Imperial Weight Chapter 3
Translated by Sylver (ko-fi)
Chapter 3
After the morning court session ended, Xingyi went to the armory and secluded himself. He only emerged when the moon first rose. He was accustomed to being alone, and as someone who had fought his way through the Ancient God Battlefield, he had no need for celestial maidens to attend him. The people in his palace were merely responsible for lighting lamps, delivering meals, and tending the gardens. On ordinary days, the closest people to him were only the two Xing Lords, Qishu and Tanlang.
He could always see external objects clearly even with his eyes closed, but after seeing the moon rise, he still lit a lamp. The lamplight and moonlight reflected each other from afar, casting a human shadow.
When Xingyi entered the bedchamber, the first thing he saw was the large hole that the little phoenix had drilled through the window paper during the day—perfectly fitted, shaped like a sphere. Even if one were to draw it with a compass and ruler, it might not be this round.
The room was silent. It seemed that bird had indeed left.
Xingyi thought to himself that heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers all have their proper place, which in any case would not be in Fuli Palace.
After bathing and washing up, he was about to undress and go to bed. Just as his head touched the soft pillow, he felt something wasn't quite right—his pillow was filled with jade shavings inside, stuffed with dried Jiangli flowers on the outside. At this moment, the left side of his pillow bulged slightly, somewhat swollen, and that small area was also slightly damp.
Xingyi turned his head to look and saw a small fat bird pressed under the pillow, along with a pair of shiny little bean-like eyes.
The little phoenix greeted him. "Chirp."
He froze for a moment, then used two fingers to drag the little phoenix out—the little phoenix's feathers were still dripping wet with water, his entire body weighed down by water droplets that made all his feathers stick to his round, plump bird body. With the feathers damp and not fluffy, he actually looked a size smaller than what he'd seen during the day.
Xingyi asked, "Are you using my pillow to dry yourself?"
Don't birds shake their feathers after bathing themselves?
This little fat bird's feathers were all flattened—clearly a foolish bird indeed.
The little phoenix stared at him with big eyes for a while. Xingyi said, "Go back, little fat bird. I won't keep you."
Hearing this, the little phoenix flapped his wings and crouched in front of the hole in the window paper, puffing out his chest and pulling in his belly, trying hard to make himself smaller. The hole looked about a size larger than his current waterlogged appearance.
"Look, I've lost weight. I'm not a little fat bird," the little phoenix said, his eyes full of confidence. Fearing that Xingyi would think he harbored ill intentions, he continued to disguise himself as a bird with low cultivation and insisted on not speaking human language. To Xingyi's ears, this sounded like mere chirping, but somehow he miraculously understood this meaning.
Xingyi looked at the little phoenix's waterlogged appearance as he tried hard to shrink himself, and was silent for a moment. "You're genuinely fat, not because of plump plumage. Even if you wet your feathers and flatten yourself a bit, you're still fat."
The little phoenix shifted slightly, his claws gripping the windowsill, still staring at him with full concentration.
Only then did Xingyi finally notice the small bundle that had rolled onto the floor—made of silk cloth, the shabby textile material commonly used in the mortal realm, though the stitching patterns on it were quite tight and solid, embroidered with a tiny spring jasmine flower.
Such a small bundle probably only contained a storage ring inside. Xingyi raised his hand and turned it gently, and the storage ring floated up into the air. He checked the contents: a honey peach, a pile of dried wheat grains, and—falling from the sky, nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine thick and broad talismans that scattered with a whoosh, directly burying Xingyi's entire person.
The little phoenix was startled and hurriedly rushed over to rescue him, plucking away the papers on Xingyi's body with his beak. Xingyi barely found his bearings in the pile of paper and reached out to catch him, but the little phoenix nimbly shuttled around his body, not letting him touch even a single feather.
Xingyi could only pick up one talisman to look at, furrowing his brow. "What is this? A low-level technique for transforming into human form?"
The little phoenix stopped behind him. When Xingyi turned around to grab him, he slipped away to his shoulder.
Xingyi waved his hand, and in an instant turned all these talismans into nothingness. "These things are useless. It seems you truly haven't managed to cultivate into human form."
A million spirit stones turned to ash and smoke. Before the little phoenix could feel the pain, that slender hand reached over again. He habitually tried to climb to the other side, only to be firmly caught by the other hand.
Xingyi looked down at him and asked, "Then why have you come to find me?"
The little phoenix's eyes sparkled. He nuzzled against Xingyi's hand.
"You like me?" Xingyi asked.
The little phoenix quickly nodded.
However, the next moment, he was placed back on the bed. Xingyi laughed softly, his voice indifferent. "You're not the first, nor will you be the last. Leave now. If you don't leave, you'll end up like those talismans you brought."
The little phoenix drooped his head, flapped his wings and hopped down, picking up his storage ring with his beak.
Xingyi crossed his arms and leaned against the headboard, watching him pack his bundle.
Small animals were the easiest to scare. Having reached this point, he could stop now.
The little phoenix slowly picked up the storage ring with his beak, then slowly hopped to the other side to find his blue embroidered bundle cloth. The whole bird looked rather dejected and pitiful, his snow-white feathers still not shaken dry. He tried to straighten the storage ring with his claws, then fiddled with it using his beak tip, but the more he fiddled, the more crooked it became.
The little phoenix quickly glanced at Xingyi, then continued to lower his head and slowly fiddle with it. Xingyi watched for a long while and was just about to get up when he saw the little phoenix quickly straighten it.
Then came the four corners of the bundle.
The little phoenix slowly picked up one corner with his beak, accidentally let it go, and had to lower his head to pick it up again. Half an incense stick's worth of time passed, and he finally managed to piece it together neatly with great difficulty, then began to tie the knot.
One little claw scratched at it while his beak tip pecked here and there without any method. Another half incense stick's worth of time passed, and the little phoenix finally stopped his movements, looking innocently toward Xingyi.
Xingyi: "......"
He got up from the bed, lowered his head to tie the bundle for the little phoenix, packed it neatly, then hung it around the little phoenix's neck. The little phoenix moved his neck, then suddenly let out a "chirp" and fell straight backward, writhing with his little bean eyes full of misery. Xingyi poked him with a finger, and the little phoenix intensified his act, using his wings to cover his smooth, fluffy bird neck and rolling around as if in great pain, even kicking his legs a few times for good measure.
Xingyi rubbed his temples. "Stop covering it. Being this round, can you even find your own neck?"
The little phoenix immediately stopped moving, still as a quail.
Xingyi paid him no more attention and got into bed on his own, closing his eyes to sleep. After the little phoenix observed for a long while, he flew up happily, carefully moving his neck and nestling against Xingyi's shoulder and neck.
Xingyi opened his eyes to look at him but made no comment.
The little phoenix ingratiatingly touched his face with his wingtip. "Chirp."
His call was quite different from other birds—seemingly especially coquettish and sweet, carrying an obedient milky quality with the tail note cheerfully rising. It was simply devastatingly charming.
As if finding it amusing, after staring at him for a moment, Xingyi's expression didn't change much—but his lips parted slightly, and his eyes also carried a hint of a smile.
He imitated him. "Chirp."
