Before long, Director Lawrence led the group to an open-air enclosure.
This enclosure was much more spacious than the ones they had seen before.
"Feng, this Himalayan Vulture has had a rough ti." Director Lawrence sighed, a look of pity on his face.
"It probably got lost during migration and, by so twist of fate, ended up here in Alaska. A clueless hunter mistook it for a wild goose and shot it, hitting its wing."
"Luckily, soone found it and brought it to our rescue center in ti, which is how its life was saved."
After explaining the vulture’s story, Director Lawrence called out toward the enclosure.
"Tyr! Tyr!"
A mont later, a low, slightly hoarse squawk echoed from within the enclosure. It sounded like a call from a deep valley, carrying a sense of ancientness.
Imdiately after, a rather large, bald vulture, standing a full ter tall, appeared before them.
It then hopped and skipped toward Feng Shan in a slightly comical manner, its wings half-spread.
Seeing its bald head and the ruff of feathers around its neck...
’It reminds of Zuoshan Diao from *Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy*,’ Feng Shan thought.
Following his usual feeding routine, North, who was standing nearby, took a lively white mouse from the feed box. He walked straight to the enclosure’s feeding port and gently tossed the mouse inside.
One would have expected the Himalayan Vulture to pounce on its prey, displaying the sharp hunting instincts of a bird of prey.
But unexpectedly, upon seeing the mouse, the vulture appeared extrely flustered.
Its massive body began to move clumsily, and its wings flapped a few tis involuntarily, as if it had no idea what to do.
Finally, it pressed its head firmly to the ground, opened its beak wide, and just waited there motionlessly, apparently trying to get the mouse to walk right into its mouth.
"Fuck, you idiot!" a curse rang out.
Feng Shan instinctively turned his head, only to be surprised to find Mr. Snow with an innocent expression, his gaze not on the vulture in the cage, but on Feng Shan’s own shoulder.
He didn’t even have to think about it.
The curse had to have co from the grey parrot, Loki.
’This new godson of mine really isn’t a "good" bird.’
Inside the enclosure, the mouse wasn’t stupid. It scurried around the vulture’s open beak and fled in the other direction. The vulture grew anxious, hopped into the mouse’s escape path, and once again lowered its head and opened its beak wide.
Its intelligence was clearly a cause for concern.
It couldn’t even handle one tiny mouse.
After several failed attempts, the vulture squawked frantically inside the enclosure, its cries filled with anxiety.
Outside, North couldn’t bear to watch any longer. With an expression of exasperation, like a parent disappointed in their child, he couldn’t help but open the cage door, walk in, and knock the mouse unconscious with a stick. Then he picked it up by the tail and tossed it into the vulture’s beak.
"Mr. Feng, the vulture wasn’t like this when it first arrived," Mr. Snow explained helplessly as he walked out of the enclosure. "It’s probably been in captivity at the rescue center for too long, causing so of its instincts to degrade. But don’t worry. With a little more training, it should be able to hunt for itself again."
’Hunt for itself?’
’How is it supposed to hunt with a broken wing?’
’Do you think it’s Yang Guo’s divine eagle, able to chase down reindeer while carrying a person on its back?’
Feng Shan secretly pursed his lips. ’Still,’ he thought, ’since we’re both Asian, taking it back to pose for photos with tourists wouldn’t be a bad idea.’
"Can I adopt it?"
"Yes. Vultures aren’t native species to Alaska. You just need to sign a docunt agreeing not to breed it, and you can take it."
As Director Lawrence spoke, he nodded repeatedly, his eyes revealing an eagerness to have the vulture adopted as soon as possible.
This was because the vulture was a bottomless pit at the rescue center.
Not only had treating its injuries cost a fortune, but it also required a spacious, private room—far better conditions than many of the other animals at the center.
It had to be supplied with a fixed amount of fresh at every day, and that wasn’t all. It also needed to be fed live prey from ti to ti, like the mouse just now.
Furthermore, the live feedings had drawn protests from many volunteers, who considered the practice inhumane.
"Fuck! Bullshit! Useless!"
