Chapter 49 You Still Have to Die

Perhaps because the weather had turned very cold, there was little movement outside, making everything exceptionally quiet and devoid of any sound.

After finishing the meal, Old Master Chen applied some herbal medicine he had somehow managed to procure onto my feet, and then had me put on a pair of boots he had made himself. The moment my feet slipped into them, I felt an immense sense of comfort, entirely free of any restrictive feeling. Although my feet still hurt, I was at least barely able to walk.

Immediately afterward, Old Master Chen told me to rest properly—for at least three days, completely and thoroughly—to prevent any lingering hidden injuries or chronic ailments. As for him, taking advantage of the time before the heavy snow truly arrived, he planned to head into the forest to see if he could bag some game.

I desperately wanted to go with him, but looking down at my own limping gait, I could only watch with yearning as Old Master Chen walked alone into the ancient forest.

It was then that I remembered the sheepskin scroll tucked inside my tunic. Since I had nothing else to do, I might as well pass the time.

Deciding upon this, I returned to the side room, drew out the sheepskin scroll, and laid it flat upon the bed.

However.

The very instant I unfolded the sheepskin scroll, a bizarre circular emblem caught my eye. The moment I laid eyes on this peculiar circular mark, I froze.

In truth, the design of the circular emblem was quite simple: it depicted an eagle standing proudly with its head held high upon a cliff, crying out toward the sky.

The only reason it could be called bizarre was because... directly beneath the eagle's wings, there was a pair of human hands.

"Why would this emblem appear here?" I frowned, murmuring to myself.

I was, of course, exceptionally familiar with this strange emblem, having practically grown up looking at it since I was a child.

Every single place in our family's living room, bedroom, and courtyard bore the presence of this mark. Subconsciously, I pulled the eagle whistle from my pocket and brought it before my eyes.

That's right.

The exact same emblem was unmistakably present upon this eagle whistle. I placed the whistle directly onto the sheepskin scroll and scrutinized the two marks side by side. They were identical.

A sense of uneasy trepidation began to stir in my heart.

For right at that moment, I recalled how, when I was little, I had once pointed to those emblems scattered around the courtyard and asked my parents what they actually meant.

Back then, my mother had pulled me into her embrace and explained with a smile, "Little Sanqi, this is the Eagle God."

At the time, I didn't quite understand what the Eagle God really was, so my father had let out a hearty laugh and told me, "If ever our Little Sanqi encounters a problem he cannot solve on his own, you can call upon the Eagle God, and it will help you!"

"The Eagle God!" I muttered, staring at the emblem in deep thought.

In reality, I had never truly believed in the so-called Eagle God. For a very long time, I regarded it merely as a symbol of my parents' superstition.

Yet now... after witnessing so many baffling and incredible events, I asked myself in my heart: Could the Eagle God... truly not exist?

Subconsciously lighting a cigarette, I continued to unfold the sheepskin scroll.

The first thing to appear was a line of text I could not recognize; it looked like Mongolian script. Although I had grown up in Mongolia, my grasp of the Mongolian language was utterly nonexistent—eight apertures out of nine were blocked, leaving the last one entirely sealed.

Deciding to flip further ahead, I found a map laid out before me. The map was marked with red crosses and green checkmarks, accompanied by annotations written in Mongolian script next to the red crosses.

Though I could not figure out the exact details, judging purely from the geography, the map appeared to cover a specific region of the Greater Khingan Mountains.

Those red and green markers were presumably meant to warn those who came after which places must not be entered and which places were safe to visit.

In the end, after staring at it for a long time without understanding what the sheepskin scroll was actually recording, I had no choice but to roll it back up, figuring I would just let Old Master Chen take a look at it when he returned.

Yet deep down inside, I remained somewhat unsettled by that emblem.

Ever since I began following my master, I had hardly ever encountered that mark again. For it to suddenly appear before my eyes now—could it truly be just a coincidence?

While I was lost in thought, the sharp, piercing cry of Dahan rang out from the sky.

A moment later, I saw it flutter and land squarely upon the windowsill...

Smiling, I walked over, reached out to stroke its head, and said softly, "Done playing?"

However.

Right at that very second, Dahan suddenly pecked fiercely at my hand with its sharp beak... A sharp pain flared in my palm as fresh blood slowly began to seep out.

Frowning, I stared at Dahan before me with a mixture of confusion and incomprehension.

Ever since I had tamed Dahan, this kind of behavior had never once occurred.

Dahan...

Something wasn't right!

Just then, the voice of a young woman came from outside the side room.

"Excuse me, is anyone here?"

Startled, I hurriedly put Dahan aside, rushed to the door, and pushed it open.

As soon as I stepped out of the side room, I saw a young man and woman standing not far away, both carrying backpacks.

They were precisely the same pair of tourists who had just returned from abroad and whom I had seen earlier visiting the Greater Khingan Mountains.

Only, their current state did not look good; they were covered in grime. Furthermore, with the temperature having dropped significantly, they were wearing nothing more than windbreakers, causing them to stand shivering in place almost involuntarily.

"Oh! Kid, it's you!" The moment the young woman caught sight of me, her face lit up with joy.

Limping forward, I frowned and said, "You two, why haven't you left yet? Do you have any idea that the Greater Khingan Mountains are about to be sealed off by heavy snow?"

To be fair, I actually had a rather favorable impression of this young woman.

To my surprise, however, the man chimed in at that moment, saying, "Being snowed in isn't scary! Back when I was in Europe..."

Seeing that this fellow was about to start showing off again, I speechlessly waved a hand to interrupt him. "Enough. I don't care to know how formidable you used to be in Europe."

Thinking to myself that these two clearly had no idea what dangers lurked in the mountains, I looked at the young woman and said, "You seem like a decent person! Let me give you some advice—pack up and leave while you still can! Once the mountain passes are truly sealed, even the seasoned hunters living around the Greater Khingan Mountains wouldn't dare head up into the peaks, let alone the likes of you!"

The young woman nodded repeatedly. "Right! Kid, we'll leave immediately. It's just that the two of us haven't eaten all day! Could you spare us a bit of food?"

After pondering for a moment, I replied, "Fine! Wait here!"

With that, I went back inside the house and brought out a leg of the roast roe deer I had left over from lunch...

The moment the young woman laid eyes on the meat leg, her eyes lit up and she showered me with thanks. But just as she was about to reach out and take it, Old Master Chen's voice suddenly rang out from the side.

"Sanqi! Giving them food is pointless... Because these two are doomed to die anyway!"