The Road Obstuctor

　　郑叹趴在沙发上,居高临下看着茶几旁边的那只豹纹猫.

Zheng Tan laid on the sofa and shot the leopard spotted cat a condescending look.

　　那只豹纹猫就这样站在那里,一直低吼着,但周围没有谁敢去将它拉开,看着都不好惹.

That leopard spotted cat stood his ground and continuing to growl. No one was brave enough to intervene in this fight, it wasn't something they could easily trifle with.

　　"Anna,把你的猫拉走!"秦涛来到那个带豹纹猫进来的女孩旁边,低声说道.

"Anna, take your cat away!" Qin Tao arrived at the side of the owner and spoke to her under his breath.

　　那位叫Anna的女孩蹙眉,"这个时候还是不要轻易动它的好,它正在愤怒中,而且,我爸妈请的训练师说过,如果它表现出这个样子的话,一定是碰到了什么让它感到棘手的人或者事物,我一个人肯定搞不定."

The girl called Anna pressed her brows together, "It's not a good idea to touch him now. He's in the middle of a rage. The trainer that my parents got specifically told me that if something like this were to happen, its definitely due to the appearance of some troublesome person or object. I can't deal with this myself."

　　Anna也奇怪,那边的沙发上明明只有唐彩和那只黑猫,让豹纹猫变成这样的肯定不会是唐彩,在洗手间的时候它就抓过唐彩,没半点害怕的样子,但要是那只黑猫,别说Anna自己不信,在座的多半人都不会相信.

Anna also thought it was strange. The only things on the black sofa were Tang Cai and the black cat. It definitely wasn't Tang Cai who triggered the cat. He scratched her without an ounce of fear just a while back in the bathroom. But then, it could only mean it was the black cat. Anna, nor anyone else in the room could bring themselves to believe such an absurd possibility.

　　秦涛掏手机准备给沙姐打电话,找点帮手,他可不想在这里出现流血事件,一只猫疯狂起来,破坏力不会比唐彩发飙弱,尤其还是这样一只大猫.

Qin Tao brought out his phone, ready to give sister Sha a call. He needed some backup. He didn't want any blood spilt here. A crazy cat's destructive power was comparable to that of Tang Cai flying off the rails. Especially if it was a larger cat.

　　猫与猫对峙,不是你气势足,声音大,吼得多就更牛逼些.

A showdown between cats wasn't about the imposing manner, the degree of sound, or the impressive growling.

　　郑叹原本不想理会这家伙,在场这么多人,郑叹不想惹事,如果这家伙识趣点主动退下,大家都相安无事.

Initially, Zheng Tan didn't want to deal with this guy. He wasn't interested in creating trouble in front of so many people. This could be dealt with very simply if only that guy would back down.

　　可是,事情的发展并不是郑叹所希望的那样.这只豹纹猫显然并不是这种轻易退缩的类型.

But things did not go down the way Zheng Tan hoped. This leopard spotted cat wasn't the type to easily back off.

　　或许在室内其他人听来,这只豹纹猫一直就那么莫名其妙吼着,但从这只豹纹猫的低吼声中,郑叹能够分辨出来,这家伙已经开始转变想法了,刚才它还只是纯粹的警惕,但渐渐地,估计某种想法压制,开始带着点挑衅和攻击意图,双耳后压,胡须上扬,低吼的时候张大嘴露出尖牙.

The people in the room only hear the strange and random growling that came from the leopard spotted cat. However, Zheng Tan could discern the change of plan. Originally it was only an alert, but slowly probably due to the suppression of some other thoughts, it started to change into a provocation of attack. With its ears pressed downwards on its head and whiskers in a knot, the low growl came again this time while baring its fangs.

　　郑叹动了动尾巴尖,然后抬爪将唐彩的手推开,伸了个懒腰.

Zheng Tan flicked the end of his tail, pushed away Tang Cai's hand and gave a stretch.

　　唐彩正紧张地盯着那只豹纹猫,察觉到手指被推开,又看到郑叹这个样子,赶紧伸出胳膊,以一种维护的姿态,拦在郑叹面前,她怕那只豹纹猫突然冲过来,虽然不太明白为什么那只豹纹大猫会这样,但她和室内其他人的心理一样,自觉将郑叹放在弱势地位.

Tang Cai stared with a certain tension at the leopard spotted cat. Realizing that her hand was pushed aside, and seeing the position that Zheng Tan was in, she instinctively threw out her arm in a protective stance. She was scared that the leopard spotted cat would suddenly pounce. Through she and the others in the room weren't sure of why the leopard spotted cat would act in such away, they all agreed that Zheng Tan must be in the weaker position.

