CH 71

translator: baumkuchen

Not long after Shaohao left, he gave Lu Qingjiu a call, inviting him to come to his park to play, even taking special note to remind him to bring his entire family along.

According to the ancient records, Shaohao led a hundred birds. Thinking about it, the park he spoke of seemed to be a very interesting place. After being invited, Lu Qingjiu was indeed a little interested, so he went to ask Bai Yuehu if they could go.

Bai Yuehu said, “You can, his home is very beautiful, if you like birds, you should go to have a look.”

Not just birds, Lu Qingjiu liked all beautiful creatures. Of course, if they had soft fur, that would be even better. After a long winter, his home’s fox kit had finally grown back his fur and no longer looked like a poodle. He at least now looked like a fox, even though he spent every day running around with two little pigs like a fool.

Since Bai Yuehu said they could go, Lu Qingjiu started making plans for the trip. This was spring, after all, the weather was so nice, to spend all day at home was quite a waste. They were better off going out for more walks, since after it got hotter, they wouldn’t have any motivation to go out.

After Lu Qingjiu asked for Shaohao’s address, only then did he learn that Shaohao lived in the city, and the most expensive area of it besides.

“Shaohao’s so rich.” As he got into his pickup truck, Lu Qingjiu thought of Shaohao’s beautiful supercar. “How did he earn it?”

Bai Yuehu said, “He sells birds.”

Lu Qingjiu, “Sells birds?”

Bai Yuehu said, “Yes, the birds he sells are each smarter than the last. The buyers all have to coax them like they’re their ancestors. If you treat the birds badly, you could buy one that day and have an empty cage the next.” Like that, he’d formed a complete supply chain. Lu Qingjiu truly admired Shaohao’s business sense.

“What was his car originally? Also a bird?” Lu Qingjiu was a little curious. Their family’s pickup truck could also turn into a supercar. Even though its speed was a little slow, it was fine as long as it looked good enough.

Bai Yuehu slowly said, “No, it’s a real car.”

Lu Qingjiu, “……” Shaohao really was very rich.

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Lu Qingjiu rang the doorbell. Moments later, the door opened, and a middle-aged man dressed like a butler came out to escort them in.

“Sir is already waiting in the garden for everyone,” The butler said with a smile, “Everyone, please come this way, we will help park your car for you.”

Lu Qingjiu nodded, and the three walked over in the direction the butler had guided them to.

This garden mansion was extremely beautiful. It could be seen that through meticulous care, all around them were blooming flowers and hedges trimmed into all kinds of shapes. The only thing that Lu Qingjiu found a little weird, was that he hadn’t seen a single bird in the garden, nor had he heard a single birdcall.

With such doubts, Lu Qingjiu finally saw Shaohao, sitting in the back of the garden.

Next to Shaohao was Jiufeng, just that the young lady who had been brimming with energy just two days ago was lying wilted on the grass, looking like she was about to die at any moment. On the stone platform in front of Shaohao were placed four steaming cups of tea. Seeing the three of them arrive, he turned his head with a smile and waved at them, signalling them to quickly come over.

“What’s wrong with Jiufeng?” Lu Qingjiu asked a little doubtfully.

“She ate some bad food,” Bai Yuehu said, “It looks like that group of Youbi’s meat was rather old.”

Lu Qingjiu, “……” That girl’s a little pitiful.

Shaohao said, “Do you want to first sit and rest for a while, or do you want to directly go and see the birds?” He wasn’t wearing a mask. The patterns on his chin were particularly dazzling. At first, looking at it was a little startling, but after a while, it had a kind of exotic beauty.

“Let’s go straight to see the birds,” Lu Qingjiu said. Even though the garden was also very beautiful, he was more interested in Shaohao’s birds.

“Let’s go then.” Shaohao got up, and started walking deeper into the garden.

The three of them followed behind him. It was clear that Bai Yuehu was a frequent visitor of this place, and adding on how it was never a good thing every time he came, he was utterly uninterested from beginning to end. Rather, it was Yin Xun and Lu Qingjiu looking around in all directions the entire way there, heads swivelling left and right like satellite dishes.

Shaohao took them through a tunnel made from purple vines. The tunnel was very long and winding. Walking through it felt like they were walking through a maze without end. But as Lu Qingjiu walked on forwards, he distinctly felt as if he had already left Shaohao’s original garden and entered another world.

