Chapter 17: The Clever Black Panther

Faced with the black panther, which now exuded an entirely different aura, Ji Wuxiu silently swallowed and carefully took a few steps back, afraid that he might be roasted like the others.

The black panther stared intently at Ji Wuxiu, suddenly showing a human-like expression of disdain. It slowly moved forward and softly growled, “Howl—”

—Stupid creature, you look so ugly.

Ji Wuxiu: “…”

Is this panther sick?

The black panther carefully observed the black-and-white furry ball in front of it, becoming even more certain. “Howl—”

—So ugly.

Ji Wuxiu couldn’t take it anymore and slapped the black panther.

“Howl—” The black panther immediately looked aggrieved.

After hitting the panther, Ji Wuxiu instantly regretted it, fearing he might anger the panther and end up killed.

But now, seeing the black panther’s pitiful appearance, his hesitation disappeared. He straightened his chest and tried to look fierce as he growled, “Mmm—mmm!”

Forget it, no more growling.

Even the fiercest panda growl still sounds like a spoiled brat.

The system chimed in sarcastically: 【So pandas are naturally suited for being cute.】

Ji Wuxiu forced a smile, recalling the system’s earlier mistake. He said, “We’ll talk about that skill with a one-minute cooldown later.”

The system fell silent for a while, then awkwardly replied: 【Host, that was truly an accident.】

In response, Ji Wuxiu could only chuckle and quickly get up, brushing the weeds off his body, then focus his attention on the three charred corpses.

They died a miserable death.

Ji Wuxiu sighed, his face reflecting a certain sympathy.

But he felt no pity for the fate of these three.

Nature always follows the rule of survival of the fittest.

Moreover, the actions of these three had gone beyond what could be called “excessive.”

The black panther coldly stared at the three corpses, emitting a satisfied sound as it achieved its goal.

Ji Wuxiu glanced at the black panther and was surprised to see that the hatred in its eyes toward humans had almost disappeared. Feeling a stir in his heart, he approached and gently patted the black panther’s head.

The black panther dodged and growled angrily: “Howl—Roar!”

—You ugly creature.

Ji Wuxiu gritted his teeth and slapped the black panther again.

It really deserved it.

The panther let out a low growl, its face filled with anger, but despite being furious, it didn’t make any moves to attack.

Ji Wuxiu noticed this and was somewhat moved. He subconsciously looked at the panther and, unsurprisingly, saw the achievement for its angry roar.

Of course, it also had a face covered in drool.

Ji Wuxiu expressionlessly wiped off the saliva, but the scent of roasted meat in the air only grew stronger, which made him feel uncomfortable and even a bit nauseous.

It was better to leave quickly, the corpses here were too unsettling.

Ji Wuxiu hurriedly chose a direction and started walking. After a few steps, he looked back at the panther and called out, “Mmm, mmm—”

—Come on, hurry up.

The panther stood there stunned for a moment, then realized what Ji Wuxiu meant and quickly followed, wagging its long tail and spinning in the air.

In the darkness, the black panther, thanks to its black fur, remained perfectly concealed, with only its glowing green eyes revealing its presence.

From a distance, one could only see a faint black-and-white fur ball moving slowly forward.

The scent of meat in the air soon attracted some large animals. The panther lowered its head, sniffed, and quickly began eating.

After walking for a while, Ji Wuxiu realized he had gotten lost. He awkwardly sat down and asked the panther.

—Do you know where you live?

The black panther coldly stared at Ji Wuxiu, a clueless expression on its face.

Obviously, it couldn’t understand Ji Wuxiu’s words.

Ji Wuxiu couldn’t help but sigh and said to the system, “What should we do? The translation software doesn’t seem to be working.”

The system responded: 【You’ll just have to wait for the Lightning Panther’s intelligence to gradually improve so it can understand more complicated language. Also, mutated beasts’ intelligence is different from ordinary animals, so don’t worry.】

Ji Wuxiu understood this, but just thinking about the points he had spent made him feel a little heartbroken.

Worried that the host might not fully understand the software, the system began explaining: 【Also, even though you are using human language to communicate, the sound you make is still the panda’s cry to the panther. However, because you have the translation software, your words are automatically translated into the panther’s language, which is why it can understand you. But due to the panther’s low intelligence, it can’t comprehend much.】

Ji Wuxiu nodded in realization. So that’s how it works.

