If Brother Leopard’s face were in front of Susu right now, she would, without the slightest hesitation, unleash a flurry of wildcat scratches and claw his face to ribbons!
‘If you don’t want to give me meat, then just say it!
What’s the meaning of teasing me so brazenly like this?!’
‘My tiny body, even including my tail, isn’t even a meter long!’
‘So, to eat that meat, I’d have to squeeze my whole body out of the tree hollow and even take two or three steps forward.
That distance might not seem like much, but at Brother Leopard’s speed?
He’d be able to pin me down, skin me, debone me, and make me wish I was dead a hundred times over.’
‘I’m not that stupid!’
‘But that piece of meat…
it looks so delicious!’
She gulped.
Although she remained lying prone, unmoving, Susu’s eyes never strayed from that piece of meat.
‘It might not be a big piece, but it’s still meat!’
‘So much more tempting than wild fruits or anything else.’
‘Besides, I haven’t eaten a single thing since being chased by that centipede earlier today!’
Hearing the protesting RUMBLE from her stomach, Susu couldn’t help but shift her paws where she lay.
However, her fear of Brother Leopard kept her from getting too reckless.
‘Losing your life for a good meal isn’t really a shameful thing in the wild.’
‘What I’m worried about is pouncing out, not getting the meat, and losing my life instead.
That would be so not worth it!’
The angel of reason and the devil of impulse were at war in her heart, neither able to gain the upper hand.
It wasn’t until Brother Leopard once again turned his back to her to enjoy his meal that Susu’s suppressed courage finally resurfaced.
She licked her dry lips and cautiously, tentatively, inched forward.
The moment she sensed the Black Panther was about to turn his head, she froze instantly, putting on an aloof act as if she were completely uninterested in the food he’d offered.
The Black Panther glanced back at Susu nonchalantly.
He pretended not to see her transparent little act.
A flicker of amusement shone in his golden eyes before he turned away, acting as if he’d seen nothing as he went back to enjoying his dinner.
His slightly twitching ears, however, didn’t miss the faint RUSTLING from behind him, like a little mouse foraging for food.
Susu crept forward two more steps.
Seeing that the Black Panther didn’t turn around, her courage grew.
She continued to inch forward until most of her body was out of the tree hollow.
When she saw that Brother Leopard still hadn’t reacted, she planted her front paws, pounced, and swiftly snatched the meat.
In a flash, she turned and darted back into the tree hollow.
Perhaps the commotion was too much this time, as the Black Panther finally turned his head again.
He glanced at the empty spot on the ground, then over at Susu, who had already retreated into her hollow and was now gorging herself on the prize.
A flicker of amusement shone in his golden eyes, but he still didn’t make any major moves.
Instead, just as before, he tore another similarly sized slice of meat from the plumpest part of the giant rabbit’s leg and set it down where the last piece had just vanished.
Then, as if completely unaware of what had just happened, he turned his back and continued his meal.
The piece of meat Susu got was not substantial; in fact, it was even smaller than she’d imagined.
Although the slice looked large, Brother Leopard had skillfully cut it paper-thin.
So after gobbling it down in just a few bites, Susu…
…was even hungrier.