Chapter 78
At this moment of silence, Pepe flew out happily, snatched the feather in her mouth, and looked curiously around.
Wherever Pepe’s gaze landed, the demons’ expressions changed rapidly, and they lowered their heads, not daring to look up.
If they held it in their hands, wouldn’t it be like holding a hot potato?
Unless they were cubs who couldn’t speak yet…
Pepe tilted her head and finally handed the feather to A-Ran on his behalf.
When Lin Ran received the Feather of Truth, as expected, a new notification popped up in “Demon World.”
[Ding——You have obtained the Feather Clan token “Feather of Truth” (Incomplete Version)!]
Seeing Lin Ran accept it just like that, the surrounding Feather Clan demons inexplicably felt a little restless, wanting to suddenly ask something.
But the next second, Lin Ran put the Feather of Truth back into the box.
Instantly extinguishing the curiosity of countless demons.
But what did “incomplete version” mean?
Could it be that this Feather of Truth wasn’t the perfect version?
The incomplete version was already so exciting, how terrifying would the complete version be?
Lin Ran was inexplicably curious.
“Ahem, in that case, let’s leave it at that…”
Anvers didn’t know what nonsense he was saying, but he wanted to help Elder Gu Li recover from his social death.
After all, the post-disaster reconstruction work had just begun after such an incident in the forbidden area.
The emergence of new sprouts indicated that this territory of the Demon World could once again nurture life and generate magic power.
And Lin Ran, as the Feather Clan’s most important guest, was invited to stay for a few more days with Little Feather.
Anvers planned to start teaching Little Feather a series of Feather Clan techniques from today.
“Go, study hard? Come back to me after you’re done, okay?”
Lin Ran encouraged Little Feather, and Little Feather spread his wings and flew out with Anvers.
In fact, when Anvers interacted with this former “cursed egg” as a teacher for the first time, he realized with mixed feelings how many details they had overlooked before.
Because this cub had indeed inherited Yin Er and Rhine Man En’s talent, displaying terrifying comprehension and potential.
He could reproduce many techniques after just a simple demonstration.
This was unprecedented among the cubs born in the clan in the past hundred years.
Anvers, who had originally planned to just give a simple introduction on the first day, unconsciously started to teach seriously under the pressure of the cub’s comprehension.
And Little Feather, from his initial vigilance and defensiveness, gradually developed a strong sense of competitiveness and immersed himself in learning the techniques.
Because whenever Little Feather tried to catch up with or hit Anvers, this adult demon, he would always fall short because his strength was still somewhat childish.
After a few rounds, Little Feather forgot about other external factors and began to train with all his might, following behind Anvers, wanting to defeat him.
“As expected, it’s best to let a professional teach this kind of thing.”
Lin Ran looked up at the two figures, one big and one small, in the sky and sighed, clearly noticing that Little Feather had become serious.
Perhaps, given some time to grow, the adult Little Feather could really be more powerful than Anvers, this adult demon?
However, that would probably be even more unacceptable for the Feather Clan.
Lin Ran couldn’t help but glance at the many Feather Clan demons not far away, who were also silently watching the commotion in the sky with unconcealed shock.
After all, Little Feather clearly didn’t intend to return, and didn’t even have much sense of identity with his Feather Clan status.
But Lin Ran didn’t intend to interfere with any of Little Feather’s decisions in this regard. The things that had happened were so complicated. Perhaps it would be more appropriate for Little Feather to make a calm decision when he truly grew up.
Since Little Feather had been temporarily taken away by Anvers for lessons, Lin Ran planned to fulfill his previous promise.
“Let me braid your hair first? Are there any ribbons we can use?”
Holding Pepe’s hand, Lin Ran looked around for ribbons.
Liya, the nanny bird, immediately found a pair of taffeta ribbons, a beautiful and elastic sapphire blue.
She was a little curious about what Lin Ran, this human, was going to do.
“This is for braiding, Ms. Liya. You can also try braiding Pepe’s hair in the future.”
Lin Ran took out the small comb from his backpack and started combing Pepe’s long hair.
Pepe subconsciously closed her eyes comfortably, trying hard to control herself from looking back at A-Ran, letting him comb her “fur.”
In the Feather Clan, only those with a very close relationship could comb each other’s fur.
