The room was plunged into a deathly silence.
Dao Nian stared at Shen Changan without a word. Changan’s hands trembled as he held the featherless chick, unsure of what to say.
“Dao Nian, what should I do?” Shen Changan waited for almost half a minute, but didn't get any response from Dao Nian. Looking down at the tiny bird shivering in his palm, as if freezing, panic welled up inside him. “If I had known it was an egg, I would have put it back in the nest. Now that it has my scent on it, even if I put it back, the mother bird probably won't recognize it.”
He couldn't possibly raise a newborn bird.
The Bird Clan elders returned to their clan in despair. They pushed open the doors of the Divine Phoenix Hall and fell to their knees, their faces etched with grief.
Had their clan truly reached such a hopeless state?
Just then, a faint light flickered from a lamp at the foot of the Divine Phoenix statue.
“The Phoenix Lamp…”
“It’s lit?”
This lamp, fueled by phoenix tears and with a wick made of phoenix feathers, would only ignite upon the birth of a new phoenix. But for thousands of years, it had remained dark.
Now, the lamp suddenly blazed to life, leaving the elders kneeling before the statue in disbelief.
“The phoenix…has a phoenix been born?” Elder He’s hands trembled as he lifted the Phoenix Lamp. "The last of the phoenix bloodline... has hatched."
Tears streamed down the faces of the elders as they wept with joy. But their elation was quickly replaced by a pressing question—if the phoenix bloodline had hatched, where was the chick, and who hatched it?
“Find it.”
“We must spare no effort, even if it takes the entire strength of our Bird Clan, to bring the Divine Phoenix back.”
“Go now, look for it all night."
This is the last hope of...... our bird clan."
Back at Dao Nian's home, Shen Changan carefully wrapped the fragile bird in a soft towel. “I just looked it up. Newborn birds like this rely on their parents for food to survive.”
“I hope this little guy is a protected species. That way, I can hand it over to the experts.” Shen Changan glanced at Dao Nian, who had remained silent. “Dao Nian, do you know any experts in this field?”
"No." Dao Nian watched the bird in the towel, its beak wide open, waiting to be fed. "This kind of bird will not be taken seriously even if it is sent to the rescue center."
"If it can't be raised, throw it away."
Shen Changan picked up the chick and headed for the door.
Where are you going?" Dao Nian's dark eyes followed Shen Changan's retreating figure. There seemed to be countless emotions churning in his dark eyes. Yet, upon closer inspection, his eyes were empty, devoid of any joy, anger, or sorrow, and naturally, there was no love or hate.
“I’m going to talk to the parrot downstairs. They’re both birds anyway, maybe it can raise it.” Shen Changan shrugged. "The parrot downstairs is so smart, maybe it's willing to raise a cheap son."
“Wait.” Dao Nian stopped him. “Liu Mao knows a bit about raising birds. Leave the bird here and go get him.”
“Okay.” Shen Changan gently placed the chick on the table and hurried downstairs.
Dao Nian stared at the weak bird, put his hands on the armrest of his wheelchair, slowly stood up and walked towards it, his hand hovering over its tiny body.
This race, destined for extinction, how could it escape the laws of the Great Dao and be born right before his eyes?
His fingers slowly curled inward. With the slightest effort, he could send this anomaly that shouldn't have been born back to its original trajectory of destiny, erasing its existence from the world.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp.” The chick’s tiny head bumped against his palm. It was a sight that should have evoked tenderness, but Dao Nian’s eyes remained cold and detached.
“Dao Nian, Uncle Zhao made some late-night snacks. I'll wash my hands and bring them up for you."
Shen Changan’s voice drifted up from downstairs. Dao Nian’s closing fingers froze. He opened his hand, stared at the chick for three seconds, then took his hand back.
“Master.” Liu Mao, who had appeared at the door, bowed respectfully to the expressionless Dao Nian.
Dao Nian glanced at him, then flashed back to his wheelchair, and said with an indifferent expression, “Watch it. Don't let it die.”
