Chapter 17: The Little Red Ball
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Shen Gurong heard Xi Guxing laugh loudly for the first time.
With the other disciples gone, Xi Guxing led the expressionless Shen Gurong towards Jiu Chun Mountain, occasionally using Tianqing jade token to communicate with other senior brothers with their divine consciousness.
“Second Senior Sister, there’s something…” Xi Guxing began. “Hmm? The Boundary Spirit Tablet? Oh, that little red bird causing trouble again. It’s fine now. Anyway, there’s something I need to tell you. Shen Shiyi accidentally absorbed the phoenix’s spiritual power into his spiritual veins…”
Second Senior Sister: “Hahahaha!”
Xi Guxing: “Fourth Junior Brother, what… what’s that sound on your end? Are you messing around again? Borrow money? No, I’m not lending money this time. Next time? Nope, not next time either. Can you come back for a visit soon? There’s something fun to see.”
Fourth Junior Brother: “Hahahaha!”
Xi Guxing: “Old Six…”
Sixth Junior Brother: “Hahahaha!”
Shen Gurong: “…”
Shen Gurong’s face was filled with disappointment, wishing he could draw his sword and cleave Xi Guxing in two. He wanted to turn and leave, but he feared getting lost and reluctantly followed Xi Guxing.
Xi Guxing informed everyone of Shen Gurong’s current situation, and all the senior brothers couldn’t help but mock him — if they weren’t so far away from Liren Peak, they would have hurried back to witness the spectacle.
Shen Gurong remained expressionless, thinking to himself: judging from the reactions of these senior brothers, Shen Fengxue must have been quite aloof and disliked by them. Otherwise, why would he have suffered so much, and why would these fellow disciples be so gleeful about it?
Xi Guxing escorted him to Fanjiang Residence, cautioning him not to wander off before leaving. Shortly afterward, he returned, dragging Lou Bugui by the collar.
Lou Bugui, being pulled by the collar like a little animal, said in a daze, “Senior Brother, Senior Brother, I really didn’t teach them to recognize poisonous plants. It’s true, Senior Brother.”
Xi Guxing swiftly flew to Fanjiang Residence and set down Lou Bugui, saying, “There’s something wrong with Shiyi’s body, come and take a look at him.”
Lou Bugui hesitated for a moment before responding dully, “Ah, okay, Shiyi is important.”
The two entered Fanjiang Residence, and upon opening the door, they saw the bed curtain in the inner room fluttering in the wind, revealing small bulges on the bed underneath.
Xi Guxing felt an unprecedented sense of joy. He quickly pulled apart the bed curtains and addressed Shen Gurong, who was hiding under the quilt, “Stop hiding, get up and let Bugui take a look at you.”
Shen Gurong remained curled up under the blanket, silent and unmoving. He simply didn’t want to come out, feeling ashamed even though he had nothing to lose.
Seeing him unmoved, Xi Guxing clicked his tongue. He felt that Shen Gurong, who seemed to be possessed, was becoming increasingly undignified. If this had happened before, even if he had turned into a little bird, Shen Fengxue would still maintain that icy, indifferent demeanor, as if nothing mattered to him.
Xi Guxing didn’t indulge him any further. He reached out and forcefully pulled back the blanket.
Shen Gurong closed his eyes and covered his ears, wanting nothing to do with them.
Suddenly, Lou Bugui exclaimed, “Shiyi, your hands…”
Shen Gurong was startled and raised his hand in confusion, only to discover two faintly visible crimson phoenix feathers on the back of his hand.
Shen Gurong: “…”
Shen Gurong felt like his entire body was about to explode. He jumped up suddenly, unable to control himself, and let out a piercing scream.
“Chirp!!”
Xi Guxing laughed heartily.
Shen Gurong: “…”
Shen Gurong forcefully pulled back the quilt and buried himself under it again, like an ostrich.
Xi Guxing crossed his arms and smirked, “Do you really want to chirp like this for the rest of your life?”
Shen Gurong trembled slightly, reluctantly sticking out his half-buried wrist from the blanket, indicating that they could proceed with the examination.
Lou Bugui sat beside them, took out a small pillow he carried with him, and earnestly began to examine Shen Gurong’s pulse.
Xi Guxing knew that Lou Bugui’s pulse diagnosis would take about fifteen minutes, and his response would also take about the same time, so he didn’t wait there idly.
