Chapter 41 He and Xie Pei had lunch, and then...
He and Xie Pei had lunch together, and placed the large bird next to the haystack in the kitchen, with a bowl of water in front of it so it could drink directly when thirsty.
The big bird was indeed thirsty; it buried its head in the bowl and pecked at it a few times, making a tinkling sound as it pecked at the bottom of the bowl.
Oh no! I was careless!
Zhu Mingyue stretched her head to take a look and saw several fine cracks on the bottom of the porcelain bowl.
"You damn bird, can you drink a little less!" Zhu Mingyue smacked it on the forehead, holding the bowl with a pained expression.
Xie Pei was washing dishes when he went inside to retrieve the medicine that Xie Pei had gotten from town a few days ago when Xie Pei's arm wound became infected.
He bought a lot, including anti-inflammatory and hemostatic powders, just in case Xie Pei gets injured again.
Although humans and birds are different species, this large bird, like Xie Pei, was scratched by thorns and has the same symptoms, so it should be usable as well.
The big bird had drunk its fill of water and was now sleeping with its head tucked into the thick feathers of its chest. Zhu Mingyue walked over, squatted down, and gently lifted its injured wing.
The large bird, disturbed, raised its head and stared at the culprit.
"What are you looking at? Go to sleep." Zhu Mingyue muttered, her hands moving non-stop as she wiped away the stains with a damp cloth and quickly poured medicine powder onto the wound.
The big bird seemed to understand that Zhu Mingyue was treating its wounds, and even raised its wings to make it easier for Zhu Mingyue to apply the medicine.
"The medicine is applied. Whether the injury heals or not depends on you." Zhu Mingyue put away the medicine bottle and clapped her hands.
Just as he was about to get up and leave, a fluffy bird's head rubbed against his hand a few times.
It feels nice to the touch, but it made a few messy little hairs stand up on my head from rubbing against it.
Zhu Mingyue: ...He admitted that he had been successfully pleased.
He smiled slightly, stroked the bird a few more times in that direction to smooth its feathers, then patted its head twice, his tone somewhat arrogant: "You've got good taste. I'll buy you meat tomorrow."
What kind of meat do birds usually eat? Zhu Mingyue pondered for a moment and indicated that he knew nothing about it.
However, he had heard of eagles catching chicks and rabbits, and judging from their size and ferocity, this creature probably ate similar species to eagles.
The next afternoon, Zhu Mingyue returned from town with a three-pound chicken.
The big bird, with its legs still bound, didn't struggle. When it saw it come in, it chirped a few times as a greeting.
After picking out about a pound of meat, I cut it into small pieces and put it in front of the big bird's beak: "Eat up! This is fresh meat."
The large bird tentatively picked up a piece of meat and swallowed it whole. It probably thought it tasted good, and its eating speed kept increasing.
Zhu Mingyue wasn't in a hurry to cook. He watched it eat, and in no time the meat was gone. The big bird rubbed its beak against its feathers. Although its face was expressionless, he could tell that it was still quite hungry.
A pound of meat is quite a lot; he calculated it as a portion for two meals, morning and evening, and yet he devoured it in just a few bites. How can this bird eat so much? Zhu Mingyue thought to herself.
He patted the little head, which was about the size of a walnut, and grinned: "Delicious, isn't it! In a few days, once your wings are healed, I'll release you so you can go up the mountain and catch whatever you want to eat!"
He had initially thought the bird was quite intelligent and even considered keeping it at home, but after seeing how much it ate, he was deeply afraid and realized he couldn't afford to keep it, so he decided to release it back into the wild as soon as possible.
Big Bird's physical condition was even better than he had imagined.
After feeding it for two more days, Zhu Mingyue, looking pained, brought a plate of raw rabbit meat to check on it and found that its condition had improved significantly. Its wings were strong and powerful, flapping loudly against the wall.
Zhu Mingyue was overjoyed at the sight and quickly called Xie Pei over, "The bird's wings should be healed, why don't we release it?"
