Chapter 120: Yet Another Egg [Please Subscribe!]

With that, Zhou Yi rolled over and sat directly on the ground. He figured the last two sentences must have been too complex for the vulture to grasp. Seeing Zhou Yi sit down, the bird merely tilted its head and stared, lingering out of curiosity to see what he would do next.

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow, suddenly struck by an idea: one must use animalistic methods to deal with a beast.

"Heh, just you wait!"

Zhou Yi was truly thirsty and hungry. He had spent the entire night tracking, fighting, playing a battle of wits with the Stone Egg, and then leaping about with the vulture; the physical exertion had been immense.

With a grin, Zhou Yi flipped his hand to produce a bottle of water and downed half of it in one go.

He reached for a loaf of bread, then paused. Casting the bread aside, he grabbed a bag of roast chicken, tore it open, and held the bird in his hand. He examined it from top to bottom, shaking his head repeatedly.

"Sophia isn't here; if she were, she could have roasted it a bit more to give it that fresh-out-of-the-oven feel. Still, this flavor is top-notch—no idea where she bought it."

He tore off a leg and took a bite, stuffing his mouth full. He turned to look at the vulture two steps away. The sound of meat being torn from bone, the chewing, and the swallowing—the vulture tilted its head, listening to it all.

Initially, he had only meant to tease the silly bird, but after a few bites, he realized it really tasted quite good. He chewed and swallowed even faster. In no time, the chicken was stripped of its two legs and two wings.

Zhou Yi took a sip of water and glanced at the vulture out of the corner of his eye.

The silly bird had crept cautiously to his side at some point, its head tilted, eyes locked onto the roast chicken in his hand. As Zhou Yi moved his hand, the bird’s head swayed in rhythm. Its wings were tucked in tight, and it paced back and forth with its talons, looking just as anxious. Zhou Yi broke the chicken apart.

The aroma grew stronger with the action, and the vulture hopped right in front of him, nudging his wrist with its beak—a very gentle, soft nudge—before tilting its head to look him in the eye and leaning closer.

Zhou Yi smiled and stroked the vulture’s head with the back of his hand. To his surprise, it felt soft—not the wrinkled, calloused skin he had imagined, but a layer of downy feathers. The vulture seemed to enjoy it, squinting its eyes. Zhou Yi stared at the bird; it was certainly not stupid. It knew how to compromise and how to avoid a head-on clash. Its intelligence surpassed that of most humans.

"Want some? If you want to eat, you have to follow me from now on. You can have all the meat you want, but you must acknowledge me as your master and obey my every command. Can you do that?"

Having said this, Zhou Yi ignored the bird and took another bite of chicken. The vulture grew restless, pacing back and forth and bobbing its head toward him; it practically wanted to speak.

Zhou Yi tore off the chicken neck and handed it to the vulture. The bird stepped forward, but instead of tearing at it frantically, it carefully avoided Zhou Yi’s fingers and began to eat with surprising refinement.

In less than five minutes, the roast chicken, sans its limbs, had completely vanished into the vulture's belly. Naturally, the bones Zhou Yi had left behind didn't escape its notice either. Zhou Yi knew the bird was starving, but he couldn't let it gorge itself just yet.

He glanced toward the direction of the Nether Mountains. Sophia and the others were looking his way but made no sudden moves. Zhou Yi attempted to open his control panel; it had a device resembling a telephone displaying three names.

He tapped Sophia’s name. After three rings, she picked up, her voice laced with anxiety.

"Hello? Zhou Yi, how are you? We can't see you clearly from here, the distance is too great!"

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I want to try and tame this vulture. I have a teleportation disk, so you go back to Mount Qingcheng first. Search the place thoroughly before you leave; don't leave anything of value behind. See for yourself—I'll head back once I've tamed this bird."

Sophia understood: he was telling her to search for spirit stones or similar treasures. Given the size of the Mount Qingcheng sect, and considering the items the fat man and Cheng Zhi had already found in the Nether Mountains, they couldn't afford to miss anything. It was preparation for their departure.

