Chapter 38.2

The bird’s crop functions like a human stomach – it’s part of the digestive system located near the neck at the top of the esophagus. Mu Ling pressed the crop to help the large eagle expel water.

Water flowed from the bird’s beak, but the eagle remained motionless, its wings unresponsive.

Mu Ling wasn’t sure if the eagle had gone into shock, but even in shock, birds have a 20- to 30-minute window for rescue. Since expelling the water hadn’t awakened it, she had no choice but to begin artificial respiration.

First, she checked the bird’s beak for foreign objects. Finding none, she pinched its sharp beak and began giving rhythmic breaths.

The breathing had to be gentle, and while doing so, she continued pressing the crop, mimicking CPR movements.

After several minutes of artificial respiration and CPR, the eagle still hadn’t awakened, and sweat was beading on Mu Ling’s forehead.

She removed her waterproof protective suit, then her own jacket. Using the jacket, she quickly wiped down the eagle’s body before moving it into the sunlight to prevent hypothermia.

In summer, the sun doesn’t set until seven or eight in the evening. Though the sun wasn’t strong now, some sunlight was better than none.

While drying the eagle, Mu Ling continued the artificial respiration and CPR.

Patience is crucial when saving a bird – they can be revived within half an hour, so you must never give up just because there’s no initial response.

After twenty-five minutes of persistence, the eagle’s golden wings suddenly flapped vigorously.

“Ah!” Mu Ling jumped. The wings were enormous, spanning at least three to four meters – enough to knock her flying with one blow.

Fortunately, the eagle didn’t strike her, having just regained consciousness and lacking the strength to confront threats.

But Lightning didn’t understand this. Seeing the large bird flap its wings as Mu Ling stumbled backward, his emerald eyes filled with fierce intent. With a violent pounce, his claws pinned the eagle’s body, and a wild growl erupted from his throat as he prepared to bite through the bird’s neck.

“No, no!” Mu Ling cried in panic, hurrying to block the panther’s mouth. “That’s not necessary, Lightning. Calm down!”

As a feline, Lightning naturally had an appetite for birds and fish. He held no fondness for the large eagle; in his eyes, even the biggest bird was just another form of prey.

The eagle, having barely escaped death, was caught off guard by the panther’s attack. But it reacted swiftly, its powerful wings slapping Lightning’s face. Then, with a twist of its body, the eagle aimed its sharp beak directly at the panther’s eye.

Targeting an enemy’s vulnerable facial features, especially the eyes, was a classic raptor hunting strategy. A well-placed strike could incapacitate the foe, giving the eagle a chance to turn the tables.

“Hey!” Seeing this, Mu Ling quickly intervened, using her helmet to nudge the eagle’s beak aside before dragging Lightning away.

The eagle’s beak was deflected, leaving it momentarily confused. Sensing the weight on its body disappear, it hurriedly spread its wings and took flight, soaring into the sky.

Mu Ling watched as the eagle flew up, then retrieved her protective suit from the ground and put it back on. She pulled the visor of her helmet down before daring to look up again.

The large eagle had perched on a tree branch. Apparently exhausted, it didn’t immediately fly off. It looked down at Mu Ling and Lightning, pecking at its wings, clearly irritated by the water still clinging to its feathers.

Mu Ling frowned and called out, “Tayun.”

The eagle continued preening its feathers, ignoring her.

No response to its name? Had it forgotten?

Assessing the eagle’s condition, Mu Ling quietly made her way to the car to retrieve the tranquilizer gun.

Now that she had found Tayun, there was no way she’d let it escape. Especially after the earlier incident where it nearly fell mid-flight – who else could save it if that happened again?

However, she couldn’t use the tranquilizer yet. It was too high up, and she wasn’t confident in her aim.

If she missed, it might startle Tayun and cause it to simply fly away.

Mu Ling took a deep breath to calm herself, then tried coaxing the bird to come down a bit closer.

At least close enough for a guaranteed shot.

Licking her lips, she continued, “Tayun, do you remember your name? Come down. Do you understand the command? As a war beast, you should know this. Try to remember.”

The eagle finished preening the feathers on its left wing and moved to the right, occasionally dipping its head to groom its neck as well.

Mu Ling put her hands on her hips. “I’m not a bad person. Didn’t I just save you? Why won’t you come with me? At least let me dry your feathers – you could die of hypothermia otherwise. And who knows how much water you swallowed? We need to check for aspiration pneumonia. Tayun, are you listening?”

“Tayun, Tayun,” she repeated gently, but the large eagle remained unresponsive.

Her throat was dry from all the talking. Turning around, Mu Ling noticed Lightning still eyeing the bird above with predatory focus, his cold gaze locked on the eagle.

Mu Ling sighed. Could it be that Tayun was too afraid to come down because of Lightning?

“Lightning, come here,” she called.

Lightning’s eyes were still fierce, but after a glance at Mu Ling, he quietly moved to her side.