　　郑叹很感谢唐彩这种维护的态度,但他可不想在这种情况下被一个女孩子护着,抬爪推开拦在面前的胳膊,突然,郑叹动作一顿,动了动鼻子,看向唐彩的胳膊,见到了机车服袖子上一条爪痕,这件机车服几乎被直接抓穿,刚才唐彩伸手给郑叹挠下巴的时候并不是这个胳膊,所以并没有注意到.

Zheng Tan was thankful towards Tang Cai's protective actions. But in this situation, he wouldn't stand being protected by a girl. He moved her arm again with his paws. Suddenly, Zheng Tan froze, he wriggled his nose, and looked back at Tang Cai's arm and saw the scratch marks down her sleeve. The cloth seemed to have been completely pierced through. She had used her other arm to scratch him, so he didn't notice till now.

　　凑近又嗅了嗅,郑叹看向那只越叫越凶的豹纹猫.原本只是准备跟上次一样抽这丫一巴掌让它知难而退了事的,但郑叹临时改主意了.

He came close to take a whiff, then he looked back at the aggressive leopard spotted cat. He had initially planned to do the same thing as last time, to strike the cat across the face and to get him to back off. But that was before he noticed this.

　　那只豹纹猫吼声突然改变的时候,郑叹就知道那丫忍不住了.

When the leopard spotted cat's growling made a sudden change, Zheng Tan recognized that the cat wasn't going to hold it in anymore.

　　几乎是在那只豹纹猫朝这边扑过来的那刻,郑叹也起跳,避开豹纹猫的利爪,也没跟它正面硬撞,而是直接给了它一爪子.

At the same time that the leopard spotted cat leap towards him, Zheng Tan also jumped up, avoiding the sharp dagger-like claws. He didn't make body contact and directly sent a claw back.

　　爪子刺破毛皮在血肉的阻力下划动,血腥味传来.

The claw pierced through fur and skin, unable to block the continuation of the slash. An immediate bloody stench filled the air.

　　郑叹玩不来警长它们那种抱,咬,踹,挠的组合打法,他更喜欢简单粗暴点的,就好像上次的那一巴掌,现在的这一爪子.

Zheng Tan wasn't going to play their same game, with the grappling, clawing, biting, and (). He liked to be a little more simple and violent. Like the slap he gave last time, he extended his claws this time.

　　这次没有抽翻,但却见了血.

He didn't make him tumble this time, but he drew blood.

　　落地的时候两只猫相隔很近,那只豹纹猫身上,从脖子那里到腹部有一条抓伤.郑叹的爪子,比一般的猫要硬,再加上郑叹有意要让这家伙见血,刺得深了一些.

When they landed, they were close together. The leopard striped cat had claw mark down from its neck to its abdomen. Zheng Tan had claws that were harder than most other cats. Along with Zheng Tan's intention of drawing blood, he made sure to cut deeper.

　　短毛猫这点不好,打架的时候容易被抓伤,毛长点厚点的就能用皮毛减去些爪子的攻击,顶多被拔点毛.

This was one disadvantage of short hair cats. They were easily wounded in fights. The longer hair on long hair cats could at least provide a cushioning effect against the attack. At most, some fur might be ripped out.

　　郑叹还准备接着再来一爪的,如果不是体型差距,再加上起跳的时候就有意避开对方的爪子,没跳得太高,不然郑叹能够直接从这家伙的头开始,而不是从颈部动爪.可那只豹纹猫退得也很快,察觉到郑叹的意图之后就赶紧跳开,而且还是朝Anna所在的方向退.虽然在低吼,但气势弱了许多.所谓一鼓作气,再而衰,好不容易鼓足勇气冲上来,结果又挨了一爪子,它现在又开始害怕了.

Zheng Tan was ready to claw him another time. If it wasn't for their difference in size and the lack of height he gained in his jump, he would've been able to mark him right across the face. But this leopard spotted cat was pretty fast too. Reconigzing Zheng Tan's intent, he leap back as quickly as possible and darted towards Anna. Although he was still growling, his presence had diminised by a certain amount. The so called vigor he had in the beginning had already declined. It was an uneasy feat to use all that energy to come in an attack, but he ended up beat up all over again. Looks like he got buried in fear once again.

　　那只豹纹猫可不像郑叹这种深色的皮毛,伤口迅速渗出血之后,已经将周围的皮毛染红,而且伤口比较长,已经有血滴低落到地面的地毯上.

