"Firebird!" Park Jeong-ui caught sight of a crested ibis sporting a tuft of red feathers on its head and a dash of bright red on its beak. His expression montarily shook, and with a compressed biscuit in his mouth, he mumbled unclearly.
He was still speaking in Korean, and although Suming didn't understand, he could see that Park Jeong-ui's expression was evidently abnormal.
The crested ibis, a first-class national protected animal, an endangered wild species, would be admired for its uniquely gorgeous appearance by those unfamiliar with it, while those in the know would be astonished to have discovered a wild crested ibis... Nevertheless, no matter what, it shouldn't have elicited the expression Park Jeong-ui had just then, one resembling the look of having seen a ghost.
Would a normal person look as if he'd seen a ghost upon sighting a white rhino or a Northeast tiger? Clearly not, unless what they saw was a tyrannosaurus rex or a dragon... Yes, the expression Park Jeong-ui had for that instant was like having seen a mythical beast that only exists in legends.
Sothing was off, it was just a crested ibis.
Suming cast a discreet glance at the little crested ibis and silently sent a wave of spiritual power towards it.
The little ibis was acting increasingly like a wild duck, waddling along with a hip-shaking, swaying gait, casually passing by Suming, seemingly attracted by the crumbs of compressed biscuits scattered around Park Jeong-ui, and drawing near to him.
Indeed, Park Jeong-ui abruptly stopped eating and instinctively reached out to grab the crested ibis.
Just as he was about to catch the ibis, another hand suddenly appeared from nowhere, snatching the ibis into its embrace a step ahead.
"Xiao Hong, don't wander off," Suming said with a chuckle, holding the crested ibis in his arms.
Park Jeong-ui's hand froze mid-air, and he gave a dazed smile, as if to apologize for impolitely encroaching upon the property of his savior without permission. He then resud eating while occasionally stealing glances at the crested ibis in Suming's embrace.
Suming seed utterly oblivious to the man's gaze across from him. Xiao Hong in his arms was flipping and turning, apparently looking for a comfortable position to lie in. Suming casually stroked the down on its belly, seemingly inadvertently, revealing the third leg on Xiao Hong's belly.
Every ti he saw the third leg on the belly of the crested ibis, Park Jeong-ui's eyelids couldn't help but twitch violently.
It was too similar!
Could the legends be true? Were Three-legged Firebirds really in existence?
But why was the legendary Three-legged Firebird so tiny in size, looking completely harmless? How did such a little creature manage to kill scores of fully ard combatants?
And it seed to be very close to a human?
Seeing the tiny bird before him that appeared to be the 'creature' from his family legends, Park Jeong-ui couldn't restrain himself any longer. He took a sip of water, cleared his throat, and pretended to use his not-so-fluent Mandarin to initiate conversation, "Thank you for saving ."
"You're welco," Suming chuckled and finally responded. It seed that the crested ibis in his arms held a great attraction for the man, great enough to make him risk exposing his identity to speak Mandarin.
Though Park Jeong-ui's eyes were practically bristling with hooks, fixated on the crested ibis, Suming pretended to understand none of it. After a nonchalant response, he fell silent, neither displaying any curiosity inquiring about Park Jeong-ui's origins nor proactively asking why Park Jeong-ui was curious about the crested ibis.
After all, he was in no rush. If Park Jeong-ui wouldn't speak, he certainly wouldn't be the first to break the silence—let's see who can endure longer.
The atmosphere turned sowhat awkward.
Park Jeong-ui's thoughts were racing rapidly.
Under different circumstances, he had plenty of ways to get his hands on this firebird, even if it ant killing the young man before him.
But not now. All his subordinates who ca with him perished, his own body was extrely weak, and his firearms had been 'confiscated' by the other party, without any military force to rely on.
The burly man who ca with the other party was clearly not soone to be trifled with. Park Jeong-ui, with his rich experience in wilderness survival, was a good judge of character, and he had an almost animalistic keen intuition for dangerous entities.
Moreover, he was utterly clueless at the mont—was this bird really a firebird? Where did it co from? And how was it related to his family's legends?... a multitude of puzzlents, with no answers to be found except from the young man before him.
The only hope might just be right in front of him. Park Jeong-ui decided that no matter what, he couldn't miss this chance, and impatiently took the initiative, "Mr. Su, may I take a look at that red little bird in your arms?"
Suming smiled, didn't directly answer him, but briefly glanced towards the grove not far away.
His companions along with a few others had died in that grove, and just now, Su ng had dug a hole and buried those n there.
"Ahem…" Park Jeong-ui coughed twice. A group of foreigners, ard, showing up in the seldom-visited depths of Qinling, severely injured—this situation demanded a reasonable explanation, no matter what.
Obviously, it wasn't easy to explain. Park Jeong-ui could tell that Mr. Su, although young, wasn't easily fooled. Ordinary tourists never ventured this deeply into Qinling, and these two people didn't seem like average outdoor survival enthusiasts either.
