After dinner, Yin Li said he would take the second half of the night and went to sleep in his tent.
Chen Ying took out a book to read, but after only a couple of pages, he saw Jinya darting out of the bushes with a flower in her mouth.
He touched Jinya's belly, hmm, she hadn't shortchanged herself.
"Are you planning to bring this flower back for Little Jin?"
He extended a finger to rub Jinya's cheek, took the flower, and looked at it in the firelight, drawing in a sharp breath.
He wasn't a botanist, but Yin Li was. There were plenty of plant-related books, including botanical guides, on Yin Li's desk.
In their line of work, it was necessary to have some knowledge of the flora and fauna of the mountains they worked in; otherwise, it was all too easy to inadvertently break the law.
If he wasn't mistaken, this flower seemed to have quite a significant origin.
He had been wondering what to discuss with his fans recently, and Jinya had just solved this problem for him with one bite.
To capture the most beautiful imagery, early the next morning, Chen Ying bribed Jinya with treats to lead him to the spot where she found the little flower.
The place wasn't far, it was just that the path was somewhat difficult to navigate.
But after overcoming the rough section of the path, the beauty of the hillside behind them stunned him.
He took out his camera, lay down, aimed at the target, click.
(All-margin Leaf Green Feltwort)
He hadn't expected that in September, the high-altitude Streamstone Beach would still be covered with so many blooming Green Rhododendrons.
After taking over a dozen pictures of the Green Rhododendrons non-stop, Chen Ying slowly exhaled, ready to go back and share with Yin Li.
He rushed back excitedly to where the rocks were split, but before he could say anything, Yin Li gestured to him to be quiet.
Following Yin Li's gaze, Chen Ying's pupils shook dramatically.
A Green-tailed Rainbow Pheasant stood on the rocks opposite them, its gaze profound as it looked forward.
It was early morning, and the sun hadn't risen over the mountaintop yet, but a touch of golden light was already spilling across the peaks.
Below their feet were imposing mountains; above them, a sky of azure blue. The bird seemed like an elf, a part of the very portrait of heaven and earth.
Both men watched in silence, waiting until the Rainbow Pheasant had left before they finally exhaled the breath they had been holding for a long while.
"Do you think Old Gao will vomit himself to death if we send him this picture?" Yin Li was in the mood for some mischief.
Chen Ying said uncertainly, "Probably not, I think. He's been watching the mountains for a long time, and the Green-tailed Rainbow Pheasant is his research subject; he's probably seen enough of it that he doesn't want to see it anymore."
"Then let's wait until we get down the mountain to show him."
After packing up their gear, they continued walking along the edge of Streamstone Beach, heading upward. A few hundred meters ahead was the snowline.
Above Streamstone Beach was an exposed mountain ridge where they had previously installed infrared remote sensing cameras.
Yin Li sat down to rest and pulled out his phone to check the camera distribution records.
Seven or eight points were around their area, with the highest at about 4,500 meters above sea level, and the lowest near the treeline below Streamstone Beach.
This trip up, Yin Li also had the task of retrieving images and checking the cameras for any damage as well as replacing the batteries.
They found the closest camera.
It was fixed under a rock, about thirty centimeters above the ground, nearly at the same height as a small animal's head.
This camera hadn't captured any rare animals, mostly just pika and mouse hare activity, along with some birds.
Continuing upwards and turning over four or five cameras later, they finally found their target.
Surprisingly, in addition to the Snow Leopard, they also captured the traces of a Flower Leopard.
Moreover, the Flower Leopard looked very large and strong, and it even dug a hole in front of the camera to mark its territory.
After making the mark here, the two continued upward.
They didn't walk too far when they saw Jinya running towards them.
"Aw, why did you guys take so long to come up? My brother and I have been waiting for a while."
Not far behind it, the long-missed Mr. Lepus came strolling over with a leisurely gait.
The little lynx had grown up now, with a beautiful coat of fur, but in Chen Ying's eyes, it wasn't as pretty as Jinya.
It was a bit timid and didn't approach Chen Ying, lying down about ten meters away.
Mr. Lepus came over to rub against Chen Ying's leg, then sat down with an expression that looked like a smile, filled with the joy of meeting an old friend.
"Jinya told me you're looking for a Snow Leopard?"
Mr. Lepus tilted his head towards a higher spot.
"There's a male one here, very strong; I've fought it before. It's been quite irritable recently, seems like it's because it was rejected by a female leopard."
There was a hint of schadenfreude in Mr. Lepus's voice.
"It's an irresponsible father; the female leopards who bore its offspring in the past don't like it. But it is indeed powerful, and the mothers endure it for the sake of having strong offspring. However, that young female leopard firmly rejected it, probably preferring a younger male leopard."
Mr. Lepus looked back at the little lynx with a smile in his eyes.
"Next year, it and I can have our own babies; its territory lies within mine. It overlaps a bit with Jinya's territory."
Speaking of Jinya, Mr. Lepus's smile faded.
"Now, you have to tell me, how did Jinya end up with that ugly thing? There's no way they can have kittens!"
For wild animals, breeding is instinctual.
Trans-species love is worthless in the face of offspring.
Jinya, who had been eavesdropping on the gossip, saw the conversation turning towards her, retreated bashfully next to the little lynx, using it as a shield to avoid Mr. Lepus's murderous glare despite being not yet as large.
Yin Li was fiddling with the camera battery nearby, occasionally glancing at Chen Ying, who was sitting properly and engaging in back-and-forth communication with Mr. Lepus.
Maybe his friend really had a unique ability to communicate with wild animals without barriers. Anyway, he couldn't understand a word of what Mr. Lepus was saying.
At best, he could vaguely perceive the emotions in its voice, such as happiness or anger.
Now, Mr. Lepus was clearly very angry, and it looked quite serious.
"Um, is it possible that Jinya and Little Jin are just friends? Jinya is still young; give it some time to grow and maybe it'll come to its senses."
Chen Ying's back was drenched in sweat out of fear.
It had to be said that Mr. Lepus, when showing its imposing side, was truly intimidating.
"Hmph, sisters don't listen to brothers. If it keeps mingling with that ugly creature, it will regret it sooner or later."
Though it seemed angry, Mr. Lepus was just venting; it wouldn't really take action. No matter how naughty it was, that was still its own little sister—to be cherished, what else could it do?
While they were talking, Mr. Lepus looked sharply upward.
A thought flashed through Chen Ying's mind as he looked up too.
Sure enough, a Snow Leopard, barely visible on the rocks a few dozen meters away, stood watching them.
As Chen Ying and Yin Li were on alert, the Snow Leopard turned and leaped away, disappearing behind the rocks.
"This fellow probably didn't get its way; otherwise, it wouldn't have that expression."
The old saying is never wrong; your best understanding comes from your opponent.
In this area, the lynx and the Snow Leopard were competitors, and they understood each other well.
"By the way, we saw on the camera before that there was a Flower Leopard around here?"
If they were to map out the area, their current location was likely at the intersection of the territories of Mr. Lepus, the deadbeat Snow Leopard, and the mysterious Flower Leopard—the three big predators.
When that Flower Leopard was mentioned, Mr. Lepus gave Chen Ying a peculiar look, as if he had more to say but chose to hold back.