The little leopard saw the male leopard and seemed to be scared, opening its mouth and meowing loudly.
As expected of a feline, it knew how to meow from a young age, with a natural pinch in its voice.
Generally speaking, in the animal kingdom, male animals tend to kill cubs that they are unsure are their own.
But this Snow Leopard seemed quite certain that the cub was his; after the little Snow Leopard cried out, it didn't pounce, but it didn't walk away either—it just growled anxiously.
It looked at the little Snow Leopard in Chen Ying's arms and then at the cave above its head, seemingly unsure of what to do.
"Its mother is sick, I need to take them down for treatment. Do you understand? They need medication to be saved."
The Snow Leopard stepped back slightly, growled lowly at him again, and then leapt onto the rocks, carefully approaching the cave where the mother Snow Leopard was.
On discovering that the mother leopard was lying in the cave unresponsive, the Snow Leopard's cry became more urgent, and he hesitantly stepped further inside, emitting a rumbling growl from his throat.
The mother Snow Leopard seemed to sense the male leopard's presence, moving slightly, but ultimately was unable to open her eyes.
The Snow Leopard exited the cave, laid down, and looked down at Chen Ying from above.
"I will save it, don't worry," Chen Ying said, gently scratching the little Snow Leopard's chin with one hand, and turning his body with his other hand on the rocks, looking up at the Snow Leopard.
In his arms, the little Snow Leopard also raised its head, looking seriously at the male Snow Leopard that might be its father.
From beginning to end, the Snow Leopard didn't say a word, just firmly lay there, watching Chen Ying.
After half an hour, Mao Cuo, his eldest son, and three policemen arrived with the tools needed for the rescue.
Seeing the Snow Leopard, they hesitated a bit.
"Come quickly; we can't delay anymore. The temperature is dropping, the mother leopard has fallen into a coma, and the little leopard has been hungry for a long time."
Probably knowing that they were there, and that the human beings wouldn't dare come close, the Snow Leopard got up, walked about ten meters upward, then lay down on a rock, wrapping his front limbs around a protruding part of the rock, resting his chin on the edge of the rock, and his leopard eyes staring intently at their every move.
Mao Cuo and his son were local herdsmen accustomed to the terrain; under Chen Ying's direction, they pulled the mother Snow Leopard out of the cave, secured her between two pieces of wood, and with the two policemen waiting below, the four of them carefully moved the mother Snow Leopard down to a gentler slope.
The path ahead was much easier, and they took turns carrying the Snow Leopard down the mountain, with Chen Ying holding the little leopard at the back. Before descending the mountain, he also waved at the Snow Leopard and pointed toward Mao Cuo's house.
Mao Cuo had a small pickup truck, used for transporting tents and other items when shifting pastures; it was now perfect for helping transport the mother Snow Leopard to the nearest livestock veterinarian station.
The veterinarian there had already been notified and had prepared the necessary medicine and food.
The mother Snow Leopard had fallen ill because she was overwhelmed by the task of nurturing her cub, compounded by a severe cold from the drastic weather changes in the previous few days.
When feeding her cub, the mother leopard almost had to go out daily to find food, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to produce enough milk to nurse her cub.
Fortunately, this mother Snow Leopard had only one cub, and the rock sheep herd in the vicinity was large, making hunting not too difficult.
The veterinary station had basic examination tools; after the tests, it was determined that the mother Snow Leopard's issues were minor—a slight diarrhea—after receiving IV treatment for two days, her strength largely recovered.
The little cub hadn't been weaned yet, but it was also starting to learn to eat meat.
Chen Ying mixed some formula for it, then chopped fresh beef and mutton into fine strips to feed it.
Black Gold also had a share; the little guy competed with the little Snow Leopard in eating, greeting each other after finishing, as if comparing who ate more and whose food bowl was licked cleaner.
Black Gold's fur was thick and plush, and standing next to the little Snow Leopard, the two were about the same size.
While the mother leopard was receiving fluids over those two days, the little Snow Leopard spent the nights huddled up with Black Gold for sleep; their temporary den was a large cardboard box with some old clothes and sheets inside, and a hot water bottle with a suitable temperature underneath.
The cardboard box was placed inside Chen Ying's room, tucked into a corner at the head of the iron-framed bed against the wall.
Perhaps it was the warmth of having a little buddy, but the little Snow Leopard didn't show much stress.
It wasn't until the mother Snow Leopard awoke that it was returned to its mother's side.
It was unclear what the little Snow Leopard said to its mother, but when the mother Snow Leopard saw Black Gold, she did not attack rashly; instead, she sniffed him for a while, then licked his fur, drawing Black Gold in with a big paw, allowing him to nurse.
Black Gold was completely bewildered and struggled out of the mother Snow Leopard's embrace after a while, dashing to Chen Ying's side, hiding half of its body behind his legs, tilting its head to watch the mother Snow Leopard nursing.
Chen Ying couldn't help but laugh, placing the brought-over meat and bones into a cage, and gesturing for the mother leopard to enjoy as much as she pleased.
The mother leopard was starving, no longer caring to nurse, stood up to smell the meat and started eating voraciously.
She ate so hungrily that Chen Ying wondered if she even chewed, or just swallowed the meat whole.
The little Snow Leopard had already drunk a bottle of milk in the morning and eaten half a pound of lean meat strips, but now seeing its mother eating, it ran over to mooch.
Chen Ying used tongs to toss a small bone with meat to the little Snow Leopard.
Its mother looked up briefly, didn't say anything, but turned half around, using her body to block the food bowl.