The daily life of the crew of "Beasts".

Note: This chapter is set in the future, so some characters who will appear later will also be featured.

morning,

Caiyun Mountain Range.

Under a clear sky, clouds drift and sway, and sunlight shines through the white clouds, refracting them into a kaleidoscope of colors.

A magpie soars in the air, and the towering mountains below recede into the distance.

Piercing through the clouds, the magpie looked down, an envelope in its beak, its destination unknown.

"The crew of 'The Beast' should be here, at Tower E of the Rainbow Cloud Mountains." The magpie flapped its wings and landed on a mountaintop. As it slowly descended, a rabbit wearing a purple scarf came into view: the features matched, so it seemed to be the one.

With a series of flaps of its wings, the magpie quickly flew towards the rabbit: "It's almost mealtime, hurry up and finish delivering the message so you can go back and eat some worms."

The magpie was getting closer and closer to its target. The thought of delivering the last letter and then going to eat made him relax. Then, unsurprisingly, the unexpected happened.

"twitter!"

A fence stood in front of him, and the magpie, flying too fast, didn't have time to turn around. He frantically adjusted his position, trying to squeeze through the gaps in the fence.

However, things didn't go as planned, and the magpie only made it halfway through.

"Oh no! It's stuck!"

The magpie's neck was stuck between the fence bars. It struggled to push against the fence with its claws and flapped its wings desperately, trying to break free from its predicament.

"Is there a magpie coming to help me? Chirp chirp chirp!"

The cries for help attracted three other magpies, who landed on the railing and gathered around to witness their colleague's miserable state.

"That's hilarious, hahaha!"

"Did you go out to drink fake alcohol?"

Two magpies on the railing were singing and mocking their stuck colleague, seemingly enjoying the spectacle.

"hateful!"

The magpie, now stuck, struggled even harder, emitting sharp cries in hopes of attracting the attention of the rabbit in front of it.

"Strange, why hasn't my bridge-climbing scroll arrived yet?"

Rabbit Lord crossed his arms and looked puzzled. In two days it would be Qixi Festival. He had specially ordered a few tickets to climb the Magpie Bridge to go with the Four-Legged Beast. But so far, he had not seen any of the tickets. Could it be that something had happened to the magpie in charge of delivery?

"Chirp chirp chirp chirp!"

"Still not there? Could something really have happened?"

Rabbit paced back and forth anxiously, the monotonous chirping of birds making him increasingly uneasy. But if he looked back now, he would see four magpies neatly wedged on the fence, one of them carrying the envelope he had been waiting for.

"Why doesn't he turn around and look? Chirp chirp chirp!"

The magpie that had been making a mocking noise was now stuck between the bars, struggling and crying out. It had originally wanted to rescue its companion after watching the spectacle, but instead of rescuing the magpie, it got stuck itself. The other two magpies were in the same situation.

"Weren't you all so arrogant before? In the end, you got stuck too, bastard!"

The magpie, who had started it all, took the opportunity to retaliate. Although it was still unable to move, having someone to take the fall made it feel much better for it.

The four magpies were both pleading for help and arguing, but all their voices sounded like noisy bird calls to Rabbit Lord.

"It's too noisy here, let me find another place to wait."

In the wide-eyed stares of the four magpies, the Rabbit God was gone, he was gone!

"Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!"

A mournful cry erupted as four magpies tried to bring back the departing Rabbit God, but their efforts were ultimately in vain.

Watching their only hope of escape disappear from sight, the four magpies instantly became dejected.

"We're doomed. We're going to be stuck here forever. We'll either starve to death or get eaten by that passing beast."

Just then, a blue and white figure walked past them. A magpie that happened to see it exclaimed, "Look! There's a beast over there. It doesn't look very fierce!"

The chaotic chirping of birds caught Tianlu's attention. He turned his head and saw four magpies, trapped in the fence, chattering excitedly.

"Huh? Where did this bird come from?"

Tianlu walked up to the fence and stared curiously at the magpies.

"Yes, yes, that's it! You cute and kind little beast, hurry up and rescue us!"

