Chapter 61

Hiss~

The man was taken aback; this little chubby bird's dull beak, when it pecked him, actually hurt so much that he instinctively clenched his palm, meeting the nervous gazes of the two kids, and his face instantly twisted.

The child swallowed hard, stammering: "Uncle, uncle, what are you doing?"

The shop owner heard this and laughed: "I'm not doing anything, I'm not doing anything."

He bent down, wanting to pat the two kids' heads, but they dodged; their wary looks were like two little wolf cubs, and the shop owner's heart tightened as he heard them say: "Shopkeeper Uncle, you're not doing this right!"

What's wrong?

Xue Xiaotao walked over, holding both hands flat, as if cradling something fragile, and said carefully: "Little Fat Chirp shouldn't be grabbed with one hand; you should hold it up with both hands, otherwise it'll be uncomfortable!"

The man was in a terrible mood; looking at the defiant little bird, he secretly exerted force, and Little Fat Chirp let out a chirp.

Ahhh it hurts so much QAQ

The man's palm grew wet as a fresh, steaming bird dropping flowed onto his hand; setting aside his mood for the moment, the two little guys beside him were already terrified.

Ling Yue furrowed her brows fiercely, a curse on her lips; she understood animal speech and thus grasped what Little Fat Chirp had just said—it was screaming, it was begging for help!

On Pet Street, Zhou Xiaozhao didn't know where his courage came from; he always considered himself a brainy type, yet he directly snatched Little Fat Chirp from the adult's palm.

Uncle, you scared it!

He didn't know the man's small move, thinking Little Fat Chirp had been frightened; his tender palm could feel the little bird's slight trembling, as it kept burrowing into his hand.

The shop owner instantly realized something was wrong: "Little friend, I was wrong; can you give Little Fat Chirp back to me?"

Xue Xiaotao glared at him fiercely: "No way!"

He almost couldn't control his expression, not knowing his own expression, finally slammed the brakes and asked him: "Why?"

Xue Xiaotao: "You're so stupid!"

Zhou Xiaozhao: "Uncle, you're so clumsy, you've scared the little fatty chirp badly; we can't let you hold it anymore."

If it weren't for the fact that there were so many people around, he really would have liked to let these two brats know what the world's dangers are.

After barely suppressing his anger, he heard them make a demand: "Uncle, you don't run a flower and bird market, do you? Why not bring a cage over? We'll wait here for you; you bring the cage, and we'll give you the little fatty chirp."

At that moment, the little fatty chirp in his palm suddenly chirped.

"No, no, I don't want to be caught by the big bad guy!"

Wuwuwu, where are you, big monster from just now? Save save lir lir, wuwuwu, who will come save me QAQ

Hearing this, Ling Yue saw the navigation on her phone and sprang to her feet.

The viewers in the livestream were frightened by this sudden situation, and it was also the first time they had seen Ling Yue's outdoor broadcast.

【Where is this? Why does it feel so familiar?】

【I remember now, it's the Capital Zoo! Streamer, why are you here?】

【Capital Zoo? It's gone bankrupt! How could the streamer go in?】

Ling Yue explained to the livestream viewers: "The Capital Zoo went bankrupt and I bought it; it's now mine, so I can come and go freely."

After saying that, she no longer paid attention to the explosive-looking screen, turned her head to Master Jiang, and said: "I have something to attend to; I need to go out for a while."

He looked at her admiringly, with an expression of understanding: "I know, I know."

He also sensed something was wrong; having practiced martial arts for years, he could tell at a glance that the person's gaze was off, and since the director was a young woman, he instinctively stood up: "How about I come with you? I can help with anything."

Ling Yue hesitated for a moment: "Okay."

She raised her head toward the horizon, half-lifting her arm; the circling crows in the sky instantly flapped their wings and flew over, landing steadily on her arm, tilting their heads and cawing: "Master, what's wrong?"

Ling Yue quickly told it via telepathy what she intended to do; before the matter was truly confirmed, she dared not assert it.

The crows, knowing their master's speculation and description, were furious; they were already fully grown large birds, knowing their master would never wrong an innocent person, nor let a guilty one go!

Flapping their wings against their chests: "Master, rest assured, I've got this covered!"

The livestream viewers who saw Ling Yue and the crows whispering to each other were completely stunned.

【Is the streamer communicating with animals? My goodness, who am I, where am I?】

【This wave, this wave is still an encrypted call!】

Moreover, some viewers, not in the right state, asked in a dazed manner: "【What's going on? Did I miss something? How did the streamer suddenly appear?】"

【Streamer, you still haven't said why you suddenly left the room; is there an accident with those two kids?】

"Why do I have to go out?" Ling Yue sighed: "Zhou Xiaozhao."

