The sky was black as the thunder roared and winds flew chaotically at a small town . The townspeople huddled in their homes, not daring to step foot into the mighty storm . Yet in the far west, the door was open as one man entered the tall courtyard, his hair and robes fluttering madly within the whistling wind as bamboo leaves swirled in the air .

“The weather…turned bad . His lips curved as he tilted his head to the sky, black clouds allowing only a hint of silver light as it slowly disappeared among the landscape outside of the small town . “Things… have changed . ”

The next day, Xing Yun, dressed in azure scholar robes, walked through the noisy road as street vendors constantly called out as they struggled to sell their products . Among those, one seemed to ring out exceptionally clear . “Selling young chickens!! Very fat!” His feet moved to a stop as he turned and walked to the direction of the booth . Soon, chickens appeared before him in crowded nests, and within them, one stuck out like a sore thumb . The pure white, featherless chicken looked unhealthy, it’s head bowed low as if it going to die any second . Somehow though, it seemed as if it had a proud and lively sprit within it . Xing Yun stared intently at it, before breaking out into a wide smile, saying, “I want this one,”

The shop-keeper took one look before shouting, “Ah! This chicken is far too ugly! I will give you a small discount for this one . ”

“No need . ” Xing Yun dug out the money from his pocket to give to the vendor, “She’s worth it . If I pay too little, she’ll surely get angry . ”

The shopkeeper stared blankly, “The chicken will get angry?” He touched his head as he watched the young man depart before shaking his head to count the coins . His eyes widened as he looked down at his palm, where they laid .

“Ah! You didn’t give me enough money for the chicken!! Oy, kid!! Wait!” He yelled loudly at Xing Yun, “Ai yah!!! Mischievous bastard!” .

But alas, Xing Yun could already not be seen .

Shen Li felt as if she had just opened her eyes for the first time; This world was truly chaotic and turbulent . Blinking, she stared at the hunter; Sturdy, with a stubble on his fac- Ah! Xing Yun hauled Chen Li up painfully, a wicked smile on his face as evil laughter exploded out of him .

“You must have guts as big as the sky, let go of this king!!!” Shen Li glared venomously at Xing Yun as her skin burned with pain . Shen Li struggled relentlessly as she tried her best to escape . But her strength was too weak, and despite her best efforts, she was still clutched tightly by her wing and then he…

Plucked all her feathers out!!

Hateful!! Shen Li swore to herself; When she gets out, she will surely poke out his dog eyes!!!

(TL Note: This was how she got featherless, or how I believe anyways . This isn’t the man that bought her just now . )

Shen Li woke up panting . A nightmare? Shaking her head, Shen Li lifted her head from the soft grass to peer at her surroundings . It looked as if it was someone’s courtyard . Stone steps led up to a small pond as budding grapevines twirled around . Near it, laid a bamboo rocking chair, and in it, was a sleeping man . That man didn’t seem to be strong or dangerous, like a hunter, nor did he seem gruff and indecent like that chicken trader . Rather, he was a pale, slender man in azure robes . His eyes laid closed as pockets of sunlight fell on his body .

Shen Li is not a shy, naive maiden, and has admittedly seen men even more good looking than this . However, even in the world of immortals, men of such grace was truly rare . However, Shen Li forced herself to look away; Now was not the time to admire men . She knew that if she stayed in a single place for too long, she will surely be found . She had to go, quickly .

“Ah! He got up!” Shen Li had still not even gotten up, yet the young man was already awake .

“Oh? I thought it was going to die,” The man sounded . Shen Li turned her head to look at him to see the man sitting on the rocking chair, a piece on mantou in hand . Even though her body didn’t move, he smiled at her before throwing the crumbs of his Mantou1 near her . He then made some funny noises, almost chirping like a chicken, as if to coax her into eating .

… . What? Is he playing with her?

In that moment, the surrounding air seemed to have gone several degrees colder .

