Chapter 8

Many of the clan members were already frightened out of their wits; they had never seen any raptor with such prowess, and it was truly terrifying. Lüluo screamed as she wobbled into the air, her ankles suddenly grabbed by a chubby little hand. The one who came was actually Hua, who was two heads shorter than her.

Hua shouted, "Lüluo, come down quickly! The chickens are running away!" At the same time, he swung a large stick with all his might at the strange bird in the air.

Hua had been very close to Lüluo and reacted quickly. Seeing that the bow and arrow had not stopped the strange bird and the two hens had not run away, he might have remembered the chieftain's scolding from the previous day or felt embarrassed about losing a chicken. He grabbed a stick and rushed over to try to drive the two hens away.

The stick was as thick as an adult's arm and almost as long as his body. A child so small could hardly have much strength, and he almost dragged the stick as he ran over. Lüluo ran much faster, overtaking him, and was just caught by the strange wind when Hua, who was running behind, grabbed her ankles.

Hua could not possibly have swung the stick three zhang high, but at that moment, there was an invisible force lifting him up. He took advantage of it and threw the thick and hard stick. The stick was actually drawn away by the strange bird, replacing Lüluo. It was then "cracked" and crushed by the bird's claws. At this moment, several more spears whistled through the air, and the strange bird deflected them with its claws and wings.

With this respite, Lüluo fell back to the ground, knocking Hua down. She rolled over and screamed as she ran away, and the two hens had already flapped their wings and escaped. The strange bird had apparently used some kind of magical power, but it was interrupted by Hua's stick and the spears from the others, allowing Lüluo to escape.

The strange bird was about three zhang above the ground. Although it could capture people from a distance, the power it could exert was limited. It could barely lift Lüluo, and adding Hua made it difficult to lift them both. Lüluo ran away, and the hens flew off, leaving only Hua sitting on the ground. The strange bird flapped its wings to deflect the second round of spears and then used its power to capture Hua from a distance.

Hua had not yet gotten up, looking very frightened, but he did not cover his eyes. Instead, he kept watching the strange bird in the sky. The bird's action of capturing people was very distinct: it flapped its wings downward, like arms reaching forward, creating a swirling wind on the ground, while its claws extended forward, generating a suction force directly at Hua.

Hua saw the bird's claws reaching for him and instinctively remembered Lüluo's encounter. He rolled to the side several times. A cloud of dust rose from the ground, and he actually managed to dodge! At this moment, the strange bird suddenly let out a screech, filled with pain and intense anger. It flapped its wings fiercely, as if trying to shake something off its back, and turned to peck at its back.

On its back was a spotted dog, Panhu, who had actually jumped up! Panhu could not jump that high on its own, but it had first jumped onto the roof and then ran a few steps on the roof before leaping up. It landed on the bird's back just as the bird was about to capture Hua.

Although the bird was large, its back was not very wide, and it was in the air, making it difficult for Panhu to stand steady. The dog's paws could not grab things like human hands, so it immediately bit the bird's right wing root and clung to the bird with its four paws. Panhu did not bark this time, but its bite was very heavy, its sharp teeth deeply embedded in the bird's flesh and bone.

The bird's neck could turn a great deal, and its sharp beak had already pecked Panhu's shoulder. At this moment, a voice suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

Panhu continued to bite the wing root and kick on the bird's back, but the bird's body seemed to lose control and fell to the ground, still in the same posture. Chief Ruoshan slowly walked over, his bone staff pointing at the bird, which was the result of his magic.

Many people were still staring in shock, but Bozhuang, Zhongzhuang, and others who often hunted with the chieftain had already reacted, rushing over with their heavy spears. The bird had not yet landed when it was pierced by two spears, its body shaking as if trying to break free. When it landed, it was hit on the head by a large rock, and it finally stopped moving.

The bird's beak and claws were extremely sharp, and its feathers were very hard, but it was restrained by Ruoshan's magic and could not use its powers. At close range, it could not resist the strong warriors like Bozhuang and Zhongzhuang, who thrust their spears directly into its body. Panhu's shoulder was cut by the bird's beak, bleeding profusely, but Ruoshan's timely intervention saved it from serious injury. It was still biting the wing root.

Ruoshan patted its buttocks and said, "That's enough, no need to bite anymore. Go to Grandma Shui for treatment!"

