"Ah, the door~ Ah, in front~ A grapevine~ Ah, tender~ Ah, tender green shoots just sprouting~ The snail carries its heavy shell~ One step at a time, it climbs~"
"Chirp~ Chirp~"
"Meow meow meow~"
Liang Shixian opened his eyes, somewhat dazed. An unfamiliar nursery rhyme drifted into his ears.
He was still a little groggy, and the voice singing the nursery rhyme sounded strangely familiar.
In a daze, he suddenly remembered what had happened earlier. He snapped fully awake, scrambled to his feet, and, without even taking in his surroundings, grabbed Ji Ruo and turned to run.
"Ji Ruo! How can you still be in the mood to sing? Run! That's a Wind God Falcon!"
In a daze, Liang Shixian caught sight of the enormous ice-sculpted food storehouse. The countless Monster Beast corpses inside made his scalp crawl.
"Oh, Class Monitor, you're awake?"
Ji Ruo was delighted at first, but before he could say anything, Liang Shixian forcibly dragged him away.
"Run, run!"
Ji Ruo: "?"
He glanced back at the three Wind God Falcons—one big and two small—and said sheepishly, "Sorry, Auntie. And you too, Dabao and Erbao. My class monitor still hasn't quite figured out what's going on. I'll go talk it over with him first."
Liang Shixian either hadn't heard him or was too shaken to register his words. He focused single-mindedly on dragging Ji Ruo away.
The Wind God Falcon watched the two of them grow smaller in the distance with interest, but made no attempt to stop them.
Ji Ruo was pretty good at looking after kids. And after spending this brief time with him, the Wind God Falcon had taken a liking to him, thanks to his Immersion Sense.
Besides, her Nest was built ten thousand meters in the sky. These two humans had no way to leave, so she wasn't worried in the least.
"Ahem, Class Monitor, listen to me. Things aren't quite how you think. We're perfectly safe right now," Ji Ruo said after choosing his words carefully. In truth, if he hadn't experienced the situation himself, he wouldn't have believed anyone who told him about it, either.
It was just too ridiculous.
"Safe, my ass! That Wind God Falcon is huge. It must be an adult already. We can't fight it! Hurry up and run! Any other time, you can mess around all you want, but not now!"
Liang Shixian ran for his life with all his might, not daring to look back. That single glimpse earlier had left him with enough of a psychological shadow.
"No, we're the Wind God Falcon's personal chefs and family tutors now. We're safe."
"What the hell are you talking about? You think you're playing house? Run faster!"
The Wind God Falcon's Nest was built ten thousand meters in the sky, its foundation a gigantic Floating Stone as large as an island.
At such a high altitude, the air was exceptionally thin. Liang Shixian hadn't run for long before he started feeling dizzy.
But his intense will to survive kept his legs moving.
The wind howled across the heights, and if you spoke too softly, you could barely hear a thing.
Ji Ruo: "..."
A moment later, Liang Shixian stood at the edge of the Nest in despair, staring at the sea of clouds ahead. All desire to flee had vanished.
Ji Ruo spread his hands. "See, Class Monitor? It's not that I don't want to run. We can't get away.
We can't fly, can we?"
Just then, the Wind God Falcon—still two and a half meters tall even after shrinking—flapped her wings and came over to them. "Chirp~ (Now that he's awake, let's start making food.)"
Liang Shixian braced himself for a fight. He almost snatched the saber and sword on Ji Ruo's back, ready to battle to the death.
Fortunately, Ji Ruo was quick enough to hold him back. Beaming, he said to the Wind God Falcon, "Don't worry, Auntie. You'll love our cooking."
"Chirp~ (All right, let's go.)"
Liang Shixian couldn't understand her. He stared blankly at Ji Ruo. "Ji, Ji Ruo, what's going on?"
"Didn't I tell you? We're perfectly safe. Why were you running?"
