When Lou Bugui left Fanjiang Residence during the day, Mu Zhe and Yu Xinghe had just returned from Li Suo's place, each carrying candied fruit Li Suo had given them.
Seeing Lou Bugui, the two children hurriedly bowed.
Lou Bugui seemed not to see them, and swept past like the wind.
Yu Xinghe, with a candied fruit in his mouth, watched Lou Bugui's retreating figure and whispered, "Why is Martial Uncle Lou here? Is Master injured?"
Mu Zhe paused, then shook his head, indicating he didn't know either.
Mu Zhe returned to the side courtyard, picking up the book 'Questioning the Heart' and continuing to read.
Outside the window, a slanting wind and fine rain fell, and the paulownia trees sprouted new leaves.
Mu Zhe was strict with himself; after finishing his book, he practiced calligraphy for an hour, until it grew dark.
He tidied his desk, estimated the time, and figured Yu Xinghe would soon come to find him for dinner at the Changying Shandong kitchen.
Mu Zhe breathed a sigh of relief and was about to get up and leave when he suddenly heard the faint chirping of a fledgling bird outside the window.
Mu Zhe had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and his five senses were heightened. The bird's chirping was extremely faint, even softer than the sound of raindrops falling on leaves, but he still managed to catch it.
He opened the carved wooden window, and the ever-burning lamp in the courtyard illuminated the two-person-tall paulownia tree, vaguely revealing a small, dark shadow on its branches.
Mu Zhe frowned, walked out of the room to the paulownia tree, and looked up slightly at the little creature on the slender branches.
"Chirp chirp."
The little red bird chirped weakly twice more.
Mu Zhe paused, and just as he was about to tiptoe to pick up the little bird, Yu Xinghe's voice suddenly came from not far away.
"Mu Zhe!" Yu Xinghe, wearing a small raincoat, skipped and hopped around the yard. "There's meat tonight! We have to hurry, or we'll miss out!"
Mu Zhe frowned.
The little bird was round and plump like a ball of fluff, its reddish downy feathers barely fluttering. It looked like it had only recently hatched, and its whole body shivered slightly in the cold wind.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed a thin strip of cloth was tied around its eyes, secured to the back of its fluffy head, and hung in a knot on its damp feathers.
Mu Zhe found it strange. After hesitating for a moment, he said to Yu Xinghe, "Go by yourself."
Yu Xinghe then noticed Mu Zhe under the tree and asked in confusion, "What are you doing there? Aren't you hungry?"
Mu Zhe shook his head.
Yu Xinghe didn't ask further. After all, food was the most important thing, so he happily skipped away.
A raindrop the size of a bean suddenly dripped from a leaf, hitting the little red bird squarely on the forehead.
The bird staggered, let out a pitiful chirp, and fell to the ground.
Mu Zhe was startled and quickly reached out to catch the bird in his palm.
The little bird was resilient; even though it had nearly died from the fall, its eyes remained tightly closed as it slept. It was probably very cold, as it gently nuzzled against Mu Zhe's warm palm, letting out a soft chirp.
Mu Zhe cupped his palm to shield the bird from the light rain and hurried back.
Fanjiang Residence was a residence specially built by Nan Yangjun for Shen Fengxue. Even in the side courtyard, the bluestone slabs were paved with warm jade spirit stones.
The little red bird, which had been trembling in Mu Zhe's palm, slowly stretched out its body once it was in the warm room, chirped listlessly, and soon fell into a deep sleep again.
Mu Zhe pulled out a small wooden box used for candied fruit, stuffed a soft cloth inside, and gently placed the little fluffy bird inside.
He held the corner of the cloth over the bird, and just as he was about to remove his hand, the seemingly soundly sleeping bird suddenly spread its wings and gently landed on Mu Zhe's fingers.
Mu Zhe was startled.
The bird chirped twice, as if softly murmuring in its sleep.
Mu Zhe stared blankly, and for some reason, this scene suddenly reminded him of the way Shen Gurong, half-asleep, had acted affectionately towards him a few days ago.
As soon as this thought occurred to him, Mu Zhe immediately withdrew his hand, feeling like he was going crazy.
Although he knew his master's personality was two-faced, he shouldn't be so different even in appearance.
Mu Zhe carefully examined the unusually-looking red bird, tentatively trying to remove the cloth strip from its head, but after trying for a while, the strip seemed like a wisp of mist, disintegrating at the slightest touch.
Mu Zhe stared at it for a long time, unable to recognize what kind of spirit beast it was.