Under the excited gaze of the magpies, Tianlu raised its claws and slowly extended them towards them.

The camera turns,

A campfire crackled and flickered, a piece of firewood tossed in. Above the fire, a magpie, its feathers plucked, was roasting. The pointed tip of the flame flickered below, the firelight illuminating the magpie's glistening skin.

Bixie turned the branch stuck in the roasted magpie, and with his other paw, he picked up a small pinch of cumin and sprinkled it on.

As it turns out, the saying "don't judge a book by its cover" is true, a fact that the four magpies in the underworld know all too well.

"He has such a cute face! We've been fooled by his appearance!"

"Slurp, smells so good! Is the warding-off-evil ritual not done yet?"

Tianlu slurped his saliva, his eyes fixed on the roasted magpie on the shelf.

"Don't rush, let's eat when Bai Jie and the others come back."

Bixie was turning over a row of barbecue grills. Besides magpies, there were mushrooms, rabbits, wild vegetables, and other things on the wooden rack. Tianlu had just gone out hunting and brought them back. He didn't really like the boxed lunches from the film crew, so this was his lunch for today.

"We're back!"

Bai Jie and Fei Fei each flew back on a cloud. They landed not far from the campfire and jumped down from the clouds.

Freed from their load, the two clouds immediately took flight, circling twice in mid-air before finally landing beside Bixie.

Bixie reached out its paw and touched the two clouds clinging to its body, saying to Baijie and Feifei, "You're back just in time, come and eat."

When Bixie beckoned the two beasts over, Tianlu pulled a cloud next to him and pressed it down, looking very happy.

"Hehe, let me lie down for a while, it's comfortable to be on you."

The cloud, which appears to be the head of the cloud, surges with mist and eventually reveals a shape with bulging veins.

The character typed an emoticon to indicate anger.

"Don't do that, you don't taste like anything anyway, I won't eat you anymore."

Tianlu, the entire beast, was engulfed in the clouds, from which astonishing words emanated.

The blue veins on his body disappeared, replaced by large drops of water rolling down, making it look like he was sweating, but in reality, this was an effect simulated by rainwater.

Nearby, another cloud drifted over, circled around Tianlu, and a comical pattern slowly emerged on its body.

"Xiaoyun is getting more and more skilled at using emojis."

Watching the interaction between the two clouds and Tianlu, Baijie sat down and began to complain.

Bixie stuffed a few skewers into Baijie's paws: "They're freshly grilled, eat them first."

"Hey! Leave me two strings of the evil spirit talisman!"

As soon as he saw that they had started eating, Tianlu immediately abandoned his food and ran over. Behind him, his body was covered in black, making him look like he had turned into a villain.

"By the way, Bai Jie, let's go to the Magpie Bridge for Qixi Festival," Tianlu said, his mouth full of food, his words muffled.

Bai Jie paused as he reached for the skewers, his expression suddenly becoming incredibly interesting.

Four pairs of eyes turned to them simultaneously. Bixie looked puzzled, Feifei's eyes burned with gossip, and the two clouds both wore expressions of watching the drama unfold.

Bai Jie slowly turned his head, staring at Tian Lu with a strange look: "What do you mean?"

"We're just going to play at the Magpie Bridge together."

Tianlu looked completely bewildered; he felt he had made his point very clearly.

Bixie glanced at the sky's expression and couldn't help but worry that a bolt of lightning might suddenly strike.

"Um... Tianlu, shouldn't incest be prohibited in the world?"

Bai Jie's eyes darted around, and after a long while, his mind was a jumble of thoughts, he managed to squeeze out a sentence.

Tianlu was taken aback: "What orthopedics? What does that mean?"

Seeing that the innocent Tianlu didn't understand, Feifei kindly stepped forward to explain, "This 'orthopedics' refers to the romance between brothers and sisters. As for why it's called 'orthopedics,' it's because they've been thrown into it."

