Spirit Bird
Yunxiu took a step back.
No, she couldn't hold on. She could almost foresee that if she got any closer, she would end up like she did this morning.
She said goodbye to Yan Xiu in a panic and walked out the door.
Standing outside the bamboo gate, Yunxiu looked up.
The sun was shining brightly, and the senior sister was probably tending to the flowers and plants, or rolling around with today's lucky little one.
A soft and hazy white halo appeared around Yunxiu.
The light faded, and only a palm-sized long-tailed white skylark remained under the flower stand. Its body was snow-white, and its tail feathers were long, slender, and elegant, with a touch of black at the end.
The little fellow tilted his round head, his black eyes sparkling with excitement. He lowered his head and used his tender yellow beak to quickly comb through the fluffy feathers on his chest, making sure he was clean and pretty enough to meet his senior sister. Then, with a strong push of his small claws—
“Chiu!”
With a crisp, short chirp, the little bird soared into the sky like a streak of white light. It nimbly flew through the mountains, its clear destination clearly aimed at an exquisite courtyard surrounded by a shimmering peach orchard on the west side of the mountainside—that was Yingtang's residence.
It feels so freeing to be transformed into the original.
The wind blew through the feathers, and the view was wide. Yunxiu even turned several times nimbly in the air, leaving a graceful arc.
The feeling of boredom and depression that had been there since this morning was greatly relieved. Yunxiu took a deep breath of the fresh morning air on this land that she loved so much.
Soon, the familiar peach forest appeared below.
It is the flowering season, with pink clouds piling up and the fragrance is rich.
The little skylark swooped down skillfully, accurately passing through the branches and landing on the window frame of the carved wooden window in the courtyard.
The window was half open, and a faint, soothing aroma of herbs came from inside.
“Chirp! Chirp!”
Yunxiu banged on the window door and jumped, but couldn't reach the handle. He didn't try again, just huddled by the window, waiting for someone to come.
"Hmm?" A female voice sounded gentle but with a hint of surprise.
Soon, a beautiful and gentle face appeared in front of the window.
The woman, dressed in a moon-white dress and possessing a gentle demeanor, was Yingtang. She saw the silvery-white long-tailed tit perched on the window frame, its head tilted to one side, its black eyes sparkling as it stared at her. A gentle smile instantly spread across her eyes.
"Xiao You? Why did you change back to your original form and come here?"
Her voice was as soft as a feather. She stretched out her finger and tapped the little white bird's head.
"Did you make the senior brother angry?"
“Chirp! Chirp, chirp!”
The little white bird immediately followed the finger extended by the beautiful senior sister, jumped lightly, and landed directly in her palm.
Yunxiu was extremely confident in himself. He rubbed his little head affectionately against the beauty's warm palm, and even pecked her slender fingers lightly with his little beak, which tickled her.
Yunxiu knows best what senior sister likes.
If it was the same as this morning, Yunxiu should also be able to sense Senior Sister's emotions—
As expected, an extremely soft emotion, thick with pity and heartache, like warm spring water, enveloped Yunxiu's consciousness without hindrance. This feeling was completely different from the cold rejection from her senior brother, and it made her so comfortable that she couldn't help but rub against her senior sister's palm again, curling her body even more.
However, this hot spring stream quickly split into two parts, one became as hot as magma, and the other became as cold as falling into a cave.
Yunxiu couldn't help but be stunned and looked at her carefully.
"Alright, alright," Senior Sister said, but she didn't show it on her face. She gently stroked the smooth and soft feathers on the lark's back with her fingertips, her movements gentle.
"Tell me, Senior Sister, did you come here because you wanted to be lazy and not practice?"
Yunxiu frowned, and was so shocked by the strange feeling all over his body that he forgot to move.
No. If she could truly sense the thoughts and emotions of those close to her, then it would be fine if Yan Xiu was like this, but how could Senior Sister Yingtang possibly feel the same way?
This ability came out of nowhere, and the reactions of the people around him were also strange...
If we try again—Yunxiu remembered that Yanxiu's biggest reaction this morning was...
"Chirp! Chirp!" The little bird immediately raised its head, its dark eyes filled with accusations of "No way!" It flapped its wings, flew up from Yingtang's palm, and landed lightly on the desk beside it. A flash of white light surrounded it, and it instantly returned to its youthful appearance.
"Senior Sister!" As soon as Yunxiu landed, he immediately rushed over and hugged Yingtang's waist, burying his face in her bosom that was filled with the fragrance of herbs, and said in a muffled voice:
"I had a nightmare last night."
Almost instantly, the person holding Yunxiu stiffened, and almost instinctively, he anxiously pulled Yunxiu up, lifted her wrist, and took her pulse.
Even the emotional fluctuations that Yunxiu could feel turned into burning anxiety and worry.
Yunxiu looked at his senior sister steadily, letting her do what she wanted, but asked:
"Senior Sister, is there something wrong with having nightmares?"
"What nightmare did you have?" Yingtang didn't doubt it. He took her hand and sat beside her on the couch, then asked carefully, "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere else?"
