Although the Sand Eagle had already been tamed, Qin Tian did not immediately agree to its request for meat.
He planned to let the Sand Eagle go hungry for one more night.
This wasn’t because Qin Tian wanted to dampen the Sand Eagle’s spirit, but rather, he intended to wait until Ye Lin woke up, so they could feed it together.
By doing this, the Sand Eagle would come to understand that it had two masters, not just him alone.
***
After taming the Sand Eagle, the trap was no longer needed, so Qin Tian dismantled it and returned the Rabbit at the bottom of the pit back to its cage.
Perhaps it had been scared, for even though Qin Tian had been feeding it these days, the Rabbit had still become noticeably thinner; when he touched it, it was all bones.
***
The next morning, Qin Tian told Ye Lin about taming the Sand Eagle.
When she heard about it, Ye Lin was stunned; she hadn’t expected the Sand Eagle to be tamed so quickly. Once she accepted the reality, excitement followed.
After breakfast, the two brought live fish over to the Sand Eagle. At Qin Tian’s command, the Sand Eagle immediately fluttered its wings, looking eager and impatient.
Qin Tian shot Ye Lin a glance, and she understood. She threw the fish in her hand, saying, “Sand Eagle, come, eat.”
Thanks to the connection established by the Nu Beast Mark, it was a given that the Sand Eagle would be close to Qin Tian, but whether it would get close to Ye Lin was another matter.
Qin Tian had Ye Lin do the feeding so she could play the role of the good person and use it to improve her relationship with the Sand Eagle—just like the effort Ye Lin had put in to get along with Han Pi at the beginning.
Seeing Ye Lin toss the fish over, the Sand Eagle immediately pinned it to the ground as if afraid it would be lost.
Then, the Sand Eagle lowered its head and pecked, its sharp beak easily piercing the fish’s body.
The fish Ye Lin threw was about four fingers wide, weighing three or four jin, which should normally be enough to fill an adult Sand Eagle.
But whether it was from hunger or simply because the Sand Eagle was bigger than average, after finishing the fish, it fixed its gaze on Ye Lin, even moving a few steps closer, obviously still not full.
It must be said, while the Sand Eagle looked fierce in flight and handsome when perched, its walking posture on the ground was simply unsightly.
To describe it: the Sand Eagle was like an old hen, slightly lifting its wings and strutting awkwardly, step by step, just like a barnyard chicken.
“Still not full?” Whether the Sand Eagle could understand or not, Ye Lin spoke to herself, “Then here’s another one for you.”
With that, Ye Lin tossed another fish, and the Sand Eagle continued eating, burying its head. During this, Ye Lin tried to reach out and touch the Sand Eagle. The Sand Eagle only took a token step back, then let Ye Lin stroke it.
It had to be said, using food to increase favorability was a very effective method.
“Han Pi, come here.” At this moment, Qin Tian called to Han Pi, who was at a distance.
While the two of them fed the Sand Eagle, Han Pi had been watching with great interest, but before this, Qin Tian had worried Han Pi might frighten the Sand Eagle, so he hadn’t let Han Pi come close.
Now that the Sand Eagle had relaxed, Qin Tian wanted the two to get acquainted—after all, tomorrow he’d be bringing Han Pi along as well.
If the two didn’t get along and fought halfway, that would be a real problem. So he had to get the Sand Eagle and Han Pi used to each other’s presence.
Han Pi was fine, only curious about the Sand Eagle and showing no aggression. The Sand Eagle, however, was wary of Han Pi.
As soon as Han Pi approached, the Sand Eagle spread its wings and flapped them, warning Han Pi not to get any closer.
Afraid a fight might break out, Qin Tian hurriedly stopped Han Pi, and only then did the Sand Eagle fold its wings—though its eyes were still full of hostility toward Han Pi.
Seeing this, Qin Tian sighed to himself. He knew these things couldn’t be rushed and needed time, so he didn’t force them to get along.
After eating the second fish, the Sand Eagle was finally full, looking much more spirited, but its former pride had vanished.
With a cry, the Sand Eagle flew to a tree branch near the grass, closed its eyes, and rested. After five days and nights of exhaustion, one night’s rest was nowhere near enough to recover.
***
“When are we going to look for the Sand Eagle’s chicks?” Ye Lin asked at this moment.
“Tomorrow. We can’t go today; the Sand Eagle needs to rest.” Qin Tian looked at the Sand Eagle. “Also, its nest might be very far away. We have to make full preparations before setting out.”
Last night, Qin Tian had asked the Sand Eagle where its nest was, but the Sand Eagle couldn’t give a specific answer, only saying it was very far away.
After staying up all night, Qin Tian was already exhausted. He glanced at Ye Lin and then went back into the cave to rest.
