Yuwen Tong was very quick and soon caught two pheasants. When he took them back after prepping them in a brook, Ling Zhang had made a fire beneath a simple grill. Yuwen Tong impaled the pheasants on a pointy branch and started roasting them above the fire.
Ling Zhang’s attention was drawn to the roast pheasants on the grill, his worry ebbing away. Smelling the tantalizing aroma and watching the dripping fat, he found himself stroking his belly.
Yuwen Tong gave a smile and was just about to speak when he suddenly paused, twisting his head aside to look at a clump of bushes to their right.
Ling Zhang’s eyes also flashed in that direction.
A faint rustle was heard. At first Ling Zhang thought that it was some kind of wild beast approaching, and then he felt it sounded more like a human than an animal, but its breathing was a little weak, and there was also the sound of footsteps on crisp leaves. It sounded like… a child?
After a while, the bushes shook and with that a little boy’s head with two buns on top poked up through the foliage, his fair-skinned, chubby, little cheeks as delicate and adorable as those of the boy beside the lotus seat of the Bodhisattva in a New Year painting, his big, round, liquid eyes as bright and sparkling as obsidian in spring water. The moment his little head popped out, he started looking around and soon caught sight of Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong as well as their… roast pheasants.
His limpid eyes immediately lighting up, he crawled his way out of the bushes. His plump little hands were also fair-skinned and appeared very pleasant to the touch, fallen leaves sticking to his hair and robes which were simple-styled but made of soft, sumptuous material. After getting out of the bushes, he pulled himself up, casually dusted off his hands and then trotted towards Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, but he didn’t get too close, stopping a few paces away, flicked a surprised glance at them and then looked at the roast pheasants and asked in a babyish voice, “Who are you? What are you doing?”
Ling Zhang had been astonished when he’d seen that it was really a kid, and been gazing at the little boy all along. Noticing that the style of the boy’s robes was rather different from that of the robes worn by common children in the outside world, he got a shrewd idea of where he might be from. After hearing the boy’s questions, he answered, “We were invited to pay a visit to this place.”
“To pay a visit?” The little boy tilted his head slightly to one side, his big eyes full of puzzlement. “My uncle said no outsiders could get in. Where are you from?”
Uncle? Ling Zhang guessed that this boy lived in the Millennium Pavilion and his uncle was probably a member of the organization.
And surprised as this little boy’s eyes were, there was not much wariness in them. He seemed very naive and unsophisticated.
“We came here with an elder named Ji Yin,” said Yuwen Tong.
At the sound of Ji Yin’s name, the little boy seemed to suddenly understand, an expression of dawning comprehension on his face. “Oooh, it turns out you came here with the Prime Elder.”
Having realized this, the little boy was much less afraid of Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, stepped closer and crouched down beside the fire, sniffing the tempting smell of the roast pheasants, staring at the them with gleaming eyes. He swallowed hard and asked, “What are you doing?”
“Roasting pheasants. They’re very delicious. You want to give it a shot?” said Ling Zhang in a low voice, involuntarily sounding a trifle amused, for the sight of the little boy gazing at the roast pheasants with longing glinting eyes was so amusing. He could bet it was by the aroma of the roast pheasants that this little boy had been lured here.
Eyes glinting even more expectantly, the little boy bobbed his head repeatedly. He was just about to answer when a voice came from the clump of bushes behind him. “Cong.”
On hearing this voice, before the little boy reacted, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were taken aback. The speaker was right behind the bushes, but neither of them had sensed their presence!
How was this possible? Even when Ji Yin got close to him, Yuwen Tong could faintly detect his Qi, but this person…
“Uncle!” called the little boy, twisting his head around. “I’m here!”
“I know you’re there. I’ve already seen you. You’ve been misbehaving yourself and running around.” The speaker walked out from behind the bushes. He was young, slim-figured, clothed in very plain, light gray robes, one of the lower hems of which was stuffed into his belt, looking casual and simple. His long, black hair was simply tied behind his head, flying in the wind. He slowly walked over, and only at this moment did his footsteps become audible.
Aside from these, there were two things about him that were the most conspicuous. The first one was a multicoloured bird standing on his shoulder, which gave a squeak and haughtily raised its head, scorning to look at Ling Zhang or Yuwen Tong; the second one was a round, scarlet little mole in the middle of his fair-skinned brow, which rendered Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong unable to take their eyes off it, as though it possessed some kind of power that could bind people’s soul. His features were beautiful and exquisite, more charming than those of a statue carved out of jade by a consummate sculptor.
This man… was so good-looking. His charm was indescribable. Ling Zhang had only one thought in his mind – he was as handsome as a celestial being.
There was no doubt that this man was a member of the Millennium Pavilion, and his kung fu was superb, for even Yuwen Tong couldn’t sense his Qi at a close distance.
Ling Zhang knew he should be alert, but for some unknown reason, the sight of this man made him unable to become vigilant. There was an air of something amazing about this person in front of him. He didn’t know how to describe it, but if he had to put it in some way, he would say that this man unmistakably struck him as totally harmless.
Neither Yuwen Tong nor Ling Zhang moved, the latter sitting where he’d always been, the former still turning the branch in his hand, but both of them were watching the young man walking over, their backs slightly tense.
