Soon, the three little ones set off together on the road to Paul’s house.
Paul’s house was in a very remote place.
They walked and walked for a long, long time, yet not a single house came into view.
“Yuan Yuan’s tired.”
After walking for so long, Feng Yuan pouted a little, clearly not wanting to go any farther.
He looked around, then studied the terrain of the area before asking, “Can’t we just do it here?”
Paul stopped in his tracks. “What?”
Throughout the journey, Paul’s expression had been growing visibly more and more tense.
Feng Yuan was still holding his little hand.
He could feel Paul’s nervousness.
At first, Feng Yuan had tried to be more patient, but after walking for so long, his legs simply couldn’t move anymore.
“Let’s just do it here.”
Feng Yuan shook his little hand and said in a negotiating tone, “If you fight here, no one will see you.”
Paul: “…”
Paul was still dazed.
Feng Yuan let go of his hand and plopped himself right down on a mound of dirt.
“Make that bad guy come out.”
After Feng Yuan sat down, Qin Xun crouched too and rubbed his chubby little legs.
Paul watched Feng Yuan, who refused to walk any farther, and thought over what Feng Yuan had said.
His small face twitched. “Y-you knew I did it on purpose?”
Feng Yuan: “Mm-hm!”
Feng Yuan was chubby, not stupid.
Officer Xiao Lin from Huasheng Street had long ago given him an anti-abduction lesson.
In abduction cases, the perpetrators aren’t always adults.
There are children, too, who will cooperate with adults to carry out crimes.
Paul’s timing in appearing was not good.
This little chubby bait, Feng Yuan, was out fishing for bad guys.
Since he’d come crashing up like that, of course, Feng Yuan wanted to play along.
“Y-you, you…”
Paul looked at the cub who, even knowing the danger, still wanted to follow him. His speech grew a little incoherent.
He clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and then asked, “Why do you want to come with me? If you follow me, you might die.”
Feng Yuan shook his head.
He wasn’t going to die!
Bringing him here had already caused Paul immense inner torment.
The two children stood face to face. Paul didn’t make any further move for a long time.
He just stood there, struggling internally in a way even he couldn’t describe.
Suddenly, he grabbed Feng Yuan and pulled him, urging him to run back the way they came.
“Hurry and run! If you don’t go now, it’ll be too late!”
After all, Paul was still just a child. He had been forced to lure Feng Yuan away. Now that he had actually done it, regret consumed him.
He pushed at Feng Yuan, trying to make him run.
But Feng Yuan refused to run.
He had been wandering around outside for two whole days. It hadn’t been easy to finally make progress. There was no way he’d just leave now.
“Paul, I’m not afraid of him.”
Seeing that Paul truly regretted it, Feng Yuan decided to forgive him for lying.
One child pushed, the other stood stubbornly still.
In the midst of their struggle, a figure slowly walked toward them.
When Feng Yuan saw the person’s face, his little face immediately puffed up in anger.
“You turn back right now!”
Feng Yuan shouted in an angry, milky little voice, “You’re not allowed to look like my dad!”
“You ugly monster! You don’t even look like that!”
Normally, Feng Yuan would never insult someone’s appearance.
But the thing in front of him wasn’t even human.
That ugly monster kept changing its shape to look like other people. It didn’t even dare show its real face.
So Feng Yuan picked on its ugliness, his little mouth firing off words like tiny bullets.
And his verbal attack worked perfectly.
The creature, who had taken on Feng Qi’s appearance, was indeed rattled.
He snapped furiously, “Shut up!”
His eyes grew cold as he glared at Feng Yuan. “Do you think you’re Feng Qi?”
“You’re nothing but a phoenix hatchling that hasn’t even grown all its feathers yet!”
A mere phoenix cub, daring to provoke him like this.
Zheng opened his mouth, revealing a set of sharp, inhuman teeth.
He looked at the chubby Feng Yuan and licked his lips.
“The great phoenix is the nemesis of all evil beings.”
“But you, this tender, plump little phoenix, are a real delicacy for us.”
Feng Yuan: “?”
Feng Yuan understood. That guy was calling him fat!
“Wu Jin!”
Feng Yuan shouted, summoning Wu Jin.
At the same time, he himself switched into his battle-chick mode.
“Roar—!”
Wu Jin, who had been guarding nearby, didn’t drop the ball at all.
Just a few seconds after Feng Yuan called, he appeared right by Feng Yuan’s side.
Wu Jin came in his true form.
A massive black dragon, appearing in the dimness of dusk, under the shadowy trees.
It was utterly terrifying.
Paul looked at the black dragon and couldn’t help but tremble all over.
Qin Xun shoved Paul aside, telling him to hide on his own.
As for Qin Xun himself, he didn’t hide.
