Chapter 832: Forced to Give Up

Unfortunately, under such shitty shooting conditions, Wang An truly had no confidence that he could take this leopard down with a single shot.

Thus, after waiting for a long while, neither Wang An nor the leopard moved an inch.

As for the dogs, they continued to let out confused "wu wu wu" cries.

To be honest, the dogs' performance was actually quite impressive.

After all, no matter how you compared them, dogs were simply inferior to leopards.

Therefore, it was only natural that the leopard could remain undetected by the dogs.

The longer he waited, the more Wang An felt something was off.

The ground was clearly littered with wild boar carcasses, yet after so much time had passed, the leopard remained unmoved. This was a bit too strange.

What was strangest of all was that the leopard's tail hadn't twitched once.

While leopards did have excellent endurance, this one's endurance was a bit too good, wasn't it?

Holy shit, this thing was practically a statue!

Finally, Wang An couldn't take it anymore; he didn't want to wait for the leopard to reveal a flaw before firing.

Mainly, staying prone with his head raised and remaining motionless for so long was becoming genuinely uncomfortable.

Consequently, Wang An decisively pulled the trigger.

Following a loud "bang," Wang An clearly saw that the bullet hit the leopard, but because of the obstructing branches, the shot had ultimately gone wide.

Furthermore, because the leopard's speed was so incredible, Wang An couldn't tell exactly where the bullet had struck the animal's body.

Hearing the gunshot, the dogs all sprang up and instinctively rushed toward the leopard's position.

Then, the leopard leaped directly down from the tree, ignoring the boar carcasses on the ground, and bolted straight into the distant deep mountains.

In the rush, Wang An fired two more shots based on instinct, but he had no idea where the bullets landed. In a blur, the leopard vanished completely from sight.

He had to admit, the leopard's speed was fucking fast—truly too fast.

Even with Wang An's currently invincible marksmanship, hitting it while it was sprinting was an extremely difficult task.

Of course, the reason it was so difficult was also due to the distance and the obstruction of branches and leaves; otherwise, Wang An would have had the confidence to take it down.

Looking at the large tree where the leopard had disappeared, Wang An finally climbed up from the ground and strolled leisurely toward the tree.

Before he could reach it, the pack of dogs led by Da Hei returned empty-handed.

Likely because they failed to catch the leopard and had lost its trail.

Da Hei and Xiao Hei seemed genuinely unhappy; as they approached Wang An, they began to whimper and whine, as if seeking comfort from him.

Who would have thought these dogs actually knew what self-esteem was?

Seeing this, Wang An vigorously rubbed Da Hei and Xiao Hei's heads and comforted them with a chuckle

"What's wrong? Feeling wronged? Hahaha, it's alright. You guys were already awesome. That wild leopard isn't something you can handle on your own; it's not your fault, hahahaha!"

Unexpectedly, Wang An's words provoked dissatisfaction from Da Hei and Xiao Hei, who began barking at him in an unusual tone.

This wasn't the kind of barking used to show off strength; it sounded more like they were rebutting something.

Wang An was a bit bewildered at first, as he truly didn't understand dog language.

However, he soon remembered that once, the pack led by Da Hei had actually gone head-to-head with a leopard.

Although the dogs had all been injured to some extent that time, and four of the spotted dogs had been so scared they pissed themselves.

But it had to be admitted that those dogs had successfully captured the leopard—or more accurately, they had pinned it down tightly.

Thinking of this, Wang An couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't expected these dogs to remember their own past glory; how rare!

Thus, Wang An squatted down, pulled Da Hei and Xiao Hei into his arms simultaneously, and continued to comfort them

"It's okay. This one just happened to be fast. Otherwise, it would've been taken down by you guys just like that last wild leopard, hahaha... Alright, don't be angry. We'll get him next time."

As he spoke, Wang An rubbed the two dogs again.

Under Wang An's continuous soothing, the emotions of these two highly sentient dogs finally stabilized.

In terms of intelligence, Da Hei was essentially no different from a six or seven-year-old human child.

As for Xiao Hei's intelligence, he was likely around that of a three or four-year-old.

The reason he said "likely" was because Wang An felt that Xiao Hei's current behavior was entirely an imitation of Da Hei.

Of course, this was just Wang An's guess.

Regardless, they were able to understand Wang An's scoldings and praises.

Therefore, to them, Wang An as their master was like a parent, capable of providing a great deal of mental encouragement and comfort.

After comforting the two, Wang An patted the heads of the other dogs, saying a few comforting words regardless of whether they understood.

Although they were just supporting dogs, they were very, very important in Wang An's heart.

After petting all the dogs, Wang An continued toward the large tree.

Upon observation, Wang An spotted a few drops of fresh blood in the grass beneath the tree.

Barring any special circumstances, these drops were definitely left by the leopard, proving that Wang An's shot had indeed hit.

However, based on the bloodstains, he couldn't determine where the leopard had been hit.

Wang An walked a few more steps in the direction the leopard had fled, only to find that even the bloodstains had vanished.

Clearly, the leopard's injury was not severe.

Consequently, Wang An abandoned the idea of continuing the pursuit.

If the leopard had lost a lot of blood or been seriously injured, Wang An would have definitely pursued it, as leopard fur is different from other animals.

The reason leopard fur is valuable is primarily due to its name and symbolic meaning—the "Money Leopard."

In terms of actual wearable value, it was actually inferior to lynx fur, and even worse when compared to sable.

Regardless, in this season of dense foliage, Wang An had to give up on this walking "ten-thousand-yuan" prize.

Mainly, when dealing with such a ferocious beast that was extremely skilled at hiding, Wang An didn't have the slightest bit of certainty.

Thanks to "Big Account Empire Emperor" for the tip, thank you, thank you! Wishing Big Brother great luck and great wealth in the Year of the Snake!

(End of Chapter)