A blood draw?

’Are they going to give the mother clouded leopard a physical exam?’

Yang Qi thought for a moment. Not wanting to overpromise, he answered cautiously, "Director Cheng, well... the mother clouded leopard might not be willing to cooperate. I can only say I’ll do my best to try."

"Just do your best."

Cheng Xiaoou smiled at his words. She hadn’t been expecting a 100% guarantee anyway. "Come on, while we have time, I’ll teach you how to safely draw blood from large felines. There are specific locations and techniques, especially for an animal the size of a clouded leopard."

With that, she got up and walked toward the adjacent examination room. Yang Qi nodded to Huang Zhongmu, Jiang Kai, and the others before following her.

Under Cheng Xiaoou’s careful guidance, Yang Qi learned how to find a suitable location for the blood draw—usually the saphenous vein on the hind leg—and how to insert the needle quickly and accurately.

He then practiced a few times on a specialized training dummy to ensure his technique was steady.

Before leaving, Yang Qi packed two sterile syringes and some disinfectant supplies.

...

「The sky gradually brightened as a pale white glow appeared in the east.」

In the isolation and observation room, the Little Clouded Leopard was awake. After a night of rest and with the medicine taking effect, it had recovered quite well. Although still a bit weak, it could already walk on its own.

Upon seeing Yang Qi walk in, it immediately scampered over on its short legs—PITTER-PATTER—and affectionately rubbed against his pant leg, letting out a soft "meow."

[Tasty treat]

’It wants more Vitality Nutrient Cream?’

’No can do. There isn’t much of this stuff left. I have to save it for a life-or-death situation.’

Yang Qi pretended not to understand what it meant and went to prepare a meat paste specially formulated for cubs, along with some special milk powder.

The Little Clouded Leopard sniffed at it, seemingly a bit disdainful, and flicked its tail unhappily. But it couldn’t fight its hunger, and eventually started lapping it up.

Once it finished eating, Yang Qi carefully picked it up and placed it in a special breathable backpack lined with soft cloth, which he then slung onto his back.

At the Zoo entrance leading to the back mountain, Huang Zhongmu, Zhao Dalong, Cheng Xiaoou, and Tang Ji had all come to see him off.

"Xiao Yang, you must be careful," Huang Zhongmu advised solemnly.

"If anything happens, don’t try to be a hero. Call me immediately!" Zhao Dalong said in a deep voice.

"That’s right, your safety is the most important thing." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Cheng Xiaoou added, "And don’t worry if you can’t get the blood sample. It’s okay."

Tang Ji opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn’t say anything. He just stared at Yang Qi’s backpack with a complicated expression.

"Understood. Don’t worry, everyone."

Yang Qi nodded.

’I know the best outcome is probably for the Little Clouded Leopard to be hand-reared at the Zoo, while the mother stays here in the relatively safe environment of the back mountain.’

’That would ensure the cub’s survival and help it retain a degree of its wild nature, while also preventing the mother from resorting to extreme behavior due to losing her cub.’

"Director, Director Cheng, Chief Zhao, Professor Tang... I’m heading in."

Yang Qi addressed each of them in turn, then delayed no longer. With the Little Clouded Leopard on his back, he turned and strode quickly into the fog-shrouded forest of the back mountain.

Watching Yang Qi’s figure disappear around a bend in the winding mountain path, Huang Zhongmu stroked his chin and said thoughtfully,

"If the mother leopard is really willing to stay on the back mountain, we need to report this to the higher-ups as soon as possible and apply for special management rights. At the very least, we’ll need to block off the main paths and put up warning signs."

"Lao Huang, aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself?"

Tang Ji couldn’t help but ask, "What if Xiao Yang doesn’t succeed? Or what if the mother leopard isn’t willing to let the cub come back?"

"I trust him." Huang Zhongmu glanced at Tang Ji, the corners of his mouth twitching upward almost imperceptibly.

"..." Tang Ji was speechless. He just shook his head and said no more.

...

