Reborn in the 1980s: I made my fortune hunting wild game in Changbai Mountain

The white-backed rabbit-tiger feinted, flying past the rabbit's back fur by less than five centimeters. The rabbit, caught off guard, ducked into the grass the instant the eagle's claws struck, only getting up again after the eagle had flown past.

Before it could even accelerate a few steps, the hairy-legged sea hare tiger swooped down and kicked off.

The old rabbit, using the mound of earth on the grave as leverage, leaped to the side, skillfully dodging the eagle's pursuit.

Then he continued running.

After a round of swooping attacks by the two eagles, the distance between the dog and the eagle, the rabbit, was reduced to less than five meters.

The dog, Chasing Wind, charged forward almost leaving a trail of afterimages, ready to seize the opportunity to bite and end the fight.

Old Rabbit felt the pressure of the dog getting close behind him and instantly changed from running straight to circling around the grave.

The dog had a long stride, and once it got close, it couldn't keep up with the rabbit's circling a bit. It watched helplessly as the rabbit circled the grave and got away, forcibly widening the distance again before continuing its mad dash.

"Hey! I haven't seen this move in years! The King of Qin circling the pillar!"

Seeing how cunning the rabbit was, Li Fulin was not angry at all; on the contrary, he became even more interested.

The old rabbits that survive dozens of autumn hawk raids must have something special.

This move, "King Qin Around the Pillar," shows that the old rabbit made the most of its terrain and size advantages.

This escape technique might work well against other hawks and hounds, but Li Fulin knew that it would only be effective once against his own hawks and hounds.

Having temporarily left behind, Chasing Wind and Snow quickly adjusted their direction and turned back to continue the chase. The eagle spun in the low sky and also changed direction, rapidly closing in.

After another seven or eight seconds, the dog caught up again, and the old rabbit slowed down once more, choosing a new grave mound to try the same trick again.

At this moment, Chasing Wind continued its full-speed charge, while Snowfall slowed down ahead of time and waited on one side of the grave.

The eagle swooped down, but the rabbit tried to circle around it, using the terrain of the grave mound to block the tiger's swooping attack.

Chasing the wind, but not rushing out, Ta Xue seized the opportunity, bent down to retrieve the nest, and with her sharp, long beak, she instantly grabbed the old rabbit's back fur and picked it up.

The old rabbit, held in the dog's mouth, let out a desperate cry.

Three rounds later, we won!
"Hehe! Gotcha!"

Li Fulin seemed to have known this would happen all along, a slight smile playing on his lips, his mood quite pleased.

"Holy crap! Uncle Li, these two dogs of yours can even cooperate and work together! They've caught us already, so be careful not to kill them!"

Jinlong couldn't help but swear, then greeted Li Fulin.

Li Fulin: "Don't be afraid, the dog knows we want it alive! It hasn't had the heart to bite it yet!"
Otherwise, it wouldn't be biting the back fur; one bite could sever the neck and spine!
"Treading on the snow, come here!"

At a call, Taxue, carrying a live rabbit in its mouth, came running back to its owner.

Zhui Feng followed behind, trotting along behind. The two eagles, seeing that their prey had been caught and everything was under control, spread their wings and circled in the low sky. Not hearing their master's command, they temporarily circled in the air and waited.

They haven't been out on the ground to exercise yet today, and now that they've finally gotten a chance to stretch their muscles, both eagles are really cherishing this time.

Li Fulin glanced at the two old rabbits and tigers, noting their flight altitude and low-altitude circling posture, and confirmed that the eagle was alright. He then left them to fly around and play overhead for the time being.

When the dog returned with the rabbit in its mouth, Li Fulin seized the opportunity and grabbed the rabbit's long ears: "Let go!"

The dog immediately let go and lay down next to its owner, wagging its tail frantically. Its thin, hairless tail was practically spinning like a fan.

"Uncle Li, should I just put it in my pocket?"

Once Yue Feng had the rabbit, he immediately took out the snakeskin bag he had brought with him before setting off and shook it open.

"Okay, put it in your pocket! I'll bleed it a little, otherwise it might die!"

Li Fulin reached into his pocket with his other hand, took out his small hunting knife, aimed at a blood vessel on the rabbit's ear, and easily made a small cut.

The rabbit, now bled, screamed even more pitifully, but Li Fulin didn't take it seriously and simply put it into the snakeskin bag in Yue Feng's hand.