"Ah!" Tianlu exclaimed in shock, recalling the fear of being controlled by the Heavenly Punishment. He hurriedly shook his head vigorously, "No, no, that's not what I meant! I just wanted to go to the Magpie Bridge with Baijie—no, I mean with you guys, that doesn't seem right either... Ahhhhh! Anyway, that's not what I meant!"

Tianlu was so anxious that he became incoherent for a while. In the end, he simply took out a small stack of Magpie Bridge scrolls from his pocket and stuffed them into Baijie's claws.

"Oh! I found a few of these, so I wanted to go take a look."

"Is that really all there is to it?" Feifei whispered menacingly in Tianlu's ear. "An explanation is just a cover-up, and a cover-up is the truth. Tell me the truth, do you like Baijie? Don't be afraid, it's just divine punishment. As long as you two have made it a fait accompli, there's nothing Heaven and Earth can do. They can't just strike you dead, can they?"

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll eat you up!"

Tianlu was sweating profusely. He glanced at the sky and then suddenly lunged at Feifei, trying to cover his gaping mouth.

"Hey, hey, hey, he's getting impatient, he's getting angry and embarrassed!"

Seeing that things were not going well, Feifei turned and ran away, not forgetting to turn back and tease Tianlu as she ran, which made Tianlu's face turn red with anger.

"Stop right there, or I'll eat you alive!"

Tianlu gave chase, taking all the grilled barbecue with him as he went; even if he was being chased, he couldn't let it interfere with his meal.

After watching the two guys run away, Bixie turned around and took out a large bunch of skewers, which he then placed on a wooden rack to grill.

A gentle breeze blew across the campfire, causing the flames to flicker and a faint aroma to waft through the air.

"Bai Jie, are you planning to go to the Magpie Bridge?"

Pixie skillfully flipped the skewers, the flames sizzling as they burned the grease brushed onto them.

"Since we've already found it, let's go get it."

Bai Jie counted the eight bridge-climbing scrolls in his paws. Besides his family of four, he could bring four more beasts, Xiao Yun and Suan, as transportation, without needing tickets.

On Qixi Festival,

The location of the Magpie Bridge.

"Chirp, chirp!"

The chirping of birds echoed in waves, and countless magpies gathered together. With the sound of their wings flapping in a line, they formed a bridge connecting the two banks.

A helicopter flew past the Magpie Bridge, and the sound of its rotors startled some of the more timid magpies.

On the helicopter,

The host stood at the window facing the set-up camera, microphone in hand, his tone somewhat excited: "Hello everyone, this is xxx TV station reporting for you. I'm your host. The Magpie Bridge is now complete, and the long-awaited Cowherd and Weaver Girl are about to meet on the bridge. After the annual meeting of the two celestial couples, there will be a free time for them to enjoy the scenery on the bridge. Ah, look! The Cowherd has appeared!"

The host pointed and saw a man standing quietly on the Magpie Bridge.

"The Cowherd is already waiting on the bridge! Waiting for his wife, the Weaver Girl! In legend, this is the love story between a mortal and a goddess..."

Then, the host recounted the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl in one breath.

"Phew~ We've been talking for so long, the Weaver Girl should be... Hey! Why hasn't the Weaver Girl gone to the bridge yet? Hey wait! Why did the Cowherd leave?!"

Amid the host's exclamations, the Cowherd turned around and stepped onto the bodies of the magpies to walk down the Magpie Bridge.

"Uh...it seems there's been a slight mishap. It appears the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl won't be able to meet this year. I wonder what happened. But it's alright, next up is free time to walk on the bridge. Our TV station will be interviewing the tourists who come across the bridge, so please look forward to it."

The camera turns,

Among the crowds on both sides of the strait.

"Hey? Why is Walnut here too?"

A two-tailed cat lay in Rabbit Lord's arms. It was pure white with black spots on its body, and its azure eyes were filled with confusion.

“Feifei-chan said that because we look like a couple in the drama, she brought it.”

The little white fox nestled in the arms of the four-legged creature raised its head, its squinty eyes mirroring the mask worn by the four-legged creature.

"Mwah? What pair?" The innocent little walnut looked completely bewildered.

