The Aftermath of Egg-Snatching and the Hilarity of a Pecking Pursuit

For lunch today, Wen Lang prepared fried eggs and poached eggs. They were delicious, and both Le Fei and Xiao Yan ate their fill, leaving their bellies round and fully satisfied.

Suddenly, Wen Lang looked toward Yun Zhao and said, "I found a plant while I was gathering bird eggs. It’s pale yellow, somewhat resembling a lotus, yet also a bit like a chrysanthemum. I’m not sure if it’s a medicinal herb."

Yun Zhao pondered his description in her mind, then suddenly grew excited. "Does it have green outer leaves, small foliage, yellow petals in the center shaped like a lotus, and a core that looks like a chrysanthemum?"

Wen Lang nodded. "That is exactly it."

Yun Zhao’s breathing quickened, her excitement palpable. "It might be a Snow Lotus! A rare treasure that is almost impossible to find! It is the most vital ingredient needed to neutralize the poison in my body."

Le Fei instantly perked up. "Then let’s go pick it!" He stood up, adding, "I know the way, I’ll take you." With that, he pulled Xiao Yan along and reached out to drag Wen Lang as well.

Wen Lang waved his hand in refusal. "A mermaid’s song cannot affect the same creatures twice in a short period. The flock of Frost Birds was just calmed by my singing; if we approach again, they will surely attack us viciously."

"It doesn't matter. I'll take Yun Zhao to see if it really is that Snow Lotus."

The three of them hurried out of the thatched hut.

Wen Lang looked at Qing Xuanche with concern. "There are quite a lot of those Frost Birds. Shouldn't we go and keep an eye on them?"

Ye Chonglou leaned back and let out a lazy yawn, chuckling mockingly, "They aren't children, why follow them? If that hot-tempered Xiao Yan encounters any real danger, he’ll be howling his way back here in no time."

Wen Lang turned to Qing Xuanche, who gestured that he was still recuperating. "Yun Zhao is skilled in divination; she will warn us if there is any real danger."

Wen Lang thought that made sense.

Meanwhile, the trio arrived at the edge of the dense forest where the Frost Birds resided. Yun Zhao saw the plant Wen Lang had described, and sure enough, it was a Snow Lotus. She was overcome with joy.

She instinctively stepped forward, only to be yanked back by Le Fei. "Watch out!"

Before the words had even left his lips, the sky suddenly darkened. Countless Frost Birds dived down from the clouds and the dense forest. The sound of their wings flapping was like a thunderclap, and their sharp beaks glinted with a cold light.

The three of them were terrified and turned to sprint away, snow spraying beneath their feet.

Xiao Yan and Le Fei were, after all, Level Four beastmen and known for their speed, so they outpaced Yun Zhao.

Falling behind, Yun Zhao heard the piercing shrieks of the Frost Birds right behind her and felt the rush of air as they grazed her head. Desperate, she covered her head, but moments later, she heard agonizing screams from ahead.

She cautiously looked up, then stood there, dumbfounded—hundreds of Frost Birds had surrounded Le Fei and Xiao Yan in an impenetrable wall, while not a single bird came near her.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop it, you guys! I’m a falcon; we’re family from eight hundred years ago!"

Xiao Yan and Le Fei’s screams echoed periodically, making Yun Zhao’s face twitch. Just listening to it made her feel the pain.

After a long while, the Frost Birds finally began to fly away.

Xiao Yan and Le Fei looked miserable; their clothes were shredded, and their faces, hands, legs, and bodies were covered in bumps and bruises.

Xiao Yan looked at Yun Zhao and, seeing she was completely unscathed, asked in astonishment, "Why didn't they peck you?"

"Uh... um..." Yun Zhao stammered, "I don't know."

"Could it be because they know you two urged Wen Lang to trick them out of their eggs?" How else could one explain why the birds only pecked them and left her alone?

It wasn't as if she hadn't eaten her fair share of those eggs, too.

Le Fei remained silent.

Xiao Yan’s face darkened. These birds were truly vengeful creatures.

"Forget it, just treat us. If we go back looking like this, we'll be the laughingstock of the others."

Yun Zhao couldn't help but suppress a giggle, but she apologized and refused, "Qing Xuanche told me not to use my abilities until I have neutralized the poison, lest it cause you harm."

