Chapter 283 - The Old King
Breakfast was sumptuous.
The five gazelles were eaten clean.
The Belita sisters were also lucky to have a few pieces. They lay on the tree and ate with relish.
Chu Xiaoye felt a little strange.
If it was in the past, the cold father would definitely be very angry when he saw leopards s.n.a.t.c.hing food, even if it was his friend.
But now, the cold father seemed to be very willing to share his prey with the leopard sisters.
Chu Xiaoye"s appet.i.te grew.
Almost an entire gazelle entered his stomach, but there was no sign of it being stuffed.
He digested it very quickly, turning it into energy and trash that were stored in his body.
He felt full of farts.
However, he endured for a moment and disappeared again.
He could release it as he pleased.
Of course, now was not the time.
Everyone was full and resting in the shade.
Mei Mei was beside Maya, playing with Nunu and Qiqi with a bone with a trace of flesh.
The sounds of Pit and female warthogs could be heard from the cave beside him.
The cold father lay in the gra.s.s not far away and was closing his eyes to rest.
The other members were enjoying the morning.
Chu Xiaoye hesitated for a moment and decided to tell them about the migration in the evening when he brought them to the river to drink water.
He brought Catherine out to patrol.
At the border, he suddenly saw a group of old lions leave together and walk towards the gra.s.sland outside.
There were about a dozen lions in this group. They seemed to be from the same territory and were under the jurisdiction of mixed fur.
Chu Xiaoye was stunned for a moment before he immediately chased after her.
The leading lion soon discovered him. He hesitated for a moment and stopped, looking at him nervously and complicatedly.
The other lions also stopped and turned to look at him. Their gazes were timid, disappointed, sad, and helpless.
Chu Xiaoye came in front of them with a puzzled expression.
Was he going to run away from home and go to the gra.s.sland occupied by the black lions?
Most of these lions were old and weak. Some had their teeth fallen out, some were limping, and some had slow reactions. Their faces and bodies were covered in fresh scratches and signs of fighting.
Chu Xiaoye seemed to understand something in an instant.
The group of old lions also lowered their heads and were silent, respectful and distant.
They seemed to no longer treat themselves as members of this team, but they still maintained respect for him, a young king.
At this moment, mixed fur ran over in a hurry and came in front of Chu Xiaoye. He also had a scratch on his face.
With this lion king"s size and strength, there were no members in that team who could threaten him, let alone dare to hurt him.
Obviously, he had suffered in the mediation.
Mixed Fur looked at the elderly lions and then at Chu Xiaoye, his face filled with bitterness and helplessness.
He tried his best.
However, such a team was not like his super pride or any pride.
Any pride on the gra.s.sland would not allow an old and incompetent lion to idle and enjoy his life in his territory and pride.
In the territory managed by the mixed fur, more than 70 members of all sizes were gathered. The food they needed every time was also very astonishing.
These old lions could not hunt. Even when they went to patrol the surroundings, they were sleepy and weak. Therefore, today, the female lions finally could not help but erupt.
When the female lions worked together to catch food and prepared to enjoy it with the young cubs, this group of old lions walked over and prepared to eat.
Hence, conflict erupted.
The female lions could not tolerate it anymore, and neither could the young lions. Hence, they no longer cared about the rules and immediately bit and chased away this group of useless old lions.
With limited food, they would never allow useless members to share!
This was the rule of prides since ancient times.
Those who were old and weak should take the initiative to leave and not implicate the pride!
Furthermore, they were not family and did not come from the same pride. They were just temporarily gathered.
Therefore, they no longer had any patience!
When Mixed Fur heard the noise, he rushed over to stop it, but he could not calm the furious female lions and young male lions.
He also knew that it was against the rules to let old lions eat and drink in the team without contributing.
If this continued, they would only drag the entire team down.
Hence, these ten-over old lions were chased away by the female lions and young male lions.
They were dejected and sad. They had nowhere to go and could only walk together. They left this place and walked towards the former gra.s.sland and their former home, hoping to find a land on the vast gra.s.sland that could let them continue to live for a few more days.
Looking at this group of old lions and seeing the old and lonely expression in their eyes, Chu Xiaoye"s heart ached, but he fell silent.
Those female lions and young lions were not wrong.
On this gra.s.sland, even within the same pride, the old and useless father would be cruelly chased away by the female lions without mercy.
Only in this way could the pride continue to reproduce.
An old lion could not hunt, defeat the enemy, or protect its home. Furthermore, it needed to consume a lot of food. If the pride did not drive them away, this pride would soon be eliminated.
Chu Xiaoye had thought of this problem when he took them in back then.
He thought that after a while, the territory would expand and there would be more food. Everyone would be more united and all the problems would be resolved.
However, he did not expect the conflict to erupt so quickly.
Since this problem had already erupted in the territory controlled by Mixed Fur, the other territories should have this problem soon.
If nothing went wrong, those old lions with weak bodies and disabilities should be disliked and hated. It was only a matter of time before conflict would suddenly erupt.
Chu Xiaoye wanted to protect them, but he was powerless to help.
He could not use his authority to break the rules of the pride since ancient times, let alone force all the members to use their lives to support these old and useless lions.
If that was the case, this team that had gathered with great difficulty would soon face disintegration.
What should he do?
Seeing that he did not express anything, Mixed Fur immediately understood what he meant.
He growled at the elderly lions and bared his fangs, telling them not to dawdle and to leave quickly.
He would bear this bad reputation!
The glimmer of hope that the ten-over lions had when they saw this young king instantly extinguished.
They lowered their heads, feeling sad and desperate. They walked away slowly with heavy steps.
The morning sun shone on their bodies. Their spa.r.s.e fur and slow steps made them look even older.
However, who would remember that they were once also majestic kings who terrified their enemies? Who would remember that they had also once had their manes fluttering, killed their enemies bravely, risked their lives, protected their family, and protected their homes?
Chu Xiaoye suddenly felt a burning gaze shoot over from behind.
He turned around and saw the cold father"s dignified and complicated eyes.
The cold father looked away from him and looked at the elderly lions who lowered their heads and left slowly.
The morning wind messed up his mane and his dignified face.
He stood in place for a long time.