Chapter 29: The Dead Pigeon

Ye Fan stormed out of the house, heading straight for the farmers' market.

He wanted to buy a chicken right then and there to test if the wooden box could transport living creatures. If it could, he was determined to twist the head off that scoundrel, Pi Liu. Fortunately, his reason prevailed; he stopped by a pharmacy to buy fever medication before proceeding to the market.

"Boss, how much for this chicken? Is it an old hen?"

The vendor chuckled upon hearing this. "Buying an old hen to stew at home, young man?"

"Yes, my friend is sick. I want to make some chicken soup to help her recover."

The vendor pointed to a cage and said, "If you want to nourish her, buying a pigeon is better than an old hen. That stuff is truly restorative!"

Ye Fan’s mind was in such a chaotic state that he didn't give it a second thought. "How much for the pigeons?"

"One hundred each!"

"That’s so expensive!"

"These are pigeons raised on cordyceps. Guaranteed authentic!"

"Fine!"

Lacking the patience to haggle, Ye Fan pulled out three hundred-yuan notes. "Give me three."

The vendor happily handed over the three pigeons, and after paying, Ye Fan headed home. He was furious, focused only on verifying if the box could transport living things so he could go and settle the score with Pi Liu.

Back home, Ye Fan first delivered the medicine to Li Yaoyao.

"Yaoyao, these are cold meds. You need to take them right away!"

After watching her take the medicine, Ye Fan said impatiently, "Yaoyao, I bought some live pigeons. They’re very nourishing; you should eat them to get your strength back." He lifted the cage and shook it in front of the camera.

"Ye Fan, you don’t have to do this!" Li Yaoyao waved her hands, flustered. He had already given her too much.

Ye Fan spoke seriously, "Yaoyao, listen to me first." Her heart skipped a beat as he continued, "I could have bought pre-made pigeon soup, but the reason I bought live ones is that I want to test if this box can transport a person."

In the past, Li Yaoyao might have refused, but after this recent crisis, she was genuinely terrified. Now, she actually wanted Ye Fan to come to her world to protect her. With that thought, she didn't object; instead, she said eagerly, "No problem! Ye Fan! Come over!"

Ye Fan placed the pigeon cage into the wooden box.

The first one...

Ye Fan stared at the screen, tense. Suddenly, Li Yaoyao beamed. She took the cage out of the box and showed it to the camera; the pigeon inside, seemingly startled, flapped its wings—it was alive and kicking!

"Ye Fan! It’s alive!"

"Haha!"

Excited, Ye Fan picked up the second cage. "Here’s another one for you!"

Li Yaoyao nodded, looking at the box with anticipation. Her face was flushed, whether from fever or excitement, it was hard to tell. But the next second, she gasped, a look of horror appearing in her eyes.

"What’s wrong, Yaoyao?"

Ye Fan asked hurriedly. He saw Li Yaoyao holding the cage with her thumb and forefinger; the pigeon inside had turned into a grotesque mass of flesh! It looked as if it had been dismantled and reassembled; internal organs and fur were tangled together, with feathers sprouting randomly from various organs.

One look, and a single word flashed through Ye Fan’s mind: Cthulhu.

"How could this happen?" It had been perfectly fine just a moment ago!

Ye Fan took the third pigeon. "I’m putting another one in to see what happens."

As he placed the final pigeon into the box, Li Yaoyao pushed the previous cage aside in disgust and watched the box. A moment later, light flickered—the pigeon had arrived. Li Yaoyao opened the box and let out another gasp!

"Ye Fan, look!"

Li Yaoyao lifted the cage; the pigeon had fused with the wire mesh! They appeared to be one entity. The wires of the cage had pierced through the pigeon's skull and body, slanting it into two halves, while some of the pigeon's bones had actually become part of the cage itself.

The strangest part was that the pigeon was still alive.

"This..." Ye Fan scratched his head. Three pigeons: one alive, one dead, and one… fused.