Ji Ruo followed the Wind God Falcon, jogging behind her. He looked back and waved to Liang Shixian. "Class Monitor, don't just stand there. It's time to eat."
Liang Shixian: "???"
"Auntie, let's start with these for now. Could you thaw them for us? Sorry for the trouble."
Ji Ruo picked out a Kui Ox comparable to a Martial Dao Third Realm expert from the "Freezer," then called Liang Shixian over to help choose "seasonings."
The two little Wind God Falcons followed Ji Ruo around, poking their heads this way and that. They were adorable.
The countless Spirit Plants and precious herbs left Liang Shixian dazzled. Their rich fragrance made him feel slightly intoxicated—he couldn't even recognize many of them!
Ji Ruo picked up a bright red fruit, cut off a small piece with his knife, and popped it into his mouth. His face immediately flushed red.
"Hiss~ Spicy, spicy, spicy! This thing is so hot!"
He panted heavily, then shoved the fruit into Liang Shixian's bewildered hands. "Class Monitor, hold on to this. We can use it as chili."
Perhaps Ji Ruo's exaggerated expression was too funny, or perhaps it was something else, but the two little Wind God Falcons beside him laughed so hard they toppled over. They had only just been born, and neither had quite found its footing.
Little Rosie imitated Ji Ruo. She found a cluster of Spirit Plants that looked like grapes, though the fruit had intricate patterns on its surface, and cautiously tried one.
"Wuh!"
Her whole body went rigid, and she collapsed on the spot.
Liang Shixian looked at the red fruit in his hand, then at the Wind God Falcon beating her wings to "thaw" the meat. His eyes were full of confusion.
He took a deep breath, plucked a fruit that looked like the grapes Rosie had just eaten, pinched off a tiny piece of its skin, and cautiously put it in his mouth.
The intense numbing sensation made Liang Shixian stiffen. Once he recovered and could move his tongue again, he said, "Ji Ruo, this is Numbing Pepper."
It was clear that Liang Shixian had settled into his role, too.
A short while later, Ji Ruo, Liang Shixian, a cat, and the two little Wind God Falcons had gathered enough substitute ingredients. They chopped them up and mixed them together to make seasoning.
Meanwhile, the Wind God Falcon had finished thawing the Kui Ox. At Ji Ruo's request, she used her exceptionally sharp wings to cut it into strips.
Then they gave it a simple marinade.
Once everything was ready, Ji Ruo's palms glowed red as he began grilling.
High-end ingredients were often prepared in the simplest way.
His Iron Sand Palm was getting closer and closer to the fourth stage, Pure Mastery. The heat was so intense that the air around him shimmered with it, and his palms glowed so red they were almost black.
No matter how powerful a Monster Beast was, one made of flesh and blood was still just that. And this Kui Ox had been dead for ages, then frozen by the Wind God Falcon for who knew how long. Ji Ruo barely had to exert himself before the strips of meat in his hands began to glisten with fat.
The tempting aroma spread through the air. Liang Shixian had said earlier that he was sick of eating meat, but Kui Ox meat was a cut above! And the Spirit Plants and precious herbs used as seasoning were a cut above, too!
He couldn't help drooling again.
The two little Wind God Falcons were much the same. They gazed at the grilled meat in Ji Ruo's hands, their mouths watering.
The Wind God Falcon said, "Chirp~ (Your mother wasn't lying, was she? It really is fragrant and delicious.)"
"Chirp~ Chirp~ (We want some!)"
Soon, Ji Ruo had grilled a strip of meat and handed it to the two little Wind God Falcons. He knew how to keep his priorities straight: feed the little ones first!
Rosie wanted it badly, but after glancing at the Wind God Falcon beside her, she forced herself to tamp down her longing.
Ji Ruo kept grilling. While he waited for the meat to cook, he finally asked the question that had been bothering him. "By the way, Auntie, earlier you mentioned some kind of 'ongoing cooperation.' Could you explain what you meant?"
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