Chapter 182
Chapter 182
Abandoned by the roadside, Qin Ying made her way home alone.
On the way back, she thought of the pile of little creatures waiting at home, so she deliberately took a detour through the night market and bought plenty of snacks and late-night food.
As she neared her neighborhood, a streak of blue light flashed past. The Thunderbird flew over with cheerful chirps and landed on her shoulder.
It rubbed against Qin Ying’s cheek, hopping excitedly from foot to foot.
Of all the little creatures currently living in Qin Ying’s home, the Thunderbird was the easiest to care for.
With wings, it could go wherever it pleased.
The Thunderbird had guarded the Divine Shrine on Golden Saddle Mountain, but the guard had also been a prisoner.
Unlike the Hou, it had no companions of its own kind. It had spent the long years all alone.
Every month, it had looked forward to living humans arriving. Fine horses to eat were certainly a bonus, but it had also simply been happy to see people.
Yet the cheerful little chatterbox had been poisoned by the Sand People. If its rank had not been so high and its body so hardy, it might have died.
That was why it held such a deep grudge against the Sand People.
After coming Outside the Box, it occasionally flew out through the gap Qin Ying had left in the window and patrolled the area around the house.
It never flew far, though. After circling overhead for a while, it would always return on its own.
It was determined to stay close to Qin Ying.
The moment Qin Ying left the house, it settled on the roof, tucked its head beneath one wing, and waited.
As soon as it spotted Qin Ying in the distance, it flew over to meet her with its blue tail feathers streaming behind it. It even tried to help carry her bags.
Qin Ying had no free hands, so she merely praised it with a smile before letting it perch on her shoulder. Once again, she reminded it, “There are lots of cats on the streets. Don’t fly too low, and be careful around humans too.”
The Thunderbird was only the size of a fist. Perched on Qin Ying’s shoulder, its trailing tail feathers looked almost like an accessory.
The moment Qin Ying opened the door, she saw Wangcai standing on the doormat with its head cocked so sharply that its neck looked twisted. Its tail, however, was wagging furiously.
Just as she was about to speak, a cold blob of liquid metal splatted across her face.
Di Shang had apparently figured out by now that this human was its meal ticket, so it did not cover her mouth and nose like last time.
Still, the uniquely cold and oily sensation of its body always made Qin Ying feel as if someone had slapped a giant blob of slime onto her face.
The Thunderbird’s feathers bristled. Violet-blue electricity crackled at the tips of its wings, and an arc of lightning zapped Di Shang.
Di Shang dropped to the floor with a splat. At the same instant, Qin Ying’s entire body went numb and her hair stood on end.
She barely managed to keep from flinging everything in her hands across the room.
Realizing it had done something wrong, the Thunderbird squeaked twice and darted behind the television.
The shock had certainly woken Qin Ying up, but when she saw its tiny head poking out from behind the television to spy on her, her heart softened again.
After changing her shoes, she called out, “Come eat.”
There was no need to restrict the diet of any Monstrous Beast in her home. They were hardy too, so Qin Ying had bought some street food for them to sample as enrichment.
Seeing that Qin Ying was not angry, the Thunderbird switched right back into cheerful mode and flew around helping her fetch chopsticks.
The Hou refused to eat, while Di Shang only had eyes for gold. Qin Ying was not feeling well and ate little, and the Thunderbird did not have much of an appetite either.
Only Wangcai kept its head down, coolly picking out all the meat.
It had no fear of upsetting its stomach. Whenever it ate too much, it could run into the backyard, switch forms, and rapidly empty its belly.
After half a bowl of congee, Qin Ying was too sleepy to continue. She forced herself to take a shower, then sat beside the Box with half a bag of jerky.
She traced an infinity symbol with one finger. Black mist surged before her, and the points of light representing her Believers flickered in and out.
She brushed the mist aside with her consciousness and listened carefully for a while.
Countless rustling whispers reached her ears, all prayers and conversations from the Believers in the World in the Box.
It was as if Qin Ying had switched on an old radio and tuned in to the sounds from the other side.
She heard Han Lie asking Chen Zhao for provisions and pack animals for the Kuxi Tribe’s relocation.
She also heard Hulan’s prayers.
Qin Ying suddenly paused. She could hear rain, along with the soft cries of a deer in the downpour.
Fuzhu raised its head toward the sky, munching noisily on grass. Yet in its mind, it chanted one word over and over like a starving ghost-meat!
“Supreme Deity, please grant this loyal and brave little deer lots and lots of meat!”
Qin Ying rose and looked down into the Box.
She glanced toward the point of light belonging to Fuzhu and saw it standing alone in a deserted swamp.
