After the Black Moonlight’s "Death Escape" Failed [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 47

Chapter 47: Snow Leopard and White Wolf

◎ This little snow leopard is really afraid of water ◎

After “ji-aow ji-aow”-ing for quite a while without getting Al to pick her up, Jiao Qingyin stopped her performance.

She took a step back, stood tall, and looked up at Al with round eyes filled with incredulous accusation. In Jiao Qingyin’s memory, Al was clearly someone who cherished small animals. Al used to take care of her sleeping wolf pup, would proactively offer to bathe it, and a few times when Jiao Qingyin woke up in the morning, she saw Al holding the little wolf, seemingly about to take it for breakfast.

So why was the current Al indifferent to this weak, pitiful, and helpless little snow leopard?

Could it be…? Jiao Qingyin thought of the ugly appearance of the bionic snow leopard and suddenly realized she hadn’t confirmed her own current looks yet. If she actually shared the same brand of “ugly” as the bionic version, then Al’s strange expression and stiff movements would be explained.

Jiao Qingyin slowly retracted her testing paw and began to shrink back. She felt that expecting Al to take her home was unlikely; she still had to rely on herself to sneak into the Prince’s Manor. Having made her decision, she turned around, her long tail sweeping across Al’s ankle, leaving behind a decisive back view.

“Where are you going?”

A shadow fell from above. Jiao Qingyin reacted quickly, jumping to the side to dodge Al’s reaching hands. She lowered her upper body, the fur on her back bristling slightly, as she instinctively stared warily at Al’s empty hands.

Seeing the little snow leopard that was just clinging to her suddenly change its attitude and prepare to leave, Al’s mind instantly cleared, and her entire body tensed up. She quickly crouched down, opening her arms toward Jiao Qingyin, and said: “I’ll take you with me.”

Al was filled with regret. She shouldn’t have spaced out. If her reaction had been faster and she had pulled Jiao Jiao into her arms, wouldn’t she be taking her home right now?

Seeing Jiao Qingyin motionless, eyes fixed on her as if evaluating something, Al grew even more nervous, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. She didn’t dare let Jiao Qingyin know she had already discovered her identity, so she could only try to soften her voice, like coaxing a lost kitten. “It’s too dangerous for you outside. I have… delicious food at home. You can eat whatever you want. I also have, I have…”

Al hadn’t spoken to anyone in a long time. She hated her tongue for becoming incoherent at critical moments. But seeing the little snow leopard tilt its head as if listening intently, she had to grit her teeth and fabricate a beautiful pet life for her.

Jiao Qingyin was observing Al’s micro-expressions. A snow leopard’s dynamic vision is exceptional; she could capture the trembling of Al’s eyelashes and the unconscious pursing of her lips between sentences. In her peripheral vision, she could also see Al’s fists clenching tighter and tighter.

Jiao Qingyin realized something. She sat down. To verify her guess, she deliberately raised a front paw, licked it lightly, and then used that paw to hook the collar around her neck.

Sure enough, Al’s gaze was drawn to it. Her eyes followed the movement and finally fixed on the collar. Her expression relaxed slightly—not out of surprise, but with a hint of secret joy.

…The other had recognized her.

Jiao Qingyin’s first reaction was intense shame and annoyance. Recalling how she had just acted spoiled toward Al, she wanted to bury her head and knock herself unconscious. Immediately after, she couldn’t help but feel piqued at Al. The other clearly recognized her at first sight but didn’t take the initiative to show it, making her do so many embarrassing things…!

She could confirm this mainly by Al’s attitude toward the collar. Although she didn’t know how Al managed to recognize her, given the other’s personality, if she hadn’t discovered her identity, she would have tried to seize the collar by force by now—just like the great white wolf during the day.

Jiao Qingyin’s furry face wrinkled, and suspicion arose. But before she could think further, her train of thought was interrupted by Al approaching her. Seemingly afraid that standing too far would give Jiao Qingyin a chance to escape, Al was inconspicuously shifting her footsteps. Seeing she had been noticed, she froze in place again.

Dressed in all black, she exuded a cold aura, yet she appeared incredibly hesitant and cautious before the tiny snow leopard. Jiao Qingyin found this version of Al quite cute, and her frustration dissipated somewhat, her change in mood showing in her lightly swaying tail.

Al’s eyes lit up, thinking her words had worked. She struck while the iron was hot: “I… I will be very good to you. Come back with me.”

