Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 273 Golden Eagle
After leaving the cellar at Lao Congtou, the two men drove the horse-drawn sleigh and continued walking towards Diaowolazi.

When we arrived at the foot of the hillside where Old Liu lived, before we got close, we heard an eagle's cry, followed by a huge black shadow swooping down from mid-air.

Old Liu stood in front of the door of the horse rack room and waved at the black shadow in the air, and the black shadow landed beside him.

Old Liu bent down slightly, stretched out his right hand, and touched the feathers on the big guy's head and back.

Then I found that there were still some gray-yellow hair and blood stains around this guy's mouth.

I touched its crop again and found it was indeed bulging.

"You are restless again and you are going to provoke the wolf, right?

If you keep getting into trouble, I won't take care of you." Old Liu said with a smile, stroking the well-behaved bird in front of him.

At this time, Qu Shaoyang and Meng Lanjun also came closer.

Qu Shaoyang looked at the big guy next to Grandpa Liu and was filled with envy.

"Master, as we agreed, I have brought you the things.

Is this a golden eagle?" Qu Shaoyang looked at the guy with fiery eyes, very curious.

"Oh, young man, you have good eyesight, you even recognized it as a golden eagle.

This guy has been following me since he was a kid, about ten years or so, right?

I used to be able to let it stand on my shoulders, but now I can’t, I’m old and can’t hold it up anymore.”

Old Liu looked at his companions and sighed.

"I'm all alone in this mountain, but luckily I have it to keep me company.

Don’t be fooled by its obedience now, this guy can hunt and kill wolves, and is very fierce.”

When talking about his beloved golden eagle, Old Liu was particularly proud. As he spoke, he touched the top of the golden eagle's head lovingly.

The golden eagle seemed to enjoy its owner's touch and made cooing sounds.

Qu Shaoyang and Meng Lanjun were extremely envious of the interaction between the man and the sculpture.

"Come on, let's talk inside." Old Liu waved at the two of them, then turned and went into the house.

The golden eagle also wandered around and followed Old Liu into the house.

Although this eagle looks handsome and agile in the sky, it would be quite funny if it were walking on the ground.

It was the first time Meng Lanjun saw a golden eagle walking, and he was so amused by its silly appearance that he couldn't stop smiling.

The two men moved the things they brought into the house one by one. Old Man Liu took a look and made sure that they were all what he wanted. Then he nodded, turned around, and took out some things from the box on the kang.

After his previous experience with Old Congtou, Qu Shaoyang didn't say anything this time and just let the old man take whatever he wanted.

Grandpa Liu dug out some fox skins, raccoon skins, marmot skins, gray skins, Yuan skins, etc., as well as some medicinal materials such as Ganoderma lucidum, deer antlers, and angelica sinensis.

Compared to what Mr. Cong took out, what this person took out was a little worse.

Of course, it is more than enough to exchange for those supplies.

"That's all. I'll keep the rest for future use. Take a look at these. Are they enough?"

The old man glanced at Qu Shaoyang and said.

"Not only is it enough, but there is a lot more. Old man, I will give you the extra money, okay?"

Qu Shaoyang didn't want to take advantage of others or owe them a favor.

"No, I have no use for the silver. I'll give it to you. Just take it."

The old man waved his hand and spoke with some disinterest.

"Most of these skins were obtained by it. Some were pecked by it and are not worth much." A well-trained golden eagle can become a good hunter. Grandpa Liu naturally doesn't care too much about having such a capable helper.

"Grandpa, excuse me for asking, are you willing to accept any disciples?" Qu Shaoyang coughed twice and asked with an embarrassed look on his face.

Normally, this was only the second time they met, so Qu Shaoyang shouldn't have asked, but he was so tempted by the golden eagle that he didn't care about it.

"Apprentice? Do you want to learn how to catch and train hawks from me?" The old man glanced at Qu Shaoyang and shook his head.

"It's too late. This has to be practiced since childhood. It won't be possible without more than ten years of practice."

Qu Shaoyang sighed when he heard this. He knew that the other person didn't want to pay attention to him.

"Old man, if you have nothing to do here, we will leave first. The return journey is quite long." Qu Shaoyang clasped his fists and said goodbye to the other party.

"Well, let's go. This mountain is not peaceful. Let's go back early while it's still day." The old man waved his hand and said.

He was not happy dealing with outsiders in the first place, and only agreed to exchange some things with Qu Shaoyang for the sake of Old Meng.

Now that the deal is done, why are you still staying here? Do you still want him to treat you to a meal?
Qu Shaoyang dealt with these two old men and was able to see their personalities.

So he packed up the things that Grandpa Liu had given him, and left the stable with Meng Lanjun, driving the sled back.

Diaowolazi is quite far from Sandaimiaoling. Fortunately, we left home early today and had a horse-drawn sleigh, so it was faster than walking.

Even so, as the two walked back, the sun set in the west and the sky gradually darkened.

It's already cold in this mountain, and it gets even colder when the sun sets.

The northwest wind was blowing, and the two people sitting on the sled felt like they were almost frozen through.

"Brother Qu, let's get off and walk for a while. It's getting colder sitting on the sled."

They walked back, heading west, facing the wind. The cold wind was like a knife, and even though they covered their faces with scarves, it still hurt.

Qu Shaoyang also felt quite cold, mainly because he was sitting on the sled motionless and his blood circulation was stagnant.

So he pulled the reins to slow the horse down, and then the two of them jumped off the sled and continued forward, leading the horses.

The two walked forward for about four or five miles, and after they moved around a bit, they no longer felt as cold as before.

At this time, we were still about twenty miles away from Sandaimiaoling. The sky was getting dark, and the light was blocked in the woods, so things in the distance were not very clear.

Suddenly, a series of "woooo" and "chirp" noises were heard coming from the dense forest ahead.

Accompanied by the wind, it sounded a bit weird, making people's hair stand on end.

Without saying a word, Qu Shaoyang immediately loosened the reins, took off the gun from his back, held the gun in his hand, and headed towards the source of the sound.

Meng Lanjun had the same reaction, but he was not very familiar with the new rifle in his hand, so his movements were a little stiff.

"It seems we have encountered a jackal. Don't shoot, get on the sled and let's go."

Qu Shaoyang had good eyesight and vaguely saw a lot of red shadows in the woods, surrounding something.

In this mountain, the only animals with red fur are fire foxes and jackals. Foxes don’t make red calls like this, and they rarely appear in groups.

Qu Shaoyang had just taken a quick glance and saw at least a dozen red animals in the forest. With this association, he could roughly guess what they were.

Jackals are the most difficult animals in the mountains. They are good at cooperation, often hunt in groups, and are very vindictive.

In this mountain, even the black blind and the big clawed don't dare to provoke the jackal easily. Although this creature looks small, it is very annoying.

Meng Lanjun had obviously heard of jackals, so when Qu Shaoyang said that, his face changed and he hurriedly got on the sled.

Qu Shaoyang also took the opportunity to jump onto the sled and urged the horse to run faster.

(End of this chapter)