0p0 Chapter 251 The Bird's Gift
Chapter 251 The Bird's Gift
Chapter 251 The Bird's Gift
Lei Xiu, whom Le Zhong was worried about, was not as aggressive as Le Zhong expected. If Le Zhi were not among the hostages currently imprisoned, perhaps Lei Xiu would have acted as Le Zhong had predicted.
He might try the most drastic approach before the blizzard erases all traces, such as capturing a few birds to coerce the Bird of Joy into appearing. Or, he could simply charge in and destroy all the bird and beast nests he encounters along the way, believing that the Bird of Joy will eventually show up.
But right now, Lei Xiu hasn't done anything. No matter how many thoughts he has in mind, once he has something to consider, he can't act recklessly. He has led teams before, and the style of those teams reflects his own. From the Thunder Clan Guard to his current reputation for brutal crushing, one can glimpse the hidden nature of Lei Xiu's personality.
His irritability, madness, and even indifference are merely the most superficial aspects of his personality.
After meeting Lezhi, Lei Xiu seemed to have never existed before. All the traits that once made people wary of him were buried deep, making those who knew Lei Xiu well take notice.
The fact that Le Chu went from distrusting Lei Xiu at the beginning to now regarding him as a member of the Lingyu Clan shows how much Lei Xiu has changed.
Unlike Le Zhong and Le Shan, who had to take care of their team members, Lei Xiu, who insisted on acting alone, did not seek shelter in a cave. Although they hadn't discussed it, he tacitly shared the same idea as Le Zhong; good hunters always think alike.
Lei Xiu stood in a secluded spot among the branches, using the vines and leaves as cover to peek at the birds and beasts braving the wind and snow to peck at berries in the distance.
The bird's movements in pecking at the berries were quite skillful. It carefully pecked off the stem along with the berry, ensuring the berry remained intact. Beneath it lay a flexible leaf, which it used as a temporary wrapping.
It must be said that this bird-beast is quite resourceful.
However, this wasn't why Lei Xiu paid attention to it. He noticed the bird-beast because its behavior was unusual. Logically speaking, during the winter season, birds-beasts would mostly choose high-energy foods, such as insect meat, fish from the lake, or, if all else fails, oily nuts—any of which would be better than berries.
You should know that berries are a rather useless thing in the winter season. They are hard to find, and even if you manage to find them, the energy they provide is quite limited. Unless you are really craving them, birds and beasts will not go out of their way to find them.
Even the chicks making noise...
Well, unless it's a baby bird, you can usually just try to fool it with other food.
The bird's behavior was quite strange. Regardless of why it came out to find berries, the fact that it didn't eat them but instead clearly intended to take them away after finding them is questionable.
Although Lei Xiu couldn't determine the reason immediately, it didn't stop him from keeping a close eye on the bird; after all, things had come to this point. Once the blizzard passed, all the previous traces would be covered up, and they would have to start from scratch.
So why not start now, by examining every little thing that seems unusual to him? Maybe he'll find something interesting.
The howling wind and the increasingly heavy snowfall effectively concealed Lei Xiu's tracks. The bird, relying on its thick feathers, was not afraid of the wind and snow and managed to pick all the berries it had finally found before taking flight.
From beginning to end, it remained unaware that a person was peering down from a high branch not far away, and that person was following it all the way back to their habitat, that very secluded and hard-to-find valley…
Lezhi, who was preparing to return to his cave to rest after finishing his meal, was unaware that Lei Xiu was running wildly down the right path. In fact, what he was facing surprised even Leyou and Leting, while only Maoqiu seemed unfazed.
"Chirp~"
The area outside the cave was noisy and chaotic, a far cry from the tranquility that had been during Lezhi's treatment that afternoon.
The birds that were healed by Lezhi seemed to have made a pact to come to Lezhi's door with their companions at the exact time Lezhi finished eating and resting.
The birds that just left brought over lichen vegetables, which are very hard to find in winter. These vegetables were wrapped in leaves by the birds and arrived in perfect condition. I don't know where they found them.
"Wow, it's wrinkled mustard greens! This mustard greens are so delicious, super crunchy! These birds are amazing!" Leyou peeked out from behind Lezhi's shoulder. Leyou was quite accepting of the birds' gift.
After all, Lezhi was their savior, so what's wrong with them bringing some things? It's perfectly normal. What surprised Leyou was that the things these birds brought were hard to find even in winter. Although they weren't particularly valuable, considering the season, it was quite thoughtful of them.
“We were just saying that we were worried we’d run out of vegetables and fruits, but this is perfect. These delivered today will last us for several days if we plan to eat them.” When Le Ting was running his stall, he was used to doing the math, so his instinctive reaction was to start calculating the number of gifts he received. He was very excited after reaching a conclusion.
"Ah, how did they know we wanted these? Could it be..." Leyou was reminded by Lezhi's words and glanced at a silent fur ball to the side.
From the moment these birds suddenly intercepted Lezhi, Maoqiu remained unusually calm, which is out of character for it. In the past, it would have already rushed forward to protect Lezhi, instead of calmly watching everything unfold.
Unless, it already knew what was going to happen and everything was under its control.
Having inexplicably discovered the truth, Leyou pursed his lips. He felt that this little ball of fur wasn't as innocent as it seemed.
The furball that had noticed Leyou's gaze long ago didn't react otherwise. Even if Leyou knew something, it wouldn't have much of an impact on it. It didn't care about the opinions of anyone other than Lezhi.
"Chi chi chi~"
Another flock of birds and beasts came to Lezhi, put down their things, and turned to leave. It wasn't because they didn't like Lezhi, but simply because the people in line behind them were rushing them too much. Anyone who dared to break the rules and linger a little longer would be attacked by the birds behind them.
"Oh, thank you so much, you're too kind." Lezhi felt his face was almost frozen from smiling. The birds came to give him gifts out of kindness, and he had tried to refuse at first, but this was the result.
A crushing defeat.
He could only stand here, treating himself as a photo spot, letting these birds line up to take photos, accepting everything they brought, so that this endless line could disappear quickly.
After all, if these birds don't leave, they can't leave either.
Despite some complaints, Lezhi felt mostly comforted. The gifts the birds brought included fresh plants that were hard to find in the winter, as well as some things that Lezhi couldn't yet identify, which were different from the usual offerings.
Some looked crystal clear, like precious gems from a past life, while others were dull gray, resembling stones at first glance, but not quite the same weight in their hands. Lezhi thought they looked more like plant seeds that had been stored for a long time.
However, since the birds and beasts had delivered these items to him, they must have been their prized possessions. Lezhi did not refuse them, but accepted them all without discrimination.