The two waiting children heard the voice and were startled; after the recent events, they had almost forgotten they were still livestreaming. Upon realizing it, the chubby child scratched the back of his head, hid behind Zhou Xiaozhao, and listened to him say: "Streamer sister, what's wrong?"

The little fatty chirp in Zhou Xiaozhao's hand let out a loud series of chirps.

【Big monster, come save me quickly!】

Ling Yue had already gotten into the car, started it, then placed her phone to one side and said firmly: "Don't give the little fatty chirp to him!"

The livestream viewers, including the two children, were all stunned.

【I knew it, there must be something wrong inside!】

【On what basis does the streamer say that? I think the shopkeeper uncle is nice; it's just a fatty chirp worth a few dozen bucks—if I lose it, I lose it, yet he actually came looking for it.】

【I have a feeling something's mixed in there; upstairs, you said that's really the case?】

【So, what exactly is the situation with that shopkeeper? He clearly had everything prepared】

What the viewers asked was exactly what the two children wanted to say; they were afraid of disturbing Ling Yue's driving, so they deliberately spoke up to repeat it. Ling Yue blinked and said: "What's the situation? Actually I'm not entirely clear, but one thing is certain: the little fatty chirp is a wild animal, not some domesticated pet."

As soon as she said that, the livestream viewers instantly realized.

【!!! Then why does he claim to be the little fatty chirp's owner? It's clearly a wild animal—what's his motive?!】

A science popularizer explained the situation: "【Cough cough, our country does not allow the illegal trade of wild animals! Even if the little fatty chirp is just a 'three-haves' protected species!】"

【The shopkeeper is lying, he even said he already sold the little fatty chirp—how outrageous, truly outrageous! The days are getting more and more promising!】

In front of the camera, the two bewildered children, upon seeing these explanations broken down and analyzed, suddenly understood; the chubby child angrily clenched his little fists: "How could he be so bad!"

Zhou Xiaozhao, even more listless, lowered his head: "It's all my fault; I almost harmed the little fatty chirp!"

Ling Yue couldn't help soothing them: "You don't know, that's why you were tricked by him; now that you've realized, it's already good. The urgent thing is to keep the little chubby chirp safe; you must absolutely not confront him head-on!"

The two kids nodded firmly; they understood the older sister streamer's meaning, after all they were just two kids, how could they oppose an adult man?

As for Master Jiang in the back seat, he secretly clenched his fist, a flash of realization crossing his eyes. After all, he hadn't lived these decades for nothing; by now the matter was crystal clear: the flower and bird market's shop owner had definitely broken the law, and there might be other things going on!

He couldn't help but glance toward the front; that shop owner was big and burly, and if pushed to desperation he might lash out—then the safety of Director Ling would be under his protection!

Ling Yue didn't realize that Master Jiang in the back had already appointed himself as enforcer; she was still urging the two kids: "... Hurry up, quickly take the little chubby chirp and leave this place."

Xiao Feijiu in Zhou Xiaozhao's palm trembled, letting out a clear chirp: "I raise my wings and claws in agreement—hurry up and take me away!"

The two kids had just turned around when a voice came from behind: "Little friends, I've brought the birdcage over——"

They turned their heads, feeling like stiff robots, rigidly watching the shop owner approach, who wore a kind, tolerant smile: "What… where are you guys going?"

"Little friends, I told you not to run around; behaving like this is disobedient, not good children."

【Holy shit, terrible, we've been seen!】

【Damn, how is this guy running so fast!】

【Ahhh streamer, go save people quick—I'm afraid he'll hurt the kids and afraid he'll hurt the little chubby chirp!】

Seeing the comments, Ling Yue also furrowed her brows, hit the throttle; the only thing she felt fortunate about was that she wasn't the only one involved in this operation—there was also the crow!

It was flying in the sky, and besides, the pet market here isn't far; it would surely arrive soon!

Pet market.

The atmosphere stalled for a moment.

After all, they were still children, facing a villain's malice for the first time; the timid little fatty Xue Xiaotao trembled and shouted loudly: "You, you're a bad person! We won't give you the little chubby chirp!"

The man's expression shifted slightly; seeing the crowd turn toward him, he protested indignantly: "I've already proven it—I showed you the video, let you examine the leg band—how can you go back on your word?"

"This is a pet I painstakingly raised; how can you not return it? Let everyone judge fairly—I'm not bullying them; they're simply being outrageous."

"Look at these two brats—they picked up something and won't return it to its owner; if it were an ordinary object, it'd be fine, but this is a living life!"

