Every so often, the Wanderer looked back to make sure Famu was still following.
But each time, he found Famu trailing him at a steady distance. The great black serpent was like a mass of shadow, his eyes reflecting white light in the dark forest. Tracks left by the great python covered the dead leaves and muddy ground.
The Wanderer moved quickly. Though not yet fully grown, he was one of the finest young leopards of his age, and could run as fast as an adult. Even so, he had no confidence at all that he could shake off the Typhon behind him.
That terrified him.
If a Typhon could chase down a Nightmare Leopard on land, then no Nightmare Leopard could escape a Typhon's shadow.
It was hard to imagine a serpent of such size moving so nimbly on land.
The Wanderer was afraid. Famu, meanwhile, was simply observing the jungle. They were some distance from the swamp now, and Famu generally didn't come this way. Trees grew thickly here, and towering Sa Mei Su Mu trees blocked out almost all the sunlight. Hot, damp mist hung everywhere.
The terrain was also difficult to traverse.
A serpent as enormous as a Typhon would encounter plenty of obstacles, such as fallen giant trees, large rocks blocking the way, and overly dense thickets.
Fortunately, Typhons were immensely powerful. On land, they could snap the trunks of ancient trees with brute force alone.
When he came to a place he couldn't get through, he simply smashed his way past. That was what Famu did.
But whenever Famu smashed through deadwood, thickets, or the like, the little fellow leading the way would look back, his shoulders jerking up. He was clearly startled.
After slithering farther into the forest, Famu became certain that other Nightmare Leopards were here.
His eyes could see no trace of these ghosts, but his tongue brought back information from the air. Famu picked up the pungent smell of large feline urine, and judging by its strength, there was more than one.
The Wanderer, driven out by his clan, was now leading a monster he couldn't control back to attack his old den.
A classic tale of a prodigal's revenge, Famu thought.
He was more than happy to play the executioner in this drama. If he could hunt down an entire community of Nightmare Leopards, he would enter a terrifying growth period. As for whether encountering the Nightmare Leopard Pack on land might be dangerous, that had never crossed Famu's mind. All he had ever wondered was what he would do if the Nightmare Leopards ran away and he couldn't catch them.
The outline of a plateau loomed in and out of sight ahead through the dense forest.
Famu looked ahead.
Four Nightmare Leopards stood on the rolling, layered karst plateau, all of them females. A few prey skeletons lay scattered across it, and a giant sloth with its features mangled beyond recognition rested on a rock, a circle of Nightmare Leopard cubs nuzzling at its belly.
With just a distant glance, Famu could see how remarkably social the Nightmare Leopards were. The females raised the cubs as a group, while the males went out hunting, and there was no sign of any males near the den now. But to Famu's surprise, several Nightmare Leopard corpses also lay on the plateau. They were sprawled on the ground, and at first Famu thought they were resting males, but he soon realized they were only corpses. Their scent was very close to the Wanderer's; they were probably his siblings.
The Wanderer stopped up ahead, in a patch of shadow where sunlight could not reach and the stench of decay had taken deep root.
He stared blankly at the Nightmare Leopard corpses on the plateau.
Going any farther would bring them within the females' detection range. These females were the proud queens of the rainforest, toying with all living things since reaching adulthood. Their ghostlike forms let them seek out other large predators to sharpen their claws and fangs against, then withdraw unscathed.
The Wanderer had once belonged here, so he knew the place well. Even his choice of timing was perfect: there were only females and cubs here.
Famu understood what he meant. A den with only females and cubs was vulnerable to a Typhon.
The Wanderer looked back. He knew just how perfect this moment was. Without the males, the den wouldn't stand a chance against this monster.
This Typhon had appeared a year ago and had steadily expanded his territory. The Wanderer knew the Typhon would never pass up any food.
Famu, however, ignored the Wanderer's signal. His head, covered in black iron scales, turned away, his enormous body undulating behind it. Keeping low against the mud, he slowly slithered toward a muddy pool not far from the den.
It was a murky pond formed by rainwater runoff. It wasn't large, but a thick layer of blackish-gray silt had settled at the bottom, enough to help Famu conceal his body.
The water and coating of mud could mask a Typhon's scent. These ancient serpents were born to hunt in water.
