Lu Yuan could only express sympathy for Wang Zhichao’s family’s plight.
He was grateful for their efforts in driving his father, Lu Xinghua, and his group away last night. However, Wang Zhichao had been with the heretics of the Crow God Sect for over two months; it’s uncertain if his hands are clean.
The truly innocent ones were his wife and children.
Lu Yuan couldn’t help but recall the appalling sacrificial scenes he had witnessed at the Crow God Sect’s hideout: the family of the vest-wearing man, Chen Yang... and Zhou Ling, who had died tragically to save him.
His appetite vanished instantly, and he ascended the stairs in a gloomy mood.
In his bedroom, at his desk.
A copy of *Medieval Tales* lay open in front of Lu Yuan. To his left was a computer screen displaying surveillance footage. To his right was a small bucket filled with rice, in which his mobile phone was buried.
Lu Yuan had just found this method online – it was said to work wonders for water-damaged electronics. Supposedly, eight out of ten such devices could be revived this way. He wasn’t sure if it was truly effective.
Lu Yuan’s gaze was on the book, but he was actually examining his own profession panel: the [Death Teller (Extraordinary)] panel.
The [Death Teller (Extraordinary)] panel, already at Level 3, was pitch-black. Not a single skill was present, only three grey points at the bottom, waiting to be lit up.
It actually takes skill points to light them up? Can’t they be acquired through learning or enlightenment?
Two skill points, three basic skills to unlock. I can only unlock two for now...
Lu Yuan stared at the three grey points, hesitating for a moment before selecting the last one.
One skill point was spent.
The selected grey point on the panel immediately bloomed, and a prompt popped up.
[Congratulations, you have unlocked the [Death Teller (Extraordinary)] Basic Professional Skill — Crow Language!]
[Basic Professional Skill: Crow Language Lv. 1 (0/100)]
There was no skill description, nor were there any unusual phenomena.
The only change was that Lu Yuan felt countless crow-related images flash through his mind.
Then... he suddenly felt as if he could understand what crows were saying!
This feeling was hard to describe; it was like an innate ability.
Although Lu Yuan hadn’t conducted any experiments yet, his subconscious clearly informed him that he could now communicate with crows without any obstacles.
A Druid? No, more like a Crow Walker.
With a peculiar feeling, Lu Yuan stood up from his desk. He left his apartment and climbed the stairs to the rooftop terrace.
The rooftop terrace could now be considered Lu Yuan’s personal sanctuary.
He usually practiced his Martial Arts here, seldom disturbed.
Lu Yuan lived in a fairly old building, and its rooftop still had the water tower from its original construction, though it was now abandoned. The concrete pillar he used as a punching bag was situated a few meters away from this water tower.
Lu Yuan moved into the shade beneath the abandoned water tower and, facing the glaring sky, attempted to activate the [Crow Language] skill.
The moment the skill activated, he immediately felt his Spiritual Power undergoing a strange transformation.
This faint paranormal ability, developed due to his increased intelligence, had originally been akin to a glowing light bulb, continuously radiating in all directions. When Lu Yuan utilized it, the bulb’s brightness would increase, the light intensifying, and its range expanding.
However, this state had now changed. It no longer resembled a glowing light bulb but had become like a vibrating string. Constantly plucked, it emitted invisible "Spirit Sound Waves" imbued with an inexplicable rhythm.
Lu Yuan felt as if he could see these intangible waves spreading out in all directions, with himself at the center.
Perhaps intelligence is also one of the hidden prerequisites for mastering and using this skill, Lu Yuan mused.
His spiritual summons quickly received a response.
In the distance, Lu Yuan saw a black dot appear in the sky. Then two, then three, then four... more and more.
He quickly stopped activating the skill, cutting off the summons.
But in that brief moment, he had already summoned about fifty to sixty crows.
These noisy black sprites flapped their wings and descended directly towards Lu Yuan’s position by the water tower. They landed, surrounding him, though surprisingly, they carried no foul odor.
The instant the crows landed, Lu Yuan immediately sensed dozens of voices, carrying countless fragments of information, flooding into his mind.
"White building... food... water..."
"Humans... together... danger... cat..."
"Content... hunger gone... shoot... caw-caw..."
These voices were piercing and cacophonous. The information they conveyed was jumbled, fragmented, and illogical.
After only a few seconds, Lu Yuan couldn’t bear it any longer and shouted, "Shut up! Stop!"
Instantly, all the voices vanished, and the flow of information became incredibly pure: each crow was now continuously transmitting only the emotion of fear to him.
Only then did Lu Yuan breathe a sigh of relief.
Just as he was pondering how to communicate normally with these small creatures, he suddenly noticed a woman on the rooftop terrace of the opposite residential building, staring fixedly at him with wide eyes.
Lu Yuan froze. He then hastily waved away a few crows that had gathered particularly close, feigning annoyance.
From the corner of his eye, he furtively watched the woman on the opposite building until she turned and left, an expression of suspicion on her face.
PHEW— Chapters first released on novel-fire.net
Lu Yuan breathed a small sigh of relief but also quickly realized that his current actions were indeed a bit too high-profile and strange. If someone saw this, filmed it, and posted it online, it would be a huge hassle. I can’t risk being mistaken for an accomplice of the Crow God Sect and getting arrested by the Yellow Bear.
So, he kept only two crows and temporarily dispersed the rest.
Then, he quickly descended from the rooftop and returned to his bedroom.
The experiment continued.
It was proceeding relatively smoothly.
Contrary to what Lu Yuan had expected, although the skill was named [Crow Language], his communication with the crows was conducted entirely through mental interaction.
He could perceive the consciousness, emotions, and even some peculiar, hazy memory fragments transmitted by each crow.
The only real obstacle was the crows themselves. Their ability to express themselves urgently needed improvement; Lu Yuan had to expend considerable effort to barely decipher the meaning of the information they conveyed. They also had cognitive discrepancies regarding the things Lu Yuan described to them.
It looks like some simple training is still needed...
Lu Yuan casually grabbed a handful of rice from the small bucket on his desk and scattered it on the windowsill. He pondered as he watched the two crows pecking at the grains.
The [Crow Language] skill is indeed very useful. If I could command a group of Crows capable of smooth communication, they could be useful in countless ways. Next time I encounter something like the Crow God Sect’s lair, I wouldn’t have to risk barging in myself; I could send my Crows to scout first. Alternatively, after entering a location, I could arrange for my Crows to stand guard at the entrance. Or even... I might finally have a chance to find the Burrow Sect’s rat men who are lurking in the shadows, causing me sleepless nights.