Chapter 93: Returning home, the Hundred Birds are overwhelmed with protectiveness towards the Phoenix...

The first year of the spiritual recovery, the evening of September 21st, Penglai.

After a simple dinner, Ning Changkong and Bai Xian sent the four students back to the academy.

Under the artificial night sky of Penglai, they chatted about trivial matters, their shadows stretched out in the light of the street lamps.

The infrastructure in Taoyuan area is among the best in the whole Penglai. Most streets are paved with cables and equipped with street lights.

Gu Minghui, who is relatively familiar with the situation, sighed: "In the past, it was difficult to hire professional technicians to come to Penglai for repairs, so when a lamp broke, it couldn't be repaired in time. Someone took the initiative to suggest that a glowing spell could be engraved on the lampshade for temporary use... Over time, it became a tradition."

The luminous spell cannot control the color very accurately, so the street lamps lit by the spell emit different colors of light, some are faint blue, and some are warm yellow. Intertwined with the white light of ordinary street lamps, it forms a unique night scene.

Ning Changkong and Bai Xian hadn't been here for a while, and several students enthusiastically introduced them to the new changes around them.

It said that the last light bulb on a certain street finally broke down, and all the lights on that street became decorations; it said that several broken lights even had their luminous runes broken under the impact of the revival of spiritual energy, and the colors were different after they were lit up again with luminous runes.

The conversations and laughter along the way gradually dissipated in the evening breeze.

Su Yunyao found an opportunity, sneaked up to Ning Changkong, and spoke hesitantly: "Teacher, I..."

"Practice well, there will be work for you to do in the future." Ning Changkong's words were concise and meaningful.

The tip of the little fox's tail twitched twice.

The gate of the academy was right in front of him. Ning Changkong was a little distracted and seemed to want to say something else: "And..."

"——Take good care of the three of them, don't worry." Su Yunyao took over the conversation jokingly.

Ning Changkong smiled, patted her shoulder gently, and finally decided not to remind her about Phoenix anymore.

"Okay, let's all go to bed early."

"Can we come to Jinwuyuan again next weekend?"

"Of course, remember to tell me in advance."

"Let's go. Bye."

"See you later."

“See you this weekend!”

"Well, see you this weekend."

Phoenix stood at the door with a smile, patiently watching them walk into the school, looking back every few steps, until their figures disappeared from each other's sight.

Su Yunyao turned her head and slowly exhaled. She could probably guess what Feng Huang would be busy with next.

The sudden loss of the Phoenix was undoubtedly a huge shock to the Hundred Birds Clan, and even the entire demon clan.

After the Phoenix returns, there will definitely be a lot of work to do.

He had to calm the demon tribe's hearts and minds, and follow up on previous work... Taking half a day to accompany the four of them was already the greatest kindness he could give.

What Su Yunyao was most worried about was the point that Ning Changkong had been avoiding answering this afternoon: How serious was his injury?

At the same time, she also knew that even if there was something wrong with Phoenix's body, she probably couldn't tell them.

The young phoenix has a huge influence on the demon clan and even the entire Eastern cultivation world. Although the phoenix was seriously injured in a battle with an ancient evil spirit in the demiplane, it was ultimately caused by a human cult in the human world.

If the phoenix really suffered irreversible damage because of helping humans, it would have a very negative impact on the relationship between humans and monsters.

I hope nothing happened. Su Yunyao sighed and turned to walk towards the dormitory building.

Outside the door, Ning Changkong watched them go away, and began to feel a headache about the huge and shabby stall he had left.

Bai Xian called him several times before he woke up from his thoughts and realized that his arm was tightly held by Bai Xian.

"What are you thinking about?" Bai Xian complained, but it was obvious that he had not had the chance to say a few words to Ning Changkong the whole afternoon, and he was still happy to finally see the guest off.

He gently pushed Ning Changkong, speaking in a relaxed tone:

"Let's go home."

The first year of the resurrection of spiritual energy, on the evening of September 21st, Penglai, Yuxiang, Linghuang Prefecture.

The chaotic Linghuang Mansion was similar to when Ning Changkong had just returned half a year ago.

"The young master is back!"

"Young Master, are you really okay? Is your injury healed?"

"Young Master..."

The young master of the Hundred Birds tribe was surrounded by his tribesmen. He washed off the dust from the journey, changed into clean pajamas, and was immediately pushed down on the bed by the overly nervous tribesmen.

"I'm really fine, I just came back to take a nap—" Ning Changkong said softly, trying to comfort them. However, since he always returned to Linghuang Mansion because he needed to recuperate, the bird demons here had long been accustomed to treating him as a fragile being that needed special care.