The Wanderer silently watched the black monster disappear into the pool. He plainly couldn't understand Famu's tactics. As he saw it, there was no better opportunity than this.
There were cubs in the den, and the females would find it hard to abandon them and flee at once. Nightmare Leopards rarely had experience fighting Typhons, especially on land.
Land was the Nightmare Leopards' comfort zone. They always believed they could escape the claws and fangs of any enemy, and that confidence would lead the females to misjudge the situation and think they could surround and kill this Typhon. But the Wanderer, who had seen how terrifying Famu was, knew that such a decision would send the females to their deaths.
Without the males' help, all the females would be killed by the Typhon. This Typhon was so hungry that he wouldn't give up such a feast.
But the wind suddenly began to shift, and he put aside all his unwillingness.
The males had returned from their hunt.
The wind was filled with the smell of blood and an oppressive presence. The Wanderer knew exactly who those scents belonged to, and knew even better that, if he were exposed, the males in their highly excited state would tear him to pieces without mercy. He crouched low, circled around the muddy pool, and vanished into the shadows deep within the forest.
Beneath the pond's muck, mud covered Famu's scales and rotting leaves and branches floated on his back. The Typhon's massive body resembled a length of deadwood sunk deep into a swamp.
Waiting was a habit for Famu; ambush was a language carved into his blood.
He lay submerged in the pool, sensing what was happening outside through the faint vibrations in the water's surface.
The rainforest was changing.
Six male leopards passed through the dense forest. The group made no effort to conceal themselves; they were the sharpest blades in the rainforest, and had no need to hide.
At the front of the group, their leader held his body low, the muscles of his shoulders and back rising and falling with each step. His coat was the noble black-purple of a Nightmare Leopard, and he was a full size larger than the guards beside him. His entire body radiated a savage, death-defying ferocity like that of a wild bull.
He carried a Sa Mei Longhorned Tough Boar weighing half a ton in his jaws. It was a large omnivore that lived in open areas, with thick, horny skin like scales of armor. Standing nearly a meter and a half at the shoulder, it was a woodland monster with long fangs and tough hide and flesh.
But now its throat had been torn open, its vicious head hung limply, and its four limbs dragged along the ground, leaving a long trail of blood.
This was the glory of the Nightmare Leopards.
These warriors were not responsible for caring for the cubs. Their duty was to prove that their family possessed the power to make all things fear them.
The Nightmare Leopards strode proudly through the mud, passing the edge of the pond with their heads held high.
The leader stopped.
He lowered his head, his nostrils twitching slightly.
Famu sank deeper into the muddy pool.
The male leader stared at the pond. There was only murky water and rotting fallen leaves. He couldn't see anything more; Black Typhon's scales were covered in silt.
At last, he looked away.
And deep in the mud, less than two meters from him, a pair of white eyes watched him.
Famu observed the Nightmare Leopard leader, admiring him. Compared with the inexperienced Wanderer, the leader truly showed Famu why they were called the ghosts of the rainforest. When his purple-black fur moved, he looked like a menacing specter that had suddenly burst from the ground. His strength matched his size, enough to hold a half-ton wild boar fast.
The Nightmare Leopard Pack disappeared into the forest.
Night fell as expected, and the cries of countless birds and insects filled the air with noise.
It was not until late at night that Famu raised his head.
A faint ripple had spread across the surface of the pond above him.
The darkness came into focus, and two flames appeared in Famu's field of vision.
A male leopard and his mate had left the plateau and strolled over to drink at the pond. They nestled against each other, making gentle purring sounds in their throats as their rough tongues tenderly licked the blood still clinging to the fur on each other's necks.
Famu suddenly understood why the Wanderer had come back.
He was probably trying to reclaim something. Such a beautiful scene had once been his, too.
Unfortunately, the rainforest never remembered who had once possessed what.
There was no past here, only the scent left behind by the victor.
The Wanderer's revenge had nothing to do with Famu's goal. Famu was not hunting the females and cubs; he had his sights set on these strong males.
These males could provide more nourishment.
Famu slowly rose from the muddy pool.
Muddy water slid down his black scales.
The sound of the water caught the two Nightmare Leopards' attention, and they looked over in puzzlement.
Then a warning from their genes roared, and a chill from deep in their bones spread through their bodies.
They saw the black shadow rising from the water.
It was a monster clad in iron scales.