Chapter 94 Black Crane

The noise of the Chinese toon tree falling was so loud that a fat head soon popped out of the third-floor window in response to the sound.

Qi Xiaopang looked at the toon tree's decapitated remains downstairs, and at Jiunian, who stood beside it with his hair neatly combed and his clothes unruffled, calm and composed. He was shocked and confused. "So watching the tree means... cutting it down?"

Nine years: “…No.”

Qing Bai couldn't help laughing out loud. It wasn't because the pun was so funny, but it was quite rare for someone to remain so speechless for nine years.

Fat Qi, unaware that his brother Qing was laughing uncontrollably, taking advantage of his inability to see, was stunned for a moment before coming to his senses. He began to offer advice to Jiunian, who, from his perspective, was standing at a loss beside the tree corpse. "Don't worry! Boss Zhou has been sent for emergency treatment. The farmhouse is in chaos! We're the only family living in this building now, and it's a remote place. As long as we keep it secret, only God, the earth, you, and I will know, and no one else will know—"

"Hey, what's wrong with this tree?" Before he could finish his words, a third person appeared... no, it should be said that it was the third demon.

A small swallow circled the remains of the Chinese toon tree several times in mid-air, chirping cheerfully before speaking with a hint of regret, "The Chinese toon tree moved into the house, and the owner might be hurt... I just said that casually yesterday, so how could I have been so right? Could it be that I'm not a swallow spirit, but a crow spirit?"

Swallows and crows are all birds. Who knows if you birds communicate with each other during the process of cultivation and becoming spirits?

Qing Bai was complaining in his heart, but his eyes were fixed on Jiu Nian, wanting to see how he was going to treat this uninvited guest.

Qi Xiaopang, whose face was slapped, was speechless. He felt that he was the only real human being present and did not dare to get involved in the fun of these inhuman bosses. He quietly retracted his head, leaving only a pair of eyes looking outside.

Jiunian's gaze was always fixed on the crane feather in his hand, and he never even looked at the swallow in the air.

After Miss Yan Zi finished her joke, no one responded for a moment, leaving only silence. At that moment, the fallen Chinese toon tree was no longer a Chinese toon tree. Looking at it from all angles, the broken trunk and tangled branches on the ground cleverly formed two words: awkward.

The swallow girl in the air rolled her eyes so that no one could see, and prepared to find a way out for herself... Anyway, she had to find a place to land first.

For birds, branches are naturally the first choice for landing. Although this Chinese toon tree is broken, its branches are still there. The swallow girl did not despise it. She picked out a branch from the pile of broken branches and leaves at a glance. Even though the main body of the tree has fallen down, the branch still stubbornly stands up towards the sky like a middle finger.

The swallow girl nodded with satisfaction, flapped her wings and dived down. Just as her claws touched the branches of the toon tree that exuded a unique scent, her vision suddenly went dark - a large, cold, and fierce wind, like an ice knife or a frost sword, came towards her from the depths of the underworld and the end of the Naihe River. It brought the smell of life to the end and the soul washed away from the dust and returned to pure white. The coexistence of decay and fragrance was more unique and subtle than the scent of the toon tree.

No one expected Jiu Nian to attack without saying a word. His soft, wide sleeves stretched out and swept forward rapidly. No one would doubt its lethality, because the air along the way made a sharp and crackling sound as if it was cut by the edge of an unparalleled sharp blade. Just by listening to the sound, one could feel the elusive cold pain on the skin.

Miss Yan Zi didn't even have time to struggle before she was rolled into the sleeve pocket.

"grumble!!!"

Only the lingering sound lingered in the awkward air...

At this moment, even if the people present did not understand bird language, they could still hear the swallow girl's surprise and fear from the short, shrill bird cry.

Jiu Nian raised his forearm and slowly straightened his sleeves which were a little messy due to the attack.

Fat Qi, who was sitting in the upstairs window, had his mouth open so much that his jaw was aching. He felt like he was watching something live from the animal world... After all, such a sudden hunting behavior could only happen in the animal world, or he could be daydreaming because he was still asleep.

Qing Bai was different from Qi Xiaopang. He trusted his own eyes and brain completely, without any self-doubt. After reacting, he grabbed Jiu Nian's arm, staring at the large sleeve below, which was smooth and smooth, with no sign of a bird being rolled up. He asked in a hurried and aggressive tone: "What are you doing?"

I don't know if the invisibility itself has a time limit, or if Qing Bai was too excited, but in short, Qing Bai was so anxious that he revealed himself.

Fat Qi was instantly excited when he heard his brother Qing's voice, nodding his head in support: "That's right! Brother Qing, tell me about him!" This sudden move was really baffling. Although Miss Yan Zi had been hired by Old Man Tang before, she had stopped in time and hadn't done anything harmful. Why did she have to do this?

Qing Bai tugged at Jiu Nian's sleeves, wanting to reach out and pull out the things inside: "Do you just like to put any living thing you catch into your sleeves? Don't you think it's dirty?"

Qi Xiaopang: "..."

Forget it, Brother Qing, stop talking... Miss Yan will really be pissed off by you two!

One attacked without a word, and the other not only refused to persuade but also complained that the person was dirty! Is this even fair? She's just an innocent little swallow! A good friend of mankind! What sin did she commit to deserve this?