He got up and found a book of strange tales about spirit beasts in the small study in the side courtyard. He flipped through half of it and finally found a page at the end with a picture very similar to the little red bird.
It had two words written on it—Phoenix.
Mu Zhe's hand paused. The one that came to fight Shen Gurong today… seemed to be a phoenix of the demon race?
Could it be this one?
He stared strangely at the little bird, which was sleeping sprawled out in the small wooden box, its claws in the air, skeptical of the answer.
A phoenix… is it really this round and chubby?
So fat, can it even fly?
He reached out and poked the little red bird's downy feathers. The bird chirped softly and flapped its wings against his finger.
Mu Zhe shook his head, stopped bothering it, and continued reading his book of strange tales.
A little while later, Yu Xinghe returned after dinner, carrying a package of pastries wrapped in oil paper. He strolled into Mu Zhe's room.
"Mu Zhe, I'm coming in!"
Before Mu Zhe could answer, Yu Xinghe strode in, acting as if he were family.
Mu Zhe was used to it: "What is it?"
"This is from Senior Brother Li Suo. He told me to tell you not to forget to eat, or you won't grow tall." Yu Xinghe handed him the small package. "Oh, and he also said that there will be a Flower Festival down the mountain in a few days, and Senior Brother plans to secretly take us out to play."
Mu Zhe hummed in agreement, politely thanked him, and then shooed him away without any politeness: "Get out. Getting some rest will help you grow taller."
Yu Xinghe hummed in agreement, and just as he was about to leave, his peripheral vision caught sight of the little red bird on the desk, and he immediately stopped.
"What's this?"
Mu Zhe didn't even lift his eyelids. "I found a bird outside. It's sleeping, don't disturb it."
Yu Xinghe leaned over the desk, lifted the cloth, and looked inside. He exclaimed happily, "Ah, it's beautiful!"
Ignoring Mu Zhe's words, he gently poked the little red bird's belly with his finger and pinched its curled-up claws, making the bird whimper uncomfortably.
Mu Zhe frowned. "Xinghe."
Yu Xinghe looked at him with shining eyes. "Senior brother, can I keep it for a few days?"
Mu Zhe didn't like others coveting his things, so he refused without hesitation and chased Yu Xinghe out.
Yu Xinghe had no choice but to go back home, dejected, determined to find such an adorable spirit pet himself someday.
***
Shen Gurong had never slept for so long before. When he first woke up, he was dazed for a long time before regaining some consciousness.
A cloyingly sweet aroma filled the air, somewhat reminiscent of the candied fruit he'd stolen from Mu Zhe.
Did someone bring me candied fruit?
Shen Gurong wondered groggily. He lazily rolled over, instinctively reaching for his cloth, but the movement made his arm feel strange, and the texture of his fingers felt odd.
"Did I roll over onto the floor again?" Shen Gurong thought, opening his eyes and staring at the wooden wall beside him for a long time before shifting his gaze upwards.
The only thing visible at the very top was the seemingly endless roof beams, stretching for tens of meters.
After a while, Shen Gurong finally realized something was wrong.
He struggled to sit up, but as soon as he reached out, a flash of red appeared.
Shen Gurong froze, his gaze slowly moving downwards, finally settling on the unfolded crimson feathers.
Shen Gurong: "..."
He raised his wings in disbelief, looking left and right. An unbelievable thought suddenly popped into his mind.
"Chirp!!!"
Mu Zhe had just returned from dinner when he saw the fluffy little thing that had slept all day finally awake.
At this moment, it seemed to have been stimulated by something, frantically flapping its wings in its little box, feathers falling everywhere, and it was chirping in a drawn-out, high-pitched voice, sounding as if it was about to break its voice at any moment.
Mu Zhe rushed over, afraid it would ruin its voice, and whispered, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..."
Shen Gurong was already on the verge of collapse when he turned his head and suddenly saw Mu Zhe's face magnified several times over. He was even more terrified, and his scream grew even louder.
"Chirp—Chirp!"
It broke its voice completely.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Watching the little red ball fluttering and coughing, Mu Zhe felt a pang of pity. He walked to the window, opened the wooden window, and took a few steps back to show he meant it no harm.
"Don't be afraid. If you don't want to stay here, I can let you go."
Shen Gurong coughed up tears. He just wanted to be alone and process the fact that he had turned into a bird.
Although Lou Bugui said he would become a phoenix in less than three days, it shouldn't be this fast, right?
