Chapter 71: The Bird Garden

Shao Hao called Lu Qingjiu a couple of days after he left, inviting him to his garden and reminding him to bring the whole family with him.

According to the ancient texts, Shao Hao ruled over the hundred birds, so the garden he described must have been a very interesting place, and Lu Qingjiu was indeed tempted to ask Bai Yuehu if he could go.

Bai Yuehu said, "You can go, his house is quite beautiful, if you like birds, there is no harm in going to see it."

Not only birds, but Lu Qingjiu loves all small, pretty animals, and of course, it would be nice if they had soft fur. After a long winter, the fox cubs have finally grown out of their fur and no longer look like poodles, but at least have the appearance of foxes, although they are still silly enough to run around with the two little pigs every day.

Since Bai Yuehu said she could go, Lu Qingjiu made plans to go out, since it was spring and the weather was so nice, it would be a waste to stay at home all the time, so it would be better to go out more often so as not to lose the motivation to go out when it got hot.

Lu Qingjiu asked Shao Hao for his address and found out that Shao Hao lived in the city, in the most expensive part of town.

"Shao Hao is rich." While sitting in his minivan, Lu Qingjiu thought about Shao Hao's beautiful black supercar, "How does he make his money?"

Bai Yuehu said, "He sells birds."

Lu Qingjiu: "Selling Birds"

Bai Yuehu said, "Yes, the birds he sells are more intelligent than the others, and the buyers treat them like ancestors, if you don't treat them well, if you buy them today, they will only be in a cage tomorrow." Lu Qingjiu really admires Shao Hao's business sense as he has formed a whole chain.

"Lu Qingjiu was a little curious to see how their minivan could be turned into a supercar, even though it was a little slow, but it was good enough to look good.

Bai Yuehu said slowly, "No, that's a real car."

Lu Qingjiu: "" Shao Hao is really rich.

The three of them arrived at Shao Hao's address in the minivan. Lu Qingjiu stopped the car and realised that Shao Hao lived in a large garden villa in the city centre, and this area was not cheap in the first place, so Lu Qingjiu didn't dare to ask how much it would cost. So Shao Hao, who was so rich, was willing to pay Bai Yuehu, a cheap labourer, an additional 500 yuan.

Lu Qingjiu rang the doorbell and a few moments later the door opened and a middle-aged butler-like man came out to receive them.

"The gentleman is already waiting for you all in the garden." The butler smiled, "This way, everyone, we'll park your car for you."

Lu Qingjiu nodded and the three of them followed the direction the butler directed them.

The garden house is very beautiful and has been carefully tended, with flowers in full bloom and grasses and trees trimmed into various shapes.

With such doubts, Lu Qingjiu finally saw Shao Hao sitting in the back garden.

Next to Shao Hao is Jiu Feng, but the girl, who was in great spirits two days ago, is now lying wilted on the grass, looking like she is about to die. When Shao Hao saw the three of them coming, he smiled and waved at them, gesturing for them to come over.

" Jiu Feng What's wrong" Lu Qingjiu asked with some confusion.

"Ate the hard stuff." Bai Yuehu said, "It seems that batch of phoenix quail had older flesh."

Lu Qingjiu: ""This girl is a bit miserable.

Shao Hao says, "Do you want to sit and rest for a while, or go straight to the birds?

"Let's go straight to the birds." Lu Qingjiu says that although the garden is also beautiful, he is more interested in the birds raised by Shao Hao.

"Let's go." Shao Hao got up and walked deeper towards the garden.

The three of them followed behind, Bai Yuehu, who was obviously a regular visitor to this place, and the fact that nothing good came out of it every time, looked disinterested from the beginning to the end, while Yin Xun and Lu Qingjiu looked around with great interest all the way, looking left and right.

Shao Hao leads them through a tunnel of wisteria, so long and winding that it is like walking through an endless maze. Only Lu Qingjiu felt as he walked on that he had left Shao Hao's original garden and was leading to another world.

After about ten minutes of walking, Shao Hao's pace slows down and the wisteria around him begins to thin out, and Lu Qingjiu faintly hears the clear chirping of birds.

"Almost there." Shao Hao chuckled, "You don't have any cash on you, do you?"

"Cash," Lu Qingjiu says, "a little bit, why?" Although it's all about mobile payments now, he still habitually carries some cash in case he needs it sometime.

"Is it much?" Shao Hao asks.

"Not much." Lu Qingjiu was filled with bewilderment.