Perhaps touched by this sentence, the little snow leopard tilted her head, looked at her, and took one step, then another, toward her. Al’s heart began to throb rapidly. She watched the little leopard approach, desperately suppressing the urge to simply scoop her up and carry her away, until—

Jiao Qingyin crouched at her feet and let out a soft “ji-aow.”

Al’s breathing hitched for several seconds. Then, she immediately picked up the little snow leopard. Although her arms were shaking uncontrollably, she held Jiao Qingyin very steadily.

“We… we’re going home,” she said.

The light in Al’s eyes was so intense that Jiao Qingyin uncomfortably looked away. She didn’t stay quietly in the other’s arms; instead, taking advantage of Al’s indulgence, she gave a light leap and jumped onto Al’s head. She lay down comfortably on top of Al’s head, her long tail wrapping in a circle around the other’s neck.

It was like marking a chosen treasure, very bossy. The tail revealed Jiao Qingyin’s subconscious thoughts, though she herself didn’t notice this possessive gesture at all. The snow leopard’s tail was large and soft, with fur that felt wonderful to the touch. Acting like a special scarf, it quickly warmed Al’s cold skin.

Jiao Qingyin waited for Al to take her back to the Prince’s Manor, but after flying for a while, she realized something was wrong. She nudged Al’s cheek with the tip of her tail. “Ji.” You’re flying the wrong way.

Jiao Qingyin had actually only left this world five days ago, so her memory of the main roads near the fief and the royal capital was still fresh. Seeing Al deviate from the direction, she spoke up to remind her.

However, Al merely stroked Jiao Qingyin’s tail. Not only did she not change course, she accelerated. She had originally intended to teleport home directly, but since the little leopard was willing to lie on her head—an experience that might happen once in a lifetime—Al wanted to enjoy it for a while longer no matter what.

Seeing the iconic castle of the Prince’s Manor being left behind, Jiao Qingyin perked up her ears and patted Al’s forehead. “Ji, ji-aow.” Al, home isn’t that way.

Al took the opportunity to squeeze Jiao Qingyin’s paw pads, her tone doting, but her words were on a completely different wavelength: “Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon.”

Jiao Qingyin wasn’t worried before, but she was now. Remembering that Al likely couldn’t understand “Leopard-speak,” she could only point her front paw in the right direction while rubbing the tip of her tail against Al’s chin.

A look of blissful blankness appeared on Al’s face. The next second, she flew even faster.

She was being too obvious. Jiao Qingyin noticed the anomaly and realized Al’s original destination was never the Prince’s Manor. Soon, a somewhat familiar castle appeared in Jiao Qingyin’s field of vision. She recognized it almost instantly—this was the place where she had staged her “death escape.”

In the data shown by the System, Al hadn’t returned here once in the past five years. There was only one possible reason for her to act out of character today: she was guarding against Jiao Qingyin.

Jiao Qingyin opened her mouth, realizing her premonition had come true: Al had already discovered she wanted to retrieve her body, so she was unwilling to take her to the manor where the body was kept.

Jiao Qingyin fell silent. She didn’t need Al to voice her thoughts; she could sense the panic beneath the other’s actions. Al was afraid—afraid she would leave this world again.

And she… indeed would.

Jiao Qingyin lowered her ears, becoming listless. Guilt surged like a tide, slowly covering her nose and mouth, bringing a suffocating illusion.

Al immediately noticed the change in Jiao Qingyin. The momentary smile vanished from her face. She gritted her teeth, not changing direction but choosing to increase her speed, bringing Jiao Qingyin into the castle within a few breaths.

She avoided the room filled with painful memories and took Jiao Qingyin to a bedroom with a large floor-to-ceiling window. Al had set up automatic cleaning magic in the castle, so even though no one had lived here for five years, it was still as tidy as new, with the wooden floors looking freshly waxed.

“Do you like this room?” Al walked a circle with Jiao Qingyin on her head and asked. Her tone was casual, and if one ignored her clenched fists, she seemed quite calm. Al knew Jiao Qingyin liked sunbathing, warm environments, and curling up in soft places to read. This bedroom was one she had prepared specifically for her.

Al had once thought seriously that if one day she could keep Jiao Qingyin without using a cage, she would invite her to live here. They could lean against the window together, watching the sun rise and set until they grew old.

“Ji.” I like it.

The little leopard’s voice came from the top of her head. Al felt Jiao Qingyin move, seemingly wanting to jump down. She reached out first, supporting Jiao Qingyin’s front limbs and holding her in her arms like one would hold a cat. Jiao Qingyin didn’t struggle, just looked up at her for a while with eyes like black obsidian.

