The Glory After Rebirth [重生之尊荣]

Chapter 277- 279

Chapter 277: These Roast Pheasants Smell So Good!

Ling Zhang's attention was drawn to the roast pheasants on the grill, his worry ebbing away. Smelling the tantalizing aroma and watching the dripping fat, he found himself stroking his belly.

Yuwen Tong gave a smile and was just about to speak when he suddenly paused, twisting his head aside to look at a clump of bushes to their right.

Ling Zhang's eyes also flashed in that direction.

A faint rustle was heard. At first Ling Zhang thought that it was some kind of wild beast approaching, and then he felt it sounded more like a human than an animal, but its breathing was a little weak, and there was also the sound of footsteps on crisp leaves. It sounded like... a child?

After a while, the bushes shook and with that a little boy's head with two buns on top poked up through the foliage, his fair-skinned, chubby, little cheeks as delicate and adorable as those of the boy beside the lotus seat of the Bodhisattva in a New Year painting, his big, round, liquid eyes as bright and sparkling as obsidian in spring water. The moment his little head popped out, he started looking around and soon caught sight of Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong as well as their... roast pheasants.

His limpid eyes immediately lighting up, he crawled his way out of the bushes. His plump little hands were also fair-skinned and appeared very pleasant to the touch, fallen leaves sticking to his hair and robes which were simple-styled but made of soft, sumptuous material. After getting out of the bushes, he pulled himself up, casually dusted off his hands and then trotted towards Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, but he didn't get too close, stopping a few paces away, flicked a surprised glance at them and then looked at the roast pheasants and asked in a babyish voice, "Who are you? What are you doing?"

Ling Zhang had been astonished when he'd seen that it was really a kid, and been gazing at the little boy all along. Noticing that the style of the boy's robes was rather different from that of the robes worn by common children in the outside world, he got a shrewd idea of where he might be from. After hearing the boy's questions, he answered, "We were invited to pay a visit to this place."

"To pay a visit?" The little boy tilted his head slightly to one side, his big eyes full of puzzlement. "My uncle said no outsiders could get in. Where are you from?"

Uncle? Ling Zhang guessed that this boy lived in the Millennium Pavilion and his uncle was probably a member of the organization.

And surprised as this little boy's eyes were, there was not much wariness in them. He seemed very naive and unsophisticated.

"We came here with an elder named Ji Yin," said Yuwen Tong.

At the sound of Ji Yin's name, the little boy seemed to suddenly understand, an expression of dawning comprehension on his face. "Oooh, it turns out you came here with the Prime Elder."

Having realized this, the little boy was much less afraid of Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, stepped closer and crouched down beside the fire, sniffing the tempting smell of the roast pheasants, staring at the them with gleaming eyes. He swallowed hard and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Roasting pheasants. They're very delicious. You want to give it a shot?" said Ling Zhang in a low voice, involuntarily sounding a trifle amused, for the sight of the little boy gazing at the roast pheasants with longing glinting eyes was so amusing. He could bet it was by the aroma of the roast pheasants that this little boy had been lured here.

Eyes glinting even more expectantly, the little boy bobbed his head repeatedly. He was just about to answer when a voice came from the clump of bushes behind him. "Cong."