Sparrow Spirit jumped down from the counter, jumped to Wen Ning's hand, and pawed at his cell phone.
"You unlocked it, so I still have my fingerprint or something?"
Wen Ning Unlock the phone and put it on the counter
Sparrow Spirit swiped the screen a few times with his paw, found a number and dialed it
"Hey, sister, it's me."
A woman's voice came from the other end of the phone, her voice was loud.
"Where did you die? I've been looking for you for a long time!"
"I'm at Mr. Wen's shop. I found your brother-in-law."
"Found it? Where is it?"
"In the area of the old cotton mill in the north, in an abandoned utility room. Come over quickly, I heard the boss said he can help."
"Okay, I'll be there soon. Don't let him get away."
"His leg is injured and he can't run."
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a second.
"Injured? Is it serious?"
"It's not serious, I just got pinched. Let's talk about it when you get here."
"Okay, okay, I'll take a taxi and come over in twenty minutes."
After hanging up the phone, Sparrow Spirit pushed the phone back to Wen Ning.
"My cousin said she'll be there in twenty minutes."
Wen Ning put away the phone and leaned on the counter to wait. Lu Ming sat on the bench and suddenly asked.
"What does your cousin look like?"
"She looks pretty good after turning into a human, but she has a bad temper."
"Bigger than you?"
Sparrow Spirit rolled his eyes at him and did not answer.
Twenty minutes later, a taxi stopped at the entrance of the alley
A woman got out of the car. She was in her thirties, had a ponytail, and was wearing a supermarket overalls with a work badge on her chest. She quickly walked into the store, scanned around, and her eyes fell on Sparrow Spirit.
"Where?"
"I'll take you to the old cotton mill in the north."
Wen Ning stood up and took Lu Ming and Feng Dema out of the door. Sparrow Spirit flew in front, and the woman walked beside him, walking very fast
After walking for more than ten minutes, we arrived at the abandoned old factory building.
"It's right inside."
The woman pushed open the door and took a look inside. In the corner, a young man was sitting on a pile of broken bricks smoking a cigarette.
He is in his twenties, tall and thin, wearing a gray T-shirt, with messy hair, unshaven face, and looks quite melancholy.
With half a cigarette in his hand, he heard the door knock and raised his head to take a look.
The woman walked in three steps at a time, raised her hand and slapped him on the head.
"Smoking again! I wonder if smoking is bad for your health!"
The young man winced when he was slapped and almost dropped the cigarette in his hand.
"Sister-in-law, I am Monster. Smoking is not a big deal."
"That won't work either!"
The woman stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, staring at him
The young man put out his cigarette, put it by his feet and stepped on it, lowering his head and saying nothing.
Wen Ning, Lu Ming, and Feng Dema stood at the door and did not go inside.
Sparrow Spirit landed on the door frame and folded its wings to watch the show.
The woman took a breath and spoke.
"Tell me, why did you run away from home this time?"
The young man raised his head and looked at the woman with a serious expression.
"Sister-in-law, I want to go to the zoo."
The woman looked shocked and was stunned for two seconds.
"You go to the zoo? What are you going to do?"
"The zoo is staffed and provides food and accommodation."
The woman opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again.
"The zoo has a staff, but it's for keepers. Besides, you don't have the ability to pass the exam. You'd better just go find a class."
The young man stood up from the bricks and patted the dust off his pants.
"Sister-in-law, I can't pass the exam, can't I still get in?"
The woman frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The young man didn't answer. He took a step back and stood in the middle of the utility room.
He took a deep breath, swayed, and turned into a leopard
He had black fur, green eyes, and a slender body, slightly larger than an average leopard. He shook his fur, raised his head, and looked at the woman.
The woman stared at him for three seconds, her face turned dark.
"Change back."
The leopard didn't move.
"Change back! Do you think you can enter the zoo if you change into a leopard? The leopards in other zoos come from regular channels and have pedigree certificates. Do you have one?"
The leopard lowered his head and paved the ground twice with his paws.
"No."
"Then why do you enter?"
"I"
Leopard thought for a while
"I can run faster than them."
The woman took a deep breath, walked over, reached out and patted the leopard on the head.
"What's the use of running fast? People don't let you race. You can change back to me quickly and go home. Your brother has cooked for you."