After walking for about ten minutes, Shaohao’s footsteps slowed. The surrounding purple vines also began to become sparser. Lu Qingjiu could hear the faint sound of clear birdsong.

“We’re almost there,” Shaohao said with a smile, “You guys didn’t bring any cash on you, did you?”

“Cash?” Lu Qingjiu said, “I brought a little, why?” Even though nowadays everything used mobile payments, he still brought some cash with him out of habit, so that he’d have it if he ever needed to use it.

“Is it a lot?” Shaohao asked.

“Not much.” Lu Qingjiu’s eyes were full of confusion.

“Not having much is good,” Shaohao smiled, “Do you know, sometimes birds can also get rather bored.” As his words fell, he reached out and pushed aside the curtain of hanging purple vines before them, causing his world, to unfold Lu Qingjiu’s eyes.

Lu Qingjiu saw a mountain. That mountain was covered in lush vegetation, cast in shade by trees. Amongst them were countless scattered stones, all of which were entirely covered in all kinds of beautiful patterns. However, those weren’t the most eye-catching thing. The most eye-catching thing were the countless birds on the mountain. Some birds were flying around in the sky, their giant wings spread, colourful feathers and gorgeous crowns instantly attracting people’s attention. Some birds were hopping about in the grass, their bodies covered in pale yellow fluff, and adorable pink circles of blush on their cheeks. Gathered together, they looked just like adorable stuffed toys. Some birds had slender bodies, looking a little like cranes, but they were far bigger than crains. Their long, slender necks were slightly curves, and their monochromatic feathers added a few drops of an ink-like immortal air to them.

When the birds saw Shaohao arrive, at once, they simultaneously made a clear birdcall, clearly welcoming this land’s master.

“Were all the Youbi eaten?” Bai Yuehu asked before he entered.

“Mostly, there’s only a handful left,” Shaohao said, “If you don’t mind……”

Bai Yuehu, “I do mind.”

“Tch.” Shaohao made a regretful face.

When the four walked over to the forest, Lu Qingjiu got a good look at the mountain in its entirety. It had to be said, this mountain was really too beautiful. The base of the mountain was surrounded by a clear spring. Even though the forest was dense, it wasn’t gloomy. The sun shining through the trees left mottled specks of light on the ground. The mountain gave off the feeling of tranquility. The grass below their feet was unlike usual grass. It was like a thick blanket. When Lu Qingjiu pressed down with his hand, he only felt softness.

“It’s too beautiful.” Yin Xun’s eyes were going blurred from staring.

“I’ll bring you guys up the mountain to take a look,” Shaohao smiled and said, “All the big birds are at the top of the mountain.”

Lu Qingjiu said, excited, “Alright.”

However, upon hearing this, Bai Yuehu raised an eyebrow and asked, “Which of the big birds are there?”

“They’re all there,” Shaohao said, “The swallow just got back…… In fact, he’s been complaining about being bored for the past few days.”

As the group walked up the mountain, Bai Yuehu gave Lu Qingjiu a basic introduction to Shaohao’s birds. It was just the very special system Shaohao had established when he founded his land. The phoenix was the king of the birds, while below him, the swallow, the shrike, the parrotfinch and the golden pheasant were in charge of spring, summer, autumn and winter respectively. Of course, there were still other birds with positions, but in this system, these birds were the ones with the highest positions.

“There’s even a phoenix?” The moment Lu Qingjiu heard this, his eyes lit up. “Is the phoenix very beautiful?”

Bai Yuehu, “I guess.”

Lu Qingjiu asked, “Then will we be able to see the it today?”

“Yes,” Shaohao said, smiling, “He’s at the top of the mountain. At this time, he’s probably playing with the other birds.”

The more Lu Qingjiu heard, the more excited he became. In his imagination, when he reached the mountain, perhaps he would see the scene of the phoenix playing with the other birds. Dragons were already so beautiful, the phoenix would definitely be as beautiful as the legends said.

Next to him, Bai Yuehu’s lips twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but seeing how excited Lu Qingjiu looked, in the end, he stayed silent.

