"Be careful—don't rush for quick gains. Azure Fire Silkworms are the most easily startled. If it retreats back inside, you'll never catch it again." Before a fruit tree, Old Fang watched Yang Kai's movements with a nervous expression, secretly transmitting his voice.
Yang Kai held the treasure box in one hand and a stick of burning incense in the other, his expression as solemn as if he were fighting a life-or-death battle. Hearing this, he replied impatiently: "I know, I know—you've said it a dozen times. Can you quiet down?"
Old Fang smacked his lips and fell into a sullen silence.
The incense smoke drifted upward, and a small head slowly poked out of a hole in the tree—bright red, drawn by the scent. The Azure Fire Silkworm's figure gradually emerged.
Only when half its body had crawled out did Yang Kai wave the treasure box, scooping the long worm directly inside, then snapping it shut with a snap. He laughed aloud: "Mission accomplished!"
Old Fang glanced sideways at him: "That's only the second one. What are you so happy about? Don't forget—you promised the guy five!"
Yang Kai's laughter cut off abruptly, the corner of his mouth twitching: "Then what do we do?"
Old Fang scoffed: "You ask me—who am I supposed to ask? There's no more time."
"A month went by that fast?" Yang Kai was stunned.
As they spoke, a crisp bell suddenly rang in their ears. Before Yang Kai could even ask, Old Fang said: "Time to go. The next three days are rest days."
"Don't go!" Yang Kai grabbed him and whispered slyly: "Let's wait a bit—wait until they leave first…"
Before he finished speaking, a tremendous repulsive force suddenly engulfed him from all sides, leaving absolutely no room for resistance. His vision blurred, and when his senses returned, he was already outside the orchard.
Yang Kai stared in blank astonishment.
Perhaps because he had been holding on, Old Fang was right beside him. He explained: "When the time's up, nobody can stay inside. You'd better look out for yourself."
With that, he turned and sped toward the menial workers' quarters.
Yang Kai scratched his head, watching figures transform into streaks of multicolored light and depart, and could only follow along with a resigned air. A month of menial life had been largely uneventful—the only outstanding issue was the five Azure Fire Silkworms he'd promised General Sichen. He still only had two.
He wondered how that golden rooster would react when it found out…
But what was done was done. Worrying about it wouldn't help. He'd just have to face whatever came.
Inside the orchard, one had to constantly channel power to resist the searing heat—it was utterly exhausting. The others couldn't have fared much better. When Yang Kai returned to the village where the menial workers' quarters were located, every door was shut. Everyone was presumably resting.
He returned to his own lodgings, activated the wards, sat cross-legged in meditation, and spent the night in quiet cultivation without incident.
The next morning, a resounding golden rooster's crow pierced the air—a sound that even the wards couldn't block. Knowing he had three days of rest, Yang Kai couldn't be bothered to pay attention.
Who would have guessed that moments later, a persistent knock-knock-knock sounded outside his door.
"Who is it!" Yang Kai opened his eyes and called out.
No answer came from outside—just the continued knock-knock-knock, rhythmic and insistent.
With no choice but to get up, he opened the door and was immediately dazzled by a burst of golden light that made his head spin. He focused his gaze and saw a golden rooster half a man's height standing in the doorway, majestic and imposing, radiating an extraordinary presence.
The two stared at each other for a long moment, then Yang Kai slammed the door shut with a bang.
Three breaths later, like a volcanic eruption, the door thundered and shook. Not only that, but from outside came General Sichen's "caw-caw" crowing.
Yang Kai knew things were bad. If he ignored the rooster, it might attract Zhou Zheng's attention—that guy already had it in for him, and if he were handed an excuse now, things would not end well.
He had no choice but to open the door again, putting on an expression of delighted surprise: "Why, it's General Sichen! What an unexpected honor!"
The general seemed furious, thrusting its beak toward him in a peck. Yang Kai dodged to the side, curious: "What is the great general doing?"
The general blocked the doorway with its plump hindquarters, flapping its wings and crowing loudly.
Yang Kai cursed silently—the stupid bird actually had a remarkable memory. A month-old agreement and it still remembered. He'd only been back for one night and it had already shown up. As the commotion grew louder, with several menial workers already opening their doors and peeking out, Yang Kai had no choice but to produce the treasure box: "The great general wants the Azure Fire Silkworms, yes? I've caught them for you—they're right in here. Please, be patient."
The moment the box appeared, General Sichen immediately calmed down, staring intently at the box without blinking.
Yang Kai couldn't help but think bitterly: if it liked eating bugs so much, why didn't it go catch them in the orchard itself, instead of having someone else bring them back?
Under General Sichen's eager gaze, Yang Kai took one Azure Fire Silkworm from the box. In the next instant, the general extended its head, pecked once, and the silkworm vanished without a trace.
"Eat slowly—nobody's fighting you for it!" Yang Kai wore a bright smile, though inside he was already worrying about what to say after the second silkworm was consumed. This golden rooster didn't look like the type to be easily fooled. He'd promised five, but only had two—he had no idea whether it would accept that.
Maybe he should drag it inside and kill it! The thought crossed his mind, but he immediately dismissed it. Too many people had seen the rooster come to his door. If anything happened to it, he'd never be able to clear his name.
After stalling for a while, the second Azure Fire Silkworm was also fed to it.
Yang Kai scratched his chin and ventured: "The great general may not know this, but Azure Fire Silkworms are fire-attribute and fierce in nature. Eating too many at once might not be good for the body. Perhaps the great general could go rest for a while, then come back for the remaining three?"
The general paid no attention, simply tilting its head and fixing Yang Kai with one eye. There was unmistakable, almost human-like mockery in that chicken's gaze.
Yang Kai flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment, feeling that he had just been looked down upon by a chicken…