Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

Chapter 376: Chapter 374: The Cub Thief, Ultimately Loses to the Mother’s Hands

Chen Ying’s loud shout made the mother wolf twist her waist mid-air and land on the other side.

Chen Ying didn’t dare to rashly charge into the central area.

He was all skin and bones, not Megatron; charging in would mean certain death!

He found a place to take cover and, gasping for breath, Chen Ying watched the standoff in front of him.

It was still the same members of the wolf pack, with the she-wolf and her cubs hiding in a cave, peering out with half of their faces showing.

On the other side was an unfamiliar giant panda in a furious state, its eyes bloodshot.

“I just came over to ask, has anyone lost a cub?”

This sentence was like a bomb, causing both the wolf pack and the giant panda to freeze, then turn their heads to look at him in unison.

“My family’s Jinya and Little Jin rescued a cub today, and I thought you were more familiar with the mountains, so I wanted to come and ask.”

Chen Ying quickly glanced at the mother wolf but mainly focused his attention on the giant panda.

“That cub is the same species as you. Do you know of anyone who has recently had a cub on the mountain?”

“Roar, bark, bark~”

Who could it be, who has taken my child?

Chen Ying didn’t dare admit to that; a furious mother bear would send even a tiger scurrying away, let alone him.

“I rescued that cub, but it’s not in a good condition; it has been taken downhill for a rescue. I just came to ask because if we find its mother, we may be able to bring the child back in a few days.”

Seeing the giant panda still baring its teeth aggressively, Chen Ying quickly added another sentence.

“I specialize in rescuing cubs. If you don’t believe me, you can go ask the plump one of your species nearby. Its child was one I helped deliver. Now, it often comes to play at my place.”

The giant panda’s anger subsided slightly, but it still breathed heavily, its gaze still vigilant and fierce.

The mother wolf beside him seemed to somewhat understand and stepped forward, howling a few times at Chen Ying.

“Yes, that cub was taken by some animal. Originally, we planned to… by the pond…”

Chen Ying didn’t dare say the words “eat it,” swiftly glanced at the giant panda, and continued, “I don’t know what kind of animal it was. I analyzed it, and my Jinya and Little Jin would not take a cub, not to mention Leopard Sister and Brother Leopard. I’m wondering if it’s a wolf or a jackal who has strayed here, so I wanted to ask you.”

Chen Ying’s words caused a small stir in the wolf pack, and after a while, a sub-adult wolf, also a child of Duoduo and the mother wolf, stepped forward to tell Chen Ying that it had smelled the scent of its own kind while hunting a couple of days ago.

“We have no intention of accepting other wolves into our pack, but I know that another wolf pack on the neighboring mountain is contending for the position of Wolf King again, and the failed contenders might be driven out.”

The mother wolf wouldn’t allow the younger wolves to search for the lone wolf suspected of failing in the competition for Wolf King, because in their small group, Duoduo was the Wolf King and she the Wolf Queen. With new wolf cubs born, there was no need to take in a lone wolf.

The giant panda from the other side also understood and was certain that the one who had stolen its child was a wolf.

As for whether it was one of this pack of wolves, the giant panda believed, a wolf is a wolf, it didn’t care which one, as any wolf it encountered deserved to die!

Before Chen Ying could speak, the mother wolf let out a long howl, and both sides instantly reentered battle mode.

At this moment, Jinya’s roar suddenly came from nearby.

“Aoo, aoo, stop there, I’ll bite you to death!”

Although the relationship between the mother wolf and Jinya was not great, even rather cold, she knew that Jinya was the Big Cat most beloved by the Two-legged beast.

Hearing Jinya’s voice, the mother wolf’s body tensed up; after pausing for half a minute, she led the wolf pack charging into the forest.

The giant panda watched the wolves pass by like the wind, standing dumbfounded for a dozen seconds before it too followed suit.

Despite its chubby appearance, it was surprisingly quick on its feet.

Chen Ying had wanted to go see what was happening, but upon seeing the she-wolf at the cave entrance and the cubs hiding behind her, he resisted the urge.

He approached the cave entrance but didn’t get too close.

“Are you alright? How’s the little cub?”

The she-wolf sniffed the air as if recalling that Chen Ying was the Two-legged beast who had saved her and surprisingly emerged from the cave, even rubbing against him.

As their mother left, the two wolf cubs, now without cover, huddled together and stared at him with a bit of fear.

These two wolf cubs were of standard size, with round bellies, their overall appearance was milky and they looked well-nourished and happy.

Before he could exchange another word with the she-wolf, a rustling came from the woods diagonally opposite; the she-wolf instantly ran back into the cave, continuing to block the entrance, protecting her children.

Chen Ying also found a tree to climb, ready to see what the group was up to.

A few minutes later, an injured lone wolf was driven out of the woods by the mother wolf and the pack.

The mother wolf cautiously adjusted her position, leading several wolves to block the path between the lone wolf and the cave.

Following them were Jinya and Little Jin, followed by the mother panda who had lost her child.

“It’s this one; it tried to take another cub today and attempted to flee when it was spotted by me and Little Jin.”

The lone wolf had many injuries, but none of them were fatal.

