I am Guhuoniao, not an umbrella demon, please do not disturb me.

In a small courtyard, there were three bird demons, one snake demon, and a human girl. The only one who didn't sleep well that night was Zhen Tian, ​​while Zhen, who was in this unfamiliar environment for the first time, slept soundly.

After all, the rain outside the window was quiet, the bedding was warm and fragrant, and she was so tired that she quickly fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up again, it was already dawn outside.

I slept soundly through the night without any dreams, waking up naturally. I rarely get such a comfortable sleep.

When she opened her eyes, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Zhen propped herself up and sat up in bed. She clenched her fists and found that her strength had recovered a lot. More importantly, the wounds on her body were no longer so painful.

Just as she was about to get up, the pale yellow floral quilt slipped off her body, and she realized that she wasn't wearing any clothes, only layers upon layers of bandages wrapped around her. These bandages couldn't cover her body at all; large expanses of her fair skin were still exposed.

Feather Robe couldn't be summoned at this moment; be careful not to tear your wounds.

She curled up, her lower half of her face covered by the blanket, and her little hands under the blanket rested on her stomach.

She was a little hungry.

On the other side, Bai Qingyu also slowly woke up from Zhen Tian's bed. When she got up, she saw that the person next to her was no longer there, only the faint fragrance left on her body.

"Ah~" Bai Qingyu stretched, revealing her beautiful figure. She had slept so comfortably.

"I wonder where Zhen Tian has gone."

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Zhen Tian brought in a bowl of hot porridge. "Sister Bai, here's your breakfast."

"Wow, thank you, sister." Waking up to a beautiful woman serving breakfast—this is a feeling that only emperors can enjoy.

Without even changing out of her pajamas, with her hair disheveled, she got up and was too lazy to wash up. She casually cast a cleansing spell on herself, picked up her bowl, and started eating. "Seriously, you don't know, I had a really long dream last night. I dreamt that we were being chased, and you said you couldn't run anymore, so I just kept carrying you as we ran. You know what, this dream was so real, it felt like I was really carrying you."

Zhen Tian, ​​who was also drinking porridge across from her, paused, unsure of where to begin her complaint.

It wasn't just that it seemed like I was actually holding her; I really was holding her the whole time.

After breakfast, Zhen Tian took the bowl out, and Bai Qingyu took off her pajamas, put on her own feather robe, and sat in front of the bronze mirror to do her hair.

Upon exiting the small room, she saw Xiaodie already sitting under the eaves reading and writing. Seeing Bai Qingyu, she greeted her in a soft, sweet voice, "Auntie!"

"Hey, have you had breakfast yet?"

"I've already eaten. It was prepared for me by Sister Zhentian."

Everyone is used to this strange generational hierarchy: calling Bai Qingyu "aunt" and Zhen Tian "sister," while Zhen Tian also calls Bai Qingyu "sister."

"Did Xiaodie sleep well last night?"

"That's great."

Honestly, looking at Xiaodie's noticeably chubby little face and that genuine smile on her face, Bai Qingyu felt a great sense of accomplishment. Correspondingly, her cultivation level was getting stronger day by day, not by much each day, but steadily improving every single day.

The joys of raising children are something most people can't understand.

First, she went to the kitchen to ladle the remaining porridge into a bowl, then carried the bowl to her room and knocked on the door.

"Zhen, are you awake?"

Hearing the sounds coming from inside, Bai Qingyu pushed open the door and entered.

After a night of recovery, Zhen's complexion looked much better, which was undoubtedly good news. It seemed that yesterday's efforts had not been in vain.

"Don't move yet, I'll get you some clothes."

Knowing that Zhen couldn't use the feather robe to transform into clothes, Bai Qingyu thoughtfully found Dong Qing's clothes. Since the two were of similar age and build, they could wear them directly without any alterations.

The clothes were placed beside the bed, and Bai Qingyu said softly, "Do you need me to help you get dressed?"

"No, thank you."

"Okay, I'll go out first, and you can come out when you're done tidying up."

Without disturbing the young girl any further, Bai Qingyu made sure to close the door behind her after leaving the room.

Another day begins. The heavy rain last night had turned into a light drizzle by morning, and the courtyard was damp. Bai Qingyu listened to the voices on the street, took out the materials she had used to weave oil paper umbrellas, sat under the eaves next to Xiaodie, and began to weave paper umbrellas.