"You’re a fucking idiot! A moron! Co here and lick my big D...!"
The grey parrot, Loki, had sohow hopped onto the enclosure’s railing. He gripped the wire sh, his little black-bean eyes filled with arrogance, and hurled all sorts of provocations at the vulture through the cage.
His little beak opened and closed, spewing a continuous stream of foul words as if he had a deep-seated hatred for the vulture.
The vulture, Tyr, wasn’t one to back down. Hearing the parrot’s taunts, he imdiately spread his wide wings and let out a sharp cry in response.
And just like that, the parrot and the vulture were locked in a standoff through the cage sh, neither willing to yield.
Feng Shan watched the farce between the two, not knowing whether to be angry or amused.
He decided to stride forward, pull open the cage door, and deliberately provoke the grey parrot, Loki.
"Go on, get in there and fight him. Dad’s got your back."
Who would have thought that upon hearing this, the grey parrot would imdiately chicken out.
All of its earlier arrogance vanished in an instant. It shuffled its little claws, scrambling back a few steps, then hooked the cage door with its curved beak and pulled hard.
CLANG! It slamd the cage door shut.
Then, the grey parrot flew back to Feng Shan’s shoulder, rubbed its head ingratiatingly against his cheek, and mumbled.
"Dad, stop ssing around!"
He looked as obedient as could be, a completely different bird from the one who had just been taunting the vulture.
This sent everyone present into fits of laughter.
The vulture in the cage, thinking it had won the argunt, folded its wings, wobbled its bald head from side to side, and turned to swagger away.
...
A hint of twilight appeared on the horizon.
The trip to the rescue center had been very fruitful: a Tiger Pack, a parrot, and a vulture.
In the rescue center’s office, Feng Shan filled out the required adoption application forms. The next step was for the center to arrange a site inspection, after which the application could be approved.
Since Feng Shan couldn’t leave Anchorage for the next few days, Mr. Snow volunteered to handle the inspection. He would travel to the Crown Territory first, allowing the adoption and inspection processes to proceed simultaneously and saving a good deal of ti.
At the sa ti, after a discussion with Director Lawrence, Feng Shan agreed to beco an honorary volunteer for the rescue center. This ant the Crown Territory would have priority for adopting any wild animals the center received in the future.
As a token of his gratitude, Feng Shan made another donation of US$50,000.
With his godson Loki, Feng Shan left the rescue center amidst a warm send-off from the staff and got into a taxi.
From a corner, Tuney watched Feng Shan’s departing figure with resentnt.
Inside the taxi, the evening sun stread through the window, bathing Feng Shan and his godson, Loki, in its light.
Loki stood steadily on Feng Shan’s shoulder, his little eyes glinting with cunning as he cheerfully sang the popular Alaskan children’s song, "Ten Little Indians."
"One little, two little, three little Indians."
"Four little, five little, six little Indians."
"Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians,"
"Ten little Indian boys."
The clear voice echoed in the small space of the taxi, filled with a unique, childish charm.
The taxi driver, an Indigenous man, heard Loki’s song and grinned broadly. He started slapping the steering wheel and singing along.
Feng Shan sat beside them with a faint smile on his face. With a parrot for company, the ride wasn’t boring at all.
Suddenly, the taxi swerved sharply. The singing inside stopped instantly as the Indigenous driver angrily stuck his head out the window and unleashed a torrent of curses at a small car.
"Shit! Do you know how to fucking drive, you bitch?! Fuck! In a hurry to et God?"
"Fuck! Bitch! Sh..." The grey parrot, Loki, also sidled up to the window, mimicking the driver’s profanity. But halfway through his cursing, Feng Shan pinched his beak shut and pulled him back.
"I’m warning you, no more swearing in the future. Or I’ll pluck all your feathers out," Feng Shan warned Loki, his eyes narrowed.
The Indigenous driver, having finished his tirade, looked back and saw what Feng Shan was doing. He imdiately exclaid, "Hey, buddy! You can’t treat a parrot with a sense of justice like that! He’s a good fella."
The grey parrot Loki quickly responded in a fawning tone.
"Good fella! Good fella!"
...
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