Moreover, Lord Qingniao had personally brought them the news that he was seriously injured and needed to be recuperated in seclusion. This undoubtedly made them more certain: their young master was now like a piece of broken and glued together porcelain, and he needed their utmost care and concern to protect him.

The more Phoenix emphasized that he was fine, the more worried the bird monsters became, and the more they wanted him to lie down and rest.

Ning Changkong was at a loss. In the midst of all the chaos, he became the person with nothing to do.

He could only sit on the bed and comfort every tearful bird fairy that passed by his bed, or touch their head or gently touch their ear feathers.

Seeing other monsters excited by the personal comfort of the Lord of Birds, Ning Changkong's mood also improved.

Bai Xian angrily drove away the servants who were lingering in front of the bed in order to get touched again, gave a warning glance at the other bird monsters who were having the same idea and were ready to make a move, and then sat down next to Ning Changkong's bed.

Ning Changkong maliciously wanted to touch Bai Xian's head like he did to other members of the tribe, but his hand was slapped away before it touched Bai Xian's body.

Bai Xian grabbed his wrist and gently pulled it towards him twice: "Behave yourself and let Qing Geng see it."

He ran to Jiuli again, and then returned to Jinwu Garden to coax people.

Although his body did not feel tired, Ning Changkong felt that his emotional energy had been exhausted.

He leaned obediently on the bed, letting Qing Geng feel his pulse, while his mind wandered, his mind was full of random thoughts about which was softer, the bed in Linghuang Mansion or the bed in Phoenix.

He was not too worried about the pulse. Chu Qingge's skill in faking pulse had already reached a high level.

Qing Geng put away the pulse pillow and looked relaxed: "The pulse is still a little chaotic, but overall the situation is good. The previous injuries should have healed almost completely."

Ning Changkong slightly widened his eyes: "Where's the vitality? I deliberately showed that I was full of vitality. Why didn't you mention this at all?"

He couldn't help but ask, "Can I go back to work tomorrow?"

No, I really need to change the demon tribe's ideological education materials. Education must start from childhood.

"No." Qing Geng began to write the prescription without even raising his eyelids. "You have just recovered from a serious injury, so you still have to take good care of yourself."

How could this demon lie to Pulse with his eyes open just to let him rest? Huh?

I was just seriously injured and disappeared for a week. Could it cause such a big psychological shadow on them?

Ning Changkong opened his mouth, turned his head and looked around at the bird monsters in the bedroom who were ready to make a move. He finally became convinced that if he made any movement tomorrow, he would probably be immediately caught up and carried back to the bed by the bird monsters.

The last person he could ask for help from was——He turned to look at Bai Xian.

Bai Xian had already spread out his own bedding on the outside of the bed. He pulled the quilt on Ning Changkong and said, "Go to bed early."

Then he pushed the Phoenix wrapped in the quilt into the bed, climbed onto the bed swiftly, and lay on the outside.

The bird monsters that had gathered in front of the bed soon left. Bai Xian's fingertips shone, and the lights in the bedroom dimmed.

The man and the bird demon were squeezed onto the same bed again.

Ning Changkong was lying on his back on the bed, thinking about when he should start pretending to sleep, and what he should tell Phoenix before canceling the consciousness link.

The light and shadow in front of his eyes suddenly changed, his head was gently lifted up by Bai Xian, and something slipped into his collar.

Ning Changkong subconsciously rubbed the thing with his hand. After rubbing it for a long time, he realized that he had no feeling.

"Keep it." Bai Xian muttered, "Don't give it to anyone else."

It's the longevity lock.

Ning Changkong imagined the possible cold touch and slowly withdrew his hand.

By the way, Bai Xian hasn’t lied yet…he hasn’t explained it clearly yet.

Ning Changkong pulled the quilt tighter, turned over, and lay on his side, cuddling a few times towards Bai Xian, getting closer to him. "I'm fine." His tone was almost coquettish.

Bai Xian smoothed his hair and asked with concern and seriousness: "What happened?"

Be it being taken away by the bluebird to recuperate or attaining nirvana, this excuse may have fooled others but not Bai Xian.

Ning Changkong hesitated in his heart. Could he confess to Bai Xian that he had taken Phoenix's heart out? He quickly rejected this idea.

Although Bai Xian knew that Ning Changkong had taken Feng Qingwu's heart and thus obtained the power of the phoenix, he was not clear about the relationship between Phoenix, Ning Changkong and Feng Qingwu. Not only was it complicated to explain, it might also bring more questions and worries.

