Cultivation: Starting from a Fighting Cock

Chapter 21 The Chicken Occupies the Magpie's Nest
Ji Cheng didn't actually intend to make a move.

He followed along, simply wanting to see if the big yellow dog could kill Wang Lei.

Until he saw the box of medicinal herbs that Wang Lei was holding.

"How dare you! How did you get my medicinal herbs?!"

At this moment, Ji Cheng spoke in human language to Wang Lei, berating him.

A talking chicken struck Wang Lei as both absurd and bizarre, and terrifyingly frightening.

Even with his exceptional temperament, he was still just a sixteen-year-old boy, and at this moment he could hardly tell what the chicken in front of him was.

He immediately threw the wooden box and the medicinal herbs into the air, and taking advantage of the chicken demon's distraction, he suddenly threw out a handful of lime.

Unexpectedly, Ji Cheng was prepared. He flapped his wings and created a strong wind, blowing all the lime onto Wang Lei himself.

Wang Lei's mouth, nose, and eyes were covered in lime, causing him immense pain. However, he quickly calmed himself down, let out a loud shout, and assumed a fist stance. His blood and qi surged wildly, making him resemble a maddened wild beast.

"puff!"

The big yellow dog punched him in the chest from behind.

Ji Cheng noticed that the big yellow dog was holding a beating heart in its paw that was piercing through its chest.

"cough……"

Wang Lei's vital energy rapidly declined, his eyes lost their color, and he was like a flower bud that withered before it bloomed, falling silently to the ground.

The big yellow dog withdrew its paw and put the fresh heart into its mouth to savor it.

The sound of chewing slowly was so jarring in the quiet night.

This scene frightened Ji Cheng somewhat. A demon beast is still a demon beast, and this dog demon should not be equated with the harmless big yellow dog in the backyard of the Zhao family.

At this moment, the big yellow dog's true form as a demon was almost as tall as a person, and even tigers had to obediently lie down and meow like cats when they saw it.

Ji Cheng couldn't help but wonder if this big yellow dog wanted to avenge Zhao Yan, or if it was just craving meat.
"Wang!"

Suddenly, the big yellow dog barked at Ji Cheng, then pried open Wang Lei's chest, inviting Ji Cheng to come and share the food.

It also knew that if Ji Cheng hadn't blocked its way, Wang Lei would have successfully escaped. Once Wang Lei called for reinforcements, the balance of power would shift.

"Thank you, I'm a vegetarian."

Ji Cheng refused, quickly grabbed the box of herbs, and flew to the nearest tree.

"Wow wow wow wow!"

The big yellow dog grumbled and realized that its greed had led it to lose the big picture for a small gain.

It chased Ji Cheng for two miles, and even when it leaped several feet high, it still couldn't reach him.

Left with no other choice, it turned back to continue eating the blood food, occasionally letting out a low growl as if guarding its food.

Even a corpse at the mid-stage of Qi and Blood is a great tonic for the big yellow dog.

Ji Cheng landed on a treetop not far away and joked, "Big Yellow, I'm the key to killing Wang Lei tonight. I've already given you the meat, so I'll just eat some vegetables. Aren't you happy about that?"

"Big Yellow, when you're a dog, you can't be too dog-like. You have to be more generous. Look at your lame leg; after successfully transforming into a demon, it looks incredibly wealthy. I'm afraid I can't even run as fast as you now. Why do you have to..."

"Wang!"

The big yellow dog turned around, and Chao Jicheng bared his teeth, his face contorted with rage and ferocity, his killing intent almost tangible.

Ji Cheng didn't care at all; instead, he laughed and played with the dog while eating the medicinal herbs, finding great pleasure in life.

This wooden box contains five medicinal herbs, which look like dried ginseng, and have a strong medicinal aroma.

Ji Cheng didn't recognize what these medicines were or what their effects were, but he didn't care. He tore them all into strips and popped them into his mouth.

"This Wang Lei is indeed insidious. I wonder who he learned it from. He likes to use lime to launch sneak attacks."

Ji Cheng reviewed tonight's battle. In fact, Wang Lei's blood and energy were very powerful, but it must have been his first time seeing a demonic beast, so he panicked and became timid. If he had fought the big yellow dog with all his might, he might not have died so quickly.

But then again, the real form of that big yellow dog monster is like a small mountain. What good person wouldn't be afraid of it?
The moon is setting in the west.

After the meal, the chicken and the dog returned to the backyard of the Zhao residence.

The big yellow dog transformed into a憨厚土狗 (simple and honest) local dog, licking the bloodstains from its paws, savoring the taste.

All five medicinal herbs went into Ji Cheng's crop. They were extremely difficult to digest and needed to be slowly refined to absorb their medicinal effects before consumption.

Back at the Zhao residence, Ji Cheng became even more wary of the big yellow dog.

The old persimmon tree was still a bit short, so he flew to a large poplar tree next to the Zhao residence to roost, and would go down again when it was dawn.

There was a magpie's nest in this big poplar tree. Ji Cheng chased the magpie away. Hehe, this is called "the chicken taking over the magpie's nest"!

The magpie was quite plump; it landed on another branch and chirped at Ji Cheng.

Ji Cheng arrived at the edge of the nest and noticed that there were three bird eggs inside.

What more can I say? Thank you for the gifts of nature!

Ji Cheng thought it would be a good opportunity to have an extra meal, but he suddenly noticed that one of the three bird eggs was slightly different in size and color from the other two.

There is no doubt that there is a defective piece here.

He was reminded of the phenomenon of "the cuckoo taking over the magpie's nest".

It tells the story of how cuckoos never build their own nests, nor do they incubate or raise their offspring themselves. They usually lay their eggs in magpie nests, using the magpie's maternal instincts to incubate the eggs and feed the chicks.

Cuckoo chicks are larger and usually hatch one or two days earlier than other bird eggs.

After hatching, cuckoo chicks will push the unhatched native bird eggs, and even the hatched chicks, out of the nest, cruelly putting them to death.

Magpies often cannot distinguish which egg is theirs and which is the cuckoo's egg.

They will wholeheartedly raise cuckoo chicks that are not related to them by blood, completely unaware that they are raising a murderer who killed their own child.

Ji Cheng glanced at the magpie that was chirping incessantly at him.

Clearly, this rather plump magpie had no idea that a leopard was hiding in its nest.

Ji Cheng changed his mind. He would wait until the sixth dog hatched before eating it, as punishment for its bloodsucking, parasitism, and unearned profits.

"Oh oh oh-"

As dawn broke, Ji Cheng landed in the backyard of the Zhao residence and began the day with a crowing.

The plump magpie was startled awake. Seeing that Ji Cheng had left, it hurriedly returned to its nest and chattered at Ji Cheng from a great distance.

"Wang!"

The big yellow dog barked at Ji Cheng, seemingly cursing him for being shameless.

"The medicine I ate last night was so hard to chew!"

Ji Cheng's crop is still bulging; it will probably take three or four days to completely refine it.

However, the medicinal effects of these herbs were indeed very strong for a chicken like him. At this moment, he was feeling hot all over, had inexhaustible energy, and his blood concentration was seriously excessive.

These medicinal properties slowly nourish his blood, bones, meridians, and major internal organs, and their benefits are self-evident.

The big yellow dog had eaten blood last night, so it had no appetite for the food offered at the Zhao residence this morning. It sniffed at a bowl of leftovers, then listlessly returned to its kennel and continued to lie down.

"Wang!"

It called out to Ji Cheng.

Ji Cheng understood what it meant; this dog demon wanted to eat blood again, it had become addicted to it.

(End of this chapter)