The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. He returned with plenty of prey.
Chu Xiaoye never would have thought that he would encounter the mother and daughter pair of leopards twice when he went out. Furthermore, he had snatched their prey twice.
No.
How could this be called snatching?
This was clearly because the little leopard was too stupid to catch it, and he had relied on his agile skills and graceful positioning to catch it!
This was the symbol of strength!
The night was very quiet.
Chu Xiaoye carried the deer and quietly returned to the camp of the lions.
The lion was still sleeping in the grass not far away.
He carefully picked up the prey and climbed up the tree, not daring to make too much noise.
If the lion found out, the prey would definitely be snatched away.
The big one snatches from the small one. This was true snatching. He could not resist at all.
Although the deer was small, it was quite heavy.
However, he had become much stronger now. Holding the deer in his mouth, he climbed up the tree. His legs did not feel like jelly, and he was not panting. He could still go up to the fifth floor in one breath.
He placed the deer on a wide and strong branch and started to pluck its fur to eat.
He was so hungry.
The sleeping Mei Mei moved her nose and opened her eyes. Then, she jumped up and quickly came over while shaking her butt, rubbing against his body affectionately with a fawning expression.
"Go ahead and eat."
Chu Xiaoye made way.
He could not finish a whole deer anyway, and it was enough for the three of them.
As for Little Curly Tail, he would eat when he woke up. So he did not call him.
He did not want to make a noise and wake the lion up.
However, Mei Mei eagerly ran to Little Curly Tail's side and reached out with her claws to pat his head.
It seemed like the little lioness did not mind that Little Curly Tail always bullied her in the past.
Or perhaps, she knew that in Chu Xiaoye's heart, she could not compare to him, his younger brother.
This was also very obvious fawning.
Little Curly Tail was woken up by her slap. Just as he was about to flare up, he suddenly smelled the sweet scent of blood. His sleepiness immediately vanished. He hurriedly got up, rushed to the prey, and started wolfing it down.
His mother's milk had become very little.
Over the past few days, the female lions did not catch any prey.
He was hungry.
Mei Mei came over and lay beside Chu Xiaoye, eating elegantly.
"Brother is impressive!"
Little Curly Tail and Mei Mei looked up at Chu Xiaoye as they ate, their eyes filled with happiness and admiration.
Soon, only the deer's neck, head, and half of its thigh were left.
The most delicious parts of prey were naturally their internal organs.
However, Chu Xiaoye did not eat any internal organs and only ate two legs and half of its ribs.
Little Curly Tail wolfed down all the internal organs.
Just as this kid was about to eat the remaining half of the thigh, Chu Xiaoye slapped him away.
When Mei Mei was about to bite the deer's neck, he slapped her away as well.
The two little fellows looked at him aggrievedly.
They were not full yet.
Chu Xiaoye looked at their round stomachs and ignored them. He bit the remaining neck and head and climbed down the tree. He looked warily at the lion not far away and quietly walked to Lars and Gigi's side, placing the food in front of them.
At this moment, there was a sudden noise behind him!
He jumped in fright, thinking that the lion had woken up and was coming over while concealing himself!
He turned around and saw that it was Mei Mei.
The little lioness bit the remaining half of her thigh and followed behind him. She came to Lars and Gigi's side and placed the food in front of them.
She rubbed against Chu Xiaoye's body in a fawning manner, narrowed her amber eyes, and seemed to be saying, "Brother, is Meimei smart? I knew that you were going to give the remaining food to Brother and Sister Gigi."
Chu Xiaoye was instantly speechless.
He planned to hang that half of the thigh on the canopy to dry. He would eat it the next time he was hungry!
Forget it. Since she had taken it down, he would let them eat it.
Lars was already more than a year old. This little flesh was not enough for him to eat.
Chu Xiaoye sighed and reached out with his claws to slap Lars and Gigi awake. He pointed at the food in front of them and then at the lion not far away, hoping that they would make less noise and not wake up their greedy and cold father.
While Lars and Gigi were in a daze, Chu Xiaoye had already left with Mei Mei and climbed up the tree.
They must have thought that they were dreaming.
Soon, Lars and Gigi wolfed down the food and even started biting and snatching it.
After all, there was very little food and it was only enough for one of them.
Lars was more than a year old and was the oldest among the cubs. He was also a lion, so he was naturally much stronger than Gigi. With a few slashes, Gigi crawled on the ground and cried out in grievance and anger.
The lion was woken up.
Just as Lars was proudly chewing on the half of the deer's thigh, a strong and huge claw suddenly slapped him and he fell to the ground with a bang. He was dizzy and could not get up for a long time.
The lion roared angrily and snatched the remaining half of the deer thigh and the remaining portion of deer head away with one bite and left to enjoy it alone.
Gigi shivered in fear and did not dare to say another word.
Lars lay on the ground, panting. His gaze as he looked at the lion was filled with hatred and anger.
Perhaps the seed of hatred was buried at this moment.
When he grew up, it would take root and germinate!
When he became stronger, his father would grow older and weaker.
At that time, the new king would replace the old king!
Chu Xiaoye stood on the tree and watched as the father and son fought for food. He also thought of what Lars was thinking.
However, he also thought of something Lars did not expect.
When the young male lions of the pride grow up, they might be chased away by the lion king at the age of two or three!
At that time, the young lion would become a wandering lion, homeless, and lonely.
He would have no home, no food, no territory, and would be bullied by all sorts of social animals and other lions. He could lose his life at any moment.
A lion that left a pride would have a very low survival rate.
Chu Xiaoye thought of the future of Lars and himself and Little Curly Tail. Hence, he had to become stronger while he still had the time to.
Even if he was chased out of the pride and wandered around, he could hunt, fight, and live on his own!
Lars thought too simply.
No lion would foolishly wait for their cubs to grow up under the protection of a pride and then snatch their throne.
Their father especially, would never do so.
On the distant horizon, the five female lions returned exhausted, bathing in the bright moonlight.
Their mouths were empty, and they returned empty-handed again.
The lion finished eating the deer's remaining flesh and stood up, looking at the distant grassland with a cold and deep gaze.
The night wind blew.
The heat in the air grew stronger.
It seemed like it was time to make a decision.