Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 104

Chapter 104

 

Firefighters spent more than two hours extinguishing the large fire. In addition to the fire department, the police also arrived.

 

A crowd of people surrounded the burnt coffee shop entrance, giving statements one by one.

 

The surveillance footage retrieved from the roadside showed that shortly after Shen Qingyi and Nuonuo left, just over ten minutes later, a man emerged from the coffee shop’s front entrance.

 

The man was wearing a black padded jacket and jeans, talking to his phone, seemingly to himself, and then turned around and threw a lighter into the shop.

 

In less than five minutes, the fire spread to the doorway, and glass shattered one pane after another, drawing the attention of many passersby.

 

Passersby, seeing the burning coffee shop, called the police and made phone calls. Unfortunately, the fire was too intense, and with the addition of accelerant, no one dared to approach.

 

The matter was very clear: someone had set the fire after the coffee shop employees had left. The suspect was quickly identified; he was standing among the crowd, watching his “masterpiece.”

 

Shen Qingyi watched the person being taken away in the police car, her gaze icy cold.

 

After a series of investigations and questioning, everything concluded around 12 AM. The police, seeing Shen Qingyi’s lowered head, knew she was the owner of the coffee shop, and such an unexpected disaster was truly heartbreaking.

 

“Miss Shen, please rest assured, we will thoroughly investigate and give you a satisfactory answer,” the interviewing officer said to Shen Qingyi. “It’s late now. Please go back and rest. Come back here tomorrow morning.”

 

Nuonuo still hadn’t left and asked excitedly, “Did you find anyone in the fire?”

 

The officer shook his head: “Apart from property damage, there were no casualties. We didn’t see your colleague named Shan Ling at the scene, but we did find her phone in the staff room. She might have already escaped. The back door of your coffee shop is a blind spot for surveillance.”

 

Nuonuo turned to look at Shen Qingyi, seeing her still looking distant, and anxiously asked, “Boss, Xiaoling, she…”

 

“You go back first,” Shen Qingyi said softly to Nuonuo. “Maybe Shan Ling has already gotten out, but we can’t find her without her phone. I’ll go back and look for her later. You… don’t worry too much either.”

 

The police officer also nodded: “Yes, you should both go look for her. Maybe she’s already home. Don’t worry too much. Keep your phones open. If there are any issues, we will contact you immediately.”

 

Nuonuo looked anxiously at Shen Qingyi, finally lowering her head: “Then I’ll head back. Boss, you must call me as soon as you find Shan Ling.”

 

The two left the police station. Shen Qingyi looked at the sky outside. She hadn’t noticed it inside, but now that she was outside and the cold night wind blew, she realized she wasn’t wearing a jacket.

 

After helping Nuonuo call a taxi, Shen Qingyi finally walked towards her car.

 

At midnight, only the streetlights were on. The parking lot was very quiet, with only the sound of the wind.

 

Shen Qingyi was shivering with cold, but she calmly looked at her back seat, reaching out and pulling the car door open.

 

‘Click—’

 

The small white mountain sparrow hidden in the back seat desperately tried to burrow into the corner. Its once pristine white feathers were now covered in grey, scorched from the fire.

 

‘Cheep, cheep, cheep-cheep-cheep—’

 

Shan Ling didn’t dare to look back at her, trying to find a place to hide with a limping gait.

 

But Shen Qingyi’s car was too clean, without even a cushion. Shan Ling flew around for a while, finally standing on the headrest in a one-legged stance, trembling slightly.

 

Shen Qingyi glanced at it, sat down in the back seat, and closed the door with a ‘thud.’

 

Shan Ling shivered again, timidly raised her small head to look over, and weakly ‘cheeped’ twice.

 

Shen Qingyi and she made eye contact. The car instantly became extremely quiet.

 

Shan Ling was terrified at the moment, trembling all over, not daring to meet Shen Qingyi’s eyes, still trying to pretend to be a small bird and planning to hide in the corner of the seat.

