Chapter 6 Talent
Ten days passed quickly, but Huang Pinjie's health was still not fully recovered. However, she did not want to delay. Her health had been declining since she left the Fire Fox Clan, and she wanted to get back to work while she was still able to.
When I can no longer work, I'll have plenty of time to recuperate.
Before setting off, Huang Pinjie got up in the middle of the night.
She grimaced as she tore off the cloth binding her wound, then directed Ji Er to soak her in a tub of fragrant rose juice. In pain, she transformed into a half-beast and laboriously applied a lot of spirit rice powder to her face and neck.
She then took a piece of red sandpaper and dyed her lips and eyebrows a bright red.
After finishing her makeup, Huang Pinjie instructed Ji Er to bring new strips of linen and medicine.
She calmly took the cloth and slowly wrapped it around the wound, her face expressionless, but her shoulders trembled with each wrap of cloth.
Ji Er covered her face with her wings, tears streaming down her face.
When Ji Rong and her brother Ji Zhuang were woken up by Ji Er, they were stunned to see the bright and beautiful Huang Pinjie. But Ji Rong felt that the fox aunt was not only extremely beautiful today, but also had a kind of fragile and broken beauty.
Ji Er led them toward Luohuang Ridge. Ji Rong then pushed past her dull-witted brother and came to Ji Er's side to ask Huang Pinjie why she was dressed like this today.
Huang Pinjie scoffed, "My fox clan is born beautiful. Today is your big day. If I don't dress up like this, how else can I dress up?"
Come on, give me a smile.
Upon hearing this, Ji Rong immediately opened her beak and stared straight at the sky, laughing "hahahaha".
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The queue for testing qualifications is very long.
Ji Rong looked up and saw that among the phoenixes lined up:
Some were dressed in five colors, like colorful clouds on the horizon;
Some have dazzling scales on their backs;
Some have long tail feathers, with the tips of the feathers swaying in the wind like eyes...
Even though Ji Rong had only been there a short time, she knew that these must be the new generation of elites from various phoenix families, each one more beautiful than the last.
Thus, Ji Er and Ji Zhuang in the team appear like gray specks on a colorful brocade.
When it was their turn, the two jet-black long-feathered birds began to wink at each other and kept glancing at Ji Er's back, almost sticking their heads up to him.
Ji Er flapped his wing on the large wutong wood used to inspect the jade tablet, and only then did the two reluctantly carve patterns and let them pass.
Ji Er led Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang forward.
In front of them stood a huge, old, and dilapidated archway, with a piece seemingly cut off by a sword. The four large stone pillars were riddled with holes and wounds of all sizes.
As Ji Rong followed Ji Er through the archway, she was afraid that the remaining half of the bricks on top would fall down.
After passing through the archway, Ji Rong was greeted by rows of old wooden houses with their roofs torn off and walls smashed down. Inside, broken pieces of wood, devoid of any spiritual energy, were scattered everywhere.
Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang looked around curiously, the occasional animal and bird patterns remaining in the corners were remnants of the place's former splendor.
After passing through three wooden houses, Ji Er led Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang to a wide, open plain full of holes. The ground was littered with unidentified gray-white bones and broken weapons.
Ji Er pointed to a small door under a massive, overhanging beam and said in a deep voice to Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang, "Go in through here. Ji Rong, remember not to make a sound."
Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang took the jade token from Ji Er and went inside.
The ruins highlighted the devastation of the land, weighing heavily on Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang's hearts. They wanted to cry out, but remembering their mother's words, they held back their words.
After handing over the jade token, we entered the inner room and saw a jade pillar that occasionally shone brightly in the middle of the square, with a long queue standing beside it.
Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang then joined the queue and waited for the test.
The jade pillar occasionally emitted a bright halo and emitted voices that indicated superior bloodline and excellent aptitude, causing occasional commotion in front of it.
The testing process was quick, and the results were neither good nor bad.
With excitement, Ji Rong stood under the jade pillar and dripped her blood onto it, but the jade pillar did not react at all.
Just as Ji Rong was about to drip blood again, looking completely bewildered, the old birds standing on either side of the jade pillar said expressionlessly, "No need to test anymore. You are a Rainbow Chicken, with inferior aptitude."
On the contrary, Ji Zhuang, who was unremarkable in appearance and looked as gray as Ji Er, actually inherited his father's trace of the Azure Phoenix bloodline. His bloodline advantage was manifested in his feet, making him a good prospect for a foot soldier.
Ji Zhuang had barely finished his measurement when an old bird, having heard the news, hurriedly flew over. He shouted to the other birds rushing towards him, "Let Wu Buyu take a look at this kid first."
Then, without waiting for Ji Zhuang's consent, he pulled Ji Zhuang to a corner and looked him up and down.
They chattered away in bird language for a long time, and finally, Wu Buyu nodded in satisfaction.
Wu Buyu took out a jade tablet and some spiritual materials from under his wing and gave them to Ji Zhuang. He told Ji Er to take good care of Ji Zhuang after returning home, and to bring Ji Zhuang to Wuhuang Ridge to formally become Wu Buyu's disciple when Ji Zhuang turned twelve.