"Not too much is good." Shao Hao smiled, "You know, sometimes birds can be rather boring." With those words, he reached out and lifted the curtain formed by the wisteria hanging down in front of him, revealing his world, to Lu Qingjiu's eyes.

Lu Qingjiu saw a mountain with lush grass and trees, with countless rocks, all of which were decorated with beautiful patterns of various kinds, but this was not the most attractive thing. Some of the birds fly in the sky, their huge wings spreading out, their colourful feathers and flamboyant crowns instantly catching the eye. Some landed in the grass with yellowish fluff and a lovely pink flush on their cheeks, piled together like good stuffed animals. Some are slender and look a little like cranes, but much larger, with a long, slender neck and black and white feathers that add a touch of ink to their fairy-like appearance.

The crisp chirping of these birds when they see Shao Hao arriving here is clearly a welcome to the owner of this territory.

"Is the quail clean?" Bai Yuehu asked before entering.

"Almost there, just a handful left." Shao Hao said, "If you don't mind."

Bai Yuehu: "I mind."

"Tch." Shao Hao showed a look of regret.

The four of them walked to the front of the mountain and Lu Qingjiu got a good look at the mountain. I must say that the mountain was really beautiful, surrounded by clear springs at the bottom, and although the trees were dense, it was not gloomy, and the sunlight imprinted dappled light and shadow on the ground through the treetops, giving people a very quiet feeling. The grass under their feet was different from the usual weeds, like a thick blanket. Lu Qingjiu pressed his hand on it and felt nothing but softness.

"It's so beautiful." Yin Xun's eyes are blurred.

"Let me show you up the hill." Shao Hao laughed, "The big birds are on the mountain."

Lu Qingjiu said expectantly, "Yes."

Bai Yuehu raised an eyebrow at this and said, "Which big birds are in"

"They're all here." Shao Hao said, "Yanzi has just come back, she's still bored these days."

As they walked up the hill, Bai Yuehu briefly told Lu Qingjiu about the birds of Shao Hao, except that Shao Hao had created a very special system when he founded his country, making the phoenix the king of all birds, with swallows, borrows, parrots and jinqui in charge of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and of course there were other birds with duties, but under this system these birds were highest in status.

"And the phoenix," Lu Qingjiu's eyes lit up at the sound of it, "isn't the phoenix beautiful?"

Bai Yuehu: "That's it."

Lu Qingjiu said, "So can we see the phoenix today?"

"Can." Shao Hao laughed, "He's right on top of the hill, probably playing with the other birds at the moment."

Lu Qingjiu listened with growing anticipation. In his imagination, what he saw at the top of the mountain might be the phoenix playing with other birds, and since the dragon was so beautiful, the phoenix must be as beautiful as the legend.

Bai Yuehu's lips are slightly beside hers.

The micro-movement seemed to want to say something, but seeing Lu Qingjiu's expectant look, he finally fell silent.

The path was a bit steep, but the scenery was beautiful enough to keep Lu Qingjiu from feeling bored. Shao Hao introduced Lu Qingjiu to the names of the birds he saw around him as he walked, and Lu Qingjiu realised that most of the birds here were the same as those found in the human world, although there were some extinct species that could still be seen.

Shao Hao's territory is like a special peach blossom garden for birds.

Lu Qingjiu's excitement had reached its peak when he finally reached the top of the hill, only to turn a corner and reach an open meadow when he heard some very untimely noises.

"30,000"

"Bump."

"Paste."

"Why the fuck are you cheating again, are you fucking cheating?"

"Hey, don't play if you can't afford to lose, how can an honest bird like me cheat"

Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun's expressions are frozen in this moment, as they have managed to climb to the top of the hill and see four people sitting next to a stone platform playing mahjong.

Lu Qingjiu slowly turned his head towards Shao Hao: "What are they doing?"

Shao Hao: "Playing mahjong."

Lu Qingjiu forced himself to calm down and told himself that it must not be true: "Where is the big bird you were talking about?" There was not even a small bird in sight on top of the mountain, let alone a big beautiful one.

Shao Hao: "Playing mahjong."

Lu Qingjiu: "Ah"

Shao Hao: "They are the big birds."

The four men also heard their conversation and stopped moving their hands and looked over in unison. Lu Qingjiu noticed that their hair colour was different from normal people, black and white, red and green, and the one who stood out most was the girl with coloured hair.

Lu Qingjiu felt his consciousness blur and all his dreams were instantly shattered. The look on his face was so obvious that Shao Hao said, in a reassuring tone, "Or let them make a prototype for you."

