In the darkness before dawn, Chi Hua Fairy descended from the sky.
Song Ciwan heard a strange, shrill chirping from the neighboring courtyard, followed by a woman's sharp rebuke: "Vile beast, you dare harm someone!"
Then, she heard her neighbor, Aunt Tian, crying out, "Husband! Oh, Husband, what's happened to your hand? Don't scare me!"
At that moment, a burst of firelight flared up over the courtyard wall, accompanied by more chirping: "SCREECH SCREECH SCREECH!"
Amidst the glow, a huge, golden-black figure suddenly flapped its wings and shot over the wall, diving toward Song Ciwan's courtyard like a cannonball.
Song Ciwan focused her vision and saw clearly that it was also a Lianfei—a giant flying cockroach with one tattered, broken wing!
'This is outrageous!'
Song Ciwan spun around and ran for the house. She was just a poor, helpless servant girl. How could she possibly deal with a terrifying giant cockroach that could both fly and run?
Even if this giant cockroach looked battered and severely injured.
In the small hall, the Big White Goose, which had been sleeping soundly in its pen, was jolted awake. It shot out of the pen, honking as it rushed toward Song Ciwan.
Song Ciwan called out, "Big White!"
The Big White Goose continued honking for itself, flapping its wings as it charged right past Song Ciwan.
Behind them, the giant flying cockroach that had crash-landed was already flapping its half-tattered wing, struggling to leap up again.
It screeched, "CHIRP CHIRP," its broken antennae twitching constantly. Its half-crushed body lunged forward, clearly intending to attack Song Ciwan and feast on the fresh flesh before it!
The Big White Goose leaped into the air, honking long and loud as it dove, its flat beak jabbing viciously at the charging giant cockroach.
'Hurt my Wanwan? Not on my watch!'
"HONK HONK HONK!" Feathers flew everywhere as its beak darted back and forth like a sword.
The Big White Goose truly lived up to its reputation as an animal with a natural instinct to guard its home. Brimming with energy while the giant cockroach was already severely wounded, the ordinary goose actually managed to overpower the giant flying cockroach and give it a sound beating.
The screaming from the eastern courtyard hadn't stopped. It was Aunt Tian, shouting, "Dead, dead! Another one's dead!"
Over the wall, the fire in the eastern neighbor's yard blazed brightly.
Chi Hua Fairy's voice, clear and cold, rang out. "Cease your noise!"
Over at the Song Family's home, Song Ciwan stood anxiously at her doorway, watching the Big White Goose fight gleefully with the battered giant cockroach.
Seeing the Big White Goose jabbing with its beak and beating its wings, feathers flying, in a posture that screamed it would protect Wanwan to the death, she was both moved and afraid to move. Several times, she wanted to secretly intervene, to lend the Big White Goose a hand and just finish off the giant cockroach—
—but then she saw the Big White Goose grow bolder with every move, developing a veritable air of an overlord in the heat of battle.
"HONK!" the Big White Goose sang out in fury. Just as the giant cockroach extended a bladed, broken leg, narrowly swiping past the base of the goose's wing, its other wing slammed forward, knocking the cockroach a full three feet away.
"Hm?" At some point, a graceful figure had landed on the wall of Song Ciwan's courtyard.
Chi Hua Fairy held a Jade Talisman. With a wave of her hand and a point of her finger at the still-struggling giant cockroach on the ground, a dazzling burst of fire erupted from the talisman. This time, the broken cockroach had no escape.
It let out one last "SCREECH," its wings twitching, before it was engulfed by the flames and became a burning black ball.
A moment later, even the black ball was gone, leaving only a puff of fine ash to scatter in the cold wind.
The snow on the ground had also been melted by the flames. Everything was clean, as if the giant cockroach had never been there at all.
Chi Hua Fairy floated down to the ground. She walked up to the Big White Goose, tilted her head to study it, and smiled. "Truly an ordinary goose. But its build is sturdy and its Qi Blood is abundant. Perhaps a few generations back, it had some Spirit Beast bloodline. No wonder it could hold its own against a Lianfei Demon Beast for a few rounds."
As she spoke, a faint white Spiritual Light shimmered in her beautiful eyes. She was clearly using a Pupil Technique!
Song Ciwan stood under the eaves, her heart pounding. 'The methods of these local Cultivators are truly varied and unfathomable.' Although she had been trying her best to understand this world, her knowledge was still sorely lacking due to her limited circumstances.
'I wonder if the Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting can evade her detection? If not...' Song Ciwan was already preparing for the worst.
Chi Hua Fairy's gaze shifted and fell upon Song Ciwan standing under the eaves. Then, the light in her eyes faded—Chi Hua Fairy hadn't used her Pupil Technique on Song Ciwan!
She had deactivated the Pupil Technique. She simply smiled faintly at Song Ciwan and said, "You've raised this goose quite well. I'm interested in buying it. Would you be willing to part with it, miss?"
She wanted to buy Song Ciwan's goose!
The Big White Goose, whether it understood or not, suddenly flapped its wings, hopped up, and ran honking to Song Ciwan's side.
Song Ciwan immediately wrapped her arms around the goose. Like any ordinary mortal girl, she looked nervous and said, "No, I can't sell my goose."
After saying this, as if afraid her refusal had been too blunt, she quickly added, "F-Fairy, this goose was a gift from my father. My parents are gone... it's all I have left to keep me company. I can't sell it..."
As she spoke, a sad expression clouded Song Ciwan's face.
Clutching the goose tightly, she gave Chi Hua Fairy a clumsy curtsy and said shamefully, "Fairy, you rushed here to save people, yet... not only have I failed to thank you, I'm even refusing you. I... I... I'm s-sorry."
By the time she finished her last sentence, Song Ciwan looked so guilty she was on the verge of tears. She bowed her head deeply, her acting skills reaching their peak.
Chi Hua Fairy's voice was cool, but her personality didn't seem to be. Seeing Song Ciwan's state, her expression softened slightly, and she sighed. "It's nothing. If anything, I was the one being presumptuous."
As for why she sighed?
It was mainly a sigh for the fragility of mortals in this world, for the suffering that filled the dusty realm of mortals.
Chi Hua Fairy then said, "Your goose is loyal and has some fighting ability. With Little Demons appearing frequently in the city these days, keeping it by your side for protection is a good idea."
Song Ciwan caught the implication in Chi Hua Fairy's words. She immediately looked up, her eyes wide as saucers, and said in a frightened tone, "Fairy, what do you mean? Are you saying... we'll be encountering these demons often from now on? Th-that's impossible!"
She seemed to find it unbelievable, unacceptable. She quickly added, "My father... my father used to say that our city is protected by a great Array, and by the purifying light of the City God Temple. Before... there were never this many demons before..."
It was true. In the past, the overall environment of Su Yang City had been relatively stable. If it hadn't been, the city never would have prospered. Mortals wouldn't have been able to live here, generation after generation.
Despite the many hardships, at least it wasn't like this. With Demon Fiends now running rampant in the city, was there any room left for mortals to survive?