Chapter 353: The Flash
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du slapped Ah Meow in the face and scolded, “Stop being a baby, it’s just some dirt. Go, catch the pheasant!”
Ah Meow was shocked. Instead of a slap, he had expected love and care.
It took some time to react, and then he started throwing a tantrum. He jiggled up and down in anger while making whining noises, looking very unhappy.
Sophie was amused when she saw his reaction, and smiled. “Are you dancing, Ah Meow? You have a good sense of rhythm. Come on, dance!”
Ah Meow glared at them angrily and saw the mushrooms that they had just picked carefully.
“Meow!” The ocelot knocked over the basket. He tore the round and soft mushrooms into pieces with his fast claws.
Li Du was heartbroken!
Sophie gasped, “Don’t do that, Ah Meow!”
Li Du stepped forward and tried to grab Ah Meow. But Ah Meow was quick; he squirmed around, tightened his muscles and slipped from Li Du’s grasp.
After he escaped from Li Du’s hand, Ah Meow jumped into a tree. He tilted his head and stared at Li Du, looking proud.
Li Du was angry; he pointed at him and said, “Come down! I said, come down! Look what you’ve done, when did you become so short-tempered?”
Ah Meow realized that he had gotten into trouble. He looked at the mushroom pieces on the ground and immediately tucked his tail between his legs.
Li Du was not tolerating his bad habits. He said, “Come here now. I must teach you a lesson!”
Ah Meow didn’t go down. He squatted on the tree branch and pretended not to hear Li Du’s order. He used his mouth to lick his claws and carefully washed his face.
Li Du was very mad. He told Sophie, “Come on, let’s go. Leave him alone.”
Sophie whispered, “Ah Meow is still young, don’t be too strict with him.”
Li Du said firmly, “Sophie, you are too soft-hearted, and that doesn’t work. As the Chinese saying goes: ‘Failing to teach a child well is the father’s fault.’ There’s another saying, which goes: ‘A kind-hearted mother can spoil her child’.”
“Ah Meow is not my child,” the doctor quickly said.
“It’s just a saying. Let’s go, I want to lure him down.”
When he saw them leaving with the basket, Ah Meow jumped from the tree and followed them, mewling.
Li Du turned around with a straight face. Ah Meow gave him a guilty stare, but when he realized that he could quickly get away, became confident and held his head high.
“Ah Meow is not afraid of you,” Sophie giggled. “He knows you can’t catch him.”
Li Du smiled. “Here, please allow me to introduce myself. I’m also known as ‘The Flash!’”
After he finished his sentence, he used his “Time Deceleration” ability and chased after Ah Meow.
Ah Meow tried to turn around and rush up the tree. But he was caught by Li Du as soon as he reached the trunk.
After all, the ocelot had a very long tail. As Ah Meow had turned his back on Li Du, it was easy to catch him by the tail.
Ah Meow’s tail was his weakness. As soon as Li Du grabbed his tail, Ah Meow was not proud anymore; his body curled up and he stared at Li Du in horror.
Li Du poked his head, then he pointed to the mushroom pieces on the ground. “Look what you’ve done! Why are you being so naughty? Why don’t you listen to me?”
Ah Meow groaned and licked Li Du’s hand with his small tongue, trying to win his affection.
But Li Du was not buying it; he continued poking the ocelot’s head and lecturing him.
Ah Meow had no other choice but to stare at Sophie for help. He made a pitiful cry.
Sophie shrugged. “Sorry, Ah Meow. Your father is teaching you a lesson. I can’t interfere.”
The ocelot was on his own now. Ah Meow, hopeless, had no other choice but to listen to Li Du’s lecture.
After he finished lecturing, Li Du continued picking mushrooms. After a while, he suddenly realized that something was missing.
He glanced at Sophie. “Don’t you think that something is missing?”
Sophie looked around and exclaimed, “Crispy Noodles, where is Crispy Noodles?”
She was right: Crispy Noodles was missing.
Li Du shouted, “Come back now, Crispy Noodles!”
He was worried about the raccoon. There were a lot of dogs nearby, and Crispy Noodles was not a fighter like Ah Meow. If he met a big dog, he would surely be killed.
As he was shouting, a long and fat tail appeared from the bushes. Crispy Noodles’ long, white nose appeared as well.
He stared Li Du and ran from the bushes. There was a pheasant in his mouth; he brought the pheasant to his feet.
Sophie was delighted. She squatted beside the raccoon and rubbed the back of his neck. “Wow, well done, Crispy Noodles. What a good boy.”
It was the pheasant that Ah Meow had targeted earlier. Li Du took a look at the hazel grouse and smiled. “This is great, we can make mushroom pheasant stew tonight. It’s a delicious meal!”
Ah Meow pouted in disdain, uninterested in catching such pheasants.
On the other hand, Crispy Noodles was becoming prouder. He knew how to climb trees, and was good at climbing them too. From the first day he’d met Ah Meow, Crispy Noodles had proven his climbing abilities.
The raccoon climbed up a tree and roared as loudly as he could.
They had to admit that he looked fierce. Raccoons had sharp, strong teeth, and they looked quite scary.
Both of them picked some fresh mushrooms before leaving, as night was approaching.
There was no proper trail, therefore it was tiring to walk in the woods.
Li Du reached out and Sophie held his hand instinctively, moving forward carefully.
When they reached home, he skillfully prepared the pheasant and cut it into pieces before putting them into the pressure cooker. He added the mushrooms they picked and some lime juice to make the stew.
Sophie was quite worried. “Could there be parasites?”
Americans loved to hunt, but they didn’t like to eat much wildlife.
Li Du laughed, “I’ll cook it using the pressure cooker. What parasites could survive this high temperature?”
Sophie wagged her finger at him. “Gnathostoma, sparganum… If you would like to know more and you won’t be grossed out, I can give you more examples.”
“Alright,” Li Du sighed, “you win. But you can eat this, don’t worry. It’s safe.”
Sophie shrugged. “I trust you. Come on, Ah Meow and Crispy Noodles. Let’s clean you up.”
She prepared some hot water. After she adjusted the water temperature, she washed Crispy Noodles from head to tail. Then, she blew him dry using a hairdryer.
Ah Meow’s eyes were wide open when he saw this. The ocelot stared at his clean claws and felt frustrated.
If he had known that someone would help him clean up, he would have never licked his claws. The ocelot started sulking again.
