The entire Urban Village was a jarring contrast to the bustling metropolis, as if time had hit pause, leaving it perpetually frozen in its old, squalid state.
There weren't even any streetlights here. Mu Zimo could only rely on the faint moonlight to watch Qiao An's slender back as she disappeared from view. She shouldered a large bone, her other hand tightly clutching the bag of fruit from the old police officer, expertly weaving around the pockmarked path.
Standing by his car, Mu Zimo felt a sharp pang of guilt. 'I should have packed some more food for her,' he thought. 'Qiao An looks far too thin.'
As she turned into the darkness, Qiao An stopped, held her breath, and extended her arm.
A gust of wind roared past her ears as the talkative owl landed steadily on her arm, staring with its large eyes.
"Woman, you're a liar! You said you were setting me free, so why'd you call me back?"
Laden with her spoils, Qiao An tiptoed back to her room, only letting out a slow breath of relief once she was inside and in the dark.
Two heads slowly peeked out from under the covers. The moment Little Qing saw the owl, she prepared to lunge, only to be smacked by the large bone.
"Don't you dare eat this owl," Qiao An warned. "I have big plans for it."
The talkative owl stiffened the instant it was fixed by two cold stares, silently shuffling its little claws closer to Qiao An.
"A woman's words will trick men and birds alike! I'm a nationally protected species, and she actually lured me home to be snake food!"
The indignant owl began to whimper pitifully, only to be manually muted by Qiao An once again.
"What's there to cry about! I just asked you here for a favor. Snake food? You're not even big enough to get stuck in their teeth."
Little Qing was busy gnawing on the large bone and couldn't be bothered with the talkative owl. Little Bai, however, lazily flicked her tongue and huffed. "We're Class I protected animals, you know. Even if we did eat him, who would dare to arrest us?"
Qiao An fed the ravenous Little Qing like she was a dog. Little Bai, too lazy to even hiss, slithered back under the covers.
The manually muted owl didn't dare cause any more trouble. It could only perch obediently on the back of a chair and listen to its instructions.
"I know you're an old-timer from the outskirts of the city. You're also a protected species, so no one dares to mess with you. You must know plenty of other birds. I want you to spread the description of the man who was burying something last night. Have all the birds act as lookouts for me. If they spot anyone suspicious, they come to me. You do this well, and I'll cover all your food for the entire winter."
Qiao An's offer was generous, and the fact that she could understand all animal languages made communication easy. She immediately won the owl's approval.
"The weather's getting colder... I want a treehouse..."
The owl wasn't about to work for free. Qiao An had no choice but to pull her old phone from her pocket and open the PDD app. All sorts of luxurious little treehouses and soft hammocks appeared on the screen, making the owl's heart ache with longing.
"Leave it to me! You can count on it. I'm off!"
Qiao An opened the window. The owl spread its wings, launched into the night sky, and vanished.
Once the owl was gone, Little Bai poked her head out again and sighed. "That stupid bird fell for it. You probably don't even have the money for a birdhouse, let alone a treehouse."
Unbothered by the snake's scorn, Qiao An flopped onto the bed, wrapped herself in the thick quilt, and kicked off her shoes, shoving both Little Qing and Little Bai out from under the covers.
"If you two had any money, you wouldn't be crammed into this dump of a rental with me. Who knows, maybe I'll strike it rich on the stream tomorrow. Don't worry, tomorrow will bring its own good news!"
Having had their quilt stolen, Little Qing and Little Bai furiously tried to worm their way into Qiao An's embrace. They were pushed away, only to burrow right back in—a game that repeated until an exhausted Qiao An finally drifted off to sleep.
Meanwhile, the owl, having returned to the city outskirts, was circling in the night sky, hooting incessantly and scaring the several police officers investigating the scene into a cold sweat.
Hearing their comrade's call, countless birds flocked from all directions, landing on the large tree until its branches were thick with them.
The young officer was a little frightened, his voice trembling. "Th-that's... that's way too many birds, isn't it? Where did they all come from?"
An officer squatting at the edge of the pit, bagging various pieces of evidence, glanced up with an unruffled expression before quickly looking back down and continuing his work, seemingly unfazed.
"They're probably just curious. Came to watch a crime scene investigation. You can stop people from coming over, but can you stop a flock of birds?"
The young officer was not comforted. He could only keep a wary eye on the tree. Countless birds of all kinds were perched on its massive branches, chirping and chattering in a lively chorus that he, unfortunately, couldn't understand.
At that moment, the owl, like a chairman addressing a board meeting, stood on the highest branch and began to issue its commands.
"My friends! A human who can understand the language of animals has just asked for my help. She wants us to find the strange man who was digging a hole here last night. He wears strange shoes, he stinks, he's thin, and he always moves about in the dead of night. If any of you can find this fellow, the human has promised me she will give us enough food to get us all safely through the winter!"
'All we have to do is look for one human while we're out and about, and we get enough food to help every bird get through the winter?' It was an incredibly good deal.
"Can a human be trusted? Are you sure we'll get the food?"
A falcon took off in disdain. It loathed humans and wanted nothing to do with them.
The owl may not have understood humans, but it certainly understood its own kind.
"All we have to do is keep an eye out for a suspicious person while we're flying around. Even if we get tricked, what have we lost? Nothing. But if the human keeps her word, the food she gives us could save countless lives. Are you still unwilling to help?"
As a protected species, the talkative owl knew that humans would naturally come to its rescue if its life was ever in danger.
But the more numerous, weaker flocks weren't so fortunate. They often went unnoticed, and countless birds could perish during the harsh winter.
The falcon circled the great tree a few times before finally landing again. It had agreed.
The other small birds began to chirp amongst themselves. A tiny, inconspicuous sparrow shook its head, as if wanting to say something, but ultimately shrank back into the crowd.
'I've seen that strange human before,' it thought. 'In that place all living things avoid. But I don't dare say anything. I'm too weak. I can't protect everyone. It's better to keep quiet.'
Only after assigning the task did the owl dismiss the assembly. It remained on the great tree, watching the police officers working urgently below, silently eavesdropping.
"Alright, there's no more useful evidence here. Let's get going."
Before leaving, the man in the gold-rimmed glasses tilted his head back and glanced up at the peculiar owl.