After getting a taste of meat, her hunger became all the more unbearable.
Susu stared greedily at the piece of fresh meat that had reappeared in the same spot, the one thing that could end her current agony.
But she hadn’t lost the last shred of reason in her mind.
‘The Black Panther wouldn’t have put another piece of meat there for no reason.’
‘Especially after she’d already managed to snatch a piece.
For it to do this again…
it had to be intentional.’
‘So what on earth was it trying to do?!’
‘Was it just feeding me?
If it was a friendly gesture, it could have left a bigger piece, or put it closer!
An act like this was clearly a trap, luring her to walk right into it!’
‘That’s it.
This has to be a trap!’
Susu shifted her weight on her front paws.
‘Even if it is a trap, it seems like such a waste not to eat the meat that’s right under my nose.
Besides, giving up now would only embolden that arrogant, scheming panther outside!’
‘But trying the same trick twice obviously wouldn’t work.’
Susu settled back down, tucking her paws beneath her.
She squinted, staring unblinkingly at the Black Panther outside.
It seemed to have finished its meal and was now grooming its fur.
‘After eating so much meat, it’s bound to get thirsty, right?’
‘Just like me.’
‘She had, of all things, fallen asleep when the Black Panther went hunting earlier, missing the perfect opportunity to escape.
Well, she definitely wouldn’t miss her chance when it left to get a drink of water!’
With this in mind, Susu decided to feign indifference to the tempting piece of meat in order to fool the Black Panther.
She curled into a ball, shut her eyes, and pretended to be asleep.
The Black Panther glanced at Susu.
A flicker of surprise, which quickly turned to admiration, showed in its eyes at her ability to resist temptation and not take the bait.
It rose and approached the tree hollow where Susu was hiding.
The panther lowered its head, peering into the entrance and staring at her for a long moment as if to confirm whether she was truly asleep.
His sharp gaze was so intense that Susu almost broke character.
Fortunately, Brother Leopard eventually turned and left without a backward glance, allowing her to narrowly escape disaster.
But Susu didn’t let her guard down just because the Black Panther had left.
Based on her brief time with him, she had concluded that this Black Panther was extremely cunning.
‘He was very likely just pretending to leave, watching her from somewhere nearby.
If she got cocky now and assumed she’d fooled him, she’d pounce right out and fall straight into Brother Leopard’s trap.
He’d catch her red-handed!’
Susu waited patiently for a while longer.
Sure enough, she heard a faint noise from outside the hollow’s entrance.
She didn’t know what the Black Panther was doing, but she had to maintain her act.
Though she was dying of curiosity, she didn’t dare lift her head to look.
She was afraid one impulsive move would undo all her hard work and ruin the lulling effect her feigned sleep had on him.
‘Once he’s done messing around, he’ll leave for real!’
‘And that will be my moment to finally break out of this prison!’
The thought made Susu’s heart pound with excitement.
She was so focused on her act that she didn’t notice the Moonlight that had been filtering into the tree hollow was now completely blocked by something heavy.
When her surroundings finally fell silent, Susu breathed a sigh of relief.
She slowly raised her head, only to be left dumbfounded by the sight before her—
The Black Panther was gone, yes, but what was this massive boulder doing blocking the entrance to her hollow?!