“Have you not seen? The great bird lifts a man in a day, soaring up seven or eight meters high!”
“Have you not seen? The great bird’s crown is bare and bright, morning’s black silk turns to sea by night!”
…
To the great bird’s ears, this “heroic” poetry was nothing but pain.
Su Mo was finally experiencing the sensation of flight, a completely different feeling from riding in an airplane before.
“Stupid bird, take me to find my friends, now,” Su Mo commanded his mount.
The great bird was just about to squawk in protest when it suddenly remembered the chilly breeze atop its head. It hastily obeyed the orders of this scourge.
But the sea was vast and boundless; how difficult would it be to find a few people?
Yet, if it didn’t search, it might transform into a bald vulture any second.
Forget it. For now, preserving its image was paramount.
With its head drooping, the great bird carried Su Mo in low flight over the sea. They could clearly feel the salty, fishy scent brought by the sea breeze on their faces.
“Faster!” Su Mo slapped the bird’s balding spot, and it immediately shot forward as if propelled by a spring.
The great bird searched for a long time according to the scourge’s will but still found no trace of the others. Only then did it receive a new command—land on the island.
The moment Su Mo’s feet touched the ground, the great bird desperately tried to flee. Unexpectedly, its claw was seized again. The stress reaction made it let out an instant, sharp cry. Only when no pain followed did it gradually stop struggling.
“Don’t even think about running. I still have uses for you,” Su Mo warned the bird. Then, using his finger, he began drawing strange patterns on its body. As he drew, he muttered softly to himself, “The control array Master taught me, one that can control the souls of other living beings. I thought it was useless, but who would have thought… Hey, stupid bird, what are you eavesdropping for?”
“Croak! (I’m not!)”
“You’d better not be.” Su Mo shot it a suspicious glare, then surprisingly released its claw. “Alright, you can go now.”
The bird instinctively prepared to fly away but suddenly remembered the array this human had drawn on it, and one that could control souls at that…
“Croak…” The bird let out an ingratiating sound and pointed with its beak to the spot where the array had been drawn.
Su Mo played dumb. “Go on, what do you mean?”
“Croak! (You know perfectly well what I mean!)”
Human and bird stared at each other for a few seconds. Suddenly, Su Mo seemed to remember something, then grinned, pointing at the spot with the array and said with a laugh, “You mean here? I was just fooling you. There’s no such array.”
As he spoke, the corner of his mouth twitched upward, which he then “surreptitiously” tried to conceal.
The great bird’s heart sank. It began overthinking:
It’s over. This scourge not only drew an array on me but is also trying to trick me into thinking she didn’t. I saw that sly grin just now!
What does she mean by this?
Oh, I get it. She wants to use me to capture our entire flock!
Heartless bipedal beast! Controlling me is one thing, but she actually wants to control my whole flock? I won’t fall for it.
But what about me? I’m still under her control.
Maybe… try to please her?
The great bird nodded wisely, its gaze suddenly becoming docile.
Pretending not to notice, Su Mo kept a straight face and told it to leave quickly. Unexpectedly, the bird that had been desperate to escape a moment ago suddenly didn’t want to go. It rubbed its bald head against Su Mo’s shoulder, its expression full of讨好 (please note: the Chinese word was in the original. The translation here is “ingratiating” which captures the intent).
Su Mo thought to himself: So cooperative!
“You want to follow me?”
“Croak. (Yes.)”
Seeing its affirmative expression, Su Mo added, “Following me is tough. After all, I need to eat, and we’ll encounter dangers. All that will be your responsibility from now on.”
The bird patted its chest with a wing. “Croak! (Leave it to me!)”
Su Mo crossed his arms and turned his head away, putting on an expression of disbelief.
Feeling deeply insulted, the great bird immediately flapped its wings and flew out to sea.
Not long after, it returned, a large fish dangling from its beak.
“Croak. (For you.)”
Su Mo lifted the fish; it weighed at least twenty-something jin.
With the great bird around, food for the next few days was secured.
Before setting out, Yang Jie had confiscated everyone’s storage artifacts. Although Su Mo still had his white jade ring containing all sorts of things, for the sake of fairness in the assessment, Yang Jie personally sealed it with an array; no one else could open it.
And so, Su Mo truly had to live like a savage.
He glanced at the great bird beside him, thinking it was lucky the bird had delivered itself to his doorstep. Otherwise, how miserable would his life be?
“You’re my third animal friend. As per tradition, I should give you a name. It doesn’t feel quite right to keep calling you ‘great bird.'”
The bird’s eyes lit up. It thought it didn’t have a human name yet and felt quite expectant.
“Little White, Er Ha… Following tradition, your generation should be ‘Da’ (Big). I’ll call you Da Sha (Big Fool).”
“Croak croak croak… (You, you, you…)”
“Would you prefer ‘Da Sha Bei’ (Big Fool Cup)?” Su Mo chuckled lightly and patted its head. “Da Sha is quite cute too.”
“Croak! (Cute your head!)”
The bird secretly rejoiced that this scourge couldn’t understand bird language. Otherwise, it wouldn’t even have the chance to complain.
Su Mo looked around. Nothing but sea. He wondered if Ye Qingyi and the others had made it ashore.
Logically speaking, there must be powerful individuals following behind in such an assessment, at least ensuring no life-threatening dangers.
After all, everyone here was a rare talent. Losing even one or two would be a loss for all humanity.
Thinking this, he stopped worrying. Besides, with Ye Qingyi and the others’ abilities, even without external help, protecting themselves shouldn’t be too difficult.
After all the commotion, he was hungry. He simply used Yin fire to start a bonfire and began roasting the fish.
At first, Da Sha looked down on his method of handling the fish, considering it a desecration of good food. But when the aroma of grilled meat wafted over, its eyes involuntarily drifted in that direction.
Su Mo wasn’t stingy. He tore off a large piece and offered it. “Here, try my cooking.”
Da Sha eagerly swallowed a large piece of scalding fish meat and immediately began hopping on the spot, croaking and howling.
Su Mo said exasperatedly, “At least chew it!”
Suddenly, he realized Da Sha had no teeth…
Alright then.
Su Mo tore off another large piece for it. Da Sha, having learned its lesson this time, didn’t swallow immediately. Instead, it first crushed the meat with its beak, then imitated Su Mo by using its exhaled breath to cool the fish.
It had to be said, Da Sha was truly intelligent.
Not only smart, it was also a bird that understood human affairs. After finishing the fish, it didn’t forget to nod its head, indicating it was delicious.
Su Mo was amused by its human-like behavior and decided to reward it.
A simple meal of grilled fish, without any seasonings or additives, was savored by the human and bird as if it were the most exquisite delicacy in the world.
After the meal, the next consideration was lodging.
Su Mo glanced at the dense forest deep within the small island and the sticky ground among the trees. He figured he’d have to spend the night in a tree. The ground was too damp; sitting on it for too long could lead to more than just hemorrhoids.
It could very well be deadly!