Landlord in the Arctic

Chapter 286 - 241: Parrot (2)

"Perhaps I’m just fated to get along with it." Feng Shan replied to Snow with a wide smile, his face radiating a gentle yet slightly mysterious grin.

"Maybe so. Some people say you’re an Angel, and maybe animals can sense your kindness." Snow’s momentary jealousy faded. "Come on, let me introduce you to the other tigers."

"This is Barry. His favorite food is chicken."

Feng Shan cast a Beast Taming Technique.

The second tiger instantly became another little fan, fawning all over him and trying to curry favor.

"Damn it, how is Barry so friendly with you too?" North muttered under his breath. He walked up to the third tiger. "Feng, this is Kari. She has a bit of a temper and doesn’t like people touching her head."

"Oh, my God! Kari, how could you let someone touch your head?" The moment the words left North’s mouth, he saw Feng Shan reaching out to scratch a tiger’s head. The tiger, in response, actually closed its eyes, looking like it was thoroughly enjoying itself.

「Outside the enclosure.」

Several of the rescue center’s staff saw Feng Shan hitting it off with the tigers so easily. When they noticed that even the usually timid Tyson was acting affectionately around Feng Shan, Director Lawrence nodded with satisfaction.

In his view, an animal’s intuition was often the sharpest.

When an animal willingly approached a stranger, it meant the stranger had a scent that animals liked. Such people often shared a special bond with animals.

Perhaps they were born with an aura that made animals feel safe and comfortable, instinctively drawing them closer.

Because of this,

Director Lawrence felt even more at ease about Feng Shan adopting the tigers.

After making a full round,

North forced a smile, but his heart felt empty.

It felt as if his precious daughter, whom he’d raised with great effort for many years, had just been stolen away by some punk.

When the two of them walked out of the enclosure,

The tigers followed closely behind Feng Shan, their massive bodies lumbering across the ground. Their large eyes, filled with reluctance and affection, were fixed on Feng Shan’s retreating figure.

Separated by the wire fence, the tigers let out sorrowful, low growls. Their deep, mournful sounds seemed to be expressing their reluctance to part with Feng Shan, as if begging him not to leave.

Tyson, with his big, blocky head, was at the very front, continuously rubbing his head against the wire fence, trying to get closer to Feng Shan. His roars were especially loud.

This scene moved Snow and Director Lawrence, who were standing to the side. The tigers rarely showed such strong emotions toward people.

Feng Shan quickly walked to the fence, crouched down, and slipped his hand through a gap in the wire mesh.

The gap wasn’t wide, and he could barely squeeze his hand through, but he still managed to gently pat each tiger on the head one by one.

As he patted them, he spoke in a warm, comforting tone.

"You just wait here at the rescue center for a few days. I’ll be back to take you home. Eat well, sleep well, you hear?"

Upon hearing Feng Shan’s words, the tigers seemed to understand. Their sorrowful growls gradually subsided, but they remained pressed against the fence, staring at him without blinking.

"Feng, you’re a natural partner to animals, like a Druid," Director Lawrence said with a sincere expression, his eyes full of admiration for Feng Shan.

In all his years of working with animals, he had rarely seen anyone establish such an intimate relationship with them so naturally.

Feng Shan seemed to possess a special magic that made even the wildest, most untamable, or timid and skittish animals instinctively draw near to him.

’I’m the Druid’s father.’

Feng Shan grumbled internally, but his face still wore a faint smile.

"You’re too kind, Director. Perhaps I just have an affinity with these animals. I genuinely like them and hope to give them a better living environment."

As he spoke, he glanced back at the tigers in the enclosure, who were still staring at him with longing eyes. His own gaze grew even gentler.

Seeing this, Director Lawrence’s admiration and favorable impression of Feng Shan deepened.

"Mr. Feng, would you be interested in seeing some other animals? If your Crown Territory only has tigers as an attraction, it will surely be a bit monotonous."

’This old man is interesting.’

Feng Shan thought to himself, the corners of his mouth turning up in a faint smile. "Of course. My territory is very large."

