Chapter 13: The Magical Tree and a Chick Falling from the Sky

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

The magical tree was located in the western part of the Taishan village. One had to tread on the main path to get there.

While Ning Fei was halfway through the journey, he again met the pack of mongrels who lived in the western part of the village. They were once again snapping playfully at each other, with their tails up high.

‘Hi, west gang of mongrels, we meet again.’ 

‘Hahaha! How about the east pack? I want to watch them fight.’ 

‘Brothers, can anyone explain what is happening?’

‘Go watch yesterday’s livestream. There were two packs of dogs fighting, and it was thrilling.’

‘Really? I shall watch it now.’

The viewers were all excited to see the mongrels, and many said hello to them.

Ning Fei had begun to retell the story of the magical tree.

“The magical tree is the oldest tree in these mountains. I’m not sure what kind of tree it is, but the diameter of the tree trunk is six meters wide. The tree trunk’s circumference is around twenty meters, and the entire height of the tree is an estimated fifty meters. The magical tree is massive and can be considered one of the amazing wonders of the mountains.”

More viewers became intrigued and curious about the story.

‘Are you serious? The diameter is six meters wide? I remembered that the biggest cypress tree in China is about this size too.’ 

‘The natural world is indeed fascinating.’

‘The webcaster’s show is very meaningful and interesting. I’ve seen things that I would probably never see in this lifetime.’

At this time, Ning Fei’s viewership had reached 110,000.

For a new webcaster who was only on the second day of his webcast show, this figure was not just incredible but simply unbelievable.

That was because Ning Fei had gained many loyal fans who were anticipating his webcast. Yesterday, many viewers who had watched Ning Fei’s webcast, felt that he was very interesting, so naturally, they were here again today.

Ning Fei strolled steadily down the main road and towards the depths of the forest.

“Behind this mountain, you can see forests everywhere. The village is merely a small part of the mountains. The forests cover the main land.

“There are many ferocious animals who roam the mountains, but they mainly reside in the back of the mountains. The animals rarely come to this part, and there are safety measures set up too.”

As Ning Fei walked, everyone started to unconsciously feel nervous after hearing him.

After all, Ning Fei was just like any other outdoor webcaster who was taking a risky journey into the forest.

‘Webcaster, will you be in any danger?’ someone asked.

Ning Fei grinned back at the screen. “Don’t worry. The beasts are far away from this area. Besides, the magical tree is just right ahead. There is nothing dangerous there.”

Ning Fei had lived on these mountains for at least a decade, so without a doubt, he knew the surroundings very well.

It didn’t take too long for him to reach the magical tree.

At the sight of the magical tree, everyone couldn’t help but gasp.

Damn it! This tree was simply massive!

From the screen, the magical tree looked as if it touched the sky, with its trunk resembling a huge and thick chimney. The branches extended into the clouds, and the leaves were lush and abundant.

When the drone flew nearer, the viewers could clearly see how the trunk of the magical tree was covered with roots as thick as water pipes. The magical tree looked like a piece of weathered and unadorned art.

“This is the magical tree.” Ning Fei smiled as he talked.

“The tree only has one trunk, and its branches are as long as a dozen meters. No one would be able to climb it, so please don’t suggest that I do so.” He immediately squashed any ideas that the viewers might have.

For the sake of excitement and thrill, the viewers naturally hoped that Ning Fei would embark on an adventure. And Ning Fei certainly understood their thoughts.

But it was indeed difficult to climb the tree. If he were to fall from the tree, he would either be grievously injured or dead. Thus, he wouldn’t act rashly.

Ning Fei raised his head to study the branches of the magical tree. At that moment, he saw something small and black falling from the tree.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he took a closer look. Indeed, something small and black was falling rapidly.

Was that a chick?

Under these circumstances, Ning Fei’s agility became useful.

He leaped up as high as he could and used his hands to catch the chick. After that, he controlled his speed as he landed slowly to lessen the chick’s impact from the fall. In doing so, he had swiftly minimized the brunt felt by the chick’s freefall. He had tried to the best of his ability to protect the baby bird.

All the viewers were stunned and flabbergasted by the scene.

What had just happened?

Did they just watch a martial arts film?

From the screen, they saw how Ning Fei had stepped on the trunk and flew about three meters into the air. Then, he seemed to have caught something in his hand.

Ning Fei acted nimbly and agilely, and his posture looked as though he was a swordsman in a martial arts movie.

‘What the heck? Host, and you claim that you don’t know martial arts?’

‘He has to be a divine being or a god. How could he have such moves?’ 

‘I thought that the webcaster was gentle and scholarly. I didn’t imagine that he knew martial arts!’

‘Impressive! Amazing!’

And the rest of the comments were filled with praise.

The drone flew closer to Ning Fei, and everyone noticed the thing in his hand.

It was a pale, pink chick who hadn’t sprouted any feathers.

Everyone finally came to a realization that Ning Fei had saved a falling baby bird! In an anxious bid to save the bird, he had revealed his skills.

The viewers were suddenly overwhelmed with shock.

This webcaster was too incredible!

But why would the chick fall from the tree?

Ning Fei lifted his head, and he could hear the vague soft sounds of the other chicks.

He shook his head helplessly before he addressed the viewers, “Dear viewers, I reckon there is a cuckoo chick in the nest at the top of the tree.”

At Ning Fei’s words, most of the viewers were consumed by anger.

‘So it’s a cuckoo! That explains why!’

‘I thought that it was merely hearsay about cuckoos. I didn’t know that something like that would really happen.’

‘Host, climb up the tree and smash that cuckoo! I will give you a rocket!’ 

‘Can someone explain all this hatred toward cuckoos? I remember that cuckoos are supposed to be very nice-looking.’

Ning Fei explained to the viewers who couldn’t understand, “Cuckoos are notorious for being frauds in the animal world. A cuckoo would choose a nest that belonged to some other bird and lay her egg inside. It’s equivalent to being a parasite. And the first thing that the cuckoo chick does after it has hatched is to push out the rest of the eggs and chicks in the nest. It will then monopolize the love and food of the ‘surrogate mother’.

“Every year in summer, thousands of eggs and chicks would die in such a terrible manner because of the newly-hatched cuckoos. As for the parents, they would still be in the dark, and they would continue to shower loving care on the murderer that had killed their chicks. This is the true nature of a cuckoo.

“Of course, researchers have found out that only forty percent of the hundred and forty known cuckoo breeds possess such parasitic behavior, but that is enough to spread their notoriety.”

After Ning Fei’s explanation, the viewers finally understood what was going on.

To think that the animal world had such selfish bird species!

A chick killing other chicks in order to gain the love of the parents.

This behavior made everyone mad with anger!

Many of the viewers started to condemn such behavior.

But this was also the way where every creature found its own rule of survival. This brutal method of surviving had been imprinted in the cuckoo’s genes. Perhaps it defied human morality, but to a cuckoo, it was merely a means of survival.

One of the viewers explained that and attributed it to the laws of nature.

However, most of the viewers couldn’t accept that reasoning.

‘Don’t tell me about the laws of nature. I’m also part of nature, and if I see such a thing happening before my eyes, I would smash the cuckoo chick to death. Then it would understand my law of nature!’