Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
At that moment the hazel grouse, which had hidden into the shrubs when it got frightened, peeped its head out again. It cried out twice before running off! That’s right, hazel grouses ran instead of flying! This kind of bird was grounded and incapable of flight; however, its running speed was faster than flying!
The moment Lin Zicheng saw this, he immediately grabbed his bow, stringed it, and was soon ready to shoot!
Fangzheng took a step forward to block Lin Zicheng’s arrow. “Patron, desist while you still have the opportunity!”
“Go f**k your desist! I’ll make sure you are unable to bear the consequences if the hazel grouse manages to flee!” Lin Zicheng roared which resulted in the hazel grouse to leap into the air, its speeding off imminent!
Lin Zicheng raised his hand to shoot!
Fangzheng sighed. “Patron, since you like hazel grouses and hunting that much, This Penniless Monk will grant you your wish.”
“What do you mean now?” Just as Lin Zicheng was perplexed, he was shocked to discover himself shrinking! That’s right. He was shrinking! In the end, he could only look up to see Fangzheng in front of him!
“What’s happening?” Lin Zicheng cried out, but the moment he said that, it sounded like the cry of a hazel grouse. Lin Zicheng instantly turned flustered. What was going on? What was happening?
At that moment, Fangzheng squatted down and patted Lin Zicheng on the head. “Since you like hazel grouses so much, be one then. This Penniless Monk believes that there will be many humans and animals in this world that will like you too.”
With that said, Fangzheng got up and left.
Lin Zicheng was flabbergasted. Hazel grouse? Had he become a hazel grouse? He looked down and tried to raise his hands, but they were no longer hands. They were clearly the wings of a hazel grouse! And further down were claws… Lin Zicheng was truly scared dumb. He immediately ran to the side of the river and looked down into the water.
The water reflected a figure that was stout and oval-shaped. It had a short beak, its wings were short and rounded. Clearly, it could not fly, or even if it could, it could not fly normally. Its nose and feet had feathers on it, and its size was similar to that of a pigeon. This was exactly Lin Zicheng’s impression of a flying dragon. At the top of his head was a crown of feathers, one characteristic of the male bird.
“What… What is happening?!” Lin Zicheng cried out in horror, but the sound produced was that of a bird’s chirp.
At that moment, he heard an exclamation not far behind him. “Listen! It sounds like a bird’s chirp! Brother Meng, where’s the weapon? I want to hunt!”
The moment Lin Zicheng heard that, his heart quivered. This was Lin Lei’s voice. He wanted to hunt? He wanted to shoot a bird? Lin Zicheng, who had just run forward hoping to reunite with them and seek their help, suddenly came to a stop. Would Lin Lei recognize him if he went over in his present state? Would he be shot to death?
As though to answer his question him, Lin Lei appeared. He held a slingshot as he walked over carefully. Upon seeing Lin Zicheng’s hazel grouse form, a look of excitement flashed in his eyes. Lin Zicheng was very familiar with this glint. He had such a look in his eyes, one of excitement, every time he hunted! It was extreme excitement! He anticipated delivering a single fatal shot!
Lin Zicheng subconsciously shouted, “Lin Lei, stop! It’s me! I’m your brother!”
However, Lin Lei did not hesitate to release the rock from the slingshot. With a smacking sound, the rock hit the ground beside Lin Zicheng. The grass flew up and hit Lin Zicheng’s face. It hurt a little! Yet it also gave him a rude awakening. All of this was not a dream, but something real. If he remained in a daze, he might very well be beaten to death!
Upon coming to this realization, Lin Zicheng turned to run.
As a hazel grouse, he was indeed not built for flying, but he was able to run fast. With a whoosh, he burrowed into the shrubs. But…
Pa!
Lin Zicheng was not a hazel grouse that had been running from a young age. He was unable to control his balance and ended up slamming into a shrub’s branch. He ended up seeing stars.
He then heard Lin Lei exclaim, “Haha, I encountered a silly bird! Not only does it not know how to fly, it even slammed into a tree!”