Although her original body was that of a phoenix, she was born in a mortal form . From young, she was loved and respected by everybody . At 500 years old, she fought a grand battle and won an achievement from the emperor himself . She was then crowned the “Azure Sky King” . Since then, her fame and prestige has only risen more, yet today, she was belittled and treated as a chicken by a mere regular mortal?!?

Shen Li fought to stand up, however, she did not expect the sword that she’d been stabbed with would be bothersome to the point where she couldn’t even more! As such, she laid on the floor, resentment flowing through her features . She could only turn her head to look at the man, who then smiled and gestured with his hands, “Chicken, here!”

Chicken your uncle! Shen Li was furious, forcing herself again and again to get up . When she finally succeeded, she hopped slowly towards the man, anger in her ey- THUMP!!! Only to fall after not even one foot, her beak landing coincidentally into the mantou .

Seeing this, the man smiled . “Slowly, slowly! There is still more . ” He then entered the residence, appearing again with another mantou in his hands . Squatting down in front of her, he gave her a gentle smile and said, “Here . ”

Who wants your bread! However, she needed to regain her strength as soon as possible . She dug a hole with her beak and stuffed her head inside . Why couldn’t’ that man just bury himself and die!

The man just stared at her bald head, a smile on his lips then said, “If you do not want to eat it then, taking a bath now is good too . ” He plucked her up by her two wings and immediately walked over to the side of the pool .

Ah- Wait, wait! Do what? A bath?!?? Who wants to take a bath! Hateful! Release this King! This king hair is precious! To damage a single one is to punish their family for 19 generations2! A-a h-h-hair… .

Shen Li stared at her reflection- Not a single hair… really not a single hair left…… .

That day when she was stabbed, she had fell into the forest . A hunter had picked her up . She knew that golden hairs were pried off, but she never imagined that all of them were pulled off! What can she do! The water will be so hot, and from top to toe, there is not a single hair! Not one! What will she do! Shen Li felt her face stream with tears . She suddenly remembered a few days ago, in the royal court, she was laughing at one of the balding officials! She was confused, not understanding why he would be so upset, and laughed at him . Yet now, it was like she was slapping her own face! This must have been Karma for that day .

“Go bathe . ” Without waiting for Shen Li to protest, he suddenly threw her straight into the pond .

Choking, she quickly coughed out water as her will to live surged him . She flapped her featherless wings quickly, flopping madly against the water . The man was still laughing, but when she saw her gasping for breath, he let out a worried frown . “You cannot swim?”

Can your chicken’s swim?! Do you really not have the slightest common sense?

Critically injured, no strength, such torment, she really did not think that she could survive . She thought that today, she would die at the hands of a mortal . A long stick of bamboo quickly swept to her, roughly bringing her to shore . She let out a groan, and the man quickly squatted, his hands pushing down at her bare breast . “Quickly breathe!! If you do not, you may not survive . ”

Her soaked body convulsed violently, her eyes rolling as she fainted . Her last thought was- How lecherous! This man must be doing this on purpose!

Xing Yun watched with a faint smile as Chen Li fainted, poking her forehead gently . “Ah, how impolite . My name is Xing Yun, not just a random man . ”

On the second day, Chen Li woke up to see Xing Yun feeding mantou to the fish . He seemed to treasure that pond of fish very much, not even caring that his sleeve was soaked . Under the soft glow of the dawn light, he looked as if he was someone that had transcended from the immortal world .

Was he truly just a mere mortal?

Suddenly, all of her memories came flooding back . This was the very man who had dunked her into the water, and almost killed her! She narrowed her eyes and stared at him intently until her eyes misted, tracking his every movement . Xing Yun turned around casually and said lightly, “My name is Xing Yun . ” He then proceeded to dust his shoulders, readjusted his robe, and started shaking his feet that had long since gone numb from siting . He muttered, “It’s time for my medicine . ” Before walking back inside, his posture not even straight .

