Dinner was ready, and just as Meng Huaize had promised, there was no meat. Wu Yue glanced at the meal, turned his nose up at it, and walked away in disdain.
Meng Huaize, on the other hand, was starving after not eating all day. He devoured the meal with enthusiasm, finding it utterly delicious. He ate with his head down, quickly finishing everything on his plate, feeling satisfied at last.
After the meal, Meng Huaize brought out some herbs from the house, placing them on the stone table in the courtyard, preparing to grind them into powder. He glanced around, noticing Wu Yue was nowhere in sight and muttered to himself, “Where did he run off to?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a small branch fell from above, hitting him on the head. Rubbing his head, Meng Huaize looked up to see Wu Yue sitting comfortably at the top of the lush tree. The hem of Wu Yue’s black robe draped down, blending with the green leaves around him.
Seeing that the troublemaker was perched safely in the tree, Meng Huaize sighed in relief, though with a hint of exasperation. “Be careful up there, and make sure no one sees you.”
Wu Yue didn’t bother to respond. Meng Huaize, deciding not to nag further, gathered his tools and sat down at the stone table, focusing on grinding the herbs into powder. The past few days, with Wu Yue constantly causing chaos, Meng Huaize felt he’d been idling his days away, spending more time sleeping and eating than working. So today, he focused extra hard on his task. By the time he finished grinding the herbs, the sun had already dipped halfway below the horizon, casting a layer of orange-red across the sky.
Standing up, Meng Huaize stretched, feeling the strain in his back and muscles. He raised his arms to loosen up when, all of a sudden, a dark shadow plummeted from above, landing right in front of him with a dull thud.
Frozen, Meng Huaize stared at the ground where a chicken, not quite dead, twitched feebly. A large black wolf followed, landing on the ground, then swiftly transformed back into Wu Yue’s human form. Wu Yue looked rather pleased with himself, raising an eyebrow as he smiled at Meng Huaize.
It took a moment for Meng Huaize to find his voice, his throat dry. “What…what is that?”
“A chicken,” Wu Yue replied simply.
Of course, I know it’s a chicken! Meng Huaize opened and closed his mouth, finally managing to ask, “I mean… where did it come from?”
“It was walking down the road,” Wu Yue said confidently. “I saw it from the tree and caught it.”
“You stole it!” Meng Huaize practically jumped up, finally getting the words out that had been stuck in his throat.
“Who stole it?” Wu Yue’s expression darkened. “It was just walking along the road, not belonging to anyone. How is that stealing?”
On Nineyi Mountain, where Wu Yue hailed from, all manner of rare treasures and strange creatures were plentiful. If an item or being wasn’t specifically claimed by a spirit or beast, it was free for the taking, following the principle that the strong prevail. This chicken wasn’t in a coop, no one was around, and there were no markings on it. In Wu Yue’s mind, it was fair game.
Meng Huaize clenched his fists, taking deep breaths to calm himself. This is a wild spirit, he reminded himself. He may look like a person, but clearly, he’s not. You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
With great patience, Meng Huaize explained, “Just because a chicken isn’t cooped up doesn’t mean it doesn’t belong to someone. Chickens and ducks that roam around may not have anyone with them, but they still have owners. They go home at night.”
Wu Yue furrowed his brows, seemingly unsure if he understood. He glanced at the chicken on the ground, still twitching, and asked with growing impatience, “So, what now?”
Just as Meng Huaize opened his mouth to respond, the sound of loud voices reached them from the distance, growing closer. Among the shouting, one particularly shrill voice stood out, filled with fury.
Meng Huaize hurriedly climbed onto the wall, sticking his head over to take a peek. A group of people was walking toward them from the village, led by none other than the notoriously hot-tempered Widow Li. She was swearing up a storm.
“Which scoundrel stole my chicken?! I only looked away for a second, and my chicken was gone! That lowlife chicken thief—may you choke on it! You’ll get what’s coming to you, mark my words!”