“It doesn’t fly? Let me take a look!” Lin Ying’s voice sounded as she walked over. However, she did not look in Lin Zicheng’s direction and instead exclaimed, “Isn’t this Brother’s bow, and aren’t these his clothes? Where is he?”
“That’s right. Where’s Brother?” Lin Lei snapped out of his excitement.
When Xia Meng heard those words, he immediately ran over. He squatted down to check the bow and clothes. He frowned. “The clothes are very clean. There’s no signs of damage. The bow is fine too. From the looks of it, it’s as if Boss Lin took off his clothes of his own accord. Why would he take off his clothes?”
Lin Lei looked ahead at the shrubs and the stream flowing beneath it. “Don’t tell me he dipped himself into the river?”
“Even so, there’s no need for him to take off his underwear, right?” Lin Ying looked at the clothes on the ground and said worriedly.
“This is also what I’m worried about. There’s little human activity here, but there are quite a bit of wild beasts. However, from Old Liang’s reaction from before, I suspect that a human has been following us. Furthermore, he has interfered numerous times to prevent Old Liang from hunting. In addition, he convinced Old Liang, resulting in his sudden change. Now that something has happened to Boss Lin, it has likely to do with that person.” As he spoke, he squatted down to observe his surroundings carefully. He also asked, “Lin Lei, when you came here, did you see anything special?”
“Yes, I saw a stupid bird that can only run and not fly. It was rather ugly. It was about the size of a pigeon, and it had a crown of feathers on its head,” answered Lin Lei immediately.
“What you describe is likely a flying dragon, which is also the bird Boss Lin wishes to capture even in his dreams. That bird is listed as a Category I nationally protected animal in our country. It’s very precious. Boss Lin might not consider selling it for money, but if it were given as a gift, it could be something worth its price in gold. It would be a priceless gift.”
“So that was a flying dragon. Brother Meng, that flying dragon is inside the shrubs over there. It’s really silly. It even slammed into a tree like a pig,” said Lin Lei as he pointed in the direction of Lin Zicheng.
Xia Meng shot a glance to the side, frightening Li Zicheng. As he trembled, he immediately thought of fleeing. However, he was no hazel grouse. There was no way he could successfully navigate across the complicated landscape while running. He would stumble after running a few steps.
Xia Meng frowned. “Why does this flying dragon look like it had too much to drink? Forget it. Finding Boss Lin is imperative. Let’s ignore it.”
Lin Ying looked curiously at Lin Zicheng. “This bird is really quite stupid.”
Lin Lei said, “It’s indeed silly enough. Doesn’t Brother want to capture one? I’ll capture it. When we find Brother, I can give him a great gift. At worst, we can roast it. I haven’t eaten the meat of a flying dragon before either. I’ve always heard Brother touting about it. I shall enjoy myself this time.” Lin Lei still had a childish playfulness to him. He did not believe Lin Zicheng would really be in any danger.
And thus, Lin Lei ran over and grabbed Lin Zicheng.
Lin Zicheng tried to dodge and escape, but unfortunately, he was not familiar with his new body or the landscape. He was grabbed by the neck and lifted up by Lin Lei moments after he began running.
Lin Zicheng struggled desperately as he cursed, “Lin Lei, f**king let go! It’s me! I’m your brother!”
“Hehe, this bastard bird sure can put up quite a fight. Don’t struggle or I’ll squeeze you to death!” As Lin Lei spoke, he clamped Lin Zicheng’s neck and casually shook him. At that moment, Lin Zicheng could almost sense death already! All his blood was stirred into a bunch from being shaken. He was seeing stars and with his neck clamped, he could hardly breathe. This time Lin Zicheng realized how terrifying his younger brother was! He was facing his useless brother, a weakling with a little playfulness, for whom he had always felt contempt. He had constantly tried to change and educate his brother to make him more manly. Now, he no longer showed contempt towards him but fear!