Lu Qingjiu: "No need for that."

"The girl with the coloured hair waved at Lu Qingjiu, inviting him with enthusiasm.

Lu Qingjiu finally understood why Shao Hao had asked him if he had any cash with him, the fucking birds were actually gambling on top of the mountain!

Shao Hao turned his head to his birds, "Change back to your original forms." Although Lu Qingjiu said no, looking at him like he was on the verge of passing out from the blow, he thought it best not to continue to irritate him.

When the four birds heard Shao Hao's words, they looked at each other and then actually transformed back into their prototypes, only they were much bigger than ordinary birds, standing up almost as tall as a grown man.

I have to say that despite seeing them playing mahjong, Lu Qingjiu was spinelessly fascinated by their archetypes. The swallow is handsome, the bird is beautiful, the parrot is beautiful and the cockatoo is gorgeous, and it would be better if they didn't have that table of mahjong in front of them, Lu Qingjiu thought with some pain.

But after a break, Lu Qingjiu accepted the harsh truth and learned that the birds were bored and liked to play mahjong.

"Want a couple of plates?" said the brocade chicken, presumably the girl with the coloured hair and the human language coming out of her beak.

"I don't have much money with me." Lu Qingjiu said.

"It's okay." Swallow was a man, looking gentlemanly in both human and bird form, "We hit the small."

Lu Qingjiu wanted to refuse, but when the four of them stared at him with such anticipation, he was inexplicably unable to say anything, and said, "Besides, aren't you four already together?"

"Gee, I wouldn't want to play poker with Burrow." Kamchick said, "He's so bad at it."

Burrow: ""

The swallows and parrots next to them agree.

The sidelined Burrow gave a sad expression and said, "You dogs don't dislike my poker skills when you can't get a corner together."

Lu Qingjiu couldn't stand watching them quarrel in bird form any longer, it would really cast a shadow on them, so he hurriedly asked them to change back to human form and said it was fine to play a couple of rounds, but what about Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun, neither of whom knew how to play cards, so it would be boring to sit next to them.

"I'll be right next to you watching." Bai Yuehu has little interest in this bird garden, having seen the whole yard long ago when he was captured by Shao Hao as a hard labourer.

"I can show him around." Shao Hao laughed, "Don't worry, I won't let him get bored."

But before he could say no, Shao Hao reached out and squeezed his shoulder, winking at him, "Don't you want to go and see?"

Yin Xun: "I" actually wanted to go around again, but

Lu Qingjiu thought he was embarrassed and said soothingly, "Go on, it's fine, we'll just play cards here, if you want to come back, let Shao Hao bring you over."

Yin Xun was led away by Shao Hao.

While Lu Qingjiu was playing mahjong with some birds, Yin Xun was led by Shao Hao to the other side of the garden. I have to say that the bird garden was particularly beautiful and tempting to Yin Xun, who had hardly ever been outside Shuifu Village. Shao Hao followed Yin Xun, as before, introducing the names and habits of the birds around the garden, to which Yin Xun listened with great interest. As they walked and chatted, they slowly came to a small bridge, under which the river was clear, with golden koi swimming in the water, so clear that it looked as if the fish were swimming in the air.

"It's beautiful." Yin Xun can't remember how many times she has uttered heartfelt praise.

"Do you like it here?" Shao Hao asks in a gentle voice.

"I like it." Yin Xun was about to turn around when he realised that Shao Hao was standing right behind him, so close that he could even feel Shao Hao's exhaled breath.

"Ah" Yin Xun reflexively tried to back up, but the bridge was behind her and she could not move a single inch.

Shao Hao, a head taller than Yin Xun, was gazing at Yin Xun with his eyes slightly downcast, and Yin Xun's voice tensed up as she was frightened by his stare: "Mr. Shao Hao."

Shao Hao said, "You are the god of the mountain, aren't you?"

Yin Xun said, "Yes, yes, yes."

Shao Hao laughs: "Has anyone ever told you that you're attractive?"

Yin Xun was silent for a moment and whispered, "You mean my flesh?"

Shao Hao :""

Yin Xun now understands that Shao Hao probably likes his meat: "Can you not eat me?" He seems to be worried that his refusal will make Shao Hao angry.

Shao Hao had meant to tease Yin Xun a little bit, but ended up watching him in a daze until Yin Xun shoved his finger in his mouth.

Yin Xun: "Just a taste"

Shao Hao's expression twisted for a moment.

Thinking he was not satisfied, Yin Xun trembled and prepared to cut another half of his hand, but Shao Hao grabbed his arm.

