Chapter 163: Another Visitor

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Another Visitor

As soon as Sui Sui reached his bed, he practically collapsed onto it. He was so exhausted that the moment his head touched the pillow, his eyelids grew heavy. Martial arts training was far more demanding than he had expected.

His entire body felt sore and strained, as though every muscle had been thoroughly worked over. Even the thought of getting up again was enough to make him reconsider his life choices.

Still, he knew all this effort wasn’t for nothing. He had to learn, especially with the upcoming competition just two months away.

The competition would undoubtedly be challenging, and since it was an individual event, he would have to rely entirely on his own abilities when the time came. He couldn’t expect someone to step in and help him whenever he ran into trouble. If he wanted to stand a chance, he needed to work on himself now.

Besides, there were spirit stones to be won!

Sui Sui really wanted those spirit stones and had already set his sights on reaching at least the top ten. It might be an ambitious goal given his current abilities, but that was all the more reason to work hard. Two months might not seem like much time, but if he practiced diligently every day, surely he could make some progress.

Sui Sui was just beginning to drift off when a faint sound suddenly interrupted his drowsiness.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

He stirred slightly, his eyelids lifting as he tried to identify the source. However, after glancing around the dimly lit room and finding nothing unusual, he assumed he had simply imagined it. With a sleepy sigh, he closed his eyes again.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

There it was again.

This time, Sui Sui opened his eyes more fully and turned his head. His gaze first landed on the small bed beside his own, where the bald bird was still curled up, sleeping soundly without the slightest indication that it had heard anything. If it wasn’t the bird, then who was making that noise?

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound came from the direction of the window.

Sui Sui pushed himself up and looked over. A faint shadow seemed to be moving just beyond the window, its outline barely visible in the darkness. Curious, he slipped out of bed and padded over before carefully opening it.

The moment he looked outside, his eyes widened in surprise.

Standing beyond the window was MuMu, its round little face turned toward him. Its usual bright eyes were now slightly reddened, and the moment their gazes met, the little spirit beast immediately rushed forward.

"Waaah! Sui Sui! Why haven’t you come to get MuMu? It’s been so many days!"

MuMu threw itself into Sui Sui’s arms, wrapping its little paws around him as though afraid he might disappear again. Its voice was thick with grievance, and before Sui Sui could even ask what had happened, it buried its face against his chest.

"Wuu... Wuuu... Does Sui Sui not like MuMu anymore? Is it because MuMu couldn’t help you when you were in danger? Is that why you haven’t come to see MuMu?"

As MuMu spoke, Sui Sui felt something damp against his clothes. He lowered his head and saw that the little creature’s face was already wet with tears. Its small shoulders trembled as it clung to him, looking utterly miserable.

Sui Sui was caught between laughing and feeling sorry for it. He hadn’t expected MuMu to be so upset over something like this, much less to have convinced itself that he no longer liked it.

He gently patted its back, trying to soothe the little creature before it worked itself into an even bigger fit of tears.

"Where did you get that idea? Who said I don’t like you, ah?"

"It’s because Sui Sui hasn’t come to see MuMu these past few days! Even Master Poker Face has left to take care of some work, so MuMu has been all alone in the herb garden. And... and I’ve already eaten everything! Wuuu..."

Hearing this, Sui Sui couldn’t help wondering whether MuMu had come because it genuinely missed him or simply because it had run out of snacks. After all, the little creature seemed particularly distressed about the last part. Still, seeing its reddened eyes and pitiful expression, he couldn’t bring himself to tease it. Besides, it was partly his fault for not visiting sooner.

"Don’t overthink it, ba. I’ve just been a little busy lately. Master told me to take some time to rest and specifically asked me not to visit the herb garden for a while." Sui Sui gently stroked MuMu’s back as he explained. "Besides, you told me before that you wanted to stay with Master, so I thought I’d let you keep him company. I just didn’t expect Master to leave as well. He never mentioned that he was going anywhere."

"Really?" MuMu lifted its head from Sui Sui’s chest. Its eyes were still red, but at least it had stopped crying. It looked up at him with a trace of uncertainty. "You didn’t replace MuMu with another spirit beast, did you?"

"Really, ah!" Sui Sui assured it, giving its little head another gentle pat.

However, before Sui Sui could say anything more, a familiar, high-pitched voice suddenly sounded from behind them.

"Ehem! Could you two keep it down? This Venerable can’t get any sleep with all that noise!"

Sui Sui turned toward the sound and found that the bald bird had finally woken up. It was sitting on its little bed, its few remaining feathers sticking out in every direction as it regarded them with obvious displeasure.

However, before Sui Sui could respond, MuMu noticed the bird as well. Its eyes widened, and the little creature immediately burst into tears again.

"Waaah! Sui Sui, you liar! You clearly told MuMu you didn’t have another pet! Then what is this thing? It’s so ugly, and you still keep it!"

