Chapter 63: Birds of Unity

Lingniao, come forth!

Golden light surged in Xiao Xiao's eyes as the Monster Codex materialized. The pages fluttered rapidly before finally stopping at the page belonging to Lingniao.

"Caw—!" Adorned with magnificent plumage, Lingniao instantly illuminated the entire underground parking garage.

Without a moment's hesitation, Xiao Xiao had summoned his currently most powerful combat asset.

Even so, the sense of crisis in his heart did not diminish by much.

After a brief moment of thought, the golden light returned to Xiao Xiao's eyes, and the Monster Codex emerged once more. Gudiao, come forth!

When he actually laid eyes on Gudiao's massive figure, Xiao Xiao let out a sigh of relief. This was his first time summoning two creatures simultaneously, and he had been worried it might not work.

However, he knew that two was currently his absolute limit for summoning.

Fortunately, the deafening alarm bells that had been ringing continuously in his mind finally seemed to quiet down a bit.

What on earth was this monster?

"Bi-fang bird." The voice sounding beside his ear startled Xiao Xiao, but he quickly realized it was Lingniao speaking.

Through several instances of trial and error, he had roughly figured out that the monsters summoned by the Codex were modeled after the ones he had seen, possessing their abilities but lacking their memories.

Therefore, there was nothing strange about the summoned Lingniao being able to speak. Besides, he had already heard Lingniao speak the last time he summoned it.

However, initially, he had assumed the summoned entity was the exact same Lingniao from the maple groves of Xiangshan. Upon realizing it wasn't, he had almost jumped to the conclusion that all Lingniao could speak.

We shall gloss over this embarrassing piece of history for now.

"Bi-fang bird?"

"The Bi-fang bird of the line, 'In heaven, we wish to be as birds flying wing to wing; on earth, we wish to be branches entwined on a tree'?" It was no wonder Xiao Xiao was astonished; that poem was simply too famous.

And because of this immortal verse, the Bi-fang bird had become the quintessential symbol of love in the hearts of all Huaxia people.

How could a creature imbued with such beautiful symbolism turn out to be this fierce and ruthless monster right before his eyes?

Xiao Xiao concluded that fairy tales were truly all lies—oh, no, legends were all lies.

He felt that his worldview had once again suffered a massive shock.

"Hmph~ You humans just overthink everything."

"Look, do you see? The Bi-fang bird only has a single wing, so two of them must stay together in order to fly."

"It's merely for survival, not because of any romantic attachments."

"Uh, is that really how it is?"

When Xiao Xiao thought back, he realized that Luo Xiaoluan had previously only attacked with her wings and had indeed never actually taken flight.

Was it really because a single wing couldn't fly?

...

However, this was clearly not an ideal time for a chat. While Xiao Xiao was busy summoning his monsters, Wang Lin's wings had also finished growing out completely.

Naturally, Xiao Xiao, who had been keeping a close eye on his opponent, noticed this at the very first instant.

Yet, just as Wang Lin needed time to grow his wings, Xiao Xiao had also needed time to summon Lingniao and Gudiao.

And now, his opponents could no longer wait and charged at them in a fused state.

Watching Luo Xiaoluan and Wang Lin pouncing down from the air, Xiao Xiao couldn't help but drift off for a moment.

So they really could fly once they had two wings.

With the buff provided by the wings, their speed had clearly increased by more than just a single tier.

Before Xiao Xiao could examine the fused form of Luo Xiaoluan and Wang Lin in detail, they were already right upon them.

"Lingniao! Gudiao!"

Xiao Xiao shouted sharply.

"Caw—!"

"Screech—!"

At his command, Lingniao and Gudiao lunged forward to meet Luo Xiaoluan and Wang Lin.

"Gurgle, gurgle—" Making unearthly, bizarre noises from their throats, Luo Xiaoluan and Wang Lin folded their wings and dove straight down from the sky with lethal intent.

Lingniao and Gudiao charged forward to meet them head-on.

"Bang—!"

A massive dark shadow swept through the air with a violent whistling sound, crashing downward and producing a deafening, dull impact.

