Chapter 6: The Bird Afraid of Heights

Sui Ziming’s haidongqing perched quietly in the courtyard.

Shen Jiujiu flapped his wings and hopped over the study threshold. He had only taken a few steps into the garden when he spotted a majestic bird standing motionless on the eagle perch.

Its back was turned to Shen Jiujiu. To the little bird, the creature’s body loomed like a small mountain. Black and white feathers layered in perfect order, their edges glinting with razor sharpness, while its talons gripped the perch with unyielding strength.

Shen Jiujiu glanced down at his own tiny claws and wingtips. His beady black eyes blinked with deliberate slowness.

“Cheep… cheep?”

A hesitant chirp echoed. The haidongqing, which had been meditating with eyes closed, cracked them open and turned toward the sound.

【Hello, can you understand me?】

It was just a little bird.

The haidongqing lowered its head. Its golden-brown pupils reflected the round form of the little bird dumpling.

The feathers were a bit disheveled but not filthy. The tail plumes were sparse—not the mark of a well-tended bird.

【I’m A Sa.】

A Sa’s voice carried a steady gravitas, exuding reliability and charisma with every word.

【Does your master treat you poorly?】

Shen Jiujiu froze for a moment. 【Huh? No!】

A Sa gazed at him with pity. 【Your feathers are in terrible shape. Your human doesn’t know how to care for birds.】

Shen Jiujiu understood now.

He had only been with Pei Du for a few days. Before that, back in the palace, he had been on the brink of death. Even feasting on spirit pills and elixirs lately could not transform him into something like A Sa overnight.

Shen Jiujiu came to Pei Du’s defense. 【My master just rescued me. I’ll look amazing soon enough!】

【Mm.】 A Sa shifted its talons on the perch. 【Then your master sounds wonderful too.】

【A Sa, you’re so smart!】 Shen Jiujiu’s praise came straight from the heart.

He had once been human, so standing out was to be expected.

But A Sa was a genuine bird—and yet so clever!

Flattered by the little bird dumpling, A Sa grew bashful. Its tail feathers twitched.

Shen Jiujiu shifted from wary little bird to enthusiastic one. He circled around to the front of the perch, craning his neck upward with loud, eager chirps.

【A Sa! Can you teach me how to fly?】

【Please!】

Shen Jiujiu pressed his wings together in supplication and bowed as deeply as he could.

【If I can’t learn to fly, humans will laugh at me!】

The haidongqing seemed baffled. Wasn’t flight instinctual for birds?

Yet the little bird’s earnest expression gave A Sa pause. It spread its wings and displayed the leg ring clamped around one talon.

【I don’t know how to teach it, but I can let you experience what flying feels like.】

【But I can’t leave the perch.】

Shen Jiujiu nodded knowingly.

He got it. Raptors like this in a place like the Capital had to be restrained. Otherwise, if it injured someone, compensation might be manageable for someone like Sui Ziming with his connections—but for the bird itself, the risk could be fatal.

【Then I’ll help you remove the leg ring. But you have to promise not to fly outside.】

A Sa replied steadily. 【Agreed. My master’s here. I won’t go anywhere.】

Reassured by the vow, Shen Jiujiu clambered up the perch using his wings and claws. Panting, he slumped against A Sa’s wing to catch his breath for a good while before peering down at the leg ring.

Moments later, with a satisfying click, the ring—which would have been a hassle for any ordinary bird—was undone. For Shen Jiujiu, it was child’s play.

He stood beside A Sa, sneakily comparing their talons. No surprise there: not only his claws, but his entire body seemed smaller than one of A Sa’s.

Which raised the question!

Why had he been reborn as a lowly cheeping sparrow instead of a fearsome raptor?

Suddenly, something hard and unyielding seized him by the scruff, flung him upward, and deposited him gently atop A Sa’s head.

The haidongqing unfurled its vast wings and shot skyward, wheeling in grand circles around the Pei Mansion. The sheer thrill of slicing through the wind drew a wild, triumphant outburst from Shen Jiujiu. He threw his beak wide.

“Cheep-cheep-cheep-cheep—!!”

【This is incredible—!!】

But when they descended and he hopped down from A Sa, his little claws trembled like jelly.

He might—just a tiny bit—be afraid of heights.

Could that be why he couldn’t fly?!

