It was eight o’clock in the evening, not too late yet. From time to time, the sound of owls could be heard in the forest, and just by feeling, one could tell this forest was still full of life.
After shaking off the fatigue in his body, the first thing Qin Tian did was light the fire torches stored in the cave, planning to stick them around the grassy field as a light source, so he could see the situation on the field at night.
But when Qin Tian stepped out of the cave and saw the bright field, he was dumbfounded. Looking up, he saw a full moon hanging high in the night sky.
Tonight must be the fifteenth of the lunar month, and the moon was very round. The moonlight was so clear that even without a fire torch, everything on the field could be seen.
“It can’t stay this bright forever.” Retracting his gaze, Qin Tian still stuck the fire torches around the field.
Just as he’d said, there was no telling when the moon would be covered by clouds, so to be safe, it was best to prepare for both situations.
As for whether the thief would be scared to approach the camp because of the firelight, Qin Tian had never considered it. To be precise, there was simply no need to worry.
After all, to keep the cave warm, he added plenty of firewood to the campfire every night, and the blazing flames illuminated more than half the field. If the thief feared firelight, the smoked meat would never have been stolen.
After a few minutes, Qin Tian finished planting the fire torches around the field. By the time he returned to the cave, the meat soup was bubbling and boiling, its aroma wafting out.
He had to admit, Ye Lin was always thoughtful. After sleeping for so long, Qin Tian was already a bit hungry. A bowl of meat soup not only filled his belly but also warmed his whole body.
Sitting by the campfire, Qin Tian kept staring out at the grassy field. As time passed, the forest gradually grew quieter—even the owls stopped calling.
Before, when keeping watch, Qin Tian could do some things to pass the time and stave off sleepiness. Now, however, he couldn’t afford any distractions, which was undeniably torturous.
Just sitting there, the drowsiness in his body crashed against his spirit like waves, over and over, trying to wear him down.
Not long after he sat, Qin Tian’s eyelids began to droop. At times like these, he would take a sip of mint tea or pinch his thigh hard.
He persevered like this, and soon it was past midnight, then dawn approached. He kept watch straight until daybreak, but not a trace of the thief appeared.
This outcome, Qin Tian had already expected. Normally, to avoid being caught, a thief wouldn’t strike the same place two nights in a row. So he was already prepared to keep watch for multiple nights.
With so much meat on the field, he believed the thief would surely return, though he didn’t know how long it would take. Still, since this concerned his own safety, no matter how long it took, he had to uncover the thief’s true identity.
The sky had already turned pale—by now, the thief likely wouldn’t show up. Qin Tian stood, stretching his numb limbs. Suddenly, a shadow dropped from the sky at such speed that he couldn’t see what it was at all.
***
It landed right on the smoked meat rack. The instant the shadow stilled, Qin Tian finally saw its true form.
Handsome and sharp—that was Qin Tian’s first impression of the black shadow.
Golden Eagle: a raptor belonging to the Eagle Family, True Eagle Genus. Body length about one meter, wingspan up to two meters. Inhabits mountain grasslands and forests, generally living in mountainous or hilly regions, especially nesting on cliffs or rocky outcrops, renowned for its agile and powerful flight. It preys on medium and large birds and mammals.
As the information from the Wild Plant Encyclopedia floated through Qin Tian’s mind, content from the Compendium of Beast Taming immediately followed.
Golden Eagle: one of the world’s ten greatest raptors, skilled at soaring and gliding, often circling in straight lines or circles high above while scanning the ground for prey.
Once a target is spotted, it may descend from the sky at speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. At the last moment, it suddenly halts its wingbeats, then firmly grabs the prey’s head, driving its sharp talons into the prey’s skull to kill it instantly.
Because of its powerful hunting ability, the Kazakh People often tame it for hunting and guarding sheep in the wild.
Taming methods:
First, raise a Golden Eagle from its youth, build a bond, and slowly teach it as it grows.
Second, endurance. Simply put, don’t let the Golden Eagle sleep—keep it awake and weary until its fierce wildness is worn away.
Afterwards, feed and care for it attentively, craft leather straps and a hood, release and train it daily.
Tip: It must be said, the Golden Eagle is a solitary animal. When taming, a person must remain fully awake at all times to earn the Golden Eagle’s recognition and become its master. Unless you have great willpower, do not try this lightly, lest you exhaust yourself.
As Qin Tian digested this information, the Golden Eagle’s talons grabbed the smoked meat rack. Its great wings beat, sending up a swirl of ash and dust from below.
With a piercing cry, the Golden Eagle lifted the rack and soared into the sky, vanishing in an instant at the horizon.