An oiled paper umbrella typically sells for twenty copper coins. For an average family, these coins are enough for two very good meals, perhaps even with some meat. The price isn't cheap, but it's affordable for most families in the county. Moreover, a well-made paper umbrella can last for many years.

The umbrella body and ribs were woven bit by bit, Bai Qingyu's hands were calm and she was quite experienced.

I don't know why, but besides being very attached to her child, she is also very attached to umbrellas.

For example, while others prefer to use swords, she is different; she prefers to use an umbrella as a weapon, which is both offensive and defensive and quite effective.

So when Zhen changed her clothes and came out holding onto the door frame, what she saw was this beautiful scene: an eight- or nine-year-old child reading aloud, his little face full of seriousness, while Bai Qingyu, as the "mother," sat beside her, weaving oil-paper umbrellas to earn money to support the family.

Zhen Tian was learning how to brew tea on the other side. When he was satisfied, he served a cup to Bai Qingyu and Xiao Die. Bai Qingyu took a small sip and couldn't help but give Zhen Tian a thumbs up.

The three of them wore genuine, gentle smiles, their faces radiating joy, warmth, and happiness.

Zhen stood there in front of the door, staring blankly for a long time, before she came back to her senses when Bai Qingyu waved to her.

Still weak, she leaned against the wall and came to Bai Qingyu's side, sitting on the chair Bai Qingyu had brought for her. Then she saw Bai Qingyu walk around behind her and pick up her hair to start tying it up.

"May I ask how long you've been in human form?"

"Two years."

"Then why are you in the human world? You must have lived far away from humans before."

Zhen lowered her eyes and said, "I used to live in a fishing village by the sea. I was raised by an old couple. Later, I came out and came to the human world because someone told me that my mother was in the human world."

"Your mother?" Bai Qingyu asked with a strange look.

As far as she knew, in this world, all the strange beasts like them were generally born and raised in the wild. There was only one of each kind of strange beast in the world, and a new one might appear only after it died. So, how could Zhen have a biological mother?

This sounds like an insult, but it's true.

"Biological mother?"

"Ah."

Bai Qingyu hesitated and decided not to voice her thoughts until they were more familiar with each other later.

Having learned a little about Zhen, Bai Qingyu didn't ask any more questions. There was plenty of time; she could take it slow. Speaking of which, she and Zhen were quite destined for each other. Of all the city walls, Zhen just happened to end up near her home. If it were two or three hundred meters further away, the little girl would be dead for sure.

·

The addition of a new member to the family temporarily doesn't have a significant impact on their daily lives. Zhen doesn't like to talk. If Zhen Tian's personality is gentle, and she prefers listening to talking, then Zhen has a cold personality. In Bai Qingyu's opinion, this girl is a little arrogant in addition to her coldness.

Fearing that Xiaodie would be affected by the poison, Bai Qingyu spent the next few days trying to completely conceal the poison. He had to control it, after all. He wasn't affected, and neither was Zhentian, but Xiaodie was. If Xiaodie was poisoned, it would be too late.

One second to death, even a god can't save you.

After trying many methods, Bai Qingyu discovered that as long as she kept the feather robe hidden and then wore another set of clothes on top, the poison would be weakened by more than half. She quickly figured out the remaining poison, which was actually the demonic power of the poisonous bird.

Her demonic power was highly poisonous. However, demonic power is not something that can be completely suppressed. There will always be some residue. Therefore, the pills given by Feng Yuan came in handy again. After taking the pills, her poison disappeared. Unless she intentionally controlled it, it would not release any toxicity.

After spending these past few days together, Bai Qingyu was finally able to relax. For some time, she had been trying to keep Xiao Die away from her, fearing that she might have some ill intentions. One should always be wary of others, just like with Zhen Tian back then.

When Zhen Tian first came over, she made Dong Qing and Chang Sheng keep a certain distance from her.

Bai Qingyu went out that day to buy new ingredients.

She didn't encounter any fake monks who would swindle her money or take advantage of her, but instead met a group of people she least wanted to meet.

As soon as Bai Qingyu came out of the market, she saw three disciples of the Demon Subduing Sect walking by not far away. With her eyesight, she was absolutely certain that the strongest one in the middle was the same guy who had chased down Zhen a few days ago.

