Chapter 705: Chapter 563: Fishing, Sure Thing

After listening to Uncle Yan Wenyan’s explanation, the little girl added another sentence.

“My grandpa heard you were looking for a cat that can swim. He said that he saw one when he was young and could take you to try your luck.”

Upon hearing the little girl’s words, Chen Ying and his group immediately decided that they must attend this engagement party, no matter what.

After confirming with the two kids that they would attend, they parted ways here. The siblings took a boat back, while they walked along the edge of the mangrove forest towards the village with backpacks.

Yunyun stayed to accompany them and could also help guide the way.

After passing this section, Uncle Yan Wenyan needed to return too. The road ahead belonged to another section leader’s area.

But once they bypassed this area, they could retrace their steps along the abandoned rubber forest from the fork, following the forest path directly to the siblings’ village.

This path was actually not far from the water’s edge, and they could often see various small animals passing through.

Yunyun followed Chen Ying quietly, only actively leading the way at forks, and let Chen Ying and the others do whatever they wanted at other times.

The ultraviolet intensity in Dian Province is very high, especially at noon when it can burn your skin.

The group ate lunch and found a shady spot to rest, continuing their work around three o’clock.

When Yunyun saw them stop to eat, she nudged Chen Ying, indicating that she needed to leave for a while.

Chen Ying quietly asked if he should accompany her. Yunyun twitched her single ear, patted his hand, and quickly ran off.

Dao Meihua came over and asked what Yunyun was doing. Chen Ying didn’t know either and guessed she might have gone to feed her young.

“Is Yunyun a Fishing Cat?”

“Maybe not. Her head shape and body resemble a Leopard Cat more, but her paws are somewhat like the webbed feet of a Fishing Cat. Without genetic testing, it’s really hard to be sure of her species.”

But if Yunyun is the offspring of a Leopard Cat and a Fishing Cat, regardless of whether she can reproduce, it at least proves that the Fishing Cat is not completely extinct.

However, it’s also hard to say, since the border is so close, it could be a chance cross-border encounter.

“At least we have a target. If it’s not found domestically, following this river gives a high chance of finding a Fishing Cat.”

Before coming, they were prepared to seek cross-border cooperation. With Chen Ying’s status, and since the project was registered at a renowned foreign university, it already belonged to an international cooperative research project, so it was unlikely to be deliberately hindered.

Additionally, the tributaries of this river connected to most of the wetlands in the neighboring Nanha River Reserve, also part of the cross-border biodiversity united conservation area, and an important ecological corridor. Both countries supported such purely scientific activities.

The two discussed quietly about the next steps if they couldn’t find a Fishing Cat but hadn’t finished when the guide urged everyone to quickly avoid.

“There’s an elephant herd coming this way, probably to play in the river valley. We just need to get out of the way, don’t be afraid, as long as we don’t provoke them, it usually won’t be a problem.”

Heeding the advice, everyone quickly got off the path.

Sure enough, after a short while, a group of elephants emerged from the forest, about seven or eight of them. Among them, a small elephant that seemed to be born not long ago, looked like a toy compared to the others.

The little elephant was chubby, following its mother, tumbling with each step, occasionally kneeling to act spoiled, and then getting back up with the encouragement of the other elephants.

As they passed the place where they were hiding, the leading elephant stopped and stared in their direction for at least three minutes, then flicked its trunk and slowly moved forward.

In just a few minutes, everyone felt their backs soaked with sweat out of fear.

Chen Ying and Dao Meihua remained calm. Chen Ying had participated in rescuing an elephant herd last time, and Dao Meihua considered herself half a local, though she mainly participated in the protection and rescue of Big Cats. She also actively participated in other animal rescues, including wild Asian Elephant rescues.

This time, coming from a different direction, they probably wouldn’t encounter those wild elephants and Big Cats they met years ago.

From a distance, they quickly snapped a few photos and the group continued forward.

This time, whether it was good luck or bad, they unexpectedly saw a Leopard lying across the tree trunk ahead.

Chen Ying observed for a while, confirming this Big Cat was in the stage of eating well and sleeping, so normally, it wouldn’t bother them unless provoked.

The road had to be detoured, so the guide and assistants led everyone through the forest, with Chen Ying and two students at the back.

“Teacher, doesn’t this Leopard seem much smaller than the North China Leopard?”

“Of course, the North China Leopard’s fur alone weighs ten pounds. The Indochinese Leopard’s fur is short and thin, definitely making it much lighter.”

“That’s true, in tropical regions, people’s builds are smaller than those in colder regions, and the same goes for animals.”

The speaker was a typical tall man from the Northeast, just one centimeter shy of two meters tall, quite a standout in the team.

Fortunately, two foreign classmates raised the team’s average height a bit.

After taking a few pictures, the trio rejoined the group and retreated.

Just two minutes after they left, the Indochinese Leopard that had been sleeping with its eyes closed suddenly opened its eyes, jumped down from the tree, went to the spot Chen Ying had been standing, sniffed deeply several times, and then returned to its shady spot to continue sleeping.

As they passed through the brush back onto the forest path, everyone felt overwhelmed by the heat.