With the gate secured, a live eagle and a cunning rabbit are in hand. This trip has been a resounding success, securing the first victory.

As Yue Feng tied the bag, he glanced at the two rabbits and tigers that hadn't yet landed and asked with a smile, "Uncle Li, how long can your eagles stay hovering overhead? Even after seeing the prey being brought back by the dog, aren't they in a hurry to come back and eat?"

After processing the rabbit, Li Fulin leisurely pulled a small package wrapped in a cabbage leaf from his pocket. Inside was a carefully prepared leg of lamb.

You can tell if someone truly cherishes an eagle from the details.

The old man was afraid that the meat he fed to the eagles would freeze too hard, so he kept it warm in his bosom. His way of preparing food was almost exactly the same as Yue Feng's when he released the eagles.

Li Fulin used a knife to cut two pieces of mutton about an inch wide, then wrapped the remaining part up and stuffed it back into his pocket.

After finishing all that, Li Fulin said, "The eagle didn't come out for a stroll yesterday, nor was it allowed to move around. It just came down to the ground today, and it's been playing around a bit! Come back!"

With a whistle, the two old rabbits and tigers spread their wings, turned around, and flew straight back to their master.

It landed very precisely on Li Fulin's arm, then shook the fur on its body.

The eagles returned, and the old man used his small knife to cut the thick slices of mutton in half again, feeding the two eagles equally.

After being fed the meat, the two eagles' crops were slightly bulging. They did not change their condition after eating the food and remained obediently squatting there.

Their feathers were all fluffed up, like two leisurely old hens brooding over their nest.

Li Fulin was very satisfied with the performance of his pair of rabbit-tigers and continued, "For the first two years, my pair of rabbit-tigers, whether they caught prey or not, didn't like to stay in the air when they went out to work. They would either land on the ground or come back to my side!"

For the falconers, such a reaction is actually irrelevant. The eagle and the dog cooperate, and they don't need to fly very high. Landing or returning does not affect the release of the eagle!

But starting from the third year, I discovered a problem!
Because of the two summers of cage rearing, the eagles' physical strength has decreased compared to when they were eaglets in their first year!
I tried many methods, including cleaning the entrails and applying light therapy, but the results were still unsatisfactory!
Later, I talked to your Uncle Liu, and his words were like a wake-up call!
When an eagle's stamina declines, the most important thing to do is to restore its strength, not to continue to fatten up and cleanse its body!
As for how to restore its strength, I took the method your Uncle Liu used to manipulate the stacks and let the eagle fly freely! As long as it doesn't leave my sight, I don't bother with it!

And you know what? By ensuring the eagles were kept within a controllable range and by appropriately extending their hovering time each time, the stamina of the two eagles increased significantly in a short period of time!
Both the speed of the chase and the power of the dive kick have improved significantly!
From then on, no matter how busy I was, I would let the eagle fly out every two or three days at most! Even during its summer molting season, I never missed a day!

"When they come out to roam, have the eagles ever caught any prey or anything?"

"Yes, with two eagles working together, they can catch rabbits and such without even bringing dogs. Once they even kicked a three- or four-pound tabby cat to death!"
My two eagles, after several hunting seasons of training, are no longer so attached to food. Even if they catch prey, they don't necessarily have to eat it immediately; they prefer to eat it from my hand!

Upon hearing Li Fulin's words, Yue Feng's heart stirred.

Goodness, the old man accidentally unlocked Free Hunter without even realizing it.

Free hunting is a very advanced way of playing falconry.

This style of play has fewer rules and falls somewhere between disc hunting and box hunting.

When a person brings an eagle to the hunting grounds, the eagle is released to patrol and engage in normal activities. During these activities, the eagle may actively or passively discover prey, thus triggering a hunting behavior.

When an eagle hunter's desire for prey diminishes, their approach shifts from a pragmatic pursuit of efficiency to a higher level of seeking sensory stimulation or inner fulfillment.

The highest level is when eagles live in harmony with humans, with boundless trust between them, without relying on food or commands for coercion, and truly showing humans the natural state of eagles.

The rabbit-falcon trap is an intermediate stage of falconry, all for the sake of seeing that beautiful kick.

Free Hunter, in terms of rank, is even higher.

