Inside the cave, it was as bright as ever. In the middle of the cave lay a large night pearl. After all these years, the phoenix still had this same preference.
"Master."
"Little Phoenix, how have you been lately?"
The phoenix turned around awkwardly and said frankly, "Master, it's so good to see you."
Zhao Shuning stroked the phoenix's head and said with emotion, "Actually, I've been looking for you for a long time." Every time there was any news of the phoenix, even just a single feather it left behind, Zhao Shuning would rush to that place and search carefully. Whenever she passed by a town and saw a relatively large night pearl, no matter how much effort it took, she would exchange for it, because she knew the phoenix liked them.
The phoenix's eyes welled up with tears. "I thought you were gone."
"Who said I was gone? My little phoenix is still waiting for me, and our contract hasn't been dissolved yet. How could I bear to leave you behind, right?"
The phoenix rubbed against Zhao Shuning obediently.
Zhao Shuning added, "By the way, Little Phoenix, your abilities have really improved a lot over the years. Now you even dare to take on the entire Yuan Family alone. Aren't you afraid they'll set fire and burn all your feathers?"
The phoenix said in a low voice, "These shiny feathers aren't that important."
"If Master isn't by my side, the rest of my life won't matter either."
Zhao Shuning gently stroked the phoenix's feathers with a heart - aching look. A contracted divine beast's trust in its master exceeded that in anyone else in the world.
Zhao Shuning said, "Little Phoenix, in the years when I wasn't with you, did you give birth to one or two beautiful little phoenixes for me?"
The phoenix was stunned for a moment, then raised its head proudly with an unhappy look on its face.
"What's wrong? Are you unhappy again?"
The phoenix said, "Master, I'm male."
Only then did Zhao Shuning come to her senses.
"Come on, are you still holding a grudge against me for not being able to tell whether you were male or female back then and giving you to Bai Ze as a bride?"
The phoenix turned its head away. That was simply a lifelong humiliation.
Back then, because Ye Ling's abilities were insufficient, but due to the coercion of the Emperor Venerable, the phoenix reluctantly became Ye Ling's contracted divine beast. Although divine beasts were supposed to obey their masters, the phoenix was no ordinary divine beast. It had extremely high self - esteem and great pride. At that time, it thought its master was too weak, so it disdained her frequent attempts to talk to it and never paid her any attention. That was why Ye Ling never knew the phoenix was male.
One day, she led it to the Qingyun Peak in the Qingyun Kingdom. In the cave, there lay the King of Beasts, Bai Ze. Then, an unbelievable scene happened. The little girl in red clothes rubbed against the Emperor Venerable in green clothes and kept acting coquettishly. She murmured, "Master, please agree. Look, Phoenix has been listless lately and won't talk to me. She's so beautiful and in the prime of her youth. She must be looking for a mate."
The man in green clothes just smiled and said nothing.
The little girl in red continued, "Look at my little Phoenix. She's so beautiful. And look at her feathers. They're simply the most beautiful clothes in the world. Bai Ze is pure white all over. He's an auspicious beast and the King of Beasts. He's a perfect match for the King of Birds, my little Phoenix."
The man in green clothes burst out laughing, while the phoenix on the side was so angry that all its feathers stood on end.
Ye Ling turned to look at it and got even more excited. She pulled the man in green clothes' sleeve and said, "Master, look. I told you little Phoenix likes Bai Ze. I heard that when a peacock meets its beloved mate, it will spread its tail to court. Doesn't little Phoenix look just like a peacock now?"
Did she compare it to a stinky peacock? But what made the phoenix even angrier was that although the Emperor Venerable knew it was male, he still watched it with great interest and then nodded faintly, "I also think this is a good idea."
That was the first time the phoenix let out a roar. After that, Ye Ling finally knew the phoenix was a male animal.
Time flew by. So many years had passed. The phoenix and Ye Ling had experienced so many wonderful things together. They had shared joys and sorrows, walked many roads, and shed a lot of sweat. But that incident had always been the most embarrassing thing in the phoenix's heart.
Now, after finally seeing its master, she brought up the old matter again. Naturally, it made the phoenix recall the humiliation it felt when it saw Bai Ze back then. It and Bai Ze were both divine beasts. Bai Ze was lazy and didn't talk much, unlike the hot - tempered phoenix. Bai Ze didn't take the Emperor Venerable's words to heart at that time. But the phoenix was stubborn. Every time it thought about being mistaken for a female by its master and almost being betrothed to someone, it felt less majestic.
Zhao Shuning burst out laughing heartily. Little Phoenix was still the same as before. Its temper hadn't changed at all. It was still so hot - tempered, easy to get angry. No wonder it dared to go to the Yuan Family's Youzhou alone and burn down their twelve courtyards in Youzhou.
"Okay, I was wrong. I shouldn't have done that back then, okay? Little Phoenix, I've apologized to you so many times. Are you still mad at me?"
"I'm not."
Zhao Shuning sat down cross - legged, and the phoenix obediently lay on the stone slab. She leaned against the phoenix's body and looked at the Soul - Condensing Pearl in her hand with a solemn expression.
"Master, Xia Wanning isn't a good person."
"I know."
"You know?"
"I sensed it. Before, I didn't dare to believe it, but today I'm sure. Before I came here, it was her who fought with you, right?"
The phoenix let out a soft grunt.
"But as soon as Master came, she ran away."
Zhao Shuning's expression was serious.
The phoenix added, "It seems she's still afraid of you now."
But Zhao Shuning shook her head.
"She should already know that I'm Ye Ling. Otherwise, with her current abilities, she shouldn't be afraid of me." Xia Wanning was an eighth - grade alchemist. With such a high level, how could she be afraid of Zhao Shuning, just a seventh - level spiritual herbalist? The main reason she ran away was probably because she felt guilty. And the broken jade on her dagger was something from her master. Xia Wanning probably thought the person coming also had a jade like Yan Ruyu, so she fled in a hurry.
"Master, you?"
Zhao Shuning shook her head, trying to shake off those unpleasant memories. She had finally reunited with little Phoenix. How could she let someone like Xia Wanning ruin her mood?
Zhao Shuning waved her hand, and the phoenix stretched out its other wing, gently covering Zhao Shuning. She smiled and slowly fell asleep in the phoenix's embrace.
Maybe things weren't that bad after all. There were many things she couldn't figure out now, but heaven never closes all doors. A good sleep might lead to a turn for the better when she woke up.