Chapter 25: Revitalizing the Bird Clan!
Su Muluo twirled the little black dragon around his finger like a keychain, swinging it back and forth.
The little black dragon, feeling neglected as his phoenix was busy picking out clothes, let out an unhappy “squeak.”
Su Muluo continued to ignore him.
The little black dragon began to wriggle and twist.
After a while, the little black dragon managed to untangle itself and slipped off Su Muluo’s finger with a swift “whoosh”—only to be caught immediately by Su Muluo.
In a quiet corner of the mall, Su Muluo poked the little dragon in his palm and asked, “Will you take advantage of me again next time?”
The little black dragon, hugging a feather, rubbed its soft little horns against Su Muluo’s fingers, making pitiful sounds.
No, I won’t. The phoenix is the best.
Su Muluo rubbed its little horns and laughed, “Always acting cute.”
Then he tried to take his feather back.
The little black dragon hugged it tightly.
Su Muluo: “?”
He tugged at the feather, but it wouldn’t budge. He glared at the little black dragon.
The little black dragon: “Squeak.”
I want it!
This phoenix feather was even more beautiful than the previous ones, more delicate and soft, carrying a fragrant scent filled with the phoenix’s essence.
Really liked it.
The little black dragon looked at Su Muluo expectantly, its dark golden dragon eyes sparkling, tail swishing back and forth.
After a few seconds of eye contact, Su Muluo let go.
Forget it, since his dragon liked it, he could have it.
Though he felt a bit heartbroken.
The little black dragon cheered: “Yippee!”
It then transformed into human form, smiling with curved eyebrows, and rubbed its face against Su Muluo’s cheek, “The phoenix is so nice, I love the phoenix the most.”
The movement was swift, and before Su Muluo could react or dodge, it was done.
Su Muluo: “…”
He expressionlessly patted Long Ling.
Long Ling happily put the feather away. Even if he got hit, it was gentle. Besides, the phoenix gave him a beautiful feather, which made the black dragon very happy, even wanting to hug and kiss the phoenix.
However, kissing was definitely impossible. If he dared to kiss here, the phoenix would explode and beat him up, then throw him out.
Thinking about it felt tragic.
The two of them continued shopping around the mall, with Su Muluo buying several outfits for Long Ling, along with some daily necessities.
By noon, they passed by a hotpot restaurant. Su Muluo stopped immediately, enticed by the aroma wafting out.
Long Ling asked, “Does the phoenix want to eat hotpot?”
Su Muluo: “Yes.”
Although he had made it at home before, it was different from the restaurant, and he was looking forward to the taste.
Long Ling had no objections and entered the hotpot restaurant with his phoenix. Su Muluo ordered a mandarin duck pot, remembering that Long Ling, when he was still a little black dragon, couldn’t handle spicy food, so he turned the clear soup pot towards him.
Unexpectedly, Long Ling pouted, “I don’t want to eat clear soup.”
He then moved from across the table to sit beside Su Muluo.
Su Muluo: “? Sit back.”
Long Ling didn’t move, “I want to eat spicy food too.”
“I can turn the spicy pot to your side,” Su Muluo pushed him, “Don’t sit next to me.” And so close!
“No,” Long Ling said, looking like he was doing it for Su Muluo’s sake, “Phoenix also wants to eat spicy food, if I turn it to my side, it won’t be convenient for you to reach.”
Su Muluo: “…”
The table isn’t that big, you can easily reach it!
He felt this dragon just wanted to take advantage of him. But he was sitting against the wall, and the only way out was for Long Ling to move, which he wouldn’t… for now, he couldn’t change seats.
Long Ling happily held Su Muluo’s hand, Su Muluo glanced at him and stayed silent.
The dishes were quickly served, the table filled with beef, tripe, duck intestine, enoki mushrooms, and various meats and vegetables. Long Ling dipped a piece of beef in the spicy pot and placed it in Su Muluo’s bowl.
“For the phoenix.”
Su Muluo took a bite.
The next second, he exclaimed, “So spicy!”
This hotpot restaurant was a Chongqing hotpot place, and Su Muluo had chosen medium spicy for the broth, thinking he could handle it. But he was instantly overwhelmed by the spiciness.
Long Ling immediately handed him the iced lemon water from the table. Su Muluo took a big gulp, finally feeling a bit relieved.
Though extremely spicy, the hotpot was delicious, making people want to keep eating. Su Muluo sipped the lemon water in small gulps, watching Long Ling eat a piece of tripe he had just cooked in the spicy broth.
He stopped, wanting to see Long Ling’s reaction to the spiciness.
But Long Ling’s expression didn’t change at all. He didn’t seem to feel the spiciness and even started cooking some beef for Su Muluo.
Su Muluo: “?”
Shocked, he asked, “Aren’t you feeling the heat?”
Long Ling looked at him, “Not at all. Is this really spicy?”
Su Muluo: “Didn’t you used to not be able to eat spicy food?”
