The longer time passed, the worse Li and Chu's mood became. After searching for so long, they had not seen any trace of Li Qing on the road.
The eagles are very fast, and they all build their homes in very dangerous places that humans cannot reach. They are well aware of this. In fact, they all know that since so much time has passed and they have not seen any trace of Li Qing, Li Qing is probably in grave danger.
The only good thing is that there are indeed a lot of prey in this area. Just by following the flight path of the Sky-Defying Eagle to search for Li Qing, they have already made quite a harvest.
However, Li Qing's situation dampened the spirits of the hunting team, who should have been happy.
More than half of the hunting party complained that continuing the search was a waste of time and that they should hurry back to the tribe, where people were waiting for food. Only a small number of people, along with Li and Chu, still held onto a sliver of hope—a hope that even they themselves didn't believe they could have for finding Li Qing.
Of course, besides this small group of people, we also have to include the big black dog, Dahei.
At this rate, how long would it take...? Li didn't know. He led the hunting party onward.
After a while, he discovered a cliff.
Looking down, the bottom was invisible.
A cold wind blew in.
"Li, do you see that? There looks like a bird's nest down there."
Chu pointed down.
"I saw it."
Li said in a low voice.
The conversation between the two attracted many hunting teams to the cliff. Some of them were afraid of heights and only dared to stand at a distance from the cliff to ask those around them about the situation. Others, who were more daring, simply lay down on the edge of the cliff to find a better angle to look down from above.
"There really is a bird's nest, and it's huge! It shouldn't be the nest of an ordinary bird; it must be the nest of a pterosaur or an eagle, right?"
"It looks like something flew up... Everyone be careful!"
A soaring eagle flew straight upwards, cutting through the sky. The wind created by its flapping wings startled several unsuspecting people, who all leaned back in surprise.
"That scared me to death!"
"What was that thing just now? It was flying so fast!"
"...The Eagle Against the Sky".
Li looked at the eagle that had already flown far away and whispered.
“In other words, that nest down there must belong to the Sky-Defying Eagle,” Chu squinted at the ground below, shook his head, and cursed, “I can only see three small Sky-Defying Eagle chicks. If this is the nest of the Sky-Defying Eagle that took Maizi, I think we should go back to the tribe and hold a funeral for Maizi. Poor Maizi, he was eaten to the last crumb.”
Chu sighed: "Since there's no body, we'll have to erect a monument."
Li was somewhat unhappy with what Chu said, but he also knew that Chu's words were very realistic.
Li shook his head. He wanted to turn around and order his troops back to the tribe, but his neck and legs felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.
Why!
The Red Flower Tribe has never invaded other weaker tribes or wantonly hunted prey... Why is that!
Why have people been dying in the Red Flower tribe these past few days?
Why!
Li clenched his fists.
"I, we..."
Chu patted his old friend on the shoulder: "It will be alright, Li. Mai Zi was a good man. After he dies, his soul will return to nature."
"I understand."
“Then let’s go. The people in the tribe are waiting for us to come back for dinner,” Chu forced a smile. “Besides… we’ve already done our best.”
Li looked at the hunting team.
Chu had spent a long time with Li and naturally understood what Li meant. He sighed, "They didn't do it on purpose. Many of them are just young kids who have just left the tribe and haven't experienced bloodshed... It's normal that they don't understand our eagerness to find wheat."
Li sighed, "I know, I just... never mind."
Chu grinned, just about to say a few more words of comfort to Li.
Just then, a sharp arrow pierced through the side of Chu's eye!
...
I woke up from a nap.
Li Qing opened his eyes and stretched.
He didn't sleep well that night.
Because this was in the jungle, they had to take turns keeping watch at night, and even when they were asleep, they had to be constantly worried about the situation around them. So Li Qing never dared to let his guard down. When he woke up, he felt even more tired than if he hadn't slept at all.
Looking at the sky, Li Qing thought he had woken up quite early, but when he looked, he saw that Mang Hu and Yi had already gotten up early and were lying under the trees, resting with their eyes closed.
Li Qing was a little embarrassed and scratched his head, "They're all awake."
Manghu: "I've been waiting for you."
Li Qing: "Sorry, I was a little tired and overslept."
Manghu: "Listen, Li Qing, let me emphasize something to you. I'm only reluctantly agreeing to let you go to our tribe because of Yi, but you can't forget what you said: you're just stopping by on the way. Once you're inside, you can't stay for too long; you have to leave immediately!"
Manghu continued, "You are from the Red Flower Tribe. If you want to go to our tribe, you'd better know your place. If you want to do something excessive or make some even more excessive demands... then I can only warn you that our Green Leaf Tribe is not to be trifled with."
Li Qing smiled and said, "I understand."
Li Qing knew Mang Hu's thoughts, of course. The interior of a tribe is one of its biggest secrets. How could people from other tribes be allowed to come and go as they please? He was only able to "go in on his way" because he had gained their trust. That night, when Li Qing was half asleep, he felt Mang Hu staring at him and whispering something to Yi. Not long after, Mang Hu woke Li Qing up and said that he could go to their tribe, but he had to follow the rules.
Otherwise, even if he talked a good game, if people didn't trust him, they certainly wouldn't let him go and take a look on his way. Li Qing was very clear about this.
Mang Hu still seemed somewhat unwilling. He stood up, looked ahead, and said with a hint of seriousness in his voice, "Follow me. If you lose me, don't blame me."
Itti Manghu explained, "He means that this place is very strange, you've never been here before, so it's better to follow us and be careful."
“It must be extremely dangerous outside the tribe, I’m aware of that,” Li Qing nodded.
Yi shook her head, her tone tinged with worry, and said, "That's not what I meant."
"What is that?"
Yi asked Manghu in their tribe's language. After Manghu said a long string of sentences that Li Qing couldn't understand at all, Yi translated for Li Qing: "This is actually our tribe's former hunting ground, and a place we went to when we were hiding from attacks by other tribes. It is almost impossible for outsiders to get out of here, but we often come here and know this place very well, which is why we let you follow behind us."
"You mean the terrain here is very complicated, and people who haven't been here before can easily get lost?"
I replied, “Getting lost is one thing, but the most important thing is the danger, especially the last stretch of road when we return to the tribe. You must follow behind us because that road is not on the ground.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
