Chapter 28

Ye Zhenzhen felt a violent impact, and the world before her spun upside down.

They had been flying so fast that the collision sent the Azure Luan's wings into violent spasms. It twisted desperately, lost its balance, and nearly flung Ye Zhenzhen out of the basket on Ye Qinghui's back.

What was that? How dare it attack us?

Before she could finish, Ye Qinghui reacted in a flash and seized the unknown creature by its long neck. A strange bird, blue-green tinged with red, with one eye and one wing, appeared before them.

The strange bird shrank back, staring at them with its eye wide.

It's so ugly. What on earth is that thing? Ye Zhenzhen was stunned.

She couldn't help sniffing the air, taking in the scent wafting toward her. It smells so good. Why does it smell like roast duck?

"It's a Manman Bird—the legendary Conjoined-Wing Bird." Ye Qingyao's eyes lit up as she leaned closer. "I've seen them in storybooks. They have only one eye and one wing. Males have a left eye and left wing, while females have a right eye and right wing. They can only fly when a male and female pair up."

"That's the bird in the line 'In heaven, may we be Conjoined-Wing Birds.' Look, this one has a left eye and left wing, so it must be male."

"Quack, quack..." The male Manman Bird struggled as it cried out, its neck still caught in Ye Qinghui's hand.

This thing looks just like a wild duck. It's got a duck's flat bill and a raspy quack. No wonder it smells like roast duck—and it smells pretty good.

Too bad I haven't grown any teeth yet. Otherwise, I could have roast duck. Sigh...

Seeing Ye Zhenzhen drool over the Manman Bird, everyone laughed. "Junior Sister, all you think about is food."

"This Manman Bird has burns on its right side. It must have been caught off guard by an open flame. It and its mate separated to escape the fire, then accidentally lost each other. It was probably searching everywhere for her just now, but couldn't fly properly, so it darted up and down until it crashed into us." Ye Qingyao carefully tended the bird's burns, then stroked its head gently. "You poor thing. Shall we help you find your mate?"

The Manman Bird rubbed its head against her hand and gave a grateful "quack."

"Senior sister, we still need to find Weak Water. The Immortal Sects Grand Tournament is only a few days away," Ye Qingchuan reminded her.

"It's all right. We can look for Weak Water while we help the Manman Bird find its mate." As the heroine of the original book, Ye Qingyao was especially kind and cared deeply for small animals. She settled the Manman Bird in her lap and rode the Azure Luan in search of its mate.

To signal his mate, the Manman Bird called at the top of his lungs the whole way.

Ye Zhenzhen, asleep in the basket, kept being jolted awake by a sudden "quack." She was in a foul mood and wished she could turn that awful-sounding bird into roast duck.

The Manman Bird was desperate to find his wife. He didn't care whether anyone was sleeping or whether they found him noisy. The more Ye Zhenzhen resented him, the louder and more eagerly he called. His coarse, grating cries could carry a hundred li.

Ye Zhenzhen rolled left, then right, but could not fall asleep. This couldn't go on.

Senior sister, let me have a look at the Manman Bird. Woken by his cries yet again, Ye Zhenzhen called out to Ye Qingyao.

Ye Qingyao's almond eyes curved. Thinking Junior Sister had suddenly taken an interest in petting the bird, she brought the Manman Bird over with a smile. "You can stroke his head and wings."

Instead, the little glutinous-rice dumpling waved an arm, raised her plump little pink fist, and swung it down against the Manman Bird's head with all her strength. That's for squawking! And that's for keeping me awake!

The Manman Bird: "Quackquackquackquackquackquack!" He stared at her with his single eye wide and his neck stretched out. Why did you hit me?

The little glutinous-rice dumpling smacked him again. Stop quacking. Yes, I'm hitting you!

Ye Qingyao sucked in a breath, utterly stunned. Junior Sister was still a baby—wasn't she a bit too violent? "Manman Bird, you can call, but keep it down. Don't wake Junior Sister."

The Manman Bird: Got it. "Quack."

All right. "Quack, quack, quack."

I won't make noise anymore. "Quackquackquackquackquackquack."

Ye Qingyao: ?

"Is there something wrong with the Manman Bird's brain?"

Ye Zhenzhen: ...

That stupid bird must have spent all his brains on romance.

Suddenly, a clear, sweet birdsong came from far away. It was so faint it was almost impossible to hear, but the Manman Bird caught it at once. He pricked up his ears to find its direction and flapped his wings to guide them. When the birdsong grew clearer, he abruptly broke free of Ye Qingyao's arms and fell toward the ground like a kite with a snapped string.

"Manman Bird!" Ye Qingyao hurried after him, only to see him land among the flowers. Beside him lay another one-eyed, one-winged bird—with a right eye and right wing.

"Could this be the mate you were looking for?"

"Quack~" The Manman Bird answered excitedly. That's right, that's my wife! Isn't she beautiful?

The female Manman Bird cried out excitedly too. "Coo~" Her call was lilting, soft, and lovely to hear.

The two birds entwined their necks and danced in celebration among the flowers, swaying and stumbling. Then they pressed tightly together, as if they were one ordinary bird with two eyes and two wings.

They're both Manman Birds, so how does the female sound so lovely while the male sounds... beyond words? Ye Zhenzhen clicked her tongue inwardly.

"Manman Birds, we're looking for Weak Water. Do you know where it is?" Ye Qingyao asked.

The two Manman Birds nodded almost at the same time.

"Would you be willing to show us the way?"

The two Manman Birds spread their wings together, signaling that they would be happy to help.

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Transported into a book

Wish-fulfillment fiction

Cannon Fodder

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