Volume 4: Immeasurable
How could there be such an arrogant bird in this world?
From the winter in the dream to the autumn outside it, for others, perhaps only a little over a month had passed. For them, however, more than half a year had already gone by.
Before entering the dream, they were still in Moshui City. After leaving the dream, they had arrived at the legendary Snake Mountain.
Snake Mountain was full of snakes. You Yan knew Yi Qiu would be afraid, so she kept her protected in her arms, using what little spiritual energy she had left to erect a small barrier1 around them.
Yi Qiu leaned in You Yan’s embrace, her gaze fixed on the distant full moon, but her heart was a mess of chaotic thoughts, so chaotic that even the speed of her heartbeat became difficult to control.
After a long silence, Yi Qiu couldn’t resist pulling up her attributes to take a look.
【Current Attributes】
IQ: 250
Strength: 800
Spiritual Root: 3500
Agility: 500
Health: 100
Stamina: 100
You Yan Favorability: 37233
What kind of numbers were these…
An IQ of two hundred and fifty2… was that supposed to be a compliment or a sarcastic jab?
And this favorability of over thirty-seven thousand… it looked so exaggerated.
What was even more exaggerated than thirty-seven thousand was that, at this very moment, she was clearly doing nothing, yet this value was still slowly increasing.
Are you sure this value monitoring isn’t mistaken?
【Not sure.】
“…”
【Once the favorability rating breaks five digits, the monitoring difficulty increases significantly. We can now only provide a rough estimate based on the character’s emotional index and cannot guarantee its accuracy.】
“What do you mean? It’s exceeded your maximum monitoring range?”
【You could understand it that way.】
“You ‘treasure’… what use are you to me?”
【Host need not worry. The capacity will be expanded after the next upgrade.】
“No need…”
At this point, all these messy numbers were completely useless to her.
That IQ stat was unreliable at a glance, and as for the other attributes like strength, spiritual root3, and agility, no matter how high the numbers rose, it couldn’t change the fact that she was a weak little alpaca little demon4.
Right now, all she needed to know was that You Yan treated her well, cared for her, and would always protect her. That was more than enough.
Thinking this in her heart, Yi Qiu subconsciously raised her head to glance at You Yan.
Some people say they’re admiring the moon, but their eyes never leave the person in their arms…
The instant their eyes met, Yi Qiu instinctively averted her gaze, blinking uncontrollably as she looked back up at the sky.
But as luck would have it, a cloud just had to drift over at that exact moment, silently obscuring the full moon and making her feel a bit awkward.
“Can’t see it anymore,” You Yan said softly.
“Mm…”
“Are you still able to sleep?” You Yan asked.
“I just woke up,” Yi Qiu replied in a small voice.
Hearing this, You Yan couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. “Then what should we do? This night is so long. I’m afraid we’ll have to endure it.”
Her laughter was light and gentle, just like the words that came from her mouth. No matter the content, they always made one feel at ease.
Yi Qiu pondered for a moment, then said in a low voice, “If it’s long, it’s long. It’s not that hard to endure, anyway.”
As she spoke, Yi Qiu cautiously peeked at You Yan. Seeing that her gaze was no longer fixed on her, she finally dared to take a few more bold glances.
You Yan was extremely exhausted at this moment. As she spoke, her eyes closed unconsciously.
She leaned against the mountain rock behind her, trying hard to even her breathing, yet she still didn’t forget to give Yi Qiu a response.
“I’m going to rest for a bit. Don’t run off.” Her voice was as faint as a floating silk thread5, but the strength in her fingertips did not lessen in the slightest.
At this moment, she was holding Yi Qiu tightly in her arms. It would be difficult for Yi Qiu to even break free, so how could she possibly “run off”?
Yi Qiu pressed her lips together, gave a soft “mm,” and didn’t dare disturb her any further.
Autumn leaves swirled gently with the night breeze.
Yi Qiu leaned lightly against You Yan. For a while, she couldn’t fall asleep no matter what, but there was really nothing for her to do.
First, she observed the surrounding mountain forest out of sheer boredom. Then, she couldn’t resist reaching out, separating a lock of You Yan’s long hair, and beginning to toy with it between her fingertips.
After an unknown amount of time, You Yan opened her eyes.
As she lowered her gaze, she saw the little girl in her arms braiding her hair. Looking closely, she realized her hair had already been woven into more than a dozen thin, long braids.
She reached out her left hand and gently pressed down on Yi Qiu’s wrist.
“…Ngh.” Yi Qiu instinctively shrank back. After a brief silence, she bit her lip, raised her eyes, and looked timidly at You Yan. “Um, that is… I, I had nothing to do.”
As she spoke, she hastily and clumsily began to undo the small, unfinished braid in her hands.
You Yan couldn’t help but shake her head. “You really are…”
“I was wrong, I was wrong, don’t scold me!” Yi Qiu said in a small voice, unable to stop herself from muttering, “I’ll just undo them for you… Actually, they look quite nice.”
As she spoke, as if afraid You Yan would press the matter, a clever thought suddenly moved6, and she immediately changed the subject.
Yi Qiu: “How come you only slept for such a short while? The sky isn’t even light yet.”
You Yan: “It will be soon.”
As she spoke, You Yan pushed herself up against the rock behind her, standing up with some difficulty.
“Not going to rest a little longer?” Yi Qiu couldn’t help asking.
“The Yi Bird is coming soon.” As You Yan spoke, she gently brushed her fingertips over the dozen or so small braids, causing them all to come undone.
Hearing this, Yi Qiu was greatly alarmed and hurriedly supported You Yan as they walked toward the mountain’s peak.
As if chasing the moon, they walked all the way toward the foot of the mountain. Unconsciously, the moon in the night sky sank out of sight, replaced by a sliver of fish-belly white7 slowly emerging on the distant horizon.
Just then, You Yan suddenly pulled Yi Qiu forcefully to the side, randomly picked a large tree for cover, and turned to hide behind it.
Before Yi Qiu had time to be surprised, she heard an exceptionally ethereal bird cry from the distance.
She dazedly raised her eyes, and just as she was about to look in the direction of the sound, she saw the brightening sky instantly darken.
No, to be precise, it wasn’t that the sky had darkened, but that all the light had been blocked out.
For a moment, she didn’t know how to describe the shock in her heart.
She saw a gigantic bird, one that was considerably larger than You Yan’s Demon God8 form in the Floating Dream Pearl’s illusion.
It was a five-colored bird, just as it was written in the novel 《Thin, Withered Branch》—On Snake Mountain, there is a Yi Bird. Its feathers are of five colors, and its flight obscures an entire region.
It was heading for that stone cave on the mountain.
“This is… too big!” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath of cold air9. Such a behemoth looked far too intimidating. “This Yi Bird… compared to the legendary Great Peng10, which one is bigger?”
“A tiny Yi Bird, how dare it be mentioned in the same breath as the Kun Peng11?” You Yan’s eyes were filled with disdain.
Just then, the giant bird that covered the sky and hid the sun12 flew past overhead, instantly kicking up a great wind that sent fallen leaves and dust flying everywhere.
You Yan actually called this thing a “tiny Yi Bird”!
What a joke!
Yi Qiu subconsciously hid in You Yan’s embrace and closed her eyes. She could feel You Yan protecting the back of her head. After a brief moment of panic, the sound of the Yi Bird’s beating wings grew more distant, and she finally emerged from You Yan’s arms.
“That Yi Bird is too terrifying…” Yi Qiu exclaimed, her heart still having lingering fear13. “If she could have been this big when she was hurting that little pig trotter in Moshui City, she probably could have squashed it into a meat patty with a single finger, right?”
“How would she dare reveal her complete Demon God14 in the mortal realm?” You Yan said, taking Yi Qiu’s wrist and walking toward the mountain’s peak, following the direction the Yi Bird had come from.
“Where are we going?” Yi Qiu asked in a small voice.
If we’re leaving, shouldn’t we be heading down the mountain? Get a small boat or something and leave this place directly. That would be safer than staying here, right?
“Just taking a walk.”
“Taking a walk?” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but swallow nervously. “This is the Yi Bird’s territory. Aren’t we being too arrogant! You, you’re very weak right now. Shouldn’t we find a place to hide? What if we’re seen by the demons in the mountains…”
“What is there to fear from the little demons in the mountains?” You Yan said faintly. Though her voice was weak, her tone was as always, as if her eyes saw everything as empty15. “That stupid bird flew right over our heads and didn’t discover us, did it?”
“We really won’t be discovered?”
“She has the ability to evade my search, so I don’t have the ability to evade hers?” You Yan retorted.
Yi Qiu pouted but said no more, simply following You Yan’s steps forward.
As they walked, a furious cry suddenly came from a very distant place behind them. It was likely the Yi Bird, having discovered that the Floating Dream Pearl had shattered, was now throwing a tantrum.
“You Yan, the Yi Bird found out we escaped…” Yi Qiu couldn’t help but whisper conspiratorially. “She seems really angry!”
“What’s there to be afraid of?” There wasn’t a trace of panic in You Yan’s eyes.
Yi Qiu was momentarily speechless. She blinked in confusion, but seeing You Yan’s calm expression, she relaxed a little.
She bit her lip and thought for a moment before she couldn’t help but ask, “The system said the Floating Dream Pearl is something the Yi Bird carries with her. I don’t quite understand why she didn’t have it on her last night.”
You Yan raised an eyebrow. “Because she was afraid, of course.”
“Afraid?”
“She can’t see what’s happening inside the Floating Dream Pearl. Anyone with half a brain wouldn’t underestimate their enemy so carelessly. In the Three Realms16, even the Heavenly Emperor17 would frown upon seeing me. On what grounds would a little bird like her not fear me?” You Yan said. “Since she becomes extremely weak every full moon, it was the right move not to carry the Floating Dream Pearl with her last night, during the full moon. After all, if I had really gotten out on such a day, wouldn’t I have crushed her, in her weakened state, along with that pearl?”
“You… in your current state, you could still crush her along with the pearl?”
“How would she know the extent of my injuries?” You Yan retorted.
Yi Qiu blinked blankly, then quickly understood You Yan’s meaning.
To put it bluntly, it’s not about being afraid of ten thousand, but being afraid of the one-in-ten-thousand chance18.
In the original novel, the Yi Bird, Yu Su, could be described as both stupid and evil. But looking at it now, this vicious female supporting character number three probably wasn’t as brainless as she was written in the novel—at least her thinking was quite meticulous.
The Yi Bird didn’t know You Yan well, so she would inevitably fear that the Floating Dream Pearl couldn’t contain this Demon Lord whose name alone made everyone in the Three Realms’s face change color when they spoke of her19. Because of this, she took precautions against this “what if” and didn’t carry the Floating Dream Pearl with her while she was weak. That way, even if something really happened, she would have left herself some time to react.
However, she would never have thought that such caution would give You Yan an opening to exploit.
No wonder You Yan dared to break out so directly, even knowing she would be extremely weak after forcing her way out of the illusion. It turns out she had it all figured out.
“Aren’t you afraid of the ‘what if’—that she really is a stupid bird and would insist on carrying the Floating Dream Pearl with her even on the night of a full moon?”
“If that were the case, even if I couldn’t beat her, couldn’t I still bluff her?” You Yan said faintly, lowering her gaze to glance at Yi Qiu before chuckling softly. “I know she is weak, but she doesn’t know that I am weak.”
“…” If this bird-woman lived in modern society, she would definitely be an award-winning actress.
Thinking this, Yi Qiu silently followed You Yan for a long time.
Suddenly, You Yan stopped in her tracks.
Yi Qiu came back to her senses and looked ahead, only to see a cliff before them. On the other side of the cliff, there was a cold pool shrouded in mist, and in the middle of the pool grew a Thousand-Petal Lotus that glowed with five-colored spiritual light.
This is the place the system mentioned—the Snake Mountain Spirit Pool?
“You Yan…”
“This is a good place to recuperate.”
“Huh?” Yi Qiu was astonished. “You’re not planning to take a bath in the Yi Bird’s house, are you?”
“Why not?”
“…Ngh.”
How could there be such an arrogant bird in this world?
The author has something to say:
Yi Bird (cursing and swearing): Don’t you have your own pool?
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