Chapter 54: Such a huge bird? That's a Gyrfalcon!

Zhang Tiejun and Zhao Ningning had searched the wilderness for a full night, and it was only near dawn that the two exhausted companions finally managed to fall asleep.

Waking up in the morning, Zhao Ningning rubbed her tired eyes and looked at Zhang Tiejun with a flushed face.

"Why didn't you wake me up when you woke up?" Zhao Ningning asked with a hint of concern.

"It's fine. Sharpening the axe doesn't delay the work of woodcutting. If you don't pay attention to rest and your physical strength can't keep up today, it might end up delaying things instead." After scanning the surrounding woods from left to right, Zhang Tiejun lowered his head and focused entirely on the leather map.

"Did you find any clues?" Zhao Ningning immediately inquired.

Zhang Tiejun shook his head: "Not yet. This time our opponents are fur hunters; they frequently venture deep into the mountains and old forests..."

Zhang Tiejun's hesitation made Zhao Ningning nervous: "Then what should we do? Hurry up and think of a way."

"There are still ways, don't worry just yet." Zhang Tiejun unfolded the map and instructed: "At this time of year, black bears need to hibernate, and reindeer and moose have already migrated. Tiger fur is valuable but poses too much risk. Roe deer pelts aren't very valuable and aren't worth fur hunters heading up the mountain right during the New Year. Look, this is near your home. If we give them a five-day head start, although the activity range of a goshawk is quite large, the activity range of hunting dogs and humans is very small—at most a radius of one hundred and fifty kilometers."

Zhang Tiejun drew a circle on the leather map: "If they were hunting large animals, they probably wouldn't bring hunting dogs. Meanwhile, a goshawk has an excellent field of vision and should be used for scouting small prey. Combining these inferences, I estimate that this fur hunter is specialized in trapping foxes and sables."

"Is Xiaodunzi in danger then?" Zhao Ningning asked.

Zhang Tiejun shook his head: "It's still unclear. Based on my understanding, if they were fur hunters specializing in large animals, they would likely process the pelts on the spot. But fur hunters who specialize in small animals shouldn't do that. Besides, Xiaodunzi has smooth, bright fur of a remarkably pure white color. For such high-end goods, a live animal is worth much more than a dead one. They would take it to the grand market to give to some wealthy household as a pet."

"Xiaodunzi is not a pet!" Zhao Ningning immediately retorted: "It's my friend!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, a flustered Zhao Ningning instantly realized she might have spoken out of turn and quickly explained: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice."

Zhang Tiejun smiled slightly: "It's alright. I can tell that you and Xiaodunzi share a very close bond."

Subsequently, Zhang Tiejun narrowed the search radius further on the leather map, pointing to a mountain pass called Erdaoliang: "If I'm not mistaken, that fur hunter should be right here."

"Why?" Zhao Ningning asked in confusion.

"Look, based on the situation we just analyzed together, and coupled with the fact that this is the season when sables are most active, Erdaoliang was a border fortress a hundred years ago. Many city walls and several large garrison warehouses were left behind there. There are plenty of mice there; although times have changed, the mouse population has remained abundant. Right now, that is where sables are most active. Moreover, there are no large trees there, only some brushwood, which is very suitable for the operations of goshawks and hunting dogs. I suspect that fur hunter is specifically catching sables, and as for Xiaodunzi, catching it was merely incidental—like sweeping the floor and finding a stray rabbit."

"Then it's so pitiful," Zhao Ningning said sadly.

Now that the general direction was determined, the two did not hesitate any longer and immediately packed their things to set off.

The young man and woman strolled through the mountain forest, walking side by side. If not for the urgent matter at hand, journeying and enjoying the scenery together would have felt quite tender and heartwarming.

"Brother Tiejun, will walking this way be fast enough?" Zhao Ningning asked nervously.

"In time. The route we're taking now is a shortcut; cutting across from here, we'll arrive in about two hours." Zhang Tiejun pointed to the city wall not far away: "That used to be a stronghold of the border pass, standing about six or seven meters high. Ordinary people couldn't climb it. Fortunately, a heavy downpour a couple of years ago caused a landslide above, crashing a massive boulder down onto the wall and creating a large breach. Now we can climb up along the stones, and once we enter the watchtower, the path levels out."

"Brother Tiejun, you know so much..." Zhao Ningning said excitedly.

Before Zhao Ningning could finish her sentence, Zhang Tiejun immediately made a gesture for silence.

"What is it?" The moment Zhao Ningning spoke, she was pulled by Zhang Tiejun behind a giant boulder.

Zhang Tiejun's ears twitched continuously. Viewed from up close, Zhao Ningning could even see the goosebumps standing up on his skin.

*Click.* Zhang Tiejun disengaged the safety of his old-fashioned flintlock hunting rifle, scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Such a battle-ready reaction prevented Zhao Ningning from daring to speak further. Soon, the screech of an eagle echoed from high above.

"It's up there!"

Following Zhang Tiejun's prompt, Zhao Ningning looked up and saw a massive goshawk circling in the boundless azure sky.

"It's it, it's it, that's it!" Zhao Ningning alerted: "That's the one I saw the other day!"

The goshawk rose and dipped, weaving back and forth among the white clouds as if evading something.

"Brother Tiejun, look over there." Zhao Ningning pointed with her finger at a black speck not far away.

Zhang Tiejun furrowed his brows, focusing his gaze as hard as he could on the black speck. Unfortunately, the speck was moving far too quickly; even with his exceptional eyesight honed by years of traversing the mountain forests, Zhang Tiejun still couldn't make it out clearly.

"That's also a little bird, but that little bird is so fierce."

Zhang Tiejun never expected that Zhao Ningning not only managed to catch the afterimage of the black speck, but could even accurately describe the scene of the two birds fighting. Just how good must one's eyesight be for that? This talent also made Zhang Tiejun inwardly admire her.

Guided by Zhao Ningning's descriptions and relays, Zhang Tiejun gradually managed to locate the target black speck.

The black speck darted back and forth along the underside of the clouds. Although its size was far inferior to that of the goshawk, it used the cloud layer as cover and launched several proactive attacks in succession.

Sunlight illuminated its white-spotted feathers, its narrow wings continuously beating against the air currents, and its tail feathers swayed smoothly—so divine.

That was no ordinary bird! It was an adult gyrfalcon.

It possessed an even more illustrious name: Haidongqing.

The Haidongqing was fighting with the goshawk. The two kings of the sky freely displayed their power and combat techniques, tracing empty lines in the void through their swift maneuvers.

In terms of size and strength, the goshawk undoubtedly held the upper hand, yet it constantly found itself thwarted.

Because the Haidongqing flew through the cloud layer at an extreme speed, neither getting too close nor staying too far away, it was clear that the Haidongqing knew winning through a direct, brute-force clash was impossible. It could only seize the goshawk's mistakes to launch ambush attacks; simply put, it only had one chance.