If we don't let him go soon, his wallet will soon be overwhelmed. This bird eats so much, and it's even pickier than him. It won't eat rice or vegetables, it only eats raw meat.
Xie Pei had no objection and bent down to untie the restraints on the bird's feet.
The big bird stood up straight and paced back and forth in the yard. It then went inside the house, shaking its head left and right, just like it was patrolling its territory.
Zhu Mingyue and Xie Pei looked at each other, wondering what the bird was up to now. Its wings were all healed, so why hadn't it flown away? What happened to birds' yearning for freedom?
After a while, the big bird puffed out its chest and came out of the house, walking straight to Zhu Mingyue.
Staring at the basin in his hand: Hahaha!
"Oh!" Zhu Mingyue belatedly realized that this was a signal for him to put the meat down. "You eat it, and then you leave!"
After finishing the meat, the big bird rubbed its head against Zhu Mingyue's trouser leg, then turned its head to Xie Pei: "Caw caw?"
Xie Pei remained silent and took a step back.
The next second, the big bird suddenly sprang up its wings and rushed out of the Xie family's courtyard in the blink of an eye.
But it didn't leave immediately without looking back. Instead, it circled twice in the low sky, emitting a sharp hissing sound, before flying high into the sky and heading towards the mountains and forests.
Zhu Mingyue stood on tiptoe and watched the large bird leave until it was just a blurry black dot before she looked away.
His expression was indescribable: "What was it yelling about just now?"
Xie Pei raised an eyebrow, implying that you had already heard it.
"It hisses when it flies in the sky, so majestic, like a bird of prey! But when it's on the ground, it just quacks." A thought suddenly popped into Zhu Mingyue's mind: "You are... could it be that it was hatched and raised by a duck?"
Xie Pei was clearly not interested in the background of a large bird. "Maybe." He nodded and left, leaving Zhu Mingyue alone in the yard, staring blankly.
"My God!" Zhu Mingyue muttered to herself. A big bird that can mimic a duck's quack, it's simply...
It's absolutely wonderful!
He wouldn't have wanted to release it if it weren't for the exorbitant cost of keeping it.
Zhu Mingyue stayed in the yard for a while before going to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Xie Pei brought back two rabbits from hunting. One of them was eaten by a bird, leaving only the fatter one. Zhu Mingyue plans to make a cold-served rabbit dish.
It was hot, so Zhu Mingyue didn't want to cook rice. She made some dough, cut noodles, cooked them, rinsed them in cold water, heated some oil, and tossed them with cucumber strips. That made a simple version of cold noodles.
As the rich, fresh aroma wafted from the kitchen, Zhu Mingyue washed her hands and went to call Xie Pei for dinner.
He had just stepped out of the house when he heard a thud. Something fell from the air, grazing his face. His nose touched something cool and hard, and Zhu Mingyue immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He instinctively took a few steps back, grabbing the roof beam and muttering, "What the hell was that!"
quack!
Upon hearing the quacking of the ducks, Zhu Mingyue's eyes widened suddenly. Before she could look down to see what was on the ground, she looked up and ran a few steps toward the center of the yard, following the sound to the roof.
The large bird stood calmly on the eaves, preening the feathers on its chest with its beak.
"Xie Pei!" Zhu Mingyue's face showed an expression as if she had seen a ghost as she called out loudly for Xie Pei.
Xie Pei, carrying a stack of firewood, spotted the large bird before even entering the house and frowned: "Why are you back?"
"I don't know!" Zhu Mingyue exclaimed, her voice filled with disbelief. "Not only did it fly back on its own, but it also dropped something from a great height, almost killing me."
The big bird clearly didn't understand what falling objects from a height meant. All it knew was that it had avenged its previous defeat in the mountains and forests and had hunted the most delicious prey. So it flew back without stopping to feed this stingy little man who ate meat.
It proudly extended its right paw and pointed towards the prey on the ground.
Zhu Mingyue then remembered to look at the lump on the ground that had almost hit his face.
Suddenly everything went dark, and a large hand covered his eyes.
