Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 148 - 121 Cognitive Impairment_1

Chapter 148: Chapter 121 Cognitive Impairment_1

The snake eagle belongs to medium to large-sized raptors and has a diet that includes snakes.

Some people have said that the ancient practice of "drinking poison to quench thirst" involved wine soaked with the feathers of snake eagles; when snake eagles hunt poisonous snakes, the venom could splash onto their feathers, thus making the wine poisonous. However, the feathers of snake eagles are not poisonous in themselves.

Others say that the "zhèn" in the zhèn wine is a type of bird that has gone extinct and is not the snake eagle.

Whether it is or isn’t didn’t matter much to Feng Yi. Even if this snake eagle had just eaten a poisonous snake and had venom on its feathers, Feng Yi was not afraid.

What puzzled him was, why would this snake eagle exhibit such behavior?

At the moment, the snake eagle was still clutching his arm, showing no intention of releasing its grip.

Feng Yi gave a slight shake, but it didn’t let go.

The bird perched on his arm, as if alarmed or displeased, cried out twice but was reluctant to release its claws.

Feng Yi shook his arm more vigorously a couple of times, but the eagle didn’t let go. Instead, it started thumping him several times with its wings. It didn’t hurt, but it was annoying.

Feng Yi recalled the time at the zoo when the staff had told him about snake eagles. They mentioned snake eagles don’t like having people nearby when they hunt. Not only do they have to defend against the snake’s attack, but they also have to be wary of their surroundings. This is why wildlife observation teams who tried to secretly film snake eagles hunting often had to abandon their target if discovered by the eagle.

What Feng Yi wanted was for it to give up its target!

Therefore, Feng Yi looked around and then approached those five men. The arm with the eagle perched on it moved closer to the group.

Upon seeing this, the leader of the group stepped back nimbly, raising his hand to signal "stop."

"Alright, no need to test me! Let’s call it even this time. We’ll go our separate ways, and the well water won’t interfere with the river. There’s no need to take the seat matter so seriously — you can keep sitting, and we guarantee we won’t come over again today!"

Recently, an incident in the flower and tree market had served as a reminder to certain departments, and it was said that a crackdown was coming again. They wouldn’t be foolish enough to run headlong into trouble.

These days, you’d be embarrassed to be part of the street gangs without some knowledge accumulation. Otherwise, you could end up in jail in less than a week, and the dumber ones wouldn’t even know what they had done wrong when they were locked up.

They really didn’t expect this kid to be able to mobilize a wild bird of prey!

That’s so sinister!

Is he trying to trap us all into getting jailed?

As soon as we turn the corner, I’m reporting him!

I might even get a reward!

The leader thought to himself: It’s smarter to report him after he’s out of sight. Then, get some video footage as evidence. Someone on the upper floors of the small building nearby was filming, and I know them. It’ll be easy to get the video afterward.

Feng Yi glanced at the five men again, then picked one, and walked towards him.

The young man who was singled out by Feng Yi tried to run backward upon seeing Feng Yi approach with the eagle, but bumped into a tree, and his mobile phone slid out and fell to the ground. He hesitated for a moment, wanting to pick up his phone, but by that time Feng Yi was nearly upon him.

The man didn’t bother to pick up his phone but watched Feng Yi intently, as well as the snake eagle on Feng Yi’s arm, his face filled with fear: "I warn you! Don’t come any closer! If you come any closer, I’ll have to take emergency precautions!"

They had also done their research: if personal safety is at risk, moderate self-defense or accidental injury or death to a protected animal would not incur legal responsibility.

But! Unless it’s necessary, none of them wanted to resort to such measures!

Maybe it was because it was close to people, but the snake eagle perched on Feng Yi’s arm fluttered its wings again.

Feng Yi knew it was somewhat startled but still wouldn’t loosen its grip.

The others, not knowing the truth, took this as an intimidating act, becoming even more convinced the snake eagle was trained by Feng Yi, and that moving closer was surely preparation for an attack.

Seeing Feng Yi approach closer, the man continued to shrink back, pressing his entire back against the tree, "I really have to take emergency precautions now! I’m going to call the police! Somebody help!! Ahhhhh—"

He acted as if he was about to scream his lungs out.

With his face turned to the side and not daring to look, he yelled while violently waving his arms in front of him, trying to create a defensive barrier.

While he was in the midst of his cries, he suddenly felt his head grow lighter.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that the hat previously on his head was now in Feng Yi’s hand.

The other four who had planned to come to his assistance also stopped in their tracks. They had just witnessed Feng Yi snatch the hat from the man’s head with lightning speed.

With that kind of quickness, if they were to really fight, they might not come out on top.

Feng Yi looked at the hat in his hand, quite satisfied. He had compared the hats of the three among the five who were wearing hats, and this man’s hat was the newest and cleanest, and it wasn’t green.

Holding up the hat in his hand, Feng Yi said, "I’ll take the hat as compensation for emotional distress."

The five men: "???"

Damn it!

That’s just shameless!

Who’s suffering more emotional distress here!!

However, the five men, fuming, dared not speak up. At this moment, they just hoped this guy with the eagle would leave quickly. They admitted defeat in this matter!

Feng Yi put the hat on his head, adjusted the brim, and looked up the nearest police station.