They might fly for half a day and not necessarily catch any prey, but the eagles have a very high level of trust with their owners, and the birds of prey develop their physical strength through these regular outdoor patrols.

In his previous life, Yue Feng had even witnessed a master from Hebei using a hunting platform to freely hunt and catch larks that were good at flying high.

The continuous climb, the fierce chase, and the thrill of the lark screaming as it flees—for true eagle lovers, just thinking about it is the ultimate sensory experience.

"Uncle Li, if you want to engage in breeding, you can do more of these kinds of activities!"

"An eagle can't be controlled by its food and fatness alone. It needs to be able to be released and brought back even when it's fully fat and its crop is full of food!" Yue Feng continued.

"With its crop full of food, how can an eagle obey commands?" Li Fulin was slightly taken aback upon hearing Yue Feng's words.

In Lao Li's mind, the key to controlling an eagle is to feed it.

Li Fulin prides himself on being a master falconer, but even he can't keep a falcon completely full and obedient. At most, it can only be about half-full before he has to be careful, otherwise the falcon risks going out of control.

This situation clashed with his lifelong understanding of eagles for the first time.

When asked, Yue Feng grinned slightly.

Jinlong had witnessed the grandeur of Yuefeng's black eagle. Even after a full meal, it would still circle overhead. Sometimes, after a hearty lunch, by the time it landed overhead at nightfall, most of the food in its crop would have been digested.

“I’ve never seen other people’s eagles, but Xiao Feng’s big black eagle can still obey commands even when it’s full and has a huge crop on its head! I’ve seen it with my own eyes!” Jinlong said with great certainty.

How did you do that?

When Li Fulin saw Jinlong testifying, he no longer questioned the authenticity of the testimony, but directly sought out how to do it.

Yue Feng said, "My pair of black eagles, from the beginning of training to working on the ground, are trained in a completely different way than the rabbit-falcon eagles that are closer to boxing!"

From the very beginning, the training involved circling, following, and then diving to attack!
I call this kind of gameplay "pan hunting"!
My eagle can follow overhead for six to eight hours! It will only swoop down to attack its prey when it hears a whistle!
The eagles used for hunting initially relied on their weight and food to maintain their control, but as their understanding and cooperation grew, the bond between the eagle and the hunter deepened, and their trust increased day by day!
Even if I don't work, my eagles always let loose and fly over my yard every morning after they get up. Sometimes they can fly for an hour or two!
When the bond between the eagle and the human is completely strong, food becomes unimportant! In this situation, even if the eagle is already satiated, it will still obey orders!

If you want wild eagles to naturally pair up and reproduce in human hands, you have to do this!
Otherwise, the pressure of a restricted living environment will affect the hormone levels in an eagle's body!
Even during mating season, if the eagle is healthy and feels insecure, it will not dare to reproduce!

Furthermore, what I've mentioned is also related to the quality of the eagle! A gentle eagle is more likely to achieve this, while a highly sensitive eagle, no matter how much effort it puts in, may not be able to reach this level!

To be honest, my eagles, after they start incubating their eggs and raising their chicks, go out to find food and raise their young on their own. They are actually very smart and know their home!

Of course, there is a natural difference in intelligence between gyrfalcons and falcons! The time required to build this trust may vary!

If you don't mind the extra work, you can get a few falcon chicks and train them from a young age. With the right methods, you're guaranteed to gain the eagle's trust!

"Well... now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel tempted too!"

Li Fulin felt that the previously predictable world of falconry seemed to have a new challenge ahead.

"Hehe! If this falcon-catching event is successful, Brother Jianjun will find someone to get falcon chicks next spring. If you're interested, I can save one or two for you, okay?" Yue Feng continued.

Li Fulin's eyes lit up: "Okay, I only know that falcons breed in places like Gansu and Inner Mongolia. I really have no idea how to get the young ones!"

If you can get them, please get me a pair!

"No problem! You're no stranger here, it's nothing!"
Besides, if we want to continue developing this eagle-catching activity into a competition, we'll need your help even more!

If things don't work out, I'll pay you directly. You'll be responsible for the daily care and maintenance of the falcons and dogs! The compensation will definitely be much better than that of ordinary companies!

Grandpa Liu, if you're interested, you can join us!
We young people all have other things to do and need your strong support!

Seeing that the time was right, Yue Feng extended an olive branch ahead of time. (End of this chapter)