County Town Chapter 42: Fiery Life

  The sparrow's body is a deep red color, with a slightly paler belly, round head and pointed beak. It's about the same size as a human finger, with very fine feathers like down, looking very cute. The little red sparrow stepped on Yitian Xing's solid chest with its tiny feet, its fluffy wings stuck to its sides, twisting its neck around like a child, looking around in all directions.

  Several small green insects that were previously full of energy lay on Yitian Xing's body, seemingly stunned by the lovely bird, not daring to move, but constantly spitting out green juice to resist the faint fire naturally emitted from Yitian Xing's body.

  The little sparrow was walking on Yitian's chest, and the small green insects began to tremble with fear. The little sparrow's bright eyes turned around, and then it noticed that there were several insects under its feet. It stretched out its neck to peck at them in a childish manner. Its movements were clumsy, but strangely, the small green insects, which were extremely ferocious, seemed to be terrified to the extreme, as if they were willing to accept death.

  Just like a chick pecking at grain, the young Vermilion Bird clumsily lowered its head and picked up a small green insect in one bite, seemingly not caring about the corrosive liquid on the small green insect's body. With a low hum, it swallowed it whole. The remaining small green insects seemed to have met their nemesis and didn't dare escape, waiting to be slowly eaten by the young Vermilion Bird one by one... The moonlight outside cast onto Yi Tianxing's chest, and this scene of eating insects was made even more eerie and hauntingly beautiful by the faint moonlight.

  The little sparrow finished eating the few wasps, and seemed to still have some unfinished business. It spread its two small feet apart with difficulty, lowered its body with effort, and aligned the tip of its beak with the green liquid on Yitian Xing's body. With a chirp, it sucked it all in like a popsicle, into its not-too-large belly. Only then did it seem somewhat satisfied, letting out two soft, clear calls. Then, using its beak to preen the downy feathers on its wings, it snuggled back onto Yitian Xing's chest and fell asleep.

  ………………………………………

  Yitian Xing had a dream, in which he was wearing golden armor and standing on a colorful auspicious cloud, speaking a language he couldn't understand, and recklessly killing monsters among a group of demons - this should be the first dream he had since birth. In the dream, he felt a vague sense of fear, and suddenly woke up with a start, only to find his body covered in cold sweat, and then was shocked to discover that there was a fluffy thing on his chest!

  He was so frightened that he sat up with a start, and the movement startled his roommate from Jiangsu awake. The roommate asked drowsily: "What's wrong?"

  Yitian stared at the little red bird that had fallen onto his thigh and subconsciously replied, "Nothing, I'm going to the bathroom."

  He brought the little red bird into the bathroom with a nervous heart, carefully examining this little guy who came from nowhere. He found that the little red bird was really cute, and Yi Tianxing couldn't help but smile as he gently teased the little guy's beak with his fingers.

  The little red bird had been awake for some time, blinking its sparkling eyes at him.

  The little red bird looked at Yitian Xing's face, suddenly rubbed its round head against Yitian Xing's chest, making a series of soft chirping sounds, the voice was very small, but it was exceptionally clear and crisp, showing great affection.

  Yi Tian Xing was tickled by the little red bird's fluff, and looking at its intimate expression, for some reason, a feeling of affection arose in his chest. He gently placed the little guy on his palm and asked softly: "Ah, you won't be another lost soul, will you?"

  He was playing with himself, but Yi Tianxing subconsciously discovered that his chest was a bit different from usual. He stared at it and was shocked to find that the crimson mark on his chest had suddenly disappeared. This mark was still generated when he first awakened to the Tao in the small pond of the county town, who knew it would suddenly disappear now!

  Yi Tian Xing thought for half a day, suddenly his heart moved and he lifted his head, looking at the small red bird on his palm, and said in a low voice: "Hey, brother, you won't be my child, will you?"

  Although Yi Tianxing insisted that he was not a mother bird, he had no choice but to take on the responsibility of raising the little red bird. After his efforts, he discovered a major problem - the little red bird's body temperature was extremely high, and even if water was poured on it, it would immediately evaporate and produce white smoke. This made it impossible to keep it in the dormitory for feeding, or else how could he explain it to his classmates if they got scalded?

  Yitian Xing had no choice but to deceive everyone and secretly raise this little bird that he "gave birth" to.

