It was already late spring, and the willows inside and outside Chang'an were covered with a thick green. Under the long, narrow willow leaves were clusters of flower spikes that looked like pet eggs. When the white willow catkins danced lightly, the whole street could be seen with this beautiful scene that looked like snow in May.
A young boy dressed in coarse linen clothes ran past the courtyard wall carrying a cricket cage made of straw, adding a touch of vitality to the spring afternoon.
Through a courtyard wall, one can see the thick, lush green leaves, like a fog, with egg-sized fruits hidden beneath the branches and leaves, and upon closer inspection, a layer of fine, dense fuzz.
The wisteria blossoms, which bloom year-round, almost overflow from the small courtyard. Even the most skilled embroiderers in Chang'an could not weave such layers of purple in varying shades.
A figure dressed in red lay on a tree, his face covered by a bamboo scroll, one leg dangling halfway down in the air, exuding an air of "decadence".
Surprisingly, the figure was surrounded by birds of all sizes, including white tits, grey magpies, swallows, crows, pigeons, black doves, and even some birds rarely seen in Chang'an, such as white wagtails and cormorants, which stood quietly on the eaves, as if on a pilgrimage, without uttering a single bird call.
— Countless small, intelligent-looking black eyes stared at the inside and outside of the courtyard walls, giving people a strange sense of unease.
"Look, that roof is full of birds!"
"They must be a family that keeps birds. I heard from my mother that a lay Buddhist lives in this house and often sends fruits and snacks to Huasheng Temple."
The children seemed frightened by the flock of birds on the wall, but seeing that the birds did not harm them, they shifted their attention elsewhere.
"Look at my 'Majestic General'! My grandfather bought it for three large coins in the East Market yesterday. Its call is just like a bird's! Hahaha!"
"It's just a cricket, what's so fun about it? My mother gave me a few coins, let's pool our money and go to the tofu seller up ahead to buy some stinky tofu."
One of the children, with his hair tied in a topknot, made the suggestion, and after a moment's thought, the rest of his companions joined in:
"It must be Madam Yin who sells tofu! Her tofu is the best deal. It's fried until fragrant and crispy, and she's generous with the seasonings, even using dogwood for flavor. You can get a lot for just one coin—slurp..."
"Slurp..."
"Slurp..."
Perhaps it was the taste that reminded them of that flavor, because the whole alley was filled with the sound of people drooling – followed by a few light and hurried footsteps. The children only remembered how the tofu tasted, and even forgot to take the cricket cages on the ground with them.
"Squeak—squeak—"
The cricket in the grass cage started chirping, seemingly unwilling to be left out. The next second, a segmented arm appeared out of nowhere, picked up the cage, and stuffed the cricket into its mouth without hesitation.
The little girl wearing the five poisonous creatures bib is adorable, like a New Year's picture doll holding a fat carp. However, her expression as she squints and chews on a cricket reveals a hint of "inhumanity."
"Dai Zi?"
The red shadow on the tree stirred, rolled over somewhat helplessly, revealing a fair face:
With dark almond-shaped eyes and soft, delicate facial features, her peaceful brows and eyes subtly reveal a contradictory sharpness. The youthful innocence on her face has faded, giving her a quality that is somewhere between a young girl and someone in her prime. What is most striking are her black eyes. When you gaze at them quietly, you will find something else hidden in the blackness, like a gold veiled by a layer of black mist, revealing a sweet amber luster.
—This is Xu Milu's original form.
After a near-self-destructive period of seclusion and cultivation, Xu Milu finally shed her "little yellow chick" image and regained her human form. However, this brief two-week period was enough for the restaurant's customers to remember this "dark history" of hers.
"Dai Zi? Are you hungry?"
Xu Milu nimbly flipped over and landed on the ground. The birds on the eaves seemed afraid of disturbing her, and flapped their wings and flew away. For a moment, the whole alley was filled with the sound of birds flapping their wings.
"Madam Xu..."
Realizing she had been exposed, the wisteria flower fairy frowned in annoyance, still unable to swallow the struggling cricket in her mouth.
"How come I didn't know you had this hobby? Aren't you afraid of getting a stomachache from eating random things?"
Xu Milu pinched Dai Zi's cheek with a headache, trying to get the half-dead cricket out of her mouth, but the poor insect had already stopped moving.
"Ptooey!"
Dai Zi spat out the cricket, looked at the cricket in her hand, then at Xu Milu's serious face. After thinking for a long time, she somewhat ingratiatingly offered the cricket to Xu Milu:
"Would you like to try some, my lady? I've heard that birds love to eat insects!"
"No, thank you."
Xu Milu was deeply moved and declined the offer.
...
...
After her brief journey through the magical world, Xu Milu did not return to Earth directly, but chose to stay in the Journey to the West world.
The time difference between different planes made her feel somewhat disoriented and disconnected. One second it was snowing heavily and everyone was smiling and welcoming the new spring, and the next second it was the hottest part of summer, with cicadas outside the window clinging to the trees and howling desperately.
So, this is the reason why the host chose to take a vacation?
Xiaoqi seemed unable to understand Xu Milu's actions; in its eyes, the other party was becoming more and more like an unfathomable fog.
—The mechanical life in the Wandering Earth plane, the magical Xike County in the devastation zone, and the merits gained on Earth from curing cancer and reducing crime rates have yet to be harvested... not to mention the apocalyptic plane that Xu Milu has long forgotten.
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