The Sparrow Wild

Many years ago, the world wasn’t like it is today.

There were no bustling traffic, no tall skyscrapers. Instead, there were towering mountains, flowing rivers, and the peaceful beauty of spring.

The sky was as blue as a wash, and a fledgling bird struggled to fly. When it crossed a high mountain, it was too exhausted and finally fell heavily into the grass below.

In early spring, the tender buds had just begun to sprout, the willows brushed the banks, and the clear water in the stream sparkled in the sunlight.

Over the small river, an old stone bridge stood broken, and a group of people was crossing it.

All of them were dressed in moon-white robes, with light-colored gauze garments over their shoulders, small baskets on their backs, and their dark hair bound with white feathers.

The fledgling, in its dazed state, heard the sounds of people laughing and playing around. Its will to survive stirred, and despite the searing pain throughout its body, it struggled to make a sound of distress.

“Junior Brother, you were incredible yesterday. You took down that annoying ghost with just two swipes! I want to be like you from now on!”

The one speaking was a young man, his eyebrows and eyes handsome, his voice clear and crisp. His hands waved freely as he walked and skipped, his basket full of herbs from the journey. The slightly longer twigs hung out, subtly obscuring his face.

The person being called “Junior Brother” was also a handsome young man, dressed the same as the other, with pale skin, his complexion smooth like porcelain. His face, however, lacked expression, and occasionally, he seemed slightly irritated by the noise from the people around him.

Once again, as the noise from the playful chatter almost caused them to stumble, Wen Chu had to stop and seriously say, “Senior Brother, can you be quiet for a moment?”

However, as the Senior Brother, Yan Heqing seemed not to hear Wen Chu’s words. Not only did he not comply with the request, but he changed the subject, abandoning his usual playful demeanor. In a mysteriously teasing tone, he said, “Junior Brother, have you heard any bird calls? I feel like there’s been bird song around here.”

The younger man didn’t want to deal with his only Senior Brother, so he thought to skip past him and catch up with the group that had fallen behind.

But as soon as he took a step, his wrist was grabbed, and now, frustrated, Wen Chu, his face stern, said in a heavier tone, “Senior Brother, if you keep doing this, I won’t talk to you anymore.”

That short sentence made Yan Heqing quickly release his grip.

No longer constrained and already irritated, Wen Chu didn’t bother to see if Yan Heqing followed, instead continuing ahead with his basket.

The sunset cast a slanted light over Qingluan Mountain.

“Why is one person missing?”

The senior brother in charge of headcount stood still, looking at the group of children who had just arrived at his side, but he still noticed one person was missing. His face immediately showed signs of anxiety as he retraced his thoughts to see if there was anything they missed during their journey.

At that moment, someone rushed toward him—it was the younger disciple from Wan Jian Sect.

Wen Chu was breathing heavily, looking worried. “Senior Brother, I know who’s missing.”

---

After Wen Chu walked off, Yan Heqing didn’t chase after him. He hesitated for a few seconds before turning around and completely breaking away from the main group.

Guided by the sound of birds, he headed up the mountain. There were faint bird calls in the air, but due to the wide, empty surroundings, he still couldn’t pinpoint where the birds were.

The sky grew darker, and occasionally, he could hear wolves howling in the distance. At twelve or thirteen years old, he still had the heart of a child. While he felt frightened, he couldn’t bring himself to leave the little bird waiting for death alone.

With no one around, he crossed his arms and spoke to himself for courage.

“Junior Brother Wen is so stingy, he won’t even talk to me for a little longer.”

“Little bird, you have to hold on until I find you. I’m scared.”

“Junior Brother Wen, you’re so small, but your face always has that same expression. You’re like a little cold-faced monster.”

“Little bird, Junior Brother doesn’t want to believe in your existence, but I’ll make him believe.”

Lost in his self-encouragement, he didn’t notice that the path beneath him was narrowing. A portion of the road was covered with thorns, and after stepping on an empty space, he lost control and tumbled down.

After spinning several times, he finally hit the ground.

His face and body were covered with scratches from the thorns. The shallow ones were just skin deep, but the deeper ones were bleeding profusely.

Not used to such pain, the boy immediately started crying. Before he could get up from the ground, tears were already streaming down his face.

“Waa, waa…”

“Chirp…”

A faint bird call, almost as quiet as a fly, interrupted the boy’s crying.

Yan Heqing wiped the tears from his swollen eyes and looked toward the source of the sound. There, he saw a featherless fledgling lying weakly on the ground, looking as if it had no life left.

He stopped next to the bird, crouched down, and gently cradled it in his hands. It was still early spring, and he could feel the bird trembling in his palms.

Yan Heqing softly stroked the bird’s back and whispered, “Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. I’ve found you. I’ll take care of you from now on.”