He believed he had enough ability to protect himself. He also believed he could help Feng Yuan.
The battle began with a small spark of fire from Feng Yuan.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp!”
Don’t let him get away!
The little chick, filled with fighting spirit, didn’t forget to remind Wu Jin not to let Zheng escape.
Zheng had taken on Feng Qi’s appearance, but he didn’t possess Feng Qi’s true phoenix form.
After a brief struggle, Zheng revealed his terrifying beastly shape.
Feng Yuan’s tiny figure looked as if he could be crushed to death under one step from the enormous Zheng.
And indeed, Zheng wanted to do just that. Stomp him flat, then swallow him whole.
But though Feng Yuan was small and chubby, his movements in battle were incredibly agile.
He flapped his short, plump wings. With that tender-looking little beak of his, one peck was enough to draw blood.
Zheng was driven into a frenzy by the pesky little fat phoenix.
He roared, abandoning even his fight with Wu Jin, focusing all his fury on Feng Yuan instead.
“I’ll eat you!”
Zheng truly intended to devour Feng Yuan.
Relying on his wide mouth full of dense, sharp fangs, he lunged fiercely toward Feng Yuan to bite him.
Feng Yuan dodged again.
Seeing Zheng’s full-force assault on Feng Yuan, Wu Jin roared in anger and struck him from behind.
However, even after being struck and feeling pain, Zheng still didn’t turn back to face Wu Jin.
He was dead set on eating Feng Yuan.
With that enormous mouth of his chasing relentlessly behind, Feng Yuan, in a moment of crisis, flapped his tiny wings and shakily lifted himself into the air.
“Chirp!!!”
Qin Xun.
The little round ball in flight cried out his name in an excited, frantic voice.
Qin Xun immediately rushed toward him.
“Yuan Yuan, don’t be scared, I’m coming!”
Qin Xun thought Feng Yuan was terrified, so he ran quickly, wanting to rescue him.
But to his surprise, Feng Yuan let out a series of urgent chirps.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp!”
Don’t come over here!
Flapping his small wings desperately, Feng Yuan dodged Zheng’s attacks while continuously chirping at Qin Xun.
His tender little voice was almost breaking from how hard he was shouting.
“Chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp!”
Use the phone watch to take a picture of Yuan Yuan!
“Chirp!”
You have to record a video!
“Chirp, chirp chirp, chirp chirp!”
Yuan Yuan is flying higher. Make sure you film it properly!
The little round ball, who had failed his flying performance two days ago, after managing to lift off again, didn’t care at all how terrifying the situation before him was.
He just kept urging Qin Xun nonstop, telling him to record a video.
Qin Xun stopped in his tracks.
He looked up at the still-chirping little puffball, his expression indescribable.
Seeing that the little round one was about to tire out and fall, Qin Xun had no choice but to turn on the video recorder and start filming.
Out of the corner of his eye, Feng Yuan caught sight of the camera lens.
And the moment he saw it, he pushed himself to keep going for a few more seconds.
“Chirp!”
His tiny wings were already too weak to flap anymore. But when he saw the recording start, he still let out one last chirp to remind—
“Make sure you turn on beauty mode for Yuan Yuan!”
Cameras these days come with slimming and face-shaping filters.
After discovering those features, Feng Yuan had become especially fond of turning them on whenever he took selfies.
He’d even turned himself into a pointy-faced little alien and still thought he looked gorgeous.
In the end, it was Feng Qi who couldn’t stand it anymore. He forcibly took Feng Yuan’s smartwatch, along with the household tablet and smartphones, and had Li Wang set them up with restrictions.
After the settings were applied, Feng Yuan could no longer turn on the beauty filter.
But Qin Xun’s phone watch hadn’t been modified yet, so he could still use the beauty mode.
That was why Feng Yuan, using every last ounce of his strength, kept chirping insistently, telling Qin Xun to make him look thinner in the video.
Barely two seconds after his last chirp, Feng Yuan’s strength finally gave out, and—thump!—he dropped straight down.
Seeing him fall, Qin Xun instantly forgot all about the recording.
He rushed toward Feng Yuan again.
But Zheng’s gaping mouth was already waiting right below him.
Feng Yuan: “!”
Staring at that gaping, blood-red maw, Feng Yuan’s little universe of willpower exploded. He flapped his wings in a trembling burst and managed to fly up twice more.
Wu Jin tore half of Zheng’s body apart.
That ugly beast, ranking high among the ferocious creatures, wasn’t easy prey, though.
He possessed a terrifying regenerative ability.
By the end, one dragon, one round chick, and one little boy—all were utterly exhausted from the fight.
Still, though they were tired, the two little ones came out safe and sound.
Only Wu Jin had a few scratches on his body.
