GWID Chapter 48

Little Phoenix was stunned for a good while, then shuddered for a bit longer, his short, pointed little beak trembling, feeling as though he didn’t even know where to put his wings. “You you you — Little Coal Ball, you’re being indecent!”

The black round ball before him tilted its head, crouching in the snow with an air of total innocence. “What’s wrong?”

Little Phoenix was on the verge of tears. “You you you — this is something only birds do during their wedding night! You you you —” He kept shaking, but before he could finish, Little Coal Ball hopped over a few steps and nuzzled against his neck. “But we’re both little bird gentlemen, not little bird ladies. Big brother, don’t be angry. I didn’t know about this before — I just thought it looked interesting, so I wanted to try it.”

Little Coal Ball looked as though he might burst into tears. “Big brother… you’re the only big brother I have, and you’re also the first little bird I’ve ever met who looks exactly like me. Please don’t be angry with me. If you’re angry with me, I’ll be very sad.”

Only then did Little Phoenix calm down slightly. He glanced at himself and Little Coal Ball — both still in the plump, round shape of fledglings. He himself had not developed properly while still in the egg, but Little Coal Ball probably hadn’t even finished growing his feathers yet.

Thinking of it this way, he felt at ease. He looked at the pitiful Little Coal Ball crouching before him, hesitated a moment, then said, “I’m not blaming you, but… but…” He lowered his head dejectedly and mumbled. “Even though I’m a little bird gentleman, my husband is also a gentleman — I like boys. Little Coal Ball, remember this for the future: don’t play this kind of joke on me. I care deeply for my husband. Though I imagine he probably wouldn’t mind what I do with other birds… I still don’t want to let him down.”

Xingyi looked at him in silence.

Little Phoenix patted Xingyi on the head with his little wing. “Little Coal Ball, go back and write a self-criticism essay for me. I’ll be checking it. In the future, don’t imitate everything you see — that’s not good behavior.”

Xingyi craned his neck and asked, “How many characters?”

Little Phoenix thought it over. “Three thousand characters will do!”

Xingyi’s tiny bean-eyes immediately filled with desolation. He nuzzled his belly against Little Phoenix’s belly again. “Big brother, I’m still just a tiny little bird. I can’t write that many characters yet.”

Little Phoenix met his innocent and pitiful little gaze and immediately softened. He gritted his teeth. “Then… two thousand… one thousand five hundred… one thousand… five hundred characters! Not a single one fewer. Little Coal Ball, if you don’t get a little punishment, you won’t remember this!”

Xingyi said, “My memory is very good. I can remember.”

Little Phoenix glared at him. “Still talking back! Have you ever been a parent? You haven’t! I’m a phoenix who has descended to the mortal realm — I know how to be a mother and father! Five hundred characters. Not one fewer, you little troublemaker.”

Xingyi eagerly argued. “I’m not a little bear, I’m a little bird.”

(TL: “小熊孩子” (xiǎo xióng háizi) is a modern Chinese slang term. It means a mischievous, unruly, or bratty child—the kind who talks back, ignores rules, or causes trouble. 

小熊 taken from 小熊孩子 is = little bear (XY took it literally))

But Little Phoenix was already ignoring him. He looked up and saw that it was getting late, so he walked back a few steps and packed the other roasted sweet potato and the remaining persimmons into his small bundle. Then he solemnly handed the bundle to his Little Coal Ball. “Coal Ball, keep these things safe. Whenever you’re hungry, just go ahead and eat. I’ll be right there in Fuli Palace. Whenever you want to come find me to play, just come over — don’t be afraid. They’re all very good people. Don’t wait alone for me anymore. Now that you’ve become my little brother, you’re family. I had such a hard time finding a bird that looks just like me — I will definitely not mistreat you.”

Xingyi watched his round little figure waddle away, and for some reason felt a faint urge to smile, yet there was also something else — a feeling he couldn’t quite put into words.

When Little Phoenix had once told him about his origins, he had said that in the beginning, everyone called him a quail, so he assumed he was a quail. Excitedly, he went to the quail clan to seek out his kin — but they drove him away.

Later, an old tree gave him a hint, and Little Phoenix finally learned that he was actually a phoenix. But even then, he searched for a long time and could not find the phoenix’s great family. So he made his way to Fan Tian, having heard that there was a great phoenix there who was destined to become a Ming Zun — the only phoenix he could possibly get close to. Phoenixes are by nature proud and solitary, with no fixed abode, dwelling only in the deep sacred mountains where parasol trees and bamboo groves flourish. They relocate once every twenty or thirty years, so it was no wonder he could never find them.

