Don’t Discriminate Against Species

"Ai, why did you stop walking?" Fu Li walked out of the office. Seeing that Zhuang Qing was standing motionlessly like a statue, he poked his waist.

Zhuang Qing turned like he had been electrocuted and shot a glare at Fu Li. "What did you touch me for?" The spot at his waist that had been touched felt like it was on fire; it was both scalding hot and itchy. He could barely stop himself from scratching the area.

Fu Li hadn't expected Zhuang Qing to have such a big reaction and was also shocked. "What's with you?"

Zhuang Qing wanted to say that a man's waist couldn't be touched, but faced with Fu Li's face, his imposing manner weakened abruptly. "Nothing, there are a few little yao saying vulgar things downstairs."

Fu Li listened with rapt attention, and then realized that these people were gossiping about him.

"That crested ibis' human form isn't good looking, would Fu Li daojun fancy him?"

"The human form has always been the ugliest. Fu Li daojun's cultivation is profound, why would he use the human appearance to judge the crested ibis' looks?"

"That's true. The crested ibis has bright-colored feathers, was established as a national treasure by the humans, and has some capital he can be proud of. Although Fu Li daojun's cultivation is profound, his original form is not lofty. There is a possibility that he was attracted by the crested ibis' vivid feathers."

What did they mean by 'not lofty'? Fu Li most hated others commenting on his original form. As a result, the smile on his face collapsed the moment he heard this. So what if his original form wasn't lofty? Little bodies often harbored great souls!

"No, wasn't it mentioned on the forum that Fu Li daojun and Zhuang…"

"That's impossible. The difference is too great, they don't seem like a pair just by looking at them."

"Talking behind someone else's back is wrong. Your cultivation is poor, but it seems you've learnt the human way of gossiping and meddling to the fullest extent," Zhuang Qing flew down from the second floor. He said with a cold face, "Since you're in such high spirits, why not let me listen in as well?"

"D-Dragon Lord," The little yao who had been talking suffered such a fright that both their legs trembled. No longer did they dare to shoot their mouths off.

Zhuang Qing saw that they had lost the enthusiasm for gossiping and let out a cold snort. He turned his head and realized that there was a yao cultivator gnawing on dried meat with a lowered head. The yao cultivator hadn’t even raised his head once.

It was clearly a very normal matter, but Zhuang Qing felt that there was something strange about it.

He took a few steps before suddenly coming to a stop. He turned to look at the yao cultivator who was eating dried meat. The other party still didn't look up. On the other hand, it was the yao cultivators around him who were secretly looking at Zhuang Qing with their bodies leaning forward slightly, indicating that they were seeing him off.

"You," Zhuang Qing walked over. "Let me see your identification card."

"Dragon Lord, this person is Zhu Zhi daoyou. Because of a misunderstanding a few years ago, he was in a human prison for a few years. He was recently released from prison," A warm-hearted yao at the side thought that Zhuang Qing was suspicious of the spider's identity and hurriedly took the initiative to help explain.

Zhuang Qing had an impression of this incident. The incident hadn't only been reported in the human world that year but had also caused a sensation in their cultivation world. The crested ibis said that he had been captured by the spider yao, who was going to sell him abroad. On the other hand, the spider yao said that it was the crested ibis who had deliberately framed him and was being completely unreasonable.

At that time, although the spider yao had already been given a sentence in the human world, he still dispatched people to look into the case. There had indeed been evidence at the scene indicating that the spider yao had forcibly brought the crested ibis away, which was why they hadn't contacted the relevant department in the human world to amend the original judgement.

Despite so many years having gone by, this incident unexpectedly still hadn't subsided at all. On the contrary, it became more and more intense, creating such a stir that the entire cultivation world knew of it. Even some of the new bureau employees thought that the crested ibis was the one who had framed the spider yao. These yao ought to also think a little harder. If the crested ibis had really committed such a vile thing, how could the management bureau just sit and watch?

Probably because the crested ibis was too vexed by these rumors, he simply smashed the pot that was already cracked. He would threaten anyone who provoked him with descriptions of how he would set them up. Little by little, the crested ibis grew to be hated by everyone in the cultivation world, regardless of whether they were human or cat. He would encounter obstacles everywhere he went.