But with so many wounds, it would surely affect its hunting ability. So, this creature had dared to think of snatching others’ cubs.

It’s likely that the mother panda wasn’t the first victim.

Maybe knowing it was doomed, the lone wolf actually wanted to make a last stand, to kill the cubs that were being protected.

The mother wolf wouldn’t possibly give it that chance.

Then the next moment, two wolves collided in mid-air, each falling to the ground and rolling away.

But the other wolves took advantage of the situation and pounced on the lone wolf, launching their attack.

Even among their own kind, they were still mercilessly tearing at each other’s flesh.

The giant panda was not to be outdone and let out a roar as it joined the fray.

Though the wolves’ claws were sharp, the giant panda seemed impervious to pain, withstanding the wolves’ assault and giving the lone wolf a heavy slap on the head.

This was a desperate tit-for-tat.

The process was brutal, but the outcome was favorable.

Having dug up another animal’s cub, the lone wolf ultimately met its end at the paws of a mother beast.

After killing the lone wolf, the giant panda turned around and finally locked eyes with Chen Ying, who was hiding in a tree.

Jinya, fearing that it would harm her beloved two-legged beast, quickly intervened.

“Woof woof~ Where is my baby?”

“It’s injured, really. It was Jinya and Little Jin who saved it, and it has been taken for treatment now.”

Chen Ying suddenly stopped talking because he didn’t know how to tell the mother panda that the little cub could get pneumonia from the cold and the near-drowning.

If luck was not on their side, it wasn’t impossible for the Heavenly Beast to be lost forever.

But Jinya, not as concerned as Chen, upon learning that the black and white bear in front of her was the pitiful cub’s mother, immediately began to narrate vividly how it and Little Jin had discovered the little cub and brought it back.

Just as Jinya was about to reassure with a thump on her chest that the little cub would definitely be fine, the mother wolf interrupted with a howl.

“I’ve given birth to many cubs, and quite a few have died.”

The mother wolf sat crouched outside the den, her tone calm.

“Why would you abandon your child? It was taken away by this bad guy. It got cold and could die.”

The giant panda was taken aback, turning its head and letting out an angry cry.

“Why are you scolding me? I said it’s possible, not certain to die. If it survives, it’s lucky. If it dies… that’s on you.”

Facing the mother wolf’s unyielding gaze, the giant panda trembled with rage but could only let it pass.

Chen Ying sat on the tree branch, thought for a moment, and called the veterinarian.

“The little cub’s condition is still okay; the blood test results should be out soon, probably without any problems. But it must still be observed for a few days to make sure it’s completely safe before it can leave the incubator.”

“That’s good to hear. I might have found the Cat Mother here, I’m not sure if it’s her, but it seems to know that I took the cub, and it wants me to return it now.”

The veterinarian on the other end of the call was dumbfounded, looking at the phone blankly, and after a while could only utter an “Ah?”

“Do you want to consider bringing this panda down to be with the cub until it’s confirmed to be okay, and then releasing them both back into the wild? Keeping it close to me, I’m worried I won’t see tomorrow’s sun.”

That wasn’t something he could decide on his own; he would have to speak to the director.

In the end, the center held an emergency meeting and dispatched experts to keep track of the mother panda, and once the cub was confirmed to be okay, they would reunite it with its mother.

As for Chen, they would ensure the safety of everyone at the emergency station as much as possible.

Chen rolled his eyes and jumped down from the tree.

“Why don’t you wait a few days? They said it would be a few days before your cub is returned. It seems to have been injured.”

“What?”

“What ‘what’? With your cub soaked in water for so long, do you think it’s as tough as you? Come on, take me to your den and have a look. When they bring up the cub later, I’ll put it directly in your cave.”

The giant panda narrowed its eyes, looking at Chen for a long time, deciding not to take him there but rather to follow Chen until it saw its baby.

Chen’s head was throbbing with pain. There were still three big cats at home—what if they fought? Could they tear apart the entire emergency station?

But he also understood the center’s helplessness.

The wild cat obviously wasn’t used to being in captivity. What if it were brought to the center and injured from stress? At least in the wild, it could be driven away or lured off with other methods.

Accompanying her to the outside of the emergency station, the mother cat hesitated and sniffed around without moving forward.

It sensed threats nearby.

The adults of giant pandas were almost invincible in the mountains.

But there were also several other animals that were nearly as invincible, and a real fight would most likely result in both parties being injured.

“See, didn’t I tell you that this place isn’t suitable for you to live? How about you go back to that bamboo forest we just passed and find a spot to stay for a few days?”

After humming and hawing for a while, the giant panda decisively turned around and headed towards the bamboo forest Chen had pointed out.

Fortunately, Fufu had taken her cub up the mountain to eat some tasty tender bamboo or else the encounter between the two bears would have likely ended in a fight.

After about four days of waiting, the center sent a message that the cub was confirmed to be healthy, now eating a third more milk than cubs of the same age, and could be returned to its mother for them to continue their lives in the wild.

Indeed, they had also confirmed the sex of the cub during the check-up.

If all went well, it was supposed to be a beautiful Panda Princess.

Of course, that’s assuming there were no surprises!

(Princess Cub at one-month-old, the little cub was about this big)