Chapter 96 Birdman and Harvesting

They settled in a small courtyard surrounded by thick walls.

The two people hid inside the house, huddled in a corner of the room, quietly waiting for the storm to end.

The sky was as gloomy as night.

They had only been inside the house for a few minutes when a torrential downpour began, with large raindrops pounding against the ground, doors, and windows, making a thumping sound.

The wind outside the window howled against my eardrums, accompanied by various cracking and banging sounds, as if something was being blown up and then fell heavily back down.

Su Yun listened intently to the sounds outside the window, a sense of unease beginning to creep into her heart.

Immediately afterwards, another "thump" came from the yard, which sounded like something falling to the ground.

Hearing the loud noise outside, Su Yun was very worried: "Can this house hold up? It sounds terrifying from outside."

Ye Feng held her tightly in his arms, looking around at the small concrete house. "The house isn't shaking yet, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

Su Yun: "Is it still not shaking?" She listened anxiously to the sounds outside the window and peered out at the only glass window in the room.

The glass window looked flimsy, covered in dust and cobwebs, making it even more blurry and difficult to see clearly. Looking through the window, the view outside appeared even more chaotic; the yard was a mess, and half of the small kitchen had been blown away...

"Won't this house collapse?" Su Yun began to look around the old-looking house with unease.

Night Breeze gently brushed her head with its chin, trying its best to comfort her, saying, "It's okay. If it collapses, I'll take you to hide below the well."

Night Wind had previously encountered a situation where houses were so windy that people were almost blown away. In the end, he desperately found his way to an open well and narrowly escaped death.

"That's a good idea, but will it work? The well walls are so wet and slippery."

Ye Feng slowly hugged her tighter, but what he was thinking was that if that time really came, he would protect Su Yun with his life no matter what.

"It definitely can."

Su Yun: "Mm."

So the two of them stayed quietly in the house, waiting for the storm to pass.

......

Fortunately, the storm did not last long.

About half an hour later, the rain gradually subsided, the wind slowly died down, and Su Yun's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, began to slowly relax.

After the initial tension subsided, Su Yun finally relaxed and smiled, "I didn't expect this house to be so sturdy."

She couldn't help but touch the gray walls, and for the first time, she found the dilapidated old house quite adorable.

"Hmm, the wind isn't too strong this time. Many small animals will choose to come inside." Night Wind pointed to the old power lines on the wall.

Several plump little bluebirds stood on it with their wings tucked in, clearly having come in to take shelter from the rain.

Su Yun hadn't noticed anything until now that the rain had stopped and the storm had passed, and the two of them finally had time to pay attention to other things.

But there were other things waiting for her to worry about.

"Oh no, will the house get blown away?" Su Yun's first thought was of her belongings: the wooden frame she had painstakingly erected, the herbs drying in the sun, the corn hanging under the eaves...

"Hurry home and check on things!"

Ye Feng glanced up at the sky but said calmly, "No rush. Look at the direction the dark clouds are heading; they're not going home. It should be fine."

"Really?" Su Yun looked up at the sky and saw that the sky in the distance was still gloomy, with accumulated dark clouds mixed with wind and rain drifting into the distance, but not in the direction of home.

"Yes, we live on the east side, and the wind blows from the south, so it doesn't affect our house..."

This is the experience that the night wind has gained from experiencing so many storms. By observing the wind's direction, you can avoid the storm in time. If you keep going in the direction of the storm, you will be blown away forever.

Alternatively, you can stay put and wait for the end.

"Oh, I see. It's good that it's not in the direction of home. I've been worried about it for a long time." Su Yun was afraid that a storm would destroy all the food and supplies she had painstakingly stored.

"Everything will be alright," Ye Feng comforted her.

As the wind and rain gradually subsided, the two stood in the yard looking at the mess, both thankful they had run away quickly, otherwise...

In the blink of an eye.

Su Yun suddenly remembered something. She looked at the little bluebirds on the power line and began to tidy their little wings that were wet from the rain, preparing to set off again.

She turned to look at the night wind and asked, "By the way, are there any of those very large mutant birds around here?"

"A very large mutant bird?" Night Wind paused slightly, as if he remembered something.

