hsntnovel Chapter 80 The Battle-Hard Upper-River Lion Pride
Chapter 80 The Battle-Hard Upper-River Lion Pride
At the end of last year's dry season, Chen Fei observed the lion pride from a distance in the reeds three kilometers downstream of the sandbar and confirmed its size.
One adult male lion, three battle-hardened adult female lions, two half-grown sub-adult female lions, and several cubs hiding behind the female lions. The exact number was unclear, but their low, childlike growls could be heard.
The lion didn't look well. Last year, the scent he caught downwind carried a faint, lingering smell of decaying old wounds—a faint, yet pungent odor that pierced his nose like needles. More than half a year has passed; he wondered if the wounds had fully healed.
[Host: Chen Fei]
[Identity: Sub-adult male lion]
[Energy Points: 904↑]
As the triangular sandbar came into view, the sun had just climbed above the eastern ridgeline, its golden rays shining unhindered onto the bare rocks, turning the entire sandbar into a blinding white, almost blinding light. Chen Fei stopped two hundred meters downstream in the reeds, kneeling on his forelegs, his body lower than the reeds, only his nose peeking out from the dense reed leaves. He took a deep breath and carefully sniffed upstream.
The lion pride was right there upstream. The male lion's aura was entrenched in the very center of the sandbar, thick and heavy, a steady and unwavering presence guarding its territory. The auras of the three lionesses spread around the sandbar, heading northeast, due north, and northwest respectively, like a loose net, clearly setting up sentry posts and keeping watch on the surroundings. The putrid smell of the old wound was still there, fainter than last year, as if much of it had been blown away by the wind, but still lingering in the male lion's aura, impossible to shake off.
Chen Fei silently suppressed this information in his heart, then slightly raised his head, exhaled a breath from his nose, and released a little of his own scent. It wasn't the strong smell of the territory marker, but just a faint, calm scent, a notification: I am downstream. This is not an invasion, not a provocation, but simply a presence here.
The upstream lion pride reacted swiftly. The scent of the lioness from the northeast stirred, rapidly approaching him within about fifty meters before abruptly stopping. It was testing the distance, hesitant to get too close, yet unwilling to retreat easily. Chen Fei remained lying motionless in the reeds, his breathing steady and even.
About three minutes later, the aura of the lion in the center of the sandbar began to move, slowly pressing down downstream. It was slow, but each step was deliberately heavy, as if it was announcing its presence. It was coming out, heading in his direction.
Chen Fei didn't know, nor did he want to know, the name of the male lion in the upstream pride. But when he saw it walking down the sandbar from the reeds, he gave it a name in his mind: One-Legged. It didn't actually have only one leg; its gait was just too striking. The stride of its right foreleg was almost a third shorter than that of its left, and its landing was light and weightless. It wasn't a temporary stress response after the injury; it was the inertia of long-term compensatory walking. Every step was awkwardly practiced, indicating that the old injured leg had completely lost some of its function, and the remaining muscles and joints had forcibly redistributed the task of walking.
The one-legged lion stopped at the edge of the sandbar, its right shoulder slightly lowered, its head held high, its yellowish-green eyes narrowed as it gazed downstream with a sharp, piercing look. It couldn't see Chen Fei; the dense reeds completely obscured him, making him blend into the background. Furthermore, since Chen Fei wasn't using any scent camouflage, the lion only detected the faint, indicative scent he had deliberately released, knowing there was a lion downstream but unable to pinpoint its exact location or discern his intentions.
A low growl rolled from the one-legged man's throat, not loud, but penetrating, like muffled thunder exploding in the chest. It wasn't a warning, but a pure inquiry: "Who are you, and what do you want?"
Chen Fei slowly stood up from the reeds, the reeds rubbing against his mane and making a soft rustling sound. He stepped out and stood on the soft muddy ground of the riverbank a hundred meters downstream from the sandbar. The mud under his feet was slightly cool, the rushing river was behind him, and the majestic lion stood in front of him.
The two lions stared at each other from a distance of 100 meters. The air seemed to freeze, and only the sound of the river flowing by echoed in their ears.
The one-legged lion was even thinner than Chen Fei had expected, its ribs faintly visible beneath the loose skin. Its mane was a dull yellow, sparse like withered grass, lacking the thickness of a mature male lion's neck guard; it clung to its neck, making it look somewhat disheveled. Even standing still, its compensatory gait with its right forelimb was clearly visible; its right shoulder was almost an inch lower than its left, and its entire body was slightly tilted. Its eyes were yellowish-green, like poisoned copper bells; in the morning sunlight, its pupils narrowed to slits, radiating a defiant light, carrying a fierce, desperate determination.
That sense of defiance contained no impulsiveness, but rather a clear-headedness born of experience.
When it looked Chen Fei up and down, it didn't pull its hind legs into a threatening posture, nor did it let out a fierce roar to drive him away immediately. It just stood there, its eyes scanning Chen Fei's body inch by inch, clearly assessing the unfamiliar sub-adult male lion in front of it.
A young, sub-adult male lion, in its prime, was traveling alone from downstream. It did not have a strong, invasive odor, nor did it show any signs of aggression. It simply stood steadily a hundred meters away, waiting quietly, neither advancing nor retreating.
Chen Fei could see the confusion in its eyes. It couldn't understand it; in its experience, there had never been a visitor like this before. In its experience, visiting lions were either desperate, homeless individuals trying to scout out territory, or members of a lower-ranking pride testing the boundaries and provoking a confrontation. None of them were like this lion before it, walking a hundred meters away, standing still, completely exposing itself to the other's view, and then doing nothing but waiting.
Another low growl rolled out from the one-legged man's throat, even deeper than the first, with a resonant vibration in his chest. It was the beginning of a warning, as if drawing a final line.
Chen Fei didn't move, but slowly sat down on the spot, his forelegs naturally draped in front of him, his mane hanging down his body. This was not a sign of weakness, but a deliberate withdrawal of the threatening signal: standing was a confrontation, sitting down meant "I have no intention of hitting you".
The warning sound that had rolled halfway down the one-legged man's throat suddenly froze, like a frozen beast's roar, stuck in his throat, buzzing and vibrating.
Its forepaws ground against the rough quartz sand of the riverbank. It stood there for about half an incense stick's time, its gaze sweeping from Chen Fei's sweaty mane to the white marks on his claws, and finally settling on the side of his neck. Beneath the short, brown, sub-adult mane, the few extremely fine golden threads at the base were cut into fragments of gold by the direct morning sunlight, flowing among the downy fur and exuding an unusual warmth.
Its one-legged nose was slightly upturned, and it twitched twice, capturing the scent in the wind.
Then it abruptly turned its head toward the gravel island, and a deep roar rolled out from its chest, like a heavy stone drifting away on the northwest wind.