CH 073 Chickens Passing Through Like Shadows

Wei Di’s sword presentation ceremony was successfully completed with the participation of martial artists from all over the kingdom, and what remained was to host a banquet.

Before the start of the main meal, the guests were all led by the attendants to visit the flower gardens of Dongsheng Shangfu, or enjoy tea and chess, view the flowers and express their feelings, or compete with each other in martial arts. The atmosphere was one of leisure and enjoyment. As a famous martial arts sect, Dongsheng Shangfu occupied the whole of Full Moon Valley, which possessed beautiful scenery that was half concealed within clouds and mist, appearing like a fairyland, causing one’s heart to feel untroubled and spirit pleased.

Of course, Dongsheng Shangfu did not allow outsiders to come and go as pleased, and several important areas were forbidden entrance, such as the inner courtyards where Nie Bufan was located.

In the flower garden, a young swordsman said to his companion: “I heard that Leader Wei loves to raise cats, but I have been in the manor for a whole day, why haven’t I seen a single cat?”

His companion said: “I am also quite puzzled about this. Could it be that the cats are all locked in the inner courtyards?”

“That would be a shame.” The swordsman said regretfully, “I thought I could see the different breeds of cats collected by Leader Wei from all across the kingdom, but now it seems that I don’t have such a blessing.”

As he was talking, the corner of his eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of a dexterous figure flashing past not far away, and when he focused his eyes, he realized it was a golden rooster. It came out of the bushes and ran directly to a big tree, and then a dumbfounding scene appeared. The rooster jumped on the tree trunk and sprinted up to the branches like it was just flat ground. It then jumped and flipped over a wall into another courtyard.

“Did you…..see that?” The swordsman asked uncertainly.

“Uh, I saw it.”

“That was a chicken just now?”

“If my eyes have not deceived me, I believe so.”

“It was climbing a tree just now.”

“Obviously.”

“…..Could it be that Leader Wei gave up raising cats, and instead raises chickens now?”

“…..No idea.”

In the pavilion at the heart of the lake, several martial arts friends were chatting and laughing while enjoying tea.

One person pointed to the center of the lake and said, “Look, there is a pair of mandarin ducks playing in the water.”

The others turned their heads and looked.

“This pair of mandarin ducks is too unmatching. The one on the right is more than twice as big as the one on the left.” An uncle with bushy whiskers laughed.

Another man with a long beard said with understanding: “Haha, who said only a rough man like you is allowed to marry a slender lady, while a petite lady mandarin duck is not allowed to find a powerful male mandarin duck for companionship?”

Everyone around laughed.

At this time, the two mandarin ducks in the lake slowly swam close by.

A white-faced scholar said in surprise, “Huh? No, it doesn’t seem to be a pair of mandarin ducks.”

Everyone looked again——the one on the left was indeed a mandarin duck, but the one on the right seemed to be…..a chicken?

The chicken with brown feathers and a red comb was currently swimming around the mandarin duck with a “lecherous” look, shaking its feathers and posing, looking like it couldn’t be any more happy!

“Uh…..that is actually a wild duck, right?”

“What kind of wild duck has a comb on its head?”

“…..” 

“…..”

“…..”

“…..Haha, Dongsheng Shangfu is indeed enigmatic, truly it possesses unfathomable depths.”

In the valley, a group of martial arts friends were competing in a clearing. The silhouettes of two people intertwined and broke apart, the sword light as fast as shadows, glinting coldly under the sunlight.

The spectators clapped their hands and applauded, the atmosphere very lively.

One of the men in a blue green robe was obviously more skilled and firmly had the upper hand. Just when the victory was about to be determined, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of a chicken flying in the air, and was stunned. In his moment of astonishment, the sword in his hand was knocked away by his opponent, and he actually ended up losing.

“Brother Liu, why did you become distracted?” His opponent asked strangely.

The man in a blue green robe pointed upwards.

Everyone looked together, and saw a colorful flying chicken slowly landing on top of a wall, its movements graceful as it groomed its gorgeous chicken feathers. Then, seeming to notice the hot gazes of the crowd of people not too far away, it turned its head to look and then suddenly called out shyly: “How hateful~”

Then it quickly jumped off the wall and disappeared without a trace, leaving only a group of ignorant humans looking as if they had been struck by lightning.

Without anyone knowing it, Dongsheng Shangfu was soon quietly occupied by chickens, and strange chicken shadows passed by everywhere.

Among them, the kitchen was the worst affected.

The people regard food as their heaven, and so did chickens, especially for this group of fighter chickens which were raised by Nie Bufan to be fat and strong. For them it was necessary to have several meals a day.

Putting aside the herbivores and those not interested in cooked food, but just speaking of the meat eaters, they don’t have so many scruples. They first created a diversion by releasing all the chickens, ducks and geese in the cages, and then taking advantage of the chaos, they sneaked into the kitchen where they then carried out their thievish ways wantonly and without restraint. After experiencing such a disaster, the kitchen truly looked like a swarm of locusts had passed by. After eating and taking, they also left their exclusive “was here” mark on the pots and pans in passing.

When the people returned to the kitchens, what they saw was only utter devastation.

“How did this happen?” The head chef roared. He only left for a while, why did the kitchen become like this?

A servant tremblingly handed over a chicken feather and whispered: “It looks to be a chicken.”