But even after arriving at Fan Tian, he had no chance to meet Phoenix Ming Zun for a long time. The closest he ever got was on the day Phoenix Ming Zun took office: the Ming Zun appeared in his true form, leading nine hundred and ninety-nine golden-winged birds and nine hundred and ninety-nine golden peacocks in a dance beneath the Five Trees and Six Flowers of Fan Tian. Lotus blossoms opened in full bloom, and rosy clouds filled the sky in every direction. Phoenix Ming Zun’s true form was the most pure, brilliant gold — his tail feathers long and trailing, radiating ten thousand streams of light, so magnificent that heaven and earth themselves seemed to shimmer and glow alongside him. Little Phoenix was transfixed. Even after everyone else had dispersed, he could not come back to his senses. He crouched forlornly inside a lotus blossom, watching as Phoenix Ming Zun flew and flew, then alighted at the edge of the lotus pond.

Phoenix Ming Zun then lowered his head to drink, and his elegant, slender beak happened to nudge the very lotus flower where Little Phoenix sat. The flower swayed and rocked, its petals falling open — and out was revealed a snow-white little ball. This plump little bird stared up with round, wide bean-eyes and asked, not without envy. “When will I be as beautiful as you?”

He had white feathers, and had actually prepared himself to be looked down upon by Phoenix Ming Zun. But to his surprise, Phoenix Ming Zun not only did not look down on him — he even laughed, and told him, “When you grow up, you will be. When I was small, I was even rounder and fatter than you, and my feathers were not as beautiful and silky as yours. In the future, you will surely be even more beautiful than I am.”

The Phoenix Ming Zun who came later was the one who genuinely looked down on him with heartfelt disdain — but that was after Little Phoenix had descended to the mortal realm.

Xingyi reflected on all these past stories that Little Phoenix had shared with him, and before he realized it, his mind had drifted.

Little Phoenix had already walked far away.

He quickly shifted back into human form, tucked Little Phoenix’s small bundle into his sleeve and sealed it shut, then hurried back to Fuli Palace by a roundabout route, entering through the main gate.

Little Phoenix was darting about everywhere looking for him. Just as Xingyi stepped through the palace gate, he saw Little Phoenix come fluttering over, tiny wings flapping. He reached out and caught him, cupping the little white ball in his palm.

Little Phoenix’s tiny bean-eyes sparkled as he looked up. “Weijian, where did you go? I have something to tell you.”

Xingyi pinched his little wings and brushed off the bits of snow and grass seeds clinging to them from outside, then set his wings gently back in place. “I went out for a walk and placed an order with the Lao Jun for a batch of materials for forging weapons. What did you want to tell me?”

He curled his five fingers around the fluffy little phoenix and carried him back inside the palace. Little Phoenix apparently felt it would be easier to speak of serious matters in human form, so he gave a small deliberate cough, flew down from his hand, transformed into his human shape, and then sat properly upright on the daybed, fingers laced together resting on his knees, perfectly composed.

Xingyi watched him, and in an unhurried manner poured him a cup of juice pressed from lianshi fruit. He drank a few sips himself first, then handed it to Little Phoenix.

Little Phoenix took it, looked at it, swallowed, but still insisted on setting the cup aside. Troubled and hesitant, after a long pause he finally spoke, “Husband, there is something I need to tell you. It isn’t really a big deal in itself, but I’m afraid that if you found out on your own later, you’d be unhappy — so I’ve decided to tell you myself. I hope you won’t be angry.”

Xingyi kept watching him, and seeing that he wasn’t drinking the juice, reached over and took it back, continuing to sip at it slowly. “Go ahead.”

Little Phoenix watched as the cup was nearly drained, and his words came faster. “So — do you remember Little Coal Ball, the one I mentioned before? Today, he — today he saw a pair of birds doing their wedding-night things at someone else’s home. He asked me what it meant, and so, so, so — he climbed onto my back to imitate it. Even though he didn’t mean anything by it, I think it probably counts as being taken advantage of, so I wanted to let you know. Don’t be angry with me — Weijian, slow down, slow down, that cup is going to be empty — leave me a little!”

Talking, Little Phoenix threw himself forward and snatched the cup out of Xingyi’s hand — but when he got it, he looked inside and found it completely empty, with nothing left but the smooth celadon bottom of the bowl.

He was a little downcast. “Weijian, you drank it all.”

But Xingyi took the cup from his hands and set it aside, then grabbed him by the collar, gave a loose tug, and pulled him close, folding him into his arms. He lowered his head and asked, “Imitated it? Wedding night? And you had the leisure to think about other things?”

Little Phoenix desperately explained. “It wasn’t that kind of wedding night — it was a bird’s wedding night, not a real wedding night. He just climbed onto my back and copied the motions a few times, the same as two birds rubbing their bellies together. Weijian, please don’t be angry.”

Xingyi gave a cold laugh. “‘Just’ and ‘only’ — so this time there was no real wedding night, but next time there will be? Is that what you mean?”

He was shameless and twisting things around, and even if Little Phoenix had a hundred mouths he wouldn’t be able to argue his way out. The whole affair had happened suddenly, and he wasn’t really in the wrong — yet somehow, looking at Xingyi’s grave and serious expression, he found himself unable to say a word.