Mortified, Shen Jiujiu buried his face in his wings.

A Sa dipped its head tenderly, nudging him ever so gently with its beak. 【It’s fine. You’re a little bird. Very cute.】

Shen Jiujiu recalled Sui Ziming’s teasing jabs about his waddling gait. His beady eyes ignited with fierce resolve. 【No! Can’t be cute! I need to be fierce! Super fierce!】

【A Sa! Teach me how to intimidate prey, pretty please~】

【A Sa’s the handsomest, most reliable, most badass eagle ever!】

【A Sa’s human must adore you. I want my master to adore me too~】

【Please oh please~ A Sa~】

The little bird dumpling unleashed a barrage of honeyed flattery.

A Sa, unaccustomed to such lavish birdish bootlicking, folded under the onslaught. Its eyes sparkled with newfound clarity.

【All right. Copy me.】

A Sa planted itself firmly on the ground, facing the pint-sized Shen Jiujiu. It raised its wings and lowered its beak.

The raptor’s cry was gravelly, laced with menace: “Kraa—!”

Shen Jiujiu observed with rapt attention, then mimicked the posture—wings up, beady eyes narrowed downward.

“Cheep—!”

…

But the “fierce eagle” pose utterly failed to intimidate.

—Sui Ziming was doubled over, laughing so hard he could scarcely breathe.

Shen Jiujiu hopped onto the windowsill and paced back and forth along the edge. He chirped insistently at Pei Du, jabbing his beak toward Sui Ziming in a frenzy of silent accusation.

Pei Du cleared his throat softly, swallowing his own amusement. He turned to Sui Ziming, who was clumsily dabbing tea stains from his clothes. “Did you see that?”

“Huh? See what?” Sui Ziming mopped up the last of the spill with a handkerchief, his face split in an unstoppable grin.

“Cheep.” Shen Jiujiu tucked one wing against his side and extended the other, pointing emphatically at the enormous, majestic, yet perfectly obedient haidongqing beyond the window. “Cheep-cheep~”

“He says that even if the little bird can’t fly on his own, he’s got ways around it.”

Pei Du lounged on the arhat couch, the picture of refined poise—like a scholar straight out of a painting. Yet his translation of the chirps was spot-on.

Shen Jiujiu’s eyes lit up at the words. He bobbed his head vigorously at Pei Du, then unleashed another long trill of cheeps.

Pei Du paused, piecing together the little bird dumpling’s temperament, the extended meaning, and their earlier human-bird spat. Enlightenment dawned. He spoke measuredly: “Unlike certain people, who no matter what are just waddling ground-pounders.”

Sui Ziming, the ground-walker: “?”

Shen Jiujiu gazed at Pei Du with utter adoration. As expected of his benefactor—not only was he clever, but he even understood bird language!

With a push from his little bird claws against the windowsill, Shen Jiujiu launched himself straight at Pei Du. In the instant Pei Du was caught off guard, he thrust his head forward and burrowed into the man’s wide sleeve.

The fluffy, soft sensation pressed against Pei Du’s forearm, causing his muscles to tense abruptly and his pupils to contract.

Shen Jiujiu had assumed Pei Du was one of those slender scholars, but this contact revealed that beneath those loose robes, the man’s muscles were surprisingly solid!

Hard and firm.

Safely inside Pei Du’s sleeve, Shen Jiujiu nestled on his benefactor’s forearm, rubbing his beak against the tender inner side.

So envious.

He’d never had anything like this when he was human.

Suddenly, lost in his bliss, Shen Jiujiu’s eyes widened as Sui Ziming’s big face loomed into view.

“Aren’t you two listening to me at all?!”

Pei Du snapped back to attention. His gaze swept with faint complexity over the long-tailed tit perched on his forearm. He flicked his wrist, pulling his sleeve free from Sui Ziming’s grasp, smoothed the fabric, and motioned for the other man to step back. “What did you say?”

Fuming at being utterly ignored by one man and one bird in the same room, Sui Ziming snapped, “I said! Cousin, you need to rein in your little bird! How could you just casually remove A Sa’s leg ring like that? What if it hurts someone?”

At those words, Shen Jiujiu poked his head out from the sleeve and clung affectionately to Pei Du’s wrist. “Chirp~”

That chirp was so coquettish it sent a shiver down Sui Ziming’s spine, leaving him on high alert.