Panhu reluctantly let go, growling softly, and stood up, baring its teeth, clearly in pain. It hunched its shoulders and ran to find Grandma Shui. Ruoshan picked up Hua from the ground, dusted off the dirt on his body, and asked, "Not scared?"

Hua, of course, was scared and burst into tears, crying and answering, "Scared to death!"

Ruoshan picked him up and said, "Why didn't you cry just now?"

Hua: "Wah... didn't have time..."

Ruoshan couldn't help but laugh, patting Hua's back and saying, "It's good to know fear! You were so scared just now, why didn't you close your eyes?"

Hua: "Wah... closing my eyes would be even scarier, and I wouldn't see the big bird. It would take me away..."

Ruoshan nodded in satisfaction. Hua had been very scared, even forgetting to cry, but he had kept his eyes on the bird, which allowed him to dodge the bird's attack. Ruoshan had been watching from the side. When Lüluo was lifted, he had already raised his bone staff, ready to act, but Hua's actions made him pause, wanting to see how the others would react.

The clan's warriors reacted quickly, but Ruoshan did not expect Panhu to jump onto the bird's back and bite it. Seeing the bird threaten Panhu, he acted in time to control the situation. Bozhuang, holding a bloodied spear, approached and asked, "Chief, the bird is dead. What should we do with such a big one?"

Ruoshan: "This is no ordinary raptor. Put it on the altar first, and I'll come back to see how to handle it." He then patted Hua's back and said, "Good boy, you saved Lüluo today. ... Stop crying, go rest for a while." He carried Hua back to the stone house.

This early morning, a rare and significant event occurred in the village. The clan members were discussing it, but fortunately, it ended without any injuries, with only a scratch on Panhu's shoulder. Grandma Shui had already treated Panhu's wound, wrapping it with a clean hemp cloth from his chest to his back.

Grandma Shui came to the central altar and saw Ruoshan, surrounded by the clan members, studying the dead bird. She frowned and asked, "Do you recognize what kind of bird this is?"

Ruoshan: "This is a White-feathered Gu雕 (a mythical bird). It's rare to see one this big. Our village has never hunted one before. I'm studying its physical properties. It should be edible. What do you think?"

Grandma Shui took out a sharp knife, cut a thin slice of meat from the bird, and examined it closely. She closed her eyes and sensed for a while before nodding and saying, "Of course it's edible, and..."

Ruoshan: "And what?"

Grandma Shui looked at him and said, "It's very nourishing!"

Such a large bird was a rare delicacy for the clan, but today, Ruoshan did not immediately have the clan members cook and share it. Instead, he led them to use the sharpest tools to carefully dissect the White-feathered Gu雕, cutting the meat into small pieces and placing them on the altar. The bird's bones and many feathers were left intact and stored in the clan's warehouse.

Ruoshan then led the clan members to worship the mountain god before they started cooking. To prevent the precious food from spoiling, fresh meat was usually eaten as soon as possible. Only when there was too much to eat would it be dried and preserved for later. But this strange bird was different. Its meat was first used to worship the mountain god, and during the worship, it seemed to undergo special treatment, perhaps by the mountain god's power. The clan members did not eat it that day.

Hua's performance today was commendable. Although he did not have eggs, he ate half a stewed red-beaked falcon, which was incredibly delicious, and he drank all the soup! He did not forget the injured Panhu and gave the dog a wing and half the soup, which the dog ate while grunting and smacking its lips.

While Hua and Panhu were eating meat and drinking soup in the small house, Chief Ruoshan saw Lüluo standing at the door of his stone house and asked, "Do you have something to say?"

Lüluo was only six years old and had been frightened today. When she came to her senses, she had many questions, so she came to find the chieftain. She blinked and said, "Chief, when the bad bird came today, you were standing right there and could have brought it down earlier. Why did you wait until the end to act?" By the end, her eyes were red, clearly still feeling scared and wronged.

Ruoshan walked over and touched her hair, speaking gently, "If I always act like that, what will the clan members do if I'm not around?"

This statement was perhaps too profound for Lüluo. She didn't understand and asked, "Chief, how could you not be here? You are our chieftain!" Not just Lüluo, but even the elders in the clan thought of Chief as always being the chieftain, and it seemed he would always be the chieftain.