Chapter 624: Chapter 622: The Eagle That Fell From the Sky

A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the trees along the path. The moment they entered the mountain, the uniquely fresh scent of vegetation washed over them.

"Wow, the air here is so fresh," a young man named Wu Wei said, taking a deep breath and feeling invigorated.

Su Qing smiled faintly. ’The Spiritual Energy in Xiqing Mountain is only slightly less concentrated than in Qinling,’ she thought. ’No other mountain range can compare. It’s only natural that the air here is so much fresher than anywhere else.’

The oxcart was slow, and the journey from Maqu County to the foot of Xiqing Mountain had taken the better part of the morning. By the time Su Qing and her group had entered the mountains and walked for over an hour, it was nearly time for lunch.

Su Qing sensed a mountain stream not far away and said to Cao Zhengming, "Dean Cao, let’s find a place to get something to eat."

"Alright," Cao Zhengming agreed with a smile. "Su Qing, you know these mountains better than we do. You call the shots; we’ll follow your lead."

Bai Qingyuan added, "That’s right, Su Qing. You can set the itinerary. We’re all fine with that."

"Alright." Su Qing didn’t hesitate, pointing in the direction of the water source. "I can feel a lot of moisture in the air that way. There should be a stream or something similar. Let’s go eat over there."

"Alright."

The group followed Su Qing in the direction of the stream. True enough, after walking for less than twenty minutes, they saw it—a clear creek flowing slowly between the rocks, its surface glistening. As they drew closer, they could even see wild fish swimming in the water.

"Hey, fish! There are fish!" one of the young men exclaimed happily, looking at the stream in surprise.

"There really are," another young man chimed in, having seen them as well. "I wonder if we could catch some and roast them."

’Roasting fish out in the wild!’

’Just thinking about it was exciting!’

The young people on the trip weren’t very old and still had the lively spirit of youth. They all turned to Su Qing and Cao Zhengming, their eyes filled with longing. As long as those two gave the nod, they wouldn’t have to gnaw on dry rations for lunch and could enjoy a delicious meal instead.

Cao Zhengming chuckled. He wasn’t a stick-in-the-mud and understood what the young people were thinking. ’If I were twenty or thirty years younger, I’d probably be the same,’ he thought. He then smiled at Su Qing and asked, "How about we have a little cookout here today?"

Su Qing smiled. "Alright. In that case, I’ll go find a few wild pheasants and rabbits. If we’re going to do this, let’s do it right."

"Awesome! Thank you, Su Qing!" Hearing her words, several of the young people broke into happy smiles. The only exception was Wu Qiao Ping, who stood quietly to one side, clearly in a bad mood.

Wu Qiao Ping had been in the wrong during the earlier incident, so now everyone had the good sense to pretend they didn’t notice her sulking. One of the young men volunteered, "I know a bit about fishing. I can catch them."

Su Qing then took some cornmeal from her dimensional space and said, "For those of you fishing, use this as bait. It works pretty well."

"Thanks!" a few of the young people said, smiling at Su Qing.

Su Qing let Cao Zhengming and Bai Qingyuan know she was going, then headed into the woods to catch some game, with Bai Minyun, her little shadow, in tow.

Bai Minyun had grown up around traditional Chinese medicine. Mr. Bai placed great importance on the family’s younger generation undergoing physical training and conditioning. Bai Minyun also loved to exercise, so her physical fitness was quite impressive.

However, when it came to the matter of hunting, Bai Minyun was far from an expert.

"Oh my god!" As Bai Minyun watched, Su Qing flicked a small stone, and a gray rabbit dropped instantly. Bai Minyun rushed forward and picked the rabbit up by its ears. She looked at the unconscious animal, then back at Su Qing. "How in the world did you learn to do that? How are you so accurate?"

Su Qing smiled as she tied the rabbit’s legs with a vine. "I grew up near mountains, too," she said. "I’ve been running around them since I was little. My aim just got better and better over time, naturally."

"That’s incredible," Bai Minyun said with a sigh of admiration. "If I had skills like yours, my grandpa would be ecstatic."

"What, does Grandpa Bai want you to be a martial arts heroine?" Su Qing teased with a smile.

Bai Minyun nodded. "You have no idea. When he was young, my grandpa loved to read those wuxia novels. They say he even dreamed of becoming a martial hero and thought about going to Shaolin Temple to study as a disciple. But apparently, my great-grandfather mercilessly shut that down."

At this, Bai Minyun started to laugh. "My grandpa regretted that for a long, long time."

Su Qing couldn’t help but laugh out loud as well. The time she’d met Mr. Bai, she’d found him to be a kind and composed elder. She never would have guessed he had been so wild and reckless in his youth.

While they were talking, Su Qing caught another rabbit and two more pheasants. She figured that for their group of ten, two rabbits, two pheasants, and the fish from the stream should be about enough. Then, she had Bai Minyun help her gather a good amount of mugwort before they headed back to the stream.

Everyone was thrilled to see Su Qing and Bai Minyun return with so much wild game. A few of the young men volunteered to prepare the pheasants and rabbits. The firewood and grilling racks were already set up. Su Qing took a look around and was impressed; the young people were surprisingly capable. In the short time she and Bai Minyun had been gone, they had managed to catch seven or eight wild fish. The smallest was about the length of her palm and the width of three fingers, while the largest was nearly four pounds.

The young people bustled about, lively and loud as they roasted the fish, rabbits, and pheasants. Cao Zhengming and Bai Qingyuan watched, smiling cheerfully. The atmosphere was completely harmonious. Even Wu Qiao Ping, whose expression had been sour all day, didn’t dare say or do anything to spoil the mood. ’All in all,’ Su Qing thought, ’coming into the mountains with this group has been pretty good so far.’

Although their wild barbecue was missing many seasonings, the local game had lived in the mountains their whole lives, and coupled with the rich Spiritual Energy of Xiqing Mountain, they tasted exceptionally good. Just as everyone was happily eating, a piercing cry suddenly rang out from overhead.

"KREEE—"

Everyone quickly looked up, their eyes widening in shock as they saw something plummeting toward them at high speed.

The others couldn’t get a clear look, but Su Qing recognized it at a glance. It was a Golden Eagle, and it appeared to be badly injured. Seeing the eagle about to hit the ground, she rushed forward a few steps to catch it. However, as she moved, she saw the Golden Eagle desperately flapping its wings and lunging right into her arms.

And so, with both parties rushing to meet, the Golden Eagle landed squarely in Su Qing’s arms.

Su Qing was speechless. ’...Why do I get the feeling this Golden Eagle just threw itself into my arms?’

Moreover, Su Qing had a feeling that the Golden Eagle had been aiming for her specifically.

The Golden Eagle, now nestled in Su Qing’s arms, gave a comfortable shiver. Although its wounds were extremely painful, the familiar presence it had been painstakingly searching for over the past year was right here. It was so excited that it simply burrowed into Su Qing’s embrace, unwilling to leave.

’Mhm, I’m injured,’ it thought. ’I’m still just a baby...’

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