Meng Huaize awkwardly retracted his gaze, catching sight of Wu Yue beside him, whose expression had turned dark, his eyes now glowing with unrestrained gold.
“Don’t!” Meng Huaize panicked, grabbing him firmly, speaking quickly in a low voice, “Don’t do anything. Erbao’s mother has had a hard life. Her husband died years ago, and she’s been raising two kids all by herself. Those chickens are all she has to rely on.”
Terrified that Wu Yue might act out of anger, Meng Huaize didn’t dare relax his grip for even a second, holding him tightly with both hands, softly coaxing him, “Please don’t be mad, we were in the wrong first.”
The gold in Wu Yue’s eyes finally faded.
Widow Li’s tirade could still be heard from one end of the village to the other. She was determined, cursing up a storm. Only when the group of people had gone far enough and the yelling faded completely did Meng Huaize finally release his tight grip on Wu Yue, letting out a long sigh of relief and wiping the sweat from his forehead.
He then knelt beside the chicken that lay in the courtyard.
The chicken was stubbornly clinging to life. Blood was still gushing from its neck, and though it twitched every so often, it hadn’t yet fully died. Occasionally, its wings flapped weakly.
Meng Huaize fretted aloud, “Is there any way to save it?”
Wu Yue crouched down next to him, reaching out a hand. But the moment his hand neared, the chicken let out a terrified squawk, its head lolled to the side, and it died on the spot.
Meng Huaize: “…” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Wu Yue: “…”
In the countryside, night fell quickly, and the village became eerily quiet. After nightfall, the entire village was shrouded in silence, save for the occasional bark of a dog. On the pitch-black road, only two figures moved.
Meng Huaize stood outside Widow Li’s courtyard, nervously scanning the surroundings like a thief. There was no one in sight, not even a dog’s bark. Meng Huaize turned back, raised his hand, and tossed a cloth bundle over the courtyard wall. Inside the bundle was the chicken Wu Yue had stolen and then frightened to death, along with the money Meng Huaize had added to cover the cost of the chicken.
The bundle landed on the ground with a muffled thud. Meng Huaize anxiously scanned the surroundings one last time before tugging at Wu Yue, who stood there like a king, to flee.
He took a step forward but hesitated. During one of his previous visits to Widow Li’s house to treat her son, Erbao, he had noticed a drainage ditch near the courtyard wall. Meng Huaize wasn’t sure if he had thrown the bundle accurately or if it had landed in the ditch.
“Wait,” Meng Huaize whispered, “I need to check. I might have thrown it into the water.”
He began piling up a few large stones from the roadside, stacking them together. Wu Yue stood there with his arms crossed, watching him fuss with the rocks.
Once he thought the pile was stable enough, Meng Huaize grabbed the top of the wall and stepped onto the stones. Just as he lifted his second foot, the pile beneath him began to creak, and his balance wavered. Instinctively, he almost called out.
But a strong arm swiftly wrapped around his waist, steadying him. Wu Yue’s other hand quickly covered Meng Huaize’s mouth.
“Keep quiet,” Wu Yue said, frowning.
Meng Huaize nodded.
Wu Yue released his hand from Meng Huaize’s mouth but didn’t pull back the arm around his waist. Instead, he tightened his grip slightly, lifting Meng Huaize effortlessly.
Meng Huaize was momentarily stunned, glancing down at Wu Yue. In the thin moonlight, he couldn’t discern Wu Yue’s features clearly, only seeing a vague yet handsome silhouette.
Wu Yue lifted his head slightly, showing a bit of impatience. Only then did Meng Huaize withdraw his gaze, placing both hands on the top of the wall, somewhat absent-mindedly scanning the courtyard. After a few glances, he finally spotted the bundle he had thrown in, lying intact on the dry ground.
“All right,” Meng Huaize’s voice carried a hint of unease, “You can, um, put me down now.”
Wu Yue, seemingly unaware of anything unusual, released his hold and gently lowered Meng Huaize back to the ground. He then turned and began walking back down the path, bathed in the soft moonlight.