Al suddenly felt her throat go dry. She bit the tip of her tongue to force herself to stay calm, then placed Jiao Qingyin on the large bed.

As soon as her four feet touched the ground, Jiao Qingyin instinctively shook her fur, then held her head high, wanting to inspect the territory. However, as her paw stepped out, it left a gray plum-blossom print on the white bedsheet.

Jiao Qingyin: “…”

Jiao Qingyin refused to believe it. She brought her front paw to her face to check carefully—the pink paw pads were clearly clean! She ran a few steps on the bed, and the result was that every place she passed was stamped with a leopard paw print.

Jiao Qingyin instantly became “emo.”

Al watched the whole process. Seeing Jiao Qingyin’s depressed state, her heart throbbed, and certain thoughts began to stir.

“I’ll take you for a bath,” she said, reaching out to Jiao Qingyin. After a pause, she added a question: “Okay?”

The answer was naturally yes. Jiao Qingyin gave a leap, lunging into Al’s arms, but before being caught, she kicked off with her hind legs and jumped onto Al’s shoulder. Then she gave the command: “Aow.” Let’s go.

After the “aow,” Jiao Qingyin thought for a moment. Afraid Al would misunderstand that she didn’t like being held, she leaned against the other’s cheek and rubbed it. “Ji-aow ji-aow.” I just don’t like being held, it’s not that I don’t like Al.

Al’s heart almost turned into a puddle. If she wasn’t afraid of making Jiao Qingyin angry, she would want to bury her face in the little leopard’s belly right now and take a deep breath. Thinking that this cute and frank little snow leopard was actually her lover who usually loved to act cold, Al’s emotions were hard to control.

Jiao Qingyin didn’t understand why Al was suddenly excited, but she liked seeing Al happy, so her tail wagged unconsciously. It was a good thing she didn’t know Al could understand her language, otherwise she definitely wouldn’t have spoken her inner thoughts.

Jiao Qingyin was very cooperative throughout. Resting on Al’s shoulder, she took in every piece of furniture in the castle, occasionally let out a soft “ji,” and privately commented on the places she liked. The vase in the hallway was pretty, the fountain outside was very artistic, she liked the light-filled design, and she liked the scent of flowers everywhere.

Every place here had traces of Al’s careful craftsmanship. As Jiao Qingyin looked, her nose felt a bit sour. She buried her head, turning herself into a “leopard ball.”

“Are you tired?” Al, who was overjoyed by Jiao Qingyin’s comments, noticed the other had gone quiet. She turned her footsteps away from the tour and headed straight for the bathroom. “We’re almost there.”

“Aow…” Jiao Qingyin responded, pressing closer to Al.

But upon entering the bathroom and seeing the hot spring before her, feeling the steam hitting her face, Jiao Qingyin froze.

“I laid some fire-element stones at the bottom, so it’s warm here all year round,” Al explained. “There’s an ice spring next door, but you’re too small for a cold bath.” As she spoke, she summoned bath products from a nearby shelf with magic, attempting to set Jiao Qingyin down to bathe her.

Jiao Qingyin didn’t react at first, but the moment her paw touched the wet floor, she instantly “puffed up” into a ball of fur. She shot back onto Al’s shoulder like an arrow and began to tremble.

Water is terrifying!!

Jiao Qingyin knew rationally that as a snow leopard, she should be able to swim. And even if she couldn’t, the bit of water on the floor couldn’t possibly drown her. Plus, with Al nearby, she was very, very safe. But her bodily instincts were screaming at her to run.

—The fur will get wet!

Jiao Qingyin regretted it. She turned her head toward the bathroom door; she didn’t want to stay.

Al was startled by her reaction at first, but soon realized that after becoming a snow leopard, Jiao Qingyin’s personality had been influenced, which was why she showed a dislike for water. But if she didn’t bathe, the one feeling uncomfortable would also be her.

The little leopard let out “aow-aow” protests, wanting Al to take her away immediately. Jiao Qingyin had always appeared mature and strong; seeing this childish and weak side of her, Al couldn’t help but laugh.

She tried her best to hold it in, but a muffled laugh still escaped. The tense Jiao Qingyin felt both ashamed and angry, and gave Al a hard smack with her large tail. After the smack, Jiao Qingyin worried she had hurt Al, so she looked down.

It would have been better if she hadn’t looked. At that moment, Jiao Qingyin was frightened by a bottle of perfume lying on the ground and leaped up again. Then, her foot slipped, and she unfortunately fell into the hot spring.

