Chapter 84: The Eagle’s Egg
Shen San had been harvesting herbs with such fervor that by the time he snapped out of his trance, the master and disciple had already reached the mountain’s peak. Standing at the summit, they peered down into the bottomless abyss below, their brows furrowed. A thick blanket of clouds and mist completely obscured the ground.
Shen San tossed a stone over the edge. They waited a long time, but no echo of it landing ever returned. The two exchanged a look and quickly took a step back from the precipice.
“Is this the cliff the old woman mentioned? It’s terrifying!” Lu Yunxi remarked. A few days ago, while trekking across the glacier, they had met a kind old woman who told them that following this cliff would lead them directly to the Water Continent. Because the Water Continent was long and narrow, its northernmost reaches extended right up to the edge of the glacier.
But looking at it now, there didn’t seem to be a single path leading down.
Shen San pulled up his map and studied it carefully. “It’s definitely the right coordinate… maybe she was talking about a path that only appears when the snow melts?”
The two reached a silent agreement. A place this dangerous wasn’t suitable for them; it was better to head back down and take the sea route instead.
However, fate had other plans. Not long after they turned back, a tiny black speck appeared in the distant sky, approaching with frightening speed and letting out a piercing, shrill cry. The master and disciple stood still, watching the sky together in tacit understanding.
As the screech grew louder, a massive eagle spread its wings and swooped toward them.
“Shen San, move! This thing is a Master-level beast!” Lu Yunxi squinted at the bird for a second before shouting a warning and instantly deploying her protective shield.
Shen San immediately scooped her up into his arms and sprinted to the left. To their rear was the cliff, ahead was the charging giant eagle, and to the right was nothing but an open, exposed plain. Only the left offered the hope of a cave for cover.
The eagle, however, seemed to have singled them out. No matter which way they pivoted, it adjusted its flight path to pursue. The freezing wind whipped against them, blurring their vision and making every movement a struggle.
“Shen San…” Protected in the center of his palm, Lu Yunxi didn’t feel the brunt of the storm, but she felt a wave of pity for her apprentice.
The eagle’s belly looked full; it didn’t seem to be hunting for a meal. Instead, it looked like it was toys with Shen San for sport. Unfortunately, since Lu Yunxi had been reset to Level 10, she was no match for a Master-level creature.
As the sky grew darker, Shen San’s stamina began to bottom out. Seeing him panting more heavily with every step, she patted his hand. “Shen San, stop running. I have the shield up. At most, the eagle will just kick us around like a ball. We aren’t in any real danger.”
Shen San nodded and sat down in the snow, refusing to waste any more energy.
The eagle glided down and landed in the snow nearby, tilting its head as if it couldn’t comprehend why its prey had stopped moving. It flapped its wings aggressively, trying to goad them back into a chase. Shen San remained motionless.
Seeing that it was being ignored, the eagle’s curiosity turned to rage. It let out a wild shriek, flapped its wings with tremendous force, and slapped Shen San aside.
Inside the protective bubble, Shen San held Lu Yunxi tightly as they bounced across the ice like a rubber ball. They had experienced this sensation countless times—in the desert storms and the ocean whirlpools—and were no longer phased by it. He actually yawned, looking as though he might fall asleep while holding her.
The eagle was not amused. Seeing that Shen San was literally falling asleep while being attacked, it became truly furious. It gathered its strength and delivered a massive wing-slap that launched Shen San directly into the sky.
The hearts of both master and disciple tightened. This brat! The bird had swatted them toward the edge of the cliff!
Lu Yunxi’s temper flared. Spotting the eagle’s nest on a nearby crag as they flew past, she reached out and used her spatial inventory to snatch one of the eggs.
“Stop! If you attack us again, I’ll smash your egg!” she threatened. A Master-level creature possessed high intelligence and could understand human speech; she refused to believe it wouldn’t care about its offspring.