Pepe liked A-Ran very much, so she was very quiet and obedient when A-Ran combed her fur.
Actually, Lin Ran wasn’t very good at braiding, but since he was young, he had seen many little girls in the village braid beautiful hairstyles and tie colorful hair ropes, so he could more or less imitate them.
Moreover, Pepe’s auburn wavy hair was of very good quality, it wouldn’t get messy no matter how he combed it, so braiding was naturally easier.
So a few minutes later, Lin Ran put down the comb with satisfaction and let Pepe look in the mirror.
“How is it? Do you like it? It seems a little crooked? It shouldn’t be crooked.”
Lin Ran was worried that Pepe wouldn’t be satisfied.
After all, the little guys he had raised at home all had short, fluffy fur.
Although Yuanbao, the big lion, had long fur in a sense, he hadn’t really thought of braiding his hair.
Should he try it on Yuanbao when he went back?
Next time, he would try to braid Pepe’s hair into something more complicated.
“Wow…”
Pepe, holding the mirror, widened her eyes silently.
The little girl’s long hair was braided into two pigtails for the first time, and the two taffeta ribbons were tied into bows, fluttering in the wind as Pepe turned her head.
It made the little girl, who usually seemed too quiet when she didn’t speak, suddenly have a lively and playful aura.
“This is really beautiful, Mr. Lin Ran, I want to learn too!”
Even Liya, the nanny bird, was amazed and tried to ask how it was done.
Pepe turned and threw herself into A-Ran’s arms. For a moment, she didn’t even want to transform back into a bird, wishing she could keep these two pigtails forever.
Lin Ran also smiled and rubbed Pepe’s cheek.
He felt that this little cutie was really too adorable!
“We’re back!”
Just then, Anvers finally finished today’s training and pushed open the door with Little Feather. As soon as he entered, he saw Pepe’s new hairstyle.
“Wow, this looks kind of cool.”
Anvers subconsciously touched his long hair.
“…Ee!”
Little Feather’s fur was messy after a long day of training. When he came home, he saw that Pepe had been dressed up beautifully, and the little cub felt like he had been struck by lightning.
He flapped his wings and squeezed in front of A-Ran.
“You want to braid your hair too? But… okay, although it’s not impossible for boys.”
Lin Ran looked at Little Feather and knew that the little guy was jealous again. He said helplessly and amusedly that he could also braid his hair?
Both boys and girls could have braids, to be fair!
Just after he finished speaking, Lin Ran noticed that Anvers was also looking at him inexplicably.
“Uh, do you want one too, Patriarch Anvers?”
Lin Ran, who was about to have Little Feather sit down, looked at Anvers suspiciously.
“No, no… braids and such, it’s no big deal, mm.”
Anvers never expected that he would be guessed so accurately and subconsciously waved his hand, saying that he didn’t want one.
Competing with cubs for braids, it would be too embarrassing to say it out loud.
“What’s wrong, Pepe?”
The next second, Anvers felt his clothes being tugged. He looked down and saw Pepe handing him something.
By the time he saw what it was and wanted to throw it away, it was too late:
“I really want A-Ran to braid my hair too… after all, my hair is so beautiful! It seems too monotonous to always have it down.”
“…”
After speaking, Anvers shut his mouth tightly, and the whole place fell silent again.
Even the Feather Clan subordinates behind Anvers couldn’t help but cover their faces.
My god, was it still too late to turn the patriarch back into an egg?
A few seconds later, it was Lin Ran who couldn’t help but laugh, finally breaking the deathly silence.
Looking at Lin Ran’s smiling eyes, Anvers blushed for the first time, feeling that this was really too terrible!!
He really should have thrown this damned feather into the abyss earlier!
“Pepe, that feather is not your toy. It will cause trouble for others if you give it to them casually.”
Lin Ran smiled and told Pepe to put the feather back in the box.
Pepe didn’t understand this. After all, her teacher had said that lying wasn’t something a good little bird should do.
And no demon would dislike A-Ran’s braids!
Including Patriarch Anvers!
“Mm, but sometimes there’s a reason for not telling the truth.”
Facing the cub’s righteous gaze, Lin Ran tried to explain to Anvers while braiding Little Feather’s hair.