  At night, it was easier to handle. Yitian Xing quietly made a metal nest on the big tree outside the dormitory and put the little red bird in it. Before leaving, he reminded him not to fall off and other nonsense. The little red bird seemed to be quite reasonable and didn't fall off. However, from that day on, the paulownia tree outside the window gradually showed signs of aging, its leaves turning yellow at the end of summer, and its branches becoming dry. Yitian Xing apologized to the big tree outside the window every day. Fortunately, since the little red bird occupied the big tree outside the window, mosquitoes and other things also disappeared from the old sixth dormitory, which greatly improved the living environment for male students.

  It's not okay to do it in the daytime, but it's easy at night. Yi Tian Xing deeply understands that nowadays universities are breeding grounds for a group of hungry male students all day long. If these guys find a bird that can't fly, they'll definitely have green eyes and drool as they climb up the tree. So every morning, Yi Tian Xing pretends to exercise while listening to VOA, and then he takes down the little red bird and puts it in his aluminum lunchbox.

  The lunchbox was occupied, directly leading to the change in Yitian's eating habits. The aluminum lunch box that was originally used for packing rice and dishes now contained Little Red Bird every day, so he could only eat steamed buns with pickled vegetables or bread with meat floss, then hurriedly leave the cafeteria with the hot aluminum box tucked under his arm.

  He was afraid of being discovered by his classmates, so he always carried the aluminum box with him. The high temperature of the aluminum box slowly penetrated through the thick canvas backpack and reached his waist and abdomen, just like carrying a scorching hot yam with him.

  Ke Yi Tian Xing has no other way, even when attending classes, it is also carried with.

  Unexpectedly, he stayed in the classroom. The originally spacious and cool classroom slowly rose in temperature. The teacher lecturing on stage and the classmates listening attentively or dozing off below all felt that at this late summer time, it was as hot as the hottest days of summer, unbearably sweltering, as if someone was desperately turning up the heater inside.

  Everyone's forehead was sweating and dripping down, shouting hot, the teacher felt strange but couldn't help it.

  Yitian secretly scolded himself and made a ghostly face, then slipped out of the classroom from the back door.

  As he walked away, the classroom suddenly became cool and refreshing, leaving behind a group of students who were amazed and exclaimed: "The Mini El Nino Phenomenon".

  ………………………………

  Yitian Xing was puzzled about what the little red bird ate, so he often climbed to the top of the big tree in school at midnight to catch those insects and brought the disgusting white flowered fat worms to the beak of the little red bird. To his surprise, the little guy twisted his neck and proudly showed his disgust for this food.

  Yi Tian Xing once again used his lightning-fast fingers to pinch a small dish of flies in mid-air, but before anyone knew it, the little red bird chirped a few times and spat out a thread of flame from its beak, burning them into ashes.

  "You little guy is quite picky and loves cleanliness, huh……" Yi Tianxing didn't know that this little guy had swallowed several green-headed flies on the first day it was born, thinking it had a clean habit. Scratching his head in confusion, he thought for a long time before finally coming up with: "This little chicken-like thing, its whole body is bright red, I'm afraid it loves to eat brightly colored things?"

  Fortunately, Pengfei Gongmao gave "Yidong" a card, and after Yuan Ye put in 100,000 yuan, Yitian Xing no longer had to worry about money. He ran to the vegetable stall next to the business school opposite the east gate, picked out some beautiful fruits and vegetables, and bought a big pile of them, including bright red tomatoes, green cucumbers, purple grapes, and the province's specialty - red tangerines that looked like fire... Then, he sneaked away with an aluminum box to the dark corner of the playground, piling these melons in front of a confused little robin.

  Who knows Little Red Bird still turns up her nose at these melons and fruits.

  Yitian sighed and gently tapped the small red bird's beak with his finger, saying irritably: "Little ancestor, you have to eat something, don't you?"

  Who would have thought that as soon as he spoke, the little red bird came to life, flapping its downy wings, wanting to fly but unable to take off, just like a young chick with a deep filial piety, and plunged headfirst into Yi Tianxing's arms.

  Yitian was startled, but found that the little guy had already fallen asleep quietly in his arms. He thought about how the little red bird had been affectionate with him these days and couldn't help but think of something, feeling a bit afraid as he whispered: "Hey, little guy, you can't want milk, I don't have that kind of equipment on my chest."