Jiu Nian held Qing Bai's hand that was trying to reach into his sleeve, shook his head, and said, "There is no living thing."

Qing Bai stopped what he was doing, his expression calm: "Oh, then let's dig a hole and bury it."

What kind of cold-blooded murderer's statement is this!!!

Qi Xiaopang really regretted that he had eagerly stuck his head out to watch the fun when he heard the noise. In the blink of an eye, he found himself in a dilemma where morality and emotion were pulling at each other.

First of all, killing people...killing birds is definitely wrong, especially a bird that has become a spirit. There are so many birds in the world, but he has only seen this one spirit in all these years. If you convert it, her rarity should be comparable to that of a black and white ball, right?

No, no matter how rare it is, you can't just kill people or birds!

But his brother Qing has already smoothly entered the role of accomplice and is ready to dig a hole and destroy the body... What should he do? Should he kill his relatives for the sake of justice or...

"No need to bury it." Jiu Nian reached into his sleeve. Just when Qing Baiqi Xiaopang thought he would take out a bird corpse that was either peaceful or miserable, Jiu Nian turned his palm over and took out a bird feather.

Looks quite familiar.

Since there are no two leaves in the world that are exactly the same, there are naturally no two feathers that are exactly the same.

But this feather looked exactly the same as the one he had retrieved from the tree nine years earlier, in terms of color, shape, size, and texture. It was reasonable to assume they were from the same bird.

Qing Bai raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise: "What does this mean? She's really not a swallow spirit? But... a feather spirit?"

Jiu Nian raised his hand and pointed at a bird flying by not far away, and said slowly: "It's just a trick of escaping from its shell."

His voice was gentle and warm, but it frightened the passing bird so much that its wings stiffened and it almost fell down. Anyone with eyes could see that it was not an innocent bird passing by at all.

Qi Xiaopang, who had already begun to think about whether he should call Yaoyaoling or the Rare Animal Protection Association if he really wanted to kill his own relatives for the sake of justice, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this. As long as the bird didn't die... He learned from his mistakes and silently retracted the rest of his head, not even leaving his eyes, and suppressed his curiosity about what would happen next. The adult world was too exciting and not suitable for him to watch. As an ordinary human being like him, it was better for him to just hold the dog and catch up on his sleep.

Qing Bai thought that Jiu Nian would take action to keep the bird. After all, he was a cat, a cat with status and position. If he failed to hit the bird, he would always find a way to get back at it. It would not be good to give up halfway.

I think the bird thought so too, and flapped its wings in panic to escape.

However, Jiunian just watched until the bird twisted and turned, stumbled, and flew away, turning into a small black dot in the distant sky. He had no intention of taking action again.

Qing Bai initially thought that Jiu Nian was difficult to pursue because of him, and was afraid that he would escape and then lure the tiger away from the mountain. However, he changed his mind and felt that it was not right. With Jiu Nian's ability, he could definitely do long-range output, and it was impossible that he was restricted by the length of his sleeves.

So he didn't take action simply because he felt there was no need to do so... From the very beginning, his focus was only on Toba.

After figuring it out, Qing Bai also focused his attention on the two bird feathers in Jiu Nian's hand. He didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but this careful observation really made him see something extraordinary.

...Perhaps it is because when it is extremely black, it always presents a metallic luster. It is clearly soft bird feathers, but Qing Bai inexplicably feels that its edges are very sharp. The more he looks at it, the more fascinating it becomes.

Thinking of what he had said nine years ago, Qing Bai's heart moved, and he suddenly asked, "Who is Xuan He?"

Seeing how much importance Jiu Nian attached to it, the Black Crane couldn't just be a black crane...

Compared to the two stiff, sharp crane feathers, Jiunian's thick, long eyelashes looked more like soft bird feathers. He lowered his eyes and remained silent for a long time, as if thinking about how to explain. However, the first thing he said was, "Xuanhe means... a black crane."

Qing Bai looked at Jiu Nian quietly. When he finally couldn't help looking away, he said, "As a spirit beast, I'm probably young, but being young doesn't mean being stupid."

Jiu Nian coughed twice, feeling a little embarrassed.

Qing Bai continued to stare at Jiu Nian. Just when Jiu Nian thought he would continue to wait for an answer, Qing Bai surprised him again: "Are they related to the unidentified black object you were chasing in the cemetery in Weiming New Village?"

This 'they' refers to the mysterious 'Xuanhe' and the suddenly appearing swallow girl.

Jiu Nian suddenly raised his eyes, and his amber eyes in the sunlight were filled with surprise.

Qing Bai chuckled softly: "It seems that they are related."

Jiu Nian's eyes shifted subtly towards the dead Chinese toon tree on the ground, and he softly answered Qing Bai's previous question: "When a crane is a thousand years old, it turns gray. After another two thousand years, it turns black. It is called a black crane..."

"I'm indeed young in the world of spirit beasts." Qing Bai sighed, "Anyone who comes here would take thousands of years to come."

Jiunian comforted him, "Age doesn't mean much to us. As long as the prototype reaches adulthood, you will naturally possess all the abilities of Lingxi."

"But they don't plan to let me live to adulthood, do they?" Qing Bai looked into Jiu Nian's eyes and spoke word by word, "Otherwise, why would Master Jiu Nian abandon the Samsara Platform and come to the human world to guard me?"

Nine years: "..."