However, the eagle’s reaction was baffling. It looked at the egg she was holding within the protective shield and showed zero sign of concern. Its human-like eyes fixed on her with what looked like a sneer. Then, it flapped its wings fiercely, delivering a final blow that sent them sailing over the edge of the abyss.
It wasn’t afraid at all.
As they tumbled into the void, Lu Yunxi stared at the strange egg in her hands, lost in thought. Shen San, who had been momentarily separated from her in the air, felt his pupils tremble. He straightened his body into a dive and lunged toward her.
“MASTER—!”
His cry of panic echoed through the misty depths of the cliff. Lu Yunxi looked up to see her apprentice diving after her like a man possessed. She immediately waved her hand, expanding the protective shield to encompass him as well.
She felt a surge of helplessness as he pulled her into a crushing, protective hug.
“Shen San, you should have stayed up there,” she scolded gently, though she patted his hand as she reinforced the shield. “With the barrier, I would have been fine.”
“Master, how could I ever leave you?” Shen San smiled and shook his head. The wind roared past them, the friction stinging his face. He couldn’t see anything through the mist, so he just held her tighter, a defiant, swaggering smile on his lips. “Master, did I ever tell you? My real name is actually Fu Jinheng.”
“Fu Jinheng?” She wondered if that was his name in the world beyond the simulation.
Tick… tock…
What was that sound? Water?
When Lu Yunxi opened her eyes, she saw droplets falling from a rock ceiling above. She blinked, pushing herself up from the ground. They were in a valley, the terrain remarkably similar to the area around her old home in Mushroom Village. A stream meandered through the center, and while trees were sparse, the ground was covered in a lush, green meadow.
Shen San was lying beside her, half-submerged in the stream. Luckily, the protective shield had stayed active, preventing him from drowning. Using every ounce of her miniature strength, she finally managed to haul him onto the bank. She cast a healing skill on him and then sat down, panting. She pulled out some dry rations and tried to get her bearings.
“Master?” Shen San opened his eyes groggily. “Where are we? This doesn’t look like the Ice Continent.”
Lu Yunxi nodded, handing him a steamed bun. “Eat. I think we’ve reached the Water Continent. Remember what that old woman said? The cliff leads right to it. It seems we’ve had a blessing in disguise.” She recalled forum posts describing the Ice Continent as a wasteland of snow and minerals; it definitely didn’t have grass like this.
Shen San chewed, his words muffled. “So, Auntie’s ‘path’ was just jumping off a cliff?”
“Maybe. Who knows?” Lu Yunxi finished her meal and clapped the crumbs from her hands. She retrieved the egg from her inventory and began to study it. “It’s so strange. That Master-level eagle definitely understood me, but it didn’t care at all when I took its egg.”
Shen San washed his hands in the stream and walked over. He looked at the massive egg, tapped it, and then picked it up to give it a shake. “Speaking of which… are eagle eggs usually this big?”
“Is it that big? The eagle was huge, after all.”
“This egg is nearly half the size of the eagle itself,” Shen San noted, gesturing with his hands.
“Wait, you’re right!” Lu Yunxi realized. She had been shrunk for so long that everything looked gargantuan to her; she hadn’t registered the anatomical impossibility.
The two of them huddled around the giant egg, lost in contemplation.
“Shen San, why don’t you claim this egg? Don’t most adventurers want a combat pet?” Lu Yunxi suggested.
The game had a pet system, but most players were stuck with rabbits or squirrels—creatures that were expensive to raise and useless in a fight. This egg, however, was massive, and her detection skill only returned three question marks, suggesting it was a high-tier creature.
“Master, you should keep it,” he countered, shaking his head. “You’ve shrunk and your combat power has dropped. Having a pet to protect you would make things much easier.”
“No,” she replied. “To tame a pet, I have to be stronger than the creature inside, or it will just run away. It’s not like the system commands you players use; I have to tame it manually, step by step.”
