The Northeastern Tiger sat on a stone block, sharpening a knife while grinning, its sharp teeth gleaming under the light with a "ding" that formed a cross-shaped sparkle.
It began boasting, "Little Crane, not to brag, but back in the day, with this very cleaver in my paw, I scared off an army of ten thousand…"
The Red-Crowned Crane sat nearby, watching Tiger Bro sharpening the knife, its legs trembling so much it couldn't stand.
Even if it could stand and run, there was no escape.
Nearby were the Black Bear, Ground Sloth, and other great demons, all staring at it intently.
It was all the crane's own fault; before heading back to the classroom, it had praised the Second Senior Sister a little too much.
In response, the Second Senior Sister casually said, "Add an extra dish tonight."
And so, this "friendly" and "warm" scene unfolded.
The Black Bear raised a paw, gently patting the crane on the back, comforting it, "Don't be nervous. Turning into a dish isn't a big deal. Just close your eyes, and it's over. Maybe next time, you'll reconsider being a little crane."
The nearby great demons also joined in with teasing remarks.
The Golden Monkey chuckled, "Poor thing, really poor thing! Why did you have to run your mouth?"
The Little White Rabbit leapt three feet high, looking ecstatic, "Great, now that you've annoyed Second Senior Sister, we finally get some meat! Thanks for your sacrifice, Little Crane."
A long-armed white gibbon, with a voice like a speaker, laughed hoarsely, "Ah, Dan, rest easy. I'll burn extra paper money for you."
Scared by the taunts of the surrounding demons, the Red-Crowned Crane began trembling even more violently, filled with growing fear.
It glanced around, trying to find the Second Senior Sister to beg for mercy or to ask the other demons where she was.
But when it opened its beak, it said something entirely different: "Ha, you should all eat less salt. Look how idle you've become."
The courtyard immediately fell silent. Even the frogs in the pond stopped croaking.
Only the stars twinkled in the night sky, and wisps of clouds staggered drunkenly across, unsure of their direction.
Soon, the frogs resumed their chorus, croaking even faster as if eager to grab a knife themselves and chop the crane into pieces.
The Northeastern Tiger's sharpening grew faster and more intense, sparks flying as the blade scraped against the whetstone.
The other great demons gnashed their teeth in fury, feeling that the Second Senior Sister's idea of adding a dish tonight was absolutely right.
Just then, An Chen heard the crane's voice and walked over, curious. "Who was just speaking?"
He hadn't heard the crane speak before; it was his first time, and he found it odd, so he came to investigate.
The demons froze when they saw the teacher approaching, instinctively turning to look at Xiao Bai.
Xiao Bai was playing with Ali when she noticed the others staring at her. She instantly understood they wanted her to take the blame again.
With a snort, she turned her head away, ignoring her mischievous companions.
But as she turned, her gaze accidentally met her elder sister's.
"Hmph, so annoying…"
Xiao Bai muttered inwardly, stepping forward reluctantly to explain, "Teacher, that was Dan, the shy student in class who never dares to speak. Today, he finally found his voice."
She thought to herself, "This crane has always been an auditing student before speaking up. It's half a student of the teacher, so this explanation isn't really lying…"
With that thought, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
An Chen nodded after understanding the situation. "So that's it…"
This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened.
Previously, many students in the class were also too shy to speak.
But after some time learning and adapting, they slowly began to talk.
Students like Gun Gun, Xiao Qing, and Xiao Bai had all started the same way.
Smiling warmly, An Chen encouraged, "It's good to talk. Dan, feel free to communicate more with your classmates.
Don't be shy; we're all family here. If you have any difficulties, tell the teacher or your classmates. Everyone will be happy to help you."
Hearing this, the crane was moved to tears and wanted to thank the teacher.
But it suddenly remembered its earlier "heroic act."
So, it quickly shut its beak, afraid of accidentally retorting the teacher.
Instead, it bowed its head three times to the ground, expressing its gratitude to the teacher.
The other great demons nodded subconsciously at the teacher's words.
But they quickly snapped out of it, shaking their heads vigorously like rattles, clearly unwilling to chat with the crane.
Who knows when it might wound them with its words?
At that moment, smoke began curling from the chimney, and the aroma of food filled the courtyard.
The great demons sniffed hard, drooling as the fragrance made their stomachs growl.
Soon, Bai Ya Xiang's voice rang out from the kitchen.
"Teacher, dinner's ready…"
Even though An Chen was blindfolded with a black cloth, he could still feel the enthusiastic gazes of his students.
He smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Students, wash your hands first, then sit down to eat."
"Yay!"
The great demons cheered in unison and rushed to wash their hands.
Some of them, like the adorable Ali, after washing their hands, would deliberately run to An Chen, lift their heads, and show off their clean palms, saying, "Teacher, look! Ali washed them so clean~"
At times like this, An Chen would always nod with a smile and praise them.
Before long, the room was brightly lit.
The great demons gathered in the spacious living room, enjoying their meal heartily. Occasionally, bursts of cheerful laughter echoed.
Outside, the moonlight was bright, the stars sparse, and white clouds drifted silently over the small village.
After dinner and evening self-study,
An Chen said "Goodnight" to his students and returned to his room.
But just as he was about to close the door, he caught a familiar scent. Stopping, he smiled and said, "Do you want me to carry you out this time, or will you leave on your own?"
The room was still silent. Apart from the sound of An Chen's breathing and heartbeat, there was no other noise.
However, An Chen was certain that there was a second person hiding in the room.
He was quite familiar with such tricks. He first took a ruler from the wardrobe, then walked toward the bed, ready to lift the quilt and properly reprimand the mischievous Xiao Bai who had sneaked in.
Under the quilt, Xiao Bai's eyes peeked out, darting around playfully.
Seeing the teacher approaching with the ruler, she let out a dissatisfied "hmph," threw off the quilt, sat up on the bed, and pouted, "This isn't fun at all!
Teacher, can't you pretend not to notice me?
That way, we could keep playing this hide-and-seek game all night long~"