Qin Ying picked up a piece of jerky the size of her palm and, with no regard for the dangers of littering from on high, tossed it toward the mountain beside Fuzhu.
Fuzhu had been chewing grass out of sheer boredom when the enormous object that suddenly appeared among the clouds gave it a fright.
Still holding a mouthful of grass, it watched as the reddish-brown sheet spun down from the clouds and slammed into the neighboring mountain with a thunderous crash.
Fuzhu squeezed its eyes shut against the flying sand and stones, the grass dangling from its mouth whipping wildly in the wind.
A moment later, when the fierce gusts finally died down, it caught the aroma of dried meat spreading across the entire mountain.
It was the same jerky it had once eaten in the Divine Realm.
Thank the Supreme Deity!
Fuzhu scampered over like a witless roe deer, kicking a carnivorous turtle out of a swamp along the way.
The clouds spiraled overhead as birds and beasts came from all directions, following the scent. The domineering Fuzhu drove them all away with its antlers.
Qin Ying stopped watching its bullying antics. After dropping the jerky in, her dizziness had grown even worse.
Even “looking” took a toll on her, let alone sending something in to interfere.
Not daring to push herself any further, Qin Ying closed the Box’s lid.
She picked up the bottle of Fumigant Powder Fatty Wu had given her.
Wangcai had a sharp nose and hadn’t detected anything harmful in the powder.
After a moment’s hesitation, Qin Ying poured out the Fumigant Powder.
Making incense paste from scratch wasn’t practical, so she sprinkled the powder over a mosquito coil.
She had bought the coil some time ago, but since there wasn’t a single mosquito in the house, she’d never had a chance to use it.
It would do in a pinch.
Qin Ying lit the mosquito coil, then gave Di Shang an earring before lying down to ensure that starving ghost wouldn’t disturb her sleep.
Leaning against her pillow, she couldn’t even remember when she drifted off.
The Thunderbird fluttered over and pecked the light switch, turning off the light.
It then flew to Qin Ying’s pillow and nestled beside it.
At some point, Wangcai waddled over with its chubby belly sticking out, its mama-dog toy clutched in its mouth. It jumped onto the bed and lay down by Qin Ying’s feet.
Dragging the gold earring Qin Ying had given it, Di Shang wriggled under the bed.
Qin Ying had moved the Dragon Bone into a more expensive jewelry box, and Di Shang settled beside it to digest the gold inside its body.
The Fumigant Powder burned quietly with the mosquito coil, sending thin curls of blue smoke into the air.
Qin Ying slept soundly that night and did not fall into another jumble of dreams.
When she woke the next day, she lay still for quite some time before becoming fully alert.
Sure enough, she felt much better than she had the day before.
After a long stretch, she sat beside the Box and casually glanced inside.
The migration of two tribes was no small undertaking. Han Lie and the others would be busy for quite some time.
Qin Ying closed the Box’s lid and examined her puppet.
The Soul-Container Puppet could heal itself. After a single night, its severed arm had already grown back.
However, the silver threads Di Shang had used to reattach the arm had transformed into patterns deeply etched into the wood grain.
Qin Ying had no idea how that might change the puppet, but she had no time to experiment right now.
Feeling that she had recovered well enough, she washed up and began preparing everything she would need for the trip.
There was definitely something wrong with Qingzhai Tunnel, and Qin Ying had no intention of venturing inside alone.
She brought along the Shadowgrass Powder Han Lie had offered her.
What had been a sizable amount of Shadowgrass Powder in the Box World amounted to only a tiny pinch in Qin Ying’s hands.
She pinched a little between two fingers and sprinkled it over the Thunderbird’s tiny head to mask its presence. “You’re coming out with me this time, so don’t fly off on your own, okay?”
“If you get lost, stay where you are. I’ll come find you.”
The Thunderbird bobbed its tiny head several times as quickly as a pecking chicken.
Qin Ying then held out her right hand to Di Shang. “Climb on.”
Di Shang slowly climbed onto her wrist and transformed into a broad bracelet, pressing against her skin beneath her sleeve.
Dressed for easy movement with her hair tied in a high ponytail, Qin Ying concealed a vial of the Zheng Serum she had obtained from the underground dogfighting arena on her person.
Before leaving, she stroked Wangcai’s head. “I’m heading out. Keep an eye on the house, and if anything happens, go find Granny Shi next door.”
Wangcai stared at the Thunderbird, which was singing at the top of its lungs, then turned around and pointed its rear at Qin Ying in protest.
After leaving home, Qin Ying headed straight for the car rental agency.