Chapter 173
Chapter 173
“A Nuqing Rooster?”
Everyone looked puzzled.
What sort of chicken was that?
Shen Qingzhu knew a little, but not the full story.
The boy said, “I only heard about it from my grandfather. He said all things in the world counter one another. Venomous creatures may be formidable, but there are species born to suppress them. The Nuqing Rooster is one of them.
“He told me that the Nuqing Rooster carries a trace of the legendary phoenix bloodline. Its plumage is brilliant, its beak resembles an iron hook, and its comb is blood-red. Even its eyelids are supposedly different from those of an ordinary chicken.
“But Nuqing Roosters are exceedingly rare. They grow by absorbing the first wisp of sunfire at dawn. Their crow is so resonant that the sound alone can intimidate some venomous creatures. I do not even know whether such a chicken truly exists.”
Even when his grandfather told him, it had sounded like a made-up story.
Rubbing his chin, Nanshu said, “Why does that sound so familiar?”
The others nodded, though none could remember why.
“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”
As everyone pondered, a piercing rooster’s crow sounded outside, followed by Jiang Yunsui’s scream.
They hurried out and stared. Good heavens, where had all those venomous snakes in the courtyard come from?
Jiang Yunsui pointed accusingly at a man nearby.
“Ji Yan’an, he brought a whole bag of venomous snakes and threw them in here!”
At that moment, the two majestic roosters crushed one venomous snake apiece beneath their talons and pecked two more to death. Whenever they crowed, some of the snakes visibly shrank back and became sluggish.
Nanshu said, “No wonder venomous snakes kept appearing around the residence lately. I thought there were simply more of them because spring had arrived. Someone was doing it deliberately!”
The boy, meanwhile, stared at the two great roosters in utter disbelief.
“Nuqing Roosters!”
He had thought his grandfather had invented the tale to fool him, or that such birds existed only in legend. Yet here they were before his eyes.
And there were two of them!
Song Jin and Shen Qingzhu understood as well. For a moment, they all stared at the roosters with burning eyes.
Nanshu needed a little longer before it finally dawned on him.
“What? Qianqian and Houhou, the birds our Little Ancestor raised, are Nuqing Roosters?!”
Jiang Yunsui looked bewildered. “What’s a Nuqing Rooster?”
By then, all the snakes had been dealt with, and Ji Yan’an’s men had subdued the culprit.
Nanshu roared, “What audacity! He actually came into Ji Mansion in broad daylight to release venomous snakes! How did he get in?”
A guard answered respectfully, “He fell out of the sky.”
At the time, the guards had also discovered the snakes and were scrambling to catch them when a man suddenly dropped from above and landed face-first.
The culprit was dragged over. His face was black and blue, and blood dribbled from his mouth.
Everyone stared in confusion.
This seemed rather different from what they had imagined.
“I-I-I know what happened!” Jiang Yunsui said, thrusting up her little arm.
Everyone turned toward her, and the little girl immediately began chattering away.
After gathering peach blossoms, Jiang Yunsui had waited for quite a while with the Golden Eagle Egg in her arms. When it still showed no intention of hatching, she decided to return.
It was already dusk, and she wanted to come back for dinner.
Unexpectedly, Qianqian and Houhou seemed to notice something unusual. They flapped over the courtyard wall, and she followed with the Golden Eagle Egg and White Horse.
She then found Qianqian and Houhou fighting a man beside a sack. Two brightly colored venomous snakes were crawling out of it.
Qianqian crushed one beneath his talons.
When the man saw Jiang Yunsui, his expression turned vicious and he lunged to seize her.
Fortunately, powerful White Horse was there to protect her. It lashed out with its hind legs, sending the man flying nearly two li before he crashed into Ji Mansion.
The two roosters flew over the wall after him. Jiang Yunsui raced back as well, only to find the courtyard full of venomous snakes.
That was how Ji Yan’an and the others had come upon the scene.
“Young Master, a brick has been knocked out here. All the venomous snakes entered through this opening.”
A small hole had been made at the base of the wall in a very well-hidden spot. A person could not squeeze through, but snakes could enter with ease.
Song Jin leaned closer to examine it. “These marks do not look as though the brick was removed from outside.”
Ji Yan’an had long grown accustomed to incidents like this.
Suddenly, the captured man convulsed. Blood began pouring from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and he died within a few breaths.
Shen Qingzhu stepped forward to inspect him. Lifting the man’s clothes, he found two small holes on his waist, both oozing black blood.
He had clearly been bitten by a venomous snake.
“He reaped what he sowed,” Shen Qingzhu said.
The snake had probably bitten him when he fell into the courtyard.
“Investigate,” Ji Yan’an ordered.
Once the matter was assigned, the others cleared away the snake carcasses.
Ji Yan’an said, “Jiang Yunsui, come inside. Bring those two chickens with you.”
Jiang Yunsui answered with an obedient “Okay.”
Though she did not know why, she followed Ji Yan’an while holding the little golden eagle, which had stopped trying to hatch and fallen asleep inside its shell.
The others kept glancing at the two imposing roosters.
“Those birds certainly look impressive. Little Ancestor, how did you raise them?”
Jiang Yunsui lifted her chin proudly.
“Of course they do. I’ve raised them since they were tiny chicks. Even back then, I could tell they were handsome.”
Everyone fell silent.
Did not all little chicks look the same?
Jiang Yunsui noticed an unfamiliar boy circling her roosters and muttering words she could not understand.
She hurriedly warned him, “My Qianqian and Houhou aren’t for sale, and you can’t eat them either!”
She had grown attached to them. Even if the two birds looked as though they would taste delicious, they absolutely could not be eaten.
Nanshu chuckled. “We won’t eat them. How could we bear to?”
Jiang Yunsui stared at them in confusion.
Why were they all smiling so strangely?
“Ji Yan’an, look! The little golden eagle is going to hatch!”
Everyone’s gaze immediately fell on the egg in her arms. Cracks covered its shell, and a tiny piece had been pushed outward by the beak within.
“You really did manage to hatch it!”
“I’m amazing,” Jiang Yunsui declared.
She was an incredibly amazing Little Mushroom.
Ji Yan’an coughed. “Yunsui, I need to borrow Qianqian and Houhou.”
Jiang Yunsui did not mind. “As long as you don’t eat them, you can take them wherever you want.”
Ji Yan’an explained that he needed the two roosters to search for medicine.
Jiang Yunsui listened with her mouth hanging open.
So Qianqian and Houhou were actually that useful!
“Then I’m going too.”
Shen Qingzhu asked, “Aren’t you afraid of bugs? That place is full of venomous creatures. Are you certain you want to go?”
Jiang Yunsui puffed out her little chest. “I won’t be afraid if Qianqian and Houhou are there.”
Besides…
“Qianqian and Houhou won’t listen to any of you.”
Every animal Jiang Yunsui raised had a rebellious streak. Proud and imperious, they ignored anyone they had not accepted or grown close to.
The two roosters were even haughtier than Zuozuo and Youyou, and they were genuine battle chickens.
Every bird, cat, or dog for miles around that had refused to submit had received a beating from them. Only in front of Jiang Yunsui did they behave obediently.
There was, however, one animal they could not beat: the Black Cat that often visited her courtyard.
The Black Cat had fought them too. Unable to defeat the roosters during the day, the cat held a grudge and would sneak in at night, launch an ambush, then flee. No matter how furious the roosters became, they could never catch the cat.