A Leisurely and Extravagant Life - Chapter 39
Chapter 39: Angry Little Bird
Although Luo Shuigen didn’t know exactly where the stone had come from, he could tell the general direction. And there were only a few spots in the woods where someone could hide. Whoever threw it must be in one of those bushes.
He touched the spot where the stone hit, then looked at his palm—it was covered in red. His scalp had been split open. Luo Shuigen flared with rage: “If I catch you today, I’ll break your arms!”
Luo Tianwang panicked. Luo Shuigen was more than ten years older and a head taller. If he got caught, he’d be done for. He hesitated… should he stay hidden, or try to run? If he stayed, Shuigen would eventually search him out. But if he ran, he couldn’t possibly outrun him.
As he wavered, Luo Shuigen charged up the slope toward where he was hiding. It wasn’t exactly his hiding spot, but it was only a matter of time before he was found.
“Chirp-chirp!” Suddenly, the little sparrow darted at Luo Shuigen, flew right above his head, and pecked him hard twice.
“Ahh! D**n it!” Luo Shuigen yelped in pain.
Wang Mengmeng hadn’t left yet. When she saw someone throw a stone at Luo Shuigen earlier, she had secretly felt delighted—serves him right! But now she began to worry about the person who had stepped in. Luo Shuigen had been a brawler since childhood, infamous in the village. Whoever hid in the woods probably wasn’t his match. She even suspected it was just a primary school student—if it were an adult, they would’ve already come out to stop him openly. Only a child would intervene in such a way.
The sparrow was agile, pecking relentlessly. Luo Shuigen waved frantically to drive it away, but the bird showed no fear, swooping around him and striking whenever it saw an opening.
How could he spare attention to search the hillside for Luo Tianwang? He could only keep swatting with both hands. But the sparrow seemed crazed, pecking viciously, tearing skin with each stab of its beak. Blood followed every strike. Luo Shuigen ran around in panic, but two legs were no match for a pair of wings.
He ended up fleeing at top speed, ignoring Wang Mengmeng entirely. The sparrow chased for a bit, then let him go and returned. Wang Mengmeng looked around—no one was in sight. Remembering the incident from a few days ago, she hurried her steps and went home quickly.
The little sparrow flew back to Luo Tianwang, chirping proudly. He patted its head. “Nice work!”
The bird loved the aura that came from the strange characters around Luo Tianwang. Being patted made it look like it was in bliss. Luo Tianwang then quietly headed home.
In the kitchen, Luo Baolin was cooking, but the whole room was filled with thick smoke.
“Grandpa, you’re not going to set the kitchen on fire, are you?” Luo Tianwang giggled.
“You brat. Weren’t you the one who said you’d cook tonight? And now you’re just getting back. Well, you’re just in time—the rice is ready, only the dishes left to make.” Luo Baolin was crouched down, blowing hard into the stove. Smoke poured out, but no flames.
Luo Tianwang quickly grabbed the iron tongs, cleared out a pile of ash from the hearth, and suddenly the wood flared up.
Baolin chuckled. “So, are you cooking tonight, or am I?”
“I’ll do it. Grandpa, just watch the fire for me, don’t throw in too much wood.” Luo Tianwang dashed outside.
Soon he came back with a bundle of green beans and two loofahs in hand. Despite his young age, he washed and chopped vegetables like a seasoned hand, as though he often did housework. In truth, he had only ever helped his grandma Xiao Chunxiu with simple tasks, but he always watched her cook. While she was preparing to travel to Guangdong, he’d often handled the cooking himself under her guidance. Now he’d gotten the hang of it.
Before long, a fragrant meal was set on the table. Baolin smiled with deep satisfaction.
“Our grandson’s got a future. So young, and already knows how to cook.” He reached out to stroke Luo Tianwang’s head.
After dinner, Baolin went to work the fields. Luo Tianwang let the ox out to graze by itself. The grass by the pond grew fast, enough to keep the animal full.
Today he’d seen the sparrow’s power. But the bird wasn’t very bright, unlike the ox, it couldn’t really understand speech. So Luo Tianwang hoped to train the five baby crows to be even more formidable.
When he climbed the bayberry tree, the little crows immediately gathered around him. The sparrow came too, displeased at them crowding its spot. It chirped loudly, as if scolding them. Only when Tianwang patted its head did it quiet down, then it flew onto the ox’s back to pick off bugs. The ox didn’t mind the noisy little thing—in fact, it liked the sparrow, sometimes even lifting its head to play with it.
Horseflies buzzed by, and the sparrow pounced on them. It couldn’t catch them midair, but once they landed to bite, it easily snatched them up. When horseflies stabbed deep into the ox’s skin to drink blood, they became easy prey for the sparrow, which gulped them down with ease.
In the past, it would even bring one back as a gift for Tianwang, but after realizing its young master disliked that, it stopped.
Meanwhile, Luo Shuigen had stumbled home in disgrace, his scalp pecked bloody in several spots.
“What rotten luck.” He touched his head—just some minor cuts, nothing serious. What infuriated him was that he had been about to spend more time with Wang Mengmeng, but the cursed bird had ruined everything.
“Wait—” Luo Shuigen suddenly recalled. “Before the bird came, someone threw a stone at me. Then the sparrow attacked. Could it be that bird was ordered by whoever was hiding? How’s that possible? Who could control a sparrow?”