Deep in the mountain forest, Yang Qi moved with light steps. After crossing the first peak, he found a relatively flat, open area. He opened his backpack, let the Little Clouded Leopard out, and continued walking with it back in his arms.

As soon as the Little Clouded Leopard was out, it excitedly twitched its little nose, sniffing the scent of the forest in the air and letting out an increasingly loud "meow."

Its calls would serve as a guide, enough to attract the mother leopard’s attention.

Yang Qi held the Little Clouded Leopard, his Spirit Crane Body Technique activating under his feet as he moved without slowing down.

Sure enough, he hadn’t walked for long when the canopy of a large tree up ahead began to shake. A nimble, ghostly figure of intermingled gold and black flitted across the branches, landing lightly on the ground. It came to a stop just a few meters in front of Yang Qi, blocking his path.

It was the mother clouded leopard.

"Your little one is fine now. It’s recovered very well."

Yang Qi stopped, a smile on his face. He bent down and gently placed the Little Clouded Leopard he was holding on the ground.

"Meow~!"

The moment the Little Clouded Leopard saw its mother, it cried out excitedly and stumbled toward her, forcefully rubbing its little head against her leg.

"GROWL~"

The mother clouded leopard lowered her head, a low growl rumbling in her throat.

[Thank you]

She lifted her head, and when her vertical pupils looked at Yang Qi, they were filled with human-like gratitude.

Then, she carefully licked the cub’s head and back over and over, checking its condition.

"You’re welcome."

Yang Qi stood where he was, smiling as he quietly watched the heartwarming scene of mother and child reuniting.

After licking her cub for a while and confirming that it was truly safe and sound, the mother leopard did something that took Yang Qi by surprise.

She gently pushed the cub with her nose, nudging it toward Yang Qi. At the same time, she looked up at him and let out another low growl, this one with a complex meaning.

[Can it continue to follow you?]

’Let the cub continue to follow me?’

Yang Qi was surprised at first, but then he understood.

The mother leopard knew that her cub, having been cared for by humans and just recovered from a serious illness, would have a hard time surviving alone in the perilous wilderness.

And with the increased intelligence from the Spirit Awakening Technique, she understood even more clearly that letting her cub stay with Yang Qi—a human she trusted and who was capable of protecting it—was its best chance for survival.

This actually saved Yang Qi the trouble of having to persuade her.

"No problem!"

Yang Qi nodded, his tone firm. "Don’t worry, I will take good care of it and make sure it grows up healthy."

"GROWL~"

[Thank you]

A look of relief and deep gratitude filled the mother leopard’s eyes. She let out another low growl.

[I will provide you with food]

"You don’t have to worry about food. We have plenty at the Zoo."

Yang Qi smiled and waved his hand. Then, rubbing his fingers together, he asked a bit sheepishly, "But... could you do me a small favor and give me a little bit of your blood? We want to do some research."

A trace of confusion appeared in the mother leopard’s eyes; she clearly didn’t understand.

"Here, watch."

Yang Qi took out the blood-drawing equipment and, in front of the mother leopard, demonstrated on his own arm first.

He used the syringe to draw a tiny bit of blood, showing it to the mother leopard to indicate that although the device looked a little scary, it wouldn’t cause much harm.

Then he took out a new, sterile syringe and pointed to the mother leopard’s hind leg.

The mother leopard looked at the small red dot on Yang Qi’s arm, then at the shiny "little tube" in his hand. She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately, trust won out over her instinctual unease. She slowly nodded and let out a low growl.

[Okay]

"That’s great." A smile blossomed on Yang Qi’s face.

He immediately approached her slowly. Although the mother leopard’s body tensed slightly, she remained cooperative, merely watching Yang Qi’s movements with curious and slightly nervous eyes.

Yang Qi’s movements were swift and precise. He found the vein, disinfected the area, inserted the needle, and drew half a vial of crimson blood. Then he quickly withdrew the needle and pressed a cotton ball against the puncture site.

The entire process was fast and steady.

He then carefully stored the blood sample away.

[Task Complete]