Little Feather was only palm-sized, so the braids had to be more delicate. Considering he was a boy, Lin Ran didn’t braid all of Little Feather’s hair, but braided a few small braids on one side and hid them in his long hair.
Instantly giving him an indescribable aura.
Little Feather looked in the mirror and was also very satisfied with the braids A-Ran had made for him!
And he had one more braid than Pepe. A-Ran had braided three thin little braids on one side of his hair!
Happy.
Anvers, watching all this, silently breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the attention of the whole room was finally no longer on him.
“Patriarch Anvers, come over here too? Just in time to demonstrate to Liya how to braid again.”
Lin Ran looked at Anvers and invited him with a smile.
It was the same whether he braided one head or three.
Anvers, as an adult demon, had the biggest head and the longest hair, so Liya could learn more clearly by braiding his hair.
Liya never expected that Patriarch Anvers’ hair would be used as a teaching tool for her to learn braiding, and she immediately wanted to shake her head in horror and say that it wasn’t necessary to go to such trouble.
But then she remembered what the patriarch had just said, and this usually honest and gentle nanny bird was rarely at a loss.
Anvers was silent for a long time, then sat down.
He had already lost face, he couldn’t not get his hair braided, right?!
However, being treated like a cub and having his hair braided was indeed a bit hard to refuse…
Because Anvers was a bit tall, Lin Ran had to stand up and braid a small decorative braid for this great demon as a “consolation prize.”
And Lin Ran had to admit that Anvers’ long hair was indeed very well-maintained. He didn’t even lose a single strand during the entire process, and one could tell that he usually cherished and took good care of it.
Completely different from the lazy Yuanbao.
Anvers felt the subtle sensation of his hair being gently brushed aside and could even feel the young human’s fingertips brushing over his head.
My god, would the next version update of “Demon World” really introduce this series of interactive options!?
Anvers felt that he would definitely spend all his money on all the options a thousand times…
Could any demon really refuse?
“Okay. Now it’s all neat and tidy!”
After demonstrating to Liya one last time with full concentration, Lin Ran looked at the neat and tidy appearance of the three demons, one big and two small, with satisfaction.
They were quite cute.
Anvers looked at the braid in his hair in the mirror and realized that Lin Ran had also tied a feather ornament in his hair on a whim, fluttering in the wind.
Moreover, although Anvers’ delicate features were androgynous, his physique as an adult demon was undoubtedly very tall.
With a V-shaped figure, broad shoulders, and long legs, coupled with the small design in his hairstyle, it was indeed eye-catching.
“Actually, Patriarch Anvers, I feel that if you didn’t work in air transport in the real world, you would be very popular as a model.”
Lin Ran seriously considered that if the many demons in “Demon World” entered the human world and found new jobs, there seemed to be quite a lot of job options.
For example, if Anvers became a model, with his face and figure, he would be more than qualified to enter any international fashion circle, right?
“Ah… is that so? I haven’t thought about that.”
Anvers was already nervous being stared at by Lin Ran like this, but after being sincerely praised for his appearance by Lin Ran, he couldn’t help but feel a little smug.
Was he praising him for being good-looking!?
“Ee!”
Little Feather flew to A-Ran seriously and solemnly, indicating that he would definitely be more handsome than Anvers when he grew up, and asked A-Ran to look at him more.
“Okay, our Little Feather is the cutest, right?”
Lin Ran touched Little Feather’s cheek and noticed that the scar seemed to have faded a little, he didn’t know if it was an illusion.
And the source miasma in the glass bottle, he wondered if it would have any effect on the scar on Little Feather’s face?
Pepe quietly watched this scene and rarely wanted to raise her hand and tell A-Ran that she would also be very beautiful when she grew up.
“Miss Pepe is also rarely so lively.” Liya, the nanny bird, lovingly touched Pepe’s braids.
However, these words reminded Lin Ran of the unfinished topic from before.
“Did something happen to Pepe before?”
Lin Ran held Pepe’s hand and asked Liya.
Liya was about to speak, but looked at Anvers and the other demons with some hesitation, unsure if she could tell Lin Ran, who was also a human.
Although he was the only human who appeared in “Demon World.”
“Pepe sneaked into the human world once before.”
Anvers paused for a few seconds and finally told Lin Ran the story.
“And then? What happened?”