***
Qin Tian didn’t sleep long; he woke up around three in the afternoon. Now that the Sand Eagle was tamed, he didn’t need to stay up at night anymore and could catch up on sleep in the evenings.
At this time, Ye Lin was making something in the cave, completely focused and not noticing Qin Tian had woken.
Watching Ye Lin’s serious expression, Qin Tian grew curious and quietly approached. When he got close, he saw that Ye Lin was sewing a pair of arm guards.
The arm guards were made from Wild Boar Skin, puffy and at least two centimeters thick, though it was unclear what was stuffed inside.
The sewing needle was made by grinding down fish bones, which looked quite decent, and the thread was replaced by String—not very attractive, but durable.
Ye Lin was indeed clever with her hands. Even though the sewing tools were crude, the stitches were neat and firm.
She must have worked on these arm guards for quite a while. By the time Qin Tian looked, Ye Lin was finishing up.
She cut off the excess String and carefully checked over the arm guards for any missed spots.
“It’s done. Already pretty good,” Qin Tian suddenly said, startling Ye Lin.
“I think you’re trying to scare me to death and inherit my Ant Huabei!” Ye Lin patted her chest and glared at Qin Tian.
Qin Tian didn’t answer but took the arm guards from her, put them on his arms, and nodded with satisfaction. “There aren’t many girls nowadays who can sew, and you did a great job.”
“You’ll use it?” Hearing Qin Tian’s praise, Ye Lin immediately forgot her anger.
“How did you know I needed this?” Qin Tian patted the arm guards. He’d been thinking of making a pair himself, but Ye Lin had already finished them for him.
“Never seen pork but I’ve seen a pig run, haven’t I? Since I know how to train an eagle, naturally I know what preparations are needed.” Ye Lin added, “It’s stuffed with paper and weeds inside. I wonder if it’s enough to withstand the Sand Eagle’s claws.”
“This thickness should do.” With that, Qin Tian walked out of the cave, raised his arm, and called, “Sand Eagle!”
***
Before his voice faded, the Sand Eagle swooped out of the woods and landed on Qin Tian’s arm—but Qin Tian had underestimated its weight.
When the Sand Eagle landed, Qin Tian realized it weighed more than ten jin, heavier than he’d expected.
Even though he’d prepared, his arm still slanted under the weight, but he managed to hold on in the end.
“Maybe I should tie the arm guard to my shoulder,” Qin Tian smiled wryly. Supporting a dozen jin for a few minutes was fine, but for more than ten minutes, it would be too much.
“Take it off. I’ll make some adjustments,” Ye Lin said, then added, “Take off your jacket too while you’re at it.”
Qin Tian’s jacket had been tattered for a while. Now that they had sewing tools, it was time to mend it, or else the tear would only grow larger.
For tomorrow’s long journey, Qin Tian and Ye Lin went to bed early that night.
As a result, both of them woke up early the next day.
It was still dark when they got up and began preparing what they needed.
This time, Qin Tian and Ye Lin packed a lot. Besides the usual things for resource gathering like a stone axe and String, they brought six bamboo tubes of water, ten jin of dried pork, and four pieces of Wild Boar Skin.
Keep in mind, the Sand Eagle could travel a thousand li in a day. If even the Sand Eagle thought its nest was far, it would surely be extremely distant for Qin Tian and Ye Lin.
It might even take more than a day’s travel, which was why they prepared so much—they were ready to camp outdoors if needed.
As the sun rose, led by the Sand Eagle, Qin Tian, Ye Lin, and Han Pi entered the forest. After a night, the relationship between Han Pi and the Sand Eagle was unchanged, but since the Sand Eagle flew above while Han Pi walked below, there was no trouble.
Qin Tian’s preparations proved correct. The two walked all morning, yet the Sand Eagle kept guiding them south, showing no sign of stopping.
Normally, Qin Tian would have turned back at this time; otherwise, he’d never return to camp before dark.
The journey went smoothly, without any dangers. By four in the afternoon, Qin Tian and Ye Lin stopped.
Along the way, every two hours, Qin Tian would ask the Sand Eagle how much farther it was, but the answer was always, “Still very far.”
From this, it was clear they couldn’t possibly reach the Sand Eagle’s nest before sunset, so Qin Tian decided to find a place to spend the night.
***
After half an hour, they found a relatively dry spot to camp.
Next, Qin Tian was in charge of building a fire, while Ye Lin took out a bamboo tube and poured out a white powder, spreading it around in a circle.
This white powder was Lime Powder, refined from shell powder. To a certain extent, it could repel insects—though not as effective as realgar powder, it was better than nothing.
Once everything was ready, the sun began to set, and swarms of mosquitoes appeared. But just yesterday afternoon, Qin Tian had found time to make a bottle of Mint Essential Oil. The two applied it, so there was no need to worry about being bitten by mosquitoes.