“Is this…the lost phoenix bloodline of the Bird Clan?” Liu Mao stepped inside, his eyes widening in shock as he saw the tiny bird nestled in the towel. “How did it end up here with you?”
Dao Nian remained silent.
“Master, the phoenix race was meant to perish. Why save it?” As the embodiment of the forty-nine laws left behind by the Great Dao, Master's actions should not deviate too far from those laws. Yet, keeping this phoenix chick alive defies everything Master is supposed to uphold.
This was equivalent to a human knowing that something is bad for his body if he eats it, but he still chooses to indulge despite the consequences.
What puzzled him even more was how on earth the egg hatched in the first place.
Footsteps approached from the hallway. Liu Mao turned to see Shen Changan coming up the stairs carrying two bowls of midnight snacks, and closed his mouth.
“Brother Liu, take a look at this bird. Can it be raised?” Shen Changan placed the tray on the coffee table and set a bowl of mushroom chicken noodle soup in front of Dao Nian. He then dragged the lazy sofa by himself and sat down. “If it can be saved, please help me rescue it. Maybe saving a bird's life will bring us good luck."
“This bird…was brought back by you?" A thought struck Liu Mao like a bolt of lightning. His voice trembled slightly. “Saving this bird…would bring good fortune to both you and Master?”
“Of course.” Shen Changan handed the chopsticks to Dao Nian. Seeing that Dao Nian didn’t take them, he raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Wash hands,” Dao Nian said calmly.
“Oh.” Changan reacted and wheeled Dao Nian to the bathroom to wash his hands. "Uncle Zhao's stir-fried ingredients are too fragrant, originally he was only going to make you a bowl, but I shamelessly asked him to put down an extra bowl of noodles so I could eat with you."
Dao Nian glanced at Shen Changan’s bowl, which held barely any noodles, but didn’t expose his “wanting to eat” lie. He took a sip of the soup, then looked up at Liu Mao. “Take it back and raise it. In the future…”
He turned to Shen Changan. “In the future, when it's older, it can be Changan's pet. At least it will have some use.”
Liu Mao's expression shifted several times before he finally spoke: “Yes, Master.”
Fei Ying lay listlessly on her perch. Seeing Liu Mao coming down with a featherless chick, she felt a sense of crisis. "Mr. Shen has a new pet?"
The Bird Clan had already lost the phoenix bloodline; they couldn't afford to lose their nepotistic relationship with Mr. Shen.
“This bird looks small and ugly. It’s obviously just an ordinary bird with no special bloodline. It might not even be able to develop intelligence.”
Fei Ying quickly expressed her position, "Can it make Mr. Shen happy like me?"
Liu Mao gave Fei Ying a complicated look. “Do you really think so?”
“Of course.” Fei Ying thought, I’m Mr. Shen's number one pet.
"As long as you're happy." Liu Mao raised his eyebrows and took the featherless baby bird to the kitchen to see if there was anything at Old Zhao's place that it could eat.
That night, a few night owls who stayed up late posted a message on the forum.
【Tonight, there were so many birds flying around my neighborhood. Half an hour ago, even my pet pigeons flew away. Is this some kind of omen?】
Netizen 1: OP! Same here! I was so scared, I thought it was an earthquake. Thankfully, my cats and dogs were sound asleep, so I felt relieved.
Netizen 2: The one above is just showing off their cats and dogs, case closed.
Netizen 3: Anyone who’s still awake at this hour and observing birds flying outside is definitely single.
Netizen 4: This post made me want to look out the window. Then I remembered we’re in the north, and it’s snowing, so I can’t see anything…
After a few minutes, the northern netizen who claimed he wanted to go open the window came back.
Netizen 129: Holy crap, holy crap! It’s snowing here, and there are so many sparrows on the ground! [Picture]
This netizen not only commented, but also uploaded a picture. Due to the poor lighting, all that could be seen were many small dots on the snow-covered ground. It was impossible to tell if they were fallen leaves or the “sparrows” as the netizen called them.
Some netizens did not believe it and asked the original poster how many accounts he had opened to spread rumors in this post.