"Well... all right. Be careful. We don't know if this vulture is a living creature or if it has been turned into a living corpse like the Imperial Preceptor Ruoqing. Regardless, stay alert."

Zhou Yi grunted and hung up. When he had touched the vulture earlier, he had sensed its high body temperature and rapid heartbeat; the bird was definitely alive, otherwise, it wouldn't have such an appetite.

He glanced toward the main hall. Sophia had already ushered the others out of the Nether Mountains and disappeared toward the North Gate. It was clear they had left. The entire mountain was a ruin. Zhou Yi looked down and said in a low voice:

"Your previous master wasn't killed by me, you know that, right?"

The vulture stood by his side, tilting its head and swaying its body, shaking its head incessantly. Zhou Yi narrowed his eyes. What did that mean? It didn't believe him?

Seeing Zhou Yi frown, the vulture grew agitated. It hopped toward the direction where Ye Qing and the others had left, stretching its neck repeatedly.

A realization dawned on Zhou Yi. It was communicating with him—was it saying the people from Mount Qingcheng had killed her?

"You mean you know she died at the foot of Mount Qingcheng?"

The vulture rubbed its head against Zhou Yi’s palm and nodded. Zhou Yi wiped his mouth. He didn't need many sycophants; the fat man was enough. This bird had other uses.

"Fine, as long as you know. But Mount Qingcheng is mine now, and you must protect it. No causing trouble, understand?"

The vulture nodded again.

Zhou Yi laughed and scratched the bird’s head, smoothing down its sparse crown feathers.

"Very good. Now, take me to where the spirit stones are hidden—the place your former master liked to sneak off to. Understand?"

The vulture froze, then began hopping in place. Zhou Yi’s brow furrowed. It had been fine a moment ago; why play dumb now? Could it be that such a place didn't exist?

Zhou Yi felt a bit discouraged. Watching the bird hop around like an idiot, he didn't know what to say. He pushed it aside and pulled out a spirit stone, waving it in front of the vulture.

"Look, a spirit stone like this. Understand? Where did she hide them?"

The vulture grew anxious, circling in place and continuing to hop. Zhou Yi put the stone away and sighed. "Wasted half a roast chicken on a bird-brained creature!"

Just as he sighed, a voice sounded in his ear, startling him. It was so sudden, he was completely unprepared.

"Waste..."

Zhou Yi’s temper flared. Always calling him a waste—if he was so useless, why was the voice even with him? It should just leave! This incessant nagging was truly annoying.

However, before Zhou Yi could retort, the voice dragged on, sounding incredibly drowsy as if it were forcing itself to speak.

"The silly bird says... under your feet... right under your feet... waste..."

Zhou Yi paused.

He had no time to argue with the Egg about being called a waste; he quickly scrambled to his feet. He pushed the vulture aside. Beneath the bird, and under where he had been sitting, were stone slabs. He cleared away the loose rubble.

Lo and behold, they were two large doors!

Zhou Yi pried the slab open. The vulture jumped down first. The space beneath wasn't large—just a stone room of about ten square meters containing several large chests. Zhou Yi stepped down cautiously, looking left and right to ensure there were no traps.

The vulture tucked its wings and stood obediently by the chests, pecking at one with its beak. Zhou Yi hurriedly opened it.

The chest was mostly empty. At the very top lay a set of red robes—a bridal gown, clearly traditional to this world and dynasty, with exquisite embroidery.

Zhou Yi glanced at the vulture. It was staring at the gown. His initial impulse to toss it aside faded, and he carefully lifted the gown out.

Beneath it was a bundle. He opened it, revealing another bundle. Inside that was a stone the size of a bar of soap, black and dull, lacking the color or luster of a spirit stone.

Yet, the moment he unwrapped it, Zhou Yi’s heart began to thump, suddenly racing.