They ca here with a purpose, clearly.
You can know a person's face but not their heart, yet the essence of a person's goodness or wickedness isn't entirely inscrutable. Park Jeong-ui, who had been dealing with people from all walks of life for many years, would have died countless tis if he hadn't had a perceptive eye that could understand people.
Suming was no ordinary person, but neither was he a bad person—or at least, Park Jeong-ui considered himself likewise; he wouldn't harm others without cause.
But he couldn't be certain about who Suming really was; there were things he could say and others he must reserve.
After a brief consideration, he said, "My nephew, a very intelligent boy, contracted a very strange illness. According to my family's records, there might be a dicine in the Qinling that can cure him. So I hired these people to join in searching the Qinling..."
Park Jeong-ui didn't tell a lie, but he also didn't tell the whole truth. The story he presented was of an uncle trying to save the only male heir of his family, hiring hands to follow him into the mountains, encountering a large group of animals.
Not a story about poaching.
"Armadillo..." Suming almost laughed. Those two pandas had really co up with sothing, thinking to use armadillos to block bullets? Armadillos were indeed a poacher's nightmare. Rifle bullets were a bit better, but against armadillos, ordinary handgun bullets and shotguns might as well be sticks. Shooting an armadillo at close range was risking life and limb.
This also explained why the wounds on those n looked like they had been caused by their own firearms... Suming initially thought there had been infighting among them.
People who could use guns were never ordinary civilians. Both sides knew this well, and Park Jeong-ui could only go so far. Suming nodded and handed the Crested Ibis, Xiaohong, to Park Jeong-ui.
"The dicine that can cure the disease you spoke of, is it this Crested Ibis?" Suming asked curiously. How would it heal? Stead or roasted?
"No, no, it's not to be used as a treatnt, it's related to this bird," Park Jeong-ui said as he took Xiaohong, touching its third leg on the belly, his eyes lighting up.
Indeed, just like the creature in his family's legend, a crested ibis with three legs... or rather, a strange three-legged bird that looked a lot like it!
The elixir as sturdy as a mountain, granting long life upon consumption, white in flesh and bone, resurrecting the dead, prolonging life; the Three-legged Firebird descending from the heavens, shredding fully-ard soldiers, feasting on humans...
Pieces of scattered legends pieced together, forming a scene in Park Jeong-ui's mind that was both fantastical and terrifying.
Strangely enough, Xiaohong, who had been so well-behaved just a mont before, began to get restless and anxious in Park Jeong-ui's hands, twisting its body and making gurgling noises as if in discomfort, struggling to climb out of his grasp.
Park Jeong-ui subconsciously tightened his grip on Xiaohong, which imdiately angered the little thing. Flapping its wings, it pecked hard at his arm with its curved, sharp beak.
The sharp beak of the crested ibis was like a steel awl, catching Park Jeong-ui off guard, leaving a large gash in his arm from which blood poured profusely.
Xiaohong, having "escaped confinent," seed very temperantal as it screeched at Park Jeong-ui, emitting a grating, ear-piercing sound like the shattering of tal and stone.
Even Suming did not expect Xiaohong, who had been quite docile on their way, to turn so fierce.
Strictly speaking, it was ferocious. Suming rarely saw such strong aggression in animal cubs; even baby crocodiles and wolf pups wouldn't hurt humans so severely when they weren't hungry.
"Co back!" Seeing Xiaohong about to bite Park Jeong-ui again, Suming grabbed its wing and pulled it back like a little chicken.
Once caught by Suming, Xiaohong imdiately cald down, looking innocent.
Despite the injury, Park Jeong-ui was oblivious and rather looked fervently at Xiaohong, asking with a trembling voice, "May I ask, where did you find this Firebird?"
"You should take care of the bleeding first," Suming tossed a roll of gauze to Park Jeong-ui, not sure if bacteria on Xiaohong's beak might lead to infection.
"It's a minor injury, it's nothing," Park Jeong-ui dismissed, his attention unwavering. "Mr. Su, this is very important to !"
Suming glanced at the wound; Xiaohong's peck was no joke, the wound was nearly deep enough to show bone. He couldn't fathom how such a small creature could bite so fiercely. If not promptly bandaged and treated, the bleeding alone could be fatal.
Obviously, to Park Jeong-ui, the origin of Xiaohong was possibly more important than his own life.
"I happened upon this little fella on my way here. Its parents probably died, and it can't hunt yet. Holess, I brought it with on the road. Su ng, go dress his wound and find so antiseptic and hemostatic dicine," the forr was addressing Park Jeong-ui, the latter, Su ng.
Su ng had just taken off his backpack, and before finding the hemostatic dicine, he suddenly looked up sharply at the trees not far away, his pupils narrowing into a wild animal's growl.
"Who's there? Co out!" Suming also sensed the disturbance in the woods.
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