Chapter 18 The Mysterious Iron Cage
Xie Mianmian put down her calligraphy brush, covered her mouth with her hands, and secretly whispered to the window, thinking she was being discreet, "Okay, you can take me after class."
The Grand Tutor, who was giving a lecture, looked at the students below, who were all sorts of strange and wonderful people, and hesitated to speak.
Alright then, let's make learning fun.
He cleared his throat. "The spring weather is so warm and pleasant. We won't have classes from now on. Let's go to the garden to enjoy the spring."
Upon hearing this, the students all grinned, each one extremely excited.
"However, each person must submit a five-character poem about spring tomorrow."
The students' smiles gradually faded.
It shifted to the Grand Tutor's face.
In the garden, the Grand Tutor told the children about a poem lamenting the passing of spring, and also explained the poet's life and how the poem expressed the poet's complex emotions.
Kids: ? ? ? Something's not right, it's like some knowledge has gotten into my head.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Xie Mianmian slowly moved to the very back. Finding that no one cared about her, she got up and secretly slipped away.
Soon, another figure got up and followed Xie Mianmian.
Xie Mianmian followed the chubby bird to an unfamiliar palace. It was extremely quiet inside, without a single sound.
The child tiptoed inside, not daring to speak loudly, "What's wrong with that little bird?"
"Chirp chirp chirp, it's crying for help, it's in so much pain." As if it were feeling the pain itself, the little fat bird's tone was very sad.
Xie Mianmian gently stroked the little chubby bird's head and back, comforting it, "Don't worry, I will definitely save it."
The chubby bird led Xie Mianmian to a half-open window. "It's inside, chirping away."
Xie Mianmian slipped in through the window crack with practiced ease.
The interior was very large and dark, with boxes of all sizes piled high, almost filling the side hall, leaving only a few passageways forming a "well" shape.
Like walking through a winding, cold palace, Xie Mianmian was surrounded by stacks of boxes as soon as she stepped inside.
The child walked slowly, carefully looking at every nook and cranny, afraid that the poor little bird might be stuck somewhere, but he didn't find it.
Xie Mianmian noticed several particularly tall iron cages, all of which were completely covered with black cloth.
She looked at them one by one and noticed that one of the cages had a peculiar shape, much like the birdcage that Grandpa Gao next door often carried in his hands. However, this birdcage was much taller, almost the same height as her eldest brother.
Xie Mianmian was a little confused. Could the little bird be inside?
The little hand curiously reached into the thick fabric and lifted a small corner.
"Thump!" The creature in the cage suddenly lunged forward without warning, first with the sound of flapping wings, followed by a strong gust of wind that carried a bloody smell mixed with the odor of birds, before crashing into the cold iron cage.
"Ah!" Xie Mianmian was startled and fell backward silently.
A pair of slender but strong hands grabbed her shoulders from behind, steadying Xie Mianmian.
The child was startled again and looked back. A cold and arrogant young face stood out in the dim light.
"Seventh Prince, what are you doing here?" Xie Mianmian patted her chest, calming her pounding heart.
"Shouldn't I be asking you this? What are you doing at the place in Beirong where you stored your luggage?" The Seventh Prince released her.
Xie Mianmian is such a worry; if I don't keep an eye on her for a moment, she'll fall to the ground. Luckily, he came along.
Xie Mianmian pointed to the large birdcage, "There's a poor little bird that's injured, I'll save it."
The Seventh Prince frowned, his sharp eyes scrutinizing the cage in front of him. He grabbed Xie Mianmian's wrist and pulled her behind him, while his other hand forcefully ripped open the cage cloth.
"Woo! Woo! Woo!" The creature inside sensed the light and flapped its wings while screeching sharply.
The two children were stunned and speechless for a long time when they saw what was in the cage.
The seventh prince struggled to look up at the enormous creature, which was even taller than him, and swallowed hard. "Is this what you called the poor little bird?"
Is that a small bird? It's a giant golden eagle, as tall as a person!
This enormous golden eagle is in poor condition, as if it is injured somewhere, but its original majestic appearance is still evident.
The golden eagle had a wingspan of eight feet, its beautiful, smooth feathers shimmering with a golden-bronze sheen, and its wild eyes, like amber, stared intently at them.
"Little bird? Is that you calling for help?" Xie Mianmian asked the enormous creature, though she was scared.
"Ooh!" the golden eagle cried out in pain.
It spoke incoherently, “It hurts, they drugged me, I’m hungry.”
Xie Mianmian didn't understand, but the Seventh Prince beside her should, so she relayed the golden eagle's words to the Seventh Prince.
"It must be the Northern Rong people training the eagle." The Seventh Prince recalled what his archery instructor had told him. "They drugged the golden eagle and trained it. Only if it obeyed would they give it the antidote, otherwise..."
He watched as the golden eagle pounded the ground in pain and continued, "Or let it die from the pain. It will either commit suicide in agony or live a miserable life."
Xie Mianmian frowned, looking at the golden eagle with pity, "Do you know where the antidote is? I'll get it for you."
Upon hearing this, the golden eagle regained a sliver of clarity from its painful and hazy state of mind. "In the black box, there's a white bottle."
Xie Mianmian quickly pulled the Seventh Prince to find the black boxes. There were several black boxes, and they opened them one by one. Inside, they found either clothes or leather and wool, which emitted an indescribable fishy smell. Xie Mianmian pinched her nose tightly.
Soon, only one black box remained, next to a square iron cage as tall as a large birdcage, also covered tightly with a black cloth.
The seventh prince opened the black box, which was full of medicine bottles of various colors. Each bottle had a label on it, and they searched for the antidote in the white bottle one by one.
The seventh prince accidentally bumped his arm into the cage next to him, and a rustling sound came from inside the cage.
"Please, please help me too," came a weak female voice.
Xie Mianmian was no longer afraid, and with great effort, she tore open the black cloth covering the cage with both hands.
In the very center of the iron cage lay a huge snow wolf.
Its body was covered in blood and filth, and its once silvery-white, smooth fur had turned grayish.
Xie Mianmian asked anxiously, "What happened to you? Were you drugged too?"
The snow wolf raised its head and said weakly, "Hungry, I haven't eaten for three days."
Xie Mianmian: !
The child quickly rummaged through his pockets and took out all the pastries he had with him.
Finding that the snow wolf didn't even have the strength to sit up, Xie Mianmian had no choice but to throw the pastries to its mouth.
The snow wolf barely managed to prop its head up as it wolfed down its food.
The Seventh Prince was multitasking, keeping an eye on Xie Mianmian's situation while searching for something.
Finally, the antidote has been found.
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