Xie Pei's deep voice came from beside him: "No need to look."
Xie Pei has always been steady and reliable. He said there was no need to look, and even if Zhu Mingyue was curious, she wouldn't insist on looking.
He closed his eyes and turned around, angrily accusing, "You bastard, you're repaying kindness with enmity!"
But the big bird raised its head even higher: "Caw caw! Caw caw caw!"
Zhu Mingyue stomped her foot angrily: "Xie Pei, look at it, isn't it so smug! You rascal!"
Xie Pei watched the entire obstacle course interaction between the man and the bird, and for a rare moment, he was stunned before helplessly explaining, "It's not bad. It's like it's offering you its prey."
"Huh?" Zhu Mingyue turned around, then quickly closed her eyes and turned her head back, remembering Xie Pei's words. "So what exactly did it carry?"
Xie Pei: ...
“Could it be…” Zhu Mingyue recalled that Xie Pei had mentioned the day he brought the bird back that the big bird had been injured in the wing by thorns while catching a snake, so could this be a snake? He tentatively asked.
Xie Pei remained speechless once again.
Zhu Mingyue took a deep breath.
"ah--"
So just now, he almost had a snake crawl on his face! No, Zhu Mingyue remembered the icy touch on her nose, and tremblingly raised her hand to touch it, but before she could even touch it, her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Xie Pei caught him from behind, patted his face, and said urgently, "Zhu Mingyue, wake up!"
Fortunately, he only fainted briefly for a few seconds and soon regained consciousness.
Is the snake still alive?
Xie Pei: "Close your eyes."
Zhu Mingyue obediently closed her eyes.
A dull thud was heard as something hit the ground, followed by Xie Pei's words: "He's dead now."
"Thank you!" Zhu Mingyue's smile was forced. Now that she's dead, it means she was still alive when the object fell on his face!
The large bird swooped down and landed, trying to bring its spoils back to Zhu Mingyue.
Xie Pei put the snake into a sack before it could.
The big bird could only pace around the sack. After a while, as if it had thought of something, it walked to Zhu Mingyue's side and cackled twice.
Zhu Mingyue now knew it meant well, but he was really not worthy of such a way of repaying kindness!
His legs are still shaking violently, and his body is still feeling weak.
He thought about it and felt incredibly embarrassed by his behavior. At least he hadn't fainted when he saw the snake on the mountain last time! Last time, he could at least salvage the situation, but how was he going to explain this time? Was he supposed to say he fainted because Xie Pei, not because of the snake? That seemed ridiculous.
He gritted his teeth and rubbed the bird's head hard, turning the bird's glossy feathers into a messy, chicken-nest-like mess to vent his anger.
He then glanced at Xie Pei out of the corner of his eye and asked cautiously, "Would you believe me if I said I'm not actually that afraid of snakes?"
Xie Pei: "Yes, I know."
He knew? He knew! Even Zhu Mingyue herself didn't want to believe it, but Xie Pei was willing to believe it. He was almost moved to tears.
My God! Xie Pei is absolutely the most innocent angel in the world!
Xie Pei had no idea what kind of inexplicable mental activity Zhu Mingyue was going through again. He carried the sack containing the snakes into the house.
After he left, Zhu Mingyue rubbed the tears in her eyes, her expression suddenly changed, and she grabbed the bird's head and whispered fiercely in its ear, "Don't you dare throw snakes on my head again."
The big bird retorted: "Caw caw!"
Zhu Mingyue: "Stop babbling! I know you can understand me! If there's a next time, I'll never talk to you again!"
Big Bird: ...
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Author's Note: Big Bird: Human! (Excitedly spins and jumps, pushing the snake in front of Zhu Mingyue, feigning shyness) This is a snake! It's especially delicious!
Zhu Mingyue: It's just a small snake, nothing to be afraid of! (Shaking her leg wildly, Chaojue asks casually) By the way, Xie Pei, is the snake dead?
Xie Pei: I can't do something like deceiving my sister-in-law, but I can decide who dies!
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