His scales were cracked, and in some places his flesh was split open.
Feng Yuan hadn’t been hurt, but his little wings had cramped up and couldn’t flap anymore.
His tiny claws also ached a bit. He’d scratched too hard during the fight.
Other than that, Feng Yuan had no injuries.
The light in the forest grew dimmer and dimmer.
Time on the smartwatch ticked by bit by bit.
No one knew how long had passed.
Realizing that he couldn’t get his prey into his mouth no matter what, Zheng changed tactics.
He stopped wasting time on brute force.
Instead, he decided to make Feng Yuan willingly let himself be eaten.
“Phoenixes are compassionate… Little phoenix, I wonder, are you as merciful as your father?”
Zheng looked down from above at the plump little ball on the ground.
His tone was lofty and mocking as he said, “I have many children in my hands right now. I haven’t eaten them yet.”
Those human cubs were, to Zheng, nothing more than a tasty snack.
But he hadn’t eaten them yet.
He planned to catch a few more, enough to make forty-nine in total, and then devour them all together.
Now that he had Feng Yuan, even forty-nine carefully chosen, tender-skinned human children couldn’t compare to this plump, soft little phoenix.
He tried to strike a deal with Feng Yuan. “You can trade yourself for their lives.”
“As long as I eat you, I’ll let them all go.”
“One of you… in exchange for many children. Don’t you think that’s a fair trade?”
Before Wu Jin or Qin Xun could even react, Feng Yuan had already agreed.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp!”
I can trade for them. But you have to bring them here first.
Feng Yuan’s expression was that of a sharp, clever little chick. “What if you trick me? What if you eat me and still don’t let them go?”
“I won’t fall for that.”
Feng Yuan demanded fairness in the deal.
Zheng burst into laughter, not doubting Feng Yuan’s “self-sacrifice” in the least.
After all, for countless years, phoenixes had always been such “great and selfless” divine beasts.
For the sake of the world, for all living beings, for the lives of humankind—
Phoenixes were always willing to sacrifice themselves.
Zheng believed that the extinction of phoenixes one after another had been entirely their own doing.
He simply assumed that this little phoenix before him was the same as all the others before—born to be a tiny, naive saint.
Taken for a little saint, Feng Yuan rolled his eyes around and continued pressing him to release the children.
The little fellow puffed up his round belly, chirping with great righteousness.
“You let the other kids go, and Yuan Yuan will let you eat him!”
Zheng didn’t doubt a phoenix’s promise.
“Fine. Wait here.”
The children he had captured were being kept nearby.
Soon enough, he brought those imprisoned kids over and tossed them toward Feng Yuan.
Feng Yuan glanced at Wu Jin.
Wu Jin, quick on the uptake, gathered up the terrified children and handed them over to Qin Xun.
Without a word, Qin Xun led the children and Paul away from the area.
Just as agreed, Zheng released every single one of the children he had captured.
Once he was done, his eyes—entirely white, without pupils—fixed unblinkingly on Feng Yuan.
“Drip—”
A string of drool slid down from his mouth.
Whether in his plump little chick form or his cub form, Feng Yuan looked equally round, tender, and delicious.
Ever since Zheng had first laid eyes on him, he’d thought of Feng Yuan as his dream delicacy.
He’d even dreamed about that tender little body, wondering what it would taste like with just one bite.
“Your turn now.”
Drooling, Zheng stared hungrily at the plump little ball on the ground.
He said, “It’s time for you to keep your promise.”
Feng Yuan: “Hehe.”
Watching Qin Xun lead the children farther and farther away, Feng Yuan let out a sneaky little giggle.
Hearing that giggle, Zheng suddenly felt a bad premonition rise in his chest.
And in the next instant, his premonition came true.
The little phoenix who had just promised to let himself be eaten flapped his wings, turned tail, and ran off.
As he ran, he even chirped mockingly.
“Big dumb beast!”
“Yuan Yuan’s not gonna let you eat him!”
Watching the little phoenix flee, Zheng froze for two whole seconds before snapping out of it.
Then he roared in fury, “You dare trick me?!”
Enraged by the deceit of this untrustworthy little phoenix, Zheng’s body swelled and expanded in a violent burst.
He strode after him in great leaps, his hoarse, grating voice roaring, “You’re a phoenix!”
How could a phoenix break its promise?!
How could a phoenix refuse to sacrifice itself?!
How could a phoenix… learn to deceive?!
Zheng kept roaring in rage.
The little round ball running along the ground wasn’t scared at all, even with that furious voice thundering behind him.
He chirped back defiantly.
Who said phoenixes couldn’t lie?
He’d tricked his dad plenty of times just for fun and gotten his little butt smacked more than once for it!
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152