Understood. The eagle demon has departed, and with such speed!
Ten minutes later, a small black dot indeed appeared in the airspace to the northwest.
There were many tourists in the scenic area. Perhaps to avoid drawing attention, the eagle demon chose a low-altitude approach, flying like a sparrow, skimming the treetops. With a dive, it transformed into a human and landed in the small grove in front of me, using the tree trunk to shield itself, and beckoned to me.
I threw away my cigarette butt and ran into the woods, "You're here so fast!"
"I thought something had happened to you!" the eagle demon said plaintively. Seeing Yao Yao in the car, she knew I was fine.
"I need you to act as a cable car and take me and Yao Yao up to that mountain peak." I pointed to the place Yao Yao had mentioned earlier, the one with the strongest yang energy. It was actually outside the scenic area, a "mountain within a mountain," with sheer cliffs on all sides, making it impossible to develop as a tourist spot. Even if developed, it would be difficult to ascend without a cable car or elevator, but the cost would be too high. Ben Xi is famous for its water, and this Tiesha Mountain, while a sacred site of Taoism, is not a popular attraction, so investing so much in construction is not warranted.
The eagle demon observed the terrain. In broad daylight, with tourists around, it was impossible to pass directly through the scenic area without being mistaken for a demon. An aerial route avoiding human sightlines had to be chosen.
Her eyesight was excellent, and she quickly devised a route and transformed back into an eagle.
At this moment, Yao Yao also came over from the car, praising my intelligence for utilizing aerial power.
In truth, most of the time, I simply imagined the eagle demon as a drone. As a human in the 2020s, having this kind of three-dimensional aerial thinking is normal.
The eagle demon took me first, setting off from the side of the woods. Following a gully, skimming the treetops, it gradually ascended, reaching the summit from the other side of Tiesha Mountain.
I was mistaken. The summit showed signs of development – a small, dilapidated Taoist temple and some stone pathways, but they were overgrown with weeds, appearing long abandoned.
The eagle demon set me down on the ground and flew back to fetch Yao Yao. Yao Yao didn't need to land; upon reaching the edge of the summit, she simply let go and jumped up, saving the eagle demon some effort.
"You can go back now, thank you for your hard work," Yao Yao said.
The eagle demon was about to leave when I grabbed her wing, "Hey, hey, wait a minute! How will I get down the mountain if you leave!"
The surroundings were all sheer cliffs, making descent impossible.
Yao Yao chuckled, "Do you think learning phase-reading is that easy? It'll be a good day if you can get started by noon tomorrow. It's not like you'll be able to descend that quickly."
"Is that so..." I was a bit disappointed, having thought it would be a quick affair. "Then, Ya Nan, can you go buy us some food and drinks?"
Saying that, I took out my wallet and tucked two pink bills into her eagle beak. Ya Nan had already learned how to shop and even use mobile payment.
"First, let your body move and get excited," Yao Yao said. "But not too strenuously; a slight sweat is enough."
I ran on the remnants of the stone paths on the summit. Reaching the temple entrance, I took the opportunity to look. Above the main gate, the words "Ziyang Guan" were faintly visible. The inscription was illegible. Inside, the temple was filled with weeds, and a dilapidated iron incense cauldron stood askew in the center. Its opening faced me, filled with rainwater that had turned green.
As for what it looked like inside, the weeds were too tall to see clearly, but there was certainly no one there. If there were, Yao Yao's phase-reading would have detected it.
After warming up, the eagle demon returned, carrying two large plastic bags filled with bread, sausages, potato chips, cola, and the change.
After tossing the items into my hands, the eagle demon departed.
Yao Yao came over, unscrewed a can of cola, took a sip, squinted at the sun, and said, "Alright, let's begin. Learn from me."
I also unscrewed a bottle of cola and took a sip.
"Idiot, not like that! Look at the sun!"
"Huh? Won't that blind me!"
"Tsk! Listen to me!"
Fine. I rubbed my eyes and, mimicking Yao Yao, looked at the sun. Ah, it was too blinding; I couldn't stand it after just three seconds.
"Why are you squinting so much! Use your eyelashes to shield it a bit, squint!"
"Oh." My eyelashes aren't as thick and long as hers, so I could only narrow my eyes as much as possible. I could feel the sun seemingly dancing.
"And then?" I asked.
"Keep looking. Once you adapt, slowly retract your focus," Yao Yao said, holding a finger between my eyes and the sun. "Shift your focus to my finger."
This is about blurring the focal point. I understand this principle from cameras. To achieve it with the naked eye, it's like crossing your eyes.
"My eyes are crossing," I said. Yao Yao's finger was very slender, and with the glare of the sun, it looked like amber, completely transparent...