Lin Ran became even more curious.
“Then there was a human boy who coaxed Pepe into playing hide-and-seek, and then left.”
“When we found Pepe, the little guy had been waiting in the rain for three days and three nights without saying a word. When she came back, she had a fever, and when she opened her eyes again, she became like this.”
“In fact, this is also one of the key reasons why the clan is so hostile towards humans, so many times, it’s difficult for me to stop Elder Gu Li’s words and actions emotionally…”
Anvers’ recounting of the incident was very brief, but Lin Ran could imagine the situation at the time and how angry the demon guardians must have been.
“But fortunately, that person didn’t discover Pepe’s special abilities. Otherwise, it would have been even worse if he had used Pepe to do things that human power couldn’t achieve.”
“Since then, we don’t allow Feather Clan cubs to leave the Demon World on their own unless they have fully grown up.”
Anvers quietly added the last few sentences.
After listening, Lin Ran was silent, convinced that the relationship between humans and demons was indeed not so simple.
But perhaps the establishment of a kindergarten could help the little ones learn how to integrate better?
After thinking for a long time, Lin Ran subconsciously hugged Pepe and touched the little girl’s cheek.
“Ms. Liya, do you have any other clan members? Actually, I have a plan and might want to hire a few nanny birds in the future.”
[Ding——Triggered Side Quest: Recruit Helpers! Recruit more specific helpers with special abilities to join the kindergarten~]
[Nanny Bird Clan, perfect cub caregivers, helper rating: A+!]
After Lin Ran finished speaking, he didn’t expect a quest notification sound from “Demon World,” and Ms. Liya’s clan was even given an A+ rating by “Demon World.”
“Me? Can I do it? Perhaps I should ask… the patriarch’s opinion.”
Liya actually had a very high Affection Level for Lin Ran, otherwise she wouldn’t have offered to help take care of Little Feather.
Most importantly, Liya’s nanny bird instincts told her that Lin Ran’s aura was very clean, something that demons would like very much!
“I have no problem with it, of course.”
Anvers was also very curious about what Lin Ran, as a human, was planning to do.
After all, “Demon World’s” attitude towards Lin Ran had always been unique.
Could this be related to the next major update?
Hearing this, Lin Ran looked down at Pepe, letting the little girl rub her cheek against his palm.
And this time, when he was about to leave, Lin Ran unexpectedly had a new gain.
“We have many books, it’s no problem to donate half of them!”
The Feather Clan demon in charge of the library looked at Lin Ran and subconsciously said that this could be done.
After all, compared to the changes Lin Ran had brought to the clan, these books were nothing.
“Uh, there’s no need to give them all to me. Perhaps I can choose some suitable for cubs to read and take them back?”
Lin Ran explained with a smile.
Anvers listened and had a guess in his heart, but he wasn’t sure.
Unexpectedly, he had completed the book collection task in one go, which was quite good.
Lin Ran waved goodbye to Anvers, but Anvers said that he could escort him back.
Because a certain big lion was indeed becoming increasingly suspicious.
Shao Mian knew that Lin Ran’s trip to the Feather Clan must be to resolve the cub’s issue, but he didn’t expect him to be gone for so long.
What happened in the Feather Clan?
Did it need to take so long?
Lin Ran, returning to the real world with a full load, found that Yuanbao was actually waiting right in front of him and even took his hand directly.
The action was so natural that Lin Ran didn’t even realize anything was wrong before Yuanbao frowned and carefully examined him.
“What’s wrong? Is there something different?”
Lin Ran couldn’t help but look down at himself, feeling like there was no change?
Shao Mian didn’t speak again, but looked at Anvers who followed.
His gaze sharply landed on the demon, especially the feather hair ornament that Anvers deliberately displayed along the way.
Anvers did have ulterior motives, wanting to stay with A-Ran a little longer, so he escorted him all the way to the end, never expecting that Shao Mian would be waiting here.
Now it was a little too late to slip away.
“You braided it for him?”
Shao Mian glanced at the small braid on Little Feather’s head and then confirmed Anvers’ braid, knowing that it was most likely related to Lin Ran.
It must be that when the young human was trying new things on the little guy, Anvers, this adult demon, shamelessly joined in.
“Uh, yeah. Does it look good?”