That leopard spotted cat wasn't a dark coloured cat like Zheng Tan. With the immediate rush of blood out from the wound, it already started to matt the surrounding fur. The wound was relatively long too, and had already started dripping onto the carpet below.

　　秦涛等人看着这一幕,下巴都快掉地上,这么明显的体型差距,一个回合的结果却与众人所想的截然相反.

Taking all of this in, Qin Tao's jaw hit the floor. This obviously difference in size. Yet the outcome was outside everyone's expectations.

　　Anna正欲将手上的酒杯朝郑叹扔过去,被二毛拦住了.

Anna was in the process of thowing her wine glass at Zheng Tan but was blocked by Er Mao.

　　包厢的门打开,秦涛找的帮忙的人进来,走在最前面的正是沙姐.

The door was suddenly opened by the help that Qin Tao had called for. The one at front happened to be sister Sha.

　　这么多人看着,郑叹没有继续追击,不然自己给人的印象就是凶煞并攻击意向强烈的危险物了,郑叹犯不着为了这只豹纹猫而让更多人更忌惮自己,那不一定是好事.

With this many people watching, Zheng Tan wasn't bothered to continue his assault. Else, he'd create an image of being an aggressive and dangerous animal that could at any moment assault anyone. That wasn't a title he wanted attached to himself.

　　饶是这样,众人也感觉浑身发毛.这只黑猫虽然没有呲牙,没有低吼,只是那眼神看着瘆人.

This entire situation made everyone's hair stand on ends. This black cat didn't grind its teeth nor did it growl. Its gaze made everyone's flesh crawl.

　　秦涛感觉后背凉飕飕的.

Qin Tao felt a chill spread down his back.

　　沙姐带来的人将两只猫隔开的时候,郑叹收起攻击的姿态,蹲在那里一副我很乖的样子,直到Anna将那只豹纹猫带离,郑叹才跳上沙发,趴在唐彩旁边.

When sister Sha's people separated the two cats, Zheng Tan retracted from his attack position into a crouch and played innocent. Only after Anna's leopard spotted cat was taken away did he jump back onto the couch to lay by Tang Cai's side.

　　二毛将郑叹提起来看了看,郑叹的毛色太深,就算受伤也看不到.检查结果二毛和唐彩都没发现任何伤口,只有那个爪子上带着血迹.唐彩找人要了块方巾,沾了些温热的水给郑叹擦爪子.

Er Mao lifted up Zheng Tan to take a look. Because Zheng Tan was a darker colored cat, it was more difficult to find signs of an injury. Er Mao and Tang Cai's inspection didn't return anything as much as a scratch. Only some dried blood had stained his claws. Tang Cai asked around for a tissue. She dabbed it in some warm water to wipe off the blood stains on Zheng Tan's claws.

　　郑叹任由爪子被唐彩捏着擦血迹,心里想着另外的事情.刚才打的时候就觉得有些怪异的地方,说不上来是哪里.

Zheng Tan allowed Tang Cai to clean his claws and let his mind drift. There was something strange in scene that just unfolded, but he just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

　　"看来没吃亏."二毛总结道.

"At least we didn't get the short end of the stick." Er Mao concluded.

　　秦涛站在离二毛和唐彩一米远处,他可没二毛和唐彩那胆子,刚才他近距离观察了那只豹纹猫身上的伤口,如果,这只黑猫的巴掌再大点,爪子再长点,是不是就能直接现场演绎开膛破肚了?

Qin Tao stood at least a meter away from Er Mao and Tang Cai. He wasn't as courageous as those two. He had caught a close up glance at the leopard spotted cat's wound. If that black cat put in more power and maybe extended his claws out more. Everyone in the room may have been treated to a live dissection.

　　见郑叹没受伤,二毛放心了,同时也庆幸还好这次没把黑米带过来,不然绝对是个炮灰,虽然黑米凶起来也很有气势,但战斗力跟这两只比起来根本都不够看.

Seeing that Zheng Tan was fine, Er Mao relaxed a little. At the same time, he thanked his past self for not bringing Barley over, else it'd be complete cannon fodder. Though she was quite imposing when aggressive, her attack strength could not compare to the two cats..

　　这也是二毛第一次发现郑叹的战斗力与普通猫的不同之处.看来以后得让自家黑米离这只黑煤炭更远一点.

This was the first time that Er Mao had realized that compared to most other cats, Zheng Tan had a different fighting style. Looked like in the future, he needed to put some distance between Charcoal and his Barley.

