Chapter 1276: The Unlucky Manul
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Eventually, Jonas Malone pa.s.sed out because of shock again.
Luo Qun dropped the dagger and fell into Li Du’s arms crying.
Li Du looked at Steve and said, “Help me send this b.a.s.t.a.r.d back to America. Rose will have to go back too, and then we can go to explore the Arctic.”
Steve said energetically, “Okay, leave it to me!”
The most important thing was finally accomplished, and Li Du had settled one of his worries. Helping Luo Qun catch the killer of her parents and brother was more important than looking for ivory.
He was lucky, of course, to do both things together, using the tusks from the mammoth graveyard he found to get information on Jonas Malone, whom he was finally able to capture.
The next thing coming up was not under his control. Steve would take charge. With his connections, he could find a way to send Jonas Malone and Luo Qun safely back to the United States.
Luo Qun refused to go back, however. She said, “You have helped me catch the murderer, and I have to help you in the Arctic. Whatever you need me to do, you can count on me.”
Li Du patted her on the shoulder and said, “You go back home. We are going to the Arctic to look for meteorites. This is the work of professionals, you would not be able to help much. ”
“I can learn. I’m smart enough to be a professional.”
Li Du shook his hand and said impatiently, “Don’t be stubborn. This is men’s work, how could you help us?”
Luo Qun turned to Sophie and said, “Give me your thrush pencil.”
Holding a thrush pencil, she drew a mustache on her upper lip and whiskers on her chin. Then she said to Li Du, “Tell me about the man stuff.”
Li Du laughed. After catching Jonas Malone, Luo Qun changed a lot. She was now willing to laugh.
Shaking his head, he said, “We are just looking for some rocks. You’d better go back. It would be useless for you to follow.”
Sophie added, “Go home first, Luo Qun. You have other things to do. There’s a b.a.s.t.a.r.d named little John Victor, waiting for you to catch him.”
Luo Qun was stubborn, but Sophie’s argument was undeniable.
Her road to revenge has not over. Yes, there was still a murderer waiting for her, and she did not know who stood behind the a.s.sa.s.sination, which would require further investigation.
After much ado, Li Du was finally able to send Luo Qun home.
Li Du didn’t rush to head to the Arctic, which was still cold in April. He had not expected to catch Jonas Malone so soon. He had thought they would need two to three months to finish this job.
He had the rest of his time to look for ivory. Of the five places on the map, he found only one. Judging by the first place where they found the mammoth bones, the five treasure troves would make them billions of dollars of fortune.
Leaving Krasnoyarsk, they continued north to the central Siberian plateau, where the other four mammoth tombs were supposed to be hidden.
They have been on the road for five hours when, in the afternoon, a cry for help came from a car behind them. “d.a.m.n it, our wheels are stuck in the mud!”
They stopped, and as soon as they got out of the car, the little white monkey jumped down as well. At that moment, a big fat cat came out of the taiga.
The wild cat was short and thick, with long fur on its body. It looks round and fat. Its four short legs were almost completely covered by fur, so when it appeared, it seemed like it was rolling onward.
The little white monkey attracted the big cat. It was about to attack when Crispy Noodles, Ali, Ah Meng, Ah Ow, and Ah Meow jumped out of the car.
Looking at the sudden appearance of this group of opponents, the big cat’s eyes bulged, revealing two round, spindle-shaped green pupils.
It looked at its rivals in surprise, turned and darted into the crevice of a rock.
Li Du saw it from the car and exclaimed, “Hey, a manul!”
Known as the Siberian elves, Manuls were wild cats who looked deceptively cute. Manuls have become popular pets among Middle Eastern tyc.o.o.ns recently.
The manuls were very fierce. They roamed freely in the taiga and had few opponents. They were strong and had sharp claws, and their only natural disadvantage was their four short legs.
Ah Bai must have suffered attacks from manuls before. At least, it appeared to know that the fat cat was dangerous. It ran away at the same time as the manul did.
Since his childhood, Ah Meow was full of self-confidence. He had never met a truly fierce opponent, so he thought he was the best at fighting. When he saw the fellow feline manul, he sensed the chance to show its fierceness and quickly darted after it.
Commonly, felines had long limbs and excellent running abilities. Manuls were the exception. The manul could not run fast with its short legs, so when it met danger it would find a crack in the rocks and hide.
Ah Meow followed it all the way to the crevice.
The Manul was trapped inside. It opened its mouth and gave a hiss of protest.
Li Du went after Ah Meow and looked. This Manul was unlucky enough to become Ah Meow’s target. He shook his head and said, “Let’s go, don’t detain the others.”
Ah Meow and the others didn’t want to leave. They blocked the rocks and watched the manul together.
Ah Meow, Crispy Noodles and Ah Meng could squeeze in if they tried, but they had the wit not to risk it and stopped in front of the rocks to frighten the manul.
This poor manul was really frightened. It recognized Ah Ow’s as a wolf, and it was the first time it had seen creatures such as Ah Meow, Ali and the others. It did not know what sort of monsters these were!
Li Du had to drag the little ones away. The manul was the native here and it was not fair to bully him after invading his territory.
Even after Ah Meow and the others left, the manul did not come out. Li Du thought it was afraid and hiding from danger.
However, after a while, the manul’s worried cry came out from between the stones, “Woof woof woof woof woof!”
Li Du would have thought it was a puppy barking if he hadn’t known there was a manul hidden among the rocks.
Li Du went back to take a look and was stunned to see half of the manul’s body was underground. Its four small legs were now completely invisible.
Suddenly he knew what was happening. The manul was out of luck. There was a marsh under the rock, and the animal had accidentally sunk into it. It could only be swallowed by the marsh because its road out was blocked just now.
Li Du was not a cruel man. He reached out his hand to retrieve the manul. However, the ungrateful animal opened its mouth in a snarl and stretched out its neck to bite him.
Looking at the manul’s ferocious fangs, Li Du helplessly withdrew his hand. He did not want to lose a finger.
.
Thinking of his own rescue from the swamp, Li Du called over Ah Meng and asked it to go in and dig out the mud to help out the unlucky manul.
Ah Meng refused to help, bellowing threateningly at the manul, which made the manul flounder and sink deeper into the mire.
Steve watched Li Du hovering around the crevice with a couple of the little ones and came over to see what was going on.
When Li Du explained the situation, Steve showed interest and said, “Leave it to me. I’ll save it. Hey, man, but first let me ask you, are you interested in it?”