Chapter 443: Chapter 229: Matchmaking for the Leopard! Yang ’Matchmaker’ Qi

Inside the main hall.

Luo Kaifeng, Yu Bo, and the others heard Yang Qi’s calm voice from outside, immediately followed by the Leopard’s short, menacing roar. Their hearts all jumped in their chests.

That roar, in particular, felt like it had exploded right next to their ears. It carried the heart-stopping, primal power unique to large predators, making them all flinch as cold sweat beaded on their palms.

"Captain!"

A Forest Police officer instinctively reached for the sidearm at his waist, his hushed voice urgent and tense as he asked,

"Should we go out and help?"

"Don’t move!"

Luo Kaifeng’s throat was dry with tension, but he forced himself to remain calm. His eyes were glued to the blurry movements outside the window as he kept his voice low.

"Advisor Yang hasn’t given a signal! If we go out now, we might startle the Leopard or get in Advisor Yang’s way. That would only make things worse! Trust Advisor Yang!"

Yu Bo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice tight. "Right, right, don’t panic... If Advisor Yang went out there, he must be confident. Let’s just wait and see..."

Despite their words, they all subconsciously clenched their fists, their ears straining to catch the slightest sound from outside.

Outside, a few seconds of silence seemed to follow the Leopard’s roar.

Then, they vaguely heard Yang Qi say something. That was followed by what sounded like something hitting the ground, and then...

Was that a muffled grunt from the Leopard, filled with both anger and pain?

And the dull thud of a physical impact?

What was happening?

Did a fight break out?

But it didn’t sound like Advisor Yang was the one fighting, did it?

And it sounded a bit... one-sided?

The men inside were burning with anxiety, but they didn’t dare peek outside for fear of provoking the wild animal.

...

Outside, in the shadows by the sheep pen.

The Leopard was enraged by Xiaojiu’s provocation.

"ROAR!"

It let out a low growl and hesitated no longer. Its right forepaw whistled through the air as it viciously swatted at Xiaojiu, who was barely a meter away, as if trying to crush a fly!

If that paw had landed, an ordinary housecat would have had its bones shattered on the spot.

However, the instant its paw swung out, a black shadow flashed before its eyes...

Xiaojiu had moved!

Its movements were so fast they left nothing but an afterimage on the Leopard’s retinas.

The Leopard’s attack, which had been certain to land, only struck the cold air with a soft "SWISH."

Before the Leopard could even process its miss, before it could even retract its paw, it felt a force strike its right cheek, near its ear. The impact wasn’t powerful, but it was incredibly precise and carried a hint of humiliation!

SMACK!

It was a crisp sound, like a slap.

It was Xiaojiu!

The instant it dodged the Leopard’s strike, its body sprang sideways. It landed beside the Leopard, kicked off with its hind legs, and put its whole body into the motion. With its claws retracted, using only the soft pads of its paws, it delivered a neither-too-hard-nor-too-soft slap across the Leopard’s face!

The blow itself wasn’t very damaging, but the humiliation was immense.

The sudden slap knocked the Leopard’s head to the side, causing its body to stagger. It nearly lost its footing.

It was stunned, its amber eyes filled with disbelief.

’What just happened?’

’Did I just get hit by a pipsqueak?’

"ROAR—"

After the shock came explosive fury!

To be so humiliated by a creature that should have been "prey," the Leopard felt its dignity had been gravely challenged.

It whipped its body around with an even more furious roar. Pushing off with its hind legs, its entire body shot forward like a cannonball, pouncing viciously at Xiaojiu, who had just landed back on the ground and was elegantly licking its paws!

It put all its strength into this pounce. Fast as lightning, it was determined to tear the detestable little creature to shreds.

However, if the Leopard was fast, Xiaojiu was faster!

Leopards are already extremely agile felines. Unfortunately for this one, it wasn’t facing an ordinary cat.

Xiaojiu was a Spirit Beast—one that had reached the first level of Qi Cultivation and was enhanced by Spiritual Power!

The Spiritual Power flowing through its body elevated its speed, reflexes, agility, and even strength far beyond those of any natural feline. Even a true tiger or lion would be lucky to touch a single hair on its body.

Under Yang Qi’s calm gaze, Xiaojiu moved like a phantom.

The Leopard’s pounce missed again, leaving only deep gouges in the dirt.

Meanwhile, Xiaojiu had already appeared behind the Leopard like a black bolt of lightning. It delivered another precise slap to the side of the Leopard’s hind leg joint, causing its forward charge to falter again.

"ROAR!"

The Leopard spun around, swiping its claws.

Xiaojiu had already leaped onto a nearby half-crumbled wall, looking down from on high.

The Leopard roared in fury, reared up on its hind legs, and swiped at the wall with both paws.

Xiaojiu leaped down gracefully, even managing to twist in mid-air. Its tail cracked like a whip, "WHAP," right across the Leopard’s nose.

"YOWL~"

The Leopard cried out in pain, tears almost springing to its eyes.

What followed was a completely one-sided "schooling."

As Xiaojiu moved, it left a trail of afterimages nearly invisible to the naked eye. It weaved and dodged around the enraged and terrified Leopard—darting left, right, up, and down.

The pads of its two front paws moved as if spring-loaded, landing one precise slap after another. To the left, to the right, they struck the Leopard’s forehead, cheeks, nose, shoulder blades, and even its rump!

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

The crisp slapping sounds were incessant, accompanied by the Leopard’s roars and grunts of anger, frustration, and utter helplessness.

Despite its sharp fangs and claws, powerful body, and ferocious lunges, the Leopard couldn’t so much as touch a single hair on Xiaojiu’s body.

It felt like a clumsy punching bag, being toyed with and beaten at will by an invisible phantom.

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