Chapter 22: Accidentally Catching Yellow Leaves

Hunting small game with an eagle wasn't like venturing deep into the mountains to hunt large beasts; it mostly involved wandering the hills near the village, so there was almost no significant risk. Consequently, Xiaotao's parents didn't object to their son following Yue Feng out.

Soon, after tying his leggings, Xiaotao followed him out, carrying a small bag.

In fact, after seeing Yue Feng catch a partridge and a flying dragon last night, Xiaotao had mentioned to his father that he wanted to go mountain hunting with Yue Feng, but Li Wentong had shut the idea down.

Old Li's reasoning was simple: the two families were neighbors, seeing each other all the time. If someone truly wanted to bring you along, you wouldn't have to ask.

Hunting small game with an eagle didn't require many people, and if someone forced their way in, they would only end up being an extra mouth to feed from the harvest.

If you asked to join, it would be hard for the other party to refuse, which could easily damage the relationship between the families.

Even though the two families were on good terms, one shouldn't engage in such opportunistic behavior.

However, since Yue Feng had come proactively to call for him this morning, it was a different story. Old Li didn't even need to ask to know that this was likely at the suggestion of Yue Lei.

"Brother, where are we going to fly the eagle today?" Xiaotao asked excitedly once they were out.

Hunting is human nature; what boy growing up in a village wouldn't love eagles?

But aside from the skill passed down through the Yue family, none of the adults in the surrounding villages truly understood the art of falconry.

In Xiaotao's simple worldview, even if he didn't get to share in the spoils, just being able to tag along was a thrill. Besides, there wasn't much work to do at home after the autumn harvest, so he would just be idling around anyway.

Yue Feng, holding the eagle, pointed in a certain direction and said, "First, we'll go to the small woods by the river, then we'll climb the gentle slope of Jiazi Gully. I've brought our lunch. We'll stay on the mountain for the day and return before dusk!"

"Alright, so what's my job?"

"You... you're responsible for carrying the prey, and then assist me when needed!"

"Got it!"

...

After a brief exchange, the two brothers set off from the village side by side. Their first stop was the small woods they hadn't visited yesterday.

The woods by the river were a true treasure trove—with water, forest, and thickets, it was a perfect habitat for small birds like partridges.

When Yue Feng had been circling and flying his eagle here the day before yesterday, he had startled the local chicken flocks quite badly. After a day of rest without him returning yesterday, there should be a good harvest today.

As Yue Feng walked, he observed his surroundings. From a distance, he had already spotted signs of partridge activity.

"Stay right where you are, don't move!"

As soon as Yue Feng spotted the prey, he gave Xiaotao instructions, then turned sideways, holding the eagle, and slowly crept forward.

When they were about twenty meters away, a warning cry from a rooster in the partridge flock rang out, and the birds scattered in a flurry of wings.

Yue Feng immediately and decisively released the eagle. The Great Green Sparrowhawk, which had been quite docile, shot forward like a black, sharp sword, heading straight for the flock.

A few days ago, even when tethered, the hawk could perform high-difficulty maneuvers like a mid-air flip to grab prey. Now, with only two short jesses on its legs and being fed fresh meat every day, it was fat and strong.

In less than twenty meters, the hawk easily snatched up a partridge.

It performed the hawk's signature move: one claw gripped the head while the other clamped the base of the wing, followed by a frantic tearing of feathers and meat.

Only after seeing the hawk begin to pluck and eat did Yue Feng wave to the motionless Xiaotao behind him.

When Xiaotao reached him, his eyes were wide, still reeling from the massive impact of what he had just witnessed.

After a long moment, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Holy crap! This little hawk is freaking awesome! He just let it go so easily and then immediately caught a partridge??"

Yue Feng smirked. "What else would happen?"

"This... if prey is that easy to catch, wouldn't you catch a whole sack in a day?"

"Eagles get tired too. Besides, these birds aren't idiots; they get smarter after a few catches! When I came here a few days ago, the partridges wouldn't fly even if you got within ten meters! Look at just now—they all flew at the slightest sound!"

"Anyway, I think our little hawk didn't even break a sweat catching that partridge!"

"Of course. This Great Green Sparrowhawk isn't an ordinary hawk. Ordinary hawks are smaller, and they aren't as efficient at catching small birds!"

While they spoke, the hawk had nearly finished plucking the feathers from the partridge's head and neck. With a quick tear of the skin, blood surged out; the hawk's hooked beak could rip off a chunk of meat in a single bite.

Yue Feng let the hawk enjoy a few bites of the fresh meat before skillfully using his glove to shield the prey and re-perching the eagle.

"Wipe the blood off and put it in your bag!" Yue Feng blocked the hawk's view with his body, held the prey in his left hand, and handed it sideways to Xiaotao.

"On it!"

Having an assistant made flying the eagle much more convenient than working alone. Yue Feng only needed to block the hawk's line of sight; Xiaotao handled everything else.

In less than a minute, the cleanup was done. Yue Feng re-perched the hawk, and the two brothers continued forward.

Near the riverside woods, there were hundreds of bushes of various sizes. The partridge flock that had been startled earlier hadn't gone far; they had simply circled around and hidden under a different thicket.

Through his observations over the past few days, Yue Feng had discovered that there were at least a dozen different flocks of partridges active here, totaling at least a hundred birds. Having only caught a few so far, there was theoretically a lot of potential to be tapped.

After walking another hundred meters or so, the little hawk soon spotted prey again, its head jerking toward a thicket. Yue Feng watched intently, hearing only the rustling sound from beneath the bushes but seeing no prey.

The little hawk struggled to strike, so Yue Feng decisively released it.

This was the advantage of flying an unhooded hawk. Without the restriction of a string, even if the terrain was complex or the prey's position was unclear, it didn't matter.

Even if the hawk missed and landed in a tree, as long as its flight path was steady and its belly was empty, it would fly back upon a single command.

The hawk's strike was a flash of movement close to the ground. The Great Green Sparrowhawk flew toward the thicket, spread its wings to brake sharply, and then dove into a gap in the bushes like a professional diver.

A second later, a series of squeaks erupted from the bushes.

Hearing the squeaking, Yue Feng's heart sank. *Oh no!*

"Quick, come here! The hawk caught a weasel!!"