“So it’s treating the field as its hunting ground?” Watching the direction the Golden Eagle disappeared, Qin Tian was lost in thought.
Thinking of something, Qin Tian’s face revealed a meaningful smile. “My meat isn’t free—got to pay with your body!”
The Compendium of Beast Taming noted that a trained Golden Eagle could pursue wolves over great distances on the grassland. Once the wolf was exhausted, the eagle would grab its neck with one talon, its eyes with the other, rendering it helpless.
If it could even defeat wolves, then such a powerful Golden Eagle would be of immense help to the two of them on this deserted island, if it could be tamed.
Now that he understood the true face of the thief, the anxiety in Qin Tian’s heart finally eased. Although the Golden Eagle was fierce, he didn’t need to worry about it attacking him or Ye Lin—since typically, a Golden Eagle wouldn’t prey on animals beyond its carrying capacity.
***
In the morning, in the kitchen, Qin Tian and Ye Lin were eating, and Qin Tian took the opportunity to tell Ye Lin about what happened earlier.
“Golden Eagle?!” Ye Lin was shocked. She never would have imagined it was a Golden Eagle that had stolen the smoked meat.
After the initial shock, Ye Lin looked relieved and nodded. “No wonder it could silently take the whole smoked meat rack without leaving a trace.”
She added, “Luckily, today’s smoked meat is finished. As long as we store it in the earthen jar, we won’t have to worry about the Golden Eagle coming back.”
The reputation of raptors like the Golden Eagle was intimidating. Even though Qin Tian assured her it wouldn’t attack them, the thought of its blade-like talons sent a chill down Ye Lin’s spine.
Seeing right through her thoughts, Qin Tian smiled. “Maybe, in the future, the Golden Eagle will be a member of our camp.”
“What do you mean?” Ye Lin was puzzled, though a guess had formed in her heart.
“Exactly what it sounds like.” Without waiting for Ye Lin to ask, Qin Tian explained his plan to tame the Golden Eagle.
“So how do you plan to catch it?” Ye Lin didn’t react much to the plan.
After all, even a primeval beast like Han Pi had been tamed by Qin Tian—a mere Golden Eagle was nothing to worry about.
“I’ll make a trap,” Qin Tian replied.
With the Golden Eagle’s speed, it was impossible to catch it barehanded, so he needed to build a trap.
The Golden Eagle he’d seen today was clearly an adult, with a wingspan over two meters. Building a trap to capture it would not be easy.
***
After breakfast, Qin Tian set about making the trap, determined to catch the Golden Eagle in one go so it wouldn’t become wary and avoid the place in the future.
He started by digging a big pit in the ground—this would be used to hold a rabbit, bait to lure the Golden Eagle.
The Golden Eagle’s eyesight was measured in kilometers; calling it eagle-eyed was no exaggeration. There was no worry it wouldn’t spot a rabbit.
After digging the pit, Qin Tian took two short bamboo sticks, each as thick as two fingers, and cut a notch in each with his knife to make them into hooks.
During this process, Qin Tian made repeated adjustments until the two bamboo hooks wouldn’t slip.
Next, he drove one bamboo hook into the bottom of the pit, hook facing up. The other hook he tied to a two or three meter long bamboo pole with hemp rope.
Then he drove the bamboo pole into the ground, bending it over. He hooked the rope-tied bamboo hook onto the ground hook, keeping the bamboo bent under the pull of the rope.
By this point, the main structure of the trap was nearly done—only the trigger plate remained.
Making the trigger plate was much easier. Qin Tian used branches to fashion a panel that could cover the pit, propped it over the hooks, then used hemp rope to tie a noose under the trigger plate, the other end secured to the bent bamboo pole.
After two hours, Qin Tian finally finished the trap.
He’d learned this trap from De Ye, but had no idea if it would work. Qin Tian put his hand in place of the Golden Eagle and pressed down on the trigger plate.
The trigger plate pressed down, pulling the bamboo hook loose—
The bent bamboo pole snapped upright, pulling the noose tight around his hand.
The whole process was finished in a flash; before he could react, his entire hand was caught in the rope.
But the bamboo pole wasn’t anchored very firmly, so Qin Tian easily yanked it out of the ground. In this respect, holding a Golden Eagle might be difficult.
He reset the bamboo, making sure it wouldn’t be pulled out easily, then tested it a few more times and found several issues, such as the trigger plate failing or the bamboo hook not releasing in time.
To ensure the trap would trigger perfectly, Qin Tian spent the rest of the day resolving every problem one by one. Not until the afternoon did he finally have the trap perfectly adjusted.