After a moment of thought, he took off his gauze robe and carefully wrapped it around the little bird. Once the bird was snugly wrapped, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

However, while it was easy to fall down, it was difficult to climb back up.

Although the pain in his body was slightly relieved, the terrain around him was obviously a large pit. He had fallen to the bottom of the pit, and the edges were covered in moss and thorns. Just touching them made them feel slippery.

Yan Heqing tried to climb up from the gentler slope, but after several attempts, all of them ended in failure.

The sky had darkened to the point where he could barely see, and with no one around, fear began to creep in.

“Waa, Junior Brother Wen, will you come find me?”

“Waa, Junior Brother Wen, you wouldn’t be that cruel, right?”

“Waa, Junior Brother Wen, if I die here, please take care of the Master for me.”

…

“Yan Xian, Yan Xian, where are you!”

After an unknown amount of time, Yan Heqing heard footsteps approaching. He listened carefully and heard someone calling his name.

It was someone coming to find him because they noticed he was missing.

Immediately, Yan Heqing, ignoring the pain in his body, held the little bird and used all his strength to shout, “I’m here—! I’ve fallen into a pit—!”

Soon, someone reached the edge of the pit.

Yan Heqing recognized the person holding a torch—it was the senior brother responsible for their safety from the neighboring mountain peak.

“Little disciple from Wan Jian Sect, is it you at the bottom of this pit?” the senior brother asked.

Yan Heqing nodded vigorously. “Yes, it’s me.”

As he spoke, he looked toward the senior brother and saw Wen Chu standing nearby, his face frowning with an unreadable expression.

Hearing the response, the senior brother sighed in relief.

Before long, Yan Heqing was pulled out of the pit. After thanking the senior brother, he ran a few steps ahead, stopping in front of Wen Chu. He extended the little bird in front of him. “Junior Brother, look, what is this?”

Wen Chu obediently looked at the little bundle.

Yan Heqing proudly said, “This is the little bird I saved!”

---

A few days later, on Qingluan Mountain, Wan Jian Sect.

After morning practice, Wen Chu, along with the others, was heading to the cafeteria when suddenly someone patted him on the shoulder.

He turned around to see Yan Heqing, wrapped up like a dumpling.

After finding him that night, the Master had seen the boy covered in wounds and cried, immediately giving Yan Heqing a week off from morning practice to have his wounds bandaged and to rest.

Yan Heqing excitedly grabbed the boy and rushed toward a corner of the sect that no one usually paid attention to.

When they arrived, he pulled out a bird’s nest from behind a fake mountain. The nest was covered by the gauze robe he had worn that day, and inside was the little bird. After a few days, its body had begun to grow light red feathers, and there was a golden pattern at the tip of its tail. Its eyes were open, and the green pupils were staring at Wen Chu, just like its owner.

“Junior Brother, isn’t this bird cute?” Yan Heqing asked.

Wen Chu: “…”

Yan Heqing stared at Wen Chu with wide eyes and continued, “It doesn’t have a name yet. Since you’re so good with words, Junior Brother, I’m sure you can come up with a good name for it.”

“Let’s name it together!”

Wen Chu didn’t respond immediately. After a few seconds of contemplating Yan Heqing’s face, he said, “Do you have any suggestions? Tell me, and I’ll listen.”

Yan Heqing: “It’s all red, but its eyes are green. I want to name it Cuihong. What do you think?”

Wen Chu: “…”

Wen Chu: “Senior Brother, do you have any other names? To be honest, if I were this little bird, I wouldn’t like that name.”

Yan Heqing was puzzled. “Why? I think it’s a very creative name.”

Wen Chu didn’t explain his reasons. Instead, he carefully observed the bird in the nest.

After a moment, he said, “I can’t tell what kind of bird this is yet, but since you found it in an uninhabited wasteland, let’s call it ‘Que Man’.”

“Que Man?”

Yan Heqing repeated the name softly, savoring its meaning, and his face brightened with joy.

He gently held the bird up in front of his eyes and said cautiously, “Que Man, you have a name now. Are you happy?”

The bird in the nest chirped in response.

---

That was the happiest time Que Man ever had in its life.

But there is no eternal happiness in this world.

The mountain of corpses and sea of blood forged the human hell. From then on, there were no more birds singing, only severed limbs and broken arms.

The Zhuque clan descended as divine beings, but they couldn’t bring peace to the world.

Que Man had already grown up, but now it could only lie wounded in the dust, its bright red feathers covered in grime, and the golden patterns on its body dimmed.

Intense pain swept through it as it tilted its head. Its vision grew hazy, and in its half-closed view, it saw two blinding lights—someone in pure white robes, stained with blood, stood with their back to it, never turning around.

That day, the heavenly punishment descended.

From then on, some people never appeared again, and some things were forever changed.