Lin Ran felt that Yuanbao’s sense of smell was quite sharp.
“…”
He was already flashy enough, and with a feather ornament, he was even more so.
Shao Mian even felt that the thing on Anvers’ head was an eyesore and very annoying.
“Cough, then I’ll take my leave?”
Anvers, sensing the danger, subconsciously touched his hair ornament to make sure it hadn’t fallen off, and after signaling to Shao Mian, he couldn’t help but say goodbye to Lin Ran.
“Goodbye, Patriarch Anvers. Let me know next time you come to pick up Little Feather for class.”
Lin Ran waved his hand and said goodbye with a smile.
“There’s a next time?”
Shao Mian watched as Anvers slipped away, not expecting that this guy was actually quite good at socializing.
He hoped that this guy wouldn’t continue wearing this flamboyant thing to meetings next time.
“Yeah, it’s about Little Feather. But I also caught a very strange thing at the experiment site this time, I don’t know if you recognize it.”
Lin Ran hesitated for a moment, then took out the small glass bottle and handed it to Shao Mian.
Shao Mian looked at the source miasma trapped in Lin Ran’s palm, frowned seriously, and took it.
“This thing is very dangerous. A single source miasma can pollute a very large area. Every year, when the miasma tide erupts, we have to concentrate our efforts to find these hidden sources…”
This time, Shao Mian didn’t hide anything but seriously explained the danger of this thing to Lin Ran.
But after listening attentively for a long time, Lin Ran suddenly interrupted Shao Mian and signaled for Yuanbao to look at him.
“Actually, I’m wondering if the Demon World is sick? So it needs us to help it find all these viruses.”
“If everyone ignores it and chooses to avoid it, the Demon World will really disappear completely.”
Perhaps the actions of “Demon World” contacting him were a different kind of cry for help.
But strangely enough, the key to curing the Demon World was actually him, a human.
Lin Ran looked at Shao Mian seriously emphasizing the danger and couldn’t help but share a bold guess he had always had with Yuanbao.
Although there was no basis for it.
Shao Mian looked at the young human who was clearly expecting his approval and his thoughts were momentarily disrupted.
But it inexplicably reminded Shao Mian of the increasingly fewer responses from the “Demon World” consciousness over the years, and the many gradually abandoned functions.
It was indeed like this before Lin Ran entered “Demon World.” Perhaps “Demon World” was really sick, but no demon had ever noticed it.
Many demons were simply disappointed and even complained that the originally inexhaustible magic power was gradually becoming less abundant.
Until Lin Ran told everyone that perhaps the Demon World was just sick.
“Then we can cure it together.”
Shao Mian felt that this probably wouldn’t be difficult, if it was Lin Ran.
“I was just guessing, you just believed me like that?”
Lin Ran smiled, not expecting Yuanbao to support his idea so readily. He had just made a guess.
“But we also got a very magical thing this time.”
Feeling that this topic was a bit complicated, Lin Ran asked Little Feather to bring over the Feather of Truth.
“Ee!”
Little Feather obediently hugged the box and dragged it over.
“Feather of Truth?”
Shao Mian had heard of this thing, but he didn’t expect the Feather Clan to actually bring it back for Lin Ran?
Anvers had really gone all out, after all, those old guys in the Feather Clan were quite difficult to deal with.
“You’d better not touch it randomly, this thing is very dangerous, Anvers suffered a great loss because of it.”
Lin Ran noticed that Yuanbao clearly didn’t take it seriously and reminded him quietly.
Shao Mian: ?
Heh, how dangerous could it be?
If he hadn’t been reminded, it would have been fine, but Lin Ran’s reminder inexplicably made Shao Mian’s hand itch. He raised an eyebrow and picked up the feather to examine it.
It clearly wasn’t anything special.
“…”
Lin Ran and Little Feather, holding the empty box, exchanged glances, and the next second, they both looked at Shao Mian, who was holding the Feather of Truth.
For a moment, they wanted to laugh secretly, but also wanted to quickly think of what questions to ask.
After all, the chance to make Yuanbao tell the truth was quite rare, right?
“What do you want to ask?”
Shao Mian simply looked at Lin Ran, whose eyes were filled with a hidden smile, and felt a little helpless.
Tsk, he never disdained telling the truth, okay?