The moment Sui Sui heard MuMu call the bird ugly, a bad feeling crept into his heart.

Oh no. Not again.

He hurriedly glanced toward the bird, only to find its expression already darkening. Its few remaining feathers puffed up, and its beady eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Hah? Who are you calling ugly, you little beast?" the bird snapped, practically bristling with indignation. "You’d better take a good look at yourself before insulting me! This Venerable is the most beautiful creature in this land. It is already your good fortune to lay eyes on me, yet you dare complain? Come here, and I’ll fry you!"

"Humph! No! You’re ugly! You’re bald, and you’re nowhere near as cute as MuMu!" MuMu protested, clearly unwilling to back down. It tightened its little paws around Sui Sui and lifted its head proudly, as though presenting itself for comparison. "Sui Sui, MuMu is much better, right? MuMu is plump and soft, so much nicer to hug! And look at MuMu’s wings! They’re much prettier than yours. You’re just a skinny little bird. There’s nothing nice to hug at all!"

"You-you-you little brat!" The bird’s feathers practically stood on end as it flapped its wings in fury. Its beady eyes burned with indignation, and it looked ready to launch itself at MuMu. "Come here! I’ll burn you to a crisp! Let’s see if you’re still so plump after I’ve roasted you!"

"Look, Sui Sui! He’s so fierce! He’s not nearly as well-behaved as MuMu!" MuMu complained, then deliberately shrank back against Sui Sui’s chest, pretending to be frightened. It even peeked at the bird from behind his arm, as though the sight of it had left it terribly shaken, but in the corner it showed a funny face to the bird.

"Hah? Why would this Venerable need to curry favor with a mere human? All of you are beneath me!" the bird retorted, puffing out its chest as though that settled the matter.

Seeing that the two were genuinely on the verge of a fight, Sui Sui hurriedly stepped in before things could get any worse.

"Alright, alright! Please don’t fight, Senior, I’ll apologize on MuMu’s behalf." He turned toward the little creature in his arms and gently patted its head. "And MuMu, it’s not nice to make fun of someone just because of their appearance, okay?"

Unfortunately, neither of them seemed particularly willing to back down. The bird continued grumbling about MuMu’s disrespect, while MuMu clung to Sui Sui and occasionally shot the bird an indignant look. Sui Sui had to spend quite some time coaxing them both, even promising them a few things in return before they finally agreed to stop arguing.

By the time peace was restored, Sui Sui felt utterly exhausted. He looked from the bald bird to the fluffy little creature in his arms and couldn’t help wondering how he had ended up in this situation.

It was just like raising two children.

After finally appeasing the two, Sui Sui began thinking that since the bird would be staying with him for a while, it might be a good idea for it to get acquainted with MuMu. At the very least, if they were going to share the same room, they should know who the other was.

"Uhh... Senior, this is my spirit beast. He’s called MuMu. Please don’t mind his behavior. He’s still young, and I’ll make sure to teach him properly."

Sui Sui introduced the little creature in his arms before turning to MuMu.

"MuMu, this is Senior... Uhhh?" He paused halfway through the introduction.

Only then did Sui Sui realize that, despite having spent so much time with the bird, he hadn’t actually asked for its name. He couldn’t very well keep calling it ’the bald bird’ forever, could he?

The bird seemed to notice his predicament. It immediately straightened its posture, puffed out its chest, and took a few proud steps forward, clearly preparing to make an announcement.

"Hmph! This Venerable is called Feng Lingxiao. You’d better remember it, kid!" it declared, its voice brimming with pride. It even raised its head slightly, apparently expecting some sort of reaction to its illustrious name.

Unfortunately, the response it received was rather underwhelming.

Sui Sui merely blinked at it, while MuMu continued staring without showing any particular interest. Neither of them seemed to recognize the name, much less understand why it deserved such a grand introduction.

Truthfully, Sui Sui had never heard of Feng Lingxiao before. Not in this life, nor in the novel he had read. Naturally, he had no idea who this bird was supposed to be, so he couldn’t exactly react as expected.

Noticing the slightly awkward silence, Sui Sui quickly picked up where he had left off.

"Well, this is Senior Feng. He’s helped me before, so you can consider him one of my benefactors."

Although his help wasn’t exactly free...

With the introductions finally out of the way, the two spirit beasts had at least become acquainted. Whether they would actually get along was another matter. Judging by their earlier argument, Sui Sui wasn’t particularly optimistic about their chances.

Since the bird had taken over MuMu’s little bed, MuMu insisted on sleeping with Sui Sui instead. It happily nestled into his arms, then turned toward the bird and gave it a smug, triumphant look.

The bird merely rolled its eyes, clearly finding the little creature’s behavior beneath its dignity.

After all the commotion, the room finally settled into silence. MuMu soon curled up comfortably beside Sui Sui, while the bird returned to its own corner. Before long, everyone had drifted off to sleep.