Before it bloomed, she hadn’t recognized it, but now she discovered that this flower tree was identical to the one in Gu Baiying’s Xiaoyao Hall that bloomed in winter.

“Twin flowers…”

“Twin birds – they cannot fly unless together. When they fly, rest, drink, or eat, they never separate… When they die and are reborn, they must stay together.” Zanxing had only heard of twin birds. Some wealthy cultivators in Duzhou often went to the market to buy these birds at high prices to give to their Dao companions when forming partnerships, seeking good fortune. However, she heard these birds were very delicate and not easy to raise. She wondered if those cultivators would consider it bad luck if the birds died due to poor care.

Twin flowers, as the name suggests, obviously symbolize love. Zanxing asked Gu Baiying, “Master Uncle, the twin flowers in your hall are maintained by illusion techniques. This tree…” She raised her head, looking at the clusters of fiery colors in the canopy: “Is this also a visual trick?”

“It’s not an illusion.” Gu Baiying’s gaze shifted slightly: “This tree is real.”

“In this desolate wilderness with no other trees, how could there be twin flowers? Could it be that the owner of the thatched cottage planted it?” Zanxing touched her chin: “But why do I always feel this place looks familiar?”

Gu Baiying remained silent. In this deep night, in the vast wilderness, the two of them stood like this with heads raised under the tree. The distant stone mountain blurred into a shadow. Heaven and earth were quiet and solemn. In the darkness, only this tree was bright and moving, like a gorgeous dream that would never end.

Zanxing unconsciously became mesmerized, watching, feeling as if the twin flowers all over the tree were about to fly up, swaying as they rushed toward her face. The next moment, Mimi suddenly cried out loudly and leaped toward the tree. Zanxing suddenly awoke – it wasn’t that the twin flowers were about to fly, but that something on the tree was moving!

“Master Uncle,” Zanxing said, “what’s that up there?”

Gu Baiying suddenly swung his spear. The Embroidered Bone shot like silver light, instantly rushing toward the dense branches. In a moment, it swept down fallen petals and leaves all over the ground. Mimi’s claws grasped at empty air, but the illumination talisman reflected the head poking out from among the branches.

A… chicken?

The chicken looked down and also spotted Zanxing and the other person. Perhaps being used to being alone in this desolate wilderness, it was startled to suddenly see two strangers and immediately turned to fly deeper into the canopy. Gu Baiying narrowed his eyes, exerted force, reversed the spearhead, and poked the chicken’s rear with the spear shaft.

The chicken cried out frantically and fell into Gu Baiying’s hands.

Mimi jumped down from the tree, looking at the chicken in Gu Baiying’s hands with eager anticipation. Zanxing also came over to look. The chicken blinked its black bean-sized eyes and held its head high with a proud expression of preferring death to surrender.

There were also chickens in the Taiyan Sect. The dawn-crowing chicken called “General Youri” would crow earth-shakingly at the appointed time every day, never being late. Zanxing still remembered its beautiful, bright red feathers and golden crest. But this chicken looked quite shabby – its comb was only half remaining, its feathers were scattered and stained with mud spots, its tail was already bald, looking pitiful as if it had just been bullied. Because almost all its feathers had fallen out, when the cold wind blew, the chicken’s body shivered with goosebumps.

Gu Baiying held its two wings with one hand, like a butcher weighing meat chickens at the market. This murderous posture made the originally arrogant chicken gradually become docile, even gently pecking Gu Baiying’s hand as a friendly gesture.

Zanxing sighed inwardly – the secret realm was indeed different, even a chicken knew how to bend and yield.

Gu Baiying held the chicken and spoke with confusion: “How could there be a chicken here?”

“It couldn’t be that the owner of the thatched cottage was originally a chicken, could it?” Zanxing looked at its bald tail: “Or did someone cast a spell to turn the cottage owner into a chicken?”

Gu Baiying: “…”

He asked incredulously: “What strange things are you thinking about?”

That’s right, this was the cultivation world after all, not a magical world. Zanxing was about to answer when she suddenly glimpsed something covered under the pitiful few feathers on the chicken’s chest. She reached out and pulled it up, discovering it was a wooden plaque. The wooden plaque was only as wide as a little finger, narrow and long, tied around the chicken’s neck with a grass rope.

Three characters were neatly written on it: White Cut Chicken.

Zanxing: “…”

This handwriting was beautiful and elegant, identical to the handwriting of those poems on the table in the thatched cottage – clearly from the same person.

Zanxing thought for a moment: “If I’m not mistaken, this chicken should be the beloved pet raised by the cottage owner, but… how could anyone in the world name their beloved pet White Cut Chicken?”

Is this a pet name? This is naming a dish!

As soon as Zanxing spoke the words “White Cut Chicken,” the chicken in Gu Baiying’s hands seemed to be touched at some sensitive point and began struggling frantically. It flapped a wing at Gu Baiying’s face, spattering him with mud spots. Caught off guard, Gu Baiying loosened his grip, and they heard White Cut Chicken let out a high-pitched cry as it fluttered toward the thatched cottage.

Mimi’s eyes lit up, and she immediately gave chase.

Zanxing turned back to look at Gu Baiying.

He wiped the mud spots from his face, seeming to have reached his limit, and said through gritted teeth: “I’m going to slaughter this chicken!”

When the two chased into the thatched cottage, they immediately felt the whole room filled with fluttering shadows. Mimi seemed to quite like this bald-tailed chicken. Previously, at Gufeng Mountain, it wouldn’t even glance at General Youri, but now it chased after this chicken’s rear with great enthusiasm.

White Cut Chicken was also quite shameless, relying on its ability to fly. Sometimes it flew to the crossbeam, sometimes it jumped onto the wooden bed. Mimi, being rather fat, wasn’t as agile as White Cut Chicken and was led around in circles by it. Soon, it became sluggish from exhaustion.

Zanxing: “…”

To be a Silver Wolf Lion and end up like this was truly unwatchable.

She had seen enough of this chaos and was about to intervene when she saw White Cut Chicken flap its wings and fly to the beam in the inner room again. It leisurely pecked at the wood, seemingly provocative.

Mimi first seemed too lazy to bother with it, or perhaps was tired, and didn’t move at all. The chicken pecked at the wood a few more times. Mimi’s tail stood up, and it suddenly pounced.

Zanxing sighed, already anticipating the outcome.

Who would have thought there would be a “crash” sound, a tremendous noise erupted in the room, choking Zanxing with a mouthful of dust and smoke, and the entire thatched cottage shook.

Gu Baiying was also stunned.

Mimi tumbled to one side, holding the chicken. In the thatched cottage, a piece of the red wall made of rammed earth suddenly fell, like an empty wooden board being torn open, revealing what was inside.

The flying dust and smoke were like clouds and mist. Vaguely, there was an absolutely beautiful woman standing under a tree, her snow-white dress hem dancing in the wind, her azure hair like emotional threads that stirred the heart. Her hands were slender and delicate, playing with flower stamens and petals. Her eyes contained infinite emotion, and her smile was radiant as she gazed at the person outside the painting.

This was a beautiful painting hanging on the wall.