“A talking bird?”
Yet no matter how she looked at it, it didn’t resemble a parrot at all.
Song Xiaoyu swung open the birdcage, grabbed the bird by both legs, and lifted it upside down. Then she began smacking its backside repeatedly.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
“Red Feather, let me teach you a lesson today. No matter what color your feathers are, your parents gave them to you. Without them, where would you have come from? And now you’re developing an inferiority complex just because I called you red-feathered? Since your parents aren’t here, I’ll educate you on their behalf.”
“Oww! That hurts! Damn you, wicked girl, stop hitting me!” the bird shrieked. “You are the first person in history who has dared to smack this young master’s backside! I will definitely make you pay for this!”
“You still have the energy to argue? Looks like I haven’t hit you hard enough.”
Song Xiaoyu gave him several more smacks, knocking loose a considerable number of feathers.
“Listen carefully, Red Feather. The Lingxu Immortal Realm belongs to me now. From this day forward, you’re my watchdog bird. And remember one thing, I am your master.”
“Outrageous! Ignorant girl, this young master is a Primeval Divine Beast, a Phoenix! Listen well, my true identity is the Divine Beast Suzaku!”
Song Xiaoyu tilted her head and thought for a moment.
“Suzaku? Never heard of it.”
“What?!”
The little bird nearly jumped out of its skin.
“I am Suzaku, the Vermilion Bird, one of the legendary Phoenixes, and you’ve never heard of me?!”
Song Xiaoyu calmly looked him up and down from head to tail.
“What kind of phoenix looks exactly like a wild pheasant?”
Suzaku almost exploded on the spot.
Before he could speak, Song Xiaoyu fired off another question.
“Have you ever been in the Investiture of the Gods?”
Suzaku blinked and shook his head.
“Then have you fought in a world war?”
“What is a world war?” Suzaku asked blankly. “I’ve never heard of it. But three hundred years ago, I fought a great battle against Azure Dragon and White Tiger. Among divine beasts, they rank below me.”
Song Xiaoyu clicked her tongue dismissively.
“So you just got into a fight with your friends? That’s nothing special. Children do that all the time.”
Suzaku felt completely wronged.
“But this young master is truly very powerful…”
“Fine. No need to explain. If you’re really a divine beast, show me some actual divine beast abilities.”
Suzaku immediately took the bait.
“Name it. What do you want me to do?”
Lowering her head to hide the triumphant smile spreading across her face, Song Xiaoyu walked into the courtyard. She picked up a large boulder and dropped it directly in front of him.
“Turn this rock into gold, and I’ll believe you’re a divine beast.”
Suzaku spread his wings and landed on the ground.
A moment later, his body shimmered with crimson light.
The little bird transformed into a boy of seven or eight years old.
He had a round face, rosy lips, pearly white teeth, and plump cheeks full of baby fat. He looked exactly like one of the lucky children painted on traditional New Year posters.
The moment Song Xiaoyu saw him, she pounced.
“Who would’ve thought Red Feather would be this cute in human form? Come here and let Big Sister squeeze those cheeks!”
Suzaku immediately dodged.
“Wretched girl! Let go of me!”
Then he sighed dejectedly.
“More than half my spiritual power was sealed away by the heavenly gods three hundred years ago. I barely have any power left.”
He glanced at the massive boulder.
“Little girl… why don’t you find a smaller rock? Let me try that first.”
Song Xiaoyu rolled her eyes.
“A divine beast bargaining over the size of a rock? That’s embarrassing.”
Despite her complaints, she found a stone about the size of a fist and handed it to him.
Suzaku maintained a stern expression and said nothing.
He raised one hand.
A ball of blazing primordial fire slowly appeared above his palm.
The divine flames wrapped around the stone.
Under the refinement of the fire, the stone gradually emitted a brilliant golden glow.
Song Xiaoyu’s eyes lit up.
It worked!
The Midas touch really existed!
Unfortunately, her excitement lasted only a few seconds.
When she examined the stone carefully, she discovered that only a tiny section, about the size of a fingernail, had transformed into gold.
The rest remained ordinary stone.
An embarrassed expression appeared on Suzaku’s face.
“Ever since the Beast War three hundred years ago, I’ve been seriously injured. My spiritual power has been leaking away ever since. The amount I just used to create that tiny bit of gold took me nearly a hundred years to accumulate.”
Before he could finish speaking, his body rapidly shrank.
In the blink of an eye, he reverted to his red-feathered bird form.
