The Bad Guy Is Coming

Sometimes, when the bird chicks got too excited and absorbed in their games, they would accidentally fall off the branches while dodging.

Unable to fly yet, the little fluffballs would flutter their wings helplessly, but they weren't too scared, because they knew their dad was under the tree.

Once again, Tao Qiu deftly reached out and caught the falling Second Cub. As she looked at him excitedly, he reminded her, "Time's up. It's time to go back to the cave and eat."

Eldest Cub and Third Cub poked their heads out from behind the branches, but neither immediately asked Tao Qiu for a hug. Clearly, like Second Cub, they hadn't played enough yet.

"Chirp~ chirp, chirp~" Second Cub rubbed against Tao Qiu, wheedling.

Nooo~ let's play a little longer~

Tao Qiu tapped her little head. "You've already said that three times."

"Chirp..."

Dad...

Tao Qiu said firmly, "Calling me that won't work. If kids want to be healthy, they have to eat on time."

"Chirp." Seeing that her usual trick had failed, Second Cub sprawled out like a flat snow pancake in her dad's hand, utterly despairing.

Tao Qiu chuckled, gathered the other two bird chicks into his arms, and flew them back to the cave.

The cubs loved playing, but they loved eating too. Once they had meat and sweet fruit in their mouths, they immediately forgot their earlier unhappiness.

After the meal, the bird chicks gathered together to play and digest their food.

Over the past few days, longer, harder flight feathers had gradually begun to grow on them. After hearing Tao Qiu say that growing flight feathers meant they weren't far from being able to fly, the cubs had been exceptionally excited, helping one another count their flight feathers every day.

Seeing how happily the cubs were playing, Tao Qiu picked up a bamboo tube and prepared to go down into the valley.

Before he could tell the cubs, Eldest Cub noticed what he was doing, his expression showing how used to it he was. "Chirp, chirp?"

Dad, are you going to grow stinky stuff again?

The stinky stuff was overripe, rotten radish. Its smell had assaulted the cubs before, so that was what they called it.

Tao Qiu replied, "Yes, I'm planning to prepare a few more bamboo tubes of stinky stuff."

Chapter 26: The Bad Guy Is Coming

Second Cub still hated the rotten radish mash. Hearing her dad and older brother talk about it, she couldn't help shaking her head. "Chirp, chirp."

Stinky stuff, yuck.

Third Cub remembered what Tao Qiu had said the stinky stuff was for and asked, "Chirp, chirp?"

Dad, are you going to use the stinky stuff to fight bad guys?

"Chirp!" Second Cub perked right up. "Chirp, chirp?"

Bad guys! Where?

Tao Qiu often told the children bedtime stories. Some were little educational tales, while others were entertaining stories about heroes fighting bad guys.

Second Cub was very interested in fighting bad guys and becoming a great hero. When she played the role of "Mother Hen," she always looked as serious as if she were about to head into battle the next second.

Tao Qiu gently stroked her head. "No bad guys have shown up yet. I'm just preparing in advance. That's called saving for a rainy day."

"Chirp, chirp." Second Cub nodded, looking as though she'd suddenly understood.

So that's what it is.

In truth, Second Cub had no idea what saving for a rainy day meant, but she trusted her dad unconditionally, so she thought everything he said was right. She also had to pretend she was super smart and understood her dad perfectly.

Tao Qiu thought Second Cub was so adorable that he couldn't help laughing, though he didn't expose her.

She was a child, after all. It was perfectly normal for her to be lively.

Eldest Cub said, "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp."

Go ahead, Dad. We'll be good and wait for you to come back.

The other two bird chicks felt the same way. Though they usually loved sticking close to their dad, this was the first time they hadn't fussed about following him to the valley floor.

The rotten radish mash was simply too smelly, briefly weakening their love for their dad by a tiny bit.

How could Tao Qiu not know what the children were thinking? His smile widened, and he kissed all three bird chicks before picking up the bamboo tube and leaving.

At the bottom of the valley, Tao Qiu first checked on the vegetable patch.

The radishes were growing beautifully, a heartening expanse of lush green. Over at the original vegetable patch, he had reduced the number of wild berries he grew, planting tomatoes in more than half the plot instead. They were already bearing fruit.

Tao Qiu went to an open patch of ground he had cleared specifically for this a couple of days ago, sat down, and began making radishes grow.

In fact, he hadn't been entirely truthful with the children earlier. He was preparing the rotten radish mash because he really was afraid he had planted too many crops this time and wouldn't be able to hide the harvest. If an irrational mutated monster forced its way in, both his secrets would be exposed.

The rotten radish mash was one way for him to protect himself.

Tao Qiu had thought that the situation he feared wouldn't arise until harvest time at the earliest, but while out on patrol recently, he had keenly sensed someone watching him.

He had tried to find the source, but each attempt had come to nothing.

By then, he understood that he was already being watched, though he didn't know which mutated monster was responsible.

