Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 109

Chapter 109

Behind the hospital, there was a small flowerbed where most patients who could walk chose to sunbathe. Shen Qingyi borrowed a wheelchair from the inpatient department and took Shan Ling downstairs.

Although she couldn’t walk, Shan Ling was still very happy to soak up the sun.

The sunlight was just right today. Although the surroundings still displayed a bleak winter scene, Shan Ling could smell the fragrance of the soil and the scent of spring in the air.

“It should rain in a few days,” Shan Ling said to Shen Qingyi while sitting in the wheelchair and basking in the sun. “I heard them say this rain won’t be small.”

Shen Qingyi sat on a long bench by the flowerbed, watching many patients in hospital gowns sunbathing. Upon hearing her, she wondered, “Who told you?”

Shan Ling smiled, moved the wheelchair closer, and whispered in Shen Qingyi’s ear, “The birds told me.”

Shen Qingyi glanced at her.

Up until now, Shen Qingyi didn’t really feel like Shan Ling was a little nature spirit. The scene in the car seemed like an illusion. She was still the same—lively, obedient, clever, and whimsical.

But thinking about it, such a personality did resemble a little bird.

Shen Qingyi crossed her legs, rested one hand on her head, and met Shan Ling’s eyes, suddenly asking, “They say little birds hold grudges. Do you hold grudges too?”

Shan Ling paused, thought seriously, and said, “I don’t hold grudges. You must be talking about magpies, right? Magpies are more prone to holding grudges. They’re petty. And how can you compare me to those unawakened birds? I am…”

She quietly glanced around and whispered, “I’m a nature spirit.”

Shen Qingyi didn’t understand: “Is there a difference between awakened and unawakened birds?”

“There is,” Shan Ling leaned back against the wheelchair, crossing her hands on her stomach, and said lazily, “The animals you usually encounter are unawakened. They can only tell that I’m a bird, but they don’t understand the difference between me and them. Most awakened animals can take human form. However, those who awaken on their own are rare; most are naturally born that way.”

Shan Ling said, “It’s like what you say: some things you are born with, and if you don’t have them, you’ll never have them.”

Shen Qingyi looked at Shan Ling’s serious expression and found it quite fascinating to listen to her talk about these things.

“Then what are your plans for the future?” Shen Qingyi asked. “Will you work in the city for a few years and then go back to the village?”

“I don’t know,” Shan Ling also seemed worried. “I still quite like the city. The work here is good, there are many varieties of things, and the pay is decent. But the village is nice too, surrounded by mountains and rivers. The scenery is great, no worse than any scenic area.”

Shan Ling looked at Shen Qingyi and asked, “Yiyi, you see, I’ve confessed everything and haven’t hidden anything from you. Can I continue to work in your shop?”

“Well,” Shen Qingyi ‘thought seriously’ for a moment, then slowly said, “I don’t mind this. If you are willing, you can continue to work in my shop, and you can also live at my house.”

Shan Ling’s dark eyes sparkled. When she met Shen Qingyi’s gaze, Shen Qingyi felt as if she was being stared at by a bird.

“Thank you, Yiyi!” Shan Ling smiled happily at her, “Then I’ll continue to impose on you at your place. But you still have to keep it a secret for me. Telling people about this would scare them.”

“Of course,” Shen Qingyi also smiled faintly at her, “I will keep your secret.”

Shan Ling stayed at the hospital for another two days. On the fifth day, the doctor looked at the recovery of Shan Ling’s wound and said lightly, “You can be discharged now. Go take care of the paperwork in a moment.”

Shan Ling looked at her foot, her skin still dark and contrasted sharply with the unburned skin nearby.

Before Shan Ling could look closer, the nurse bandaged it up.

“Can I be discharged today?” Shen Qingyi asked with some worry, “It’s only the fifth day. Do we need to stay a little longer for observation?”

“No need. It’s not a serious injury,” the doctor told the two, “Go home and rest in bed properly. Don’t let it get wet. Before the wound heals, try not to shower. If you really need to wash, wrap it tightly with cling film and a plastic bag.”

Then, the doctor said to Shen Qingyi, “The family member please come to the office with me in a moment. I’ll give you some instructions.”

Shan Ling, sitting on the bed, couldn’t move around. She could only watch Shen Qingyi rush around the hospital. It took more than an hour to finally get everything done.

After 5 days in the hospital, there weren’t many belongings. Shen Qingyi made two trips to load everything from the room into the car, and then she pushed the wheelchair to take Shan Ling to the parking lot.

After helping Shan Ling into the passenger seat, Shen Qingyi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It had been two hours of bustling around. By the time they drove back home, it was already past 11 AM.

Shan Ling had felt a bit embarrassed in the car, thinking she was more trouble this time than when she fell and injured her back. Now, seeing Shen Qingyi walk around to the passenger side, intending to carry Shan Ling out, she quickly stopped her.

“Wait a moment!”

Shan Ling looked at her seriously and said, “We’re at the doorstep. I can get down by myself.”

“Don’t bother,” Shen Qingyi said calmly. “It’s the same if I carry you up.”

Shan Ling shook her head, and then, while Shen Qingyi wasn’t paying attention, with a ‘whoosh,’ she turned into a pile of clothes. Then, a small white ball of fluff fluttered its wings and flew over, landing on Shen Qingyi’s shoulder.

