The night was dark and the wind was strong. The fallen leaves, accompanied by the whooshing sound of the wind, left the branches and fell onto the nearby grass.
"Waaah!" A baby's cry suddenly appeared, faintly echoing in the sky above the mountains and forests.
The crying sounded shrill and mournful. Although the sound wasn't very loud, it was somewhat terrifying in the dark night sky.
"Puff puff!" The crying grew louder as it drew closer. A ball of red flame descended from the sky, quickly engulfing the dense jungle and landing on a thick branch of a tree.
With a plume of red smoke falling from the tree to the ground, a firebird with flapping wings tiptoed and spun around on the ground. After a large circle, the red smoke dissipated, and a thin old man, just over a meter tall, wearing a red robe, quickly appeared on the ground.
The old man's entire body glowed red, faintly illuminating everything around him.
Above his pointed nose, a pair of sharp eyes gleamed. The old man was slightly hunched over, and in the crook of his thin arm, he held a baby a few months old. The crying sound just now had come from the baby.
"Waaah..." The baby was still crying slowly, his little mouth slightly open.
The old man turned to look at the baby, his red eyes gleaming with a red light that looked somewhat frightening in the dark night.
Under the red light, the baby's face was clearly visible: round, clear eyes, a small nose, a small mouth, and rosy cheeks with tear stains on its face.
"Alas!" The old man in red looked at the baby and finally sighed.
He then reached out from under his coat sleeve and, with extreme care and slowness, brushed across her tofu-like, tender face, gently wiping away the tear stains on the baby's face.
With that gentle touch, the baby stopped crying, curiously looking at the old man. Her tear stains were still wet, and she began to blow bubbles.
"Are you hungry?" Seeing the baby smile, the old man's lips curled up involuntarily. He raised the hand that had just wiped away the tears, and with a flick of his finger, a cherry-like fruit appeared at his fingertip. The old man gently placed the fruit to the baby's mouth. "Come on, open your little mouth and eat this spiritual fruit that I secretly brought down for you."
"Oh, oh," the baby stared at the old man with clear little eyes, stretched his little hand out from under the blanket, and cupped the red fruit in his hand. "Slurp, slurp!" he sucked, the bright red juice, with its clear warmth, gradually warming the child's helpless heart...
The old man looked at the little girl wrapped in red cloth, eating so happily. The sternness in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a rare gentleness. "This old man knew it. You little rascal, you probably figured out that I'm saving you."
The spiritual fruit had no pit and melted in the mouth. The baby quickly finished eating it. She waved her little hands, smacked her lips, and let out a burp. Then she pouted at the old man in red and blew bubbles. Finally, she grinned at the old man.
“Alas, your parents have good intentions. In order to protect the entire Tongling City, they had no choice but to resort to this tactic,” Firebird shook his head and sighed. “Alas! I really hope all of this will pass soon, so that the old man won’t have to be caught in the middle, not pleasing anyone.”
As if it understood what I was saying, the baby seemed very excited. Suddenly, it clenched its little fists, straightened its little body, and its pink face turned bright red.
A strange sight appeared: a small, hollowed-out red ball appeared on the baby's forehead, seemingly rolling slowly between the eyebrows.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
