Have You Met My Brother?[Comprehensive Martial Arts + Sword Three] Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Bird Talk, Bird Speak. Bai Renyu: Watch My Performance!

Was Ye Gucheng a good person? It seemed he was quite far removed from that description. But to say he wasn’t a good person felt like an insult… Regardless of what outsiders thought, it never affected Ye Gucheng himself. At this moment, the City Lord of White Cloud City showed no change in expression upon hearing the parrot squawk wildly. His gaze paused for a breath on Xie Donghai, who was lying on the beach, and then he turned and walked away.

Perhaps surprised that Ye Gucheng left so decisively, Bai Renyu tilted his head, watching the retreating figure. He hopped a few times in the sand, then stretched his throat and shouted again: “Help! Save me! Even if you’re not a good person, come and help save someone! You won’t lose out, you won’t be cheated!”

Heaven knows why such a small parrot could generate so much noise. That grating voice echoed between the vast sea and sky, making people’s heads ache. Whether it was an illusion or not, Ye Gucheng, hearing the parrot clamoring behind him once more, didn’t just fail to stop—his footsteps seemed to quicken slightly.

It wasn’t until this sole “passerby” completely vanished from sight that Xueling, the sea eagle circling in the air, suddenly ascended to a great height, almost blending with the passing white clouds, successfully concealing its massive form. Simultaneously, Bai Renyu, who had spent many years mingling with the Blade Sect disciples, cleverly sensed an ominous danger. He flapped his wings, ready to flee immediately—unfortunately, he was a step too slow.

Snap—The feigning Xie Donghai didn’t even open his eyes. His raised hand shot out, catching the parrot, who had taken the liberty of adding drama and spouting nonsense, right in the act! Ignoring Bai Renyu’s continuous cries of “Help! Someone is trying to kill a bird!”, he maintained his original prone position, lazily motionless. He simply held up the parrot, which struggled ceaselessly but couldn’t escape the grip of fate, and squinted at it, saying:

“Tell me, is steamed parrot delicious? Or is parrot stew better? Hmm… braised or stir-fried also sounds quite good?”

Since things had come to this, Bai Renyu stopped struggling. He mimicked his master’s tone and cadence, giving an answer full of survival instinct: “Wuwuwu, Little Yu doesn’t have much meat, and parrot meat is stinky and not tasty at all! Please don’t easily attempt dark cuisine!”

“Hmph!” Sensing a few strangers gradually approaching from a distance, Xie Donghai tossed Bai Renyu aside and closed his eyes again, not bothering to argue further with this incorrigible parrot. The key now was to see if he could use this method to infiltrate the city.

Several days had passed, and the spiritual energy he had absorbed still couldn’t support a complete transformation into human form. Below his waist, he still had a long, silver-blue tail, resembling both a dragon and a fish. Fortunately, he hadn’t gained nothing during these days. At least now he could use water vapor and spiritual power to cast an illusion, making others subconsciously ignore his lower body and assume that he was no different from an ordinary person, with human legs hidden beneath his robes.

Unfortunately, this illusion required a large amount of water vapor assistance and could only be used adequately at sea. It would fail once he ventured deep into the Central Plains mainland. He estimated that he couldn’t step onto the mainland anytime soon. Since there was an island here, populated by many people, he planned to first blend in as a “shipwreck victim,” aiming to understand the general situation of this world, which would facilitate his search for people later.

However… although he had long anticipated that Bai Renyu, this overly spirited parrot, would add drama to the situation, and that this drama would follow his plan without causing more trouble. But now, Xie Donghai, being carried into the city as a “patient” by a group of people, listened to the parrot’s conversation with those around him and couldn’t help but once again entertain the thought of stewing it sooner or later!

After Ye Gucheng turned and left, a group of five people—four men and one woman dressed in white—approached the man and his pet. Xie Donghai, seemingly in a deep coma, was lifted onto a stretcher by the four men. Bai Renyu naturally followed them toward the city on the island, shouting as he flew: “We’re saved! We’re saved!”

The four men were silent, but the white-clad woman trailing behind actively tried to communicate with the parrot: “Hello, can you understand what we’re saying?”

Bai Renyu didn’t just repeat the white-clad woman’s words like other parrots. He even seemed to quickly roll his eyes—the woman wasn’t sure if she had seen wrongly, only hearing him reply: “Of course I understand! Of course I understand!”

The white-clad woman stared in astonishment at the beautifully feathered parrot. Although their White Cloud City was far away in the South Sea, it was certainly not some remote backwater. On the contrary, they were quite wealthy here, having seen many strange and rare treasures and animals. Parrots that could speak human language were not uncommon; some people even kept them.

But a small parrot like the one before her, capable of direct conversation rather than mere repetition, was unheard of! Well, she couldn’t jump to conclusions yet. Perhaps the parrot’s owner had trained it well beforehand? Thus, the white-clad woman decided to say a few more words to probe. She pointed to Xie Donghai on the stretcher and asked, “Is he your master?”

In truth, Bai Renyu’s real master was Yan Bugui, but as a parrot, its gaze and expressions were completely different from humans, so no one would notice even if it lied. Therefore, it replied with an air of composure: “Yes, yes!”

