Li Ying had once heard about the intricacies of how the Eight-Banner descendants in ancient times raised falcons. Vaguely, she knew that the next step would probably be "breaking the falcon's spirit."
The goshawk is proud and untamable. How could it be willing to submit to humans and become a caged pet?
The so - called "taming the falcon" is actually just grinding down its edge and wearing out its spirit until it is exhausted. Out of the instinct for survival, it has no choice but to lower its head and beg for food.
Li Ying carefully applied the remaining herbs that Mao Mao had fetched onto the falcon's leg. Then she looked up hesitantly at Lu Xunguang.
A goshawk belongs in the sky. It should be free.
Li Ying didn't want to force it, but this falcon was brought back by Lu Xunguang after going through life - and - death situations. In the end, it was up to him to decide what to do with it.
Lu Xunguang saw that she had something on her mind. He gave a faint smile and casually threw the half - eaten roast chicken to the falcon without hesitation.
The goshawk looked at Li Ying and Lu Xunguang suspiciously with its bright eyes. It seemed to be calculating something in its mind. After a long while, it gobbled up the food, filled its belly, and then spread its wings and flew away.
Li Ying watched its figure getting smaller and smaller until it finally turned into a tiny black dot on the horizon. Then she looked at Lu Xunguang with a tinge of shame.
"I was so head - strong. You tried so hard, but all in vain..."
Before she could finish, Lu Xunguang interrupted her nonchalantly.
"A Ying, don't impose on others what you don't want for yourself. Why do you need to feel guilty?"
His tone was calm and indulgent. Li Ying was touched. She held his hand back. Their eyes met, and there was an indescribable tenderness between them.
Only Mao Mao waved its little paw discontentedly, as if annoyed that such a majestic creature had been let go.
The two of them cleaned up the mess and were about to return. But unexpectedly, just as they got back to the moored boat, they saw a gaunt and old man, followed by several nervous and strong young men, waiting there.
Seeing the two of them coming from afar, they all raised their harpoons simultaneously and stared menacingly.
Li Ying was confused, but Lu Xunguang, with his sharp reflexes, stepped forward and blocked Li Ying behind him.
The two sides confronted each other in silence for a long time. Finally, the old man spoke first.
"Who are you? Why are you on our island? What's your intention?"
From his words... it seemed that they were the indigenous people on the island?
Li Ying was curious. She took the initiative to say, "We are fishermen from a neighboring village. We encountered a storm at sea and accidentally drifted here. We have no ill intentions."
Both she and Lu Xunguang looked decent. There were indeed some messy fishing nets and shrimp cages on the boat. They didn't seem like evil people. The old fisherman finally let out a sigh of relief and told the young men behind him to put away their harpoons.
"Since you got lost, leave quickly! There are many dangers on the island. It's not a fun place! Hurry up and set sail. I'll lead you out!"
Although the old fisherman was stern, he didn't seem like a malicious person. Li Ying was even more puzzled. She couldn't help but ask, "Dangers on the island?"
Although the island was overgrown with weeds, there were no animal paths. When she was strolling around, she vaguely saw a few abandoned thatched cottages, which obviously had been inhabited before.
If there was any danger, it might be the hungry goshawk they had just set free!
The old fisherman didn't want to say more. He just said mysteriously to her, "Little girl, don't ask around. Be careful not to lose your life!"
Li Ying stopped asking, but calmly took out some dried meat and coconuts from her space under the cover of her clothes and casually distributed them to the men.
"Then we'll have to trouble you to lead the way! You've been sailing for a while. You must be hungry. I have some dry food here. Why don't we eat together?"
Her dried meat was marinated with many spices such as pepper, curry, and cumin, then brushed with honey and smoked with fruit wood. It had a sweet and meaty aroma, could satisfy hunger, and went well with wine. It was a favorite among the fishermen in the village.
Sure enough, after a few younger fishermen drank the coconut juice and chewed on the dried meat, they let down their guard. They explained to Li Ying and Lu Xunguang in a few words.
"Miss, you don't know. Our families have lived on this island for generations. Life used to be peaceful. But this year, a strange thing happened."
At the turn of spring and summer, the fishing girls in the village went to the seaside to earn some extra money. But they never expected that the seaside was unexpectedly filled with strange things!
Those things were all over in blue - black, round, with a shell as hard as a rock, and they had a long scorpion tail. If anyone had bad intentions, they would raise their scorpion tails and stab fiercely, only stopping when the person was covered in wounds.
The fishermen had never seen such things before. They hesitated for a long time, thinking that as long as they didn't interfere, these things might leave on their own after a few days.
But unexpectedly, the next day, news came that the fishermen who had gone to look at the "sea monsters" the previous day had all died suddenly in their homes, and there was a sea monster in each of their houses!
"Guess what? I saw with my own eyes that the blood flowing from the sea monster was blue! Among the living things in the mortal world, which one would have such a strange color of blood! I was so scared that I ran away immediately!"
The legend of the blue - blooded sea monster had caused panic in the village. In the end, it was misinterpreted and said to be an evil thing that took people's lives. The fishermen were all frightened and couldn't sleep at night. Many families immediately packed up their valuables and fled to other places.
The thin old man was the village head of the fishing village. Although he didn't believe in ghosts and gods, he couldn't withstand the pressure from the whole village. Helplessly, he had to take the young men in the clan and was forced to abandon their homeland and try to find a new place to settle.
But most of these seaside fishing villages lived off the sea and were living a hard life. They couldn't compare with Li Ying's prosperous place. How could they welcome these outsiders to share their resources?
The old village head had no choice but to continue looking for a place to stay while coming back from time to time to see if those terrifying "blue - blooded sea monsters" had left.
Li Ying chewed on the dried meat slowly, but she already had a general guess in her mind.
"Village head, where are those blue - blooded sea monsters you mentioned? Can you take us to have a look? My husband Lu is well - informed and agile. He just protected us from the goshawk's claws. If there really is an evil monster, he will surely subdue it!"
Li Ying secretly pinched Lu Xunguang's palm and boasted shamelessly.
A look of confusion flashed across Lu Xunguang's eyes, but he quickly came to his senses. He knew that Li Ying, as a delicate woman, had little influence. She was using his identity as a guise at this moment. So he pretended to be confident and went along with her.
"Yes, what blue - blooded sea monster? I've tamed countless beasts. I'll meet it today!"
The fishermen were skeptical, but seeing the veins popping out on Lu Xunguang's arm, he really seemed to be strong. After a brief discussion, they agreed.
The old village head led the way. In a short while, they arrived at a beach.
He pointed to the mangrove forest in the distance and carefully warned, "It's in that mangrove forest. Young man, be extremely careful. Don't lose your life!"
Li Ying nodded, took the harpoon, and followed behind Lu Xunguang.
"Miss, you'd better wait here with us?"
Li Ying shook her head and said softly, "I'll follow Lu through life and death. He risked his life for me. How could I stand by and do nothing?"
Lu Xunguang knew that she was just saying this to fool the villagers, but the corners of his eyes still softened a bit.
After walking a short distance, they saw that the beach was indeed covered in a black mass. There was hardly any place to set foot.