Chapter 085 The Four Radiant Sparrow Brothers

Clatter—the spoon in Qingzhen’s hand slipped from her grasp and fell straight onto the table, nearly striking a fledgling bird on the head.

Qingzhen hurriedly soothed the little birds, one by one, calming their fright after the sudden crash.

“Is this truly a fifth-rank Radiant Lark?” she asked, drawing a deep breath to steady herself.

“Come on, keep feeding them! It's the third one already, the third one!” Qinghu urged her.

Qingzhen felt her heart pounding, her mind swarming with a thousand stray thoughts. She took another deep breath, forced herself to focus, and picked up the spoon again. For now, nothing else mattered—just feeding the birds.

Shao Kaiyun stood off to the side, stiff and silent, his gaze fixed intently on the four little birds.

“They’re so tiny. You’ll never manage to raise them. Why not let me take them? My master could feed them properly,” he offered.

“Get lost!” Qingzhen snapped, livid at his words, whipping her head around to shout at him.

Chirp, chirp, chirp—the rice porridge spilled, missing the little bird’s beak entirely.

Flustered, Qingzhen turned back and fed the bird more carefully, making sure it was satisfied and then wiping away the porridge clinging to its downy body.

Once the third bird was full, it was the fourth’s turn—a hungry little thing that had been chirping impatiently for ages, likely complaining about Qingzhen’s slowness.

“Next time, I’ll start with you,” she promised it with a helpless sigh.

When all four birds had been fed, full and content, and were nestling together in the little basket for a nap, Shao Kaiyun spoke again. “I’m serious. These are fifth-rank Radiant Larks. Do you have any idea how rare their chicks are?”

“What does their rarity matter to me? I’ve already bonded with them. They’re my spirit beasts now,” Qingzhen replied, her tone exasperated.

Shao Kaiyun’s face darkened considerably.

He had grown up in the Unfixed City, always by his master’s side. He had witnessed firsthand the hardships of his people. A fifth-rank Radiant Lark— even a single one—could change the fate of the humans living there. But now, this prodigal before him had bonded with all four.

If he had known from the start that these were Radiant Lark eggs, he would have fought tooth and nail, even risked injury, to steal them and deliver them to a true spirit beast prodigy.

“What will it take for you to break the bond and give me the Radiant Larks?” Shao Kaiyun pressed.

“Are you mad? They’re my spirit beasts,” Qingzhen retorted coldly.

“But you can’t possibly raise them! Radiant Lark chicks need spirit essence from birth, not just rice gruel. They won’t survive at this rate—they’ll be dead within a few days,” Shao Kaiyun scoffed.

“And why should I believe you? You’re just a lunatic who pretends to be a beggar. What right do you have to ask for these precious Radiant Larks? Who do you think you are?” Qingzhen shot back.

How self-important.

“I—just because I—”

“Just because he was born at the Nine Marvels Peak in Unfixed City, he thinks he’s invincible,” Ning Qi entered with Qingjin, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he glanced at Shao Kaiyun. “What’s wrong, Shao Kaiyun? Seeing treasures like the Radiant Larks, you can’t help yourself? You really are just like your master—can’t stand to see anyone else with something good. If these chicks hadn’t already been bonded, you’d have run off with them long ago, wouldn’t you?”

“Ning Kunlun, you really are everywhere, aren’t you? There’s no situation you can’t insert yourself into!” Shao Kaiyun shot back, equally furious.

“You got that right. Where there’s injustice, there’s me—Ning Kunlun. You all call us demon cultists, but the disciples of your so-called righteous Daoist halls are even more demonic—always snatching anything good for themselves.”

Shao Kaiyun wanted to protest his innocence, but after what he’d just said to Qingzhen, and with Ning Kunlun now backing them up, there was no way anyone would trust him.

For now, getting the Radiant Larks was out of the question. Besides, raising them was no easy feat—not everyone could succeed. Sooner or later, they’d have to come to him for help.

“If you find you can’t manage, contact me at once. Just send a message to Nine Marvels Peak,” he said before vanishing once more.

As soon as he left, Qingjin and Ning Qi rushed to the table, eyes glued to the four little birds. “Are these really Radiant Larks? They don’t look like much.”

“They haven’t got their feathers yet—what do you expect?” Qinghu replied dryly.

“It’s my first time seeing a living Radiant Lark chick, outside of a picture book,” Ning Qi marveled.

“Me too,” Qingjin said, gently stroking the soft, plump skin of a chick with her pinky. “Did you two go to the market? How did you end up bringing home four baby birds?”

Qingzhen recounted everything that had happened as they wandered the market.

“That Shao Kaiyun really is a bit much. Why does he keep following us?” she wondered.

“He’s a strange one. No one can guess what goes on in his mind,” Ning Qi replied. “But Qinghu, how did you manage to hatch those eggs just by touching them?”

“Because I touch with love. My love passed through my hand, and that’s how they all hatched,” Qinghu said with a perfectly serious face.

Ning Qi looked at her as if she were treating him like a fool.

“It’s probably an innate beast-taming talent. Rare among us, but not unheard of,” Qingjin said, covering her face in embarrassment. She thought she’d been found out, but Ning Qi was trustworthy, so she shared her guess. “If you ask Xiao Hu’er to explain, she won’t be able to. She just knows how to do it.”

“So you’ve known all along,” Ning Qi said, giving Qingjin a wounded look.

“It’s not easy to bring up such things directly,” Qingjin replied with an awkward smile.

“So, can you hatch any kind of egg?” Ning Qi asked, suddenly intrigued and chasing after Qinghu.

“Not dead ones,” Qinghu replied cheerfully.

“That’s a pity. My master once found a dragon egg on his travels, but it was already dead. If only he’d let little Qinghu try, maybe she could have hatched it.”

“Why not just eat it? If it’s dead, you might as well boil it up. Leave it too long and it’ll go bad,” Qinghu said, puzzled.

“My master probably just couldn’t bring himself to,” Ning Qi replied, picturing his master’s attachment to the egg.

“But when these Radiant Larks lay eggs in the future, can I have one?” Ning Qi asked hopefully.

“All four are males—they won’t be laying any eggs,” Qinghu replied, spreading her hands helplessly.

Ning Qi choked, his face stunned. “They’re all male?”

“Yes, four brothers,” Qinghu said.

“What now? How will Radiant Larks reproduce?” Ning Qi muttered, frustrated.

“There’s no telling…” Qinghu said, resting her chin on her hand.