Ji Zhuang has a promising future, but Ji Rong is ignored by everyone.
Not only did no good birds come up to inquire, but a gaudy-dressed yellow sparrow, who was obviously not a good bird, ran up and grabbed Ji Er's hand, saying, "Good sister, are you selling your little one?"
Just for that coat of fur, I'll definitely give you a satisfying amount of treasure.
Ji Er was furious at the bird's words. She shouted, "Who is your sister!" and then slapped the yellow sparrow so hard that it broke the corner of its eye.
The two birds were locked in a fierce battle, one fighting desperately while the other tried to protect its face, resulting in a hard-fought and evenly matched contest.
As the yellow sparrow left, it didn't forget to shout harsh words: "What is this thing? With such low-quality talent, do you think I care about it? No matter how good its feathers are, it's just a colorful chicken and will never achieve anything in its life!"
Even if you beg me later, I still won't take it!
Ji Er was furious, but the other party had already flown far away, so she had no choice but to give up.
She circled Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang with her wings and whispered, "Rong, little Rong, I'll take you around the testing area and see if anyone takes a liking to you."
But you are not allowed to speak.
You're not very gifted at talking, and I'm afraid a few more bad birds like you will come and kidnap you when I'm outnumbered. So you can only speak bird language like your brother."
Ji Rong agreed wholeheartedly and nodded obediently.
After that, Ji Er took Ji Rong to ask at each of the trees that attracted birds at the testing site.
Without exception, they all disliked Ji Rong's aptitude and were unwilling to accept her.
Ji Rong had never seen such a scene before.
Like Ji Er, she always believed that she was exceptionally talented.
She had secretly thought that even if she didn't revert to the bloodline of the True Phoenix, she should at least be a different species to match her identity in this second life.
The huge contrast left Ji Rong dejected; she looked listless and her fur stood on end, as if she were seriously ill.
After flying around and around, asking again and again, Ji Er had no choice but to accept the fact that Ji Rong didn't have any proper bird cultivation.
She flew up to a wutong tree facing Luoluo Phoenix Ridge with her two cubs, took out a bag of spirit grains from her feathers, and made the cubs squat down to eat.
Ji Zhuang ate with gusto. True to his name, he was simple-minded and did whatever his mother told him to do.
While eating, Ji Rong asked, "Mother, where did Aunt Fox go?"
Ji Er gazed absentmindedly into the distance and said, "He's off to do business."
Ji Rong thought so too, and then asked, "Mother, this Falling Phoenix Ridge is so dilapidated, why do we insist on coming here to test our aptitude? Why doesn't our Azure Phoenix Peak have a better testing array?"
Ji Er glared angrily at Ji Rong, who kept asking questions. She was still bothered by the old bird's words and wished he could peck at her to shut her up.
But then they remembered that they were outside, and that Ji Rong and Ji Zhuang needed to know the truth about this place in order to survive, so they resigned themselves to their fate and began to explain.
“Rong Zai Zi, Luohuang Ridge is currently the only place where we can test the aptitude of phoenixes; a long time ago, our Qingluan Peak naturally had a testing array, but it was shattered into dust by the Qingluan.”
"Well, there's a reason why Luohuang Ridge was left standing. Do you see that big, fallen tree up ahead?"
It depicts the scene in the early days of the primordial era where the Phoenix Clan Chief, Feng Nu, refused to submit to the Heavenly Palace and was beaten to death.
There was also a scene where the Heavenly Palace drove dozens of ice dragons to consume the Wind Maiden's essence day and night, freezing her body and soul, preventing her from achieving Nirvana, and then devouring her flesh and blood, causing her to completely dissipate.
If it weren't for the fact that the various celestial palaces hadn't seen the decline of the Phoenix genus in recent years and stopped sending envoys down to keep an eye on it, you would still have to go through each one individually to test their aptitude.
"Rong Zaizi, you need to understand that all the other testing arrays were destroyed, but this one was left intact. This is to let all Phoenixes know that the majesty of the gods is not to be trifled with."
"After the Wind Maiden, have no other birds rebelled?"
Ji Er was furious upon hearing this. She shouted, "You idiot! The Wind Maiden was the strongest among the Phoenixes back then. Even she was devoured. Which Phoenix in the Nine Provinces would dare to openly rebel?"
Seeing her mother about to go berserk, Ji Rong felt hopeless. She was of inferior talent, and even when Ji Er took her to offer her odd jobs, no one wanted her.
Although bird families with intelligent chicks are currently exempt from visa restrictions, the rules are ordained by God.
The gods in the sky have been feasting frequently lately, and messengers come to their territory from time to time to collect ingredients.
According to Aunt Fox, with the increase in banquets, Yaochi has created many new dishes. If they ever think of stewed bird with spirit mushrooms, then Ji Rong and her brother Ji Zhuang would be the most suitable ingredients.
Ji Rong thought in despair, "In my past life, I was a slave, and I died on the table."
This life will be even worse; if things continue like this, I might very well die on the spot.
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