"Well, do you remember the time when Boss Jiang was assassinated?" Ning Changkong organized his words, "Chi You is the god of weapons. He has many similar long-range spiritual weapons."

Bai Xian asked softly, with a hint of solemnity in his tone: "Is it mixed with evil spirits?"

"Yes, that's right. I was hit by that weapon several times." Ning Changkong followed suit and confirmed Bai Xian's guess. "Qingniao helped me clear the evil spirit. It's that simple - the same way she helped Boss Jiang."

Thank God, Bai Xian didn't know exactly how Chu Qingge and Ning Changkong treated Jiang Yunxiao at that time.

"So he was really injured?" Bai Xian asked.

"Um."

Bai Xian asked carefully, "Does it hurt?"

Ning Changkong laughed and did not directly answer Bai Xian's question. Instead, he allowed Bai Xian, who was overwhelmed with protectiveness, to turn his arms into wings and gently cover him, literally protecting him under his wings.

Ning Changkong jokingly said: "This is too exaggerated."

Still, he couldn't help imagining what it would feel like to be covered in white feathers.

"You scared me to death." Bai Xian let out a long breath, as if only by confirming Ning Changkong's safety in this most direct way and feeling the real existence of the Phoenix, could he truly relax.

"I'm glad you're okay." He murmured, "This is such a big thing, you should take a good rest for a while."

The person is held tightly in his arms, so nothing should happen again, right?

Ning Changkong laughed and asked casually, "How long is your period of time?"

Bai Xian even thought about it seriously before saying, "A few months, maybe just rest comfortably until the New Year."

The monsters really have no concept of time, especially Bai Xian, a thousand-year-old monster who can sleep for ten years. Ning Changkong couldn't help but laugh.

He curled up in his quilt and asked curiously, "What customs do the demons have during the New Year? Do they set off fireworks? Do they have a New Year's Eve dinner?"

"There are plenty of fun things." Bai Xian answered cheerfully, his voice revealing tolerance and indulgence. "Even if there are none, you can have whatever you like."

Ning Changkong was amused by Bai Xian's words: "Why do you treat me like a child?"

"You're just a kid." Bai Xian patted him with his wings twice. "You can act like an adult in front of outsiders, but you'll always be a kid in front of me."

Bai Xian snorted softly and stretched out his tone: "Now I think it's best if you live a happy life."

**

Ning Changkong muttered in his heart: "Does this count as a lie? This..."

In his mind, Phoenix took the initiative and said, "I think so."

Ning Changkong's phone went offline for a while, and Chu Qingge calmly interrupted: "You are on the wrong channel. The one just now was not the channel for communicating with me."

Even though it was obvious that she could hear it.

"Isn't this body too crowded?" Ning Changkong complained, "We're all chatting with our minds, and I can't figure out how to make sure you can hear me and he can't..."

After experiments, it was found that the body of the Phoenix could accommodate both Ning Changkong and Phoenix. However, Phoenix always maintained a very cooperative silence, causing Ning Changkong to occasionally forget that there was an artificial idiot acting as a dash cam.

Perhaps it's time to start confirming Phoenix's work with the Evernight Society and the demons. Ning Changkong perked up, but before he could even open his mouth, Phoenix took the initiative to report:

"The dragon killed its master. My mission is to kill the dragon."

A sentence without a beginning or an end, yet it has endless room for interpretation.

Ning Changkong asked in his heart: "Did Baril order you to kill Gu Minghui?"

"Yes." Phoenix paused, then repeated, "The dragon killed the master, and I will kill the dragon."

The space for interpretation has narrowed, pointing to a worrying possibility.

"...Did Feng Qingwu order you to kill Yinglong?"

"No," Phoenix seemed to be trying to sort out his thoughts, "Master... correction, Feng Qingwu, requires me not to hurt him."

It was another case of confusion caused by brainwashing. Ning Changkong sighed and was about to order this artificial idiot to start self-examination.

Phoenix was already familiar with the procedure and quickly completed the self-inspection and reported:

"Confirmed, the mission to destroy individual 'Yinglong' was restarted and prioritized by individual 'Baril'."

"The original task that was copied was deleted by the previous owner, individual 'Feng Qingwu', using the highest authority."

Ning Changkong calmed down and said, "Check the mission to destroy the individual 'Yinglong'."

Phoenix paused for a moment, as if conducting a deep data search, and then his voice sounded again, with a hint of mechanical calmness:

"Confirmed... Successfully located in the records, reason for issuing the destruction mission for the individual 'Yinglong':"

"Individual 'Yinglong' was marked as the direct cause of the death of its owner - or rather, individual 'Feng Qingwu'."