Chapter 150: Bald Bird

Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Bald Bird

Following the faint rustling he had heard earlier, Sui Sui carefully made his way through the trees, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of movement.

Afraid that a careless movement might frighten the creature away, Sui Sui quieted his footsteps and tried to keep his presence to a minimum. He had no idea how alert the little beast was, so it was better to be cautious.

If he startled it now and watched it disappear into the forest, he might have to spend another half an hour searching for something else.

That was something he absolutely didn’t want to experience.

The rustling came again, this time from somewhere ahead. Sui Sui followed the sound, moving around the trees until the faint trickle of running water reached his ears. It seems he has reached a river bank.

The sound of flowing water grew clearer as he approached.

Sui Sui stopped behind a tree and cautiously peeked out. There it was!

Near the riverbank, he finally spotted the bird creature. It seemed to be drinking water, completely unaware that someone was watching it from nearby.

After wandering around for so long, he had finally found a potential target, and judging by its size, it seemed manageable enough for a beginner like him.

His eyes brightened as he watched the little creature, careful not to make a sound.

Perfect. Now’s my chance!

With his target finally in sight, Sui Sui reached into his spirit pouch and began rummaging through its contents. After a short search, he pulled out two item.

First was a cloak, the cloak looked rather ordinary at first glance, its edges slightly worn from being stored away for so long. However, appearances could be deceiving, because this was actually an invisibility cloak, and it was precisely what Sui Sui needed for the task ahead.

A few months ago, he had gone shopping with Bai Suichen in Qingqiong’s shopping district. While browsing one of the shops, he had taken a liking to this particular cloak because, unlike many other spiritual items, it didn’t require the wearer to supply any spirit energy to activate it. Back then, he had thought it was quite convenient, so he bought it without giving much thought to when he might actually use it.

Now, it seemed that purchase had finally come in handy.

The cloak was a mid-grade spiritual item that could conceal its wearer for five minutes per activation. Once used, however, it required three days to recover before it could be activated again. Its most useful feature was that anyone below the Golden Core stage would be unable to detect someone concealed beneath it.

Sui Sui had nearly forgotten about its existence until he stumbled across it while sorting through his belongings the previous day. Since he had finally found a suitable target, this was the perfect opportunity to put it to the test. After all, what was the point of buying useful things if they were only going to sit in his spirit pouch collecting dust?

Setting the cloak aside for a moment, Sui Sui picked up the immobilization talisman. As its name suggested, it could temporarily immobilize its target for one minute. That might not sound like much, but for someone like him, who couldn’t rely on brute force to subdue a spirit beast, a single minute could make all the difference.

With the two items ready, Sui Sui glanced toward the creature by the riverbank, a small, satisfied smile appearing on his face. Now, all he needed to do was catch it.

Sui Sui draped the black cloak over himself and waited for a moment. When he looked down, he raised his hands and found that it had completely disappeared from view, actually his whole body had disappeared

It really works! Looks like those spirit stones weren’t wasted after all.

Suppressing his excitement, Sui Sui turned his attention back to the bird. He carefully approached the riverbank, placing each step lightly against the ground to avoid making any unnecessary noise. The bird remained by the water, occasionally dipping its beak into the river, seemingly oblivious to the approaching danger.

Sui Sui tightened his grip on the immobilization talisman. He needed to get close enough to ensure it wouldn’t miss, but not so close that the bird might react before he could activate it. Inch by inch, he closed the distance, his eyes fixed on his unsuspecting target.

Just a little closer...

The bird raised its head, shaking a few droplets of water from its beak. Sui Sui immediately froze, barely daring to breathe. For a brief moment, he worried that it might have sensed something, but after glancing around and finding nothing unusual, the creature went back to drinking.

Sui Sui silently let out the breath he’d been holding.

Now!

The instant he reached a suitable distance, he activated the talisman. A flash of spiritual light shot toward the bird, striking it before it could react. Its body stiffened at once, leaving it unable to move.

Sui Sui sprang forward and scooped it up in one swift motion, holding it firmly.

