Chapter 39.2

It suffered almost as much damage as Moonlight, yet it could be so well-behaved.

Is it really because of its age and steady temperament?

Could this be the charm of a mature male?

Even though it was already in great pain, it still remained polite towards its savior.

Oh my, what an angelic little bird!

Mu Ling’s fingers began to tremble. She set down the identification report and stepped forward without a word to embrace the giant eagle, gently stroking its wings and back feathers. Softly, she said, “Sister promises you that even if you become paralyzed in the future, I will take good care of you and ensure you live as the happiest free-range chicken in the entire galaxy.”

The giant eagle’s sharp black eyes were cold and indifferent. It looked down at the round helmet holding onto it, seemingly confused by this behavior. Its small head tilted slightly, revealing a confused expression.

With the assessment data for Tayun in hand, Mu Ling contacted Director Wang.

While Mu Ling was on the phone with Director Wang, outside, Li Yan and Lin Xuan had returned. As soon as they parked their car in the garage, they heard a rumbling noise behind them. Turning around, they saw Xiang Bie’s car coming back.

The man with a cold expression got out of the driver’s seat. Li Yan called out from a distance, “Xiao Xiang.”

Xiang Bie paused for a moment, looked at Li Yan, nodded as a greeting, then turned his gaze toward the dining room.

At this time, Mu Ling should be having her meal.

Xiang Bie walked towards the restaurant, with Lin Xuan and Li Yan following. Inside the restaurant, the newly hired waitress was washing dishes. Seeing the three of them, she had met Lin Xuan yesterday, so she said, “Um, you haven’t eaten yet, right? Let me serve you.”

Lin Xuan smiled and replied, “It’s okay; we can serve ourselves.”

With that, she went around to the bar area.

Xiang Bie scanned the room and asked, “Is the director not here?”

The waitress, Xiao Zhang, who didn’t recognize Xiang Bie but saw he was asking, quickly replied, “I don’t think the director is back yet; I haven’t seen her all afternoon.”

Xiang Bie frowned and left the dining room with a serious expression, heading toward the veterinary station.

Just as he reached the entrance of the veterinary station, the door swung open from inside.

“Hey! Brother Xiang!” Wei Li exclaimed upon seeing Xiang Bie outside with surprise. “The director just asked about you.”

Xiang Bie frowned. “The director is inside?”

“Yes,” Wei Li confirmed.

Xiang Bie pressed his lips together. The thought that Tayun might have gone missing or encountered trouble darkened his expression. He hesitated for a moment before stepping past Wei Li into the room. Just as he was about to tell Mu Ling about this matter, he swallowed his words back down.

Inside the small veterinary station, Mu Ling sat on a sofa. Beside her was a black panther with an unfriendly demeanor glaring at her lap. On her lap stood a giant eagle with a white head, a deep gray body, black claws, and wings shimmering in gray-gold.

The giant eagle’s keen eyes were fixed on Mu Ling’s face as she gently stroked its head feathers and softly spoke: “Sister has already asked Director Wang. He said we should give you a soft wing injection; however, I really don’t want to do it. Tell me—can you accept being caged? Our animal dormitory will be ready soon; it’s very tall. Would you fly inside? We won’t go out; just stay inside—okay?”

Mu Ling’s tone was like negotiating with the giant eagle. However, at that moment, Xiang Bie’s gaze was fixed on that arrogant giant eagle.

“Director! Brother Xiang is back!” Wei Li announced loudly.

Mu Ling was startled and immediately looked up to see it was indeed Xiang Bie. She exclaimed with joy, “Ah! Brother Xiang! You’re finally back! I thought something happened to you! Why didn’t you respond to my intercom? Ah! Brother Wei! Quickly close the door!”

Wei Li jumped in surprise and quickly said, “Okay! Okay! You guys chat; I’ll go to the restaurant to save some food for you.”

With that, Wei Li hurried out and firmly closed the door from outside.

Inside the veterinary station—excluding animals—only Mu Ling and Xiang Bie remained.

Seeing Brother Xiang staring intently at the giant eagle, Mu Ling said, “This is Tayun; didn’t you go up the mountain to find Tayun?”

Xiang Bie remained silent and just looked at Mu Ling.

Mu Ling guessed that Brother Xiang probably hadn’t heard her through the intercom and recounted how she encountered Tayun and brought it down from the mountain.

After listening to her story, Xiang Bie’s expression turned cold. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke: “You don’t want to give it an injection?”

Mu Ling hesitated slightly. “I just asked Director Wang; he said it definitely needs one. But look how well-behaved Tayun is! I was still wearing my helmet just now, but later, seeing how obedient it was, I tried taking off the helmet, and it didn’t harm me. It even let me touch it and responded when I called it. See for yourself!”

As she spoke this last part, she moved slightly.

As soon as she moved, the giant eagle immediately spread its wings and flew into midair.

Mu Ling stood up and extended her arm. “Tayun.”

No sooner had she spoken than Tayun swooped down swiftly and landed steadily on her arm.

Mu Ling beamed with joy. “Brother Xiang! Look!”

Xiang Bie looked at the eagle with dark eyes for a while before suddenly opening the door wide.

Mu Ling was taken aback. “Brother Xiang!”

With the door open wide, Tayun didn’t immediately fly away; it remained perched on Mu Ling’s arm. Because her arm was thin like a stick and wobbled slightly under its weight, it shifted again two steps upward to stand more securely on her upper arm.

