Never did he imagine that in his lifetime, someone would still care about his life and death. Illusion Phoenix, his Spiritual Pet, actually traveled billions of light-years to find him.
The day had fully brightened, and the fish carcasses and boulders covered with moss on the riverbank created an indescribably eerie sight.
"Chirp chirp," Little Pig called out to him a few times, with a touch of pleading in his light brown eyes.
Yezi had never seen such a pig before; in Little Pig’s eyes, there were hints of tears, and its golden beak and legs continuously hopped on the boulders.
"It’s just my bad luck, even entering a city gets me washed away to this godforsaken place, and caught up in such bizarre events," Yezi sighed, limping into the dense forest despite the wound on his foot.
The deadly hornets from last night were gone. Following the direction indicated by that boulder, Yezi indeed found a beehive about three to four hundred meters away. It was a good three to four feet in diameter, an intimidating sight.
Yezi carefully scooped out some honey, stuffed it into his mouth, and felt the sweetness spreading down his throat. Having eaten, his strength slightly returned. Looking at the hornets from last night, which were now less menacing, they didn’t sting and merely hovered around the hive as if they had gained intelligence.
Not only because of the terrain but also being near the river, this dense forest, bordering Yunnan and adjacent to the Sichuan Basin, wasn’t much affected by the winter chill. It was lush and green as if it was April or May. Yezi discovered many usable fruits after making a round, particularly wild kiwis, each as big as his fist. Upon peeling, its green flesh embedded with numerous seeds was deliciously sweet.
As he walked out of the dense forest, Yezi used the mud mixed with some hemostatic herbs from inside the forest to dress the wound on his foot, stopping the bleeding.
"Here," still dwelling on the incidents of last night, Yezi ungraciously placed the kiwi in front of the huge boulder.
"I have no hands or feet, how do you expect me to eat this?" the boulder widened its eyes. In the daylight, the boulder’s eyes, apart from its stone color, also carried a bluish glimmer.
"@#$%*," finding no other way, Yezi peeled the kiwi and stuffed it into the so-called mouth of the boulder.
The crevice of the stone opened and closed, green juice continuously flowed from its mouth, while Little Pig frantically hopped atop the stone, seemingly very anxious.
Yezi’s heart softened, using the back of his hand to wipe near the stone crevice a few times. This anthropomorphic boulder no longer seemed fierce as at night, but rather like an unattended old man.
Grateful, Little Pig hopped onto Yezi’s shoulder, lightly pecking at his earlobe.
"It seems that you get along well with Illusion Phoenix. I can rest assured to entrust it to you now, and I should tell you about my affairs with Illusion Phoenix," a deep narrative voice sounded on the rocky shore.
The story should begin hundreds of years ago when the giant rock was not yet a giant rock.
The name of the giant rock was Fiji, a resident of Fertility Star located over a hundred light-years from the Milky Way.
Fertility Star is a planet about the same size as Earth, but its lifespan is much longer.
During the planet’s decay, the living environment on Fertility Star deteriorated day by day, eventually losing the regular distinction of four seasons, leaving only summer and winter, and no distinction between day and night, only dusk and dawn.
Extreme heat and severe cold were not the deadliest; the environmental degradation caused mutations in the humans and creatures on the planet. Fertile areas were filled with lush plants and animals that could reproduce several generations overnight. And the barren areas, comparable to the Gobi Desert, had no vegetation, and animals could only struggle to survive.
The drastic changes in the environment led some of the people of Beast Star to choose to escape from Beast Star.
Another group of people, through prolonged fighting with beasts, learned to control and use these creatures.
Fiji was among the latter, with his astonishing talent, from flying insects to massive beasts like elephants, he could control them all. "At the peak of my power, I subdued the mother of Illusion Phoenix. Illusion Phoenix is a type of Spiritual Bird, its greatest function is to carry its owner across the universe." Fiji’s words were dreamy, as if recalling the days on Fertility Star, which was a planet a thousand times more beautiful than Earth.
"Then, did you come to Earth to escape the harsh environment of your planet?" Yezi listened, dumbfounded.
"I would not give up on my own planet. In my view, with effort, Fertility Star will one day return to its original state. However, my wife didn’t think so, and during my efforts to transform Fertility Star, pregnant with our child, she took the mother of Illusion Phoenix and left Fertility Star using Illusion Phoenix’s ability to traverse the universe." Fiji’s tone was melancholic; he learned from his interaction with "Little Pig" that Yezi had run away from home for a loved one, and he had done the same.
To chase his runaway wife, he left behind all his siblings and the creatures under his command on Fertility Star, traveled millions of light-years using the still egg-bound "Little Pig," and followed the scent of Illusion Phoenix’s mother all the way to Earth.
"And then did you find your wife?" Yezi was deeply moved, unable to imagine that behind this giant stone, there were so many stories. He also couldn’t conceive of a planet, millions of light-years away, inhabited by such people.
"I miscalculated the timing of entering Earth’s atmosphere. While crossing Earth’s protective gases, I collided with a meteor entering Earth’s atmosphere. The impact and heat carried by the meteor completely burned my skin and bones. To preserve the last bit of my Spiritual Sense, I had to fuse with the meteorite, and I protected the egg of Illusion Phoenix with my Spiritual Power. Eventually, I fell on this rocky shore. Thus, Illusion Phoenix and I got separated." Fiji couldn’t believe that in his lifetime, he would see Illusion Phoenix again.
Without the mother’s body to incubate, Illusion Phoenix coincidentally fell next to a pigeon cage in Dongnan Miao Village, and was accidentally placed into the cage by a Miao person feeding pigeons, and was incubated. By chance, it was later adopted by Yezi.
"Chirp chirp," Little Pig shed a few tears after listening to the story, realizing its once spirited owner had been hiding in this desolate riverbank for many years.
Set up a stall, grab a bowl, ask for fan tickets, and if you still have dolls to smash, come on, the end of the month is here, we need to endure till the top of the new book chart. (To be continued. If you work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)