It was a leopard cat!
After A-Guang blurted it out, the others recognized it too. House cats had tiger stripes, while leopard cats had leopard spots. Leopard cats looked much like house cats, but a close look at their markings could tell them apart.
A-Guang was fairly experienced. He had spent plenty of time roaming the hills as a child and occasionally seen them. After catching that glimpse just now, he took a closer look at its markings and confirmed it was a leopard cat.
Long ago, the Production Team had caught one too, but these leopard cats were agile and vicious. They were hard to catch without traps.
"What's a leopard cat doing here? And why isn't it moving?"
"Yeah, why does it keep crying here?"
"Heh, is it hurt? Is that why it's staying there without moving? We've been shining a flashlight on it, but it hasn't budged or run away."
"Does this mean our Dragon-and-Phoenix Soup can get upgraded to Dragon-Tiger-and-Phoenix Soup?!"
They all licked their lower lips and nodded. That sounded good. What a nourishing feast!
"Never mind Dragon-Tiger-and-Phoenix Soup for now. Let's get closer and have a look. Who knows if it'll just run away?"
"Right, let's get closer first. Keep your footsteps light. This isn't like a house cat, you know? It's pretty vicious. It'll bite."
The four crept over one after another, making as little noise as possible. The leopard cat stayed there meowing without moving. From its cries alone, they really would have thought it was an ordinary cat.
Little did they know, this would also become a Class II protected animal in the future. A real ticket to prison!
Still, that was in the future and had nothing to do with them now. In later years, even catching too many of