Chen Li shook her head; She was certain that something must have been wrong with her brains back then . There was no way that this guy could be anything but a mere mortal . No matter how she looked, she could only describe him with one word; Ordinary .

Not bothering to think more on the topic due to a more pressing crisis at hand, Chen Li tried to move her body, amazed to find that her body had by far exceeded her own expectations . Her self-recovery seems to be currently far better than yesterday’s, despite the torment she was put through .

Chen Li chose not to think deeply about that, instead choosing to take a deep breath and check her spirit power, only to find none . She sighed, it seems that spirit power is really much harder to recover as compared to physical strength . Although her lack of spirit power may be able to hide her from the Demon World’s Underground Palace, that came with a heavy price . She knew that in her current situation, the Demon Emperor will inevitably find her . When he does, if her spirit power still hasn’t returned, she would not be able to raise a single finger in defense .

“Big brother, come . ”

Chen Li was thinking, when a voice called out suddenly behind her . She turned to find Xing Yun, dressed again in an azure robe, mantou in hand . “Eat a bit . ”

Chen Li was about to coldly ignore him, but then she remembered yesterday’s “crime” of refusing to eat which resulted in a cold bath! Her body stiffened as she hesitated before taking a small bite at her end . Her pride took a large blow as she retracted her neck, not daring to walk in front of him superiorly as before .

Chen Li noticed a faint herbal scent coming from his robes . This time, Chen Li looked at his face in total concentration . His face was pale, lips were white, and his eyes had dark circles, looking very uncomfortable .

Great! Chen Li was very worried that this mortal would spread rumors about her, Chen Li being unbearably ugly . However, if he was going to die soon, then there would be no need to fear a man who could take this secret to his grave! To others, she would still be the grand, majestic, and beautiful Azure Sky King! Her heart felt relieved as she discarded her pride and took a big bite out of the mantou! Chen Li’s eyes lit up; Why, mantou can actually be so delicious?!

Before Xing Yun could react, Chen Li snatched the mantou, and devoured it in a few huge bites!!

As a Phoenix, Chen Li obviously had no need for food or water to survive . However, Chen Li always liked eating meat, and has never touched any bread before in her whole life!

She picked the mantou completely clean, not even leaving a single crumb . Finally, Chen Li lifted her head up to stare at Xing Yun . She was surprised to find him looking at her with gentle eyes and a happy smile, as he lifted his hands to pat her head . What she does not realize, however, is that for a pet, this is all completely normal . When the hand reached her head, her heart rate shot up, and she quickly stuffed her head inside her wing .

Whenever she was with others, she was always respected and her generals were always near her side . Even if she is just a few steps away from a man, he would begin to shiver uncontrollably, so who would dare to look at her straight in the eye? However, her heart beat immediately calmed down; After all, she had seen many handsome royals and princes throughout the ages . She quickly brought out her head, before impolitely rapping Xing Yun’s knee with her bare wings and her pecked her beak .

“Oh? You want another?” Xing Yun smiled, “Not today, I have only made that much . “

Xing Yun suddenly got up and entered the house . Chen Li was confused slightly before hastily following him inside . Really arrogant, to actually believe she would want another! Give him an inch, and he’ll take a foot!

She ran behind Xing Yun’s feet, but she was too weak now . Thus she could only helplessly watch as Xing Yun left, carrying a big bag . He pushed open the door to leave, only saying; “Big brother, watch the house . After I sell the body in the back, I’ll return . ”

Gah! How could he just leave her alone her with nothing but a watchdog?!? This isn’t right . But Chen Li could do nothing but watch his figure fade as the door swings close; Wait, he said sell what?

Chen Li shook her head, and turned to walk back to the courtyard . The sun was on such an angle that made the grapevines glisten beautifully as they bud, shaking ever so slightly . Chen Li felt almost addicted to the beautiful scene and warmth as she was covered with the warm glistening rays of sunshine . Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard a murmur and the sound of movement .