　　"你不怕它?"二毛问正给郑叹擦爪子的唐彩.

"You're not scared of him?" Er Mao asked Tang Cai who was still in the middle of cleaning Zheng Tan's Claws.

　　"不怕,它这是帮我报仇了呢."唐彩笑道.笑容中,没有平日子的那种肆意张狂,而是柔和许多.

"I'm not scared. He helped me take revenge." Tang Cai smiled. There was no arrogance in this smile. Instead it was much softer than her usual smile.

　　二毛没再说话,那边秦涛又在叫他,好不容易接着生日来聚会玩玩,秦涛可不想就这样因为两只猫打架而浪费掉.再说,对其他人而言,猫不过是猫而已,纯当个乐子看,虽然有些意外,但在意外之后也不会花太多的注意力,他们得抓紧时间达到自己来此的目的.

Er Mao didn't continue to speak much more. Qin Tao called him over. It wasn't easy to get everyone together for his birthday party to all hang out. He especially wasn't ready for everything to be trashed because of a cat fight. Furthermore, to everyone there, cats were simply just cats. They probably treated it as some form of entertainment. Though all of this was pretty unexpected, he didn't expect everyone to keep their attention on what just occurred for too long. They still had to grab onto the short amount of time they had left to accomplish their original goals at this party.

　　二毛被拉走之后,一个女孩子犹豫了下后走过来,她跟唐彩是亲戚,现在在唐彩他爸的公司实习.或许是见到郑叹一副温顺的样子,似乎没有威胁,才在隔了个位的沙发上坐下.

After Er Mao was pulled away, a girl nervously approached. She was Tang Cai's relative and was currently interning at Tang Cai's father's company. Perhaps it was seeing that Zheng Tan's calm demeanor was untouched by aggression, that she decided to sit a cushion away from where he was at on the sofa.

　　唐彩喜欢聊猫,那女孩很显然清楚唐彩的喜好,聊的都是关于猫这方面的.

Tang Cai enjoyed chatting about cats. That girl obviously knew about Tang Cai's interests and started an immersive conversation about cats.

　　在她们聊到Anna家的猫被训练蹲马桶的时候,唐才突然问道:"她家的那只猫专门找人训练过?"

Once they got to the topic of the Anna's cat being toilet trained, Tang Cai suddenly asked: "Her cat got professional trained?"

　　那女孩见唐彩感兴趣,心里很高兴,讨好了唐彩,她自己在公司转正后也能更顺利点.

Seeing that this topic had piqued Tang Cai's interest, she was overjoyed. If she could become closer to Tang Cai, her experience at the company would get better and things would finally go her way.

　　"听说那猫是过年的时候Anna她家一个亲戚送的,不过,这种大猫脾气可能不好,Anna的爸妈花重金请人训练过,这是要当宠物的猫,可不是去斗杀场的,如果太过桀骜不驯的话,Anna也不敢将它带过来.哦,蹲马桶也是那时候一起训练出来的."

"I heard that the cat was given to Anna by a relative of hers last year. But this cat had a pretty bad temperament. Her parents spent some good cash to get the cat a professional trainer. This cat was mean to be a pet, not something to be sent to a fighting ground. If it ever got too unruly, Anna would be too scared to bring out the cat too. Oh, and it was around that time where he got toilet trained."

　　"也就是说,那只猫不会主动攻击人?"唐彩微垂着头,让旁边的人看不清眼神,

"So, that cat shouldn't actively try to attack people?" Tang Cai had her head cocked to the side, preventing a clear a view to her eyes.

　　"是啊,要不是这样,Anna的父母也不会允许她整天把那只大猫呆在身边,一个不注意抓伤了毁容了找谁哭去?"那女孩答道.

"Yea, if it wasn't like that, Anna's parents would forbid her to have that cat by her side all the time. If she didn't pay attention and got injured or clawed across her face, who would she be crying to?" The girl answered.

　　既然得不到允许的时候是不会抓人的,那么,在洗手间的时候那只大猫为什么对自己伸爪子?没有Anna的引导,可能吗?唐彩看了看袖子上的爪痕,不语.

If that cat wouldn't attack without permission, then why, did it scratch her in the bathroom? Without Anna's guidance, was it even possible? Tang Cai took another look at the claw marks across her sleeve and stayed silent.

　　旁边的人看不到唐彩的眼神,但郑叹能发现唐彩眼里涌现出的怒意,如果不是因为自己在身边,唐彩那脾气估计又得爆起来.