Xiao Yan: "..."

Le Fei: "..."

Qing Xuanche hadn't even let this wicked female use her abilities to heal his own severe injuries, so if he found out they had asked her to use them for their minor ones, he would surely skin them alive.

Xiao Yan settled for the next best thing. "Do you have any medicinal herbs to reduce the swelling?"

Yun Zhao looked troubled. "I haven't had the chance to prepare any yet."

Xiao Yan: "..."

Le Fei: "..."

Le Fei suggested, "Maybe we should shift into our beast forms; we might not look so hideous."

When Xiao Yan and Le Fei returned to the thatched hut, their beast eyes half-swollen and their fur and feathers missing in patches, they looked truly pathetic.

"Hahahaha!" Ye Chonglou’s laughter nearly blew the roof off. "Xiao Yan, your face looks even more spectacular than the meat I scorched earlier!"

"Shut your foul mouth!" Xiao Yan huffed, instinctively flicking a tail that wasn't there, only to hit a swollen bump on his backside, causing him to wince in pain. "Those damned Frost Birds! They really know how to pick their spots!"

Wen Lang tried hard to suppress his laughter. "At least you're safe..."

Le Fei snapped, "If you want to laugh, then just laugh!"

Following that, not only Ye Chonglou, but Wen Lang, Qing Xuanche, and even Yun Zhao burst into loud, exaggerated laughter.

Xiao Yan: "..."

Le Fei: "..."

Le Fei sat down dejectedly. Adopting a "save myself at the expense of others" mentality, he stubbornly muttered, "At least it’s Xiao Yan who’s the embarrassment, I..." Before he could finish, three feathers suddenly fell from his hawk tail.

This triggered another round of uproarious laughter from Ye Chonglou and the others.

"If only we hadn't been so greedy for those bird eggs."

"I’ll go prepare some herbal medicine for you," Yun Zhao said, rising to her feet.

After this incident, Xiao Yan and Le Fei remained quiet for the entire afternoon.

Yun Zhao rested her chin in her hands, pondering how to enter the forest to retrieve the Snow Lotus.

Le Fei, bored, sat down beside her—having already been laughed at enough, he had returned to his human form.

"Should we have Wen Lang use his mermaid song to distract them again?" Le Fei proposed.

Yun Zhao shook her head, feeling it wasn't a good idea.

"Should we have Ye Chonglou use his illusion magic?"

Yun Zhao shook her head again. She didn't want to use such methods; she felt that those Frost Birds were actually quite intelligent.

"Birds are afraid of snakes. Let’s have Qing Xuanche use his true form to scare them away."

No sooner had Le Fei finished speaking than Xiao Yan rapped him on the head. "Do you have any common sense? It’s the snakes that are afraid of birds. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of those Frost Birds. You’re just asking Qing Xuanche to go feed them his snake head."

"This won't work, that won't work. Well then, you tell me, what’s your plan?"

Xiao Yan shrugged nonchalantly, spreading his hands. "What plan could I have? I’m not Ye Chonglou with his endless supply of devious tricks."

"What bad things are you saying about me?" Ye Chonglou’s voice suddenly rang out above their heads.

Xiao Yan stiffened instantly, pretending he didn't see him.

Le Fei said, "Why don't you help Yun Zhao come up with a plan to successfully harvest the Snow Lotus?"

Yun Zhao felt that Ye Chonglou’s attitude toward her had always been poor and didn't expect him to help, so she held no hope.

To her surprise, Ye Chonglou suddenly spoke up: "Use your hawk brain and think carefully: what do birds like?"

"Bugs?" Le Fei replied, but immediately dismissed it. "I don't even like those."

"It’s food, you idiot!" Ye Chonglou tapped Le Fei on the head and walked away.

Although Ye Chonglou didn't give a specific suggestion, his words sparked an idea in Yun Zhao. Her eyes lit up, and she suddenly pulled out a handful of translucent, crystal-clear grains of rice.

Le Fei was startled. "Where did you pull those from?"

Qing Xuanche’s shocked voice rang out, "Have you awakened a spatial ability?"

Le Fei and Xiao Yan were stunned, and even Ye Chonglou paused in his tracks.

The legendary spatial ability capable of containing a universe within a mustard seed?!!!