"Ye Fan, the risk of going through the box is too high!" Li Yaoyao said in disappointment, the light fading from her eyes. She had hoped to truly see him, but that fantasy had shattered.

Ye Fan felt a heavy weight in his heart, but there was still one healthy pigeon, wasn't there? Giving up easily wasn't his style.

"Yaoyao, it’s not impossible!" Ye Fan comforted her. "One of the pigeons was perfectly healthy, which means crossing the box to your side is entirely possible. Wait until I buy more pigeons; if we test it a few more times, we might figure out the pattern!"

Hearing this, Li Yaoyao nodded. She felt he made sense. "When spring comes, I’ll have the village children catch some frogs and grasshoppers!"

"Then we’ll work on it together!"

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"Oh right, the food!" Ye Fan brought over the rice, flour, and oil he had bought earlier. "Are the villagers in a rush for food? I’m worried that since you’re sick, you won’t be able to move all this."

Li Yaoyao glanced at the window; Da Ya was in the courtyard washing clothes. She smiled and said, "Send it over quickly. I’ll stack it to the side; someone will help me organize it later."

"Got it!"

Ye Fan stood up and loaded the ten bags of rice and flour into the box one by one, finishing with a few jugs of cooking oil. "This should last a while!"

Ye Fan straightened his back and wiped his sweat. On the other side, Li Yaoyao watched him fondly. For some reason, a thought popped into her head: if she were by his side, she could be the one wiping his sweat.

"Pfft!" Li Yaoyao giggled at her own thought.

Ye Fan looked at her, bewildered. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing... you have a smudge of white flour on your nose!"

"Oh, I see!"

They chatted for a while longer until loud noises came from Li Yaoyao's end.

"How is Li the educated youth doing?" It was the villagers coming to check on her.

Coincidentally, a car horn sounded outside Ye Fan’s supermarket. "Beep beep! Ye Fan!" It was Chen Shuting.

"The villagers are here to see me. Let’s video chat again tonight!"

"People have arrived on my side too. Make sure to take your medicine on time!"

The two hung up in a rush, and Ye Fan pulled down the supermarket’s rolling shutter.

"Little brother, late on your first day of work?" Chen Shuting walked in, wearing large sunglasses, a dark red trench coat, and leather boots, her heels clicking against the floor.

"Sister Chen! I was just tidying up a bit!" Ye Fan said with a grin, pretending to clean as he moved the wooden box under the bed and picked up a broom.

"Enough, enough!" Chen Shuting waved her hand at the dust dancing in the sunlight. "You’re my assistant now; you don’t need to run this supermarket! I’ll find a nanny to come and do the cleaning for you!"

"No need, no need!" Ye Fan quickly waved her off. He happened to spot a pile of old items on the shelf—things Li Yaoyao had sent over—and picked one up to show Chen Shuting. "Sister Chen, look, are these treasures of mine worth anything?"

Chen Shuting looked over to see a pile of old vases, oil lamps, copper coins, wood carvings, and a rather exquisite jewelry box.

"What kind of junk is this?" Chen Shuting laughed. "Did you strip-mine your hometown?"

Ye Fan scratched his head in embarrassment. She was right; Li Yaoyao’s world wasn't ancient, and many of the items were from the modern era—they were essentially just old junk!

"Still, they aren't entirely useless," Chen Shuting mused. "I just took over Lin Zhenjie’s businesses. I heard he built a film studio that’s currently under renovation. These old items could be placed there; it saves me from buying new things and having to distress them!"

Ye Fan breathed a sigh of relief. At least they had some value.

"I’ll have someone appraise them and get back to you," Chen Shuting said, noticing the jewelry box. "This one is actually quite exquisite. It might sell for a decent price!"

"Sister Chen, if you like it, I’ll just give it to you!"

"Give it to me?" Chen Shuting cast a sidelong glance at Ye Fan. "Other men give women jewelry, and you’re giving me a jewelry box?"