Chapter 416

Er Mao's master lives in a small town in the southwest, and when the three cars arrived at the town it was already afternoon.

The road here is well built; looking out from either side of the road you see only vast stretches of fields.

The mountain isn't very high; from its foot to its summit you can see some dwellings, and Er Mao's master's residence is at mid‑mountain on the slope near the edge of the town.

"Haven't been here for years; the changes are quite a lot, at least the road has widened," Er Mao said, looking at the scenery outside the car.

"There are more houses, and they're built better," Wei Leng added.

Peiliang, having come here many times, didn't have as many sighs.

"Do you still remember the road?" Peiliang asked.

"Of course I remember!"

Although the place has changed somewhat from memory, the road is still familiar; without waiting for Peiliang, Er Mao and Wei Leng drove straight ahead along it, and after passing a fork the houses thinned out a little.

Following the road, the car climbed the mountain.

Zheng Tan, like Er Yuan in the back seat, also watched the view outside; from the passenger seat he could see more clearly, and after standing up he could see everything to his front and sides.

As he watched, Zheng Tan saw something crouched on a stone post beside the cement road about a hundred meters ahead—a brownish‑yellow lump.

As the car approached, the stone post grew nearer, and Er Mao, who was driving, rolled down the window and shouted excitedly toward it.

"Gege! Look here! Look here!"

The lump on the stone post shifted, stood up, looked at the car, shook its black ears with a tuft of long hair, yawned, leapt down, and ran after the car.

Just as Zheng Tan was puzzling over who this so‑called "Gege" was, a voice from Wei Leng's walkie‑talkie in the car behind crackled.

"Big Mountain really is still waiting here."

Big Mountain?

Zheng Tan stuck his head out of the car and looked again carefully at the big cat running outside.

Damn!

Zheng Tan's heart began to race again.

This… is it a cat??!!

Is it?

Not exactly, but it seems so; a feral cat also belongs to the cat subfamily, so it's a cat, right?

Zheng Tan had always thought that the "Big Mountain" Er Mao talked about was a super‑cat like Hu Zi's mother or something, and never expected it to be such a huge feral cat!

For Er Mao, a feral cat, a mountain cat, a wild cat, a house cat—aren't they all just cats? Even if they differ from ordinary house cats, they still look like cats, so for convenience they just call it "cat".

Er Mao eased off the throttle. The destination wasn't far anyway, so there was no rush; slowing down would match Big Mountain's pace, after all it wasn't young any more. Even if it can run, jump, and catch rabbits, its twenty‑year‑old age puts it in the senior bracket of its kind.

"Er Yuan, that's your Big Mountain… uncle." Er Mao had originally planned to have Er Yuan call him "Big Mountain brother", but considering the cat's age he switched to "uncle". By feline age standards he'd probably be called "grandpa".

"Why does it have both the names Big Mountain and Gege, just like Hei Ge calls Hei Tan and Hei Mi by two names?" Er Yuan asked, puzzled.

In fact, only Er Mao among the locals calls Big Mountain "Gege", and Er Mao patiently explained the reason to Er Yuan.

Back then Er Mao also called it Big Mountain like everyone else, but one day he saw the two tufts of hair on its ears drooping in the wind and was reminded of the headdress of a princess in a Qing‑dynasty drama popular in the village, so after that Er Mao began jokingly calling Big Mountain "Gege", with no gender implication.

Soon a large courtyard appeared ahead; at its gate an elderly man stood waiting— the same elder Zheng Tan had once met, the "master" Er Mao and the others called.

After Big Mountain ran to the house it squatted beside the elder, half‑open eyes, appearing aloof, but those who know it understand that's just a façade, just as the elder at the gate looks calm outward while his heart is already bubbling with joy; appearances need not match.

Seeing the children get out, the elder could no longer stay still and hurried over.

The big cat that moved with the elder glanced at Er Mao and the others, finally fixing its gaze on Zheng Tan.

Zheng Tan's heart tightened instantly; the big cat's stare gave him a pressure—no malice, but it made him feel very nervous.

"Gege, come here for a hug!"

When they left back then, Er Mao, because of Big Mountain, always thought cats were fickle, hard to handle, neurotic; later he raised Hei Mi and gradually changed his view. No matter how many times Big Mountain had teased them, they hadn't seen it for years, and Er Mao still felt a strange longing.

As for Er Mao's hug, Big Mountain stood there with a cold demeanor, unmoving, not struggling, showing no resistance.

Both Wei Leng and Peiliang felt affection for the big cat, but unlike Er Mao they wouldn't go up for a hug. Wei Leng had been clawed before and feared getting a swipe now, losing face in front of his wife and children. As for Peiliang, although he didn't bring Qi Da Da, he still carried a bit of monkey scent that Big Mountain would dislike, so he wouldn't bother.

"I want a hug too!" Er Yuan, holding Maomao's skirt, ran over, looped his arm lightly around Big Mountain's neck under Er Mao's guidance, and was quickly pulled away by Er Mao.

Over there, Wei Xiao Pangzi felt itchy and waddled over roundly.

Wei Leng tried to stop him, but the master elder said, "It's fine, Big Mountain won't hurt children casually."

Taking a step, Wei Leng could only hold back, but reminded his son to just give a brief hug.

Obeying the voice, Wei Xiao Pangzi swung his arms wide toward Big Mountain. Probably because it was his first time meeting such a large cat, he was thrilled, ignored his father's "just a brief hug" advice, tightened his arms, and rubbed his face against Big Mountain's twice. In his mind, cats should be as friendly as Er Yuan's Hei Mi and Hei Ge.