The surrounding people couldn't catch of glimpse of Tang Cai's eyes, but Zheng Tan could detect the anger that was seeping out. If he wasn't there by her side, she'd probably explode from her already turbulent temper.

　　郑叹也突然想到之前那点怪异是从哪里来的了.和以前相比,这只豹纹猫身上的那股子野性淡了很多,莫非就是被训练过的缘故?将它的野性磨了磨?如果性子烈点的,受伤见血后会更凶悍.

Suddenly everything clicked and Zheng Tan realized where the strange feeling was coming from. Compared to before, the leopard spotted cat had lost some of its aggression. Perhaps it was due to the effects of training? Grinding down his wild nature? Cat with crueler tempers were often more aggressive after bleeding from an injury.

　　当然,这只是郑叹的猜测,具体怎么样他也不知道.

Of course, this was all Zheng Tan's speculation. Not even he knew the specifics.

　　晚上聚会结束,二毛带着郑叹离开的时候唐彩还满脸的不舍.二毛让秦涛留了两块蛋糕,打包带回去给焦家的两个孩子.不过郑叹打架还把人家那猫挠伤的事情二毛一个字都没提,说出来的话,下次就别想再把这猫"请"出去了,再说了,就算去参加聚会的人在外见到郑叹也未必认得出来.

The party had finally come to a close in the evening. Tai Cai had become very reluctant when Er Mao was taking Zheng Tan back home. When arriving to the Jiao family house, he gave the two pieces of cake he asked Qin Tao to save, to the two Jiao children. He didn't mention a word of the fight where the other cat was injured. If he did, he could forget about "inviting" the cat out.

　　周日,唐彩请吃饭,只叫上了秦涛和二毛,叫二毛的原因是为了让二毛将郑叹带出来.在一家经常去的私房菜馆吃顿晚饭而已,吃完后二毛主动提议请他们去夜楼那边玩,顺便叫上几个昨天刚认识的二毛觉得印象还不错的几人.郑叹就不跟他们去掺合了,没提前通知,再晚回去焦妈又得唠叨.

Tang Cai invited Qin Tao and Er Mao out for dinner on the Sunday. She only called out Er Mao so that he could also bring Zheng Tan along. They ended up booking a room at one of their more frequented restaurants. After finishing up, Er Mao suggested hanging out by the Night building and called up some of the people that he met at the party yesterday. These people had made some pretty good impressions on him. Zheng Tan wasn't going to be spending anymore time with them. Hanging out after dinner wasn't specified beforehand. If he got back any later, he'd face the wrath of Mama Jiao.

　　郑叹被送到校门口,他也没继续耽搁,直接往东区大院小跑回去.

Zheng Tan was brought to the school's main gates. He wasn't going to waste any time, and bolted towards the Eastern Quarters.

　　这个时间点,东区大院这边的路上并没有什么人,再过半小时才会有上晚课的以及办公加班的老师们回来.

There was no one on the roads to Easter Quarters at such a time. Half an hour later, the students would finish their evening classes and overtime professors would also be on their way home.

　　郑叹正跑着,快到大院的时候,步子慢了下来.

Zheng Tan slowed down from his run when he approached the quarters.

　　前面的路面蹲着三只猫,拦在路中间.

That's when he noticed the three cat's blocking his way.

　　这三只猫郑叹从来没在这周围见过,完全陌生.

He'd never seen these three cats around this area. They were complete strangers to him.

　　随着郑叹的走近,那三只猫依然维持原样稳稳蹲在前面,都盯着郑叹,橘色的路灯将三只猫的影子拉长.

As Zheng Tan got closer, the three cats held their stance and didn't move from their positions. They all stared at Zheng Tan while the orange hued street lamp stretched out their shadows

　　远处不知道是谁家的猫荡漾了又在嚎,而这三只猫只是动了动耳朵而已,仿佛对那些都不感兴趣,就像只是听到周围树叶的唦唦杂音一般,依然稳稳蹲在那里.

In the distance, someone's cat started to howl. The three cats only mildly twitched their ears, as if completely uninterested. They acted as if they only hear the swaying sounds of the surroundings trees and continued to hold their position.

　　郑叹正想着这到底哪儿来的三只拦路者,突然听到个声音传来.

Zheng Tan was in the middle of wondering where these three cats came from when the suddenly heard a voice.

　　"黑炭?"

"Charcoal?"

　　一个带着毡帽的男人从路边一棵树下的阴影里走出.

A man who wore a hat stepped out from the shadows of a nearby tree.