Drawing upon his vast collection of broken scrolls and excellent memory, Ah Jun immediately recalled the origins of this flock—as mascots of the Vermillion Bird Prefecture's sacred beasts, they not only possessed all the abilities of small parrots, but each had their own special talents.
These sparrow-birds were clever and agile, the best companions for outstanding guardians of the Changsun family. Particularly exceptional guardians could even become their close friends, achieving the unique bond of a Resonance Contract.
So for an outsider like Ah Jun, passing the current test was already quite impressive, enough to be considered excellent talent—after all, to become a sparrow-bird's companion, or even a Resonance companion, only those with pure bloodline and outstanding talent like the little princess would be qualified to compete for such honor.
As for outsiders? Heh, best not to dream too much! Though throughout the history of Vermillion Bird Prefecture, there had been a few outsiders like Ah Jun who succeeded... but they were exceedingly rare...
—So then, what should the next step be?
"Find... catch... be recognized, until dawn breaks!"
Just as Ah Jun stood dazed, staring at the flock circling above his head in distress, the reluctant prompt from the Sacred Empress provided the child with some guidance—though not without a sense of urgency. After all, though the sky still lay beneath moonlight, judging by the red moon's position, dawn was approaching.
—The morning star... already faintly visible. It seems time is tight...
"Bro, why are you standing there like an idiot? Just grab any one!"
—Ah? My foolish little brother, don't you understand the Sacred Empress's words! It's not that easy. If you don't find the one that matches your rhythm, recognition is absolutely impossible. A forced melon isn't sweet, understand?
Regarding the Sacred Empress's concise prompt, Ah Jun had some insight—after all, this was a trial, definitely not child's play. So he focused intently on staring at the flock, watching and watching, gradually feeling somewhat dazed...
"Hmph, knows nothing but still yells nonsense. It must be the one that matches his rhythm! And also, do you think these little sacred beasts are so easy to catch... That boy is probably getting dizzy watching them!"
"Bro, I'll help you look together—strength in numbers!"
"You're cheating... Mother?"
Originally, the little princess only wanted to tease, but she didn't expect that little fatty, after learning the truth, would actually help that boy cheat—and what was even more frustrating, her mother didn't stop him.
—Fine, whatever. It won't help anyway... Continue on, I'll watch the show. Hmph!
"Oh my mama, so dizzy!"
Then, after a while—just a little while—everyone heard an exclamation. That little Xi, amid the little princess's laughter and the Sacred Empress's helplessness, already had a dazed expression, his eyes spinning, gold stars flying, then his legs went soft and he collapsed to the ground, beginning to whimper...
Of course, given this situation, if Ning'er wanted to intervene, she certainly wouldn't end up as weak and embarrassed as little Xi. But as the Sacred Maiden, she couldn't and shouldn't do so. Moreover, she understood better that for Ah Jun, completing the trial was a personal matter—providing help without permission might actually harm him.
"Is it... them?"
Indeed, Ning'er's persistence was correct—Ah Jun needed no outside assistance, nor would he want it. And at this moment, he seemed to have found his target.
"This child's spiritual consciousness and mental strength are truly rare!"
Everyone looked up at his words, only to see that among the flock, there was actually one that didn't fit in—it was dancing gracefully, apparently trying to draw attention...
—Hmm? Could it be that it couldn't stand watching anymore, started to stand out alone, and exposed itself? That would be great!
At this moment, after pondering that sparrow-bird for a long time, Ah Jun decided—it should be the right bird. The child pushed hard off the ground, executed a Cloud-Ascending Leap, instantly bouncing to the edge of the flock, then gently retrieved the self-exposing bird.
"What! Impossible, how could he catch it so easily—oh... ha, how could it be that one..."
Perhaps fools really do have fool's fortune. Under the little princess's jealous gaze, the boy actually caught it smoothly—he landed steadily, the strength in his hands delicate and gentle. As for that sparrow-bird, it seemed to have no intention of escaping, nestling in Ah Jun's palm for a short rest, looking very relaxed and comfortable. But the flock in the air continuously transmitted noisy sounds, unclear whether celebrating for Ah Jun or worrying about their companion.
"Hmph, he only caught it... Besides, it's still early. It's not that simple!"
Just as the little princess said, catching was only the first step—being recognized by it was extremely difficult. Because the girl herself had experienced the feeling of being caught and released seven times, like being dumped. That depressing, suffocating feeling...
—Just watch, the good show is about to begin!
However, how could Ah Jun know so much? Right now, he felt he'd finally found the right one—yes, finally could complete it.
"Hmph!"
Just as this foolish boy felt complacent, with the Sacred Empress's grunt, that bird nestled in his palm suddenly stood up, wings flapping, looking as if fully charged with electricity, spirit high—it flew before Ah Jun's eyes, dancing gracefully, observing this uninvited guest.
"Hello! May I ask, is it me... can we be friends?"
"Fool... fool... chirp chirp chirp!"
But the boy's one-sided wishful thinking received such an inexplicable result—though the bird looked very cute, its color scheme also extremely matching Ah Jun's preferences, its personality seemed quite mischievous. At this moment, it was using sparrow language to tease this foolish boy, while the distant flock also joined in the commotion.