Shen Gurong's eyes were red, and he couldn't use his spiritual power. He could only flap his wings and wobble as he flew towards the wooden window.
But he was dizzy from screaming, and his vision was blurred by tears. He didn't see clearly and crashed headfirst into the window.
It chirped and fell straight to the ground. Because its body was a round little ball, it bounced a couple of times and rolled a few times before landing face down and lying still.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong almost burst into tears.
Mu Zhe sighed, stepped forward, and cradled him in his palm.
Shen Gurong, his face full of gloom, buried his head between Mu Zhe's fingers, wishing he could just bang his head against them and die.
The warm touch made Mu Zhe shudder slightly. He examined Shen Gurong and found that his left wing seemed injured; it whimpered and trembled at the slightest touch.
Mu Zhe sighed, raised his hand, and ruffled the fluffy bird's head, asking, "Do you still want to go out?"
Shen Gurong was dizzy and his arm ached, so he completely ignored him and continued to play dead.
Mu Zhe was very fond of the bird and spoiled him greatly. Seeing that he remained silent, he put him back in the small wooden box and thoughtfully covered him with a small blanket.
“It will rain again in the coming days. If you're not afraid anymore, you can stay here. Leave when your wings stop hurting,” Mu Zhe said. “Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you.”
Shen Gurong's mind was blank, his expression vacant, and he didn't hear a word he was saying.
Mu Zhe sat beside him for a while, his gaze fixed on the white cloth covering Shen Gurong's eyes.
After a long while, Mu Zhe silently circulated the spiritual energy in his spiritual veins.
—He didn't hear any strange sounds.
He thought for a moment, then tried poking Shen Gurong's lower abdomen.
Shen Gurong remained unmoved, his mind blank.
Mu Zhe poked back and forth a couple more times, still hearing no sound, before finally relaxing completely.
After withdrawing his spiritual energy, he belatedly realized he had truly gone mad.
Even if this little red bundle in front of him was Xue Manzhuang's phoenix, it could never be his master.
But Xue Manzhuang couldn't even enter the Boundary Spirit Tablet, so it shouldn't be him.
After much thought, it should just be an ordinary spirit beast. Just in case, he would ask Senior Brother Li Suo tomorrow.
Mu Zhe felt very relieved. He rested his elbow on the desk and gently poked Shen Gurong's fine, dense fur, stroking it until Shen Gurong snapped out of his depression.
Shen Gurong had originally only intended to prepare his will and hang himself from a tree, but Mu Zhe's gentle touch made him lay comfortably. He froze for a moment before realizing that if he were human, his disciple was currently touching his lower abdomen.
He was so frightened that his fur stood on end.
"Chirp!"
How dare you!
He jumped up angrily and instinctively pecked at Mu Zhe's hand.
Mu Zhe immediately withdrew his hand.
Shen Gurong snorted and scolded him, telling him to respect his master and not to lay a hand on him.
Mu Zhe touched his hand; the phoenix beak had pecked it, and the back of his hand was immediately red.
He glanced down at Shen Gurong but said nothing.
He slowly took a pair of silver scissors from a small drawer, placed them on the desk, and then held his hand out to Shen Gurong.
Mu Zhe stared at him intently, his gaze unwavering, indicating that he would continue pecking while Mu Zhe watched.
Shen Gurong: "..."
As a child, Shen Gurong often went in groups to climb trees and raid bird nests. Sometimes, his playmates would catch a few beautiful birds to keep as pets, and the first thing they did was pluck their feathers to prevent them from escaping.
At the time, Shen Gurong only felt it was cruel. Although he wouldn't catch birds to keep as pets, he wouldn't stop his playmates either.
Until now, he suddenly felt the retribution for his inaction.
Now, he had been assimilated into a small, chubby bird, his wings injured, unable to even use his spiritual power. Even if Mu Zhe secretly tortured and killed him, perhaps no one would know.
Shen Weifeng, ever adaptable and resilient, coupled with a "what's the harm, no one knows this cowardly guy is Shen Feng Xue" mentality, stomped his little foot, steeled himself, and with a soft "chirp," hopped to Mu Zhe's side, gently extending his intact wing to stroke the back of Mu Zhe's hand.
Mu Zhe looked down at him.
Shen Gurong: "Chirp chirp chirp."
After his charming chirp, he hopped to the silver scissors, stretched out his wing, and forcefully kicked the scissors to the ground, looking obediently at Mu Zhe.
Mu Zhe: "..."
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