The spider yao didn't look strong. Under Zhuang Qing's gaze, he seemed to be cowering a little. Fishing out his identification card from his jacket, he handed it to Zhuang Qing.

Zhuang Qing took a glance at it before returning it to him. "Since you've already completed your prison sentence, then turn over a new leaf. Don't do any more illegal things."

The spider yao shrunk his head back silently, appearing somewhat pitiful.

The yao cultivator at the side couldn't bear to look on any longer and directly said, "Dragon lord, it was the crested ibis who deliberately framed him that year. Zhu Zhi was wrongly accused."

Zhuang Qing recognized this yao who was fighting for justice. It was him who said just now that the crested ibis had seduced Fu Li. He was also the one who said that Fu Li's original form didn't match well with his. For some reason, this yao cultivator looked particularly displeasing to Zhuang Qing. It was probably because the other party's human form was too ugly. Fortunately, he was highly professional and thus didn't make the mistake of using his authority for personal motives.

"One should not casually speak out when there is no evidence," The tip of Zhuang Qing's brows creased. "There were areas of suspicion regarding the case at that time. Among the birds captured at the scene, there were other wild animals other than the crested ibis."

Having been refuted by Zhuang Qing in front of so many yao cultivators, this yao cultivator who was posing as a righteous individual had some difficulty keeping his facial expression from slipping. Despite the intense fear in his heart, he still refused to back down. "Who knows whether you're just shielding the crested ibis? The crested ibis is close to Fu Li daoyou, so it's only natural for you to speak up for your people."

This time, Zhuang Qing's face darkened even further.

What was the crested ibis? Was it worthy of being paired with an old yaoguai like Fu Li?

"What's going on?" Fu Li noticed that Zhuang Qing didn't quickly head back up after going down, and therefore curiously made his way down as well. Realizing the exceedingly ugly expression on Zhuang Qing's face, he looked at the surrounding yao cultivators and then took two more glances at Zhuang Qing. His gaze landed on the spider yao.

This yao cultivator wasn't eye-catching, but there was resentment and baleful qi on him. It seemed he had done bad things.

"What did you come here for?" Seeing Fu Li, Zhuang Qing once again thought of the words voiced by the yao cultivators.

"There's something wrong with this spider yao," Fu Li said directly. "There's resentment on him."

"Why is Fu Li daojun falsely accusing me?" The spider yao looked at Fu Li with a mixture of grief and indignation. This move of his attracted everyone's attention. The gazes the yao cultivators directed at Fu Li became slightly complex.

"Why would I want to falsely accuse you?" Fu Li took out a small copper mirror from his Qiankun pouch and played with it in his hands.

"You have an ambiguous relationship with the crested ibis. I can understand if you speak up for him, but why must you falsely accuse me?"

Crested ibis? With him? Ambiguous?

Fu Li thought that something had gone wrong with his ears. Why did he have to have an ambiguous relationship with a bird that liked to court disaster?

He turned towards Zhuang Qing. "He's talking about me and the crested ibis?"

"My ears are working perfectly fine, I heard it," Zhuang Qing was expressionless. "I don't need you to emphasize it another time."

"That's not the problem. I didn't speak more than a few words to the crested ibis, so where did this rumor come from?" Fu Li couldn't comprehend it. "Did no one see me beating up the crested ibis the other time?"

"Beating is a sign of affection, and cursing is a sign of love. When there is deep emotion, the leg is used for kicking," Among the crowd of yao, a yao cultivator who was watching the excitement added fuel to fire by shouting out this statement in a hoarse voice.

"Hey hey, crow spirit, don't hide at the back. I know that you're the one who shouted," Fu Li waved his hands, though he wasn't very angry. Between laughter and tears, he asked, "How could I possibly have any sort of relationship with the crested ibis? If you guys change it to me and Zhuang Qing having an ambiguous relationship, wouldn't that be more probable?"

The tips of Zhuang Qing's ears moved a little.

"Fu Li daojun, so you're actually together with the Dragon Lord, right?" A yellow oriole yao had a slightly excited look on her face.

Fu Li, "I was making an analogy. Analogy, understand?"

Why didn't the yao nowadays understand human speech?

Ilyz: Analogy, he says 🤭