(1)

The little rabbit peeked its head out from among the bushes, twitched its ears, and cautiously sniffed the air with its tiny nose. The strong, dominating scent of a carnivorous beast at the entrance of the cave almost made it jump back.
...Although it seemed that today the smell was a bit fainter.
Apparently, Mr. Leopard didn't come home to rest last night.
The little rabbit observed the cave entrance, blocked by a large rock, and carefully tiptoed forward. Its long ears pressed against its head; it didn't even dare to breathe. After leaving what it was carrying at the entrance of the cave, it agilely jumped back and scampered away among the bushes, its long ears raised in joy.
Not long after it left, the cave door slowly opened.
—Today there will be a delicious red fruit tart to eat as well.
Mr. Leopard lifted the small straw basket and looked at it, nodding with satisfaction.
After finishing this tart, I should think about how to make my scent less frightening... to the rabbits right?.

(2)

The rabbit ran a small pastry shop on Cuiwei Mountain. The store wasn't very big, but it had many regular customers; even the Mountain God often came to buy. The rabbit boss put a lot of effort and dedication into making his desserts. For example, his eight-treasure cake contained eight types of fruit, and his fortune cookies were shaped like small gold coins.
Both the large and small monsters of Cuiwei Mountain enjoy interacting with the friendly, shy, and delicious (?) little rabbit boss.
To prepare his desserts, the rabbit boss needed a large amount of fresh fruit. So every morning, before the sun appeared, he would go out with a basket that was bigger than he was to gather ingredients. By the end of the morning, when the last drop of morning dew evaporated under the sun, he would return with his basket overflowing. From selecting ingredients to preparing the dough, and then attending to customers... the rabbit boss was very busy every day.
Among all the fruits, the hardest to collect was a small red fruit exclusive to Cuiwei Mountain. These fruits, available all year round, grew on the most inaccessible cliffs of the mountain, where venomous snakes were abundant. Although Mr. Rabbit could transform into a human, his courage didn't change along with the size of his body.

The rabbit boss met Mr. Leopard while gathering these red fruits. Agile and graceful, Mr. Leopard elegantly swung through the tree branches, effortlessly reaching the fruits that the little rabbit boss had been observing for so long. This left the rabbit disheartened, with his white ears drooping down and eyes red as rubies.
The rabbit boss couldn’t help but wonder: Aren’t leopards carnivores? Why is he interested in fruits?
After all, he had seen those fruits first... Ah!

The leopard, which had been biting into the red fruits, suddenly lowered its head and gazed intently in a certain direction beneath the tree. There, in the dense grass, was a lump of fur—white and soft—emanating a faint, refreshing scent of spiritual energy. Mr Leopard was a clever mountain creature; no matter how appealing its aroma, it couldn't be eaten, leaving Mr. Leopard feeling a twinge of regret.

“Do you want to eat these red fruits?”
The rabbit boss jumped in shock, startled. He shook his ears and vigorously shook his head: “I want to make red fruit tarts!”
“Red fruit tart? Is it delicious?”
The rabbit boss nodded emphatically: “It’s delicious, very tasty! Even better than the fruits! Sour, sweet, and soft...!”
Was it that delicious? Intrigued, the leopard flicked its tail, picked a bunch of red fruits and tossed it to the ground – the fruit landed on the grass above the rabbit’s head.

Huh…? Red fruits fall from the sky?
“Do you want more?” asked the leopard, tossing more bunches of fruit and enjoying Mr. Rabbit’s reaction, watching as Mr. Rabbit excitedly picked them up and stored them away. He thought this little one was quite interesting.
The rabbit, transformed into his human form, jumped for joy and then, with his arms full of fruits, tried to bow: “That’s enough! Mr. Leopard, you’re very kind! Thank you!”
The rabbit boss walked away, his long ears happily swaying. Meanwhile, at the top of the tree, Mr. Leopard was deep in thought, touching its skin regretfully. Am I really that kind? Its ears are not as long as my tail.
However the next day, at his doorstep, he found a wicker basket covered with a flower-patterned cloth, filled with several carefully arranged red fruit tarts.

(3)

One doesn’t know since when, but Mr. Rbbit and Mr. Leopard from Cuiwei Mountain had an unspoken agreement: if one day the basket left at Mr. Leopard’s door did not contain red fruit tarts, it meant that Mr. Rabbit had run out of stock and needed Mr. Leopard to replenish it.
As the seasons came and went, a year passed quickly. New residents arrived at Cuiwei Mountain: a Mr. Giraffe, with a very long neck and a gentle appearance, and a very lively Mrs. Pigeon. The addition of these two new residents also brought a small change to Cuiwei Mountain: they started a fast courier service, offering everything from pickup to delivery.