Ling Zhang was pondering what his preamble should be. Should he just show this man the token left by Ji Yin? But the man had already shown a sign of what was on his mind. He casually cast a look at the roast pheasants, and then slowly glanced at them once again.
Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin, “…”
“Uncle, this smells so good!” The little boy, crouched before the grill, gave the young man a wave. His hands were white and chubby, making his wave seem soft.
Almost subconsciously, Ling Zhang blurted before he could make a decision, “We’re roasting pheasants. You want to have a try?”
The young man briefly paused and then walked up to the little boy in a very natural manner to sit onto the ground beside him, his long, jet-black hair flying at the back so lightly it was reminiscent of willow twigs, which made the mood quite relaxed. The colorful bird on his shoulder gave another squeak and finally moved its eyes onto Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong.
“Thank you,” said the young man, gazing at the roast pheasants. “What spices did you use? The smell is so pleasant.”
“Common ones.” Yuwen Tong gave the names of a couple of spices and then added, “When it comes to roasting pheasants, timing is everything. You’ve got to make sure it’s done to a turn.”
The young man seemed to find this reply quite enlightening. “You’ve got a point. My family chef never made any roast pheasants smelling so good.”
Ling Zhang was still wondering whether or not he should show him the token, but seeing that the young man’s eyes had been fixed on the pheasants all along, he came to realize that showing him the token wouldn’t be necessary. This man definitely didn’t care, for all he care about was the roast pheasants.
Ling Zhang, without any more talking, helped Yuwen Tong roast the pheasants, which had almost been done before the appearance of the young man and were now ready to eat.
Their original plan had been that they each had one pheasant and ate them by using branches to impale the meat, but now…
Yuwen Tong directly handed the branch to the young man. “Give it a shot.”
The young man’s eyes brightened slightly. He took it, thanked Yuwen Tong, briefly sniffed at it and then took a bite of it. The expression on his face was so content and happy as though this was the most delicious food in the world. The sight of this made Ling Zhang feel even hungrier.
“Uncle! Uncle! I want a bite as well!” The little boy, mouth watering, grabbed the young man’s wrist with his chubby hand, staring at the roast pheasants.
The young man tore off a chunk of meat reluctantly, handed it to the boy and reminded him, “Be careful. It’s hot.”
Since the meat was fairly scalding, the boy turned it over and over in his palms, getting his hands oily, gasping loudly. After a few moments, he quickly stuffed it into his mouth.
Ling Zhang was worried about him. “Slow down. It’s very hot.”
The boy chewed through the meat in his mouth, exhaled and then said happily with a frown, “It’s so yummy.”
Ling Zhang secretly swallowed hard and with that a big drumstick was held to his lips. He turned aside and saw Yuwen Tong looking at him. Somewhat embarrassed, he took the drumstick and bit off a chunk of meat.
At this moment, nothing could stop them from enjoying the roast pheasants.
As a result, none of them was talking. The boy uttered “Yummy” thickly from time to time, but other than that, there was no other words. Three adults and one child were all indulging in eating, too busy to talk.
While eating, Ling Zhang was speculating about this young man’s identity. After an appraising look at the scarlet mole in the middle of his brow, he shifted his gaze to the multicoloured bird on his shoulder which, as though capable of understanding human’s actions, looked back at Ling Zhang, tilting its head to one side. After a few moments, seeming a little confused, it fidgeted on the young man’s shoulder and suddenly flew over and perched onto Ling Zhang’s shoulder instead, crouched.
Ling Zhang was astonished, hurriedly looking at the young man, not daring move.
The young man, gnawing away at his roast pheasant with little consideration of grace, threw a glance at the bird with an indifferent look on his face, but it was not long before he shifted his gaze back to the roast pheasant against, utterly unconcerned about the bird’s throwing itself at another person.
Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong, who observed, “This bird is quite special. I’ve never seen its likes before.”
The boy raised his head from the pheasant which he’d been enjoying very much and said in a babyish voice, “Her name’s Color. She’s pretty badass.”
Ling Zhang gave a smile. “Color? That’s quite an interesting name.”
“You think it’s a good name?” The boy looked at him in surprise. “My mom said that my uncle named it too carelessly. She thinks this name sucks.”
The young man, though fully occupied with eating, managed to spare a hand to give the boy a playful knock on the head with his knuckle. “I’m your uncle. You’re not allowed to say anything mean about me.”
After being hit on the head, the boy uttered “O” and then obediently shut up and resumed eating the drumstick.
Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong exchanged glances. So far, apart from the knowledge that this bird’s name was Color which had been given to it by this young man and was disliked by his elder sister, they hadn’t got any useful information. Eventually, the two of them also went back to eating.
After quite a while, all three adults and a child finished eating. The boy stroked his belly. The young man looked at the bones of the roast pheasants, clearly hoping there were more.
“You must be Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, I suppose? The ones brought back by the Prime Elder,” said the young man in a casual tone.
Ling Zhang inclined his head. “Yeah. My grandfather went inside to meet the clan leader. He told us to stay here waiting for him to come back.”
