Chapter 77

The green snake finished shouting and let out a long breath.

"Hmph, I'll get revenge someday!" Although it itself didn't know when that would be, who let that guy fly.

"Sorry." The goldfinch lady suddenly spoke.

The sudden apology left the green snake bewildered: "This is my feud with that guy, what are you apologizing for——"

It was naturally smart; just now its mind hadn't turned the corner, it spoke halfway, then abruptly changed its tone, its wary vertical pupils fixed on the goldfinch, and it suddenly lowered its body: "What's your relationship with that guy?"

The goldfinch lady startled, facing the snake's ferocious mouth, she struggled to steady her breath: "I, I should…… be its partner."

Green snake: "How is that possible!"

It stared in shock at the tiny goldfinch, not even enough to fill its teeth gap, then it looked at Ling Yue: "Friend, is it…… something wrong here?"

While saying that, the snake's tail pressed against its head.

Ling Yue helplessly rubbed her forehead; thinking about it, she knew the green snake wouldn't believe, but this was indeed a fact, she explained: "The goldfinch lady is now the lead singer of the bird choir I founded; I know her bird nature, she won't lie."

So that's really true?!

The green snake's tail twitched, and with a slap it hit the grass, digging a hole: "I don't understand——"

"I really don't understand."

For a creature like the goldfinch, it's not that it looks down on it; the other should be food in a hawk's mouth, yet they actually fell in love?

Besides the size difference, it shook its head, its head hurt.

When she learned they were going to look for the crazy hawk, the green snake still couldn't help urging: "You guys must be careful, it really……" The green snake paused, then said: "It seems to have gone mad."

"It attacks all the small animals inside, drives everyone out, and every day it carries some seemingly useless flowers and seeds; no one knows what it's up to."

Hearing this, the goldfinch's eyes reddened, she shook her feathers and spoke more firmly: "He's my husband."

This is their little secret; as a delicate goldfinch, even though she's grown accustomed to the harsh wilderness, she still can't help longing for something better.

It will pick some fresh flowers to decorate their nest, enjoying the dew in the morning blossoms, sweet and still carrying a floral scent.

The goldfinch even thought of flying over regardless of everything to find it, but she restrained herself.

The goldfinch lady's voice was a little hoarse: "Can we hurry into the mountains?"

Ling Yue nodded: "Of course."

They said farewell to the cucumber and the green snake, a group headed deep into the forest, where the towering trees blocked the sun, the leaves of trees sensing autumn's air gradually reddened, piling up thickly.

Beside Ling Yue, Big Black was eager to try, stepping on dry twigs and fallen leaves, making a creaking sound that seemed especially novel to it, yet its face remained calm, its nose lightly sniffing, analyzing the various scents in the forest—moist soil, fragrant grass, elegant floral aroma, all mingled together, this was the taste of nature.

The best training Big Black learned in the police force was to stay calm in the face of anything, for only calmness can solve everything.

The treasure-seeking mouse stretched in Ling Yue's pocket, looked around: "Goodness, this place is huge."

Compared to the treasure-seeking mouse's tiny size, this place is practically a whole world; it felt ever more grateful for having come along, as if it were embarking on a fantastical journey with its owners.

"Zizzle."

A squirrel with a big fluffy tail darted away, a gray-furred wild rabbit hid beneath the bushes, forest critters hid in various spots, pairs of eyes curiously watching them.

Ling Yue heard the rustling of discussion.

"Wow, humans again?"

"So many people today, did we get new members here?"

"Forget it, what new members? The big beasts inside have all been chased off by that crazy guy, who'd dare come now?!"

"Hey, these people, they wouldn't be coming up the mountain to poach, would they?"

"Impossible, it's a woman, and she even has a dog; you saw the goldfinch on her shoulder, right? Maybe she's just out for a picnic!"

Another squirrel crunched a pine cone, ka-ka, it smelled especially fragrant; hearing this, its big eyes rolled around: "I bet three pine cones they'll stop at the stream and definitely not go further."

"Who's betting with you? Just now a little squirrel analyzed it, you're just trying to con me out of my big pine cone!"

The chittering chatter echoed through the woods; Ling Yue unconsciously curled her lips, she looked up at the dappled light and shadow of the forest, not knowing which tree they were hiding in.

The closer they got to the destination, the tenser the goldfinch became; it drew its wings tight, small as it was, with a layer of soft downy feathers, yet even so Ling Yue could feel its body tensed like a bowstring pulled to the limit.

"Relax a bit." She rubbed the goldfinch lady's wings, feeling its stiff body, and said: "We still have a ways to go before we arrive; if you're this tense now, you'll surely faint later."

"What should I do then?" The goldfinch lady trembled with excitement: "I just can't control myself; whenever I think of him, I can't help showing my best side."

It sighed: "We haven't seen each other in ages."

The stream's gurgling sounded; Ling Yue continued forward, then suddenly said: "If when you meet, it sees you not at your best, will it despise you?"

"It dares!"

After saying that, the goldfinch lady reacted, shrank beneath her wings, and couldn't help adding: "No matter what I look like, it absolutely wouldn't dare despise me; if anyone despises, it'd be me despising it."

"That guy is really too rough."

Ling Yue laughed out loud, seemingly bringing up that big bird mister, the goldfinch lady always couldn't help but burst the bird setting. She clapped her hands: "Isn't that settled then?"

"It will never despise you, we don't need to be so tense."

Ling Yue said, gently rubbing with her fingertip.

Soon they arrived at the stream's edge, the babbling water masked some sounds; only when they drew near did Ling Yue realize there was already a group of people here.

She instantly recalled what those small animals had said earlier—could this be the same batch of people? She hadn't expected to run into them here.

Ling Yue eyed them warily.

By the stream, the person who was sending a message also froze.

There were three of them in total, each holding a large black bag that looked long and thick, resembling a cannon barrel; Ling Yue's pupils contracted, it was hard not to think of that kind of thing.

At that moment, the man beside them had already walked over.

Her heart tightened; she hadn't expected the other side to come over on their own, Ling Yue's Big Black by her feet had already risen to its feet, eyes locked firmly on the opponent.

The refined-looking man looked at her: "Hello!"

"Don't be afraid, we're not bad people." The man said, then blinked, feeling the more he said, the more something seemed off.

Ling Yue prepared to strike unexpectedly when the opponent was unprepared, but before she could act, the other side promptly clarified: "Don't get the wrong idea, we're here to photograph birds, we're bird‑watching enthusiasts."

Ling Yue froze, then instantly realized, and the goldfinch on her shoulder whispered to her: 'Hey, look, what are they doing?'

Ling Yue looked at the others; they opened the zipper, and what was inside was not the cannon she imagined, but a tripod and a camouflaged camera, wrapped in green camo cloth. If Ling Yue hadn't had experience and seen it before, she would really have thought this bunch had brought out a cannon.

She pursed her lips; as long as I'm not embarrassed, the embarrassed one is someone else QWQ.

Before she could say anything, the other party asked: 'Do you know how to get to Wanyue Mountain? We got lost while walking.'

"Wanyue Mountain?" she repeated, eyeing the man cautiously: "What are you going to Wanyue Mountain for?"

The scholarly man, upon hearing that, knew there was an opportunity and smiled: "My friends are right there in Wanyue Mountain; they told me there's a very impressive falcon inside, and we're planning to go birding."

"Birding" is a term used by bird photographers, using a super-telephoto lens aimed at flying birds, requiring the camera's high-speed burst function, which produces a continuous shutter sound like 'click-click-click', just like a hunter shooting birds with a gun.

This is an encyclopedia description Ling Yue had seen before; she hasn't actually seen one yet.

She looked at the valuable camera, already let down her guard, joking, this camera is at least several hundred thousand; poachers scramble to earn a few thousand, how could they spend several hundred thousand on props.

So Ling Yue nodded: "I know where Wanyue Mountain is; you can follow me."

The other party couldn't help but be delighted: "Won't this be a trouble for you?"

Ling Yue waved her hand: "What trouble? Our destination is also Wanyue Mountain."

"You're going birding?"

Ling Yue stroked the goldfinch's wing: "I'm recognizing kin."

In an instant, the man felt as if question marks were stuck all over his head: "Recognizing kin? Recognizing what kin?"

Ling Yue didn't know he had already imagined the Tai Ping Yang; she tidied up and continued forward, walking and chatting, and gradually became clearer about this group's background—they were domestic bird-watching enthusiasts. However, she paused: "How did you get the news that there's a falcon in Wanyue Mountain?"

The man chuckled: "In an information society, it flew into the city, caused a commotion, then flew back; people spotted it, took photos, posted them online, and that's how we found out."

When birds were mentioned, the man enthusiastically introduced the falcon: "According to our observations, this should be an Altai falcon, but it's too unusual!"

"At this time of year, it would have already gone to overwinter somewhere like Qinghai, rather than staying around as it does now."

"This guy isn't rare, but I've never seen such a beautiful one; its wings are huge, its build is remarkably perfect, it could totally be called the sky's overlord!"

Ling Yue let the following words go in one ear and out the other, her eyes flickering slightly; Miss Goldfinch had already lowered her head shyly—these were all praises for her husband, and she herself was about to meet her husband soon!

Miss Goldfinch was nervous to an unprecedented degree; she hooked her claws onto Ling Yue's shoulder, sensed the gaze, and instantly shrank her little claws.

Ling Yue: "... Being cute is shameful!"