The black panther slowly sat down, straightening its back, looking cold and alert, glancing left and right, its ears flicking occasionally as if it were guarding against unseen creatures in the darkness.

Ji Wuxiu, seeing the situation, cautiously poked the black panther with his paw.

The panther lowered its head, staring intently at the ugly creature in front of it, confusion flashing in its eyes.

What is this ugly creature doing?

Ji Wuxiu pretended to make a motion as if he were about to sleep, then pointed around, his face full of anticipation.

The silent panther finally broke its silence. A flash of realization crossed its eyes, and it quickly stood up, sniffing the familiar scent in the air. It soon picked a spot and walked forward. Then, mimicking Ji Wuxiu’s earlier actions, it took a few steps and looked back, growling softly.

—Ugly creature, hurry up.

Ji Wuxiu’s eyes lit up, and he quickly followed.

The panther led the way, with Ji Wuxiu trailing behind. The trees and shrubs around them looked so similar that they were impossible to distinguish. After walking for a while, Ji Wuxiu lost all sense of direction and could only stay close behind the panther, full of hope.

He hoped the panther could find the way back.

Fortunately, the panther did not disappoint. It turned left and right, and just when Ji Wuxiu thought he was about to get lost, the black panther suddenly growled softly, its gaze fixed on a tree hollow, urging Ji Wuxiu to enter.

Ji Wuxiu froze, silently observing the tree hollow in front of him. The more he looked, the more familiar it became.

Finally, his hair stood on end.

Wasn’t this the tree hollow from before?

Just a few days ago, he had thought about occupying it as a temporary shelter. However, he couldn’t bring himself to enter because it was so dark inside, and he had a feeling something terrifying might be lurking there. Eventually, he had no choice but to sleep in a tree.

Seeing that Ji Wuxiu wouldn’t go in, the black panther entered first, relaxing its body as it fully entered the hollow. It then turned around and showed an impatient expression, growling, “Howl—Roar!”

—Ugly creature, come in quickly.

A flash of disbelief crossed Ji Wuxiu’s mind.

Could this be… the panther’s old den?

In order to confirm this guess, Ji Wuxiu cautiously walked inside. Fortunately, his body had night vision. Although the tree hollow was pitch dark, with no light at all, he could still see the most prominent pile of hay.

The black panther lay down on the haystack, looking exhausted, but still trying to lick its wounds to speed up the healing process.

Ji Wuxiu, now understanding what was happening, quickly jogged over, sat down with a sigh of relief, and fully relaxed.

Finally, he could rest.

The black panther glanced at Ji Wuxiu before continuing to lick its wounds.

Ji Wuxiu looked around and called out to the black panther.

—Is this where you sleep?

The words that were spoken only sounded like simple “mm-mm” noises, but to the panther, this was the most complex language it had ever heard.

The black panther suddenly lifted its head, its vertical pupils locking onto Ji Wuxiu, silent and not moving.

Ji Wuxiu realized that the black panther might not have understood, so he immediately mimicked the action of sleeping on the haystack, then looked up at the black panther.

—Is this where you sleep?

The black panther lowered its head, glancing at the haystack, as if it suddenly understood the meaning of these few words.

“Howl—Roar!”

It nodded firmly, its eyes shining with an unprecedented light!

Ji Wuxiu smiled and patted the black panther’s head.

Its progress was really fast.

For the first time, the black panther did not shy away but instead stared at Ji Wuxiu, its eyes full of questions. However, for a panther with only a few simple words in its mind, it seemed difficult to express them.

“Howl?”

—Ugly creature, you sleep.

The panther struggled to use the words it had learned to communicate with Ji Wuxiu.

Ji Wuxiu’s eyes lit up, surprised at how quickly the black panther had learned to use new words to communicate.

Ji Wuxiu wanted to teach the panther more, but since the panther was still injured, he had to suppress that thought for now and urged the black panther to finish licking its wounds and then sleep.

The black panther nodded in the darkness, signaling that it understood.

“Howl—Roar!”

The next morning, Ji Wuxiu woke up naturally, yawning. The first thing he did was look beside him, and the wounded black panther was still fast asleep.

Ji Wuxiu carefully climbed out, trying not to wake the panther.

He walked out of the tree hollow, glanced at the sunlight, and decided to find food for himself and the panther.

The sleeping black panther flicked its tail but continued to sleep soundly.

It had been injured yesterday, feeling very tired and sore, so today it needed to rest well and wasn’t planning to go out with the ugly creature.