“Is this the expecting wife you were talking about?”
Since Wenren Qi succeeded to the position of Sect Leader, he had never once descended the mountain.
Elder Qinxun was the Master of the Fifth Peak of the Qingheng Sect. His lineage focused primarily on artifact forging, and repairing various spiritual tools was their primary task. The natal sword of Wenren Qi had been crafted by him. However, after it shattered completely while severing the centipede body of Kuai Ou, Wenren Qi had never used a sword again.
As a child, Wenren Qi and his younger sister had snuck into the pavilion of the Elder and nearly died inside. His eldest brother had been severely punished by their father for failing to watch over them.
Perhaps because they had not met in many years, the elder, whose eye wrinkles became prominent when he laughed, was utterly shocked to hear that Wenren Qi was descending the mountain to find his wife.
Wenren Qi fabricated a lie on the spot: “He does not want me.”
Qinxun laughed heartily. “A-Qi, you are far more outstanding in appearance than your father or brother. Back then, so many cultivators admired you. How could anyone not want you?”
The elders within the sect were all difficult to deal with. Without a convincing reason, Wenren Qi would have found it hard to achieve his goal. Other elders aside, Jue Ya, Lan Que, and Qinxun were all martial brothers of his father. While Wenren Qi could suppress them with his status as Sect Leader, he could not be too disrespectful to the people who had watched him grow up.
Though Qinxun was a Peak Master, he rarely taught. He spent most of his time in the mountain pavilions accompanied by puppets. He set aside one day a month to resolve the doubts of disciples. On that day, the sect was at its most lively, as disciples from other peaks would bring their artifacts for repair.
Qinxun had also been to the mountain gate and seen the closed door disciple. He remarked with a smile, “That child is quite good.”
Wenren Qi remained silent, and Qinxun did not press him. Sensing that the love trial of Wenren Qi had arrived, the elder smiled and said, “I happen to have a finished puppet here. Pick one that suits your fancy.”
Wenren Qi was as elegant as a refined orchid. He was not the immortal old man rumored by the outside world. The current disciples of the Qingheng Sect had never seen his true form. His appearance was so dazzling that even a fox demon known for beauty would feel inferior.
He chose a plain, unremarkable face. The elder became worried again. “I heard from Jue Ya that you are going to snatch a bride. If you look like this, you might not be able to pull it off, right?”
Clearly, Jue Ya had tipped off his martial brother in advance. They were all waiting to poke fun at Wenren Qi.
Wenren Qi stood silent.
The senior let out another exclamation. “He knows you are the Sect Leader yet still ran away. It shows that even your face is not that useful, A-Qi.”
“Let me pick something special for you.”
Wenren Qi had only spent that one night with Cen Moyu. It had been pitch black. More than the face, Wenren Qi had a deeper impression of his body. For instance, that waist which felt like it could be snapped at will, the tips covered in red marks from biting, and the way the person being bullied would turn around to coax him.
Be good.
Every time he remembered this, the throat of Wenren Qi tightened, and he felt a surge of rage. He, the Sect Leader of the number one sect in the world, actually had to disguise himself as a wood demon to sneak into the Demon City to find someone. He had to deceive both his superiors and subordinates. The misery was unspeakable.
If not for the fact that the City Lord of Youyou City was an ancient creature that Wenren Qi and Wen Jinggen could not best in their youth, he would have preferred to simply seize Cen Moyu and interrogate him thoroughly. As he grew older, he learned to consider the big picture.
“Hurry, hurry! It is not easy to visit the Demon City. I want to go to the Polar Night Song House to see the foxes dance!”
“What is that over there? Such an enticing fragrance.”
“Are there any treasures?”
Wenren Qi followed the trail of his own spiritual energy. He did not understand what Cen Moyu had done with the essence he had stolen. If it were refined into a puppet, that centipede from Wangyuan would surely use it to open the Wheels of Retrospection. The consequences would be catastrophic.
Tonight was windless, and the full moon hung high. Cold gusts swept through the city. Cen Moyu also noticed the unusual aura leaking from the bird egg. He trembled with anxiety and sent several transmission talismans to Mai Li, but there was no response. He hated his own lack of ability. He covered the crack in the bird egg, hoping to block the leaking power.
In hindsight, he realized it was the cheat power of the System that had kept his Little Treasure safe during the journey, just like how it had hidden his demonic aura in the Qingheng Sect for all those years. But something seemed to have happened to the System. Cen Moyu could no longer even sense its presence.
“Little Treasure, do not hatch today. Uncle Yuxiang is not here today. I, I.”
Cen Moyu held the bird egg. That spiritual energy could no longer be concealed, emitting a gurgling power that attracted nearby demons. Demons with lower cultivation, who could not even hide their beastly forms, acted as if their souls had been hooked and suddenly turned to rush toward this spot.
