Flap flap, rustle rustle.
As he listened to the flock of birds—large and small, of all different species—chirping and beating their wings as they flew out of the shop, Dr. Xiao, D&K's acting shopkeeper, immediately dropped his head onto the counter and let out a long sigh.
"They're finally gone... Those guys were way too noisy. Every extra second they stayed, I felt like my life was shortened by ten days!"
"You could even feel ten days?" Li Meng looked up at Xiao Xiao in surprise.
Since they had just used a Freshening Talisman, the air in the shop smelled wonderfully clean. The Little Witch was in no hurry to leave, so she crouched in front of a cage, teasing a month-old mouse with a peanut. The Little Rat clung to the cage with its front paws, its nose twitching rapidly just in front of her hand, its face full of longing.
"Do you understand what exaggeration means?" Xiao Xiao did not raise his head. Resting it on his arm, he turned to look at the Little Witch and weakly emphasized, "Ten days is an exaggerated figure of speech... It's one of the basic ways language is used. You should probably study it."
Before he had even finished speaking, the lead green parrot flew back amid another burst of flapping wings. After circling once, it landed in front of the counter, its curved beak poking right at Dr. Xiao's nose.
The male wizard jumped in fright and jerked his head back so hard that he nearly pulled his neck apart when he failed to catch his breath. The pain made him bare his teeth as he cried out, "Ow, ow!"
"Ah, ah, I was so busy touring your new shop that I nearly forgot the gift!" the green parrot cackled,