Long Ling dipped the cooked beef in the clear broth and placed it in Su Muluo’s bowl, “But I can now.”
Su Muluo: “…”
His plan to see the dragon cry from spiciness fell through. Silently, he ate the piece of beef.
By the end of the meal, Su Muluo’s lips were red and slightly swollen from the spiciness. Long Ling frequently turned to look at him.
Su Muluo, puzzled, asked, “Why are you staring at me?”
A hint of amusement flickered in Long Ling’s eyes, “The phoenix’s lips are red, like they’ve been kissed.”
Su Muluo: “?”
Long Ling: “I want to kiss.”
Su Muluo: “???”
Su Muluo snatched the beef from Long Ling’s bowl.
After a moment of silence.
This was only the second day he’d been with Long Ling. Although he found Long Ling awkward the first day, by the second day, everything felt natural.
It must be because this dragon was shameless and always took advantage of him!
Thinking this, he poked Long Ling.
Long Ling obediently let him poke, watching his phoenix, a gentle smile tugging at his lips.
After lunch, they returned to their rented apartment.
“Maybe we need to rent a new place,” Su Muluo said as they entered, “There’s only one bedroom here, which isn’t very convenient.”
Long Ling didn’t like the sound of that, “Isn’t one bedroom enough?”
Su Muluo glanced at him, “Oh, so you like sleeping on the sofa.”
Long Ling: “…”
That’s not what he meant!
He wanted to sleep with the phoenix!
Long Ling felt a bit glum. Su Muluo laughed, “Come work with me this afternoon.”
He had closed the coffee shop yesterday, and if he didn’t open it this afternoon, they wouldn’t have any income for two days.
Long Ling agreed, “Then the phoenix must stay with me all the time. I need to guard the phoenix.”
Su Muluo: “I don’t need you to guard me; nothing will happen to me.”
Long Ling insisted, “No, what if the phoenix suddenly gets sleepy?”
Su Muluo fell silent.
Indeed, he had forgotten about that.
However, he had been less sleepy the past few days, only feeling sleepy at night now. Maybe in a few more days, this problem would go away.
In the afternoon, Su Muluo and Long Ling went to the coffee shop. When they arrived, they saw a few cats sitting obediently at the employee lounge door, neither meowing nor wandering.
A boy came out of the lounge, holding a bag of trash filled with the cat food cans from the day before. He intended to take out the trash, but upon seeing Su Muluo, he greeted, “Good afternoon.”
Then his gaze shifted to the man in black beside Su Muluo.
Qiansui: “…”
In the next instant, Qiansui transformed into an orange cat and dashed into the lounge corner with a “whoosh.”
Su Muluo looked at Long Ling, “Did you scare him?”
Long Ling, looking innocent, “How could I?”
Su Muluo knew that while Long Ling had never liked Qiansui, he wouldn’t deliberately make things difficult for him. After examining Long Ling for a few seconds, he realized it was Long Ling’s strong demon aura that had frightened Qiansui.
“Conceal your aura; it’s too conspicuous.”
He remembered that when he first became human, he also had trouble controlling his aura, often scaring the little demons around him and attracting big demons with ill intentions. Only after learning to fully conceal his aura did he avoid unnecessary trouble.
Long Ling tilted his head, and a few seconds later, Su Muluo felt his aura completely retract, no longer detectable.
Qiansui slowly emerged from the lounge, “meowing” softly, and led the other cats back inside.
After a while, the coffee shop opened. The customers who came in were very surprised to find that the shop had a new employee. He was cold and handsome, but his gaze was extremely gentle when he looked at the young shop owner.
At two in the afternoon, a young man with earrings walked into the coffee shop. As soon as he entered, he said, “Boss! I took my cat, Doumi, to get vaccinated today. It was so well-behaved. Let me show you some photos!”
He had adopted the black cat from the shop last time, named it Doumi, and couldn’t wait to share pictures of it with Su Muluo. However, before he could take out his phone, he felt a cold, sharp gaze fall on him. He looked up and saw a handsome man in black standing beside Su Muluo, looking at him indifferently.
“…”
The young man silently put his phone away and said, “A special coffee, please.”
Su Muluo replied gently, “Sure.”
After the young man found a seat, Su Muluo turned to Long Ling and said, “Why are you being so harsh to the customers?”
Long Ling lazily rested his chin on Su Muluo’s shoulder and said, “He’s too close with Phoenix.”
Su Muluo asked, “How do you see that?”
“I don’t care. He’s too close,” Long Ling said. “Phoenix can only be close to me, not to others.”
Su Muluo met his gaze and didn’t notice the content of his words because he suddenly realized how close the dragon was to him. He immediately tried to push him away.
—But Long Ling grabbed his wrist, his arm naturally wrapping around Su Muluo’s waist, half-embracing him.
Su Muluo: “?!”
His reaction was swift. He quickly cast a spell to create an illusion so that other customers would still see them as they were before, without anything unusual.