Even though the mountain path was a little steep, their surroundings were so beautiful, Lu Qingjiu actually didn’t find it tedious. As they walked, Shaohao introduced the names of the birds that they saw around them to Lu Qingjiu. Only then did Lu Qinghiu realise most of the birds here were all those that could be seen in the human world, just that among them were a few already-extinct species that would still be seen.

Shaohao’s territory, was like a Peach Blossom Spring made just for birds.

When they finally reached the peak, the excitement building in Lu Qingjiu’s had too reached its peak. It was just that as he turned a corner and reached an open grassland, he heard a few very ill-timed voices.

“San wan!”

“Peng!”

“Mahjong!”

“How did you fucking win again, you fucker, are you cheating!”

“Ai, if you can’t take losing then don’t play, I’m such an honest bird, how could I cheat!”

At that moment, Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun’s expressions were stiff. After a lot of effort, they finally managed to climb to the peak, they saw four people sitting by a stone platform playing mahjong.

Lu Qingjiu slowly turned and looked at Shaohao. “What are they doing?”

Shaohao, “Playing mahjong.”

Lu Qingjiu forced himself to calm down, telling himself that it definitely couldn’t be true. “Where are the big birds you were talking about……” At the top of the mountain, there wasn’t even a little bird to be seen, much less any beautiful big birds.

Shaohao, “Playing mahjong.”

Lu Qingjiu, “Ah??”

Shaohao, “Those guys are the big birds.”

The four men had also heard their conversation. Their movements stopped, and they all turned to look over at them in tandem. Only then did Lu Qingjiu notice that their hair colours were all unlike that of ordinary people, alternating black and white, red and green, and the most eye-catching one out of all of them was a lady will rainbow hair.

Lu Qingjiu felt a wave of dizziness rush over his consciousness as all his dreams were destroyed in an instant. Probably because his reeling was far too obvious, Shaohao said in a soothing tone, “How about I have them turn back to their original forms for you to see?”

Lu Qingjiu, “No…… no need.”

“Little gege, want to play a few rounds?” The lady with the rainbow hair waved at Lu Qingjiu, enthusiastically inviting him to join their game.

At that moment, Lu Qingjiu finally understood why Shaohao had asked him if he had brought cash with him, these motherfucking birds were actually gathered at the top of the mountain to gamble……

Shaohao turned to look at his birds. “Turn back into your original forms.” Even though Lu Qingjiu had said that there was no need, seeing how he looked like he was reeling so hard that he was about to pass out, he still felt that he shouldn’t keep shocking him.

Upon hearing Shaohao’s words, the four birds all turned to look at each other, and then actually really turned back to their original forms. It was just that their original forms were a lot bigger than ordinary birds. When they stood up, they were almost the height of a full grown man.

It had to be said, even though he’d seen the scene of them playing mahjong, Lu Qingjiu was still pathetically entranced by their original forms. These birds all had their own charm: The swallow had a refreshing handsomeness, the shrike had a heroic beauty, the parrotfinch had an elegant grace, and the golden pheasant was simply gorgeous—— It would be even better if there wasn’t that mahjong table in front of them, Lu Qingjiu thought, pained.

But after a bit of time to recover from the shock, in the end, Lu Qingjiu still accepted this cruel reality, as well as the new knowledge that when they were bored, the birds liked to play mahjong.

“Do you want to play a couple rounds?” The golden pheasant was probably the rainbow-haired lady. From her beak, out came human words.

“I didn’t bring much money,” Lu Qingjiu said.

“It’s fine.” The swallow was a man. No matter whether it was his human form or bird form, he still looked very gentlemanly. “We’re not playing in big amounts.”

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Shrike, who was being crowded out, showed a sad expression, saying, “You group of damn dogs, when you can’t get enough people my playing skills are good enough for you.”

Lu Qingjiu couldn’t bear to watch them use their bird forms to argue any longer. If he watched this for too long, he was really going to get a psychological shadow. Hence, he hurriedly urged them into turning back into their human forms, saying that he could play a few rounds, but what about Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun? Neither of them knew how to play, and just sitting by the side was so boring.

“I’ll stay next to you and watch.” Bai Yuehu was utterly uninterested in this bird park. He’d long since seen the entirety of this place when he was dragged here by Shaohao to work as a coolie.

“I can show him around,” Shaohao smiled and said, “No need to worry, I won’t let him be bored.”