 

“Shan Ling.”

 

Shen Qingyi suddenly called Shan Ling’s full name, startling her again.

 

Normally, Shen Qingyi called Shan Ling ‘Xiaoling’ or ‘Xiaoling.’ Suddenly calling her full name almost made Shan Ling lose her footing and fall off the headrest.

 

‘Cheep-cheep-cheep—’

 

Shen Qingyi looked at the feigning mountain sparrow, and asked with a heavy expression, “What exactly are you?”

 

Shan Ling stopped chirping. She looked at Shen Qingyi, remained silent for three to five seconds, and then slowly opened her mouth to speak human language.

 

“Yiyi, please don’t be afraid of me. I won’t hurt you. I’m just… just a little nature spirit, I don’t mean any harm.”

 

The voice coming from the small white mountain sparrow was the same as Shan Ling’s, which made Shen Qingyi’s mind momentarily confused again.

 

Was this auditory hallucination?

 

Or her own hallucination?

 

Shen Qingyi held her head, thinking painfully. Was she having a relapse?

 

It shouldn’t be. Zhou Shu said her condition was much better. How could she suddenly relapse for no reason, and with such a bizarre illness?

 

Shan Ling tilted her small head, watching her painful expression, and quickly said in fear: “Y-you don’t get excited. If you’re scared, I won’t talk anymore. Cheep-cheep-cheep, cheep-cheep-cheep—”

 

“Stop chirping!” Shen Qingyi covered her head, looked up at the small white ball standing on the headrest, opened her mouth, and asked, “Are you really Shan Ling?”

 

“It’s me,” Shan Ling said softly. “We commute together every day, eat together, sleep together, and work together.”

 

She saw Shen Qingyi’s face instantly turn pale, and her heart immediately felt a pang.

 

Shen Qingyi was afraid of her.

 

That was understandable. She was a little nature spirit, suddenly appearing in her true form next to Shen Qingyi. Her fear was natural.

 

The thought that she might never be able to stay by Shen Qingyi’s side again made Shan Ling’s chest ache.

 

“I’m sorry…”

 

Shan Ling lowered her head and said to Shen Qingyi, “I know I scared you. I won’t appear in front of you again. Please don’t feel pressured. Although I’m a nature spirit, I haven’t harmed anyone. I-I just…”

 

As she spoke, Shan Ling wanted to cry very badly.

 

But she didn’t have hands now and couldn’t shed tears. She only felt a throbbing pain in her chest, making her want to leave this place immediately.

 

In the fire, Shan Ling was terrified. She had never encountered such a massive fire. Her mind instantly went blank, and she desperately found a place to hide.

 

But the fire kept growing. Just when Shan Ling was in despair, she heard Shen Qingyi’s voice.

 

That was a lifeline for Shan Ling, so she quickly rushed out.

 

The fire was still huge. Shan Ling, as a human, couldn’t get out, so in her anxiety, she turned back into a bird, flapping her wings and diving into Shen Qingyi’s arms.

 

It was only after they were out of the fire that Shan Ling remembered what she had done.

 

She had actually let Shen Qingyi know her identity!

 

Shan Ling was terrified then. She desperately tried to pretend to be just a normal little mountain sparrow, and then Shen Qingyi locked her in the car.

 

Recalling this, Shan Ling curled up into a small white ball, saying tearfully and feeling wronged, “Please open the car door. I won’t bother you. I can fly away myself.”

 

Shen Qingyi hadn’t spoken the whole time. Hearing Shan Ling’s almost-crying voice, she sighed softly, not sure what she was thinking.

 

“Can you… turn back into your original appearance?” Shen Qingyi asked.

 

Shan Ling paused, not understanding why Shen Qingyi would ask this, but she still nodded honestly: “Yes, I can.”

 

“Good, then turn back,” Shen Qingyi said. “You look very awkward like this.”