Er Mao stepped back a little, holding Er Yuan without a trace.

Wei Leng intended to go and pull his son back, but a cane jutting out from the side blocked him. He could only stew in his mind.

The elder wore a faint smile, looking that way.

Fortunately Wei Xiao Pangzi didn't keep hugging, loosened his arms, turned, and said to Wei Leng, "Dad, come take a picture!"

Er Mao shifted Er Yuan backward another step.

Wei Leng hadn't moved yet; his wife acted first, pulling out a camera, clearly fascinated by this special big cat.

"Come on, Xiao Pang, give a smile. 3‑2‑1!"

Wei Xiao Pangzi grinned and posed. Suddenly his lower body felt a chill; before he could pull back his smile, the camera went "click!"

Zheng Tan: "…"

The big cat, in full view of everyone, at the moment before the photo, stripped Wei Xiao Pangzi's pants.

Er Mao had already covered Er Yuan's eyes.

The elder's smile deepened a bit.

"Ha. Wei Leng, this is just like back when…" Peiliang couldn't help laughing.

"Ahem!" Wei Leng shot a threatening glance at Peiliang, cutting off the rest of his sentence, then helped lift Wei Xiao Pangzi's pants.

When they, the brothers, were here before, they couldn't read the cat's temperament at first, so they'd take a loss or look foolish. Yet with the master standing behind the cat as a great backing, even if the master wasn't home, the cat was hard to evade; you really couldn't get away with it.

Wei Leng used to get caught, have his pants pulled down, and his shoes even snatched away to hold bird eggs; Peiliang was also pranked, with small insects put in his cup and grasshoppers stuffed in his quilt to mimic snakes; Hetaoshixiong, because of his profession, was especially sensitive to people watching his gaze, and every time Hetaoshixiong came here to visit the old man, Big Mountain would crouch outside Hetaoshixiong's window, doing nothing, just staring inside, staring so intently that Hetaoshixiong couldn't sleep a wink all night, pulling the curtains didn't help, he still broke out in cold sweat, nightmares one after another, and as soon as he closed his eyes he felt a pair of beast's eyes with a weird grin right in front of him in the darkness. There were far too many such incidents, so many that Wei Leng and the others didn't even want to recall them.

The old man's place never had many kids, but this cat makes up for several little terrors; though little terrors only stay terrible for a few years, this cat has been causing trouble for twenty years, and if things go smoothly, it will keep causing trouble in the future. Not only does it love mischief, it has also developed a quirky temperament just like the old man's; originally, in Er Mao's view, many feline temperaments are already rather quirky, and after learning from the old man, they become even quirkier. Don't look at its proper appearance; sometimes it puts on an aloof, cold façade, and in the blink of an eye, the next moment it's up to no good.

Although the others were curious, Peiliang wouldn't say anymore—who here doesn't have some embarrassing moments? If he brought up Wei Leng's stuff, Wei Leng would bring up his, so what's the point? Now we're all fathers, it's fine to talk in private, but not in front of the adults and kids.

Er Mao said to Er Yuan: "Uncle Big Mountain doesn't like being constantly hugged by others, unlike Hei Mi—remember that?"

Er Yuan nodded seriously.

Zheng Tan watched Wei Xiao Pangzi's face turn red from holding his breath, then looked at the complex expressions of Er Mao and the others, seeming to understand something.

A few people were chatting in this courtyard when someone walked in from outside.

"Yo, we have guests."

The visitor was about fifty years old, wearing somewhat faded blue cloth clothes, and carrying a box.

Upon seeing the visitor, Er Mao, Wei Leng, and Peiliang all smiled.

"Uncle Lin, you've come."

"It turns out Er Mao, Wei Leng, and Peiliang have come back, and they even brought their wives and kids—no wonder I could feel the festive atmosphere in the courtyard even before entering." Uncle Lin said.

"Let's go inside to talk." The old man stepped into the house first, greeting the others.

They first moved the things out of the car, tidied up the room, and let Uncle Lin chat with the old man in the hall.

While they were tidying up in the room, Gong Qin asked Er Mao about the identity of that Uncle Lin just now.

"He's, well, a health practitioner, I guess."

"Oh, this is one of the health practitioners you mentioned for your master's household." Gong Qin said.

"No, he's not the master's health practitioner; he's Big Mountain's."

"Big Mountain?!"

Not only was Gong Qin shocked, but even Zheng Tan, who was leaning against the side bench listening with his ears perked up, was stunned. A cat actually has a dedicated health practitioner!!

"Since I left this place that year, he's been giving Big Mountain acupuncture." Er Mao said in his usual calm tone.

"Acupuncture?!"

"Yeah, otherwise do you think Big Mountain really has a special constitution? It's because of Uncle Lin's help."

Zheng Tan couldn't stay calm—damn it, another cat like him actually has a dedicated health practitioner, this top-tier treatment, and even receives acupuncture, which sounds so high-end! (To be continued…)

PS: In the previous chapter, Chen Ci thought it had been posted at eleven o'clock, but when updating this chapter he realized it had only been uploaded, not published—sorry. Now both chapters are released together.

Shi Yi is preparing to go back to his hometown; there will be no hiatus, but the update time may shift somewhat—I'll mention it here first.

Wishing everyone a happy National Day holiday, smooth travels, and stay safe.