The Rotten Egg

Night fell quickly in the mountain forest.

As soon as the sun set, darkness swept over everything.

Shen Hui and the others waited and waited. The last glow of sunset vanished into the night, but the female bird still had not returned.

The night wind picked up, bringing a chill to the woods.

They found a level patch of ground, built a fire, and sat down.

Patriarch Baoxue sat cross-legged on her willow-leaf flying sword, hovering half a foot above the ground. With a solemn expression, she taught Lu Huan and Hu Cheng to read and write.

Hu Cheng and Lu Huan each found a branch and began tracing characters in the dirt.

Shen Hui sat on a nearby boulder, watching them with no small regret.

Perhaps the commotion he had made burning the tree had been too great. The female bird might have seen it from afar and been too frightened to return.

At the thought, he sighed and took out the Poisonbird egg again.

He examined it from every angle and noticed a faint air of death about it.

Its once lustrous jade-green shell now looked dull. Up close, it even gave off a faint, unpleasant smell.

Shen Hui frowned, held it to his ear, and gave it a shake.

Slosh!

He could hear liquid moving inside. That was not right.

"Don't tell me it's gone bad?"

He muttered under his breath, then turned to Patriarch Baoxue.

"Patriarch, I think this egg's gone bad."

At his words, Baoxue floated over on her willow-leaf flying sword.

She leaned toward the egg, which stood taller than she did, and gave it an earnest sniff. Her delicate brows drew together.

Then she rose from the sword and tapped the shell twice.

Thud, thud.

The sound was dull, with no crisp ring