OP: Whoever spreads rumors, let them be the 'Sima'. I live in X city, X county. Are there any users in this thread who live in the same place? Go outside and see for yourselves.
User 571: You might not believe this, but I just opened my window and almost got slapped in the face by an owl. Even crazier, there were a bunch of pigeons following behind it. Since when are owls and pigeons such good friends?
User 1256: You know what…I think the birds are about to overthrow us humans. In a few hundred years, we’ll be the ones stuck in zoos as exhibits, and birds will be the ones paying to come see us.
User 1257: So, you guys have been discussing this for so long, and no one has any clear photos as proof yet?
User 1265: Proof, proof, that’s all you care about. It’s the middle of the night, and these birds are flying so fast. Forget taking pictures, even recording a video is impossible. It’s like they’re organized or something. I just took out my phone, and a bird swooped down at me. I almost dropped my phone off the balcony!
It seemed that many places were experiencing an unusual number of birds. However, in Wuming City, everything was quiet. There were no birds flying around, not even the sound of insects chirping was heard.
The next morning, when Shen Changan woke up, he saw a news notification on his phone:《Mass Bird Migration in Multiple Locations. Experts Speculate the Cause is Geomagnetic Disturbance Affecting Birds’ Sense of Direction. Call for Increased Environmental Protection.》
What does this even mean? Didn’t birds migrate in the autumn? It is already winter—shouldn’t they have reached their destination by now?
Shen Changan closed the notification and lazily crawled out of bed. As he was going downstairs after washing up, he saw Liu Mao. He asked casually, "Is that bird from last night still alive?"
“Please rest assured, Mr. Shen, it is still alive.” Liu Mao took Shen Changan to see the chick. Someone had made a small nest for it, and it was curled up comfortably inside. When it saw Shen Changan, it chirped a few times and stretched out its tiny wings as if asking for a hug.
Shen Changan didn’t dare to move. The little thing was so fragile, he could crush it with just two fingers.
Fei Ying glanced at the ugly featherless chick with disdain. It had only been born for two days and was already trying to curry favor with the master. What a scheming bird!
As a noble, purebred, and class-II nationally protected red-breasted parakeet, she, Fei Ying, would never admit defeat!
“You’re the big brother, so you have to protect your little brother.” Shen Changan put some food in Fei Ying’s food bowl. “You’re both birds, so don't be distant from each other.”
Fei Ying: “…”
No, I’m a female bird! I’m a noble, purebred red-breasted parakeet!
“Master is the best, Master is the greatest!” Fei Ying took the initiative to stretch out her bird head and rubbed against Shen Changan’s index finger. But when she saw Dao Nian coming down the lift, she immediately retracted her head.
As a smart pet, she would never be caught being affectionate with her owner in front of the lord.
She turned her head to look at the featherless chick, who was still chirping and trying to get closer to Shen Changan. Fei Ying’s eyes were filled with mockery. How could such a clueless, stupid bird fight with her.
“Dao Nian, you’re up?” Shen Changan turned to push the wheelchair. “Why are you up so early today?”
Dao Nian glanced at the bird that kept chirping, and said calmly, "It was too noisy last night."
Hearing this, Fei Ying held her breath. It seems that the Bird Clan’s frantic search for the phoenix chick last night had displeased the Lord.
“Noisy?” Shen Changan scratched his head. Had he slept too soundly and missed all the commotion?
“Liu Mao.” Dao Nian closed his eyes. “Inform them…just say…” He turned to look at Shen Changan. "Just say that it has been found, let them come to me to get it."
"Master..." Liu Mao looked hesitant.
“Go.”
“Yes.”
Fei Ying stiffly turned her head and looked at the ugly, featherless chick beside her. When the Lord said "it has been found," did he mean... it?
She let out a miserable cry and collapsed to the ground in despair.
Who in the world gave her the dog's guts to call the phoenix bloodline small and ugly!
She was doomed.
Author’s Note: Fei Ying: I am a guilty bird, I choose to faint~