Landlord in the Arctic

Chapter 319 - 257: Arriving Home (Part 2)

Home at last!

A joyful expression lit up Feng Mountain’s face. He deactivated the autopilot and cruise control, taking manual control to land the plane.

He gripped the control stick firmly with both hands, his eyes fixed on the snowy mountains and the patch of lights ahead. Adjusting the plane’s attitude, he began a slow descent toward the airport runway.

The roar of the plane echoed through the snowy mountains, like thunder rolling through the valleys. The immense sound made the tourists and busy staff in the camp stop what they were doing and look up in curiosity.

’Who’s coming to the Crown Territory in the middle of the night?’

With a slight jolt, the plane landed smoothly on the runway. It taxied a short distance before coming to a stop.

Feng Mountain unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the cabin door. A blast of cold, fresh air hit him in the face. It felt like an icy blade against his cheeks, but was also incredibly refreshing.

He took a deep, involuntary breath, savoring the all-too-familiar air of the Crown Territory. In that instant, all his pent-up fatigue vanished without a trace.

’There’s no place like home, indeed.’

Just then, a snowmobile with its headlights blazing came speeding toward the runway.

As it drew closer, Wawa immediately spotted Feng Mountain and the familiar Carnation. A delighted smile instantly bloomed on his face.

Before the snowmobile had even come to a complete stop, Wawa eagerly leaped off. He was in such a rush that he stumbled upon landing, but he paid it no mind and ran toward Feng Mountain.

"Khilla, you’re back!"

"Buddy, how’s the camp? Are the tourists doing okay?" Feng Mountain said, opening his arms to give the young Inuit lad a big hug.

Wawa first shrugged helplessly, a wry expression appearing on his face.

"Everyone’s doing great, except for those four old men."

"Don’t worry, I’m back now." Feng Mountain patted Wawa on the shoulder and turned toward the plane’s cargo hold.

He pulled open the hold’s door and let out three wild goats.

The three wild goats had been quite a handful on the way back, bleating nonstop. To get some peace and quiet, Feng Mountain had used his Beast Taming Technique on them, which settled them down for the rest of the trip.

Now that they were free, the wild goats stood still for a moment, blinking and staring blankly at the unfamiliar surroundings. Their small heads turned back and forth, as if they were trying to figure out where on earth they were.

After a short while, as if recognizing Feng Mountain as their master, they ambled over to stand closely behind him.

"Khilla, these goats...?" Wawa asked, looking curiously at the three wild goats.

"Picked them up on the way. They’re wild mountain goats from the Yukon River," Feng Mountain explained briefly. He patted the goats on their heads as he spoke, as if comforting small children. Then he said to them, "This is your new home now. Go on, don’t run off too far."

BAA!

As if it understood Feng Mountain, the ram looked up at him, a trace of Spirituality glimmering in its eyes. It bleated twice, then led the ewe and the kid at a quick run toward the Tundra.

Just then, a flurry of flapping erupted from the otherwise quiet cabin.

A moment later, Loki shot out, flapped his wings, and circled once in the air before landing securely on Feng Mountain’s shoulder. He affectionately nuzzled his head against Feng Mountain’s cheek, letting out a few sharp cries.

’What’s this?’

’What a weird-looking bird.’

Wawa’s eyes widened with curiosity as he stared at Loki. Having lived on the frozen Tundra for so long, he had mostly seen birds like seagulls and had truly never seen one so ugly.

"Fack, what are you looking at?"

Loki noticed Wawa’s curious gaze and turned his head to look back at him. He deliberately lifted and shook a claw with an arrogant air, as if showing Wawa who was boss.

Th-th-this...

’The bird can talk...’

Wawa jumped back in fright, stumbling so badly he nearly fell. He pointed a finger at Loki, his mouth hanging wide open, unable to close it for a long moment.

"Moron. Loser," Loki squawked, lifting his head disdainfully. His small eyes glinted with arrogance, as if he were looking down from a great height upon an ignorant country bumpkin.

"Shut up!" Feng Mountain’s face darkened. He gave Loki a light tap on the head, his voice stern. "No cursing at people in the camp. Do you hear me?"

"Okay, Papa!"

Loki seemed to become instantly obedient. He immediately dropped his haughty demeanor, lowered his head to nuzzle against Feng Mountain’s cheek, and responded in a voice that was both clear and docile.

His fawning demeanor was so different from his earlier arrogance, he was like two different birds. No one would have ever guessed that just a moment before, he had been cursing Wawa out.

Wawa watched this scene from the side, stunned for a moment before letting out a snort of laughter. Any unpleasantness from the encounter instantly vanished.

"This is Loki. He’s a parrot I adopted in Anchorage. He’s great, he just has a bit of a potty mouth," Feng Mountain explained with a laugh, gently stroking Loki’s feathers as he introduced him to Wawa.

’So that’s what a parrot is.’

A look of dawning realization spread across Wawa’s face. He smiled and held out a hand toward Loki, wanting to try and say hello.

"Hello, Loki."

Loki tilted his head to look at Wawa’s outstretched hand. He shrank back warily at first, but then, apparently deciding this person meant no harm, he slowly leaned forward and gently touched Wawa’s finger with one of his hooked claws.

"Hello."

"Alright, let’s head back to the camp." Feng Mountain smiled at the scene, then gave a big, long stretch.