Actually, Shaohao was actually quite good looking. When he smiled, he looked very gentle. However, Yin Xun felt a chill run down his spine, inexplicably becoming a little scared. But before he could refuse, Shaohao placed his hand on his shoulder and blinked at him, “Don’t you want to have a look around?”

Yin Xun, “I……” Actually, he really did want to, but……

Lu Qingjiu, thinking that it was that he didn’t want to be a bother, said comfortingly, “Go, it’s fine, we’ll just be here playing mahjong. If you want to come back, just have Shaohao bring you back.”

Only then did Yin Xun let out an “en”, and was led away by Shaohao.

On this end, Lu Qingjiu started playing mahjong with the birds, while on that end, Yin Xun was brought to another part of the garden by Shaohao. It had to be said, this bird park was extraordinarily beautiful. To Yin Xun, who had practically left Shuifu village, it was incredibly enchanting. Shaohao followed behind Yin Xun, introducing the surrounding birds’ names and personalities like before as Yin Xun listened with interest. As they walked and chatted, they slowly came to a small bridge. Below the bridge was a clear river, inside of which were even golden koi swimming here and there. Because the river water was too clear, it looked as if the fish were swimming in the air.

“How beautiful.” Yin Xun had already forgotten how many times he had said these sincere words of praise.

“Do you like this place?” Shaohao asked in a warm voice.

“Yes.” Yin Xun was just about to turn around, when he found that Shaohao was standing right behind him. The two were so close that he could even feel Shaohao’s breath on his skin.

“Ah……” Yin Xun instinctively wanted to retreat, but behind him was the bridge, so he couldn’t move back any further.

Shaohao was a head taller than Yin Xun. Currently, his eyes were lowered slightly, staring at Yin Xun. Yin Xun was a little frightened by his stare, his voice becoming panicked, “Mister Shaohao?”

Shaohao asked, “You’re a mountain god, right?”

Yin Xun said, “Y, yes.”

Shaohao said, smiling, “Has anyone told you, you’re really attractive?”

Yin Xun was silent for a moment. He said in a small voice, “Are you talking about the quality of my meat?”

Shaohao, “……”

Yin Xun instantly understood, Shaohao was probably interested in the flesh on his body. “Can you not eat me?” Seemingly worried that his refusal would make Shaohao angry, after struggling with himself for a moment, he pulled out a little knife that was hanging off his keychain from his pocket and sliced off his finger.

Shaohao originally just meant to tease Yin Xun a little, so when he saw what he did, he was stunned stiff, until Yin Xun stuffed his finger into his mouth.

Yin Xun, “Just…… just a taste?”

Shaohao’s expression twisted.

Yin Xun, thinking that he wasn’t satisfied, shakingly prepared to chop off half his palm, when his arm was caught by Shaohao.

Shaohao seemed to be gritting his teeth. “I was joking with you, what are you doing?”

Yin Xun, “Joking?”

Shaohao, “En!” He actually did think that Yin Xun, this human-shaped rouzhiling, was a little interesting, and was just teasing him casually but who knew that Yin Xun’s response would make him completely lost for words. This was a finger, but he just cut it off. And when cutting off a finger wasn’t enough, he was going to cut off his palm. What’s more, why were Yin Xun’s actions so practiced? How many times had he done this?!

Yin Xun smiled self-mockingly, also thinking that he had been too sensitive. After all, Bai Yuehu was still at the top of the mountain, and Shaohao was a proper god, he probably wouldn’t have rudely chopped him up and eaten him. He said, “Then……”

Shaohao thought that Yin Xun was going to say some words of blame, who knew that this thing would ask bashfully, “Then how did I taste?”

Shaohao, “……”

Yin Xun, “Usually when I accidentally cut myself when cutting vegetables I’ll just casually eat it. I think it’s actually pretty good, but no one else has tried it.” Seeing Shaohao’s expression didn’t look right, he hurriedly put an end to this topic. “I’m about done looking around, please take me back now.”

Shaohao squeezed out a reply from between gritted teeth. “Not bad.”

Yin Xun, “What’s not bad?”

