To catch the bird thief, Lam had devised a plan in advance.
Although Lai Yi thought his method wasn’t wise, he didn’t point it out directly so as not to dampen the young man’s enthusiasm.
Night fell.
Lam arrived at Lai Yi’s house wearing dark clothes.
Candles were somewhat expensive, and Lai Yi’s household only had a few, so the two were reluctant to light them. They gathered around the fireplace, eating roasted sweet potatoes by the firelight.
Neil had gone to bed early. Lai Yi gave him a dagger for self-defense and told him to lock his bedroom door.
“Bro, I secretly brought a short knife from home. Hehe, just wait and see what I can do later.”
Lam’s curly hair looked even more vibrant under the firelight. He pulled a knife from his sleeve and waved it proudly, like a kindergarten child showing off a new toy.
“You sneaked out?”
Lam awkwardly put the short knife away.
“No, no, Lis knows.”
“So Uncle Haggard doesn’t know, huh.”
“Yeah.”
Lam replied softly, and Lai Yi looked at this big kid with amusement.
“Bro, remember to bring a weapon too, in case it really is a wild beast.”
“Alright.”
Lai Yi casually picked up a small peeling knife from the fireplace.
He didn’t think they would catch anything tonight—with dozens of households, the odds were too low.
“Bro! You need to take this operation seriously. It’s our first collaboration!”
Lam said with a serious expression.
“You think I’m not capable?”
Lam’s briefly inflated ego instantly deflated.
“That’s not it.”
He didn’t stay quiet for long before he started questioning Lai Yi again.
“Bro, can you show me your new weapon?”
“What new weapon?”
“The wolf fang one.”
Lai Yi looked at Lam suspiciously. He hadn’t told anyone about asking Tiemuqi to make something; only Neil knew a little. How did Lam find out?
“Bro, don’t look at me like that.”
Lam whined.
“You came home that day carrying a shiny new pot, and everyone saw it. When you asked me about the wolf fangs, I figured you must have asked the Mysterious Man to turn them into weapons.”
“Yeah, it’s done.”
“Bro!”
Lam was so excited his eyes sparkled, his curly hair practically standing on end.
Lai Yi found it amusing and didn’t tease him further. He went to his bedroom and brought out a Bone Knife.
It had to be said, Tiemuqi’s craftsmanship was truly impressive.
He had sharpened it according to the natural shape of the wolf fang.
Using a dark silver metal as the base, he crafted two handles, each with a groove. Holes were left at the bottom for attaching ropes.
The metal was wrapped in two pieces of exceptionally smooth beast hide to prevent chafing.
Lam couldn’t take his eyes off the curved blade gleaming with the unique luster of bone.
“Wow, that’s so cool!”
He examined the Bone Knife from every angle, turning it over and over.
“As expected of a weapon made from magic beast bone.”
“Alright, enough fooling around. Isn’t it almost time? Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Lam returned the knife to Lai Yi, who casually tucked it into his pocket.
It should have been warm weather, but the continuous rainy season had caused the temperature to plummet.
The evening breeze was slightly chilly, and Lai Yi couldn’t help shivering.
He hadn’t dressed warmly enough—a miscalculation.
“Bro, why don’t you go back and put on another layer? We’re not in a hurry.”
Lai Yi thought for a moment, went inside to put on an extra layer, and brought one out for Lam as well.
After some commotion, the two of them held up the small half-candle Lai Yi had brought from home and headed toward Lai Yi’s friend George’s house.
It was already late at night, and the surroundings were quiet. Most households in the village had already gone to sleep.
The only sounds on the road were the footsteps of the two walking on the main path and the barking of dogs startled by their steps.
After walking for a while, they arrived at a house.
Lai Yi imitated three bird calls, and the door clicked open. A dark figure slipped out.
“You finally made it.”
The figure quickly approached, and the candlelight illuminated his form—it was George.
Lai Yi remembered him as one of the young men who had helped chop trees last time.
“What’s the rush? I’m here now, aren’t I? Catch.”
Lai Yi pulled out a sweet potato from somewhere and handed it to him. George grinned, accepted it without hesitation, and started eating right away.
“Hey, don’t rush to eat! Can’t you see there’s someone else here? Call him ‘brother.'”
“Brother!”
George called out while bowing to Lai Yi. Lai Yi’s tail practically wagged with pride as he smugly lifted his chin toward Lai Yi.
See? Our little brother!
“Is everything ready?”
“Ready.”
George finished the sweet potato in a few bites and led Lai Yi and George to a storage shed filled with miscellaneous items. Six red prairie birds were pecking at grains on the ground inside a fenced enclosure in front of the shed.
The three of them stepped into the enclosure, hid inside the shed, and concealed themselves with straw mats and various items, leaving only three gaps to monitor the red prairie birds.
That’s right—this was Lai Yi’s idea: the Magic Continent version of “Waiting for Beasts by Guarding Birds.”
Time passed slowly. Staying completely still and silent tested their patience to the limit.
The three began taking turns keeping watch, and after waiting like this for another two hours, the red prairie birds had long since huddled together, tilting their heads to sleep. Even Lai Yi, who was the most invested in this matter, showed signs of fatigue. Lai Yi remained alert, but George was another story—he was half-asleep.
“Is it even coming?” Lai Yi muttered under his breath.
“Shh.”
Lai Yi stopped him.
“Listen.”
