Want to Visit a Human Home

The Third Cub whined sweetly, "Chirp, chirp~"

--Really? He's not angry at all. We love Daddy the most!

"You two little rascals." Tao Qiu rubbed their heads, went back into the cave, put them in a basket with handles, and covered them with a pile of dry grass to keep them from the wind.

Tao Qiu instructed, "Daddy will fly very high later. Be a good girl and stay inside. Don't move around, or you might fall."

The three little ones nodded in unison, promising, "Chirp chirp."

We will be very good.

Arriving at the cave entrance again, Tao Qiu transformed into a bird, gripped the handle with its claws, and spread its wings to fly into the air.

Previously, Tao Qiu had only led the children to fly low over the valley, but this time they kept climbing higher and higher, even surpassing the highest mountain in the valley.

The familiar cave entrance gradually shrank until it disappeared from sight.

The children's eyes widened, their heartbeats quickened, and their breathing became rapid.

We can finally leave the valley!

And Dad can fly that high? Will they be able to do that in the future?

Overjoyed, the children disregarded the biting wind, turning their heads left and right, firmly imprinting every scene before them into their minds.

Chapter 35 Wanting to Visit a Human's Home

The valley surrounded by low hills and the nearby grasslands occupy a large part of Tao Qiu's territory. The area of woodland in his territory is relatively small, and one-third of it is bamboo forest.

So from a bird's-eye view, you can see everything in just a few glances, but Tao Qiu still carefully introduced every corner of her home to the kids.

Tao Qiu deliberately chose a time when the wind was relatively calm and the snow was sparse, so that even if the wind was stronger at high altitude, it wouldn't affect her conversation with the kids.

The Third Cub asked, "Chirp chirp chirp?"

--Where does the bamboo we use come from?

Tao Qiu: "Right? And the firewood we used for burning was also something Dad picked up from the woods near our house."

Second Cub: "Chirp chirp?"

--Can we go there to play sometime?

"Sure," Tao Qiu said. "When you're a little older, Daddy will take you inside to play. There are lots of Huahua there; it's really beautiful."

Just hearing Tao Qiu talk about it made the kids' eyes light up; they couldn't wait for that day to come.

After touring their own home, Tao Qiu led the children to the edge of Black Rabbit's territory.

"Looking from here, all the way to the foot of that mountain is the territory of a mutated Black Rabbit monster. It's much, much bigger than the rabbits we usually eat, only a little shorter than Dad. The carrots and pears are what Dad found in its territory."

Based on Tao Qiu's description, the children imagined what the Black Rabbit looked like.

To be honest, I'm a little tempted.

Such a big rabbit! Enough for them to eat for many meals.

Achoo!

Inside the rabbit hole, the Black Rabbit, who was sleeping soundly, suddenly sneezed. Without waking up, he sniffed, turned his head, and continued to sleep.

"That larger grove of trees next to the Black Rabbit is the home of the Green Python and the Little Snake."

Mentioning the Little Snake, Second Cub's soaring mood plummeted to the bottom with a "crack".

She glared in the direction Tao Qiu had pointed, and whimpered, "Chirp, chirp chirp."

--Dad, don't mention her.

Tao Qiu hadn't expected that Second Cub was still angry. Since the child was unhappy, he naturally wouldn't add fuel to the fire, so he changed the subject.

"See that tall snow-capped mountain? It's inhabited by a clan of foxes. There's a particularly powerful Red Fox there; it releases a fragrance to intoxicate its opponents, then strangles them with its long tail. It's a very vengeful mutated monster."

He was one of the mutated monsters who fought Tao Qiu for the fruit. Tao Qiu thought that, given his personality, he would eventually find a way to vent his anger at losing the fruit on him.

Tao Qiu remained vigilant and on guard for a long time because of this.

Who would have thought that after the incident of stealing the fruit, Tao Qiu never saw him again?

"Chirp?" The Second Cub, whose attention had been diverted, regained her liveliness, smacking her lips, "Chirp chirp?"

--Fox? Is it tasty?

Tao Qiu said, "No, we haven't eaten them. The Fox Clan all lives on that mountain, and the Red Fox are very protective of their own kind. They'll fight with the mutated monsters that hunt foxes, so nobody wants to cause trouble and stops hunting foxes."

"Chirp..."

The Second Cub was very disappointed.

Tao Qiu found it somewhat amusing; his kids really took after him, associating everything with food.

He continued flying forward for a while, then climbed higher. Looking out, he saw a striking blue-green patch amidst the snow-white landscape, like an irregularly shaped natural gemstone.

"That's a very wide lake, and the water is very deep. A huge, strange fish lives in it. I've seen its shadow from the sky above when I went to catch fish before. It almost covered half of the lakebed. I can't say exactly how tall or strong it is."

