Chapter 9: Surprise Motherhood?

Chapter 9: Suddenly a Mother?

"Mother, mother, mother!" A soft, babyish voice rang out in the stone house. It was the chick speaking. While calling out "mother," it fluttered its wings and flew into the air, stopping in front of Jiang Yingxue, its gaze level with hers.

The first person it saw upon opening its eyes was Jiang Yingxue, so it naturally took her for its mother.

"Mother, mother!"

"Mother, hold me! Hold me quickly!"

"Mother, why aren't you speaking? Are you so overjoyed to see me?"

...

The young bird circled Jiang Yingxue, chirping incessantly.

A subtle feeling stirred in Jiang Yingxue's heart. She didn't even have a Dao companion, so how could she have a child? Moreover, this child was a Divine Bird of noble lineage.

She quickly denied it, gesturing for it to stop. "I am not your mother. You've mistaken me for someone else. No, you've mistaken me for another bird," she said, getting a bit flustered, pointing at herself and then at it. "I'm human, you're a Divine Bird. Your mother would be a Divine Bird too. Therefore, I am not your mother. Do you understand?"

"Mother, mother, you are my mother!"

"Mother, how could you forget me? I am your child."

"Mother, mother..."

The fledgling bird ignored her explanation. It had decided she was its mother; she *was* its mother. It didn't listen to a single word of denial. Besides, she carried a familiar scent and a comfortingly close aura—how could she not be its mother?

The chick dove straight into Jiang Yingxue's arms. It blinked its big, round eyes as it looked up at her, its gaze clear and innocent, making it hard to hurt or refuse.

Jiang Yingxue looked helpless. She patiently explained again that she was not its mother.

But the little bird was obstinate and refused to believe her.

After thinking for a moment, she took out a full-length mirror and placed it in front of the chick.

"Little Yellow, look in the mirror. I am human, you are a bird. How can a human give birth to a bird? I truly am not your mother." "Little Yellow" was the temporary name Jiang Yingxue had given it. Covered in pale yellow fuzz, "Little Yellow" seemed most fitting.

The fledgling bird also looked at the mirror. The reflections of the human and the bird were crystal clear. Seeing its own full image, the chick's beady eyes widened with shock. She and its mother really were different!

Had it truly made a mistake?

As soon as this thought surfaced, the young bird burst into tears with a "Waaah..." "Wuwuwu... I don't care! You are, you are my mother!"

Looking at the sorrowfully crying chick in her arms, Jiang Yingxue felt a headache coming on. She softened her voice, trying to comfort it but still refusing the title. "Little Yellow, don't cry. I really am not."

"Wuwuwu..." The fledgling bird kept sobbing. Suddenly, its stomach growled.

"I... I'm hungry." The chick covered its stomach with its wings, its head drooping, its voice full of complaint.

The shell it had consumed was packed with nutrients, making its body stronger and more resilient, but it couldn't fill its stomach.

Jiang Yingxue let out a soft sigh. She took a red storage bag from a shelf, opened it, and pulled out a worm-shaped demon beast for the chick to eat.

"Eat." Regular birds eat worms, so a Divine Bird should eat them too, right? She wondered if this worm suited its taste.

The fledgling bird sniffed at the worm, then backed away in disgust the next second, shaking its head.

"This doesn't taste good."

"What about this then?" Jiang Yingxue searched the storage bag and pulled out a second-tier Gray-winged Horse demon beast.

The young bird still shook its head. "Not tasty either. It's fishy."

Its stomach was growling with hunger, yet it was still picky. This chick was definitely a fussy eater.

Jiang Yingxue held the fledgling bird in one hand and the second-tier Gray-winged Horse demon beast in the other, heading outside.

Dislikes fishiness, does it? Once roasted, it won't be fishy.

Immediately after, she built a fire to roast the beast and prepared some seasonings to get rid of the gaminess.

The chick looked at Jiang Yingxue with eyes full of devotion, as if saying, "If you weren't my mother, why would you prepare food for me?"

Jiang Yingxue couldn't stand that look. With a wave of her hand, the full-length mirror from inside the stone house instantly appeared outside, standing upright before the chick. No matter where it went or faced, it could see its own appearance clearly.

Seeing the vast difference between its own look and its "mother's," the fledgling bird, which had just stopped crying, felt its eyes well up. Tears were about to spill out.

"Wuwuwu..."

"No crying. Call me sister from now on," Jiang Yingxue said, placing a roasted horse ear at its beak. Smelling the aroma, it instinctively bit in. "It's settled. Call me sister."

The chick sniffled. It swallowed the food before even tasting it properly. It looked at the mirror, then at the plate, and accepted the title.

"Sister it is, then." Even if not mother, sister is still family.

It lowered its head to sniff the food. It smelled yummy. It took a big bite—not fishy at all, and very tasty. "Sister, it's delicious!"

The young bird looked up, blinking, and said, "Sister, my name isn't Little Yellow."

Little Yellow, Little Yellow—the chick truly disliked this name. It sounded awful. It was a Divine Bird, not a dog. Even if it were a dog, it wouldn't want this name.

The horse leg on the other side of the grill was done. Jiang Yingxue cut it into chunks and pushed the large plate forward. Then she scored the horse wing and sprinkled seasoning powder to enhance the flavor. "Then what name do you want?"

The fledgling bird's eyes lit up. It buried its head in the plate, devouring the horse leg. Two minutes later, it looked up, its gaze sparkling. "Zhu Zhao. My name is Zhu Zhao, sister. You can call me Xiao Zhao."

"Alright, then I'll call you Xiao Zhao from now on. Xiao Zhao, you call me sister, understand?" And don't call me 'mother' anymore; I can't handle it.

"Okay!" Xiao Zhao ate happily and agreed readily.

It must be said, Xiao Zhao sounded much better than Little Yellow.

Noticing the plate was empty, Jiang Yingxue placed the roasted horse wing into it.

Half an hour later, Xiao Zhao had eaten the entire second-tier Gray-winged Horse demon beast and let out a satisfied burp. "Burp~"

After cleaning up, Jiang Yingxue was ready to leave. Xiao Zhao didn't want to stay alone and threw a tantrum, crying to go out together.

Unable to withstand the combined attacks of coquettishness and crying, Jiang Yingxue finally agreed, but only after laying down three rules.

First, it must not speak when people are present. Second, it must manifest a second leg to disguise itself as a normal bird of Blue Water Star. Third, it must obey Jiang Yingxue in all matters.

Otherwise, no deal.