Chapter 327

“Mmm! Mmm!”

Not long after, the aroma of roasted meat spread, and the young lynx began happily humming in delight.

After boiling for a short while, the meat was fully cooked; since the little lynx had behaved well this time, Xiao Yi didn’t hold back and picked out a large piece of venison to toss to the little creature.

The young lynx hadn’t eaten anything in a full day, let alone fought a battle with the rough-legged hawk—by now, it was starving and its stomach was growling.

How could it not be thrilled to see the venison thrown its way?

As for Xiao Yi, he was also slicing and tasting the venison; he noted his cooking skills had improved further, then glanced at the two rough-legged hawks hanging nearby.

Xiao Yi knew well that to train these two large birds, he’d need to let them go hungry for a few rounds.

Still, Xiao Yi had little confidence in whether he could successfully train these two large birds.

After all, these two birds were no longer chicks—their wild instincts and habits were already formed.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

At this moment, the two rough-legged hawks also caught the scent of venison and began chirping incessantly.

But neither Xiao Yi nor the young lynx paid them any attention; they continued enjoying their venison.

After Xiao Yi and the young lynx had finished eating, the sky had completely darkened.

The dense forest beside the earthen mound now appeared even darker and more mysterious.

As for Xiao Yi, he sat by the fire to warm himself for a while, then soon stopped paying attention to the outside world and turned toward the tent.

If he could, Xiao Yi would have chatted with the live stream’s comment section, but as night fell, the outside grew colder.

Eventually, Xiao Yi decided it was more practical to lie inside the tent, so he chose to follow his instincts.

When the young lynx saw Xiao Yi crawl into the tent, it quickly devoured its food and followed Xiao Yi inside.

…

…

“Chirp! Chirp!”

After some time, the two rough-legged hawks outside continued calling incessantly, their cries tinged with sorrow.

At first, Xiao Yi paid no mind, thinking they were just chilled.

But as the night grew deeper and their cries grew more mournful, Xiao Yi finally decided to step outside and see what was going on.

“Flap! Flap!”

When Xiao Yi stepped out, both rough-legged hawks were flapping furiously toward the south, as if trying to fly away in that direction.

Even their ankle joints were now bloody from the ropes—Xiao Yi froze at the sight.

He muttered under his breath, “Could there really be a baby rough-legged hawk out there?”

In fact, only this one explanation could account for why the two hawks were acting so crazily now.

But as Xiao Yi thought of this, he hesitated—should he really let these two hawks go?

“Sigh! You’re lucky to have met such a kind-hearted me!”

Xiao Yi then went to the female rough-legged hawk and untied the rope around her ankle.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

The moment Xiao Yi freed her ankle, the female rough-legged hawk shot straight into the sky.

She circled above, chirping continuously toward the other hawk still struggling on the ground.

The hawk still tied down also chirped in response, but its struggles were noticeably weaker now that it saw the female take flight.

At this moment, Xiao Yi walked over to the leftover venison from earlier, picked out a medium-sized piece, and tossed it toward the sky.

Xiao Yi believed that with the hawk’s keen eyesight, it would spot the venison thrown into the air.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

Sure enough, as soon as Xiao Yi threw the meat skyward, the female rough-legged hawk let out a cry and shot downward like a blade, snatching the venison mid-air.

She caught the piece of venison in flight.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

The hawk still tied down chirped loudly upon seeing this, as if urging the female to leave quickly.

After circling in the sky for a moment longer, the female ignored the tied hawk and flew straight south.

After the female rough-legged hawk flew away, the one still tied down grew noticeably quieter.

Seeing this, Xiao Yi said nothing—he believed his guess was correct; otherwise, the female wouldn’t have abandoned the other so easily.

Xiao Yi then turned and walked back into the tent.

Would the flying female rough-legged hawk return?

Xiao Yi didn’t know—and even if she didn’t, it didn’t matter.

After all, though these two rough-legged hawks had caused him some trouble, the trouble wasn’t great.

They’d even indirectly helped the young lynx grow stronger, so Xiao Yi held little resentment toward them.

More importantly, one rough-legged hawk remained—if after a few days of training it still ignored him, Xiao Yi would consider whether to cook it for dinner.

But the live stream viewers, upon seeing this, erupted in chaos.

Though it had been dark for a long time here for Xiao Yi,

in distant China, it was only around nine o’clock—peak time for the live stream.

“What’s Xiao Shen doing? Why did he let one rough-legged hawk go?”

“Yeah! We finally caught them!”

“Yeah! Not only did he let it go, he gave it venison—when did Xiao Shen become so generous? Is this still the Xiao Shen I know?”

“But isn’t this the real-life version of ‘Birds of the same forest fly apart when disaster strikes’?”

…

…

Seeing Xiao Yi release the female rough-legged hawk, everyone was stunned—none of them understood why.

Of course, Xiao Yi didn’t bother explaining; he was exhausted and could’ve slept until dawn if not for the hawks’ noise.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

When Xiao Yi woke again, daylight had fully broken; the rough-legged hawk outside was chirping again, but its voice now sounded weak and listless.

“Mmm! Mmm!”

The young lynx also woke up—perhaps its claw wounds still hurt, so its cries carried a whiny, pleading tone.

But upon hearing the rough-legged hawk’s call, its mournful sounds instantly shifted.

Xiao Yi couldn’t help but smile faintly, then picked up the little creature and stepped outside to examine its claw wounds.

After checking, Xiao Yi nodded—sure enough, the little one’s claw wounds had scabbed over; it should be hopping around again by tomorrow.