Chapter 716: 716 Red Feather
Swoosh!
After having spoken, Xu Huang abruptly vanished in a flash from the top of the palace hall; Xu Huan, however, remained silent for quite some time, until the sound of footsteps finally interrupted his thoughts.
"Young Master, I’ve got news about the matter you asked me to investigate!"
The guard below the grand hall bowed deeply towards the top of the hall before calling out loudly, which made Xu Huan’s eyes light up. He immediately leaped down from the hall and approached the guard.
"What exactly is the background of that boy?"
Xu Huan asked eagerly. Although his father had ordered him not to cause further trouble, having knowledge of that roughly-dressed boy’s background would surely make future actions more convenient, wouldn’t it?
"That boy named Yun Xiao, I haven’t clarified it yet!"
Upon hearing this, the guard looked quite embarrassed. Seeing that his master was about to rage, he quickly continued: "However, the lad following him is from the Lin Family of Yujiang City, the legitimate son of the Family Head, his name is Lin Xuanhao!"
It seemed that the guards from the commerce had some skills after all; they had managed to find out Lin Xuanhao’s background in just half a day. But since Yun Xiao was from the Hidden Dragon Continent, even Lin Xuanhao didn’t know his true background, let alone these outsiders?
"Yujiang City? The Lin Family?"
Xu Huan had heard of this city name not far from Yuyang City, but he didn’t have much impression of the relatively minor Lin Family.
"A small family from Yujiang City dares to offend me, Xu Huan? Good! Very good indeed!"
Having received the information he had desired, Xu Huan was satisfied. In his view, what waves could a minor family like that from Yujiang City possibly create? Their branch of the Spirit Fighting Commerce could obliterate them with a flick of a finger.
As for Yun Xiao’s background, he didn’t give it much thought, assuming he was also from the Lin Family of Yujiang City, just a little wiser, which was why he had suffered a small loss.
In the face of absolute power, any scheming is futile; now Xu Huan was just waiting for the Spirit Fighting Conference to end, and then he would uproot Yun Xiao and even the Lin Family root and branch.
"Young Master, should we take back today’s lost face now?"
This guard was clearly one who had been following Xu Huan during the day, but the moment he spoke these words, the face of the young master of the commerce suddenly darkened.
Slap!
A slap flew across, leaving the guard utterly dazed. What was going on? Why was he being hit after having clarified the information about the two young men?
"Rein yourselves in before the Spirit Fighting Conference ends; if any of you cause trouble, don’t blame me for being merciless!"
It was only at this moment that Xu Huan finally vented the anger from being slapped by his father earlier. After issuing his command, the guard, though confused, dared not disobey.
"Yun Xiao, just you wait, one day I will make you pay the price!"
Watching the guard bow and leave, Xu Huan’s face looked ferocious, and the words he uttered contained a hint of grinding his teeth. It seemed he couldn’t forget the huge loss he had suffered earlier in the day.
...
Yun Xiao was naturally unaware of the events that had transpired in one branch of the Spirit Fighting Commerce. Even if he knew, he wouldn’t have the inclination to care.
That’s because, after the fiery red light beam had shot into the sky, calm had returned to his room. Under the watchful eyes of Yun Xiao, Chi Yan, and the Golden Snake Worm, a small head was emerging from the fragmented top of an eggshell.
It appeared to be a tiny fire-red bird. At this moment, the newly-born bird was looking around with its pair of eyes and finally settled on Yun Xiao, seemingly finding him a little strange.
"Chirp chirp!"
A clear chirping sound came from the beak of the little fire-red bird, as if communicating some message. From this sound, Yun Xiao clearly sensed a touch of closeness.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
However, in the next moment, the trio heard an odd noise. As they focused their gaze, they saw the little bird was actually nibbling at the eggshells around it.
In just the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, those eggshells had been pecked clean. Subsequently, an extremely special and powerful aura burst forth from the body of the fire-red bird. This aura even contained an indescribable blazing heat.
This heat was strikingly different from Yun Xiao’s Ancestral Vein Fire, and from the Burning Flame of the Fire Cloud Rat Chi Yan; it had nothing in common with any fire attribute aura in this world, as if born from nature itself, capable of incinerating all things with its dominance.
"The Heavenly Phoenix Divine Fire, that burns all!"
Even the eyes of the Golden Snake Worm revealed a hint of astonishment, and a subtle fear, as if it felt palpitations from that particular fire attribute aura.
Flap! Flap!
At this moment, Yun Xiao, however, did not have so many thoughts. Under his gaze, the fire-red bird, already covered in fluffy feathers, was actually flapping its wings, attempting to take flight off the ground.
"You’re trying to fly now? Aren’t you thinking too much? You haven’t been born for more than an hour!"