Seeing that Tayun hadn’t flown away surprised Mu Ling too; she let out an “Oh?”

Xiang Bie instructed firmly: “Step outside.”

Mu Ling seemed to understand Brother Xiang’s intention—he wanted to test if Tayun would still listen to her in an open environment.

Feeling nervous, she said: “But what if it flies away?”

“It won’t fly away.” Xiang Bie tightened his grip on his long gun.

Understanding now what he meant, Mu Ling took a deep breath and stepped outside anyway.

Sure enough, as soon as she stepped out, Tayun spread its wings and soared into flight.

Its figure grew smaller in distance as Xiang Bie raised his long gun below him into aiming position before saying: “Call it.”

Mu Ling quickly lifted her arm and shouted loudly: “Tayun!”

Her voice was indeed too loud; she feared Tayun wouldn’t hear her, but nearby in the dining room others also heard her call out.

Lin Xuan and Li Yan turned around to look through several panes of glass; they easily spotted where there was light at the entrance of the veterinary station where their director stood looking up at the sky with her right arm raised high above her head.

Confused by what they saw at first—suddenly—a massive bird shadow swooped down from the night sky, landing steadily on their director’s arm before folding its enormous wings back in close.

“Bang!” Lin Xuan instantly jumped up from her chair, nearly knocking it over.

“Tayun!” Li Yan exclaimed in shock. “Did our director just call Tayun?”

Having been employed for several days now at Bi Ke Zoo, Li Yan naturally knew which S-class war beasts were currently present there.

Lin Xuan didn’t bother answering Li Yan’s question; she immediately headed outside while Li Yan set down his chopsticks, following after her.

“Brother Xiang! It really listens!” Mu Ling exclaimed excitedly as she cradled Tayun on her arm, joy radiating from her face nearly overflowing with delight.

However, at that moment, Tayun noticed Xiang Bie pointing his gun towards it; memories of recent events flooded back, and it finally recognized this person as its enemy!

Its feathers bristled instantly as it spread its wings aggressively, preparing for an attack posture.

“Tayun! Don’t be afraid! He means no harm!” Mu Ling hurriedly soothed Tayun while glancing toward Xiang Bie.

Xiang Bie silently lowered his gun.

Seeing that its enemy no longer posed any threat signals, Tayun gradually folded its wings back down, calming under Mu Ling’s reassurance.

At this point, Xiang Bie said: “No need for an injection anymore; just treat its wings properly so it doesn’t fall again.”

Mu Ling looked at him surprised: “Is that really okay? It won’t fly away?”

“Mm.” As he spoke those words, Xiang Bie’s deep-set eyes turned toward Mu Ling again, saying: “With you here—it won’t leave.”

For some reason—even though Mu Ling herself wasn’t entirely sure about this—but after Brother Xiang affirmed it so confidently, she felt reassured, like taking a calming pill; indeed, she found herself worrying less now.

She gently stroked Tayun’s wings, saying: “Alright then—Tayun! Both brother and sister have decided to trust you; we hope you won’t let us down—okay?”

As she spoke this last part, unable to resist, she leaned over and planted a kiss on Tayun’s little head affectionately.

Tayun froze momentarily, then turned its head sharply towards Mu Ling.

Seeing its big reaction, Mu Ling also paused. She was used to kissing Qilin and the others, and for a moment, she had gotten a bit carried away.

Oh no, would Tayun be angry?

Just then, without warning, Tayun suddenly spread its wings, soaring into flight once more!

Thinking it might run away, Mu Ling quickly called out: “Tayun! Tayun!”

But this time, Tayun didn’t return to her arm; instead, it circled above before suddenly diving downward, landing right before Mu Ling, flapping its wings against her arms playfully, then taking off again, only to dive once more, starting to circle around her repeatedly!

Mu Ling was confused. She continued to raise her arm, wanting Tayun to perch, but Tayun kept flying. Mu Ling asked Xiang Bie, “Brother Xiang, what’s going on?”

Xiang Bie looked at Mu Ling with a complex expression, tightly furrowing his brows together deep in thought for some time before finally exhaling deeply, saying: “It’s courting.”

Mu Ling: “?”

Xiang Bie continued solemnly: “Mutual pecking of neck feathers indicates affection; by showing affection towards it—you received feedback now inviting you up into the sky to complete courtship rituals together.”

“It already demonstrated falling down together, holding hands—all part of the ritual. Circling around you showcases both its strength and protective capabilities.”

Mu Ling: “?”

Xiang Bie rubbed his forehead, looking intently towards Mu Ling, saying: “I advise against agreeing—eagles are monogamous. If they consider you their partner, they will harbor hostility towards other creatures near you.”

Mu Ling: “?”

Feeling somewhat dazed by all this information, she stiffly replied: “Brother Xiang, that is to say, is there any possibility that even if I wanted to agree, I actually can’t fly?”

Xiang Bie’s tone remained indifferent: “So why kiss it then?”

Mu Ling: “?”

“Being promiscuous isn’t a good habit.”

Mu Ling: “?”

How did this turn into such an accusation? She merely kissed casually!

Everyone else let her kiss them.

Mu Ling had no choice but to call out in a firm tone, “Tayun!”

This time, Tayun seemed finally aware of having failed in its courting attempts. After flying around for some time, it slowly returned, landing back onto Mu Ling’s arm, drooping its head while curling its neck, letting its wings droop lifelessly beside itself…

At the age of eighteen, in the prime of youth, before the first love could even begin, it had already experienced heartbreak.