He went back to practice swordsmanship for a while and leisurely returned, just in time to hear Lou Bugui’s exclamation.
Lou Bugui: “I’ve diagnosed it.”
Shen Gurong had completely calmed down during these two quarters of an hour. He didn’t feel embarrassed about the “chirp chirp” anymore. The most important thing now was whether these spiritual powers in his spiritual veins would cause any major problems.
He pushed aside the blanket and sat cross-legged, eagerly asking, [Chirp chirp?] How is it?
Lou Bugui said, “There’s Yao Clan’s spiritual power in Shiyi’s spiritual veins.”
Shen Gurong: “…”
Xi Guxing scolded him, “That’s obvious! Didn’t I tell you before? The important thing now is how to treat it.”
Lou Bugui looked at him blankly and said, “The spiritual power in the spiritual veins circulates day and night, and it will be completely replaced periodically. Just wait patiently; there’s no need for treatment.”
It’s well known among practitioners of the Three Realms that the spiritual power of spiritual beasts is derived from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. When facing off against demonic cultivators, one must avoid absorbing their spiritual power into their spiritual veins, as it’s highly likely to be assimilated into the form of the Yao Clan.
Shen Gurong, on the other hand, not only didn’t avoid it but actively absorbed it into his spiritual veins.
Shen Gurong couldn’t help asking, “Chirp chirp chirp?” [How long do I have to wait?]
Xi Guxing: “Pfft.”
Shen Gurong was furious: [Xi Guxing, you’re going too far!]
But no matter how hard he tried to speak, all that came out was a series of chirps like a phoenix chick.
Xi Guxing laughed, “Hahaha!”
Lou Bugui didn’t know why Xi Guxing was laughing, so he just blinked his eyes and played the role of a pretty flower on the side.
Fortunately, Xi Guxing still had a bit of conscience left. He enjoyed Shen Gurong’s rare display of indignation before casually asking, “How long do we have to wait?”
Lou Bugui calculated and said, “About a month.”
Shen Gurong was thunderstruck when he heard this. Did he have to chirp for a whole month?!
No, that wasn’t the main concern. Making chirping sounds like a fledgling bird was irrelevant. The important question was: what would happen with the obvious appearance of phoenix Yao characteristics on his body?
Could it be that he would eventually turn into a bird completely?!
Shen Gurong pointed to the feathers on the back of his hand. [Will I continue to grow feathers?]
Lou Bugui tilted his head in confusion. “Huh?”
Shen Gurong insisted, [Feathers!!!]
Lou Bugui, perhaps finding it amusing, followed along, “Quqiu.”
Shen Gurong: “…”
Xi Guxing made a wild guess, “Are you asking if you can pluck these feathers out?”
Shen Gurong glared at him.
Xi Guxing’s attempt at understanding failed, so he casually pointed to the nearby desk. “Why don’t you write it down?”
Shen Gurong suddenly realized and quickly got off the couch, rushing to the desk. Because of his movements, his long, slender hands moved unconsciously, resembling the flapping of wings like a bird.
Unaware of his peculiar posture, he walked to the desk and wrote a line of characters in a lively manner, then showed it to Lou Bugui.
Lou Bugui looked at it carefully and said, “Shiyi, Senior Brother doesn’t recognize this.”
Shen Gurong thought Lou Bugui might be playing dumb due to trying poison or something, not even recognizing the characters, so he hurriedly showed it to Xi Guxing. Xi Guxing looked at it and pondered, “This seems to be a script of the Yao Clan, I don’t recognize it either.”
Shen Gurong: “…”
Shen Gurong froze, staring at the scribbled characters for a while, suddenly unable to remember how human characters were written. Every stroke of his pen resulted in a chaotic mess of characters, yet somehow he could still understand the meaning.
Trembling, Shen Gurong held the paper, his face full of confusion, unable to come to his senses for a while.
Xi Guxing asked Lou Bugui, “Is Phoenix Spirit power so dominant? In just a short while, he’s already able to write the characters of the Yao Clan. At this rate, he’ll probably be transformed into a little red bird in about three days.”
Lou Bugui shook his head.
Xi Guxing raised an eyebrow, “Won’t be assimilated?”
Lou Bugui replied, “No, it won’t take three days.”
