After a long while, Wang Zhaojun remembered that she hadn't plucked its feathers yet, nor had she washed it clean! Oh no, oh no! That was a waste of the spiritual herbs she usually couldn't bear to part with!
She hurried back inside and lifted the lid. The little bird's bright, watery eyes stared right back at her. An illusion! It must be! She quickly closed the lid, opened it again, and there it was, tilting its head to look at her.
Wang Zhaojun was puzzled. "That shouldn't be right. How is it still alive?"
Thinking the water hadn't come to a boil, she reached her hand into the pot, only to get scalded by the water.
"What on earth is going on here?" Wang Zhaojun was full of doubt.
She thought this way and that, scratching her head until it hurt, but she still couldn't figure out what was happening. She failed to notice a tall, slender figure standing at the doorway, his robes fluttering in the breeze. He frowned and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Master, when did you get back?!" Wang Zhaojun jumped in fright. Hearing the voice, she looked over to see Immortal Wuling standing at the door. Impeccably spotless, he looked completely out of place in a kitchen filled with cooking smoke.
Oh no! Didn't Master go out on a journey?
His voice was neither warm nor cold. "What's that behind your back?"
Acting on pure reflex, Wang Zhaojun quickly covered the pot. She had no idea why she was so afraid of Immortal Wuling discovering she was trying to cook a little chicken. Her lips moved, but she had no words.
Immortal Wuling frowned, his handsome brow creasing. With a wave of his long sleeve, the pot lid flew off, revealing the little bird's pitiful and innocent appearance. He flicked his sleeve and stepped forward to scoop the little bird out.
"My little chicken..." Wang Zhaojun felt her soul leave her body.
Hearing the words "little chicken," Immortal Wuling stumbled slightly. He said, "Does my disciple have any idea what the true form of this creature you call a little chicken is?"
Wang Zhaojun blinked. "Isn't it just a little chicken?"
"Its true form is a Qiwu White Phoenix." Immortal Wuling stroked the white phoenix's head.
Wang Zhaojun found this hard to believe. How did a little white rooster turn into a Little White Phoenix?! Could it still be eaten, then?
Seeming to sense Wang Zhaojun's intentions, Immortal Wuling could barely maintain his calm. He tossed the white phoenix back to her and said, "You belong to the same clan. Don't harbor any crooked ideas; raise it properly."
Wang Zhaojun nodded. Seven hundred years ago, Master had picked her up beneath a cliff. She was a fallen phoenix, and though she was over a thousand years old, she had never actually seen what a true phoenix looked like.
With that, Immortal Wuling vanished in a flash, leaving behind a few fallen peach blossoms.
Usually, her master was as elusive as a divine dragon seeing its head but not its tail, yet today he came all the way here just to stop her from eating a little chicken? She never expected the little chicken to transform into a Little White Phoenix. Wang Zhaojun blinked again, struggling to process it all.
Carrying the Little White Phoenix out of the kitchen, Wang Zhaojun instantly lost interest in it. "Why on earth do you have to be of the same clan as me?"
The Little White Phoenix was covered in the fragrance of spiritual herbs. Wang Zhaojun turned and dumped it back into the basin of water. As soon as the Little White Phoenix poked its head above the surface, Wang Zhaojun pushed it right back under, repeating the cycle over and over.
"How pitiful, running into a femme fatale like me. Little A-Li isn't here, so let's see who's going to protect you." Wang Zhaojun shook her head, feeling that the Little White Phoenix deserved much better.
"Sister Zhaojun, what are you doing?!"
Speak of the devil. Gongsun Li's voice sounded somewhat displeased. Wang Zhaojun waved her hands and awkwardly explained, "I'm just giving the Little White Phoenix a bath. A-Li, you're back."
Gongsun Li let out a breath of relief. "I thought Sister Zhaojun was abusing a little chicken."
"Wait! A Little White Phoenix?" Gongsun Li asked in surprise.
"That's right, it really gave me a fright." Wang Zhaojun fished the Little White Phoenix out of the water and hypocritically dried it off with her clothes.
"Well, since Sister Zhaojun is giving it a bath, I'll go inside to review my lessons first." Carrying a stack of books and humming a little tune, Gongsun Li went back to her room.
Wang Zhaojun nodded. After Gongsun Li left, she discontentedly grabbed the Little White Phoenix by its feathers and glared at it. "You've got nine lives, don't you? No matter what I do to you, you just won't die."
The Little White Phoenix looked at Wang Zhaojun innocently, rubbing its head against her palm as if wanting to act affectionately.
Wang Zhaojun felt a storm of mixed emotions. This Little White Phoenix was a bit slow in the head; no matter how many times she abused it, it still treated her as warmly as before.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind. Could it be that her own clan aura was making this foolish little bird mistake her for its mother?