"Caught you!" he declared triumphantly.

The bird’s eyes widened. It struggled violently in his hands, flapping its wings and twisting its body as it tried to break free. Sui Sui tightened his hold, startled by how much strength such a small creature possessed, but fortunately the talisman’s effect had yet to wear off. No matter how desperately it struggled, the bird couldn’t escape.

Sui Sui let out a small sigh of relief. That had been much easier than he expected! He had prepared himself for a long chase through the forest, perhaps even a desperate struggle with a ferocious spirit beast, but in the end, he had managed to catch his target without much trouble at all.

His first hunt was off to a wonderful start!

Feeling rather pleased with himself, Sui Sui lowered his head to inspect his prize. After all, he had gone through the trouble.

However, the moment he got a proper look at the creature in his hands, his smile slowly froze.

...What was this?

The bird was roughly the size of an ordinary chicken, with bright red feathers that might have looked quite pretty if there had been more of them. Unfortunately, its plumage was so sparse that large patches of bare skin showed through. The few remaining feathers stuck out in every direction, some crooked, some scraggly, and some so pitifully thin that they looked ready to fall off at the slightest breeze.

Its neck was scrawny, its body looked rather bony, and the few feathers on its head only made its appearance worse. Instead of looking like a spirit beast, it looked like a chicken that had somehow lost in a cock fight .

Sui Sui stared at it.

The bird stared back.

One person and one bird silently examined each other for a moment.

Finally, a question escaped Sui Sui’s mouth before he could stop himself.

"Why are you so ugly ah?"

However the moment the words left his mouth, the bird seemed to understand every single one of them. Its beady eyes narrowed, and its already miserable-looking face somehow became even uglier with rage.

Sui Sui blinked. Oh? Could it understand him?

Before he could investigate this exciting discovery, the bird suddenly twisted its head and sank its beak into his hand.

"Ow!"

Sui Sui yelped and instinctively loosened his grip. The bird immediately wriggled free, flapped its scraggly wings, and dropped to the ground a short distance away. It stumbled for half a step before quickly turning around to face him, looking as though it had just won a great battle.

Sui Sui clutched his injured hand, staring at the bird in disbelief. He had only commented on its appearance! Was there a need to bite someone over it? Besides, he hadn’t even lied!

The bird puffed out its chest—or what little chest it had—and opened its beak.

A small flame shot straight toward him.

"What the hell?!"

Sui Sui’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected the bird to attack him with fire! So it really was a spirit beast after all. For a moment, he had actually thought he’d caught an ordinary wild chicken.

Sui Sui quickly gathered his spirit power and dispelled the flame before it could reach him. The little burst of fire vanished into a few fading sparks, leaving him unharmed.

When he looked up, the bird was watching him with an unmistakably smug expression. It even cuckooed a few times, as though laughing at him, before giving a few triumphant flaps of its bald wings.

Then it turned around, showed him its butt, and ran off between the trees.

Sui Sui stared after it in disbelief. What the hell? Was this bird mocking him?!

Oh, he absolutely wouldn’t let that slide!

Fired up with annoyance, Sui Sui immediately chased after the bird.

Unbeknownst to Sui Sui, who was still chasing the obnoxious bird through the forest, several figures were lying in wait among the trees. Their eyes followed his every movement, watching silently as he ran closer to their carefully laid traps. None of them made a sound, patiently waiting for their unsuspecting target to walk into their hands.

"There! Look! He’s heading straight for the trap, Junior Sister Chu," one of them whispered.

Chu Ran followed his gaze, and her lips immediately curled into a delighted smile.

They had spent quite some time setting up traps around the outskirts of the area, waiting for an opportunity to catch Sui Sui alone. Yet, after all that preparation, they hadn’t even needed to do anything to lure him over. The fool had actually brought himself straight to them!

How convenient!

Chu Ran watched Sui Sui’s approaching figure, barely suppressing her satisfaction.

"Good, good," she murmured, her eyes fixed on him. "Let’s see how you get out of this one Bai Sui Sui."