The white-clad woman asked again, “Where are you from?”

As soon as she spoke, Bai Renyu seemed to have been waiting for this. It suddenly stopped on the stretcher, raised one wing to cover its eyes, and let out a “wuwuwu” cry: “Oh, Heaven! Oh, Earth! How can there be such a tragic life! My master’s family of three, living a beautiful and happy life, with a harmonious and loving family, yet they were envied by the heavens!”

He used a mournful, resentful woman’s voice for this part, then switched to a sorrowful and indignant male voice: “Alas, I happily sailed out to sea, only to encounter terrifying waves and a swirling tornado—Shocking! At that time, the sails fell, the mast broke, the ship was destroyed, and people died!”

When he reached this point, not only the white-clad woman but the other four men couldn’t help but secretly glance at Bai Renyu. Their expressions might not have been obvious, but the shock in their eyes was undeniable.

Perhaps knowing he had become the focus of everyone’s attention, Bai Renyu shook his body. Unsure how to adopt a “half-hidden face” posture, he switched to a small child’s voice, softly sobbing: “My master! You must survive! I’m still waiting for you to wake up and find the little master so our family can be reunited!”

After this brief performance by Bai Renyu, the white-clad woman was greatly shaken, but she hadn’t forgotten to continue probing. When she spoke, it was as if she were sleepwalking, her voice light and insubstantial: “You encountered a shipwreck? You have a little master? When I arrived, I thought I saw a huge sea eagle. Was it also raised by your master?”

Bai Renyu had now lowered his wing. He shivered, then sighed deeply like an elderly person: “Yes, the old master, the little master, and the little master’s brother were separated. The old master is unconscious, the little master’s fate is unknown, it truly breaks my heart! That big white eagle grew so large for nothing; when we needed it, it was useless, bah! This family would fall apart without me!”

Without waiting for the white-clad woman to respond, Bai Renyu fully utilized his advantage in speaking speed, suddenly shouting with his grating voice: “Good sister! Beautiful sister! Immortal sister! My old master’s life is entrusted to you all!”

The white-clad woman, whose ears were ringing from the sudden volume increase, paused slightly before slowly replying: “Don’t worry, we are taking your master to the medical hall now.” She truly believed now that this parrot could not be treated as ordinary, and her tone was like consulting with a normal person.

Upon hearing this, Bai Renyu “cawed” twice, seemingly expressing his delight. However, not long after, he shivered as if feeling a cold wind. He tilted his small head to look at the “old master,” who still looked so “peaceful,” and sensing a strong danger, he decided to keep his beak shut for the rest of the journey.

.

Far away in the Central Plains, Yan Bugui didn’t know that his parrot, Bai Renyu, had courted death by constantly adding drama and including excessive nonsense while revealing information, once again annoying Xie Donghai and facing the crisis of potentially being made into parrot stew by his Brother Xie. He successfully followed Guo Xiang to Junshan in Dongting—only to learn that the assembly had been repeatedly delayed and had not yet begun.

They hadn’t rushed along the way—mainly because the swordsman had to consider Guo Xiang, who was still a young girl. He couldn’t travel as roughly as he did alone, sleeping outdoors without care. Every night, they tried their best to find villages or towns to stay in, resting well and avoiding night travel.

However, despite Guo Xiang looking delicate, the girl was very resilient. She was much better than those people who were picky and troublesome during escort missions, which his fellow disciples had mentioned. She was hardly a burden.

The only regrettable thing, which was also expected, was that he still hadn’t received any news about his two brothers during this journey. To search for them, he had specially drawn two portraits—a skill Xie Donghai had taught him personally when he was in Penglai, although he had neglected it for several years after going to Wengzhou and joining the Blade Sect.

Now picking it up again, although he couldn’t perfectly render the true appearance of Xie Donghai and Liu Yuan, at least all the essential features were included. After seeing the portraits, Guo Xiang shook her head, stating she had never seen his two brothers, but at least she didn’t think his drawings were so bad that she couldn’t distinguish them.

As an aside, he had actually drawn Bai Renyu and Xueling as well. Miss Guo Er had exclaimed “Wow,” excitedly mentioning that her family also raised a pair of large eagles. If “Brother Yan” found his eagle in the future, he could bring it to her house to be friends with her two eagles and have fun.

Yan Bugui didn’t immediately give a clear answer, only saying that Xueling was much larger than many of its kind, and its personality was proud, not fond of getting close to strangers or animals. This piqued Guo Xiang’s curiosity—she wondered if “Brother Yan’s” Xueling was bigger, or if the large eagle accompanying the rumored “Condor Hero,” which was said to stand as tall as a man, was bigger?

Yan Bugui didn’t know the answer to this question. He was equally curious about the large eagle that was rumored to know martial arts, wondering if he would have a chance to meet it—of course, these were matters for later. If he truly wanted to satisfy this curiosity, he would have to wait until he found news of his two brothers.

In short, Yan Bugui and Guo Xiang arrived at their destination, Junshan, one evening. However, before they could find an inn to stay in, the swordsman unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance—”Brother Chu? Are you also here for the Beggar Gang’s Chief selection assembly?”