The leopard hesitated for a moment, then swayed and transformed back into the tall and thin young man.
He lowered his head and put his hands in his pockets, like a child who had been scolded. The woman sighed and reached out to grab his arm.
"Let's go"
Leopard Spirit was grabbed by the arm by the woman, took two steps and then stopped.
"Sister-in-law, I really don't want to go to work. What's the matter? I've become a sperm and still need to go to work? I'm moving bricks on a construction site, earning two hundred dollars a day. I'm so exhausted that I even have to cook a hot meal myself when I get back."
The woman turned back and glared at him.
"Doesn't your brother work too? Don't I work too?"
"You two are monsters, and I am also a monster. Can't we live like a monster?"
The woman raised her hand and slapped him again on the back of the head.
"How do you live as a demon? How do you want to live? Occupy the mountains and become the king? Do you know that all the mountains now belong to the country, which mountain do you occupy? Believe it or not, if you occupy the mountains on the front foot, someone will come to take you on the back. I heard that the skin of a leopard like you can be sold for a lot of money, and it can be made into a leopard skin coat to keep you warm."
Leopard Spirit shrank his neck and lowered his voice.
"I'll be a leopard in the zoo. It's great like this. I get food and accommodation, and I don't have to go to work. I lie down in the sun every day, and someone will give me food. If I get sick, there will be a veterinarian. It's a hundred times better than on a construction site."
With a dark look on her face, the woman let go of his arm and turned around to face him.
"Can't you make a difference?"
"Why am I hopeless? I am pursuing a better life."
"A good life? When you go to the zoo, it's called an exhibition, not a job. People come to see you, point, point, and take pictures of you with their mobile phones. Do you think that's a good life?"
Leopard Spirit thought for a while.
"That's better than being scolded by the foreman on the construction site."
The woman opened her mouth, but didn't answer the question for a moment.
Lu Ming stood at the door, almost laughing out loud, but was glared at by Wen Ning and held back. Sparrow Spirit landed on the door frame, spread his wings, and whispered to Wen Ning.
"He has been like this since he was a child. He has a single mind."
The woman sighed and softened her tone.
"Okay, come back with me first. Your brother has cooked some food for you to eat when you go back. We'll talk about the zoo later."
Leopard Spirit stood still and did not move.
"Sister-in-law."
"What happened again?"
"I'm serious. I've been thinking about it for days."
The woman looked at him and was silent for a few seconds.
"Are you serious?"
"Seriously."
"Then tell me, what happens after you enter the zoo? You lie down in the sun every day and eat ready-made food for one or two years. What about ten or twenty years? Do you plan to live like this for the rest of your life?"
Leopard Spirit lowered his head and did not answer.
"Your brother practiced in the mountains and endured many hardships before he transformed into a human. After transforming into a human, it took him many years to gain a foothold in the city. Fortunately for you, you don't want to go to work after transforming into a human. You want to go back to being an animal."
Leopard Spirit raised his head.
"That's different. You and my brother are husband and wife. The two of us live together and are busy. I go to and from get off work alone, eat and sleep. It's boring."
The woman looked at him and said nothing.
After a while, she reached out and patted his shoulder.
"Let's go, go back to eat first. We'll talk about this later."
Leopard Spirit hesitated for a moment, nodded, and followed the woman out. When he reached the door, he stopped again and turned to look at Wen Ning.
"Wen Boss."
Wen Ning looked at him.
"Hmm."
"You really don't know anyone at the zoo?"
Wen Ning shook his head.
"I don't know."
Leopard Spirit sighed and followed the woman. Sparrow Spirit jumped down from the door frame and landed on Wen Ning's shoulders.
"Let Boss Wen see the joke."
Wen Ning didn't answer and watched the two silhouettes disappear around the corner of the factory building. Lu Ming walked over and stood next to him.
"This leopard really wants to go to the zoo?"
"That means it's true."
"He is quite knowledgeable. He has found all these folk remedies."
Wen Ning shook Sparrow Spirit off his shoulders, turned around and walked out.
"What, you want to go too, I won't stop you, why don't you tell Monster to become an animal in the zoo, what do you think?"
(I can't control myself anymore and want to write about swordsmanship)