 

“Turn back?” Shan Ling blinked, saying in disbelief, “Aren’t you scared?”

 

“I am a little scared,” Shen Qingyi said. “But I think if you wanted to hurt me, you’ve had countless opportunities over the past few months. So I think there might be some misunderstanding between us.”

 

Shan Ling was instantly overjoyed upon hearing this, but just as she was about to transform into human form, she remembered she wasn’t wearing clothes. She looked shyly at Shen Qingyi and said, “I can change back, but I don’t have any clothes. Can you get me some clothes?”

 

Shen Qingyi thought for a moment and said, “Wait for me.”

 

She got out of the car, went to the trunk, and found a black coat. She checked the size and confirmed it was enough to cover her body, then returned to the car.

 

She placed the coat on the other side of the back seat and said to Shan Ling, “Go ahead and change.”

 

Shan Ling then spread her palm-sized wings, fluttered over, stood on the seat on one leg, secretly glanced at Shen Qingyi, and then turned her head away.

 

With a soft ‘whoosh,’ Shen Qingyi felt a blur in front of her eyes, and a stark naked person appeared before her.

 

Shan Ling quickly grabbed the coat and put it on. She looked at Shen Qingyi, her face covered in soot, not daring to speak.

 

It wasn’t just her bird form that had its feathers burned; human Shan Ling wasn’t much better.

 

Her once soft and beautiful long hair was now burned, looking like it had been chewed by a dog. Half of her bangs were scorched, and her shoulder-length hair was half burnt, looking especially messy.

 

Shen Qingyi’s gaze fell on her foot. It was then she realized the little white bird had been hopping on one leg the whole time. After she transformed into human form, Shen Qingyi discovered Shan Ling’s left foot was burned. The burn on Shan Ling’s left foot was very severe.

 

“You’re injured?”

 

Shan Ling paused, looked down at her foot, and nodded: “The fire moves upwards, you know. My foot got burned when I flew over.”

 

Shen Qingyi felt a sting in her heart. She asked softly, “Does it hurt?”

 

“Yes,” Shan Ling replied weakly.

 

Shen Qingyi sighed softly. She first got out of the car, went to the driver’s seat, turned on the heater, and then said to Shan Ling, “I’m taking you to the hospital now. I’ll answer your questions after we see the doctor.”

 

Shan Ling, wearing Shen Qingyi’s coat, nodded.

 

Taking Shan Ling to the emergency room in the middle of the night was something Shen Qingyi was already used to, except this time, Shan Ling’s injury was more serious. After seeing the doctor, the doctor immediately admitted her for hospitalization and even required a minor surgery.

 

Shan Ling had never had surgery before. The thought of being cut open on her body scared her greatly.

 

But Shen Qingyi had no objections. She immediately reserved a private room and then went home quickly to bring back some of Shan Ling’s clothes for changing.

 

The minor surgery was quick, mainly for cleaning and anti-inflammation. After everything was done, Shan Ling finally saw Shen Qingyi again.

 

Perhaps because of what had happened, Shan Ling didn’t dare to talk to Shen Qingyi now. When she saw her, she was timid, as if afraid Shen Qingyi would abandon her at any moment.

 

“These are your clothes. I brought two sets.” After taking the items out, Shen Qingyi turned to look at Shan Ling, noticing that the other person was constantly watching her.

 

“Yiyi…”

 

Shan Ling called her name with some embarrassment, saying softly, “Thank you today. If you hadn’t come to save me, I might really have been burned to death.”

 

Shen Qingyi pulled up a chair and sat by the hospital bed, looking at the sooty little mountain sparrow in front of her, and sighed faintly.

 

As soon as Shan Ling heard her sigh, her heart immediately tensed up.

 

“Tell me about it,” Shen Qingyi leaned back, crossing her legs and folding her arms across her chest, looking at Shan Ling in a demanding manner, and said, “Whatever secrets you have, confess everything honestly now.”