Fortunately, this small building was protected by the array of the landlord fox, which warded off many low level demons.
“Chirp, chirp, ji, ji.” The little fellow inside the egg understood the plea of its closest person and seemed to want to hide. However, hatching was not something it could control. The cracks in the snowy white shell grew larger and larger.
Cen Moyu even heard a thud on the roof. Following that, the roof tiles shattered with a crash, and a demon with the face of an ape jumped down. With red eyes, it shouted, “What are you hiding? It smells so good! I want to eat it! I want to eat it!”
Cen Moyu gritted his teeth, turned, and ran.
Although he had survived the heavenly tribulation, Cen Moyu was still just a weak Fairy Pitta. His foundation was fixed. While he could deceive others as a closed door disciple, he lacked the aptitude for true entry. This was likely why the System had tacitly approved of his choice. The world was dangerous. Life in the Qingheng Sect was comfortable, and Cen Moyu still preferred that kind of life.
But now he had a family member to protect.
A faint glow emanated from the Fairy Pitta, matching the colors of his bird form chest and belly. The ape demon that had burst through the roof was excessively brawny and had been driven mad by the spiritual aura. It roared and lunged at Cen Moyu.
Cen Moyu only managed to block once before vomiting several mouthfuls of blood. He had no choice but to shift into his original form and fly away with the egg tucked against him. But more and more demons were drawn by Little Treasure. Calling for the System was useless. He flew aimlessly through the city, relying on the increasingly complex scents to hide the bird that was about to hatch.
Wenren Qi had finally managed to sneak into the Demon City, but his mood remained foul. A cultivator disliked turbid energy most of all. Within the murky atmosphere, the spiritual aura belonging to him was like a target. He did not even need to search purposefully to know that the little demon was in trouble.
No matter how tight lipped the disciples of Elder Jue Ya were, Wenren Qi could sense the truth that Tian Sui was desperately trying to hide. Cen Moyu had been sent here by the disciples of the sect, which meant there was more than one demon within the organization. At the time, he did not have the heart to care about such things. He had irritably tested his puppet body, warned Tian Sui a few times, and told Lu Jijun to lock people up before leaving.
“Little Treasure, do not be afraid. Papa will protect you.” When Cen Moyu transmigrated, he was only twenty. He had not even finished university. He had been thoroughly deceived by his first love. His father did not love him and only hoped he could be used as a bargaining chip to save a bankrupt business. He had stood on a footbridge during a live stream, utterly despondent. He did not understand why, when all he wanted was a family, he could never get what he desired.
In this world, the System was very good to him. Even though the protagonist roles had been mixed up, he had an egg by some freak accident. Perhaps the little bird would turn into a cute child. That was his offspring, a bond tighter than any boyfriend.
“Catch that bird! He is hiding something!”
“Such a fragrant scent!”
“Hey! What are you doing? My shop!”
Cen Moyu flew through the alleys, bypassing many shops. On a market day, the city was a mix of all sorts of people, and business was booming. As night fell, one could hear the distant songs from the musicians in the song houses.
The belly feathers of the Fairy Pitta had not recovered. The cultivation he had to begin with, which was already meager, had dropped further after laying the egg. His wings ached, and he could no longer fly. He crashed into a thicket, his wings still shielding the egg.
If he were an ordinary bird with plain feathers, he would not be noticeable in the night. But he was a Fairy Pitta with cobalt blue shoulder feathers and brilliant green back feathers. Even hidden in the bushes, he was eye catching.
Cen Moyu shivered and turned to crawl into a collapsed house. The egg in his arms hatched, and he could hear the chirping of a chick. Cen Moyu had never raised a bird before. His hometown was a land of ice and snow with many bears, but no beautiful birds like the Fairy Pitta lived there. Cen Moyu loved spring, which was why he wanted to change his nationality and grow old with his loved one in a place where flowers bloomed. If possible, it would be even better if he could write songs for a lifetime. He would write, the other would sing, and people would listen. It would be the ultimate happiness.
But ideals were difficult to realize, and everything went against his wishes.
The child he had never dreamed of had suddenly arrived. It was a wet hatchling, looking quite ugly after breaking the shell. Seeming to sense the danger, it did not even open its mouth to wail.
Cen Moyu was filled with sorrow. “Little Treasure, I am sorry. I, the dried earthworms I prepared are all at home.”
“Papa, do not cry.” The featherless little bird, which had kept its mouth shut, kicked away the eggshell and snuggled into the lapel of Cen Moyu. “Run, run quickly.”
“Go, go toward the southwest.”
“Huh? You can talk?” Cen Moyu was surprised for a moment but chose to listen to the child. “Okay.”
For some reason, the moon was obscured by dark clouds, and it suddenly began to rain. The demons attracted by the spiritual energy lost their direction but still persisted in searching for that scent.