  Looking at the little red bird's entirely crimson plumage, looking at its tranquil and self-satisfied expression, Yi Tianxing felt a warmth in his heart. He carefully looked around to see if anyone else was passing by, then held the little red bird in his arms, gently swaying it back and forth as if coaxing a child, muttering: "Good baby, go to sleep, coo coo coo..."

  The scene in front of me was still touching, but the last few words proved that Yi Tianhang's classmate was ignorant and inexperienced. His tone when teasing Xiao Zhuque sounded like he was teasing a little chick.

  The arduous bird-feeding work had entered its second week, and after being remembered for dozens of times skipping class, another headache-inducing thing happened to Yi Tianxing.

  He has a fever.

  It's just a small thing like that. But for Yi Tianxing, who has never been sick since childhood, it's a rare big deal. He lay in bed feeling dizzy and the high temperature on his forehead, on the one hand feeling refreshed, on the other hand also a little scared. After his dormitory classmates brought him porridge, they went to self-study, leaving only him lying in bed staring at the night outside the window.

  Yitian Xing looked out the window at the phoenix tree, chirping a few times. Before long, the little red bird in the tree seemed to have heard it and also chirped back a few times.

  This is what they call "dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes", the son of a mouse will dig holes. The importance of early education is evident at this moment - Yi Tianxing, who only knew how to learn chicken calls, finally cultivated his own precious Zhuque divine bird into a guy who can only cluck.

  Yitian didn't think at this time that he was an incompetent parent, but seeing the little red bird perched on the tree made him a bit happy. He suddenly thought of his strange high fever, furrowed his brow, and muttered to the little guy on the big tree outside the window: "Could it be you who caused this?"

  "Cuckoo..."

  "Isn't it you? You're always like a high-powered electric heater, and I'm holding you like this, it's hard not to get a fever!"

  "Cuckoo... cuckoo..."

  "You say I'm useless? Hmph, your dad can play with fire too." Yi Tianxing's playful heart was in full swing, and with a flick of his middle finger, a small spark slowly floated out the window and landed accurately into the nest of the little red bird in the tree leaves. He had played with the little red bird on the playground at night a few times, so he knew that this little guy was born not to be afraid of fire, and wouldn't worry about turning the Vermilion Bird into New Orleans-style roasted chicken wings - it was just a joke.

  "Cuckoo... cuckoo..."

  "Hahaha...ouch, I'm doomed."

  Watching a string of fireballs from the window high trees over here, high fever dizzy Yi Tianxing from bed flipped up, action quick as a rabbit-like to book desk pounce.

  On his desk, the textbooks were burning fiercely.

  Yi Tian Xing's speed was astonishing, his palms clapped rapidly, and in an instant, he transformed into over a dozen illusory shadows. The palm wind was so powerful that it was like a fire extinguisher, and the flames were put out in no time. He looked at his blackened hands, chuckled awkwardly, and cursed towards the window: "You little white-eyed rascal, you're so heartless, playing a prank is one thing, but did you have to spit fire into my house?"

  The little red bird in the big tree outside the old six-room window seems quite pleased with itself.

  "Cuckoo... cuckoo..."

  …………………………………

  That night, Yi Tianxing fell asleep amidst the soft whispers and "dangerous teasing" with Little Red Bird. The next day when he woke up, upon taking his temperature, he found that his high fever had not subsided, but his head was even more dizzy. He couldn't help but feel puzzled, thinking to himself that on that day in Huiyuan Temple when he fought against Tian Jiao with magic, the temperature of his body was probably several thousand degrees, yet he didn't feel any discomfort. Why did the mercury column on the thermometer only rise by a few degrees, and he felt so miserable?

  His doubts remained unresolved, and he finally gave up and went to the school hospital for treatment.

  He walked down from the old dormitory building, and quietly made his way to the window of his own dormitory, where a big tree stood. He softly called out twice, and the little red bird on the tree responded with a chirp. He looked around cautiously, making sure no one was watching, then took out an aluminum lunch box from his backpack and placed it in a specific spot under the tree. Next, he made a fist and knocked on the trunk of the tree.

  A burst of sound.

  The big tree shook twice and then a cluster of crimson things fell down.

  Yi Tian Xing had practiced this move many times, and the little red bird fell straight into the aluminum lunch box. Yi Tian Xing covered it with a lid, stuffed it into his backpack, and headed to the school infirmary.