Knowing what the kids would ask, Tao Qiu continued, "The fish tastes alright, but catching them requires going into the water, which is quite troublesome. The last time I went to the lake was ten years ago. Back then, I was incredibly brave and wanted to explore everywhere. Later, I found the journey too far, and besides, the monsters in the lake would occasionally extend their tentacles to grab any living creatures on the shore, which was very dangerous. So I haven't gone back since."

Eldest Cub: "Chirp chirp?"

--Is the strange fish even more powerful than Dad?

Tao Qiu wasn't afraid of being laughed at by the kids, so she spoke the truth, "If we're on land, Dad doesn't know, but in the water, the difference in strength between me and the strange fish is about the same as the difference between you and me."

The baby birds were so frightened by this that their hearts skipped a beat. They stopped saying they wanted to eat fish, not knowing if they would end up being eaten by the fish if they went over there.

Tao Qiu continued, "That forest, farther than the lake, is the territory of an ancient tree. Nobody knows how old that tree is, but it was already exceptionally tall when Dad's ancestors were still alive."

"It's also a mutated monster, but no one can really say what its specific abilities are. Everyone says it's very kind and never actively harms mutated monsters; on the contrary, it will even provide shelter for some of them. But if any mutated monster tries to harm it, no matter how powerful it is, it will eventually kill it."

The Third Cub asked curiously, "Chirp chirp?"

--Dad, have you seen that ancient tree?

Tao Qiu shook his head. "The ancient tree is in the middle of the forest. To see it, you have to pass through countless mountains and forests. There are powerful mutated monsters in the forest and in the air. Let alone me ten years ago, even if I went now, I might not be able to reach it alive."

The Second Cub exclaimed, "Chirp chirp..."

--It's too dangerous outside...

Tao Qiu chuckled, "So let's just live our lives peacefully and avoid provoking those powerful mutated monsters. At least that way we can keep our own lives."

The kids didn't think their dad was being cowardly or lacking backbone by saying that.

Tao Qiu fought with the Green Python before. Although Tao Qiu won and his injuries were insignificant compared to the Green Python's, the children were still very worried.

They didn't care about anything else, as long as their father was alive.

Tao Qiu had never been to places farther than the forest, nor had he heard of any related news. Perhaps it was a completely different world there, but it had nothing to do with him.

Tao Qiu snapped out of her reverie and asked the children, "Would you like to see where humans live?"

"Chirp!"

The kids responded almost immediately.

The kids are naturally curious about what kind of place humans, who can create so many delicious and useful things, live in.

Their answer was exactly what Tao Qiu expected. He chuckled and said, "Hold on tight, Dad's going to turn around!"

"Chirp chirp~"

--Sitting firmly~

The baby birds huddled behind the hay, happily responding to their father; the cold wind couldn't dampen their enthusiasm.

Excluding the safe zone, a large area outside the human base is free of high-level mutated monsters, making it a free zone with the most diverse and numerous mutated monsters.

That special glowing fruit was also found nearby, which is why there were so many mutated monsters trying to steal it.

It was because of its proximity to the human base that Tao Qiu was seen by the man who had gone out when she couldn't control herself and partially transformed into human form after eating the fruit.

This winter, like every year, is cold and lacking in resources, so mutated monsters, regardless of their level, are basically all hiding in their dens and sleeping.

From the air, Tao Qiu had not seen any other living creatures since he came out of the valley.

Perhaps it's in the forest hidden by trees, but Tao Qiu can't see it. And even if the trees in the forest saw Tao Qiu in the air, they wouldn't know what's in his basket.

Tao Qiu dared to bring her children out, which meant she had made ample preparations.

During winter, unless in an extremely urgent situation, humans generally don't venture into the wild, and even the base gates are kept tightly shut.

However, staying indoors will strengthen defenses, for fear that the mutated monsters, having run out of food in winter, will become hungry and attack the human base again.

Tao Qiu didn't want to be discovered by humans, so she only flew to the vicinity of the safe zone, from where she could see the outline of the base's buildings.

The baby birds stared at those man-made objects they had never seen before, their eyes glued to the screen.

The sound of his father's explanation echoed in his ears, "Humans are different from us. We mutated monsters rely entirely on natural materials for food and shelter. It's already quite an achievement to be able to build a nest. But humans can use natural materials to create many things that didn't originally exist in the world, like the package of items that Dad recently traded with humans, and the buildings we see now. The creator of this world has created a new creator."

The children could tell that their father held humans in very high regard, even higher than that ancient tree from before.

They agreed with their father because they also admired human creativity.

The Second Cub gazed in the direction of the human base and couldn't help but exclaim, "Chirp chirp chirp, chirp chirp!"