Yang Ruxin’s eyes instantly widened in shock. It was an eagle, and eagles and snakes were natural enemies. But it would be difficult for her to intervene. What was she to do? She could only shout out, "Xiaolun, hide quickly!"
In the blink of an eye, the eagle had already swooped in close.
However, Xiaolun was no ordinary snake; its speed was remarkably fast. With a whoosh, it shot up and miraculously dodged the eagle’s talons.
But the eagle wasn’t so lucky. Perhaps because it was too swift and powerful, after being dodged by Xiaolun, it tried to follow but ended up crashing into a tree at the edge of the cliff. There was a loud thud, and the creature fell straight down.
Although the cliff wasn’t very high, it must have been at least ten meters tall, and falling from that height would likely be fatal.
Yang Ruxin had never seen such a clumsy eagle before. Failing to catch a snake was one thing, but to then knock itself out was another. And for some inexplicable reason, she suddenly stepped forward, flicked her whip in an instant, ensnaring the eagle’s claws, and with one strong pull, she hauled it back up.
The eagle was in a dazed state, but it still instinctively tried to flap its wings, only to be firmly held down. It stared at Yang Ruxin with its mung bean eyes and let out two weak cries. It was, after all, the noble Divine Eagle, Hai Dongqing. Had it not been for an injury to its wings, would it have failed to catch even a common snake? Would it have lost control and crashed into a tree? Would it have been pinned to the ground by a human? Forget it, it’s useless to say more—it would just be tears. Besides, this human wouldn’t understand a word it said.
"Stop struggling," Yang Ruxin glared at the Divine Eagle. "You’re injured, I’m going to apply medicine. I don’t care if you’re some Divine Eagle or whatever else; just don’t bite me. Otherwise, I’ll pluck you bare..." However, this eagle really was quite beautiful, with its entire body covered in black feathers, not a single one out of place, and its claws and beak a snowy white.
Xiaolun coiled around Yang Ruxin’s wrist, flicking its tongue. So what about Hai Dongqing? It still needed Little Xinxin to heal it. Besides, even without the injury, it couldn’t catch the great Xiaolun.
"Just you wait. Once my wings are healed, I’ll swallow you whole..." The eagle, hearing Xiaolun’s taunt, immediately turned its gaze towards the snake.
"Come on then, scared? Be careful, or the great Xiaolun will poison you to death..."
"Don’t misuse that poison," Yang Ruxin tapped Xiaolun’s head and then looked at the black eagle. "There, this medicinal powder works wonders; by tomorrow, the wound should scab over and start to heal..." The eagle had likely been shot by an arrow before; its wound was still bleeding. She wondered whether it happened recently or if it had reopened during flight.
The eagle stood up and cocked its head to look at Yang Ruxin. It realized, joyfully, that this woman could understand the language of birds, that she comprehended its meaning—what a serendipitous connection!
Frankly, Yang Ruxin found it quite incredible too. After rescuing Dabai and Xiaobai, she discovered that she could communicate with them. Later on, Xiaolun joined her, and gradually, she realized she could communicate with Xiaolun too. Now she had saved an eagle and was surprised to find she could understand bird language as well. This skill was truly remarkable.
"Alright, we need to descend the mountain," Yang Ruxin waved towards the dark figure and then turned to leave.
But after walking a few steps, she noticed that the dark figure was following her.