Upon hearing this, the stream's chatters exclaimed "Holy shit"—nowadays we don't fear villains playing the hooligan, we fear villains who are cultured.

The flower and bird market shop owner tossed off a few casual remarks, and completely turned public opinion around.

The clueless crowd around them looked on; nowadays, who online hasn't seen those few brats? Their first impression is already ruined.

Many people pointed and remarked: "What's going on with you two kids? Why won't you return someone else's pet?"

"Sure enough, ill‑mannered brats—where are your parents?"

"Hey hey, aren't you ashamed? Hurry up and give it back!"

Xue Xiaotao, who had never experienced anything like this, burst into tears; tears pattered down, his little face flushed as he couldn't hold back his anger, crying out: "I didn't! We didn't! He's a bad person—we can't give the little chubby chirp, the little chubby chirp to him!"

Even the usually calm Zhou Xiaozhao tightened his face, gripping his companion's hand: "We haven't lied—he is a bad person!"

"What bad person? I attest, Old Du has worked here seven or eight years; he's the veteran shop owner—you two little kids say he's a bad person, where's your evidence?!"

Shop owner Boss Du looked anguished and indignant, inwardly hating them—just hand over the bird and it'd be done; why make him do this extra thing?

His eyes wary, he scanned the surrounding crowd—could someone have told them something? Normally he would have given up by now, but this time he can't; it's just this one bird away!

Strangely, he felt uneasy, but thinking of his preparations, he instantly relaxed.

From now on the topic needs no prompting from him; everyone will fill in the blanks on their own—all he has to do is wait for them to obediently return it.

"Hiss, that bird in the brats' hands looks oddly cute—no wonder they don't want to give it up!"

【Nonsense!】

Those in the stream who knew the truth exploded with rage; having watched the whole process, they knew how well‑behaved the two kids were—now, just hearing that sound without seeing them, they could tell the little fatty had burst into tears.

【How can these people act like this—what skill is there in bullying two kids?!】

【Any locals from Jing Shi? Come with us! I know the address: Pet Market on Tenth Street, Yi River Road—let's rendezvous and back them up!】

【I'm going!】

【I'm going too!】

At that moment, a street‑strolling streamer was drawn by the commotion, squeezing into the crowd with her petite, delicate figure.

Shen Ziyi gripped her selfie stick, saw the two kids' miserable, woebegone looks, and instantly furrowed her brows.

She was a petite pink‑haired streamer on the Huwei platform, with hundreds of thousands of fans; her shtick was street‑strolling and chatting, taking everyone out to eat, drink, and have fun, wandering everywhere.

This was her hometown—Jing Shi's first ever dedicated stream; she put great thought into choosing this place, a well‑known pet market whose biggest feature is its bustling prosperity, with every kind of pet imaginable.

She hadn't expected things to go poorly; before she'd taken a few steps, she ran into this incident, and the stream's top‑tier patron demanded to go join the fun, while fans smashed gifts asking for it.

Shen Ziyi wanted to get to the bottom of it, speaking up: "What's going on? Why are they crying so miserably? Is nobody helping?"

Soon a kind big sister told her: "Little miss, you just arrived, right? These two are brats! Look at how they cradle that little bird in their hands—so cute—it belongs to someone else; they picked it up and don't want to return it, even breaking the bird's leg!"

"Who raised these brats? Talk about eight generations of bad luck!"

Shen Ziyi froze at those words, not knowing what to say, while her stream's fans heatedly discussed, enumerating the brats they'd encountered.

In short, it boiled down to two words: "They deserved it!"

But Shen Ziyi felt it shouldn't be like that—how could brats cry so miserably? She looked around; all the adults were scolding, the kids' faces red as they cried, making it seem more like the adults were bullying the two children.

She wanted to say something, opened her mouth, but saw a huge "black cloud" drifting in the distance, shocking her speechless: "What… what is that?"

As she spoke, her selfie stick reflexively lifted upward—being a streamer, the habit of filming first when something happens is ingrained in her.

She examined it closely; the stream's viewers were also looking, and someone couldn't help but comment: 【How does this cloud get weirder the more you look at it?】

【Why is it so black? Jet‑black jet‑black!】

【Holy shit, this damn cloud is nothing but a big bird—streamer, run!】

Not far off, the crow led, bringing its little brothers and sisters; apparently all the crows of Jing Shi had been gathered by it, densely packed together forming a "bird‑made black cloud".

The crow took the high ground, instantly spotting the children its master had tasked it to protect—and upon a second look, saw they were crying!

The crow waved its wings: "Little ones, get ready!"