“You think I don’t know it’s a chicken? The chicken poop on the stove is still hot!” The head chef pointed at them and scolded, “Are you all dead? How could a few chickens turn such a big kitchen into this! What about the banquet later? What will the guests eat?”

The servants remained trembling, bowing their heads as they listened to the scolding.

“The kitchen’s loss is small, but losing the face of Dongsheng Shangfu is big. I might as well go ahead and die!” The head chef struck the spatula desperately, so aggrieved he wanted to die.

“It’s too late to say anything now, it’s best to add new dishes as soon as possible?” An assistant chef behind the head chef suggested softly.

“Yes, add new dishes.” The head chef ordered, “You, clean up the kitchen. You, you, and you, go and prepare the ingredients. You two, guard the kitchen front and back, don’t let even a single animal come in and make trouble.”

A series of orders were issued and the kitchen was restored back to order, everyone began to get busy again.

On the big tree outside the kitchen, two chickens shared a roast suckling pig while watching the busy people with relish. Above them, there were neatly placed shark fins, barbecued pork, chicken legs and other scattered food. Four to five other chickens were also enjoying their favorite food, throwing a few pieces of meat on the other side of the wall from time to time, sharing it with other chicken brothers.

They ate happily, but they threw the kitchen people into a state of anxiety. The sumptuous meal that was originally prepared was reduced by half because of the trouble this group of fellows brought. Fortunately, the quality of the food was very high, and even if the quantity was small, it at least wouldn’t invite complaints. People attending such banquets generally paid more attention to one’s manners, and few people would truly eat and drink without any regard for their image.

But Wei Di, as the host, quickly realized that something was wrong. He had personally checked the previous menu, and what was missing was clear with just a glance. No matter how daring the chefs were, it was impossible that they would cut corners. It was likely that something unexpected happened.

He first thought was Nie Bufan, could it be that this guy was once again up to mischief? However, he had yet to realize that his manor was almost completely occupied by chickens.

Wei Di’s face was cold and solemn, the pressure brought by his aura increasing greatly and causing everyone in the hall to become cautious, secretly shocked by the imposing aura of Leader Wei.

But who would have known that all he wanted to do now was to finish socializing quickly, and then go back and talk about life with a certain someone.

The night was dim and foggy, and the atmosphere of the banquet was warm and lively.

Nie Bufan had eaten dinner and was about to go for a walk in the yard. He suddenly heard a slight movement from the window. Looking back, he saw the agile figure of Wang Shichan appearing in front of him like a ghost.

“Wang Fifth!” Nie Bufan whispered, and quickly rushed over to give him a big hug.

Wang Shichan smiled slightly, touched his head, and asked: “How have you been recently?”

“Everything else is good, but I just miss you all too much.” Nie Bufan nuzzled in his arms.

Wang Shichan’s eyes softened. He lowered his head and kissed him deeply for a long time before letting go. He whispered, “We will take you back soon.”

“When is soon?” Nie Bufan’s eyes glowed.

“Within three days.” Wang Shichan replied, “Li Yi and the others will negotiate with Wei Di first. If it doesn’t work, we will steal you directly.”

“I’m afraid it won’t be that easy, right?”

Wang Shichan nodded: “It won’t be easy. Dongsheng Shangfu is heavily guarded. Although I am not afraid with my qinggong, I am unable to bring you along.”

Nie Bufan thought for a while, and suddenly smiled like a thief: “Actually, I have an idea.”

“Oh? Tell me about it.”

“A few days ago, I met a person who is very good at swimming. He can smuggle me out of the manor underwater. He tried it once before but it later fell short because of Wei Di’s cat. But this time, with the chickens we don’t need to worry about that group of cats anymore.”

Wang Shichan squinted his eyes and asked, “That man isn’t another one you hooked up with, is he?”

“Your heart is that of a knave, how am I that fickle of a person?” Nie Bufan was very upset.

Wang Shichan declined to comment.

Nie Bufan said again: “He is in the south courtyard now, can you rescue him?”

“How are his martial arts skills?”

“He should have some skills.” Nie Bufan said confidently, “As long as you bring him into the water, other problems will not be a problem.”

Wang Shichan nodded and thought for a while: “Then we don’t need to negotiate with Wei Di, we can directly implement this plan.”

“Great.” Nie Bufan said with excitement, rubbing his chin, “Tomorrow night is probably the last chance. When Wei Di is free again, it will be difficult for me to get out.”

“Did Wei Di treat you badly?” Wang Shichan was a little confused, “You actually want to leave so impatiently.”

“It’s not that he treated me badly.” Nie Bufan rubbed his nose and said, “I just don’t like it here, I want to go back to Chicken Nest Village.”

Wang Shichan sighed softly, “That’s right, such life is really too restraining for you.”

He liked his arrogance when facing the mountains and self-proclaiming himself king of Chicken Nest Mountains, and he also liked his carefree and unrestrained personality.

He should be a nature spirit that was born and raised by the sky and earth.

Afterwards, Wang Shichan went over the plan with Nie Bufan. When he was about to leave, he suddenly pressed Nie Bufan against the wall and kissed him hard.

“Wait for me.” Leaving behind these words, he jumped out the window and disappeared into the night instantly.

Everything only needed to wait for tomorrow.