Chapter 306: To Be Named by Great Young Master Yun
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The blood of the phoenix!
When Yun Yang looked at the little critter again, he suddenly felt that its horrible appearance was actually easier on the eyes than he had first thought.
Yun Yang could not help sighing inwardly, "Oh no. We are absolute jack*sses. When you don’t like something, it’s horrible however you look at it. Once you know its good points, anything that stung the eyes before suddenly becomes palatable. I would never have expected that I, Great Young Master Yun, who is astute and impartial, would have such a reaction too…"
"My judgment almost failed me this time. This was definitely a close call."
…
"Dong Tianleng!" Yun Yang called out loudly as stepping out of his room.
Dong Tianleng bounced over in a docile manner.
"Boss? What do you need? This young one shall do everything he can to accomplish it!"
Yun Yang was slightly reluctant but it belonged to Dong Tianleng after all. "I’m telling you… your bird… is very unusual. I suggest that you bring it up well."
The corners of Dong Tianleng’s lips twitched as he looked at the Phantom Vulture, his head shaking like a rattle drum. "No, no, no… I don’t want to!"
I would only want it if I were mentally unstable. It was a Phantom Vulture!
Yun Yang frowned and said, "This bird is not a Phantom Vulture."
Only ghosts would believe you, you madman. Which part of it does not look like a Phantom Vulture?
"Boss!" Dong Tianleng was in despair. "You need not lie to me like this. Won’t I be beaten to death if I really brought it home?"
"I really don’t want it! I hated it as soon as I laid eyes on it!" Dong Tianleng clenched his teeth, he could not submit to the pressure!
Yun Yang sighed and bent closer to Dong Tianleng’s ear, saying in a low voice, "This bird… has the blood of the phoenix!"
Dong Tianleng stared at the Phantom Vulture before he s.h.i.+fted his gaze back to Yun Yang.
Boss, you are certainly adamant about deceiving me. This horrible thing… has phoenix blood? I almost fell for that!
"Well, I don’t want it anyway. Boss, throw it away quickly if you really don’t want it either." Dong Tianleng looked at the bird with disdain. "Forget phoenix blood, even if it were a phoenix itself… I wouldn"t want it either!"
Yun Yang’s eyes bulged in shock.
Am I so untrustworthy?
Afraid that Yun Yang would begin to persuade him further, Dong Tianleng got ready to slip away. "Boss, I will be taking my leave now…"
Before the former could speak another word, Dong Tianleng was gone – as swift as the wind, like malicious ghosts were chasing him.
Walking out of the small yard, Dong Tianleng wiped away his cold sweat with lingering fear. "Blood of phoenix… Boss, I almost believed you! If you hadn"t mentioned the blood of the phoenix… What a trap, I was so close to believing your deceitful words!"
…
Yun Yang was dumbstruck.
You don’t even want the blood of phoenix? Oh well, I want it even if you don"t!
Yun Yang held the tiny critter and murmured, "Since you’re not a Phantom Vulture and you have something special in you… And Dong Tianleng doesn’t want you... you can only follow me, your master, from now onwards."
The little guy’s scrawny feet stood straight on Yun Yang’s palm; it did not look like it cared in the slightest.
"Since you’re with me, we need to name you."
The more Yun Yang looked at the little fellow, the more it grew on him; he said softly, "What name should I give you? The Whitey series? Whitey Black?"
The little thing hopped in Yun Yang’s hand, chirping twice with its head tilted to the side.
"Nope, too many Whiteys. Besides, you only have that tiny bit of white trail; it’s an exaggeration to call you Whitey, especially when you’re so ugly too. You even chirp ‘ji – ji – ji’, it has nothing to do with Whiteys at all. Let’s have you pick between two names. You’ll either be named Ugly or Jiji."
Yun Yang pa.s.sed the decision to the little thing but how could the tiny fledging understand what he was saying? It watched Yun Yang for a while with its head tilted; feeling comforted by the warmth of Yun Yang’s palm, it hopped twice on his hand happily.
"Hopping twice. Obviously, you like the second name very much. This owner shall respect your choice then. You’ll be called Jiji from now on," Yun Yang announced with an air of finality.
The tiny thing chirped twice, happily raising its head.
"Looks like you really like it." Yun Yang was increasingly certain that he had picked the right name.
Therefore, this was how this little thing had a shocking name that was indecent even after hundreds and thousands of years.1
Since he adopted this tiny thing, he had to feed it. Yun Yang was still skeptical, first bringing a leaf to which the tiny thing shook its head, refusing to eat.
Mantou? No luck there.
Noodle? A definite no.
Meat? That was an even bigger no.
Yun Yang finally took out some fruits and offered it to the tiny fellow. Its eyes radiated before it hopped over, a little forced but still began to feast on it, juice staining its mouth.
"It looks like it’s really not a Phantom Vulture."
Yun Yang was relieved because the Phantom Vulture would never feed on fruits. However, he frowned, "If this thing only eats fruits, what fruit supply could there be in this winter? It’s a tricky task!"
It was true. Winter had visited, so even some wealthy households could hardly have fruits for their consumption. In spite of this, this little critter was obviously uninterested in other food, scornful even!
What should he do?