The attentive and convenient courier service was soon enthusiastically received by the residents of Cuiwei Mountain, and the rabbit boss became increasingly busy: although not many customers came to his shop, he received more and more takeout orders.
The very busy Mr Rabbit could no longer find time to deliver the special sweets to Mr. Leopard, so he decided to hire the services of Mr. Giraffe and Mrs. Pigeon, asking them to deliver the basket of desserts to Mr. Leopard every day.
As a special deal for being a long-term customer, Mr. Giraffe brought a basket of fresh red fruits to Mr Rabbit's shop every morning when picking up the orders since many fruit trees grew near where he and Mrs. Pigeon lived. They both loved Mr Rabbit's fruit tart.

Mr. Leopard soon noticed something strange: every day, he received the same red fruit tarts, but he no longer saw the hopping little bunny. The unfamiliar scent left him feeling uneasy, pacing around his cave: “Why hasn’t he come to accompany me and collect the fruits yet?”
Mr. Leopard ran to the red fruit trees and found the source of the strange aroma which permeated the food basket: it turned out someone else was helping to gather the fruits. Mr. Leopard bitterly thought, “So that’s why the fruit tarts have been tasting worse lately!”

Mr. Leopard returned home with a frown. The next day, when Mr. Giraffe arrived to deliver the package, he was surprised to see that the basket he had left the day before was untouched, in the same spot he had placed it.

(4)

Mr. Leopard seemed to have vanished suddenly. He had also stopped accepting the red fruit tarts.
The busy little Rabbit was very worried about him.
While he pondered, he tried the new freshly baked pastries, always detecting a slight bitter taste, which wasn’t good. With the Moon Festival just around the corner, symbolizing family reunions, the mooncakes shouldn’t be bitter. The rabbit boss was so stressed that he felt like he might lose his hair and go bald.
Due to his worries and heavy workload, the rabbit boss fell ill. He stayed in his burrow coughing, with a sore throat, and eventually posted a notice to inform everyone that he would be closing the shop for a few days to rest.
As soon as the little rabbit closed the shop, the entire Cuiwei Mountain ran out of pastries and treats. The news spread from the foot of the mountain to the temple of the mountain god, eventually reaching Mr. Leopard’s ears, who frowned: Is he sick?
The next day, Mr Rabbit, who couldn’t stop coughing and rubbing his red nose, found a small basket covered with a familiar flower-patterned cloth in front of his door. Half the basket was filled with red fruits, and the other half with licorice.
The rabbit boss took a red fruit and tasted it; it was sour. Then he grabbed a piece of licorice and chewed it; it was sweet like honey.
Mr Rabbit smiled with his eyes half-closed like crescent moons.

(5)

The little rabbit quickly recovered from his illness and reopened his business, hopping with joy as he introduced his new product: the delicious sweet-and-sour red fruit mooncakes!
The sour flavor evoked homesickness, while the sweetness reminded him of homecoming. These red fruit mooncakes were acclaimed upon their release and quickly sold out before the Moon Festival. Creatures of all sizes happily returned home with mooncakes to celebrate with their families.
As a local rabbit of Cuiwei Mountain, the rabbit boss had nowhere to go. After selling out his entire inventory, he looked up at the increasingly round moon overhead and decided to take a well-deserved break.
However, before doing so, he still had one mooncake left to deliver...

Mr. Giraffe and Mrs. Pigeon were on vacation, so the little rabbit boss had to make the deliveries himself. Hopping excitedly, he arrived in front of the familiar cave... Huh? Why is the door open today?
Mr. Leopard slowly emerged from his cave and lifted his chin, asking, “Is that for me?”
His expression was somewhat threatening, and the rabbit boss felt every hair on his body stand on end. He nodded timidly.
“What’s it filled with?”
“Red fruits, red fruits filling!” the rabbit stammered.
Hmph, it had been so long; they were probably not the fruits he had collected. Mr. Leopard raised his head with determination and said in a firm voice, “I don’t want it; I’m tired of eating it.”
“Then… what filling would you like?” the rabbit asked softly, trying to shrink into himself.
Seeing the rabbit’s fearful expression, Mr. Leopard became angry. With a flick of his tail, he transformed into a tall, strong young man and leaned toward the snowball on the ground with a mischievous smile, showing his bright white teeth. “... If you change into your human form, I’ll tell you.”
For the festivities, of course, one must eat high-quality meat. And the most delicious meat is rabbit… Hehehe. (NT: in Chinese slang eating meat means have sex)

A few days later, when the monsters who had returned to Cuiwei Mountain after visiting their relatives made a new discovery: in the Rabbit boss’s pastry shop, there was a new helper, and who else but the imposing Mr. Leopard?
Looking at him, didn’t he resemble the feared leader of the leopards under the command of the Mountain God...?
In front of the oven, the rabbit boss, still curled up, yawned and rubbed his nose with his paw. He was a bit drowsy. Suddenly, the tall helper glided into the kitchen, lifted the soft rabbit in his hands, and gave him a kiss. Mmm, how fragrant and sweet.

End

Translator : DarNan