Fu Xin Ci had no idea that the fellow wanted her to act as its bodyguard while it ate.
Tch, what a nice thought. Even if she knew, it wouldn't change her decision now. Don't forget, she had just made a losing deal.
Fu Xin Ci slid swiftly over the grass tips, and suddenly she seemed to hear an unusual sound. Immediately after, she heard Qi He's voice: "It's an eagle, Yu'er, get down."
Fu Xin Ci turned her head and saw an eagle with its wings spread, gliding towards Yu'er.
"Ah," Yu'er screamed, covering his face. Qi He threw himself down, shielding Yu'er from behind.
Fu Xin Ci watched, her heart pounding with fear. Her survival instincts, honed in the apocalypse, immediately kicked in.
"The eagle is trying to grab the child, hurry and help!" At this moment, Qi Yuan Shan deeply regretted not bringing his bow and arrows when he came out.
Many people were also stunned. They had never seen such a scene before, nor had they imagined that an eagle could snatch a child.
The Meng family, seeing that the eagle was diving towards Yu'er, were terrified. Madam Fang immediately fainted.
Meng Qing Ping and Fu Yu, father and son, with eyes bursting with rage, grabbed clubs and ran towards Yu'er's location. They feared that if they were any slower, Yu'er would be harmed by the eagle.
Fu Xin Ci quickly took out her small crossbow from her space. After a slight adjustment, just as the eagle's sharp talons were about to grasp Yu'er and Qi He, she shot.
She fired two bolts consecutively, afraid that her current strength might not be enough to inflict significant damage and injure the eagle.
With two whistling sounds of arrows cutting through the air, the diving eagle let out a series of screams. Its broad wings flapped a few times in a death throe, but it couldn't escape its fate. It plummeted straight down.
"What's going on?" The people who had only half-run over were all stunned by what they saw.
Fu Xin Ci, seizing the opportunity before everyone else arrived, ran over first.
With tremendous effort, and with the aid of her wood-elemental ability, she managed to retrieve the two crossbow bolts.
Without even wiping off the bloodstains on the bolts, she retracted them and the crossbow into her space. Then, she grabbed the eagle's wing and ran over to comfort the terrified Yu'er.
Fu Xin Ci threw the eagle aside, squatted down, and held Yu'er in her arms, gently comforting him, "Yu'er, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, that smelly eagle has been killed."
Qi He was also in a daze. The moment he pushed Yu'er down, he had prepared himself to be scratched by the eagle.
However, instead of the expected pain, he heard Sister Fu's clear voice saying that the eagle was dead.
After a while, he finally found his voice, "Is the eagle really dead? Where is it?"
"Behind you."
With the words "behind you," Yu'er finally burst into tears.
"Sister." The little one finally cried, having been completely stunned earlier. He hugged his sister's neck and sobbed, "Sister, I was scared."
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Yu'er, don't be afraid." Fu Xin Ci held Yu'er's trembling little body tightly, patting his back to soothe him.
When Qi Yuan Shan was the first to run over, he looked at the siblings tightly embracing each other and squatted down with Qi He to examine the eagle, which was not completely dead, on the ground.
He noticed two distinct wounds on the eagle's body, which should have been left by something like arrows.
But where were the arrows?
Who could have imagined that the eagle was dead, but the wounds remained, and the arrows that should have entered its body were gone?
Qi Yuan Shan: Vanished into thin air, is that how it's described? He couldn't believe such an unbelievable thing could happen and continued to search.
He searched the vicinity several more times but found no arrows that could have shot down the eagle.
When Zheng Xiao Qi and Old Jin also ran over, they spoke with Qi Yuan Shan, and like him, expanded their search radius. They scoured the surrounding area meticulously but returned empty-handed.
The expressions of the men grew increasingly solemn. This was the first time such an incredible event had occurred within their guard post's jurisdiction.
Old Jin had been at the Eagle's Beak Cliff Guard Post the longest. "For thirty years, I've never seen an eagle try to snatch a child. Likewise, this is the first time I've seen an eagle shot dead, yet the projectile that killed it couldn't be found."
"This matter is serious. We must report this incident at our guard post to the thousand-household commander."
Qi Yuan Shan comforted Meng Qing Ping and his son, then instructed everyone to keep a close eye on the younger children and not to stray too far from the adults. Even the adults should not act alone.
He had been negligent. Not only were there eagles here, but there were also wild boars, wolves, and other wild animals in the mountains.
After instructing everyone, Qi Yuan Shan had Zheng Xiao Qi ride a fast horse with the eagle to the thousand-household commander's office to report the strange disappearance of the arrows.
Meng Qing Ping paid no attention to anyone else. He was now holding Yu'er, his heart filled with lingering fear.
As the pillar of the family, he didn't say it, but he was terrified. He held Yu'er in his arms and didn't let go for a long time.
Fu Yu circled his father and son several times. He also wanted to hold his son to believe that he was safe.
But his father wouldn't let go of Yu'er, so he could only watch.
Finally, he came up with a solution, "Father, why don't I carry Yu'er back?"
"Alright." Hearing his son's suggestion, Meng Qing Ping reluctantly released Yu'er.
Fu Yu finally held his son and walked back, the worry gradually dissipating. The stone that had been weighing on his heart finally settled.
Qi He was also filled with lingering fear. After all, he was just a ten-year-old child.
Qi Yuan Shan didn't have time to comfort him at the moment. Meng Qing Ping held one of each of them by the hand as they walked back.
Fu Xin Ci really wanted to tell her grandfather that she was fine and that she wasn't afraid of those wild animals at all.
But she couldn't reveal that she had defensive weapons or a space to hide in.
What is frustration? This is frustration.
Qi He didn't mind, but he enjoyed the feeling of being cared for by Grandpa Meng. It felt good to be cared for. He no longer had any expectations of his own father.
However, he didn't expect Qi Yuan Shan to send Zheng Xiao Qi away and then return, holding him and examining him for a long time.
Qi He mumbled for a while. His father was doing damage control, but his heart was sweet. His father wasn't indifferent to him; he just had to arrange everything before he had time to care.
Although this kind of concern made him feel a little disappointed, it was better than nothing. Qi He generously made an excuse for his father's concern.
When they walked back to their own makeshift shelter, Madam Fang, who had just been woken up by Liu Shi and Xu Shi, regardless of how many outsiders were present, cried loudly, holding Yu'er.
No matter how much Fu Yu tried to comfort her, Madam Fang's tears wouldn't stop. Finally, Fu Xin Ci spoke, "Mother, crying like this will scare Yu'er."
This time, Madam Fang believed her and finally stopped crying.