“Yes, it was like a small airplane, with very, very big wings. I saw it flying in the sky when the wind picked up just now, it was about this big…” Su Yun tried hard to describe the scene he saw, gesturing with his hands, “When I saw it just now, I was surprised, I thought it was an airplane, but I don’t know where it was blown away to in the end.”

A strong wind was blowing at the time, and sand and stones were flying everywhere, making it difficult to see clearly.

“There are mutated birds, but they don’t seem to be that big. Could what you saw have been a birdman?” Ye Feng frowned and pondered for a moment before finally coming to a conclusion.

"Huh? The other party is a person?" And it has wings! My goodness, it can fly and stuff, that's so enviable!

But is this guy a little mentally challenged?

How did the wind blow it down?

A moment later, the electric tricycle drove into a small hillside near the mountain village, where many pine trees grew.

Su Yun tried hard to recall the direction in which the other person last disappeared. It was most likely that they fell into this area, but she was not sure. After all, the wind was really strong at the time. She was very unsure whether the other person had fallen into this area or had been blown to a more distant place.

As the two drove along, the scene was shocking. Many trees had been uprooted, the roofs of many dilapidated houses had been blown off, and the ground was littered with broken branches, fallen leaves, tiles, and sticks.

Looking at the scene of devastation, Su Yun couldn't help but worry, "With such strong winds and at such a high altitude, isn't there any danger to their lives?"

"It's hard to say." Looking at the mess on the ground, Ye Feng figured it was most likely someone was injured or...

Su Yun: "Sigh, let's look for it first. We might not find it, but I remember it's roughly in this area..."

"Okay, let's go take a look first."

So the two braved the drizzle and walked into the woods. The night wind was strong, and sure enough, they soon found a "birdman" lying on the ground in a ravine.

Su Yun rushed forward to check the situation. She nervously checked the other person's breathing and thankfully, the person was still breathing. It seemed that the person was just seriously injured and had fallen into a coma.

The curly-haired youth lying on the ground was pale, with his eyes closed, and looked to be in bad shape.

This person had an adorable baby face and was about the same size as Su Yun, but appeared somewhat small due to the presence of huge wings.

Su Yun: "This is the birdman?" She asked, somewhat curious.

Night Breeze: "Hmm. Should we carry it back?"

Su Yun briefly examined the other party's injuries. This place happened to be a mountain hollow, filled with thick layers of fallen leaves. Apart from some minor scratches, there were no other obvious wounds on the other party's body, except for—the left wing that was bent backward.

"We need to secure the wings before moving them, otherwise it could cause further injury." Su Yun had learned some basic nursing skills in school and knew what needed to be done when moving an injured person. So she made a quick decision: "You stay here and watch over them. I'll go find some strips of cloth to make a simple stretcher."

"Okay, go and come back quickly. If you encounter danger, remember to run away. Don't be reckless," Ye Feng reminded him worriedly.

Su Yun gave an "OK" sign and then hurriedly turned and headed down the mountain. The danger level in the forest was much higher. Although the storm had just passed and the frightened animals wouldn't come out so quickly, it was still necessary to be careful.

After the boy was injured, he fell into a coma and was basically unconscious, making him unable to resist the attack. If Su Yun had stayed behind, he would have been unable to fight back and would have had great difficulty escaping if they encountered danger while carrying the unconscious boy.

So she went to find supplies, while Ye Feng stayed behind.

Su Yun returned to the village, removed a door panel, found a few bed sheets, and hurried back.

With these tools, the two men easily carried the person down the mountain forest, put him on a tricycle, and transported him all the way home.

"It looks like things aren't looking good!" Su Yun looked at the boy's tightly closed eyes and pale face, feeling a vague sense of worry. The bumpy journey and the treatment of fixing his wings had kept him from waking up.

"I wonder if internal organs were damaged, which is why..."

Night Wind comforted him, "It's alright. I was injured before, aren't I? I should... be fine... We orcs have always been very resilient. As long as it's not a fatal blow, there's always hope for survival..."

"I hope so..." Although Su Yun knew that orcs were a kind of "evolution," he was still very worried looking at the unconscious birdman. "Never mind, let's treat the wounds first!"

After a lot of effort, the two of them finally managed to treat the wound and moved the person to the guest room.