But she really couldn't resist it—truly hateful!

Meanwhile, in Wanyue Mountain.

Because its shape resembles a crescent moon, the terrain is steep, and the peaks were thus named Wanyue Mountain. At this moment, a huge Altai falcon swooped down from the sky, its wings spread astonishingly wide, its piercing cry like a knife, instantly tearing open the air.

Because it resembles a crescent moon, the terrain is steep, and the mountains were thus named Crescent Moon Mountain. At this moment, a huge Altai falcon swooped down from the sky, its outstretched wings astonishingly large, its piercing bird cry like a knife, instantly tearing open space.

A group hid in the dense bushes, gazing at this Altai falcon; he instinctively raised his hand, only to realize he had just a small camera for photographing rabbits, and tears immediately welled up.

"Good heavens, when are Cheng Zhe and the others finally coming? I've been observing for a while; it's going to fly away soon! Every day I wander around the mountain, not knowing what it wants to do."

The man muttered quietly, having a familiar flowchart; it was obvious he often came here to observe, having already figured out the falcon's daily schedule.

Another friend lay in the bushes, not wanting to speak; hearing that, he sighed: "We should just keep our strength and not disturb the Altai falcon."

Just then, the phone suddenly vibrated; the two looked at each other, saw a message, and joy instantly welled up in their eyes: "They're here, they said they're here!"

On Ling Yue's side, she split from Cheng Zhe's group and took a small path up the mountain; the closer she got, the more excited the goldfinch on her shoulder became, unconsciously looking up at the sky, hoping to find the figure she wanted to see.

Suddenly, a sharp cry rang out, echoing among the mountains.

Ling Yue heard it clearly: it was calling Qing Ling!

"Honey, Qing Ling, where are you?"

"Honey, don't you want me anymore?"

Ling Yue was quite astonished; she never expected that such a loud cry would actually be a choked sob. The big bird Mr., unable to find his wife, gazed at the endless green mountains, hatred filling his eyes.

It then went mad again, frantically darting up and down.

In Wanyue Mountain, Miss Goldfinch was so excited she was about to burst into tears, her eyes red as she gazed upward, her voice unable to hide her excitement: "This is where I and Mr. Big Bird live."

"I thought it had already left, but I didn't expect it to still be here—what is it doing here?"

Miss Goldfinch muttered to herself; she never expected anyone to answer, but she knew all the more clearly that Mr. Big Bird had returned because of her.

But it actually missed him outright.

It had thought it wouldn't be here.

Miss Goldfinch instinctively looked at Ling Yue: "What should we do now? I want it to see me."

"Yue Yue, help me out, please."

It could be described as anxious as burning; even while looking at Ling Yue, its peripheral vision remained on the sky.

That stalwart, spirited figure became an unshakable shadow in its eyes.

Ling Yue was pondering, she raised her hand to block some glaring sunlight, then she gazed into the distance; the Altai falcon in the high sky was like a bomber, flipping up and down, shifting left and right, as if it had hit a cloud mass, piercing straight through, tearing apart!

Ling Yue was pondering, raised her hand to block some glaring sunlight, then she gazed into the distance; the Altai falcon in the high sky was like a bomber, flipping up and down, shifting left and right, as if it had hit a cloud mass, directly piercing it, shredding it to pieces!

Ling Yue: "How about you sing?"

"Sing your and your husband's exclusive love song? Your Mr. Big Bird's hearing should be fine, right?"

Miss Goldfinch's spirits lifted instantly; she's not stupid, it's just that her mind is full of Mr. Big Bird, so she couldn't think of anything else.

Miss Goldfinch: "I'll sing right away; I'll sing the song it likes best—it will definitely hear it."

Suddenly, Ling Yue furrowed her brow, her heart raced, an ominous premonition rose, and she instinctively said: "I feel something's off."

The big black, who had been lowering its head to sniff, suddenly bellowed: "Owner, I smell a stranger's scent, right ahead of us."

Ling Yue startled, then realized: Cheng Zhe's group was behind them; who was ahead of them?

Not far behind the trees, Cheng Zhe skillfully set up the "big cannon," the super-telephoto lens aimed at the falcon in the sky, but he hadn't expected the opponent to keep flying around up there, never coming down.

The crowd was anxious like ants on a hot pan: "What's going on? Why won't it come down?"

A group of people were anxious like ants on a hot pan: "What's going on? Why won't it come down?"

Wait a bit longer.

Hey?! What is it doing?

It's coming down!

They watched delighted as the hawk assumed a diving pose, eagerly grabbed their camera, then immediately lay prone in front of the telephoto lens, just to capture the moment the hawk swooped down.

They didn't realize that, in another hidden corner, a pitch-black gun barrel was aimed at it.

The man chuckled, looking up into the sky: "Finally, I've waited for this."