Song Xiaoyu tried to pry the tiny piece of gold out of the stone. After nearly breaking her fingernails, she finally gave up.
“Little Suzaku, I can tell now that you do have some skills.”
She paused.
“Just not very impressive ones.”
“With your current strength, who would believe you’re the number one divine beast?”
Suzaku blinked.
“What does ‘number one’ mean?”
“It means the strongest among a group.”
Song Xiaoyu crouched beside him.
“How about this? Accept me as your master. I can cure the injuries in your body, although it’ll take some time.”
Her expression was perfectly sincere.
There wasn’t the slightest sign that she was deliberately luring him into becoming her contracted beast.
Suzaku immediately raised his head.
“Really?”
“Of course. I, Song Xiaoyu, always keep my promises. A word spoken cannot be overtaken even by a team of four horses.”
The moment those words left her mouth, Suzaku suddenly flew into the air.
He swooped down and pecked a small wound into her arm.
A drop of blood entered his body.
Instantly, brilliant golden light burst forth and enveloped them both.
The contract was formed.
After a long moment, Suzaku finally muttered in a voice barely louder than a mosquito.
“…Master.”
“Little Suzaku,” Song Xiaoyu said excitedly, “now that our souls are linked and I possess spiritual power, does that mean I can use the Midas touch too?”
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!”
Suzaku spread his wings and threw himself in front of her.
“The spiritual power I used earlier was my absolute limit! If you cast a transmutation spell right now, every last bit of my energy will be drained and I’ll die!”
Then he added proudly,
“However, while you can’t use other spells, my innate Phoenix Fire is different. As long as I, Suzaku, still draw breath, the Phoenix Fire will never be extinguished.”
Song Xiaoyu immediately focused on a jujube leaf in the courtyard.
Crackle!
A crimson flame appeared out of thin air.
The leaf instantly turned to ashes.
Her eyes widened.
Creating fire from nothing.
This was incredible.
She quickly checked her clothes and body.
There wasn’t the slightest burn mark.
The moment she thought about fire, a warm flame appeared in her palm.
Instead of causing pain, the Phoenix Fire felt strangely comforting. Its warmth flowed gently across her skin.
It could reduce a leaf to ashes, yet it wouldn’t harm her in the slightest.
Now her life was bound to Suzaku’s.
In practical terms, she had gained a fire-element superpower.
In her previous life, she had only read about such abilities in web novels, always envying those protagonists who could dominate the world.
Now she had one herself.
Song Xiaoyu carefully examined Suzaku’s body.
The more she inspected him, the more serious her expression became.
His bones were fractured.
His meridians were damaged throughout his entire body.
Even if she repaired everything through surgery, he would still require a long period of recovery and cultivation before fully healing.
“Master…” Suzaku called softly.
Seeing her remain silent for so long, despair filled his eyes.
“Is my condition really hopeless?”
“I’ve visited countless famous physicians over the years, and every one of them said I couldn’t be saved…”
Song Xiaoyu was completely focused on planning the surgical procedure.
She didn’t even notice the anxious look on his face.
“It can be cured.”
Suzaku froze.
“It’s just a very delicate procedure. Since you’re my little follower now, I’ll naturally do my best to treat you.”
“Waaah!”
Suzaku suddenly burst into tears.
Like a child who had finally found someone to rely on, he cried uncontrollably.
“Master! Waaaah! You’re so good to me!”
“From now on, Suzaku will follow you through fire and water!”
“Even if you order me to climb mountains of swords or jump into boiling oil, I won’t hesitate!”
“Alright, alright.” Song Xiaoyu waved her hand helplessly. “Stop crying.”
“Come with me. I’m taking you somewhere for surgery. It might hurt a little, but I’ll give you anesthesia, so you’ll be asleep through the whole thing.”
Carrying Suzaku in her arms, she entered the medical laboratory within the space.
Soon they arrived inside a fully equipped operating room.
By the time the complicated surgery was completed, two hours had already passed in the outside world.
Afterward, Song Xiaoyu instructed Suzaku to remain inside the space and focus on recovering.
His body was extremely weak.
He needed nourishing foods such as pigeon meat and wild ginseng.
Over the past two days, Zhou Rong and Song Beichen had been drinking the medicinal broths she prepared, which had already used up most of her stored herbs.
She needed to gather more medicinal ingredients.
Leaving the mystical space, Song Xiaoyu prepared to head into the back mountains and try her luck.