Mu Ling patted his head, praising, “I know you mean well, but we really can’t eat this bird. Be good, and I’ll give you canned food when we get back.”

Lightning allowed the petting, its tense muscles gradually relaxing. It softened its stance and sat calmly, though it continued watching the bird.

Seeing Lightning’s aggression had abated, Mu Ling resumed calling up to Tayun, “Come down, at least let me dry your feathers, okay?”

Finally, the eagle finished preening and spread its wings, as if preparing to take flight.

This wouldn’t do.

Mu Ling quickly raised the tranquilizer gun, aiming at the eagle despite her doubts about her accuracy.

But just as she was about to fire, the eagle glanced down, then suddenly dove straight toward her.

“Whoa!” Mu Ling was startled. Was it attacking? She hadn’t even loaded the gun yet!

She hurriedly tried to load the tranquilizer, but the eagle’s movements were far faster. In an instant, it was right in front of her.

The next second, a heavy weight like a jackhammer pressed down on her arm.

The massive golden wings folded slowly, and the twenty-kilogram eagle settled lightly on her slender arm, its sharp talons gripping her as it curiously surveyed its surroundings.

Mu Ling was speechless.

Twenty kilograms wasn’t exceptionally heavy – as the saying goes, before marriage you couldn’t even open a jar, but after having a child, you can carry a twenty-kilogram baby with one arm while walking briskly.

So with both hands supporting the bird, Mu Ling could just manage its weight.

But what on earth was happening?

Why had it landed on her?

Mu Ling was dumbfounded.

Thinking for a moment, she had an idea.

Mimicking a falconer’s release, Mu Ling flicked her arm upward.

Instantly, the eagle spread its wings and took flight, circling above.

Mu Ling called out again, “Tayun,” raising her arm.

The eagle swooped down once more, landing precisely on her outstretched arm as before.

Mu Ling stood there, stunned.

It worked!

Tayun could understand commands after all – it just hadn’t known where to land until it saw her arm raised.

Mu Ling laughed at her own previous foolishness, realizing how silly she must have looked shouting at the tree.

It made sense now. As a war bird, Tayun had been well-trained, and signaling with a raised arm was a basic falconry technique. She hadn’t expected that, even though she wasn’t its handler, Tayun would still respond to her.

The intelligence of eagles truly couldn’t be underestimated. They are already recognized as one of the smartest creatures in the animal kingdom, and Tayun was an S-class war eagle.

Now that Tayun was down, Mu Ling wasted no time. She quickly grabbed the eagle and headed toward the car.

The eagle flapped its wings once, clearly displeased about being held.

But Mu Ling ignored it. Wearing her helmet, she wasn’t worried about being pecked. She stuffed Tayun into the car, then called out loudly, “Lightning!”

In a flash, the panther leaped into the driver’s seat, and Mu Ling immediately shut the car door.

Once the door was secure and she was sure the eagle couldn’t escape, Mu Ling breathed a sigh of relief and pushed Tayun to the backseat.

The eagle clearly disliked the cramped space, trying to spread its wings, but a barrel of fish feed in the backseat prevented it from fully extending them.

Ignoring the eagle’s discomfort, Mu Ling climbed into the driver’s seat, nudging Lightning over to the passenger side. Leaving her helmet and protective suit on, she started the engine and switched the car to hover mode.

Mu Ling hadn’t forgotten her work duties. The fish feed was almost gone, so she decided to drive along the last tributary and scatter the remaining feed. Then she found a suitable spot to land back on solid ground, forgoing the search for the two B-class war beasts. Her priority now was getting the large eagle down the mountain.

After all, it had choked on water and gotten its feathers wet – it was sure to get sick if they didn’t properly examine and treat it. She also needed to consult Director Wang about whether to still administer the wing-softening injection. On matters like this, Director Wang had the final say.

As Mu Ling drove the mountain vehicle, hurrying down the slope without stopping, in another part of the river area, Xiang Bie was also making his way in this direction.

An hour later, Xiang Bie’s hover car descended on the eastern river bank.

Xiang Bie opened the door and walked along the grass, finally arriving at the base of a valley. He looked up towards the edge of the cliff above.

There was still no sign of the giant eagle.

“Hmm.” Xiang Bie’s brow furrowed, his expression darkening.

He had searched all six of the nesting sites. How could he not find it?

Where could it have gone?

“Brother Xiang, Brother Xiang, Tayun is with me now. I’m taking it down the mountain first.” Glancing in the rearview mirror at the uncomfortable eagle shifting in the backseat, Mu Ling spoke into the walkie talkie. “Respond if you hear me, respond if you hear me. You’re not in any trouble, are you? Brother Xiang, please reply if you get this.”

Mu Ling had left countless messages for Xiang Bie. After this latest one, she placed the walkie talkie on the car’s console, then pressed the accelerator, speeding down the mountain.