44: Bird training

Su Ze stared blankly at the red-clothed girl sleeping soundly in his arms. He hadn't expected Feng Qingyi to actually fall asleep like this under his soothing.

It made sense. Even though she looked like a thirteen or fourteen-year-old human girl, she was actually just a fledgling that had recently hatched.

In terms of human age, she would probably only be considered an infant.

Thus, the grooming technique Su Ze had learned from Lin Xi—used by adult birds to preen young ones—easily allowed her to relax her guard and drift off.

Su Ze gently pulled himself away. Watching Feng Qingyi sprawl out and take up more than half the bed, he helplessly scooted inward, occupying the remaining small portion of the bed before falling asleep.

Early the next morning, when Su Ze slowly woke up, he felt as if his entire body was tightly bound by ropes.

Opening his eyes, he found Feng Qingyi clinging to him like an octopus, her arms and legs wrapped tightly around him.

Su Ze struggled to break free from her embrace. He noticed that despite his movements, the sleeping Feng Qingyi hadn't woken up, though her red dress was quite disheveled.

After washing up quietly, Su Ze used his daily Gacha rolls while brushing his teeth.

“Today's luck is decent. One Silver grade demon beast egg.”

After putting it away, Su Ze reached into the System and pulled out a bronze grade demon beast egg.

However, after some consideration, he decided to strike while the iron was hot and took out the Silver grade demon beast egg he had just rolled as well.

He then tossed both eggs into a large iron pot filled with boiling water.

This was a large iron pot Su Ze had specifically bought to boil demon beast eggs. After all, a single egg was the size of a human head; to boil two at once, he needed a sufficiently large pot.

Su Ze had tried making various dishes with demon beast eggs, but extra seasonings only ended up ruining the flavor.

In the end, he returned to basics and found that simple boiled eggs were actually the most delicious.

About half an hour later, a refreshing aroma wafted through the air.

Feng Qingyi, who hadn't woken up despite Su Ze's earlier movements, sat up abruptly in bed and opened her eyes, as if lifted by a giant hand made of the scent.

“It smells... so good...”

She then followed the scent to the kitchen and saw the boiled demon beast egg that had already been peeled.

Just as she was about to pounce on it, Su Ze grabbed her from the side: “Go wash up first!”

Although Su Ze didn't know if birds had teeth or if they should brush them, since Feng Qingyi was currently in human form, he felt it was necessary to hold her to human standards.

He also wanted to test exactly how obedient Feng Qingyi was to him now.

To his surprise, although Feng Qingyi looked longingly at the steaming demon beast egg...

She still let Su Ze lead her into the bathroom, where she clumsily brushed her teeth and washed her face under his guidance.

At this moment, Su Ze even had a sudden feeling like he was raising a child.

After finishing her washing with great impatience, Feng Qingyi's face instantly lit up with a smile once she tasted the boiled demon beast egg.

In this regard, she was just like a child; she had to be coaxed with delicious food.

Su Ze sat nearby, eating his own slightly smaller bronze grade demon beast egg.

He couldn't help but feel that this was more like a parent leaving the best food for their child.

After eating and drinking her fill, Feng Qingyi didn't choose to return to the beast taming space as she used to. Instead, she followed behind Su Ze as he headed out.

The moment Su Ze opened his door, Sun Hao opened his own door in perfect synchronization.

Upon seeing Feng Qingyi behind Su Ze, his eyes widened instantly, and his tension became visibly apparent.

His heart raced as he thought, “Who is this Little Girl? Why is she in Su Ze's house? I clearly didn't sense a second person entering last night! Could she have been lurking in the house all along?”

He had been unconscious from his heavy injuries at the time, so he had never seen Feng Qingyi's human form and naturally couldn't recognize her.

Feng Qingyi also felt the human's gaze and glared back with her large, watery eyes.

At that moment, Sun Hao felt a mountain of pressure crashing down on him, causing him to stumble back uncontrollably and hit the door.

His remaining right hand reached for his waist, preparing to contact the Great Xia Spirit Guards.

Just then, Su Ze hurriedly grabbed Feng Qingyi's hand to stop her.

“It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. We're on the same side. I'm sorry, Brother Sun. Are you okay?”

Sun Hao didn't relax his guard immediately. Instead, he shot a suspicious look at Su Ze and Feng Qingyi.

Only when he saw that the other party had obediently withdrawn her aura and had no intention of attacking further did he pull his hand back.

“Could she be a bodyguard arranged by someone else, like me? From the Beast Tamer Association or the Beast Taming University?”

But considering the strength the girl had just shown—which was no weaker than Captain Guo's—Sun Hao felt it was unlikely she was sent by those two organizations.

“And she seems to have a very close relationship with Brother Su Ze. Could it be...” Sun Hao's mind suddenly filled with gossip.

Since ordinary people might never see a Diamond-rank Demonic Beast in their entire lives, few knew they could take human form. Even Beast Taming Universities didn't consider it necessary to teach such knowledge.

Thus, Sun Hao didn't realize that Feng Qingyi was the Diamond-rank Demonic Beast Su Ze had contracted, which everyone was talking about.

Worried that emphasizing Feng Qingyi's status as a demonic beast would create a rift, Su Ze didn't introduce her specifically.

He simply said she would never hurt him and would protect him alongside Sun Hao.

By the time they went downstairs, Xu Yao was already waiting for them at the corner of the stairs.

Seeing Feng Qingyi, Xu Yao was surprised at first, as the bird had always acted very proud and aloof toward humans.

She then smiled and greeted her, and Feng Qingyi reluctantly responded under Su Ze's direction.

This left Sun Hao, who was watching from the side, dumbfounded.

“I originally thought this would be a shura field, but it looks like Xu Yao doesn't mind at all. She's even happy for Su Ze. Impressive... truly impressive!”

Sun Hao gave Su Ze a mental thumbs-up, thinking his methods were truly masterful.

But from Xu Yao's perspective, there was naturally no jealousy. Why would she worry about a bird stealing her man?

She was only happy that Su Ze had finally subdued the Golden Feather Phoenix Bird. After all, it had been a potential threat before, likely to lose control at any moment and put Su Ze in danger.

However, not long into the walk to school, Xu Yao began to feel something was off.

She noticed that Feng Qingyi wasn't just following Su Ze; she was actually acting spoiled and letting Su Ze pat her head!

This set off alarm bells in Xu Yao's mind. Even if Feng Qingyi was a bird, she looked like a human right now!

Plus, after only one night, Feng Qingyi's attitude had undergone a 180-degree transformation.

This forced Xu Yao to be suspicious.

“Just what method did you use to tame this bird? Was it stick training?”