Chapter 1159: [Flying Side by Side] (Part 1)

Xiong Tianba was stunned upon hearing it; he had never told Xia Zhangming about this, so how could he know? Xiong Tianba scratched the back of his head and said: "It's……"

Xia Zhangming said: "I let it fall asleep first, and incidentally erased its past memories; when it wakes up, it will forget the past. However, you might have to start from scratch in taming the horse, and rebuild your bond with it."

Xiong Tianba had never heard before that a horse's memory could be erased; he laughed and said: "As long as it obeys me, eating and living together are fine."

Xia Zhangming said: "Then just keep it company, eating and living together!"

Xiong Tianba indeed nodded and said: "I won't go anywhere for the New Year; I'll just stay with it." He cheerfully ran to the stables to see the horse.

Xia Zhangming shook his head helplessly.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: "Thank you."

Xia Zhangming said: "My lord, there's no need to be polite; taming this horse probably won't be that easy."

Hu Xiaotian glanced at Xiong Tianba's back and said: "That bear-headed kid is very stubborn; I think he can manage it." Xia Zhangming laughed: "Come to think of it, I also need to go to Dongliang Jun to check on those three little bears."

Hu Xiaotian said: "When do you plan to leave?"

Xia Zhangming said: "Tomorrow!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I'm also preparing to return to Dongliang Jun; why not go together?"

Xia Zhangming smiled and said: "My lord, are you planning to go by boat?"

Hu Xiaotian shook his head and said: "It would be better if you gave me a ride; riding an eagle would be faster."

Xia Zhangming laughed: "Then my lord, you'd better wear more tomorrow!" Hu Xiaotian mustered his courage and decided to follow Xia Zhangming to ride the eagle across the river; the next morning, as soon as Hu Xiaotian stepped out, he saw Xia Zhangming already waiting outside, and couldn't help but say: "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Xia Zhangming said: "I just arrived too." Seeing Hu Xiaotian indeed followed his advice, wearing a black fur coat, wrapped tightly, he couldn't help but ask: "My lord, are you afraid of the cold?"

"Wasn't it you who told me to wear more?" Hu Xiaotian looked around and asked: "Where is your snow eagle?"

Xia Zhangming whistled, and soon two white lights came flying toward them; the two snow eagles circled once in the air, confirming there was no danger around, then descended into the courtyard.

Xia Zhangming pointed to the snow eagle on the right and said: "My lord, you ride this one!"

Hu Xiaotian stared, mouth open, and said: "Aren't we supposed to ride together?"

Xia Zhangming said: "From here to Dongliang Jun is over a hundred li; the snow eagle probably can't carry both of us that far, so one each."

Hu Xiaotian swallowed and said: "But how could it possibly obey me?"

Xia Zhangming laughed: "Isn't there me?" Hu Xiaotian felt a bit regretful; had he known, he would have preferred to take the boat back, but facing Xia Zhangming he didn't want to lose face.

Xia Zhangming said: "My lord, are you worried?"

Hu Xiaotian put on a brave face and said: "What do I have to worry about? I've ridden things that fly higher than this."

Xia Zhangming struggled not to laugh. Hu Xiaotian really liked to show off; there probably aren't many things that fly higher than a snow eagle. He didn't know that Hu Xiaotian was referring to an airplane. Xia Zhangming had made preparations, fitting a saddle-like seat onto the snow eagle that Hu Xiaotian would ride.

Hu Xiaotian approached the snow eagle and smiled at it. Since he was going to ride it, he needed to make a good impression first: "Brother Eagle! Thank you for your hard work!"

Xia Zhangming laughed: "My lord, this is a female eagle!"

Hu Xiaotian's face flushed; he pointed at Xia Zhangming and said: "Zhangming, Zhangming, you really don't give me face."

Xia Zhangming laughed: "Subordinate knows his mistake, my lord, please mount."

Hu Xiaotian was about to climb onto the eagle's back when the snow eagle suddenly spread its wings, stared at him and let out an eagle cry; Hu Xiaotian was startled and instinctively stepped back.

Xia Zhangming laughed: "No problem!" He walked up to the snow eagle, reached out to pat its head, and pressed his forehead against its beak. Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but worry: the snow eagle was so close to him; if it went berserk, wouldn't Xia Zhangming's eyes be in danger? His worry was clearly unnecessary; such a phenomenon simply wouldn't happen.

The snow eagle seemed to understand Xia Zhangming's meaning, obediently folded its wings, lay down on the ground, and lowered its proud head; Xia Zhangming said to Hu Xiaotian: "All right, my lord!"

Hu Xiaotian smiled, went to the snow eagle's side, grabbed the saddle, pressed down firmly, saw that the snow eagle had no violent reaction, and then confidently mounted it.

Xia Zhangming also went to the other snow eagle, mounted it without a saddle, and turned to Hu Xiaotian: "My lord, if you now want to switch to a boat, there's still time."

Hu Xiaotian burst out laughing; his laughter hadn't stopped when the snow eagle rose from the ground, his laughter cut short, he clung tightly to the saddle, eyes fixed on Xia Zhangming nearby, and Xia Zhangming laughed: "I'll go ahead first, my lord, be sure not to fall behind!"