"I dreamt of...crying."
Yingtang almost subconsciously pulled back the arm that Yunxiu was holding, took a small step back, and kept some distance.
Her face even turned slightly pale.
Yunxiu was stunned by his senior sister's sudden strong reaction and withdrawal, with his hand still hanging in the air.
That feeling... that dull heartache, it came back again. The surging, sharp, fearful, and despair that came from nowhere pierced Yunxiu's mind like a cold steel needle.
"Master... Senior Sister?" Yunxiu stared at Yingtang blankly.
"No. No, I can't do this."
Yunxiu watched Yingtang weep. However, Yingtang didn't even look at Yunxiu again. He only had time to quickly draw a restraining talisman and leave a message:
"Don't go down the mountain for the time being."
"Sister, wait! The martial arts competition at the end of the month..."
However, Yingtang didn't even wait for Yunxiu to finish speaking. He turned around and disappeared behind the screen.
Yunxiu stood there, watching Yingtang's hurried back as he turned and walked towards the inner room, feeling as if his heart was blocked by a ball of cold, damp cotton.
There was a huge, invisible net that tightly entangled her.
She lowered her head and looked at her empty palms, which seemed to still retain the warm touch of Yingtang's palm and... the thick and indissoluble fear.
She turned around silently, and instead of transforming into a bird as she did when she came, she walked out of Yingtang's courtyard slowly, step by step.
The sunlight shone on her through the gaps between the peach blossoms.
There was no one around, Yunxiu felt carefully, and the unknown emotion had indeed dissipated a lot.
What on earth was going on? When Yunxiu woke up, everyone in his sect had been possessed?
Or maybe something happened in the mountains last night, but Yunxiu knew nothing about it - when he woke up, he found that he had an inexplicable "mind-reading ability"?
But no matter what, the senior brothers and sisters would always explain the reasons to her. If it didn't work now, they would just keep pestering her for a while longer. One of them would eventually give in and a breakthrough would occur.
Yunxiu wasn't about to give up. She was determined to participate in the martial arts competition in the second half of the month. If the strange phenomenon persisted, she would sneak out, even if it meant disobeying her senior sister's orders—at worst, she could come back and apologize.
She wasn't too worried. On this mountain, no one didn't love Yunxiu. This was something Yunxiu had clearly understood since she had taken human form and gained consciousness.
The master was an old stone, cold and hard, always puffing and glaring, always making a lot of noise but doing little. He could never bring himself to be cruel to these younger generations.
Senior brothers and sisters...except for Senior Brother Yan Xiu, who is very similar to Master in temperament, the other two are Yun Xiu's dear brothers and sisters.
Speaking of which, it seemed Yunxiu hadn't seen Senior Brother Yuwei for a long time. After he was injured, he had been in seclusion in the back mountains for several years, and Senior Brother Yanxiu never allowed her to disturb him.
Really, I don't know why all the soft-hearted people on this mountain can't soften Yan Xiu, an outlier. Isn't he a creature born and raised by the Father God? Should he be as hard-hearted as the humans down there?
Yunxiu muttered as he walked towards the back mountain.
Master said that Senior Sister Yingtang was transformed from an unknown flower east of Yaoxi Mountain, so she's naturally close to all kinds of small animals. Senior Brother Yuwei is like a streamside grass, possessing an extremely tenacious vitality no matter where it lives. Yunxiu himself is a white sparrow, so it's natural for him to be naturally playful.
So what is Yan Xiu? If everyone has the habits of their original form, then Yan Xiu must be the spirit of the ice stone that has been frozen in the cold cave in the back mountain for three hundred years!
When Yunxiu solemnly told his master his reasoning, the master simply shook his head mysteriously.
"I don't know what he is made of."
How could this be? Even Master, who has lived for over a thousand years, didn't know about this. Could it be that Yan Xiu has lived longer than Master and is even more powerful?
"That must be an old turtle that has lived for tens of thousands of years." Yunxiu said, shaking his head.
The master laughed again, "He didn't transform into his original form, so no one knew what kind of creature he was. About a hundred years ago... he suddenly appeared in the back mountain, saying nothing and remembering nothing, so I picked him up."
"The back mountain...where? Is it the same place where Master found me?"
The old man with white beard frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly said: "It seems to be the same——"
The master in his memory pointed to the entrance of the cave in the back mountain, which coincided with the scene Yunxiu saw now.
“Senior Brother!”
A man covered in blood collapsed at the cave entrance, his dark green clothing completely obscured. His face was pale, his breathing was rapid, and he couldn't even sit up. It was none other than Senior Brother Yu Wei, whom Yunxiu hadn't seen in a long time.
She ran over like a flash to help Senior Brother Yu Wei up. His eyes were as pale as spring grass, and even his eyebrows were as soft as willows in March.
However, when he saw Yunxiu, his first reaction was to struggle desperately and push her away with all his strength.
Yunxiu's body was covered in blood, and she was overcome with shock and heartache. Yu Wei's eyes were red, completely devoid of his usual composure. He unleashed his inner strength and attacked her with a lethal move!
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