Page 370

They live mostly in areas with tall trees, where the gaps between the trees are enough for them to pass through. However, this environment, with its abundance of weeds and shrubs, can easily injure their wings.

After they arrived at their destination, Jian Mo slid off Jiujiu and patted its bottom. "Jiujiu, you guys go play. You can soak in the stream. We'll pick cotton bolls nearby. We'll call you when it's time to leave."

Whether Jiujiu understood or not, it enthusiastically responded, "Chirp--"

Ying'ao seemed to have truly understood, and with its right forewing Jiujiu on its right forewing, it calmly chirped, "Chirp!"

Jian Mo smiled and nudged them, "Go play then."

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong went up the mountain.

The surrounding area is all primeval forest, with tall and dense vegetation. Once inside the forest, you can't see the outside world, and you can only see the sky through the gaps in the leaves.

However, there was plenty to gather in the forest. Before they even found cotton bolls, they had already harvested a good amount of berries, nuts, spices, insects, and small wild animals.

Jian Mo picked berries and ate them, her lips turning a purplish-black color.

Wu Jiong found him adorable and couldn't resist coming over and kissing him.

It wasn't very convenient for the two of them to live away from home, and they hadn't been intimate for several days.

Once they kissed, they both lost control.

Jian Mo's hand was on Wu Jiong's abs, she touched them a couple of times, and was about to move it down when she suddenly heard a "Jiujiu" sound.

His animal ears twitched uncontrollably and stood up slightly.

In the distance, the Jiujiu continued.

The chirping sound, sometimes long, sometimes short, was like that of cicadas. It didn't evoke fear, but rather a sense of excitement, suggesting that there was no danger.

Jian Mo kissed Wu Jiong again, feeling annoyed. "What are you doing, Jiujiu?"

Continuing is out of the question; it would be awkward if Jiujiu caught us.

Wu Jiong listened for a moment and said, "Some of the sounds aren't Jiujiu."

Jian Mo listened carefully. "Huh, it doesn't sound like Ying'ao's cry. What cry is it? Could it be some other Flying-Winged Beast?"

Just as they were about to walk to an open area, an excited voice came from afar. "Jian Mo —we've come to play with you!"

Jian Mo looked ahead and saw a group of fat chicks flapping their wings and flying over. The lead chick even crashed into several tree branches, sending leaves flying everywhere.

Jian Mo's voice wasn't particularly enthusiastic. "What brings you all here?"

Chubby birds:

"Jiujiu didn't come over to play with us yesterday, we thought we'd come and see what was going on, and also bring over the white milk fruit that the Long Years Tribe wanted."

"We just arrived at the Long Years Tribe. They told us you went into the mountains to look for a plant called cotton boll, so we came to help."

"Jian Mo, can you show us the cotton bolls? We'll help you find them. We're really good at finding things; we can find a general idea by flying around in the sky."

Listening to their excited chatter, Jian Mo took out the cotton boll. "This is the kind of cotton boll we've been looking for."

The chubby birds peered closer, their eyes practically crossing over from the scrutiny. "No problem, leave it to us."

As they talked, the chubby birds tacitly split into several groups and flew off in various directions, including the southeast, northwest, and southwest.

Jian Mo looked up, and the chubby birds had already flown far away.

Jian Mo murmured, "They're quite enthusiastic."

Before Jian Mo could finish speaking, a chubby chirp called out, "Chirp-- Jian Mo, over here!"

The sound of flapping wings filled the air, and the other chubby chicks flew together toward the one that was calling out.

Wu Jiong pulled Jian Mo along, "Let's go too."

Soon, Jian Mo and her companions arrived at the location of the cotton boll tree.

The fat chicks turned around and happily beckoned Jian Mo and Wu Jiong over. Some of the chicks even used their claws to pick the cotton bolls and tossed them far into Jian Mo's basket.

The beastmen of the Cypress Branch Tribe weren't very different in human form, and after transforming into beast form, Jian Mo couldn't tell which fat bird had thrown the cotton bolls into his basket. He could only nod to them and say, "Thank you."

The chubby chirps generously replied, "Don't mention it, chirp!"

Jian Mo laughed, "Your previous calls didn't include 'chirp,' did you? Are you trying to imitate Jiujiu?"

The chubby chicks. "Yeah, Jian Mo, don't you guys think Jiujiu's voices are especially cute?"

Perhaps it heard its name, for the chirping Jiujiu in the distance called out, "Jiujiu -- Jiujiu-- "

Everyone laughed together.

Jian Mo laughed and said, "She's actually quite cute."

The chubby birds helped pick the cotton bolls, chattering away as they did so.

Jian Mo's attention was completely drawn in, and her hands moved unconsciously, picking all the cotton bolls in no time.

The fat birds took flight to find other cotton bolls.

Chubby birds do have an advantage when it comes to finding things.

Jian Mo and Wu Jiong might have their view blocked by tree branches while searching for cotton bolls in the forest, the fat chicks could get a general view by flying around in the sky.

The fat birds are agile in their animal form and can fly close to trees, making them very easy to find.

After they joined, Jian Mo and his group gained a lot more.

Everyone spent most of the day picking cotton bolls in the mountains.

In the afternoon, when Jian Mo saw that the three baskets she had brought were almost full, she called the fat chicks to go to the river to bathe, take out the dried meat they had brought from the Riverside Tribe to eat, and wash and share the berries they had picked that day.

The fat birds transformed back into human form, wrapped themselves in animal skin skirts, and crowded around; they were all thin, petite boys.

Everyone huddled together, chattering away, telling Jian Mo and Wu Jiong about the interesting things that had happened recently. They had been to many places and knew a lot of gossip, which made their stories very entertaining.

Jiujiu and Ying'ao squeezed over, looking at everyone with wide, curious eyes. Jiujiu, in particular, chirped and cheered regardless of whether she could understand or not.

The boys from the Cypress Branch Tribe leaned against or climbed onto Jiujiu's back, continuing their conversation.

As the sun was about to set, they reluctantly prepared to leave, saying they would come back to help again the next day.