As soon as Xia Zhangming's words fell, the snow eagle flapped its wings and took off, a white light shooting into the heavens; the snow eagle Hu Xiaotian rode followed closely behind. Seeing the snow eagle rise higher and higher from the ground, Hu Xiaotian's heart rose with it. Several warriors in the courtyard came out to watch the novelty, all admiring Hu Xiaotian, never expecting this lord to be able to command beasts.

Who would have thought that Hu Xiaotian, like a noble bride on her first sedan chair, found the sensation of riding a snow eagle utterly different from his past airplane rides; the snow eagle's climb was astonishingly fast, Hu Xiaotian felt the scenery outside whip past backward, the cold wind almost prevented him from opening his eyes, and before he could make sense of what was happening, the snow eagle had already flown into the clouds, the wind whistling nonstop in his ears; even if he regretted it now, it was too late—others find it hard to dismount a tiger, he finds it hard to dismount an eagle; all he could do was pray that this snow eagle would obey and not throw him off its back. Hu Xiaotian suddenly thought he should have prepared a parachute beforehand.

The snow eagle's ascent was the most nerve‑wracking; its body and the ground formed an angle of nearly sixty degrees, Hu Xiaotian felt he might be thrown off at any moment, he clamped his legs around the eagle's body, gripped the saddle tightly, and forced himself to resist the urge to wrap his arms around its neck, fearing that would cause a disaster—no! It would be the eagle's destruction and his death.

Actually, to look after the rider on its back, the snow eagle had already altered its climb speed and angle considerably; under normal conditions, its ascent is almost vertical to the ground.

Finally reaching a suitable altitude, the snow eagle stopped climbing; Hu Xiaotian opened his eyes and looked down, only to see the houses below reduced to the size of matchboxes—this snow eagle truly flies high.

From beside him came Xia Zhangming's laughter: "My lord, how do you feel?"

Hu Xiaotian turned his head and saw that Xia Zhangming was riding his snow eagle alongside him, keeping pace; he finally calmed down and smiled: "All right, all right!"

Xia Zhangming said: "My lord, don't worry, Xiao Fei is very obedient!" He stroked the feathers of the snow eagle beneath him and added: "Its temper is just a bit more volatile."

Hu Xiaotian shouted: "Is it called Da Fei?"

Xia Zhangming nodded and said: "Yes!"

Hu Xiaotian asked: "How high can they fly?" He recalled that mountain eagles can fly over the Himalayas; these two snow eagles seem capable of flying even higher, using air currents to enter the stratosphere, just like airplanes can reach ten‑thousand‑meter altitudes.

Xia Zhangming's answer also confirmed this.

With the snow eagle's steady flight, Hu Xiaotian had completely calmed down and began to admire this rare sight; he secretly thought, obtaining a snow eagle wouldn't be bad—given its speed, one could reach Kangdu in a day—but a gentleman does not take what others love, so he couldn't make such an excessive demand; even if Xia Zhangming agreed to give him one, the snow eagle might not obey him. To ride an eagle freely, one must develop a deep bond with it, which is certainly not achieved in a day.

Thanks to the snow eagle's help, the distance of over a hundred li passed in an instant; they flew from Wuxing Jun to Dongliang Jun in less than half an hour, and Xia Zhangming pointed downward: "That's the Yong River!"

Hu Xiaotian looked down and saw the Yong River beneath him turned into a silver‑white ribbon; the full panorama of Dongliang Jun lay before his eyes, and not far to the northeast of Dongliang Jun was the East Luo Depot.

Xia Zhangming reminded: "My lord, hold on!" As they spoke, the two snow eagles began their dive; diving is even more thrilling than climbing. Although Hu Xiaotian was bold, he couldn't help but shut his eyes, making a gurgling sound—this was more exciting than a roller coaster.

The snow eagle's dive speed was astonishing, almost like a straight drop; Hu Xiaotian finally managed to open his eyes, only to see the ground scenery looming up at an astonishing rate, and this intense stimulation made him involuntarily shout.

Xia Zhangming whistled a few times, and the snow eagle slowed down, choosing a remote, open spot outside Dongliang Jun to land gently.

Hu Xiaotian climbed down from the snow eagle's back; his hands and feet were a little numb, he touched his face with his hand, palms and face were icy cold—saying he wasn't afraid would be a lie, yet recalling the flight scene was truly indescribably stimulating.

Xia Zhangming removed the saddle from the snow eagle; the two snow eagles swiftly flew away, and Hu Xiaotian, looking up at the pair flying side by side, found himself reciting a poem: "In heaven I wish to be paired birds, on earth I wish to be intertwined branches."

Xia Zhangming heard it clearly, laughed: "My lord, that poem is nice, but it seems written for a lover."

Hu Xiaotian hehe‑laughed: "Don't overthink it; my reciting this poem has nothing to do with you."

The two entered the city; upon hearing that Hu Xiaotian had returned, Dongliang Jun's governor Li Chengming hurried out to greet him. Today is the twenty‑ninth of the twelfth month, and everyone knew Hu Xiaotian would return in these two days, so Li Chengming had the people of Xia Sha Port pay special attention, feeling quite puzzled: how could he return without any news? How could he know that Hu Xiaotian had come back riding a snow eagle? (To be continued~^~)