He had told the children there were no bad guys mainly because he didn't want them worrying along with him.

These past few days, he had often gone out to cut bamboo and find vines. Besides weaving baskets to store the fruit, he had also prepared quite a few bamboo tubes, and he had already filled many of them with rotten radish mash.

It wasn't until evening that Tao Qiu stopped using his ability. He hid the bamboo tubes full of rotten radish mash near the mouth of the valley, then took a bath. Only after washing the stench off himself did he fly back to the cave.

The temperature had dropped noticeably since the start of autumn. When Tao Qiu returned from his cold bath and the cubs rushed into his arms, they couldn't help saying he was cold.

But Tao Qiu was strong and healthy. As he listened to the cubs share the amusing things that had happened while they played, his skin soon warmed up again.

"Grrr~~~"

Second Cub was still excitedly describing how she had blocked Eldest Cub to protect Third Cub when Tao Qiu's stomach tactlessly began to rumble.

Tao Qiu smiled. "My tummy thinks Xuexue was amazing too. It's applauding you. To thank it, how about we feed it something?"

Second Cub grumbled, "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp."

Dad, I'm already a big bird, but you're still treating me like a little bird. Your tummy rumbled because you're hungry.

"Oh, you saw right through me." Tao Qiu pinched her cheek, his eyes curving with laughter. "Then would little Tao Xue, who's already a big bird, like Daddy to carry her to dinner?"

"Chirp!"

Yes!

Second Cub immediately forgot every word she had just said. Being a mature big bird could wait until later.

Hearing that, Eldest Cub felt both helpless and amused, while Third Cub looked at her older sister with a smile, a hint of indulgence in her eyes.

"Then let's go." Tao Qiu scooped up all three bird chicks without leaving a single one behind, gave them a little bounce, and walked to the dining table to eat.

Half a month later, Tao Qiu returned from patrol with his prey and told the children that some of the trees in the forest had started shedding their leaves.

He had picked up a few to give the children, who still couldn't leave the valley, a tangible sense of autumn.

Third Cub caught the scent of decay on the yellow leaves, so different from the vitality of green ones, and asked curiously, "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp? Chirp, chirp, chirp."

The leaves turn yellow and fall. Does that mean the trees are going to wither? Like the wild fruit and tomatoes you grow, Dad.

Tao Qiu explained earnestly, "Not always. When some trees' leaves turn yellow and fall, it means they're sick or about to wither. But most trees' leaves turn yellow because the weather is getting cold. The old leaves fall off, and new green ones grow when it warms up the following spring."

Second Cub asked, "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp?"

Trees lose their leaves, and we lose our feathers. Will we grow new feathers in spring too?

"Yes." Tao Qiu's expression softened. "In spring, my little darlings will grow taller and bigger, and you'll have more feathers too."

"Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp?" Eldest Cub also came over to Tao Qiu and asked his own question.

Dad, will we be able to fly by spring?

Tao Qiu said, "I don't think you'll have to wait until spring. You should all be able to fly before then."

After the bird chicks' flight feathers grew in, they could no longer resist their instinct to fly. They often flapped around the cave, imitating Tao Qiu in flight. Although they could only use their wings to "jump" farther for now, Tao Qiu thought the several months between now and early spring would be enough time for them to learn.

"Chirp!" Anticipation appeared in the eyes of all three bird chicks. Not a single bird didn't yearn for the sky.

The bird chicks put the leaves Tao Qiu had given them in their nests, unwilling to throw them away even after they had dried and become brittle.

Seeing that they liked them, Tao Qiu brought a few leaves back every time he went out, and the cubs treasured every one.

The radishes at the bottom of the valley gradually grew bigger. Judging by the parts visible above the soil, neither their size nor their length would disappoint Tao Qiu once they were fully grown.

The pear tree's blossoms had also fallen, and fruit had formed. Tao Qiu walked around it and saw that its fruit set was much higher than that of the mutated mother tree. Not counting those hidden by leaves, he could see twenty or thirty with the naked eye.

The wild fruit and tomatoes had already been harvested once. There wasn't much wild fruit left, but the tomatoes could still be harvested another one or two times.

Late that night, an autumn rain fell. Tao Qiu suddenly woke from his sleep, his heart filled with an inexplicable unease.

"Chirp..." Third Cub stirred in his arms and blearily half-opened her eyes, calling weakly for her dad.

Tao Qiu let out a long breath and suppressed the unease in his heart. Stroking Third Cub, he asked softly, "Did I wake you?"

Third Cub murmured, "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp..."

No. I was scared in my dream, so I woke up...

"Did you have a nightmare?"

Third Cub shook her head. "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp."

No nightmare. I was just scared.

Tao Qiu paused, then quickly realized that Third Cub had probably felt uneasy just like him, and that was what had frightened her awake.

Tao Qiu trusted his instincts. He didn't believe he would feel this way for no reason.

"I'm going out for a moment. Stay with your brother and sister and wait for me to come back, okay?"