“Watch out!” Al’s pupils constricted. She scooped the little snow leopard back at her fastest speed, but the other’s tail was still inevitably soaked. Jiao Qingyin kept shaking her tail, trying to flick all the water droplets off, her emotions nearing a breakdown.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.” Al quickly evaporated the moisture with magic. While stroking Jiao Qingyin’s back, she comforted her in the gentlest voice possible. “It’s okay, I’m here.”

She had never spoken in such a tone before. Al, who didn’t know what gentleness was, was unconsciously imitating the Jiao Qingyin in her memory. Al regretted her oversight, but the more anxious she became, the more calm and gentle her voice sounded. She was working hard to learn the things Jiao Qingyin had taught her in the past.

“Ji-aow…” Slowly, Jiao Qingyin calmed down.

Before she could say anything, the long-silent System spoke up to comfort her: “It’s okay Host. Data shows that snow leopards are naturally timid to the point of being neurotic. Don’t be embarrassed.”

“I’m not embarrassed”, Jiao Qingyin, whose mind had cooled but whose heart was dying of shame, said flatly. “What is there to be embarrassed about? Also, is a snow leopard’s privacy not privacy? I want to turn on Shield Mode.”

As she spoke, she placed a paw on the back of Al’s hand. “Ji.” Stop touching me. Al was stroking her so comfortably that if she let her continue, she might not be able to resist showing her belly.

Her movements paused. Al’s gaze drifted near Jiao Qingyin’s head; this time, she heard clearly what that abnormal fluctuation was saying. She already held immense malice toward that thing, and thinking it was still parasitic in Jiao Qingyin’s brain, her gaze at that moment was like it was dipped in poison.

The next second, she felt Jiao Qingyin move. She looked down, her eyes filled with a warmth completely different from the previous moment. “I’ll take you out and wash you with magic.”

But Jiao Qingyin shook her head. She pulled her tail out of Al’s hand, shook her ears that were slightly damp from the steam, and turned her head toward the rippling hot spring.

Al had a vague premonition: “You…”

Jiao Qingyin gathered strength in her hind legs. Before Al could stop her, she leaped into the water like an arrow from a bow. Al’s eyes briefly showed beast-like characteristics. She quickly stood up, lunged to the edge of the spring, and pulled the soaking wet little snow leopard back.

“What are you doing!”

Al frantically dried the water off Jiao Qingyin and immediately noticed something wrong. Jiao Qingyin was trembling, and her black pupils had even lost focus. She was clearly terrified, yet after being scooped up by Al, she still insisted on going back into the water.

She struggled against the front paw Al was holding. “Aow.” Let go.

She couldn’t accept having something she was afraid of, especially something as common as a fear of water. When she was young, Jiao Qingyin was terrified of heights. Standing anywhere higher than two stories made her dizzy and her legs weak. So she avoided high places, and even when forced, she tried not to look down.

Until once, she was surrounded by enemy forces on top of a city wall. Before her were approaching foes, behind her were helpless, weeping citizens, yet her legs were shaking. That day, Jiao Qingyin paid a heavy price and was left covered in wounds before she finally protected those she wanted to guard.

Since that incident, Jiao Qingyin understood that she had to face her fears and conquer them; she couldn’t leave herself any weaknesses. Over and over, she forced herself to walk up tall towers and jump off massive buildings, using torment to train her mind. If not for that, she wouldn’t have been able to smile at the Al beside her amidst the flying sparks later on.

It’s just a little water, Jiao Qingyin thought.

Before her was clearly a hot spring floating with petals, but she dazed for a moment, feeling as if she had returned to the city wall soaked in blood. She walked step by step toward the edge of the wall. Fear made her legs weak and even caused her ears to ring, but Jiao Qingyin didn’t stop for a single step, until the moment she was about to jump—

Someone held her and leaped off the wall with her.

Jiao Qingyin abruptly looked up and met Al’s eyes, whose hair was dripping with water.

“We’ll do it together.” Al gave a smile. In the dense white mist of the hot spring, a drop of water fell from her eyelashes. This drop hit the tip of Jiao Qingyin’s pink nose, bringing her completely back to her senses.

She suddenly felt this hot spring wasn’t scary at all. The temperature was perfect, the ripples were soft, and her entire mind and body couldn’t help but relax.

“Ji…”

Al tilted her head, trying to hear what Jiao Qingyin was saying, but she found that the other hadn’t said anything; she had simply let out a “ji.”

How should this be interpreted? Confused, Al squeezed the little leopard’s paw, hoping for a hint. Jiao Qingyin’s ears flicked unhappily. She pulled her paw out and placed it on the back of Al’s hand. Al, not understanding, gripped it back.