"Please, follow me." Director Lawrence gestured enthusiastically, then turned and led Feng Shan toward the other areas of the rescue center.

Along the way, Director Lawrence would periodically explain the basic operations of the rescue center to Feng Shan.

For example, he detailed what types of animals were housed in each area and what special care they required.

Feng Shan listened attentively, asking his own questions and offering his insights. The two of them got along quite well.

The group arrived in front of a large aviary.

Before they even got close, they could hear a lively chorus of chattering and squawking from within.

Director Lawrence grabbed a handful of grain from a food cart and placed it in a feeding trough.

WHIRRR!

In an instant, a sudden, loud rush of flapping wings erupted, breaking through the already noisy atmosphere and making the entire aviary even more lively.

Dozens of parrots, as if on cue, flew in from every corner of the aviary.

They came in all shapes and sizes—some were half a meter long, while others were merely palm-sized. Their plumage was a riot of color: some were jade-green like emeralds, some were azure-blue like the sky, and others were a multicolored splendor.

The parrots quickly landed on the feeding trough’s platform and began to peck at the grain with their sharp, nimble beaks.

"Eat up." Director Lawrence grabbed another handful of grain and put it in the trough, then turned to look at a bewildered Feng Shan.

"Sir, were these parrots also abandoned?" Feng Shan asked curiously.

Director Lawrence shook his head. "Of course not. They were being smuggled from Australia to Alaska and were rescued by Customs and the WIU. There was a large batch initially, but due to the harsh smuggling conditions, only these little guys were left after the rescue."

He then added,

"What do you think? Do you like them? If so, you can take all of them back to the Crown Territory. You’ll just need to build a reasonably large warm house for them."

’These parrots are up for adoption too?’

Feng Shan felt a surge of unexpected delight. The kickback from that 100,000 US Dollar donation seemed to be pretty big. Not even counting the tigers, this flock of parrots alone was worth a small fortune.

For example, there was a large, half-meter-long parrot in the cage with all-blue feathers that would sell for no less than ten thousand US dollars on the market. There were also several large blue-and-yellow macaws whose prices wouldn’t be cheap either.

Just then,

a large parrot with gray-and-white plumage and bright red tail feathers gripped the cage’s wire mesh with its claws and walked step-by-step toward Feng Shan. It stared intently at him with its beady black eyes.

Feng Shan found this rather interesting and extended a finger.

"Hello."

Unexpectedly, the grey parrot seemed to understand. It immediately opened its sharp beak and replied crisply, "Hello, hello."

Although its voice had the slightly shrill tone characteristic of a parrot, it also mimicked some of Feng Shan’s accent.

Feng Shan found this parrot fascinating and turned to look at Director Lawrence.

"Can I take it out?"

"Of course." Director Lawrence nodded. North, who was standing nearby, opened the cage door. The grey parrot, as if knowing it was being let out, scurried out the door while still clinging to the wire mesh.

Feng Shan held his arm out at the entrance of the cage.

The grey parrot seemed to sense Feng Shan’s intention. It bent down slightly, tensed its legs, and with a light, agile hop, jumped onto Feng Shan’s arm.

Then, it began to move its claws unhurriedly, walking step by step up his arm toward his shoulder.

Before long, it had successfully made its way to Feng Shan’s shoulder and stopped, perching steadily. It tilted its head and began to preen his somewhat messy sideburns with its sharp beak in an ingratiating manner.

"Feng, that’s an African Grey Parrot named Loki," North explained from the side. "He’s the smartest parrot in the rescue center. Studies have shown that African Greys can have the intelligence of a 4 to 5-year-old human child, and their learning ability is also extremely strong."

’This bird...’

The more Feng Shan looked at the bird, the more he liked it. He secretly formed the hand seal for the Beast Taming Technique and, as he reached out to touch it, surreptitiously sent the technique into the African Grey’s body.

In that instant,

a spark of intelligence appeared in the African Grey’s beady black eyes.

...