Then he said, “Let go!”
“No,” Long Ling’s eyes narrowed with satisfaction as he nuzzled Phoenix’s soft black hair. “Phoenix is soft. I like holding Phoenix.”
Su Muluo: “???”
How did it escalate to this level so quickly?
This was too much!
So he said very coldly, “If you don’t let go, I’ll tie you up.”
Long Ling paused slightly.
Su Muluo continued, “I’ll also take away the feathers you hide under the pillow.”
Long Ling: “!”
Long Ling immediately and obediently let go, saying, “Phoenix is the best.”
Su Muluo sneered and ignored him.
After a while, the young man finished his coffee and left. Shortly after he left, a man came in.
Su Muluo’s gaze fell on him, and he raised his eyebrows slightly.
He had seen this person before at the Bureau of the Extraordinary. It was Feng Xuan, an elder of the bird clan.
A few days ago, he had been attacked by the bird clan. Although the attack wasn’t hostile, more like a test, now it might not just be a test.
Long Ling also recognized Feng Xuan and said, “Phoenix, you don’t have to deal with him. I’ll handle it.”
Su Muluo felt that Long Ling’s “handling” might mean throwing the other person out without a word. But instead of directly driving Feng Xuan away, he wanted to know why the other person had come, so he said, “No rush, let me ask him first.”
As soon as Feng Xuan stepped into the coffee shop, he sensed something was wrong.
As an elder of the bird clan for many years, with profound strength and many experiences, he had a keen intuition for danger.
Seeing the young shop owner and the man beside him, alarm bells rang in his heart, and he immediately wanted to leave.
Although these two had no demonic aura, they made him feel a sense of fear, especially the man in black, who seemed like a beast emerging from the depths of hell, ready to devour people in an instant.
“…”
Cold sweat appeared on Feng Xuan’s forehead, but he didn’t leave. Instead, he slowly walked to the counter.
Su Muluo said, “Is there something you need, Elder Feng?”
He got straight to the point, his tone calm, but it startled Feng Xuan again.
At least there was no hostility in his words. This made Feng Xuan secretly relieved, feeling that this beautiful young man was approachable. So he directly said, “I’m here to find someone.”
After seeing this young man at the Bureau of the Extraordinary, he had remembered his appearance and released the bird clan’s scouts in Lincheng. Within a few days, he found this coffee shop and immediately came over.
Su Muluo said, “There shouldn’t be anyone you know here.”
“There is,” Feng Xuan stared at him and said, “I’m looking for you.”
Su Muluo raised his eyebrows slightly. For a moment, he even thought Feng Xuan had recognized his identity as Phoenix, but he quickly denied it.
In the past eighteen hundred years, only his dragon and the old rabbit demon knew his identity. The old rabbit demon would never betray him, and with Feng Xuan’s strength, he couldn’t possibly see through his true form.
So Feng Xuan couldn’t be looking for him because he’s Phoenix. There must be another reason.
Long Ling, hearing this, also coldly stared at Feng Xuan. For a moment, Feng Xuan felt like the Grim Reaper’s scythe was hanging over his neck, cold sweat soaking his clothes, but he still stood straight, maintaining his composure.
“Fifty years ago, Feng Hen, the bird clan leader, ascended to stabilize his position. He married the daughter of the great elder,” Feng Xuan said. “Later, Feng Hen fell in love with a human woman and ran away, abandoning the bird clan… The great elder was furious and brought Feng Hen back, imprisoning him in the ice prison.”
Su Muluo said, “Wait, what does this have to do with you looking for me?”
Feng Xuan said, “You’ll know soon.”
Then he paused and continued, “A few days later, Feng Hen was found dead in the ice prison, causing a shock in the bird clan. Some believed the great elder killed Feng Hen, while others thought Feng Hen committed suicide out of guilt. Since that day, the bird clan split into two factions, constantly fighting.”
Long Ling lazily held Su Muluo’s hand, lightly pinching his fingers. Su Muluo tried to pull his hand back but was held tightly, and he slapped Long Ling in anger.
However, he remained calm and said, “I’m not from the bird clan. Telling me this is useless.”
Feng Xuan shook his head and continued, “Because of years of conflict, the bird clan has no leader and our status in the demon world has declined, unlike before. The wolf clan has coveted us for many years. If this continues, the bird clan might soon be conquered… So, at this time, someone must step up, take over the position of clan leader, and end this chaos.”
Su Muluo thought he was going to continue talking about the bird clan’s future development. He was ready to patiently listen, but then he saw Feng Xuan looking at him expectantly, slapping the table excitedly, and saying:
“And you are the one I’ve been searching for years—
“You are Feng Hen’s illegitimate child from twenty years ago, the only bloodline of the former clan leader, the most suitable heir for the bird clan, and our only hope!”
Su Muluo: “…”
What?
T/N: Hello hello! There is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
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Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
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