Jiao Qingyin gave her a bite—not hard, but it stunned Al. Then she placed her paw on the back of the hand again.

My paw must be on top, understand?

Since she didn’t say it out loud, Al didn’t understand. She thought Jiao Qingyin was hinting that it was time to help wash her paws, so she held the paw and began to wipe it clean bit by bit. Jiao Qingyin turned her head away in annoyance, refusing to move again.

This made it easier for Al to clean her body. The pressure she used was just right—neither too light nor too heavy. Jiao Qingyin grew sleepier under the massage-like movements, until—

“Ji!” Don’t touch the belly!

Al looked at Jiao Qingyin with an innocent face, her hands covered in white bubbles. She even tried to persuade her: “Every place needs to be washed clean.” She had coveted Jiao Qingyin’s white, soft belly for a long time, but the other had always been wary and wouldn’t let her touch it, making Al more and more eager. This was the perfect opportunity, and she couldn’t help but make a move.

Jiao Qingyin glared at her, making her refusal very clear. It wasn’t until Al gave in and said she wouldn’t touch it again, letting Jiao Qingyin wash herself, that she withdrew her gaze. Using all four paws, she laboriously washed her belly and then “aow”-ed at Al.

The wet little snow leopard was much thinner than before and looked a bit dazed while damp. Al firmly etched this image into her memory before evaporating the water and wrapping her in a bath towel. A fragrant little snow leopard was ready.

They returned to the bedroom. Al quietly put away the bedsheet with the small plum blossoms and replaced it with a new set of bedding, then crawled into the blankets with the little snow leopard.

The moment Jiao Qingyin entered the blankets, she felt hot and immediately climbed out. Al started to get up too, but Jiao Qingyin pressed her back with a paw. “Ji.” I’m sleeping outside the blankets.

Hearing this, Al lifted the blanket. “I’m a bit hot, I feel like I don’t need to cover up.” Jiao Qingyin put on a serious face, bit the blanket, and dragged it back over Al. It’s not summer yet; you must use a blanket when sleeping.

Al tried to lift it again and got a smack from Jiao Qingyin’s tail, finally becoming obedient. Once Al was lying down quietly, Jiao Qingyin lost her strength too. She lay by Al’s pillow, her eyes flickering as she neared sleep.

At this moment, she heard Al speak in a low voice: “Little snow leopard, I haven’t given you a name yet.” Jiao Qingyin’s ear moved, and she turned to look at the other, showing she was listening. She felt it was quite novel; previously she had named Al, but the reverse experience was a first.

“I’ll call you Jiao Jiao, okay?”

Jiao Qingyin’s scalp felt numb. Stared at by Al’s deep gaze, she tried her best to appear natural. She let out a meaningless “aow,” which counted as her acceptance of the name.

For now, Al’s behavior seemed normal. There were no signs of her using her body as a threat or forcing her to do anything. Perhaps she could consider opening up to the other…

As she thought, Jiao Qingyin’s eyelids grew too heavy to keep open. Running around all day was truly exhausting for a snow leopard cub that hadn’t even been weaned. She would think about other things tomorrow.

The System noticed Jiao Qingyin showing signs of being passive in her work, and a string of garbled code appeared in its database. It previously thought that although the Host had fallen in love with the protagonist of world S3202, she would definitely be able to withdraw successfully. But the current data analysis began to point in another direction. It started its calculation center, planning to re-simulate while the Host slept.

The System didn’t notice it was being watched by a pair of eyes. Al looked at the constantly changing data, her gaze fixing on the last line of text. She had learned this square-shaped script from the three systems she had captured. The meaning of this line was…

[Probability of Host Jiao Qingyin choosing to accompany the S3202 protagonist forever.]

The current value was 41%.

It was higher than she imagined—much higher. Al let out a breath. She had been prepared to see 0% or even a negative number. Fortunately… The excitement made her unable to resist propping herself up halfway, pulling the sleeping little snow leopard into her arms, and kissing her on the forehead.

She had missed this for so long that when she actually kissed Jiao Qingyin, she felt a floating sensation as if she were in a dream.

Suddenly, the value fixed at 41% flickered and jumped to 42%.

Al froze, slowly turning her gaze to the sleeping little snow leopard. The leopard’s breathing was still even, her ears were drooping slightly, and her tail was behaving itself. Al’s heart drummed in her chest, and she cautiously kissed Jiao Qingyin again.

Beep. The value changed immediately: 43%.

Jiao Qingyin… was awake.