"Hey, Jiang Hai, what are you doing?" After watching Jiang Hai stay in his room for two hours, still wearing the same clothes and walking out with an eagle perched on his head, Darlene, Marian, Xiaoya, and Bernice, who had just returned from outside and was lounging on the sofa, were all puzzled.
Seeing Jiang Hai heading out, Bernice couldn't help but ask, confused.
"I want to let this guy fly." Jiang Hai smiled, pointing to the bald eagle perched beside him.
"Wait, can this little free-range chicken fly?" Bernice's eyes lit up at Jiang Hai's words, her excitement evident.
The young bald eagle, named Jiujiu, was indeed an odd sight with its gray feathers and bare head, looking more like a bald chicken than a majestic eagle. However, by the time Bernice arrived, Jiujiu had already grown significantly.
This growth was due to the infusion of Jiang Hai's spiritual energy. What would have taken several years for a bald eagle to mature now happened much faster under Jiang Hai's care. While Jiujiu might not stand a chance against an adult bald eagle in a fight, its imposing appearance was still impressive.
As for why Bernice called Jiujiu a "free-range chicken," that was a different story.
When Bernice first moved here, despite having been in the U.S. for a while to pursue her career, she had never seen a bald eagle up close. So, when she encountered Jiujiu, she was both curious and eager to interact. She started feeding it and even asked it to cooperate for some photos.
But Jiujiu got used to being spoiled with food. When it was smaller and hungry at night, it would seek Bernice out. One evening, Bernice had just finished feeding Jiujiu when the scent of beef lingered on her clothes. Jiujiu, ever the opportunist, followed the scent straight to her, inadvertently snaring her vest in its claws.
When Bernice emerged from the shower, she found Jiujiu rummaging through her clothes. Panicked, she chased after it. Since Jiujiu was small at the time, it could only run, leading to an absurd chase around the villa. Though Jiang Hai was disturbed by the commotion, he couldn't do much about it.
Eventually, Darlene and Marian helped capture Jiujiu, and the matter was settled. From then on, Bernice began calling Jiujiu a "free-range chicken" as a playful jab.
Unfortunately for her, Jiujiu didn't seem to care. It was more focused on food than anything else.
Now, as Jiang Hai prepared to let Jiujiu fly, Bernice stood up, walked over to the eagle, and spread its wings. Jiujiu's wingspan was impressive—at least a meter longer than Bernice's arm.
Bernice herself was over 1.7 meters tall, which was tall for a woman, and her wingspan was roughly the same. But Jiujiu's wings were at least 1.9 meters when fully extended, which was even larger than that of a typical adult bald eagle, whose wingspans ranged from 1.8 to 2.2 meters. If experts saw Jiujiu at just one year old, they would be amazed.
"Wow, it's big enough to fly!" Bernice exclaimed, impressed.
Jiang Hai walked outside with Jiujiu, followed by Bernice, Darlene, Marian, and Xiaoya, all eager to see Jiujiu take flight. Once in the courtyard, Jiang Hai shouted, "Fly, my warrior!" and threw Jiujiu into the air.
As expected, Jiujiu flapped its wings a few times but failed to take flight. Instead of soaring, it plummeted to the ground like a clumsy chicken, squawking loudly as it flapped its wings in frustration.
"Uh..." Jiang Hai and Bernice exchanged a look, both feeling like they had just seen a crow fly overhead.
Was this a chicken disguised as a bald eagle? Or a bald eagle that thought it was a chicken?
Luckily, Jiang Hai had thrown Jiujiu from a flat surface. If he had been standing on higher ground, the fall might have been much worse.
Jiujiu, undeterred by the failed attempt, let out a loud squawk, looking more like a distressed bird than a mighty eagle.
"Well... let's try again!" Jiang Hai said with an awkward chuckle, though Jiujiu was already trying to escape. It wasn't fast enough, though, and Jiang Hai caught it in his hands.
Despite its best efforts to struggle, Jiujiu was trapped in Jiang Hai's grip. It clearly didn't want to fly again. It knew it had failed and preferred to stay grounded, like a chicken.
But Jiang Hai didn't understand. He continued walking back to the courtyard, determined to give Jiujiu another shot.
"Hey, boss, are you planning to eat it?" A small car suddenly pulled up from a distance. It was Edward Anderson, carrying a small water tank filled with lobsters and other seafood he had caught to sell to tourists.
"Eat it? What a joke! I want to let it fly!" Jiang Hai rolled his eyes. There was no way he would eat a bald eagle in the U.S.—though he had never eaten one, he certainly wouldn't start with an endangered species.
"Let it fly? Oh, I didn't realize this little guy had grown so big!" Edward exclaimed, intrigued. He got out of the car and took a look at Jiujiu's wings. "With wings that large, it definitely seems ready to fly."
"So, how's it going? Looks like it's not going too well," Edward asked, noticing Jiujiu's lack of progress.
Jiang Hai sighed, nodding. "Yeah, it's not going well at all."
He then explained the situation, including how Jiujiu had simply fallen after being thrown. Edward grinned, knowing more about fish than birds. He wasn't sure how to help, and it seemed that no one else in the manor could offer much advice either.
While they were discussing it, others from the manor arrived, including Robbins-Garcia and a few others. They all gathered around Jiujiu, offering suggestions, but none of them were any more successful than Jiang Hai's efforts.
Jiujiu, clearly overwhelmed by the attention, became even more nervous. It eyed the group warily.
"Boss, I'm sorry, I can't help you with this one," Edward admitted after a moment, shaking his head.
"Forget it, go sell your lobsters. Everyone, go do your thing. I'll figure this out on my own," Jiang Hai sighed, giving up for the moment. He then looked at Jiujiu in his hands, wondering how to make it fly. It was definitely a headache.
Just as everyone began to disperse, Robbins-Garcia stopped and turned to Jiang Hai, a serious expression on his face.
"Jiang, do you remember the place where we went to catch dogs together?" he asked.
"Of course I remember. The stray pet center. I donated a lot of money there. Why do you bring it up?" Jiang Hai asked, looking at him curiously.
"I remember they had all kinds of animals, including birds of prey. The experts there might have some advice on how to get Chirp to fly," Robbins-Garcia suggested.
Jiang Hai's eyes lit up. He hadn't thought of that, but it made sense. If he couldn't solve the problem, maybe the experts could.
"You're right. We'll go there tomorrow," Jiang Hai decided. But knowing that the center was closed for the day, he made a mental note to visit first thing in the morning.
With a gentle pat on Jiujiu's head, he set the eagle down on the ground. As soon as Jiujiu's feet hit the earth, it sprinted off like a free-range chicken, clearly afraid of being thrown into the air again.
Jiang Hai watched as it ran, shaking his head. The battlefield of raptors, it seemed, was in the sky—not on the ground!
With nothing else to do, he vowed to teach Jiujiu how to fly. His determination was clear. Whenever Jiang Hai set his sights on something, it was never left unfinished.
As Darlene and Marian exchanged glances, they prepared to give Jiujiu extra food that evening. They knew that when Jiang Hai had that look in his eyes, the outcome was inevitable—Jiujiu's flying lessons would continue, no matter what.