Beware the Strange Tales, Beware the Night Heron!

A night heron shou who's a little dim but can imitate anything to perfection x a B-king gong with a life full of hardships

Yu Zhu is a night heron whose greatest dream is to have fish at every meal and eat his fill.

But on the nth day of pretending to be a penguin and freeloading at the Haunted Animal Park, he gets caught by a man who claims to be a "haunting hunter."

He thinks he's done for, but the man grabs his wing, examines it, and asks in an unhurried voice, "What can you do?"

Yu Zhu answers with a trembling voice, "I-I can imitate things?"

The man studies him for a moment. "Then imitate my dead boyfriend."

Yu Zhu: "?"

-

They say the man's boyfriend died while hunting a haunting. Though physically frail, he had a strong heart.

Yu Zhu guiltily tucks away the wing he'd just used to smack a monster flying, then hides behind the man and recites woodenly, "Ah, I'm so scared."

They say the man's boyfriend was just as good at entertaining guests as he was at cooking.

Yu Zhu looks at the man-eating fish he's just burnt in the pan, picks it up with his chopsticks, and asks hesitantly, "Are you still going to eat this?"

They say the man's boyfriend was quick-witted, eloquent, and a graduate of a prestigious university.

Yu Zhu points at himself. "You expect a night heron to have gone to school?"

-

Yu Zhu does his best, but his performance really couldn't be worse.

Yet the man who asked him to imitate his boyfriend accepts it all without question and calmly says, "Not bad. That was a pretty good performance."

Only later does Yu Zhu learn that the man's boyfriend was never dead at all!

Feeling deceived, Yu Zhu runs over in a huff to confront him. "Since your boyfriend isn't dead, can we end our deal?"

The man raises his brows. "Are there no other options?"

Yu Zhu doesn't understand. "Like what?"

The man smiles. "For example, we could keep our deal going for the rest of our lives. Or I could make sure you never have to worry about food or drink."

Yu Zhu: "!"

-

For a while, the name "You Duzheng" became taboo among the haunting hunters.

"What kind of decent person would betray the Hunters' Association?" they all said.

Only You Duzheng knows that the ones who truly betrayed him were the Association, his friends, and his family.

They pushed him into the abyss, leaving him no choice but to walk in darkness.

You Duzheng thought he could keep living numb and empty, sustained by hatred alone.

Until he "picked up" a night heron.

Now he had a new goal:

To raise a silly little night heron well.

[Bonus scene]

One day, the night heron wakes up and is horrified to discover two long white whiskers growing on his head. They're breeding plumes!

After a long silence, You Duzheng grits his teeth and demands, "Who have you fallen for? We're surrounded by monsters. Who could you possibly like?"

The bird says nothing, but its cheeks turn red.

You Duzheng: "..."

He suddenly understands. "Ah. So it's me."

Notes:

1. The "boyfriend" is definitely fake. There won't be any romantic entanglements outside the one-on-one pairing. 😎

2. No changing or breaking up the established couple! I'll write about the rest when I start another story!

Theme: Where there is darkness, there will be light.