What was this little bird seductress scheming now?

Pei Du pondered for a moment. “Ziming, why don’t you just leave A Sa here…”

“Cousin! I just remembered—I’ve got some urgent business to handle.”

Sui Ziming strode out of the study in huge steps. He raised his hand to his lips and let out a sharp whistle. The raptor waiting tamely outside the window spread its wings at the signal and glided steadily onto Sui Ziming’s outstretched arm.

He couldn’t stay in Pei Mansion any longer.

This little bird seductress was actually trying to steal his A Sa!

“Let’s go!”

Shen Jiujiu clung to the windowsill, craning his neck out as far as it would go. Seeing Sui Ziming truly departing with A Sa, he let out a low chirp.

Pei Du watched the little bird’s tail wagging back and forth and chuckled softly. “A Sa is a hawk egg Ziming retrieved himself from a snowy cliff. It hatched and grew up alongside him, sharing food and shelter—it’s his lifelong battle companion. How could he possibly leave it here for you to ride?”

Shen Jiujiu turned around and huffed.

But there wasn’t much real defiance in it; he was probably just reflexively bickering with Sui Ziming out of habit.

Pei Du glanced at the little bird dumpling’s wings. “Relying on others is too inconvenient. You still need to learn to fly on your own.”

Shen Jiujiu knew full well that, as a little bird, being unable to fly was a real liability.

The distance A Sa covered in a single stride was enough for him to scamper more than a dozen steps.

Take the journey from the rear garden to the study earlier—if he could fly, he wouldn’t have needed to trudge through all that, turning himself into a grubby little mess.

But…

Recalling the way his legs had gone weak while soaring with A Sa, Shen Jiujiu chirped hesitantly.

If high flying was out of the question, maybe low-altitude gliding?

Shen Jiujiu spread his wings and tentatively mimicked a flapping motion.

Sensing the feel of it, he held his breath, gathered all his strength, and flapped furiously.

Several breaths passed.

The bird didn’t budge an inch.

The innocent bamboo plant beside the chess table swayed lazily in the breeze he’d stirred up.

Shen Jiujiu drooped his wings, dragged his tail feathers, and shuffled dejectedly to the center of the chessboard. He plopped down right on the tianyuan position.

The prideful little bird turned his back to Pei Du.

Pei Du nearly burst out laughing at the sight. He reached out to soothingly stroke the little bird’s head and said warmly, “It’s all right. We’ll take it slow.”

The dejected little bird: “…Chirp.”

Pei Du thought for a moment, then stepped away from the chess table and stood by the couch. He extended his hand toward the little bird, palm up.

Shen Jiujiu turned his head and, for some reason, lifted one wing to rest it in Pei Du’s palm.

He felt inexplicably shy.

Pei Du eyed the little bird—whose silhouette somehow looked bashful from behind—and paused before clarifying, “What I meant was, I’ll take you to look at some books. There might be a method for training little birds to take off.”

Shen Jiujiu: “…”

The little bird yanked his wing back at once, hopped to his feet, and scampered into Pei Du’s palm on his tiny claws before sitting down with deliberate force.

But his weight was so negligible that even his most emphatic flop amounted to no more than a fluffy puff—and when puffed up in anger, the rosy flushes on his cheeks seemed to shrink just a touch.

Oblivious to the little bird’s embarrassed outrage, Pei Du cradled the feather-light creature and headed for the bookshelf.

Shen Jiujiu sulked for a moment, but then noticed Pei Du pausing in front of the bookshelf, head tilted in thought. The bird copied him, craning his neck to peer up at the towering rows of books.

From behind, his round little head looked utterly endearing—obedient and studious.

Taking in the scene, Pei Du reflected on the little bird’s naive antics. This bird must have been quite young in his previous life, perhaps only just beginning his studies. Gently, he said, “Since you were human before and know how to read and write, you must have studied books. If you’d like to continue your learning, help yourself to any of these. Come ask me if there’s anything you don’t understand.”

Shen Jiujiu: “…”

By the time Pei Du located the Eagle Treatise and slid it from the shelf, he glanced down to find the little bird dumpling in his palm had somehow flipped belly-up at some point. One wing was raised, feathers flipped inside out to cover his head.

The very picture of a frail little bird overcome by the sight of a book.