It didn’t seem far, so he headed in that direction.

If the bird was startled into flight by a passerby, he’d turn back.

With his arm extended like that, if he tried to lower it and the bird still didn’t leave, Feng Yi guessed it might very well perch on his head.

Feng Yi thought to himself that after he returned, he would learn how to capture birds of prey from Chef Bing! If he encountered a similar situation next time, he’d take care of it himself!

The serpent eagle stared at Feng Yi for a moment, then suddenly pecked at him.

Feng Yi didn’t shift his gaze one bit and used his phone to block it.

A while later, another peck!

Another block!

The sharp beak tapped against the back of the phone, making a tapping noise.

This serpent eagle showed aggression, but it wasn’t very strong, more like a probe.

Because Feng Yi appeared so calm, not even glancing at the serpent eagle, people passing by thought he was playing with it.

"This is an interaction of love!"

After taking a photo and sighing with emotion, a passerby flipped their phone, ready to call the police.

Without a "Breeding and Taming Permit," falconry and hawking are prohibited, and personal applications are not currently accepted.

Illegal hunting, killing, or illegal purchasing, transporting, and selling of nationally protected endangered and precious wildlife can all constitute a crime, even just for one animal.

In their view, the individual wearing a mask and hat nearby was very suspicious!

They certainly didn’t look like someone with a taming permit!

Even if they did have a permit, it wouldn’t be good to bring a raptor out like this.

However, they eventually didn’t call the police, because they saw the person with the eagle heading towards the police station.

There weren’t many people near the riverbank at this time, and the police station was close by, so they arrived quickly. On the way, the eagle pecked, stomped, and flapped its wings relentlessly.

After spending some time inside, Feng Yi came out.

The serpent eagle would be taken to the Wildlife Rescue and Research Centre for a professional examination to see if there were any other issues, and at the same time, it would prove Feng Yi’s innocence and that the eagle was not tamed by him.

Of course, Feng Yi was trusted by the police not only because he had high points but also because he had an appraiser certificate issued by the United Insurance Bureau, meaning those with high points and official appraiser certification were less likely to illegally tame protected wildlife.

The video of Feng Yi with the eagle quickly spread online. Because he wore a mask and a hat, his face wasn’t visible. However, the serpent eagle was identified by some.

A national second-class protected animal, this became a sensitive topic, and self-media tried to lead the narrative for traffic, but the official quickly released an explanation saying that after a professional assessment, the serpent eagle was not tamed but had just attached itself to him. The man in the video is an expert in snake and product identification, and perhaps it was the smell of snakes on him that made the bird latch onto him, so he had to find a policeman nearby for help.

Upon seeing the official explanation, the internet erupted into "hahaha," treating it as silly news.

Some questioned the serpent eagle’s sense of smell, wondering if it could really smell from such a distance while flying, as vultures that scavenge are one thing, but a serpent eagle?

Also, even if there was a scent of snake, would the serpent eagle attack such a large target?

However, the official account of the Yang City Wildlife Rescue Center later stated that after expert identification, this was indeed a wild serpent eagle. After being released back into the wild and tracked, it dwells in the mountains far from Yang City and also soars near the suburbs and edges.

The behavior of the serpent eagle in the video didn’t seem reflective of hatred or strong aggression, so, apparently, there wasn’t any dramatic human-eagle grudge involved.

Amid various online opinions, Feng Yi didn’t pay them any mind, as he was already on his way back home.

The arm that had been grabbed by the serpent eagle now had several holes in the clothing, all torn through by its talons. Fortunately, his arm was unharmed, with only a few shallow scratches on the skin that would soon disappear.

These were the results of a change in his physique.

Once home, Feng Yi immediately went to find the butler, as there were too many uncertainties about what happened today.

The butler had already understood the gist of the situation online but still listened to Feng Yi recounting it. When Feng Yi described the incident, he focused on his emotional changes and physical state.

After listening, the butler pondered for a moment and said, "At your current stage of development, you may emit certain scents when emotionally agitated, causing them to have cognitive dissonance."

"Could these scents affect the sight of raptors? Their sense of smell isn’t that strong, right?" Feng Yi was puzzled.

He knew that raptors generally had excellent vision, and although he understood that a few species were known for their strong sense of smell, he wasn’t aware whether the same held for other members within the same family, which could be quite different.

The butler said, "Most birds’ sense of smell is diminished, but such diminishment might be limited to discriminating between certain scents. Some special scents may actually be detectable to them, perhaps even more impactful."

Feng Yi thought, that made sense. A diminished sense of smell might not mean a complete reduction; perhaps they were indeed sensitive to certain scents.

Setting aside the issue of the serpent eagle being influenced and confused by the scent,

Feng Yi discussed with the butler the problem of his emotional fluctuations at the time.

He was quite concerned about this. If it hadn’t been for the serpent eagle’s appearance, he might have reacted excessively due to sudden intense negative emotions.

"That state of the body and negative emotional fluctuations wasn’t normal; does this mean my animal instincts are getting stronger? What should I do?" Feng Yi was worried.

The butler’s expression fleetingly turned odd, as if he wanted to laugh but was holding it back, then he spoke in his usual calm and composed manner:

"That’s not animal instinct, that’s your belated morning grumpiness."