koala—it was an old acquaintance. It was the very same one the Mengji Snow Leopard had used as a makeshift bag to hold pinecones.

"So it’s you."

Liang He stood on her tiptoes, slowly reaching up to gently pet the koala. Only after ensuring it didn’t reject her and had gotten used to her touch did she carry it down. It wasn’t that she had an urge to pet fluffy animals at such a critical moment; it was just that craning her neck and standing on tiptoes was too exhausting, and she couldn’t keep it up for long.

"Did you move?" Liang He poked the little guy’s cheek in confusion.

The place where the Mengji Snow Leopard had stolen the pinecones was quite a distance from here. Koalas were slow-moving by nature, so it was highly unlikely that it had traveled all the way there just to wait for the snow leopard. Besides, if they truly lived this far apart, the Mengji Snow Leopard probably wouldn’t have caught it to use for manual labor.

"Liang He? Liang He!"

Liang He had been gone by herself for a while. They had agreed earlier to call out to each other at regular intervals to confirm she was safe. Naturally, this also served to keep her from wandering too far off. Otherwise, Hoder never would have let her walk through the forest alone. Even without malicious people around, there were still plenty of fierce beasts deep within the forest to watch out for.

"Coming!" Liang He called back. After searching for so long, the koala was her only finding. Left with no other choice, she carried it back to regroup with Hoder.

"MEOW?"

When Liang He reappeared in front of the man and the two beasts, they all relaxed in unison. The Mengji Snow Leopard seemed to recognize the koala in her arms and leaned in curiously.

"SNORT... GRUNT!"

"Huh? Could this be..." Hearing the familiar pig-like sounds, Hoder also recalled the previous pinecone incident. He had relentlessly mocked the Mengji Snow Leopard over it back then. He had even secretly recorded a video, planning to make Kuang Ye watch it properly once he made it through his Evolutionary Stage and regained his senses.

"Yep, it’s the same one." Cradling the koala, Liang He found a large rock to sit on and patted its back soothingly.

Seeing its sluggish expression, she suddenly felt that having such a nature wasn’t a bad thing. At the very least, it couldn’t be frightened easily. Perhaps that was exactly why it had stayed near the water source.

"Why hasn’t it been poisoned?" Hoder was a little puzzled. If the koala lived right next to the water source, why hadn’t it fallen unconscious from poisoning like all the other small animals?

"Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves, and they get all the hydration they need from them. They don’t have to drink extra water." After encountering the koala for the first time, Liang He had made a point of studying their habits to make up for the Mengji Snow Leopard’s poor treatment of it. "Eucalyptus leaves actually contain trace amounts of toxins, which is what gives koalas their sluggish appearance. Since no other animals eat eucalyptus leaves, the koala naturally goes completely unnoticed."

She figured this koala was the perfect example of the saying, "the greatest hermit hides in the bustling city." Thinking about it this way, the little guy was actually quite wise.

"Wait, don’t I remember it finding a girlfriend back then?" Hoder suddenly remembered the time the koala had brought its future wife to find the Mengji Snow Leopard. It had wanted to experience the joy of riding a snow leopard as a couple, which had absolutely infuriated the feline. "At the time, I thought it was trying to court Kuang Ye. I practically died laughing."