Zhou Niannian gasped in surprise and covered her mouth tightly.
She had heard before that there were wild men in the snowy mountains, covered in white fur.
Could this be a wild man? If it grabbed her and took her to be a bandit's wife, that would be terrible.
Just as she was about to go back and find Jiang Fan for help, she looked closer and realized it was a giant bird.
This bird was enormous, its wings spread, spanning more than two meters.
It had a long, wide beak, looking a bit like a pelican.
On its head was a long crest, and a fleshy bulb hung from below its beak, making it look rather simple-minded.
Zhou Niannian licked her lips. The bird was too large; it seemed she wasn't its match. It would be better to run.
The problem was, she noticed, directly below the bird, there was a nest.
The nest was made of dry twigs. She wondered where the bird had found dry twigs on this snowy mountain.
Most importantly, there were several eggs in the nest.
Each egg was as translucent as jade, and looked to be the size of an ostrich egg.
Zhou Niannian's stomach rumbled uncontrollably.
They had been running from the avalanche for so long, and the food they had was long gone.
These bird eggs were a rare source of sustenance!
Zhou Niannian stared at the bird, and the strange, large bird stared back at her.
"Should I go back and call Jiang Fan?"
Zhou Niannian thought about it and dismissed the idea. Jiang Fan was injured and recuperating in the hot springs. She shouldn't bother him.
She had already troubled Jiang Fan enough on their journey. It was time for her to be independent.
This bird looked dim-witted; perhaps she could handle it herself.
Zhou Niannian fumbled on the ground, scooping snow into her hand and shaping it into a snowball.
Then, she shouted at the strange, large bird.
"Hand over your nest and eggs, or I'll roast and eat you!"
With that, Zhou Niannian fiercely threw the snowball at the bird.
She had already planned: if the bird pecked at her, she would flee.
After all, a bird with a wingspan of over two meters was likely something she couldn't defeat.
To her surprise, the dim-witted, large bird, despite its formidable appearance, was incredibly weak.
It was startled by the snowball and didn't even use its wings to block, letting the snowball hit its face.
Then, the large bird squawked at Zhou Niannian, a harsh, crow-like sound.
Zhou Niannian felt a little scared and was about to turn and run. Suddenly, she remembered something Jiang Fan had told her.
"When a wild beast gets aggressive towards you, you must be even fiercer. Only then will it be afraid of you."
This should apply to birds too, shouldn't it!
Zhou Niannian abandoned the thought of escape and also let out fierce cries at the bird.
Then, she kept picking up snowballs from the ground and pelting the bird with them.
It was strange, though. This bird, despite its large size, was surprisingly timid.
Instead of blocking or retaliating against Zhou Niannian's snowball attacks, it kept retreating step by step, all the way to the edge of the cliff.
Zhou Niannian threw another snowball. The bird dodged to the left and tumbled over the cliff.
Zhou Niannian was stunned. No way, it fell to its death just like that?
She quickly ran to the edge of the cliff to look. Suddenly, a white shape shot up from below her feet, startling her.
It was the same large bird. She hadn't expected it to be able to fly.
Zhou Niannian's heart began to race. The bird could fly, but she couldn't.
What if the bird suddenly attacked her and knocked her off the cliff?
Fortunately, the bird circled Zhou Niannian twice and then, with a loud cry, flew away.
Zhou Niannian wiped the sweat from her brow. Such a large bird, and so timid.
She was a little afraid the bird might change its mind and come back, so she quickly grabbed the entire nest and ran towards the hot springs.
"Jiang Fan, Jiang Fan, look what I found!"
Zhou Niannian carried the bird's nest on her head and jogged back.
Seeing Jiang Fan lying in the hot springs in his underclothes, with his limbs spread out, Zhou Niannian's face flushed.
Jiang Fan squinted his eyes and then said matter-of-factly.
"I see it, I see it."
"Haha, see what?"
Zhou Niannian's face beamed with joy, waiting for Jiang Fan's praise.
"I see bird droppings on your head!"
Jiang Fan said very seriously.
Zhou Niannian let out a scream and dropped the bird's nest.
Then she remembered that there were eggs inside, but it was too late.
With a whoosh, Jiang Fan burst out of the water, doing a nimble somersault in mid-air, catching the nest.
He then hopped back into the water on one leg. Even with his injured leg, he was as agile as a flying bird.
"Wow, it's a bird's nest! Where did you get these from?"
Jiang Fan gave Zhou Niannian a thumbs-up, unable to deny her luck.
He admitted that he might not have been able to find a bird's nest so quickly himself.
Zhou Niannian ignored him and went to the edge of the hot springs, using the water as a mirror to check if there was any bird droppings on her head.
However, the water surface of the hot springs was covered in steam, and Zhou Niannian couldn't see her reflection clearly, making her anxious.
"Haha, there are no bird droppings. I was just teasing you."
Jiang Fan couldn't help but chuckle.
"Oh, you dare to trick me? I'll make you eat eggshells later!"
Zhou Niannian said fiercely.
Her expression suggested that if Jiang Fan teased her any further, she would get angry.
He didn't dare to provoke her.
"Where did you find this bird's nest?"
Jiang Fan was very curious. He knew that the nest not only contained dry twigs but also a layer of down, which was perfect for starting a fire.
"I encountered a bird just now. It was this big, very fierce, and it could fly."
"It immediately tried to peck me, and I used Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to grab its neck like this."
"It fainted, and then I kicked it..."
Zhou Niannian recounted the story vividly, portraying herself as a heroic warrior fighting a fierce bird.
Jiang Fan listened and burst into laughter.
"Did this bird have a crest on its head and a fleshy bulb below its beak?"
"A long, wide beak, resembling a pelican, and a vacant gaze."
Zhou Niannian was astonished. How could Jiang Fan know this?
Had Jiang Fan's leg already healed, and he had been following her all along?
"Hehe, this bird is called the Snow Mountain Great Pelican, also known as the Dummy Bird. It's the most timid bird in nature."
"Even if you snatch its eggs, it'll at most squawk a couple of times."
"If you hit it, it'll flee immediately."
Zhou Niannian's eyes sparkled.
"You know all this? Impressive! It was exactly like that."
After saying that, Zhou Niannian suddenly realized something was wrong.
Jiang Fan already knew that this bird was a notorious coward.
This meant that her story about bravely fighting the dummy bird was entirely made up.
Thinking of this, Zhou Niannian's face flushed red.
Fortunately, Jiang Fan didn't expose her. He just smiled and said.
"Come, let me teach you how to start a fire by friction."