Lai Yi perked up and focused on the sounds outside the shed.
Rustle, rustle.
There was a faint dragging sound.
They exchanged glances, excitement evident in each other’s eyes.
Lai Yi lightly kicked George awake and made a silencing gesture with his fingers.
Swish, swish.
The sound grew louder, like skin or fur scraping against the ground.
A moment later, the wooden fence opened.
It was too dark at night to see clearly—only a vague, dark outline was visible.
A four-legged beast cautiously approached the red prairie birds. The poor birds were still fast asleep, completely unaware of the impending danger.
Lai Yi gripped his short knife tightly, staring intently at the creature.
As the beast drew closer to the birds, one of them seemed to sense something and lifted its head. The beast suddenly lunged, seizing the neck of one unfortunate bird.
In that split second, Lai Yi sprang into action.
Miscellaneous items scattered with a loud crash, startling all the red prairie birds and alarming the beast.
The beast, still clutching the bird by its neck, began to run, with Lai Yi and Lai Yi chasing desperately after it.
The red prairie birds flapped their wings in panic, and George, in his haste to follow the other two, tripped and fell flat on his face. It was utter chaos.
George’s family heard the commotion and came out holding candleholders with clothes draped over their shoulders, only to see the mess on the ground and their son limping forward.
“Stop running, you can’t catch up.”
George stopped outside the courtyard wall, hanging his head as he walked back into the yard.
“What was it?”
George’s father asked.
“I don’t know, couldn’t see clearly. Just saw a dark, thin shadow.”
“Go to sleep, we’ll clean up tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
The family returned to the house, only George still endlessly regretting why he hadn’t kept up with them.
Meanwhile.
The beast ran extremely fast on all fours, though the red prairie bird in its mouth somewhat hindered its escape.
Seeing the two figures behind getting closer, though reluctant to give up what it had obtained, it dropped the prey in its mouth for the sake of survival.
Freed from the hindrance of the red prairie bird, its speed increased. Lai Yi and Lam struggled to keep up behind it.
“Damn bastard.”
Lam panted heavily, running with difficulty. He had strong explosive power but wasn’t good at long-distance running.
Lai Yi remained silent, adjusting his breathing and increasing his speed to continue the pursuit.
The beast ran straight toward the woods.
The forest was muddy from the rain – if they couldn’t catch it in the village, it would be even more impossible in the woods.
Getting closer to the forest, Lai Yi was only a few meters away from it.
“Brother! Quick, catch it!”
Lam lagged behind, shouting anxiously.
The dark clouds were dispersing, turning into scattered thin layers. The bright moonlight shone evenly through the gaps onto the earth, also illuminating the village.
By the moonlight, Lai Yi and Lam finally saw the beast’s appearance.
Its skin was dark and wrinkled, its body slick and covered in mud, with only a piece of animal hide covering its groin. It had human-like facial features but possessed vertical pupils like a beast. Its palms were large as it crawled on the ground.
“Ha!”
The beast made threatening sounds at the two, quickly diving into the woods while they were stunned.
“By the gods! Brother… did you see that?”
Lam gasped for breath, his face becoming a palette of surprise, disbelief, and tension.
“I saw.”
Lai Yi also breathed heavily, calming his breathing.
This thing reminded him of the movie he’d once seen – Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.
“Let’s go back.”
“Mm.”
Retrieving the red prairie bird, the two walked quietly on the way back.
Lam thought about that strange creature and felt some lingering fear.
“Brother, what do you think that thing was?”
“Not sure.”
Lai Yi was also puzzled.
“Ask Uncle Haggard tomorrow morning.”
“Mm.”
Lai Yi saw Lam home. Lis heard the noise and came out to meet Lam.
Seeing Lam’s dejected expression, he knew they had failed and didn’t say much.
“Do you need me to walk you home?”
“No need.”
Lai Yi shook his head in refusal – he wasn’t a child afraid of walking at night.
After bidding farewell, Lai Yi walked back home.
In the woods, Iru carefully concealed his tracks.
He wasn’t in a hurry to return.
Taking a long detour, he picked a large pouch of mushrooms and caught some insects before returning to the cave. Before entering, he specifically washed off the mud from his body.
“I’m back.”
A vague sentence mixed with gurgling sounds came from within the cave.
“Oh, Iru, my Iru.”
His wife, now so thin she was little more than bones, gazed at him tenderly, her enormous belly protruding. His three children were on the ground, catching ants to eat.
“I’m sorry, I failed. I didn’t bring back any fresh meat.”
“It’s alright, Iru. I’m just glad you’re back safely.”
Iru placed a skewer of insects over the small campfire to roast. Once cooked, he handed it to his pregnant wife.
The three children stared at the roasted insects, their eyes gleaming with longing, but none of them asked for any.
“Give them to the children.”
“No, Mom. You and the unborn baby need them more.”
Their eldest child quickly refused, and the two younger ones shook their heads in agreement.
Iru patted each of their heads in turn and gave each a large mushroom. They happily stuffed the mushrooms into their mouths and went back to carelessly playing with the skewers.
All three were such well-behaved children.
His wife simmered a pot of vegetable soup with mushrooms, wild greens, and berries.
Iru watched the bubbling soup with a troubled expression.
He had been spotted. If the villagers found their cave, what would they do?
Damn Magical Beasts, damn rainy season, damn Helu.
Merciful Lord, if you truly exist, please watch over our pitiful family.