Xingyi reached out and pinched his cheek. “This is something you could have kept to yourself, yet you actually dared to tell me without a care in the world. Do you think I won’t get angry, hm?”

Little Phoenix opened his mouth, looking a bit sheepish. “I… I… but Coal Ball is just a little bird.”

Xingyi gripped his chin and pressed him against the wall, his gaze flickering. “You are a little bird who cannot grow up. He is not. When he grows up later and can freely take human form — will you still let him treat you like that? Can you honestly say your little younger brother won’t develop feelings for you someday, clinging to you and wanting to be with you?”

Little Phoenix hung his head in defeat. “Weijian, I was wrong. Stop scolding me.”

After thinking for a moment, he earnestly proposed a solution. “Then — then I’ll have Coal Ball come over to meet you, alright? Once he sees the two of us together in person, he’ll surely be more careful in the future. He’s a good little bird. Sometimes he doesn’t know any better, but he definitely understands where the line is. And I’ve already made him write a self-criticism essay.”

Xingyi had him pinned against the wall, looking down at him as he tilted his head up with a face full of sincerity, eyes bright and earnest. Suddenly, Xingyi found himself not particularly interested in listening to whatever he was actually saying. Little Phoenix was born with fine looks and a natural flush to his complexion, lips red and teeth white without a trace of powder or rouge. As he spoke, his mouth moved, revealing pearlescent teeth that made his lips look all the more vivid. That color… was like the cherries Xingyi had seen the celestial maidens place in the fruit dish that morning — giving off a fragrant, tempting scent, dewy and tender, as though… if one were to take a bite, one could taste a faint sweetness.

Thinking this, he went ahead and did just that. Xingyi had one arm around Little Phoenix’s waist, while his other hand roamed and explored, slowly peeling off his outer robe. Then, loosening the front of his inner garment, he leaned down and pressed his lips to him. Little Phoenix’s stream of chatter was suddenly stopped up by his actions. Xingyi licked and kissed the pale curve of his ear, kissed his lips, nibbled lightly at his throat, then slowly moved downward — his hand moving downward too — and when his hand arrived somewhere Little Phoenix couldn’t identify, Little Phoenix gave a startled jolt, but was so thoroughly hemmed in he couldn’t move.

Xingyi simply held him one-armed and lifted him higher, so that Little Phoenix’s legs were parted and he sat astride his thigh, the two of them pressed together inseparably. He asked in a low voice, “Is this what your Little Coal Ball did? Like this?”

Little Phoenix’s face flushed completely red, and it took a long moment before he managed to squeeze a few words out through his teeth. “No. But, Weijian — you can try. Try a little.”

Following Xingyi’s lead, he obediently and pliantly reached out his hand, and together they comforted one another. Xingyi’s eyes darkened, and he said no more. He curved slightly forward, rested his chin on Little Phoenix’s shoulder, then turned his head and bit down on the pale, soft side of his neck, licking and kissing the same spot over and over, until a deep red mark was left there, accompanied by a trace of mild pain.

The room was filled with drifting haze, and the walls built of divine wood and ten-thousand-year ice stone trembled faintly at a peculiar frequency. Xingyi did not go all the way — he was mindful that Little Phoenix was still approaching the early stage before his tribulation crossing, and could not withstand his primordial yang, so he stopped after just a taste. Little Phoenix, with all the heedlessness of someone who knew no limits, teased in every direction, calling his name in a soft voice. The habits and techniques learned in the pleasure quarters became, in this setting, a wildfire spreading across the plain. Xingyi pinched him. “Keep still — or you’ll end up a roasted phoenix. I say what I mean.”

Little Phoenix went still.

A moment later, when the trembling of the palace walls had settled, Little Phoenix lifted the front of his garment, pointed at the reddened skin that had been rubbed raw, and said with aggrieved indignation. “Weijian, look — the skin is broken. Can you be a little gentler next time?”

Xingyi glanced at him. “We’ll see next time.”

He casually healed the broken skin, then scooped Little Phoenix up crosswise in his arms, tossed him into the bathing tub in the room, and supervised while he washed up and got into bed. Little Phoenix hugged him to sleep with a contented smile, and just before drifting off, still didn’t forget to ask one more question. “So you’re not angry with me anymore? Tomorrow I’ll go tell Little Coal Ball and invite him to visit us here.”

Xingyi opened his mouth, and before he’d had a chance to think of an excuse to deflect, he saw that Little Phoenix had already fallen fast asleep without a care in the world.

He rubbed his temple, carefully tucked Little Phoenix into the blanket, then got up from the bed himself, draped his outer robe over his shoulders, and went out.

The senior celestial maiden met him in front of the study. She was carrying a bucket and a cloth, ready to clean the room, and looked somewhat surprised to see him. “Your Majesty, it is so late — is there still something you need from the study? If so, I can come back to clean later.”

Xingyi said, “Rest for now. It’s fine if it goes without sweeping for a day. I’ve come…” He glanced toward the bedchamber to the east, then said, “I’ve come to write a self-criticism essay.”