Chapter - 66 Drawing the Bow to Shoot Condors (9) (1/2)
”Watch closely!” the Taoist shouted.
He jumped as if it was nothing special, made six or seven turns with the sword, before softly landing again on his feet. Guo Jing was awestruck.
The man threw the sword on the ground and said while laughing, ”The white eagle was quite admirable, it is necessary to save its offspring!”
He sprang toward the cliff and began climbing at full speed using his feet and hands, as agile as a monkey and as light as a bird. The slope rose very steeply and was, in part, as straight as a wall. But the slightest bump was sufficient for him to climb up higher. Even when the rock appeared smooth as a mirror, he climbed like a lizard.
Guo Jing and Hua Zheng were very anxious; if he slipped, the fall would definitely kill him. The silhouette became smaller and smaller and gave the impression he was about to enter the clouds. The girl closed her eyes, afraid of seeing what could happen:
”Where is he now?” she asked.
”He's nearly at the summit,” Guo Jing answered. ”There, he made it!”
Opening her eyes, she saw the Taoist fly off as if he was going to fall and let out a scream of fright. In fact, when he reached the summit, the large sleeves of his robe floated in the violent wind that blew there. One had the impression, seen from below, that he was a huge bird.
The man slipped his hand into the nest, caught the two eaglets and put them against his chest. Then, back to the slope he went, where he let himself slip, grabbing a hand on a bump here or giving a kick from time to time, to slow his fall, and reached the ground very quickly.
Guo Jing and Hua Zheng ran towards him. He took the eaglets and said to the girl, in Mongolian, ”Will you take good care of them?”
”Yes, yes, yes,” she answered quickly. Hua Zheng, surprised and delighted, stretched out her hands.
”Be careful of their beaks,” warned the Taoist, ”they are small, but their bite is dangerous…”
Hua Zheng undid her belt and attached it to the legs of the fledglings. Then she held them against herself, delighted, ”I am going to look for meat to feed them.”
”Wait,” the Taoist said. ”If you want the eaglets, you must promise me one thing.”
”What?”
”You must not tell anyone that I climbed the cliff to catch the birds.”
”Okay,” Hua Zheng said joyfully. ”That's easy. I won't tell anyone.”
”While they are growing,” warned the Taoist while smiling, ”these two white eagles will become aggressive. Be very careful while feeding them!”
Happy, she told Guo Jing, ”Each of us will have one, and it will be me who keeps them in the meantime, okay?”