"Haha, look, Brother Lü, he's stumped... Hey, you! That boy actually dares to hit it—hmm? Wait, what's that situation?"
Thus, Ah Jun's tragic encounter brought long-awaited joy to the little princess—the girl was amused by this scene, the anger in her heart instantly relieved. However, what she didn't know was that as the Child of Destiny, Ah Jun was no pushover.
Subsequently, under the little princess's intense attention, that bird originally teasing Ah Jun suddenly inexplicably gained a bump on its head. Its small expression also changed from joy to terror, its sesame-sized eyes beginning to brim with golden teardrops—this greatly shocked the little princess, her anger rising again.
After all, she'd been in contact with these birds since childhood. Though not yet recognized, their relationship was good. And that one teasing Ah Jun was called Huahua—rose Hua—though not her type, their relationship was very good.
So just now, when sparrow-bird Huahua saw the little princess in a depressed mood and didn't get along with the boy before her, her heart couldn't bear it... Good sister, loyalty!
So it had a clever idea, wanting to bring joy to her friend—of course, this was based on Ah Jun's embarrassment. So since it dared to do it, it had to take responsibility, along with its brothers and sisters.
At this moment, the birds in the sky were all taught a lesson by the sudden attack, each sporting bumps on their heads, but not one dared to make a sound—then Huahua was forced to pitifully bow her head to Ah Jun in apology, then returned to the formation. Incidentally, a figure with a peculiar yet adorably dignified appearance landed on Ah Jun's shoulder.
"Why did it come too?"
"Mother, what is that... You must stop it, how can it come here to cause trouble!"
"Huh? What's that... Hey, Ning'er, look, that bird is round and chubby, you can't even see its neck, it looks really..."
"All of you, shut up!"
"—Really amusing... Uh... @#%&!"
Facing this sudden abnormal situation, everyone in the distance seemed to have witnessed great drama—the little princess looked completely ignorant and dissatisfied, wanting to report and try to denounce. Of course, there were also those who were amused. Since it helped their companion, little Xi's and Ning'er's expressions immediately relaxed considerably.
However, those immature words were immediately stopped by the Sacred Empress's rebuke, and that referee's gaze had gradually shifted from sharp to surprised, her expression serious and displeased.
Speaking of which, little Xi's description of that heroic bird friend was quite vivid—sure enough, when Ning'er took a look, indeed, that expert standing on Ah Jun's shoulder really was like a little fur ball. Its body was slightly larger than other sparrow-birds, snow-white fur with some gray markings. Its head and body perfectly merged with no visible neck, a pair of adorably large eyes visible on its face and a small yellow pointed beak, fluffy all over, looking explosively cute.
—To describe it more vividly, this bird friend looked almost identical to a Long-Tailed Tit, that glutinous rice dumpling little chubby chirp, except the tail was a bit shorter.
Of course, the children's understanding of this uninvited guest came from a small game they'd played as children, a puzzle strategy game with battle voices that went "chirp... bee... ah," 2D cartoon styling.
However, after receiving help from outside assistance, Ah Jun's child's full sense of expectation instantly disappeared, appearing dull and speechless—then he quickly turned his head, glancing at the visitor beside him.
At this moment, the wonder was that the fur ball was also looking at the child—they made eye contact, one smiling somewhat awkwardly yet inwardly distressed and confused, while the other frowned, shook its head, spread its wings, sighing there...
—Who is it... what's it doing here? The attack just now was done by it, right? Who are you... why did you do this? Now you've offended them all, so what should you have me... do?
Regarding this visitor's goodwill, the child didn't understand at all—after all, there was a generation gap. Ah Jun smiled bitterly on one side while feeling troubled, his mouth unconsciously muttering his thoughts.
As for the originally well-intentioned fur ball, after hearing such comments, it seemed to have a headache. It slapped its forehead, then its round eyes narrowed into two lines, helplessly glancing at the foolish boy beside it, mood extremely depressed.
"This boy, takes advantage yet plays coy!"
"Mother!! That fur ball it..."
"Shut up... outrageous!"
"Brother Lü..."
"Ah... Alright, they're children, what are you fussing with them about... Calm down—oh, okay okay, I won't say anymore..."
"Hmph!"
Watching the boy cheat, actually inviting outside assistance, the little princess's anger didn't come from just one place—at this moment, the girl whose mind was muddled again appealed to her mother, also the person in charge of this trial!
But what she didn't expect was that such a righteous action received scolding from the tiger mother—therefore, the girl lost control again. Her face full of grievance, she pitifully looked toward the childhood sweetheart who was paying attention to her emotions.
However, fortunately this time, as the father, the Sacred Emperor on the side couldn't stand watching anymore—you're being too strict. No, must smooth things over. So the cat dad, while earnestly offering kind persuasion on one side, used eye signals to indicate his daughter should be more sensible.
Though fatherly love truly relieved some awkwardness, it was still a drop in the bucket—this even brought himself into it—in a moment, that Sacred Empress lady turned around huffily, continuing to stare ahead without another word. But for the little princess, though her mother didn't scold again, her maintaining silence made the girl want to cry without tears.