Chapter 440: Chapter 228: Xiaojiu, Give Brother Leopard a Little Lesson

The crowd turned toward the voice. On the outskirts, an old man with a white beard and a face etched with wrinkles walked over unsteadily, supported by a young man and leaning on a gnarled mountain-wood cane.

He looked to be in his nineties, if not older.

"It’s Fifth Uncle!"

Someone whispered.

The old man was the village’s oldest and most senior elder. In his youth, he had been an old hand at navigating the mountains and knew the surrounding forests like the back of his hand.

Fifth Uncle walked up, his cloudy eyes sweeping over the tracks on the ground before landing on Yang Qi. He began to speak slowly. "Years ago, there were indeed leopards in that old forest on the back mountain. I even saw one from a distance when I was young. But that was back before the Liberation, at least fifty or sixty years ago."

"Later, with the logging and more people moving in, the leopards were never seen again. We all thought they’d gone extinct... To think one would show up again after all these years."

Fifth Uncle’s words lent historical weight to Yang Qi’s assessment, further convincing the villagers that the threat was real and likely came from the deep, old forests.

"Fifth Uncle, what do we do now?" a villager asked anxiously. "The Leopard is back, and it’s come into the village. We can’t just wait for it to kill off all our livestock, can we?"

Fifth Uncle didn’t answer. He just looked toward Chen Shuangquan and Yu Bo, his gaze finally landing on Yang Qi.

The meaning was clear: a matter like this was for the government and the experts to handle.

Chen Shuangquan took a deep breath and looked at Yang Qi. "Advisor Yang, you’re the expert. What do you think we should do now? Should we organize a search party to go into the mountains? Set traps? Or is there a way to drive it back into the deep mountains?"

All eyes—including those of the old village chief, Dazhu, and every worried villager—were fixed on Yang Qi.

Yang Qi paused in thought for a moment. Instead of answering Chen Shuangquan immediately, he turned to Yu Bo. "Station Chief Yu," he asked, "according to official regulations and procedures, how is a situation like this—a large predator entering a village and threatening people and livestock—typically handled?"

’He needed to understand the official procedures and boundaries first.’

With a grave expression, Yu Bo replied, "According to the *Wildlife Protection Law* and related emergency protocols, the first step is to confirm the predator’s species, number, and threat level."

"For a Class-I nationally protected animal like a leopard, the principle is to drive it away and avoid harm whenever possible."

"However, if it’s confirmed to have a tendency to attack humans, or if it poses a serious and imminent threat to public life and property, then with approval from the higher authorities, it can be captured with tranquilizers and relocated."

"Alternatively, in extreme circumstances, a controlled hunt can be conducted by professionals, provided all safety precautions are taken."

He paused, then added, "But the prerequisite is to accurately track the predator’s movements and behavioral patterns to assess the risk. Blindly organizing villagers for a search party in the mountains is extremely dangerous and could easily violate regulations."

"The best course of action is to first have professionals—experts from the municipal bureau, for instance, or a specialized team requested from our superiors—conduct an on-site survey. They would deploy infrared cameras for monitoring and analyze the animal’s movements before we formulate a plan."

Yu Bo’s answer was professional and clear, outlining the principles of conservation as well as the procedures and risks involved.

Chen Shuangquan nodded. "Right. Safety first, and we have to follow procedure. Advisor Yang, what’s your take?"

After listening, Yang Qi had a plan.

He looked at the crowd, his voice steady and strong. "Station Chief Yu is right. The Leopard is a Class-I nationally protected animal, so we can’t be quick to harm it. Furthermore, based on what we’ve seen, it has only been preying on livestock and hasn’t shown any signs of actively attacking people."

"Our primary objective should be to determine where it came from, its range of activity, and why it suddenly came down from the mountain. We also need to see if it has caused any damage elsewhere."

"Then, depending on the situation, we can formulate a plan—whether that’s to drive it off, relocate it, or something else."

"Therefore, I suggest that after the personnel from the county’s Public Security and Forestry departments arrive, we can form a small search party to do a preliminary sweep of the nearby mountains."

"If the Leopard comes back to take a sheep tonight, I can have a chat with it. Ask it what’s going on face-to-face."

As soon as Yang Qi finished speaking, a murmur went through the crowd.

Had anyone else said that, they would have been instantly ridiculed as delusional or crazy, or accused of just seeking attention.

But this was Yang Qi speaking—the expert who had solved the Huang Daxian incident in a single night, after which the animal was confirmed to have indeed shown an act of reciprocation.

Yang Qi’s solid track record had proven that he truly possessed an extraordinary ability to communicate with wild animals.

Thus, while the villagers’ murmurs contained surprise, doubt, and anticipation, there was a distinct lack of pure mockery.

"If Expert Yang can really talk to that Leopard, that’d be fantastic. He should ask it what it really wants," a middle-aged villager said in a gruff voice.

"Exactly. It’s best if we don’t have to use force. A leopard’s life is still a life, and it’s a protected animal, too," another chimed in.

"But it’s a leopard, after all. They’re vicious. Expert Yang has to be careful..."

"..."

The old village chief nodded again and again, grabbing Yang Qi’s hand and shaking it vigorously. "Expert Yang, we’re counting on you. A peaceful solution would be for the best."

Dazhu wrung his hands, looking at Yang Qi with a mixture of apprehension and gratitude. "Thank you, Expert Yang. Thank you..."

As the police station chief, Chen Shuangquan’s top priority was public safety. However, Yang Qi’s suggestion was clearly the most prudent course of action at the moment, and the one most likely to prevent the conflict from escalating.

After a moment’s thought, he nodded. "I agree with Advisor Yang’s suggestion. We’ll try diplomacy before force. It would be best to communicate with it and get a clear picture of the situation. If that doesn’t work, we’ll proceed according to the contingency plan."

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