In response came a neat, uniform chorus of honks, their quality rivaling a regiment.

At that moment, Shen Ziyi, who had been the first to notice, finally realized what it was, and she exclaimed in surprise: "Crows!"

Who could believe that such a huge expanse of cloud was actually a flock of crows gathering together—what were they up to?

Shen Ziyi's brow twitched; seeing the oblivious crowd around her, she immediately turned and ran back, saying to her livestream viewers: "That whole swarm of crows looks off—I think we should get out of here first!"

She pattered backward, deliberately seeking shelter under an eave where she couldn't see the blue sky, and only then did she feel a sense of relief.

Shen Ziyi pointed the camera at the scene before her—not only was she herself stunned, but even all the viewers in the livestream were shocked.

【Wow, what the heck are they up to?】

【Streamer, don't you dare move away—I have a feeling something's definitely going to happen!】

【Look quick, look quick! It's changing, it's changing!】

Those viewers who had seen that comment were still puzzled, but then they saw the leader of the crows' "bird-made dark cloud" completely blanket the crowd; some curious people looked up, and the flock overhead dispersed and regrouped, forming a doughnut shape—except this one was a burnt, blackened failed attempt.

none.

"Why are there so many crows?! What are they doing?!"

Someone found it fascinating, pulled out their phone to take a picture, completely unaware that they had already missed their last chance.

Big sister Ya Ya gave an order: "Fire!"

The crows eyed these people, rumps raised, countless shells rained down from the sky, and the formerly noisy crowd fell dead silent in an instant.

For Ya Ya, it's not about age; as long as it works, that's enough!

The two crying children were utterly stunned by the scene; they shockedly lifted their heads to look at the sky, or rather, at the crows.

"Yue!"

"Ugh! It got in my mouth! So disgusting!"

White and fluffy like a layer of slush, it covered everyone nearby—except for the two children, who had not a speck of slush on them, clean and spotless, a world apart from everyone else.

Little fatty Xue Xiaotao's eyes widened in astonishment, and he involuntarily clapped: "Awesome, so awesome!"

Zhou Xiaozhao wanted to push his glasses up, but seeing he was holding the little fatty chirp in his palms, he had to give up, and said calmly: "Maybe someone is helping us."

If you look closely, you can see the stars sparkling in his eyes, not a whit less than the little fatty's.

The little fatty chirp stood shocked on one leg, beak wide open; it had never seen such a grand scene in its life!

It's really awesome >_<

"Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!"

A string of chirps rang out, and the little fatty chirp looked up admiringly at Ya Ya: "Whoa whoa whoa, boss, can I follow you?"

"Awesome awesome awesome!"

Ya Ya looked at its golden rooster stance and couldn't help replying: "You too……are awesome……"

Hearing that, the little fatty chirp went "pah" and flopped back down, feeling blissed out!

Its mung-bean-sized little eyes stared unblinking at Ya Ya, while the nearby trees, because the crows were resting, instantly turned into a great black tree; they marched forth, mighty and unstoppable!

Beyond a certain distance centered on the two children, everything was "disaster victims".

Having watched the whole thing, Shen Ziyi thought of how close she had come to… she clenched her fists tight, only to find her palms drenched in cold sweat, and even the livestream chatters rejoiced for her.

【What luck! Streamer, don't forget to buy lottery tickets after the stream!】

【I think this is fishy! Surely nobody deliberately directed it, right?】

【Brother, what are you daydreaming about? Impossible! This is just an inhuman feathered beast; you think we're filming a movie?】

【... Maybe what he said is really true?】

Shen Ziyi's eyelids twitched wildly; upon seeing this line, a face instantly appeared in her mind—the deity that all streamers on the Huwhale platform revere!

In less than three months since debut, the streamer with zero fans exploded in popularity, becoming the platform's and even the entire internet's top streamer!

She couldn't help but murmur: "Ling Yue."

As soon as she finished speaking, a female voice suddenly rang out.

"Zhou Xiaozhao? Xue Xiaotao?"

The voice cut off abruptly, and Ling Yue strode over, with Master Jiang following closely behind; she said nothing, but the aura radiating from her was enough to make people shrink back, not daring to meet her gaze.

The instigator, Boss Du, looked at Ling Yue in disbelief, as those crows actually carried a red carpet for her.

Ling Yue stepped on it without paying the slightest attention; meanwhile, someone nearby had completely turned to stone.

Shen Ziyi covered her mouth, eyes wide open, her shocked expression as if she were about to scream at the top of her lungs.

After Ling Yue gently soothed the two children, her sharp gaze fixed on Boss Du: "Who are you calling a brat?"