Just then, it was time for the tourists to go up the bridge, and the surrounding crowd surged forward, giving the little white fox no chance to answer.

"Charge! We must get the best spot!"

Rabbit pressed Walnut's head back into his arms and squeezed forward with all his might.

"Teacher Tony, wait for me!" The four-legged creature followed behind, feeling as if it were stuck in a quagmire. If it weren't for Rabbit Lord clearing the way in front, it probably wouldn't have been long before it was pushed to the back.

Amid the surging crowd, the two movie stars struggled to walk with their children, while above them, a family of Pixiu (mythical creatures) flew leisurely past, hidden on two clouds.

At the top of the Magpie Bridge, Bai Jie jumped off, and several magpies below quickly adjusted their positions, eventually causing Bai Jie's claws to step on them.

Wow, that's amazing.

Bai Jie looked down at the magpies under its claws. It could see that there were gaps between the magpies so that they could flap their wings and fly. Whenever someone walked by, the magpies would adjust their position so that their feet could land on them.

"Why do you hold this Magpie Bridge event every year?"

A white shadow landed, and Fei Fei jumped to a spot not far from Bai Jie. She and he stared at the magpie at their feet, their cat-like curiosity bursting forth: "Is it to witness the love between the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, or something else?"

Upon hearing Fei Fei's words, Bai Jie and Tian Lu Bi Xie, who had just jumped down from the cloud, couldn't help but feel a bit curious. They both turned their gazes to the magpie at their feet, hoping to get an answer.

"Actually, the reason is very simple..." After a long while, the cat-eating magpie slowly spoke up: "Because they gave too much."

"What the hell?!"

Bai Jie was shocked, and at other times he also had a look of disbelief on his face. Heaven knows that the truth behind the Magpie Bridge was so true. Is this a distortion of human nature or a decline in morality?

"What else do you think?" another magpie retorted. "We need to eat too, you know. Being used as a stepping stone for a day and getting a large sum of money is a good thing that I wish I could have every day."

The four beasts were at a loss for words. Now, when they went to see the Magpie Bridge again, they could never find that romantic feeling again.

On a certain street, the male prostitute took out his phone and dialed a number. After two beeps, the call was connected.

The Cowherd immediately said, "Hey, Weaver Girl, we may have our disagreements, but don't miss this once-a-year Qixi Festival."

"Waaaaah! You don't love me anymore! Is that Qixi Festival more important than our relationship? Waaaaaah!"

The sound of the Weaver Girl crying came from the other end of the phone. The Cowherd quickly explained, "That's not what I meant, listen..."

"I won't listen! You don't love me anymore! I'll never knit you clothes again, waaaaaah!"

"Beep!" The call ended, and the male escort was stunned for a moment. Then, he quickly dialed back.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is not in service. Please try again later."

Listening to the voice coming from the phone, Niulang silently looked up at the sky: Women are so hard to understand.

Bonus: The Magpie Bridge has an upper and lower level. The magpies on the upper level take turns ascending to serve as stepping stones for tourists, while the magpies on the lower level do not need to. But don't think that makes their job easier.

"Holy crap! Who pooped on me? Can't they control themselves? They've pooped all over me!" a hapless magpie from the lower level cursed.

"Ahem, sorry, as a fellow bird, you know I just couldn't hold it in any longer." An awkward voice came from above.

The unlucky magpie was both angry and helpless. He knew he couldn't blame the other party. Not to mention the one above, he himself couldn't hold his poop. Unless he transformed into human form, holding his poop with a bird's straight intestines was harder than climbing to heaven.

Just as the unlucky magpie was feeling down, another voice came from above: "I... I can't hold it in anymore! Brothers down below, get out of the way!"

With a whoosh, the nearby magpies scattered instantly, and the unlucky fellow, the magpies, reflexively dodged as well.

"Skewered chicken!" Bird droppings hit the target right on the head. The unlucky magpie, covered in the stench of droppings, fell into a state of despair: Next time, I must snag a spot on the upper level. I'd rather die from exhaustion than endure this torture again!