"As expected, it's still haunting us."

Bai Qingyu narrowed her eyes. She knew why these people were fixated on Zhen. The reason was simple: Zhen was no ordinary demon.

"Only three people, that's really bold. But then again, if you're not a little selfish, you might not even get the soup in the end."

Bai Qingyu was delighted to see this. It was a good thing that these people were a little selfish; otherwise, it would have been a real problem if they had called a large group of cultivators over. If he wasn't mistaken, the guy in the middle had already blocked the news about Zhen. This was perfect; if these three guys were killed, no one would know what had happened.

Of course, this is all on the premise that these three guys come to cause trouble. If Bai Qingyu doesn't find the poison, he won't bother with them.

Once she was sure no one was following her, Bai Qingyu returned to the courtyard.

Zhen stood under the old book, looking up at something. She was wearing a holly dress, and when Bai Qingyu entered, she thought it was Dong Qing who had returned.

Bai Qingyu put down what he was holding and came to her side, saying softly, "Don't go out during this time. Remember, don't go out. The guy chasing you is still in the city. It seems he has some way of tracking you down and confirming that you are in the city."

"Then I..."

"Then don't worry. They know you exist but not me. I'll keep an eye on the surroundings. If they appear here and stay, I'll kill them for you."

"There is danger."

"I know there's danger, so I'll need your cooperation when the time comes."

Bai Qingyu wanted to help others, but she knew she couldn't risk getting herself into trouble, especially if it involved her own family. Therefore, she would need Zhen to risk luring them out of the city, and then kill the three cultivators outside the city.

"I understand, I will try my best."

The three disciples of the Demon Subduing Sect did know that Zhen was in the city, but after Zhen took the pill, her demonic power was shielded, and the spiritual energy that could be used for tracking in her wounds was also cleared away. They had no choice but to search house by house.

Going door to door doesn't mean entering the houses. Just by sensing the surrounding area, you can determine where the demon is hiding. Once you've locked onto an area, the rest will be much easier.

Five days have passed in the blink of an eye.

The county town was neither too big nor too small. After carefully checking each house, the three cultivators finally reached the area around Bai Qingyu's courtyard. In fact, there were still many places they hadn't checked. It could only be said that the three of them were lucky.

In the courtyard, Bai Qingyu was reading her medical book, using a quill pen made of real sky feathers to write and draw annotations in the book, all of which were cases she had encountered.

Suddenly sensing something, Bai Qingyu put down the medical book in his hand and abruptly looked up in the direction where the three cultivators had appeared.

I knew this group would come, but I didn't expect them to arrive so quickly.

"Zhen Tian, ​​look after Xiao Die, I'll be back in a bit!"

With a single wave of his hand, the wooden umbrella flew out from inside the house.

“Poison.” Bai Qingyu spoke, gesturing with his eyes.

Zhen was standing on a tree branch, peeking out at a nest of bird eggs. Upon hearing Bai Qingyu's voice, she jumped down from the branch. Without saying a word, she knew what had happened after noticing Bai Qingyu's gaze.

"I understand."

She quickly went back inside to change her clothes, and when she rushed out again, she was no longer a young girl but a large bird like an eagle. Its overall appearance was exactly like an eagle, but it was more like a vulture with red eyes, green feathers, and a body full of poison. This was the first time Bai Qingyu had seen Zhen's true form. Compared to her and Zhen Tian, ​​Zhen's true form looked much fiercer and more normal.

If one says that one's appearance is that of an auspicious beast with a crane's body and a phoenix's tail, then the appearance of the poisonous bird is exactly the opposite, a ferocious beast.

Looking back at Bai Qingyu, Zhen spread her wings and flew into the sky at an extremely fast speed.

Bai Qingyu stood in the courtyard. Two black shadows flashed past outside the gate, and black and white feathers drifted down from the sky. The shadows reappeared outside the city wall. Bai Qingyu teleported out of the county town without reverting to his original form. His human form was also quite fast.

Having killed this group of cultivators, Bai Qingyu certainly couldn't let Zhen escape.

She's taken such a big risk; surely she can't repay it without being called "aunt" for several years?

In the county town, the Zhen bird was seen flying into the air, and the leading cultivator recognized it at a glance.