“See, I can fly back myself. I’m too heavy for you to carry.”

Shan Ling tilted her small, fluffy head, looking very happy at Shen Qingyi. She was still standing on one leg on her shoulder, extremely delighted: “Now I can openly turn into a bird! That’s great!”

Shen Qingyi’s expression was heavy: “Why didn’t you give me a warning?”

She was startled just now.

Shan Ling gripped Shen Qingyi’s shoulder tightly with her little paw on one foot, pressing against her ear, and said, “Isn’t this more convenient? I’m not a burden.”

But Shen Qingyi pointed at the scattered pile of clothes in front of them, as well as the gauze in the shape of a foot, and asked her, “Did you not consider that the medicine applied to your wound has now been wasted since you transformed back?”

Shan Ling was stunned. She hadn’t thought of that.

“But, but I’ve already transformed. You can’t ask me to change back, can you?” Shan Ling buried her little head behind Shen Qingyi’s ear, saying with a wronged tone, “I just wanted to help you share the load…”

She was becoming more and more justified as she spoke.

Shen Qingyi sighed. Since it was already done, she couldn’t scold her anymore. She could only sigh softly and carry the pile of clothes and the wheelchair upstairs and into the house.

Once they were home, Shan Ling fluttered her wings, flying around the house, finally landing on the balcony. She looked at the little birds chattering outside and greeted them.

The birds outside the balcony naturally saw Shan Ling, but they found it strange why this bird looked different now than before.

Shan Ling answered them this way:

“I’m injured and currently applying medicine,” Shan Ling stood on the flowerpot, one foot tucked up and the other supporting herself. She told them, “I can turn back to my original appearance in a moment.”

Several little sparrows surrounded Shan Ling, tilting their small heads and staring at her with their little bead-like eyes, chirping: “Little Mountain Sparrow, why are you always getting injured?”

“Is this what humans call a year of bad luck?”

“Isn’t there a saying that misfortunes never come singly? Little Mountain Sparrow, you must be careful.”

“But I don’t think this is a bad thing. At least, Little Mountain Sparrow, you have a human taking care of you, and you don’t have to go out often anymore.”

“This is probably the benefit of being a pet raised by a human.”

Listening to the little birds’ chattering consolation, Shan Ling involuntarily puffed out her small chest.

“Don’t worry, as long as I’m around, none of you will go hungry,” Shan Ling said with a shake of her white feathers, proclaiming confidently.

Just then, Shen Qingyi came out of the bedroom with a nightgown. Seeing the small, fluffy white creature chatting with the birds on the balcony, she couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.

Seeing Shan Ling actually turn into a bird and chat with a flock of birds now really gave her a chilling feeling.

“Shan Ling.”

Shen Qingyi called out. Shan Ling immediately replied with a ‘chirp,’ fluttered her little wings, and flew to Shen Qingyi, landing steadily on her shoulder. Then she lifted her fluffy little head and asked in confusion, “Did you call me?”

Shen Qingyi: “…”

This feeling was so strange—indescribably strange.

Shen Qingyi held back and said to Shan Ling, “Change your clothes. Don’t keep turning into a bird.”

Shan Ling chirped twice, indicating her agreement.

Back in the bedroom, Shan Ling transformed back, putting on the nightgown Shen Qingyi brought her, dressing right under Shen Qingyi’s nose.

At this moment, Shen Qingyi could only see Shan Ling’s slender and long body. She involuntarily looked away, then secretly glanced again.

The little mountain sparrow looked quite fair, and she was equally fair after turning into a human.

However, a black and red burn mark appeared on one of her long, slender legs, looking very unsightly.

Shen Qingyi’s gaze fell on Shan Ling’s foot. She sat down beside her and said, “Lift your foot up. I’ll reapply the medicine for you.”

Shan Ling poked her head out of the nightgown neckline, then very naturally placed her foot on Shen Qingyi’s knee.

Taking the medicine from the side, Shen Qingyi applied the prescribed burn ointment, saying to Shan Ling, “The doctor told me your wound shouldn’t be covered all the time. It needs to breathe more so it can heal faster.”

Shan Ling watched intently as Shen Qingyi squeezed some transparent ointment from the tube. The ointment had a pungent smell and felt greasy when applied to the wound, but Shan Ling knew it was burn medicine, so she didn’t struggle, watching as Shen Qingyi diligently covered her entire foot with the ointment.

Looking at her unsightly foot, Shan Ling said a little sadly, “Yiyi, is my foot very ugly?”

Shen Qingyi lowered her gaze, tidied up the medicine, and said calmly, “No, the ugliness is only temporary. Once you’re completely healed, it won’t be very noticeable.”

The medicine prescribed by the doctor was very good. As long as both Shen Qingyi and Shan Ling were careful, there wouldn’t be a very obvious scar on her foot.

Although Shan Ling was optimistic, Shen Qingyi knew that girls cared about their appearance. If she really had a heavily scarred foot, Shan Ling herself wouldn’t be happy.

Shen Qingyi turned her head to look at Shan Ling, finding that the other person was also observing her.

“Yiyi,” Shan Ling looked at her obediently, paused, and asked, “Do you dislike that I’m not human?”

Support