Shaohao, “You taste not bad.” Even though he didn’t know what Yin Xun had just been touching with said finger, to tell the truth, Yin Xun truly tasted very good. The texture was a little like fruit jelly, but it was a little thicker than jelly, and it even had a strange fragrance in it. The feeling of it sliding down his tongue and into his gullet was really good…… But that wasn’t the point right now.

This was Yin Xun’s first time being praised in such a way. Outside of pride, he also felt a little embarrassed. “Not bad, right?”

Shaohao, “I want to ask you something.”

Yin Xun, “What?”

Shaohao said, “Since you don’t want other people to eat you, why did you let someone else taste you?” He’d eaten roulingzhi before, but it tasted very different from Yin Xun. If he had to say which was better, it would definitely be Yin Xun who tasted a lot better.

Yin Xun said in a small voice, “Isn’t this me hoping that after you try it you’ll stop thinking about it?”

Shaohao said helplessly, “What if I taste it, find that it tastes good and want more?”

Yin Xun, “……” Sorry, it was him who was too naive, it was society’s fault for being too dangerous.

Shaohao, seeing Yin Xun’s face start to turn white again, other than finding it funny, he felt a strange kind of tender affection rise up in his heart. Even though his birds looked soft and obedient, actually each were fiercer than the other. If you said something unpleasant, you would find that there wasn’t a single one that could be trifled with around you. He had never met someone of Yin Xun’s type, who after a bit of teasing, everything he felt would show.

“Let’s go, I’ll bring you back now.” Shaohao was afraid that if he teased him any more, Yin Xun would go back and complain.

Seeing that Shaohao really didn’t have any intentions of eating him, Yin Xun finally let out the breath he’d been holding, and eagerly followed Shaohao back to the top of the mountain.

Over on Lu Qingjiu’s end, he had no idea what Yin Xun had gone through, he was currently playing mahjong with eyebrows furrowed in concentration, after all. He’d found that these birds were all extremely skilled at mahjong, but when he was still working at his company, he’d often been pulled over by Zhu Miaomiao to play mahjong with his coworkers, so right now, he could still just about cope, neither winning nor losing.

However, after playing for a while, he found that the personalities of each bird were very different. Some were gentle, some were irascible, some were delicate, and some were rough, actually very similar to their respective species. For example, the swallow in front of him was particularly gentlemanly, playing mahjong lightly and had a more gentle attitude, in sharp contrast to the shrike striding back and forth irascibly behind him.

After playing a few rounds, he saw Shaohao lead Yin Xun back. Yin Xun seemed to be scared of something, hurrying away from Shaohao and returning to his side.

“What’s wrong?” Thinking Yin Xun had seen something scary, Lu Qingjiu just casually asked.

“It’s fine.” Yin Xun’s hand was in his pocket so Lu Qingjiu wouldn’t see his finger which had yet to grow back out. It would take an hour or two to grow out, after all.

Lu Qingjiu asked, suspicious, “It’s really fine?”

“It’s fine.” Shaohao walked over to stand behind Yin Xun with a smile, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder just like before. It was just that this time, he, to his complete lack of surprise, felt Yin Xun’s body stiffen slightly. “I just brought him to see some birds of prey.”

“Oh,” Lu Qingjiu said, “Then you need to be careful.” After all, the body of his family’s mountain spirit was terribly weak, and was made out of a special material, even though Bai Yuehu was here and he wasn’t worried about Shaohao getting any ideas.

Shaohao said in a warm voice, “Naturally, he needs to be careful. Otherwise, if you were accidentally eaten by the birds, what would I do? Right, Yin Xun?”

Yin Xun, “……Right.” Now, he’d finally realised, all of Bai Yuehu’s friends, seemed to be terrifying people. If they weren’t terrifying, it had to be that the person wasn’t showing it. For example, this brightly smiling, gentle seeming White Emperor Shaohao before him, clearly wasn’t someone to be reckoned with. Thinking about this, Yin Xun involuntarily shrunk his shoulder, silently leaning over to Lu Qingjiu’s side.

Seeing Yin Xun’s response, Shaohao wasn’t bothered, just that his smile was so gentle it was a little dazzling.

The author has something to say:

Lu Qingjiu: Selling Yin Xun, three yuan a jin, ten yuan three jin.

Shaohao: I’ll give you a hundred.

Yin Xun: Wuwuwu just sell half, I can grow it back from the remaining half.