Instincts trained by years of battle, Chen Li was instantly alerted . She opened her eyes and stared piercingly at the location of the sound . A young girl-by the looks of it, a commoner, trying to scale the tall wall leading to the courtyard . She looked around in worry, as she clumsily pulled herself up before anxiously looking down at the ground, not understanding how to get down . She then fell, landing with an ompff .

Chen Li couldn’t help but remark; Such a strong fall! Such a dumb thief, not even able to know how to steal before trying to steal!

The girl rubbed her painful bum before going inside the house and retreated into the kitchen . Finding the brooms and rags, she silently began to clean up the packed house . She began to wipe the table, but when she began, tears started falling down, and finally she just laid down on the table and started crying loudly .

Chen Li struggled to hear what the girl said, barely catching anything but sobbing, the longest line probably just “never see a” and things like that . Chen Li was surprised to find that she was finally done crying . She quickly wanted to turn away .

She had been too focused on watching trying to listen to what that girl was muttering than finding a place to hide . As such, she ended up in her current predicament, face to face with the crying girl . As they eyed each other warily, Chen Li couldn’t help but reminded herself that she really should only mind her own business in the future when the girl finally broke the silence .

“Ai, Brother Xing, really? You plucked the chicken, and now it’s running free? You can easily get a delicious meal just by making stew with it . ” She wiped her tears with her hands, and said, “You can be considered as the last meal of farewell I shall make for him . ”

Meal your uncle! Who are you to dare and try to make a meal out of me?!?! Chen Li was shocked to see her actually get out a stew pot and say, “Ai, you really are so filthy that I could die, running around the house like that!”

Chen Li really wished she could just spray paint herself with faeces and just let her die like that!

Chen Li’s current physical strength still isn’t all that good, but the girl was just too stupid as well! She used a variety of techniques to catch her, but Chen Li always managed to somehow run away . Seeing this, the girl began to become infuriated . It really seems like this little girl wants to play hard ball eh?!? Chen Li wanted to use her wings, but they were plucked bare and were incredibly difficult . In addition to that, just how easy did it seem to do that whilst running away from a mad woman?!?!

Chapter 3

The courtyard was built really well, to the point that when Chen Li searched for a gap to hide in, she couldn’t find so much of a crack!

Chen Li has never felt so frustrated or angry . She suddenly made a blood oath; If today, she gets made into chicken stew, she will degrade to a vengeful ghost and haunt heaven for 99 days and 99 nights to the point where they spit blood out of madness . If it wasn’t more them, would she be in such a disgraceful situati-

Before Chen Li could finish her thoughts, an unbearable pain shot through her wings . What happened?!? Panicked, she twisted her head around to see that the commoner girl had clutched both of her wings, leaving her helpless!! Chen Li’s legs ran madly, but alas, she was not free from the girl’s painful grip .

“Such an unpleasant chick, won’t you see how I deal with you!” The girl walked angrily to the kitchen, grabbing something .

Chen Li felt as if her bones were about to tear apart from pain! Bam! Chen Li was slammed onto the cutting board, the girl brandishing the knife above her . Suddenly, Chen Li felt the atmosphere between life and death, the one of a battle . She saw herself once again in the battle field, majestically brandishing her silver long spear . This feeling… had she really become so weak?

“Oh? What’s happening, and why are you here?”

A male voice sounded . In this moment between life and death, Chen Li struggled to turn her head to stare at Xing Yun . The sun coiled around him, looking as if he was an angel, a merciful savior . But in that moment, the knife chopped down, blocking her view .

The girl raised her hands in a defensive posture, and blushed . “X-Xing Yun, uh I just wanted to see you, and wanted to make some stew with the plucked chicken . If the chicken isn’t dead, it won’t taste good in the stew . ”

Chen Li could not even move a claw, completely defenseless . In today’s fight, she had drained all of her strength . She couldn’t help but think- Today, she is dead .