“Turn right, then left.” The voice of the hatchling was very tender. It had inherited the talent of the other father, along with a demon sense of heaven and earth.
Ever since Wenren Qi entered the city, the hatchling had sensed his position. It figured the man knew his own location better than any demon. Its bird father was too weak. His cultivation had been greatly discounted to give birth, so even demons who had not fully transformed into humans could devour him.
This was all the fault of that man.
The hatchling did not know about the specific existence of the System, but it could hear the self talk of Cen Moyu. The little bird was still too small. Even though it had listened to the outside world since birth, it was still ignorant. It only vaguely understood that Papa was not from this world and wanted to go home.
“Final left turn.” Just as Cen Moyu rounded the corner, a bear demon chased from behind. He had to turn back, only to be blocked by a group of rat demons at a fork in the road.
“It is him! He has the treasure in his arms!”
“I used to work at the auction house. That is the aura of a pill! It is definitely a top grade pill!”
“Kill him! There are many people tonight anyway. The item will be ours.”
The rain grew heavier. The hair of Cen Moyu stuck to his face. No matter how bedraggled he was, he firmly protected his chest. Fortunately, Mai Li had taught him how to fly. Although the child was the result of flying recklessly, at least this time, he would not fly to the wrong place.
“I did not look closely. What kind of demon are you? You are quite pretty.” There were ugly rat demons, and their tails were especially hideous. Cen Moyu felt a bit nauseated. His silent face looked even more refined under the cold rain and lonely lamps.
“I want his pill, and I want the person too,” another rat demon chuckled. “They say Youyou City is a good place. It truly does not disappoint. I think I will stay here too.”
Cen Moyu swept his gaze over the hideous eyes of the rat demons, showing a rare look of disgust. He stood under the eaves of the crossroads. Behind him was the approaching bear demon, roaring as it charged. At the moment of impact, Cen Moyu shifted into his bird form and exerted all his strength to fly out of the rain.
The little bird in his arms felt the weakness of its father and let out a worried chirp. Cen Moyu said, “It is okay. I can still fly for a bit.”
“Brother Yuxiang said to find the landlord fox if something happened. I will go now.” Cen Moyu found a branch to rest on. The sparrows in the tree were already asleep. Startled by him, they all looked over curiously.
“I am sorry. I will just stay for a moment.”
Discovering there was a hatchling in the chest feathers of the Fairy Pitta, the sparrows let out even louder chirps, some filled with concern.
Wenren Qi stood a hundred meters away. The rat demons that had chased them were decapitated, and the eyes of the bear demon were crushed under his heel. He frowned and looked up, staring at the noisiest branch. He wondered how the cultivation of this little demon could be so poor.
The spiritual energy in the Qingheng Sect was abundant. Even mortals could extend their lives there. Transformed demons should have made rapid progress, and defeating these wretched creatures should have been more than enough. This Fairy Pitta had not only been a gatekeeper for a hundred years but had also stolen his essence. Even if he were just gathering and supplementing, he should have been able to fight off a few cultivators without issue. Yet, he actually needed a group of unintelligent sparrows for cover.
Wenren Qi had never cared to teach disciples, but for the first time in hundreds of years, he worried about the future of the sect.
“Chirp, Moyu.” A featherless little bird poked its head out from the puffed up chest feathers of the Fairy Pitta. It spoke in human tongue with its eyes closed. All the sparrows woke up and chirped incessantly. “We can go back now.”
“What?” Cen Moyu was still very weak and almost could not stand. “Someone wants to eat us. We cannot.”
“The person under the tree killed all those demons. We can go down now.”
The little bird thought: Bad Father is also useful.
The sound of the rain was noisy, but it could not drown out the intense discussion of the sparrows in the tree. Cen Moyu looked down. The man standing under the tree looking up at him had a plain face and a furrowed brow.
So small.
Wenren Qi thought: How did he become so large that day to carry me away?
Since it was what Little Treasure said, Cen Moyu obediently flew down. His left wing was fractured. After transforming back, he stumbled for a few steps, but the strange man gave him a hand.
“Thank you, who are you?”
The palm of the man clenched and then released, as if weighing something. Cen Moyu finally saw the gruesome corpses on the ground and looked away.
“I am.”
“Moyu?” A person approached from the distance with an umbrella. At first glance, he looked like a beautiful girl, but he spoke with a man’s voice. “I finally found you.”
The male demon in red reached out to put an arm around the shoulder of Cen Moyu, his tone worried: “I heard the house collapsed. I was afraid something happened to you.”
Cen Moyu looked at him for a long time before realizing he was the fox demon Yuxiang had mentioned. Just as he was about to speak, the man who had just helped him stepped on the rat head on the ground, his tone unfriendly:
“Is this the expecting wife you were talking about?”