"The rest is up to him." Su Yun looked at the person lying unconscious on the bed, pushed open the door and walked out.

They've done what they were supposed to do; the rest is up to fate.

"Let's go, before it gets dark, we need to hurry up and get those fruits back. There must be a lot that have fallen in the orchard, they'll spoil if we don't pick them up quickly, they'll be soaking in water overnight."

There was still a lot to do. Su Yun put the food and drinks on the table, locked the door, and went out with Ye Feng again.

This storm has delayed us quite a bit, and we still have work to do. If we don't hurry, the hard-won harvest will be wasted.

The two returned to the orchard, where a storm caused the fruit to fall from the branches. They had planned to harvest it in batches, but it was all destroyed in an instant. Su Yun finally understood the bitterness and helplessness of the farmers affected by the disaster. They had waited a year and hoped for a year to harvest the fruit, but in the end, all their hard work was destroyed.

Su Yun could now finally understand the bitterness and helplessness that had been felt.

Looking at the fruit scattered all over the ground, Ye Feng felt a pang of heartache. "What a waste."

Su Yun sighed, "Yes, we can only try our best to harvest. We should pick up as much as we can, otherwise it will all go to waste."

There was still a lot of water on the ground. If the fruit wasn't picked up and dried in time, it would spoil in a few days.

“Okay.” Ye Feng agreed, and the two of them started working in the garden. In the end, there were so many fruits that Su Yun didn’t even need the baskets anymore and dumped them all into the truck bed.

Finally, after filling the truck with scavenging materials, the two men worked until nightfall before returning home under the cover of darkness.

The first thing Su Yun did upon returning home was to check on the unconscious boy to see if he was dead or alive.

However, the situation did not improve at all; the person remained unconscious and did not wake up, and the water and food on the table were untouched.

Ye Feng came in carrying a can of pears. "You must be tired after a long day. Have something to eat first."

Su Yun looked at him: "What about you? Have you eaten?"

Night Breeze licked her dry lips and said calmly, "I've already eaten, you eat."

"Okay!" Su Yun had been busy all day and was starving. Without being polite, she took the porcelain bowl and drank it all in one gulp. She smacked her lips and said, "Hmm, I've eaten. You go and eat something first. I'll go heat up some porridge first, and we can bring the fruit in together later."

Night Breeze nodded, "Okay."

The two worked until late at night before finally settling everything, but unfortunately the boy still didn't wake up.

Su Yun looked at the unconscious man and instructed Ye Feng to feed him some rice porridge and sugar water.

Compared to the afternoon when he couldn't drink anything, he can now be fed a little bit.

Night Breeze frowned and said, "It seems to be more serious than we thought."

Su Yun: "No way, are we really not going to make it through tonight?"

Night Wind frowned, his expression grave.

Su Yun suddenly remembered that her grandmother had once bought a long-tailed titmouse. It was one of those unscrupulous bird catchers that sold at the market, with red nets filled with the captured birds.

Grandma bought a titmouse to make porridge. When she brought the black-tailed titmouse home, it was still lively and hopping around. Its bright black eyes were very cute, and it looked very energetic.

Su Yun liked it so much that she couldn't bear to eat it herself. She took some millet grains to feed it and even said she wanted to raise it.

Grandma didn't stop her; instead, she found a cardboard box and a thin red rope to tie to the sparrow's foot, saying she would find a birdcage for Su Yun tomorrow.

Su Yun was overjoyed, only thinking about how to take care of the little titmouse and how to catch insects for it to eat...

However, the little titmouse neither ate nor drank; it just stood there blankly in the box.

Before the cage was even ready, Su Yun woke up and ran to check again, only to find the little titmouse already lying dead in the cardboard box.

Looking at the stiff body, Su Yun was heartbroken and cried. She then buried the little sparrow in the vegetable garden in the backyard.

"It's all my fault for not taking good care of it." Su Yun felt very guilty, blaming herself for not going out to find insects sooner, which led to the death of the little sparrow that didn't like to eat millet.

Grandma stroked her head, comforting her, "I asked around, and they said that's how these captured birds are. They don't know how those people captured them, maybe their internal organs were damaged, so they usually don't live long..."

Now, looking at the unconscious birdman on the bed, Su Yun felt worried.

Author's Note: