80 - Little Peasant Wife

[Web Novel Title: Solely Cherishing the Farmer's Little Darling Wife GL] Chapter: 80 - 乙纯 [Completed] - fuxiaoshu She leaned in closer, with concern in her voice, "Are you hurt?" To her surprise, the chick seemed to understand human speech, immediately springing up and screeching back, "You're the one who's got something wrong!" Jing Liu Er: "..." Was she hallucinating? How could the chick be talking, too? Chapter Fifty: The Phoenix Liu Er looked curiously at the chick’s sharp red beak. The chick humanely rolled its eyes and pecked her palm hard. Liu Er hissed in pain, the spot the chick had pecked now broken and bleeding profusely. She grimaced from the pain, but the little chick gleefully bounced in her palm, jubilantly saying, “Stupid human, you’re the one with issues, serves you right! Haha!” Liu Er furrowed her brows at it, “You can talk!” The chick pecked her again, this time hurting her so much she reflexively let go. The dull gray chick let out a surprised “Yikes!” as it fell from her hand to the ground. Liu Er looked at her blood-stained hands, blowing on them hoping to ease the pain. Her palm was mercilessly bitten, exposing the flesh, and it hurt so much. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked down at the chick, expecting it to be hurt from the fall, but instead, it proudly trotted around on the ground, effortlessly stepping across leaves from place to place. Her ears filled with the chick's triumphant and shrill laughter. Liu Er instinctively frowned. She really disliked this chick in front of her—it was simply too wicked. She turned away, heading towards the river, intending to ignore it. However, the chick wasn't so easily dismissed; its small body, full of agility and explosiveness, lightly stomped on a leaf, taking flight right at her head. The chick's sharp claws tangled in her hair, causing Liu Er to cry out in pain. She looked up to see Wu Meng Qiu and Wu Xun Chun, preoccupied with watching small fish and shrimp by the river, oblivious to her plight. Thinking it over, Liu Er realized that a talking chick wasn’t ordinary and with its aggressiveness, it might harm her friends. She knew she couldn't simply pass by as if nothing was wrong. So, she changed her direction, hiding behind a tree, shaking her head in vain to get rid of the chick’s grip that only caused more pain. She pouted, saying, “Get down.” The chick chuckled, “If I easily came down just because you asked, wouldn’t that ruin my dignity?” Liu Er, with a face resembling a steamed bun in distress, asked, “Then what do you want?” The chick's beady red eyes glinted as it declared, “I’ve decided. You’re now my servant!” “Servant?” Liu Er repeated the word, dumbfounded. The chick hopped up and down on her head, clutching a lock of her hair, swaying to face her directly. Its vibrant eyes met her dark almond-shaped ones, “Yep, you’re a smelly human. Either I eat you now, or you obediently become my servant. Otherwise…” The chick shrieked so loudly Liu Er thought her ears might burst. It then kicked her nose lightly with the other claw, saying, “Otherwise, I’ll torment you daily until you can't eat or drink, wasting away pitifully!” “How can you be so cruel?” Liu Er finally yelled in anger. The chick kicked her nose again, retorting, “You humans are the cruel ones! Though I’ve just been reborn, I remember my past lives. Each time, I was forced to death by humans—it's all your faults. You’re human, so you're no good! I’ll enslave you to serve me, hmph!” Liu Er crouched down, extending her hand near the chick, inviting it to step up, softly saying, “I’m truly sorry, but I haven’t harmed you.” The chick rolled its eyes, insisting, “That’s irrelevant. Besides, I don't care. Now I’m hungry, so this servant of mine, fetch me some food!” Liu Er looked at it unhappily, stating, “I’m currently outside. There’s no food here.” The chick chuckled darkly, its laughter sinister enough to send shivers down Liu Er’s spine. Enflamed with anger, the chick puffed up its body, its gray feathers standing on end, transforming into a fluffy, round ball that looked marginally cuter. Its voice cold, the chick threatened, “You'll regret not feeding me!” With that, its round, plump body drifted away, disappearing amidst the green grass. Liu Er bit her lip anxiously, uneasy at the thought of what terrible thing the chick might do next. She hurriedly wiped her bloody palms on the damp leaves on the ground, yet it still appeared frightening. She then rushed upstream for a simple cleanse. Her palm had flesh turned, blood pouring non-stop. Liu Er sniffled but managed to hold back true tears. Wu Xun Chun, curious at her heading upstream, shouted, “Liu Er, what are you doing there? Come join us!” Liu Er called back, her voice shaky but compliant. She took a clean cloth from her pocket, wrapping it around her injured hand. Approaching them, still watching her surroundings warily, she was relieved not to see the gray chick, exhaling softly, “Are you two okay?” Wu Xun Chun grinned broadly, “Of course! I didn’t even get into the water. It’s just my sister overreacting because I was just taking my shirt off, see how flustered she is?” Wu Meng Qiu playfully knocked on his head, softly but eliciting an exaggerated wince from him as he rolled on the ground, exaggerating his pain. “Oh dear sister, I’ve learned my lesson, please don’t hit me!” he wailed. Wu Meng Qiu laughed at his antics, turning to Liu Er to notice her red eyes. Concerned, she asked, “What’s wrong, Liu Er?” Upon examining her closely, noting her hands were always behind her back and spotted with blood, Wu Meng Qiu’s expression grew alarmed. She quickly grabbed Liu Er’s hands, revealing the injury beneath. Noticing the severity, Wu Meng Qiu insisted, “You’re too careless, Liu Er. This wound is deep. Let’s stop playing and head home. I’ll have my uncle’s wife apply some medicine on you.” Liu Er’s heart warmed with gratitude, smiling as she replied, “I’m sorry. But it’s not that bad. It’ll be fine soon.” “Nonsense!” Wu Meng Qiu pouted, “If you don't take it seriously, it might not heal properly and then how will you take your exams in the future?” “Ah!” Liu Er and Wu Xun Chun exclaimed in unison. Wu Xun Chun winced empathetically at Liu Er’s wound, saying, “If sister says so, Liu Er, let’s head back now.” Liu Er glanced down at her palm, smiling, “Alright, I’ll go home. But I’ll head straight to my place since we have medicine there. My mother makes excellent remedies.” “Ah, really,” Wu Xun Chun acknowledged, “then go take care of that. We’ll head back soon too.” Wu Meng Qiu wasn’t entirely convinced, offering, “Shall I walk you home?” “No need,” Liu Er quickly waved her off. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a gray figure, turning pale. Forcing a smile, she said, “I’ll head back myself. Goodbye.” With that, she hastily left. Wu Meng Qiu watched her retreating figure, noting with concern, “I feel like Liu Er’s hiding something from us. How did she get hurt like that?” Wu Xun Chun yawned, dismissing her worries, “Isn’t it just a hand wound? I get those all the time. Once I even cracked my forehead and almost turned into a giant watermelon.” Wu Meng Qiu gave him an exasperated look, “That’s because you were climbing onto roofs after stray cats. Liu Er is well-behaved, nothing like you—a mischievous monkey.” Wu Xun Chun pouted, “But Liu Er isn’t a girl. He’ll have to marry and have kids like me someday. Why are you so concerned about her? Are you…” Wu Meng Qiu flushed. Though too young to fully comprehend the meaning, she knew it was something embarrassing. She pounced on Wu Xun Chun, pinching his mouth playfully, “For speaking nonsense, I’ll discipline you today!” Wu Xun Chun quickly begged for mercy, promising he wouldn’t do it again. Liu Er listened to their playful banter, her heart slightly calmed. Still, as she walked along the path nervously, she softly called out, “Chick, come out.” She could feel the chick’s presence, always tailing her, but its exact intentions still unknown. Liu Er anxiously searched around, reaching the edge of the grass to pick up Da Bai, still munching on it. “Da Bai, let’s go home and find mom.” Her mother was skilled, often hunting in the mountains. Against an aggressive chick, ordinary folks wouldn’t stand a chance, but she believed her capable mother could handle it. Thinking thus, her urge to return home became ever more urgent, only to have the chick suddenly emerge from hiding. Perched on a leaf, it swayed with the breeze, its eyes blood-red. “I told you, you’d regret it!” Scared, Liu Er stepped back, stammering, “I’m going home… I can get you food.” The chick sneered coldly, “Too late!” Before Liu Er could react, it lunged at her. Alarmed, Liu Er hugged the rabbit tightly. Startled by the sudden movement, the rabbit bit her, leapt out of her arms, and hurried away. Holding onto the new bite wound, she wanted to chase after it but was stopped by the chick, commanding from above, “Come here!” The rabbit froze in place, as though time had stopped for it, before turning around and bouncing over to the chick. Liu Er watched this astonishing scene unfold. Even though Da Bai had been her pet for a long time, it didn’t always listen to her commands. Yet, the moment the chick spoke, Da Bai obeyed. Could this chick actually be Da Bai's mother? But they were different species! Perhaps a foster mother of sorts? Liu Er's young mind couldn’t quite figure it out. She simply thought that just as she would listen to her mother, maybe the rabbit, Da Bai, obeyed the chick because it had been raised by the chick in the mountains before. Thus, she considered that the chick might have come to find her because of Da Bai. As she was about to speak, the chick suddenly opened its mouth wide—several times larger than its body—and swallowed Da Bai whole. Liu Er shrieked in terror; the chick devoured Da Bai and then returned to its normal size. If Liu Er hadn’t witnessed it herself, she wouldn't have believed what had just happened. She couldn’t hold back her tears this time. Da Bai was her first companion, a rabbit her mother had personally caught from the mountains. Although it was sometimes disobedient, it was mostly well-behaved. Today, a chick that unexpectedly fell from a tree had devoured it!