It had just suddenly snowed so there were still a few peaches, pears, and apples at home but what about when those were consumed? What would happen when the mystical beast’s appet.i.te was unusually large!
This nestling was oblivious to it. After stuffing itself fully, it hobbled two steps and climbed up from Yun Yang’s pants into his pocket with familiarity.
Whitey Four was sleeping in there at the moment, so it naturally meowed in dissatisfaction at this uninvited guest. However, the little fellow crawled in without a care and pushed with its b.u.t.tocks, shoving Whitey Four aside for some s.p.a.ce before curling its head into itself. It formed a small fur ball and fell asleep.
Whitey Four glared at the intruder with its whiskers trembling. It was about to rage; after all, it was a top ninth-level mystical beast. How could the dignity of a high-level mystical beast be challenged?
However, for some reason unbeknownst to all, Whitey Four sprung out from Yun Yang’s pocket with a swoosh, meowing non-stop like it was immensely scared. Its sparkling eyes were filled with lingering fear.
Oh my G.o.d, master. Why would you keep such a thing? This is terrible!
…
Yun Yang stared at the skin of two apples and the pits of two peaches. Other than being dumbfounded, he was utterly speechless.
Including its puffy feathers, this little critter was less than the size of an apple but it had devoured two big apples and two peaches that were even bigger than the apples in the blink of an eye!
That was food five or six times larger than its body volume! It was excessive, even if the mystical beast’s appet.i.te was large.
It was only this tiny, there should be a limit no matter how large a stomach it had. How could its stomach and appet.i.te not be in tandem? Where had the food gone to? Could it be that this little thing’s stomach was actually connected to some ocean? Could he even afford to care for such a glutton?
Yun Yang had no doubt that problems would arise soon enough.
However, Yun Yang recalled his days of being a glutton. It was like the abundance of food was gone as soon as they went into his stomach; for a moment, he felt emphatic about the fledging.
"I was abandoned and you’re abandoned too. You have it worse, you got abandoned twice…" Yun Yang sighed, "Both of us will live well from now on… "
The little thing was already asleep. It did not hear any of Yun Yang’s words, so naturally, it had no thoughts about them.
…
When he saw Dong Tianleng again, Yun Yang’s gaze held a fair measure of consternation and bewilderment.
This fellow seemed to bring him luck! Although he did not know nor recognize anything, he could bring things of value back. In addition, he did not wish to hold onto these treasures! What a benevolent person he was!
"Cough…" Yun Yang called out, "Lengleng."
Dong Tianleng sprung up swiftly. "Boss, I really don’t want it! Don’t thrust it at me anymore…"
Yun Yang was speechless. "No, I"m not talking about this. It’s regarding something else."
Dong Tianleng brightened up and grinned in hopes of flattering the young master. "Boss, what order do you have for me? Want me to drop some medications for the three families’ mystical beasts?"
Yun Yang frowned in exasperation.
"Your train of thought needs to take a different turn next time… It can’t do to always be such a jack*ss," Yun Yang commented good-naturedly; it was a sincere reminder. After all, he had taken a ma.s.sive opportunity away from this fellow. Yun Yang did not have much of a conscience, but there was still a tiny bit that lingered.
"Boss, you don’t know it!" Dong Tianleng flipped his hair and put on a handsome and carefree front as he said, "I’m a tiny leaf floating on a ma.s.sive river! I know it!"
"Tiny leaf floating on a ma.s.sive river?" Yun Yang was stumped. "What do you mean?"
"He depends on the force of currents!" A voice came from the side; Qiu Yunsan walked out with a discontented look on his face.
Dong Tianleng, what a b.a.s.t.a.r.d! A person who could even think of poisoning our mystical beasts had to be a real b.a.s.t.a.r.d indeed… What was worse was that this fellow would really do it!
"Right!" Yun Yang said, "Yunsan, remember your bet with Mi Kongqun?"
Qiu Yunsan was instantly aggrieved as he said miserably, "Boss… you’re deliberately picking at my tender spot…"
The bet with Mi Kongqun then involved the magical Luminary Paste; it was the four n.o.ble young masters’ dream medicine. Now that Mi Kongqun was confirmed to be gone, there was no way of obtaining it. It was due to this that Qiu Yunsan had become the laughing stock among the brothers.
For Yun Yang to mention it now was to rub salt into his wound which had yet to heal.
If it were Dong Tianleng or the rest who had mentioned it, Qiu Yunsan would have probably fought with them but he dared not do anything to Yun Yang. He could only endure it with gritted teeth.
Dong Tianleng, on the other hand, chortled gleefully.
"What do you mean picking at your tender spot? Do you think I’m you? Of course, I have my reasons for mentioning it. I got the toys back for you all." Yun Yang said, "There, here they are."
As he spoke, he took out four of Mi Kongqun’s Luminary Paste.
Yun Yang felt like compensating them for taking such a big advantage and it was a coincidence that the Luminary Paste had crossed his mind.
Qiu Yunsan’s eyes glimmered with avarice while Dong Tianleng swore out loud, his eyes bulging in shock.
Translator Note:
1Jiji (叽叽jī jī): it is the sound of a bird’s chirp but naming something so also reminds one of how children call the male reproductive organ, p.e.n.i.s, in their childlike way, that is also 鸡鸡 (jī jī).