northernbook Chapter 241 Escape
Chapter 241 Escape
Behind them, the mother eagle's cry grew closer, but as they disappeared into the woods, the sound gradually became intermittent.
Clearly, the dense canopy of trees hindered its pursuit.
"Brother Xiangyang, do you think it will give up?" Wang Ergou asked breathlessly.
Li Xiangyang shook his head: "It won't be that easy. Think about it, if it were you, would you easily give up your child?"
Before he could finish speaking, a tree branch snapped overhead.
The mother eagle actually tried to break through the canopy by squeezing through the gaps between the tree trunks.
"Holy crap!" Wang Ergou was startled. "This beast is going way too far!"
Li Xiangyang didn't say anything, but suddenly changed direction and ran towards an area with dense bushes.
“Stay close to me!” he whispered.
The two of them bent over and moved quickly through the chest-high bushes.
Sharp branches tore their clothes, but no one cared.
Although the mother eagle had lost her height advantage in the bushes, she still relentlessly pursued the bird.
"Brother Xiangyang, running like this isn't working!" Wang Ergou said breathlessly. "We need to think of something."
Li Xiangyang did not answer immediately.
They were in a dense thicket, and the sound of branches snapping could be heard overhead, indicating that the mother eagle was trying to break through the canopy.
He quickly considered countermeasures.
Suddenly, Li Xiangyang's eyes lit up.
Ahead, not far away, there is a cliff with a rather inconspicuous opening in the cliff face.
He had discovered it while hunting; if it could be moved to a certain place, the roles of attacker and defender would instantly reverse.
"Follow me!" Li Xiangyang immediately changed direction and moved towards the cave entrance.
Just then, the mother eagle forcefully tore a gap in the tree canopy overhead.
It let out a sharp screech and swooped down.
"Lie down!" Li Xiangyang grabbed Wang Ergou, and the two of them fell to the ground in the bushes at the same time.
The eagle's sharp talons grazed their heads, creating a gust of wind.
However, the dense bushes restricted its movement, preventing it from attacking as freely as it could in open areas.
"Hurry! It's just ahead!" Li Xiangyang stood up and pulled Wang Ergou forward.
The mother eagle circled overhead incessantly, searching for a new opening.
Whenever it found an opportunity to swoop down, the two would quickly turn around under the cover of bushes, causing it to miss its target.
Finally, they arrived at the entrance to the cave.
The opening wasn't large, but it was big enough for two people to crawl through.
Li Xiangyang stuffed the net into the hole and immediately crawled inside.
Wang Ergou quickly followed.
Just as he ducked inside, the mother eagle swooped down again, missing its target once more.
The two crawled into the hole and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The cave was pitch black, and the only sound was their slightly heavy breathing.
"Finally, we've hidden ourselves inside," Wang Ergou wiped the sweat from his brow. "That beast chased us way too fiercely."
An angry cry came from the cave entrance, but it clearly dared not venture into the narrow space.
Occasionally, a shadow can be seen flitting past the cave entrance; it is the creature lingering and probing.
Li Xiangyang took out a torch and lit one.
By the flickering firelight, he carefully examined the eaglets in the net.
Although the eaglet was somewhat frightened and kept making weak cries, it was fortunately unharmed.
"Thankfully, no one was hurt," Li Xiangyang breathed a sigh of relief, "but I was terrified."
“Brother Xiangyang, we can’t take him away even if he’s not hurt! If that beast keeps guarding outside, all our efforts will have been for nothing.”
Although he was safe for the time being, Wang Ergou couldn't be happy at all.
He had already succeeded, but he couldn't take it away smoothly, which made him extremely frustrated.
"Don't be discouraged, there's a way," Li Xiangyang said in a low voice. "I remember there's an underground river in this cave that leads out of the mountain. We can get out by water."
"Huh?" Wang Ergou was taken aback. "What about this little guy? It can't withstand being submerged."
Li Xiangyang took the eaglet out of the net and examined it carefully: "Give me your water pouch."
"Here you go." Wang Ergou took out the water pouch from his waist, not quite understanding Li Xiangyang's meaning.
Li Xiangyang took the water bag, emptied the water inside, and pointed the opening of the water bag at the eaglet's head.
"Do you understand?" Li Xiangyang gestured. "Put its head in; there's air inside the water sac, so it won't suffocate for a while."
"Brilliant!" Wang Ergou's eyes lit up. "That way it can breathe underwater."
With a plan in mind, the two carefully made their way forward along the cave wall, while remaining vigilant against the mother eagle chasing after them relentlessly.
The sound of flowing water could be faintly heard in the distance, and it became clearer as they went deeper into the cave.
"Before you go into the water, make sure the gun is properly wrapped and waterproofed. We can't let water get in and damage it," Li Xiangyang instructed as they walked. "As for the other equipment, leave it in the hole and retrieve it later."
As they spoke, the two arrived at the underground river.
By the light of the fire, one could see the dark water surface shimmering faintly.
Wang Ergou placed his backpack and extra equipment on the dry rocks, and then the two of them wrapped the gun in layers of tarpaulin.
"That's about it. Now the most important thing is to settle this little guy in. Come on, help me support him," Li Xiangyang gestured to Wang Ergou, "I'll get the water pouch."
The two worked together to carefully aim the water bag opening at the eaglet's head.
This time, the eaglet seemed to realize something and struggled even more fiercely.
"Don't be afraid, little one," Li Xiangyang soothed softly, "this is to save your life."
Finally, Li Xiangyang successfully put the water bag over the eaglet's head.
To ensure everything was perfect, he carefully checked the water bladder's seal to make sure there were no leaks.
"Alright," Li Xiangyang breathed a sigh of relief.
The two arrived at the water's edge, and Li Xiangyang tested the water temperature; the underground river's water temperature was still frighteningly low.
"Are you ready?" Li Xiangyang turned to look at Wang Ergou.
Wang Ergou nodded, a rare seriousness appearing on his face: "Alright."
"Remember, stick close to me once we're in the water," Li Xiangyang instructed. "I know this river well; I know where we can get back to shore."
After saying that, he carefully held the eaglet in his arms, took a deep breath, and plunged into the dark water.
A bone-chilling cold instantly swept over his body, but Li Xiangyang endured the discomfort and steadied himself.
A "thump" came from behind, and Wang Ergou jumped in as well.
In the darkness, relying on his memory, Li Xiangyang began to swim towards the exit.
The eaglet in his arms was unusually quiet in the water, which made him somewhat worried.
The icy water rushed in from all directions, as if trying to drain all the body heat away from you.
Li Xiangyang could feel his movements gradually becoming stiff, but he dared not stop.
After swimming for an unknown amount of time, a faint light appeared ahead. Upon seeing this, Li Xiangyang swam forward with all his might.
After a short while, the two finally swam out and shakily climbed ashore.
At this moment, Li Xiangyang no longer cared about the cold and hurriedly checked the condition of the eaglets.
After removing the water pouch, the eaglet looked somewhat listless, but was still quite spirited.
Upon seeing the sunlight, it immediately began to struggle violently.
"Phew..." Wang Ergou slumped to the ground. "It's fucking cold!"