"What ghost are you talking about? I have no idea what you're talking about."
The big, fat man crossed his arms, his face cold, quickly concealing that odd emotion.
"You don't know? This little parrot was sold by you. How could you not know it screams every night?" Jia Banxian slammed the table in anger.
The little parrot, like a bird startled by an arrow, buried its head and shouted 'bixiao bixiao' loudly.
"Do you hear that?"
"A parrot can't talk on its own, it's just imitating others!"
"It keeps yelling 'don't kill me, don't kill me,' who did it learn that from? Tell me the truth!"
The big, fat man looked at the frightened little parrot, his pupils trembling slightly, his thoughts unknown.
Then, with a cold snort, he said, "This parrot was sold to me by someone else. It's been perfectly normal in my shop. Who knows what you've done to it."
"Now you don't want to keep it and you're trying to get your money back. Dream on!"
"I've been running a store here for decades, and let me tell you, everyone on this street is my brother. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave right now!"
"Oh ho! Fatso, are you trying to threaten your Half-Immortal Grandpa?"
Jia Half-Immortal was furious.
"Let me tell you, the salt I've eaten in my life is more than the rice you've ever had! If you don't explain this today, don't even think about doing business anymore!"
"I've been in business for decades, and I wasn't scared into it. Old man, I've already warned you. If you keep acting like this, don't blame me for being impolite!"
The big fat man, not to be outdone, his whole body jiggled with every movement.
"Come on then! If you have the guts, hit me! You're the kind of person who bullies the weak, the elderly, and children! Even if it's your own child, you'd still lay a hand on them, you beast!"
Jia Half-Immortal pointed at his nose and cursed loudly.
"What nonsense are you spouting, old man? I haven't even gotten married, where would I get a child from?" The big fat man was so angry that his squinty eyes opened wide.
"You're already in your forties, saying you haven't gotten married, who are you trying to fool..."
Seeing that the two were about to argue, Lu Fei pulled Jia Baxian.
"Senior, there's no need to argue with him. Whether this fat man has children or not, you can find out by asking around on this street."
He had been observing from the side and noticed that the fat man had a sharp and thin root of the nose, eyebrows shaped like arrows, and a sunken marital palace, indicating a lifelong solitary appearance.
"You're right, once we find evidence, let's see how he'll deny it!" Jia Baxian glared coldly at the fat man, covered the birdcage with a black cloth, picked up the small parrot, and followed Lu Fei out of the shop.
The two of them inquired with many people in the flower and bird market, and all the results were the same.
The fat man had neither a wife nor children.
"Could it be that these people are favoring him?" Jia Baxian was a bit taken aback.
"That's impossible, think about the fat man's appearance." Lu Fei reminded him.
Jia Baxian recalled for a moment and then slapped his forehead.
"It's the appearance of a lifelong solitary person, with a flat philtrum and weak fertility. This kind of person will have an unhappy love life and weak family ties. I was so angry that I didn't even notice."
"Turns out, we misunderstood him."
"Then what's the deal with this little parrot? Who did it learn those phrases like 'don't kill me' from?"
"That fat man said the little parrot was sold to him by someone else. That person should be the one who really mistreated the child. If we go and ask him, won't we know the truth?" Lu Fei said.
"Well..." Jia Banxian had just had an argument with someone and couldn't bring himself to back down, "Why didn't you stop me earlier?"
Lu Fei thought, with your temper, you were like a firecracker, how could I have held you back?
"It's fine, I'll go and ask him."
Then, he went into the big fat man's shop alone.
"What are you here for now?" The big fat man immediately looked tense.
"Sorry, boss. We misunderstood you before. My old man hasn't slept well for several nights because of the little parrot, so his temper flared up a bit. Please bear with us."
Lu Fei wore a friendly smile on his face.
"No matter what, a refund is out of the question!" The big fat man was still very cautious.
"We're not asking for a refund, we just want to know clearly where the little parrot learned those words. You said earlier that someone sold you the little parrot, can you tell us who it was?"
Hearing Lu Fei say no refund, the tightly drawn face of the big fat man relaxed slightly, and he mumbled, "That's my source, I can't just tell you... anyway, it's from a legitimate channel!"
"Boss, I think you should know what that little parrot was saying, it just mimics sounds... please do this as a good deed! Don't worry, we won't let anyone know it was you who said it."
Lu Fei looked at him sincerely.
For some reason, a hint of fear again appeared on his face, but he quickly waved his hand.
"I don't know! That parrot has always been well-behaved in my shop and never shouted randomly! Don't ask anymore, if you really don't like the parrot... you can give it away!"
"Give it away?"
Lu Fei looked at him without saying much, and placed a business card on the table.
"Boss, think it over and then contact me."
Then he turned and walked away.
However, when he reached the door, a small, unremarkable pebble fell from his sleeve and rolled into a corner of the shop.
"How did it go, young Lu? Did you find out?" Jia Banxian immediately stood up as he saw Lu Fei come out.
"He wouldn't say."
"Why, does he want to protect that person?"
"I feel that this fat man is a bit strange, but it's no big deal. He'll come to us on his own in a few days."
Lu Fei smiled, then took out an incense stick, lit it, and bowed in the direction of the fat man's shop.
"What are you doing, cursing him?" Jia Banxian was very confused.
"Something like that."
Lu Fei smiled faintly and left the flower and bird market with Jia Banxian.
"Come to think of it, even if that fat man is willing to talk and we find the person who abused the child, it still won't solve the problem of the little parrot making noise in the middle of the night."
Back home, Jia Banxian sighed as he looked at the cage.
"After all, it's a living creature. We can't just throw it away. If we keep it, we have to take responsibility for it."
Lu Fei thought for a moment and said, "Senior, this little bird is actually scared. Are there any methods to calm down animals?"
"There are many folk remedies to calm down children, but I've never heard of any for animals," Jia Banxian stroked his small mustache.
"Even if the horse is dead, treat it as if it were alive. Let me try it first."
With that, he went to the kitchen and boiled two eggs, then wrapped them in a towel and rolled them over the little parrot's body.
The ancients believed that an egg was a "small universe," with the yolk representing the earth, which is yin, and the egg white representing the sky, which is yang. A tiny egg contains the energy of the universe and can absorb the negative energy from a person.
This is called the Egg Rolling to Expel Evil Spirits technique.
"One roll for clear skies, two rolls for the spirit of the earth."
"Three rolls for longevity, four rolls for warding off evil..."
Jia Banxian was rolling a boiled egg over the little parrot while chanting.
At first, the little parrot was very scared, its tiny body trembling uncontrollably, but after one round of rolling, it gradually calmed down.
Its two black eyes, like small beans, blinked, and it tilted its head to look at Jia Banxian.
Suddenly, it opened its mouth and called out: "Grandpa."