“This chicken cannot be eaten . ” Chen Li was dragged into a pair of warm arms, the scent of medicinal herbs in the air . This smell is really quite good…

“Ah… I apologize… . I just wanted to leave you something before I left . ” The girl twisted her fingers out of nervousness as she spoke in a trembling voice; “Tomorrow, I will be learning business in the far south with my father… I may not c-come back… III-I might never see Brother Xing again!

“Oh? You say you leave me, yet I have never even laid eyes on you . ” The male in question replied rather coldly . The girl’s cheeks were red and eyes bloodshot as she cried . “No! I still saw you every day, looking from behind the walls! Everyday… . ” She looked so pitiful that even Chen li could almost not help but not blame her .

“Ah? Too sad, too sad . I have not once seen you before . ”

Chen Li stared at him in shock, speechless . Was this really him saying this? Even adding such venom into his words!! On top of that, Xing Yun was even smiling!

The girl’s face was deathly pale, staring at Xing Yun in disbelief . “Have you not come to beg for forgiveness or something? Well then I’m sorry, but I have nothing to give you . ”

“No…” She clutched her chest painfully as she staggered away, stuttering . “N-No Need…”

Xing Yun only waved, a calm smile still on his face . Like nothing had just happened, he put Chen Li down and picked up the kitchenware . “Well then, what to eat for dinner today?”

Chen Li, who was still on the floor, saw the girl loitering by the door, apparently still indigent about leaving . In the end, she simply just wiped her nose and buried her head in her arms . Chen Li sighed . This girl, although she is very stupid, and terribly stubborn, her heart is still whole and pure . Chen Li really could not understand the affairs between mortal heats .

The pots and pans clanged loudly when Xing Yun suddenly spoke; “What business can I get?”

Chen Li was completely confused- What business do you need, just sell your body to me! She thought in her mind . Was he talking to her?

“Ah!” Xing Yun smiled, then sighed, before shaking his head . “ I just asked you, a chicken a question . So how could you understand my intentions, and even reply back?” He squatted down and stared at Chen Li in the eye . “Sell my body to you how?”

Chen Li is stunned- How?!? Is this guy really talking to her? How did he know? Did he know from the moment he bought her? She was filled was questions as she stared at Xing Yun, eyes wide . Was this guy, in fact, simply playing with her ever since he had bought her?!?

Xing Yun smiled slightly .

“Yes I was playing with you . ”

Chen Li didn’t move a muscle, forcing herself to stay calm amidst the provocation .

“Also, my name is Xing Yun, not “this guy”, and again, how would I sell myself?”

Pretending to sell himself… . binding her… . Teasing her… Is he not just simply destroying her pride?!? Does he really have no morality?!

“Teasing you, binding you, were they really such terrible things? Well anyway, it disciplines you . ” He gently poked Chen Li’s head, like he was trying to comfort her before standing up and continuing to cook .

Chen Li imminently stood up and struggled to climb over the tall courtyard walls . She must find another place to slowly recover, or she will most likely die in this man’s hands before she could do a single thing!!

After a long, tiring climb, Chen Li had reached the front yard . However, she was so tired that she couldn’t even stand up, but only crawl . The door way out was just so close, yet no matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t reach it at all! The dreary, sunset glow sat on her, making her look very pitiful . At this time, Xing Yun called out, “Come to eat!!” He walked over to Chen Li, picking her up by the wings before returning her again in the courtyard in front of a bowl of Risitto .

Too tired… Chen Li couldn’t even lift her head up, choosing instead to simply fall asleep under the moonlight, surrounded by grapevines .

In this time, she had a dream . She was once again in her human form, lying under gorgeous grapevines as dewy moonlight fell on her jade like skin . In the cold, she could not help but curl up, shivering . Almost magically, a blanket, seemingly from the heavens fell down upon her, followed by warmth and a medicinal scent . She cuddled with blanket as she fell into a deep sleep .

Xing Yun gently swept a blanket on her as he sat down beside her loose dark hair and soft face . “Soft hair… Beauitiful face… Really not a bad looking girl .