Perhaps she wasn’t used to the bed, but after getting off work and returning to the dormitory, Su Muzhi tossed and turned and couldn’t fall asleep.
For some reason, the steppe eagle’s agonized screams kept echoing in her mind, piercing her heart again and again and making her unable to sit still.
Unable to sleep at all, she simply got up with messy hair, threw on a jacket, and relied on her memory to return to the eagle enclosure.
Under the weak beam of her flashlight, she saw the steppe eagle lying on the ground with its wings tied up. The earlier piercing screams had turned into whimpers:
“I’m scared… I’m scared…”
Could it be that it didn’t realize it was already safe?
“Don’t be afraid. You’re safe now.”
Su Muzhi softened her voice to comfort it.
The eagle moved slightly, as if trying to locate where the voice was coming from.
Her heartbeat quickened. She added:
“The bad people are gone!”
The moment those words fell, the steppe eagle urgently asked:
“Really?”
“And my companion? Is it okay?”
“My companion?”
Su Muzhi’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t heard Chen Zhiye mention any companion.
“On the mountain… with me…”
“Who’s there?!”
A sharp shout came from behind her. A blinding light suddenly engulfed her.
Startled, Su Muzhi quickly said:
“It’s me!”
Chen Zhiye ran over. Even after confirming it was her, his suspicious gaze still scanned her.
“I couldn’t sleep. I just came out for a walk,” she quickly explained.
“I’ll walk with you.”
He didn’t give her a chance to refuse and led her around the rescue station. He even chatted casually:
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen stars like this. When I was working before, it was 996 every day, no time to look up at the sky.
After coming back, it’s either weeding or cleaning enclosures—I’m exhausted every day. This is the first time I’ve seen stars properly since returning.”
But Su Muzhi wasn’t listening. She responded perfunctorily and subtly tried to steer the conversation:
“Yeah… it really has been a long time since I saw so many stars.”
Then she asked:
“Station Chief Chen, was this steppe eagle found on the back mountain?”
“Yeah. Old Huang said it was probably at the summit.”
After getting the answer she wanted, Su Muzhi used sleep as an excuse and returned to her dorm.
She couldn’t stand the eagle’s cries anymore, so she planned to find a chance to go up the back mountain and look for its so-called companion.
The next morning, she was woken up by Blackie’s cursing.
After getting up and opening the door, she saw Chen Zhiye cutting weeds.
“Good morning, Station Chief Chen. Any plans today?” she asked casually.
Without turning around, he replied directly:
“I’m going into town to buy feed. You can familiarize yourself with the place.”
This was her chance.
As the car’s exhaust disappeared, Su Muzhi quickly grabbed a sickle Chen Zhiye had just used and headed straight up the mountain.
The back mountain was more desolate than she expected—overgrown with weeds, some taller than her knees. The sickle was extremely useful.
As she moved forward while clearing the path, she soon heard a weak voice:
“Help… help…”
She froze for a moment, then immediately changed direction toward the sound.
The voice grew closer and closer. When she finally pushed through the grass, she saw it—
A steppe eagle with broken wings, covered in blood, curled up on the ground.
She crouched down, took a photo, and sent her location to Chen Zhiye. She didn’t dare move it, afraid of causing further injury.
“Run!”
The steppe eagle suddenly screamed in panic. Su Muzhi instinctively stepped back.
At the same time, a tall, dark-skinned man with a scar across his face emerged from the tall grass behind it, holding a metal cage. He smiled playfully:
“Well, well… someone got here before me.”
Su Muzhi stepped in front of the eagle:
“This bird is injured. I’m taking it back to the rescue station!”
“I shot it. It’s mine. Move.”
The man stepped forward, his threat obvious.
She didn’t back down and tightened her grip on the sickle:
“Try me.”
The man flew into a rage and raised his fist.
“Seriously, I have to step in myself.”
Blackie’s familiar voice came from a tree nearby.
The next second, Blackie dove down like lightning, aiming straight for the man’s eyes.
Although he dodged in time, missing the eye, the bird still ripped a piece of flesh from his face.
The man screamed in pain, staggered backward, stepped on empty ground, and rolled down the slope.
Cursing echoed from the bushes:
“Just you wait!”
Blackie landed back on the tree, preening:
“Pathetic. Not even good at swearing.”
Fearing the man might return, Su Muzhi didn’t dare hesitate. She carefully carried the eagle and ran downhill.
Blackie kept nagging:
“Told you not to come alone. Now look at you—scared to death!”
She had no energy to argue, only running.
Halfway down, she suddenly felt the eagle’s breathing stop. She froze, hands trembling.
Blackie asked:
“What? Why did you stop?”
“It… it doesn’t seem to be breathing anymore…”
They stared at each other in silence for two seconds.
Then the eagle, eyes half-closed in her arms, spoke weakly:
“I’m… still alive…”
Blackie flapped its wings furiously:
“Run! Hurry up! Still alive now, but you’re about to kill it by delay!”
Only when Chen Zhiye appeared, holding his phone and rushing up the mountain, did she finally breathe again.
He looked at her—covered in dirt, clutching the eagle tightly—and fell silent for a long moment.
Without a word, he gently took the eagle from her arms, as if handling something extremely fragile.
The trip back was silent.
After returning to the rescue station, Su Muzhi finally calmed down and grabbed his sleeve:
“I left the sickle on the mountain. Don’t deduct my pay. I’ll go get it back.”
Chen Zhiye sighed:
“No need. From now on, take Blackie with you when you go up the mountain. It’s smarter than you.”
Blackie flapped its wings and landed on his shoulder, pecking his ear lightly in warning:
“Stop treating me like a babysitter!”