Bai Xiaochun stood in the middle of the crowd, somewhat stunned. The surrounding disciples were getting worked up into a frenzy, and he felt like a cold wind was blowing down his spine.
However, he still wasn’t willing to give up. Even just thinking about the hunger caused from cultivating the Undying Live Forever Technique caused sweat to bead up on his forehead. His mind raced as he tried to come up with ideas, and a moment later, his eyes lit up. Suddenly, he slapped his chest and projected his voice through the crowd.
“Elder Sister Zhou, I, Bai Xiaochun, will definitely accomplish this mission, even if I have to climb a mountain of blades or swim to the bottom of a vat of boiling oil. I will catch this chicken thief!” His piercing voice couldn’t be missed, and as he spoke, he shouldered his way forward to stand at the front of the crowd.
The way he made his entrance caused numerous eyes to fall upon him, as did the way he loudly slapped his own chest. Even Zhou Xinqi’s fans felt a bit overwhelmed, and Zhou Xinqi herself couldn’t help but look over at him.
Seeing how much her fellow disciples supported her caused a smile to break out on Zhou Xinqi’s face. She nodded slightly, and was just turning to leave when all of a sudden, Bai Xiaochun’s piercing voice once again weighed down onto the crowd.
“Elder Sister Zhou, I have a suggestion. Why don’t we form a chicken thief task force? If we work together, it will make it much easier to catch this vile traitor, and protect the Peak Lord’s Spirit Tail Chickens!” From the righteous tone of Bai Xiaochun’s voice, it seemed that he was willing to spare no effort to accomplish the mission set forth by Elder Sister Zhou.
Zhou Xinqi stared in shock. As for the rest of the crowd, quite a few of them thought it was a good idea and began to voice their approval.
“Good idea,” someone said. “However, cultivation is still our main priority, so the matter must be voluntary.” Zhou Xinqi looked over at Bai Xiaochun once more. In her opinion, this Junior Brother of hers was not only fair and pure, he seemed inherently charming. Furthermore, he appeared to be piously devoted to her, which left her with a very favorable impression. Nodding, she gave him a smile.
“Since the idea was put forth by this zealous Junior Brother, I suggest that he form the chicken thief task force. Take these ten silk bands to use as tokens of identification for the task force members.” With that, she produced ten bands of blue silk from within her bag of holding. With the wave of a hand, she sent them flying toward Bai Xiaochun, where they landed in his hand.
“Don’t worry, Elder Sister, I’ll handle everything!” He stood there with silk bands in hand, looking prouder than ever. In fact, he looked like he would yield to no one when it came to the Peak Lord’s chickens, and would even be willing to sacrifice his life for the cause.
Zhou Xinqi’s eyes glowed with admiration, and she couldn’t help but muse that there were very few responsible Junior Brothers like this in the sect. Taking one last look at Bai Xiaochun’s charming appearance, she turned and left.
Zhou Xinqi’s fans were not happy to suddenly see her and Bai Xiaochun on good terms. Furthermore, they also regretted not winning her favor in such a fawning way themselves.
After Zhou Xinqi left, the disciples from the spirit fowl farm also left, thanking the crowd profusely in the process. They especially expressed thanks to Bai Xiaochun, who stood there, chest puffed up as he cursed the chicken thief. Then, he organized the chicken thief task force, filling it with other disciples whose cultivation bases did not exceed his.
Finally, Bai Xiaochun hurried away, wiping the sweat from his brow. Sighing, he thought,
“That was a close one. I almost lost access to my food source. It’s a good thing you’re so clever and quick-witted, Bai Xiaochun. Heh heh.” Having reached this point in his train of thought, Bai Xiaochun felt very pleased with himself. Humming a little tune, he headed once again in the direction of his courtyard residence. Back in the courtyard, the Spiritwinter Bamboo in the spirit field was growing frighteningly high. It was now three meters high, thicker than his calf, and shocking in appearance.
That night, when dark clouds filled the sky and everything was pitch black, Bai Xiaochun sat there with his eyes wide open, licking his lips.
“The night is dark, and I’m feeling hungry yet again….”
—–
Note from Deathblade: As luck would have it, just a couple days ago, Er Gen released a new depiction of Zhou Xingqi. Here it is:
http://i.imgur.com/Pb6Hasjl.jpg
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Chapter
23: The Chicken-Thieving Fiend
It was late at night, and Fragrant Cloud Peak was blanketed in darkness. If you held your hand out in front of you, you wouldn’t even be able to see your fingers. Other than the whispering wind, everything was peaceful and quiet. Not even a peep could be heard coming from the birds and beasts.
Bai Xiaochun hurried through the darkness, Zhou Xinqi’s silk bank tied around his arm, following the path that led to one of the Spirit Tail Chicken farms. As he sped along, he would occasionally duck into a nearby thicket and proceed along in concealment.
Soon, the Spirit Tail Chicken farm came into view up ahead. Most of the chickens were asleep, although a few were walking about to and fro. There was even one chicken in particular which was strolling in Bai Xiaochun’s direction.
He crouched there in the thicket, licking his lips until the Spirit Tail Chicken neared the fence. Just as he was pulling out his bamboo cicada, his heart flip-flopped, and a look of vigilance filled his eyes.
At the same time, shouting could be heard from behind him as numerous figures charged toward him through the night. They even had flame globes which cast radiant light out into the night.
“Damned chicken thief! Finally you show your face!”
“We’ve been waiting for you here for days! Now we’ve got you surrounded, let’s see how you try to escape!” As the cries echoed out, eight figures closed in on Bai Xiaochun, completely surrounding him.
These were the disciples in charge of taking care of the chickens. Even after days of painstakingly laying in wait, they had never imagined that today would be the day when everything paid off. Their hearts were filled with righteous ardor as they prepared to immediately execute justice upon the chicken thief.
When their words rang out, Bai Xiaochun looked shocked at first. But then he looked up in thought for a moment and let out a cold snort.
“Shut up, you people!” he said. “Keep it down!” His words were spoken without the slightest politeness, as if justice were on his side. He did nothing to attempt to flee, but instead, arrogantly rose to his feet, making sure that the silk band on his arm was clearly visible.
“See that?!” he asked. “I’m the captain of the chicken thief task force.” Brow furrowed, he looked around at the eight disciples, clearly displeased.
This sudden development caused the eight interlopers to stare in shock. Some of these disciples had seen Bai Xiaochun earlier in the day. After examining him a bit closer, they started to hesitate.
One of the disciples seemed a bit skeptical about the situation. “Oh, it’s Junior Brother Bai. Well… what are you doing here so late at night, huh?”
His words caused the other disciples to stare suspiciously at Bai Xiaochun.