Seeing this, Yun Xiao couldn’t help but chuckle, but then was promptly proven wrong, because as soon as he finished speaking, the little bird had indeed taken flight, flapping its wings off the ground.
Although still somewhat wobbly, it did not fall down; seeing this scene, both pairs of eyes from Yun Xiao and Chi Yan almost popped out of their sockets.
They had seen newborn calves and lambs that could walk, but never a bird that could fly within an hour of birth, not even the Long Xiao Battle God from a previous life had heard of such a thing.
"How ignorant, the capability of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix is not something you mortals can imagine."
A trace of disdain flashed in the golden eyes of the Golden Snake Worm. However, the tone of its telepathic voice also contained a hint of covert astonishment. It seemed that even on the Tenglong Continent, it had not expected to encounter such an unusual species.
"Chirp chirp!"
The wobbly, fiery red little bird finally landed on Yun Xiao’s left shoulder. For some reason, seeing this, a touch of jealousy flitted across the eyes of Chi Yan perched on the other shoulder.
Before this, Chi Yan used to sprawl on whichever shoulder of Yun Xiao he pleased, but now it seemed that half of that territory would be taken by the fiery red little bird.
The little bird chirped twice and extended its sharp beak to gently nuzzle Yun Xiao’s left cheek, appearing very intimate, which made Yun Xiao extremely joyful.
"Tsks tsk, we’ve witnessed the same birth, why is there such a big difference?"
Yun Xiao let out a sigh of emotion, his gaze drifting toward the Golden Snake Worm hanging in the air, clearly hinting at something. Indeed, compared to the Golden Snake Worm’s unpleasant demeanor, the fiery red little bird was undoubtedly many times gentler.
"Hmph, that’s because you haven’t seen the real Ancient Heavenly Phoenix; otherwise, you wouldn’t say that!"
Golden Snake Worm Xiao Wu was a bit annoyed, scoffing at the thought of certain scenes it recalled. Compared to Yun Xiao, it probably understood better just how fierce the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix could be.
"Little one, have you decided to follow me?"
Yun Xiao ignored the somewhat sour words of the Golden Snake Worm and reached out to stroke the back of the warm little bird, asking this question.
"Chirp chirp!"
It seemed the fiery red little bird could not only fly from birth but also understand human speech. Upon hearing Yun Xiao’s words, it chirped crisply and kept nodding its little head as if pecking at rice.
"If that’s the case, then I must give you a name. What should I call you?"
Seeing this, Yun Xiao was overjoyed. As he said, if they were going to be together in the future, it would be too impersonal to always call it ’little one’.
"How about naming it Little Red, since it’s all covered in red feathers?"
Seeing Yun Xiao was about to name it, the Golden Snake Worm volunteered to speak first for some reason. However, as soon as these words came out, Yun Xiao’s brows slightly furrowed.
"How vulgar. How can such a cute little one be named something so common?"
Yun Xiao disdainfully glanced at the Golden Snake Worm. With that, a hint of resentment flashed in the serpent’s eyes. Could there be a name more banal in this world than "Xiao Wu"?
Perhaps it was because the Golden Snake Worm itself was named Xiao Wu by Little Dragon that it wanted to find some balance with the fiery red little bird. This way, it wouldn’t be the most commonplace among them.
"Am I not cute?"
Thinking of certain things, the Golden Snake Worm mumbled morosely, causing Yun Xiao to break out in goosebumps. If this creature was cute, then probably no one in the world would be unattractive.
"Seeing you’re all red and born to fly, let’s name you Red Feather!"
After some contemplation, Yun Xiao finally came up with a pleasant and easy-to-remember name, which left the Golden Snake Worm feeling melancholic while the little red bird excitedly flapped its wings a few times on Yun Xiao’s shoulder.
"Red Feather!"
"Chirp chirp!"
"Red Feather!"
"Chirp chirp!"
"..."
The two of them called and responded tirelessly, completely ignoring the Golden Snake Worm’s gloomy gaze, even Chi Yan felt somewhat neglected.
"Boring!"
Finally, Golden Snake Worm Xiao Wu made a swift move and then suddenly disappeared from Yun Xiao’s lower abdomen area, fearing that a few more repeats of this one person and one bird act could truly drive it mad.
"Chirp chirp!"
Just as Yun Xiao was chuckling inwardly, the fiery red little bird suddenly let out two different chirps from before and then, just like the Golden Snake Worm, instantly disappeared right on his lower abdomen area.
Combining the actions of the fiery red little bird with the calling sounds just now, Yun Xiao thought the chirping meant "I can do this too." Could it be that from now on, his body would house another permanent resident?
For a moment, Yun Xiao’s facial expression became quite bizarre!