Xi Guxing: “…….”
Shen Gurong was in a daze, unable to accept the fact that he was going to turn into a bird.
Lou Bugui added, “But as long as we find Xue Manzhuang, and get him to withdraw the spiritual power, everything will be fine.”
Xi Guxing looked at Shen Gurong, raising an eyebrow, “Can’t I help him draw out the spiritual power?”
“You can,” Lou Bugui said seriously, “as long as you’re not afraid of turning into a phoenix.”
Xi Guxing: “…”
Xi Guxing had been about to reach out and assist Shen Gurong in dispersing the spiritual power from his meridians, but upon hearing this, he quickly withdrew his hand.
Self-preservation comes first.
Shen Gurong felt even more hopeless.
Xi Guxing had never seen Shen Fengxue look so fragile and lost before. After hesitating for a moment, he said coldly, “Xue Manzhuang must not have gone far after being seriously injured by you. I’ll do my best to bring him back as soon as possible.”
Shen Gurong looked at him as if he were a savior, with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. [Senior Brother!]
Xi Guxing’s ears turned red, and he suddenly became annoyed, “I already said, don’t act cute with me!”
With that, he grabbed his sword and left in a huff.
Shen Gurong: “…”
Shen Gurong took advantage of Xi Guxing not understanding his words and cursed at his back, “Chirp, chirp!” [Sect Master!]
Luo Bugui sat there by himself, still trying to imitate Shen Gurong’s voice, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get it right. He raised his hand and shook Shen Gurong’s sleeve, whispering, “Shiyi, try calling again.”
Shen Gurong remained silent, refusing to chirp again no matter what.
Luo Bugui sat across from the desk, his hands supporting his chin, staring fixedly at Shen Gurong. His eyes, like those of a child, were filled with the plea “call again, call again.”
Ignoring him, Shen Gurong lifted his hand and drew a white crane for Luo Bugui to see. His calligraphy and painting skills were learned from a private tutor, and the crane he drew was vivid and lifelike.
Luo Bugui tilted his head. “Crane?” he repeated a few crane calls after learning it.
Shen Gurong waved his hand and gestured for a long time before finally making Luo Bugui understand his meaning.
Luo Bugui said, “You want the white crane to recognize your writing so we can communicate?”
Shen Gurong nodded.
“No,” Luo Bugui’s typically vacant expression suddenly turned serious as he reached out and crushed the drawing, as if cautioning a child. “Shiyi, it’s a Yao Clan. It can’t be trusted.”
Shen Gurong was taken aback. Wasn’t that white crane from Liren Peak?
Shen Gurong gestured, asking, “Why?”
Luo Bugui, seeing that he wasn’t listening, grabbed his wrist tightly, his eyes flashing with urgency. “They can’t be trusted, the Yao Clan can’t be trusted. They have ill intentions! They want to harm you!”
Shen Gurong hurriedly tried to calm him down. Seeing that he was still extremely anxious, he reluctantly let out a couple of chirps.
Luo Bugui was easily appeased. As soon as he heard the chirping he wanted to hear, his anxiety quickly dissipated, and he happily held Shen Gurong’s hand like a child.
“One more time,” he urged eagerly.
Shen Gurong endured humiliation and called out in chirps, one after another.
Half a day later, Luo Bugui left, satisfied.
Shen Gurong was physically and mentally exhausted, collapsing on the bed as if he had no bones. After a while, he noticed red feathers appearing on both of his hands, which sent shivers down his spine.
After being frightened for a while, he finally decided that ignorance is bliss and curled up in the brocade quilt to sleep, wanting to shut out the world.
[Whatever will be, will be. Even if it’s bothersome, I can’t change back anyway. I’ll just leave it to Xi Guxing to handle.]
As night fell and the rain grew heavier, it lightly tapped on the half-open wooden window.
After some time passed, the thin curtain beside the bed suddenly moved, as if something was crawling out from under the brocade quilt.
With a rustle, a small red ball rolled out from under the curtain onto the ground.
Shen Gurong woke up feeling groggy, rolling around slowly before opening his eyes and looking around.
[Feeling so sleepy,] he mumbled as he stretched his limbs, his mind foggy. [I need to find a tree to sleep under.]
Instinctively chirping twice, he fluttered his small wings, drifting out as if in a drunken stupor, to find a tree.
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