Shao Hao seemed to be gritting his teeth a little: "I'm joking with you, what are you doing"

Yin Xun: "Just kidding"

Shao Hao: "Hmmm" He actually thought Yin Xun's flesh lingzhi was a bit interesting, he was just teasing it, but he didn't know how Yin Xun would react, he didn't know what to say. How many times had he done this before?

Yin Xun smiled, thinking that he was being too sensitive, after all Bai Yuehu was still on top of the mountain and Shao Hao was a righteous deity, so he would not cut himself up and eat him.

Shao Hao thought Yin Xun was going to say something to blame himself, but instead he coyly said, "So what do you think of my taste?"

Shao Hao :""

Yin Xun: "I usually cut the vegetables accidentally when I cut them or just eat them casually, I think it seems to be quite good, but no one else has eaten it." When he saw Shao Hao's expression was not right, he hurriedly ended the conversation, "I've almost seen enough, you can send me back."

Shao Hao squeezed out of his teeth, "Not bad."

Yin Xun: "What's good"

Shao Hao: "You taste good." I don't know what you've just touched with this finger, but seriously, Yin Xun tastes really good, a bit like jelly but slightly thicker, with a strange fragrance inside, and it slides over your tongue and is swallowed very well, but that's not the point now.

Yin Xun was proud to be complimented for the first time and was a little embarrassed, saying, "Not bad, huh?"

Shao Hao: "I want to ask you a question."

Yin Xun: what"

Shao Hao said, "If you don't want people to eat you, why do you want them to taste you?" He had eaten flesh lingzhi before, and the taste was very different from Yin Xun's. If I must say, it was definitely much better.

Yin Xun whispered, "It's not like you're expected to stop thinking about it once you've tasted it."

Shao Hao says reluctantly, "What if you taste it and think it tastes good and want it more?"

Yin Xun: ""I'm sorry, he was naive, it's all the fault of this society that is so sinister.

Shao Hao saw Yin Xun's face turn white again, and while he was amused, he felt a strange compassion.

"Come on, let's take you back." Shao Hao was afraid that if he continued to tease, Yin Xun would have to go back and complain.

Yin Xun was relieved to see that Shao Hao had no intention of eating him, and followed Shao Hao's lead to the top of the hill.

Lu Qingjiu, unaware of what had happened to Yin Xun, was frowning and playing mahjong. He found that the birds were very good at mahjong, but he was often dragged by Zhu Miaomiao and the others to play when he was still at the company, so he could barely manage at the moment, without losing or winning.

After playing for a while, however, Lu Qingjiu felt that the personalities of each bird were very different, some gentle, some irascible, some delicate, some rough, rather similar to their species of bird. The swallow in front of him, for example, is particularly gentlemanly, playing gently and with a milder attitude, in contrast to the Burrower who is standing behind him and walking around grumpily.

After a few laps, he saw Shao Hao returning with Yin Xun, who ran away from Shao Hao and back to his side as if he was afraid of something.

"What's wrong?" Lu Qingjiu asked casually, thinking it was Yin Xun who had seen something scary.

"Nothing." Yin Xun's hands were in his pockets, not letting Lu Qingjiu see his still-grown fingers, which would have taken an hour or two to grow out.

Lu Qingjiu said suspiciously, "It's really nothing."

"It's okay." Shao Hao smiled and walked up behind Yin Xun, gently placing his hand on Yin Xun's shoulder as he had done before, only this time, unsurprisingly, he felt Yin Xun's body stiffen slightly, "I was just showing him some raptors."

"Oh." Lu Qingjiu said, "Then pay attention to safety ah." After all, this mountain god of his family's body was particularly fragile and made of special materials, and although Bai Yuehu was there, he wasn't afraid that Shao Hao would hit the audio's in idea.

Shao Hao said gently, "Naturally, you have to be safe, or else you'll get eaten by a bird, right, Yin Xun?"

Yin Xun: "Right." He now finally realised that Bai Yuehu's friends all seemed to be very scary people, and if they weren't scary, then it must be because the person didn't show it. The thought of this made Yin Xun shrink and silently move closer to Lu Qingjiu's side.

Shao Hao didn't mind seeing Yin Xun's reaction, but the smile was a little too gentle and harsh.

The author has something to say: Lu Qingjiu: Sell Yin Xun ah, three yuan a catty ten yuan three catties.

Shao Hao: Come for a hundred.

Yin Xun: Oooooh sell half of it, I can still grow back the rest.