Wang Zhaojun suddenly felt a pang of sadness. She had grown up without a mother by her side, and this foolish little white creature had left its mother's side long before it could even take human form in adulthood. Instantly, her maternal instincts flooded her, and she decided to raise the Little White Phoenix like her own child.
The way Wang Zhaojun looked at it shifted from fierce and menacing to gentle and maternal. She stroked the Little White Phoenix's head and said softly, "I've wronged you. I'll take good care of you and help you heal."
She had thrown it into the water before its wounds had even healed, causing its injuries to swell and fester. After her attitude toward it changed, Wang Zhaojun couldn't help but feel a twinge of heartache as she looked at it.
Using a dagger, Wang Zhaojun trimmed away the rotting flesh from its body. The Little White Phoenix twitched in pain, and she gently blew on the wound. "There, there, little white, be good. It doesn't hurt."
She searched high and low through her cabinets, finding top-quality medicine to apply to its wounds, lavishing it with maternal warmth and care.
After the Little White Phoenix had been around for a while, Wang Zhaojun worried it might be bored, so she took it to Bishui Lake, where there were plenty of birds and it might find some friends.
The moment Wang Zhaojun stepped onto the shores of Bishui Lake, the cranes in the lake scrambled away in a panic, while the parrots in the Biong trees shrieked a single phrase over and over: "The little demon is here! The little demon is here!"
"Don't run away, hey! I've already turned over a new leaf!" Wang Zhaojun frowned her delicate brows in frustration. She wasn't going to pluck their feathers anymore; she was just here to help Little White find some friends.
"Oh, Little White, look at how shabby you look. None of them want to play with you."
Little White's eyes dimmed, and it buried its head in Wang Zhaojun's arms. Wang Zhaojun gently patted its back. "Don't be discouraged. Those cranes just don't know what's good for them."
A spirit-infused little fawn came bounding from the woods, transforming into a mischievous young deer-girl. She snapped haughtily, "You're not allowed to come here!"
"I'm just here to find a friend for my Little White. How about Little Deer plays with it for a bit?" Wang Zhaojun hurriedly explained. Long time no see, but the deer-girl's temper was as fiery as ever.
The deer-girl gave a haughty huff. "I have a name, you know."
Wang Zhaojun feigned curiosity. "Then what is your name?"
"My name is Yao, and I live on Mount Xi." Yao tilted her chin up, pointing toward the mountain she had just bounded out from.
Wang Zhaojun couldn't resist reaching out to touch Yao's cute ears. "Then would the lovely little Yao-Yao be willing to play with Little White?"
Yao said in disgust, "Don't touch me! Ugh! This bird is so ugly, get it away from me!"
The little bird looked filthy; she definitely didn't want to play with it.
Hearing Yao's words, Little White drooped its head in disappointment.
"It's not that ugly..." Wang Zhaojun glanced at the brilliantly plumed cranes in the distance, then looked back at Little White with its dull, matted feathers.
"It's just that our Little White hasn't fully grown into its looks yet. It'll be pretty later on."
This deer-girl was spoiled rotten by Yunzhongjun, no doubt. If Little White played with her, it would probably just end up being bullied. Oh well, forget it.
Wang Zhaojun took Little White and left Bishui Lake. She placated it, saying, "Little White, oh Little White, let's go find Little A-Li to play with instead.Returning to Peach Blossom Wu, Wang Zhaojun took Little White to find Gongsun Li. Entering the room, she saw Gongsun Li spacing out. Wang Zhaojun tapped Gongsun Li on the forehead. "What are you daydreaming about, Little A-Li?"
Rubbing her aching forehead, Gongsun Li broke into a beaming, radiant smile. "Senior Baili from the academy is so handsome, and so gentle too."
Today, she had been bullied by a senior sister at the academy, and Senior Baili had stepped in to clear her name. She was studying the Art of Sorcery at Jixia Academy, the highest seat of learning in the Heavenly Realm. The only reason she managed to get into Jixia Academy was because Sister Zhaojun had begged Immortal Wuling with tears streaming down her face.
Immortal Wuling was the most learned and immensely respected Immortal in the Heavenly Realm.
Hearing this, Wang Zhaojun remarked, "The second young master of the Baili clan has a wild and eccentric temperament. You call him gentle?"
"Oh! I'm talking about Baili Shouyue," Gongsun Li corrected.
"I thought you meant Baili Xuance, who's closer to your age. Baili Shouyue is indeed not bad. Little A-Li has good taste." Wang Zhaojun chuckled softly. She had, after all, browsed the Heavenly Realm's Book of Handsome Men, and that Baili Shouyue was exceedingly good-looking.
She stroked Little White's feathers. "Little A-Li is too busy daydreaming about romance to play with you. Thanks to the medicine, your feathers seem to be growing back a bit—they really are white feathers."