"Gudiao?" After just a single clash, Gudiao was blasted out of the air and sent plummeting, leaving Xiao Xiao momentarily dumbfounded.

He immediately looked toward Lingniao, but the next instant, he found himself instinctively reaching out to catch a feather drifting down from the sky.

Soft to the touch, the feather's brilliant red, glowing like floating rosy clouds, still pulsed with vibrant color in his palm.

It seemed Lingniao had sustained minor injuries as well.

Fortunately, when Xiao Xiao raised his eyes to look across the way, Luo Xiaoluan and Wang Lin clearly hadn't fared much better. Bright feathers mixed with droplets of blood scattered into the air, accompanied by the sound of dripping blood hitting the ground—"drip, drop~".

Had their strength truly increased exponentially after merging?

Furthermore, should he consider this the true nature of the Bi-fang bird? Having two such people fused together not only failed to hinder their movements, but instead massively boosted every aspect of their capabilities—whether it was physical strength, speed, or agility.

Heh, was this what they called the miraculous power of love... or something?

However, falsehood remained falsehood.

What genuine and profound affection could there be in an emotion stolen through deception?

By this point, Xiao Xiao was entirely certain that the sudden reconciliation between Luo Xiaoluan and Wang Lin was definitely the handiwork of a monster.

Moreover, knowing it was a Bi-fang bird, he could easily guess what its specific ability was.

Additionally, judging by the earlier events, he deduced that Luo Xiaoluan was likely the one who knew the truth, while Wang Lin remained completely oblivious.

Could a love obtained through such means still be called love?

Xiao Xiao could only find it pathetic.

Was this truly how the Bi-fang bird, meant to be a symbol of beautiful love, forged the star-crossed lovers of its eyes?

It was utterly absurd!

...

Gudiao quickly rose back to its feet and rejoined the battle.

Luo Xiaoluan and Wang Lin became entangled in a fierce melee with Lingniao and Gudiao.

Feathers fluttered chaotically through the air, punctuated occasionally by falling drops of blood.

Xiao Xiao had retreated beyond the safe zone. Raising his head, he watched as Gudiao dodged an attack from the wings, its razor-sharp beak viciously stabbing into Wang Lin's exposed neck and drawing a burst of blood.

It seemed the earlier setback had infuriated Gudiao greatly.

Enveloped in surging fury, Gudiao suddenly erupted with roaring flames—though they were dark, gloomy black flames devoid of any warmth. Instead, they radiated an eerie and sinister malevolence, resembling ghostly fires burning deep within the netherworld.

The horns upon Gudiao's head flashed with a scarlet light, looking increasingly ferocious.

Weren't creatures like Gudiao the exact kind used to frighten crying children into sleeping at night?

Just looking at it made it seem far from a good guy—er, a good monster. Xiao Xiao couldn't help feeling that by sending out Gudiao, he looked rather like a grand villain himself.

Heh, this definitely had to be an illusion.

...

Gudiao's ferocity burned to the heavens, and Lingniao's oppressive aura shook the air. Although Luo Xiaoluan and Wang Lin had initially gained the upper hand by relying on their synchronized minds and seamless coordination to catch Gudiao and Lingniao off guard, as time wore on, the two monsters' momentum surged and their attacks grew smoother. Luo Xiaoluan and Wang Lin were soon stretched thin, struggling defensively.

"Bang—!" Luo Xiaoluan and Wang Lin were blasted backward, crashing heavily into a wall and kicking up a cloud of debris and dust.

Their wings were bent at a bizarre angle, hanging precariously as if half-broken, with a large portion of their tails dangling limply downward.

After remaining embedded in the wall for a brief moment, they suddenly dropped out, sprawling face-down onto the ground.

Yet, in a single instant, the two sprang back to their feet, glaring ahead at Lingniao and Gudiao in the air with fierce and venomous gazes.

Though heavily injured, their tightly fused bodies seemed to grant them infinite strength; as long as the person by their side remained, they had nothing to fear.

...

A flash of disdain and coldness crossed Gudiao's eyes as it prepared to deliver the final blow to the foolish wretches below who didn't know when to quit.