The Crested Ibis Is Missing

The “diamond bird，” the Crested Ibis， mysteriously disappears without a trace. Magpie Daxi rallies Feng Feifei to lead a journey in search of the ibis. As their interviewees go missing one by one and clues continue to vanish， heartwarming and touching stories emerge in the process of uncovering the mystery.

Liu Hua

Liu Hua is an advisor to the China Folk Literature and Art Association and has previously served as the chairman of the Jiangxi Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Jiangxi Writers Association. He has long been engaged in field research and folklore studies.

The Crested Ibis Is Missing

Liu Hua

Jiangxi Universities and Colleges Press

January 2024

28.00 (CNY)

Thick， dark-gray clouds hang low in the sky， heavy and ever-changing in depth， brightness， and thickness. The clouds either stagnate or drift apart， creating a striking contrast that gives the overcast sky a layered and textured appearance， like an emotionally charged oil painting. Feng Feifei， a photographer grooming her feathers by the window， awoke from a sound sleep with this thought in mind.

Seeing the dim and gloomy weather， Feng Feifei hesitated about whether to set out on her journey. The storm， carried by the north wind， could no longer hold back. The rain whipped down like a lash， fiercely striking down any desire to fly. Even in the Fenghuang Mountain’s Wutong forest， one could hear the sharp sound of the rain beating against the great lake.

Feng Feifei felt a vague concern–could some reckless fool have already set out? They had agreed to depart together only when the sun revealed even a tiny bit of its red face， flying from their respective homes to Cormorant Lake. As the group leader， she felt she should at least check in. To be honest， she was so used to the routine of rising with the sun and resting with its setting that she often forgot about her phone and clock.

So， Feng Feifei sent a WeChat message to her group members: “Hey everyone， the sun’s not awake yet， so keep dreaming.”

Soon， Lark replied: “No way， are you still dreaming?”

Canary responded: “Sis， I encountered a storm halfway through. I’m taking shelter for now but will try to make it soon， even if I get drenched!”

Magpie Daxi’s reply was: “Let the storm rage even harder!”

Feng Feifei stared at the messages in disbelief–all the members had already set out， leaving only her， the leader at home， waiting for the sun to rise. And according to the weather forecast， what had just arrived at the lake was only the leading edge of a cold front， with three more days of heavy rain to follow.

Feng Feifei sent another message: “We agreed to leave when the sun shows even a tiny bit of red. Weren’t you all too hasty?”

Lark replied: “Leader， I was so excited last night that I couldn’t sleep. At dawn， I broke through the clouds and ascended into the sky. Just like what you see from an airplane， the sun was already a huge fireball. I rushed to Cormorant Lake， only to find you all still behind. Hurry up， it’s bright and sunny here.”

Canary responded: “Sis， when I got up， the sun peeked through the clouds for a moment， so I took off in a hurry. But then the weather suddenly changed， and the rain keeps getting heavier. Boohoo， my feathers are soaked–how am I supposed to face anyone like this?”

It seemed Magpie Daxi had also seized that fleeting moment when the sun briefly showed itself. After a while， Magpie Daxi finally replied. What did it mean? It was just a string of garbled text! Upon closer inspection， three digits were hidden in the jumble， 119. Fire emergency? No wonder his first message said， “Let the storm rage even harder!” But surely， this kind of storm should be able to put out a forest fire， right?

Feng Feifei replied: “Please quickly share your location. Send a pinpoint!” After waiting for a while， another garbled message came through， but this time the digits were 110.

This was bad. Magpie Daxi was in danger!

But where could he be? Feng Feifei grew increasingly anxious， like an ant on a hot pan， pacing back and forth until she finally calmed down. Right， she could turn to the all-powerful WeChat Moments. She hastily drafted a message and posted it in the flock’s group chat， asking everyone to share it to their Moments. The message read: “Magpie Daxi has sent out an SOS. This morning， he encountered danger while flying from Fenghuang Village to Cormorant Lake. Anyone who discovers his whereabouts or notices anything unusual， please inform this group immediately and start a rescue operation. “Mr. Magpie Daxi is a life-loving， community-minded bird who is always ready to help others and has made outstanding contributions to the avian world’s communication and courier industries. His distress deeply troubles the flock. May he turn misfortune into blessing and safely overcome this crisis!”

This sounded too much like a eulogy! And so the feedback began pouring in， starting with various emojis – confused， shocked， covering their mouths， wide-eyed， rubbing their eyes， tearful， hands clasped in prayer… Then came the flowers， mostly white or yellow chrysanthemums， with some sending green pines and cypresses. Later， Sweet， a partridge from Partridge Ridge， suggested opening an online memorial hall， with a black banner on the page reading “There’s no way forward， my brother，” which seemed quite fitting， given that Magpie Daxi had met with trouble while venturing out in the storm.

It seemed there was no one to rely on. After all， the wind was as sharp as knives， and the rain as piercing as arrows， growing fiercer by the minute. Magpie Daxi would have to fend for himself.

In truth， Magpie Daxi was safe at this moment. He had merely been captured by a large flock of crows. He had risen even earlier than Lark that day. The north wind was carrying clouds across the sky as he kept a watchful eye on the eastern horizon， where he saw a sliver of red appear between the shifting clouds. He perked up， ready to take off， but then a huge， darker cloud loomed in the distance. It was a massive “rain cloud” composed of thousands of crows， casting a shadow over the ground as they descended with a rustling sound. A black “net” enveloped him tightly， and all he could hear was the cawing around him. He realized he had fallen into the midst of a crow flock and was now their captive.

But why? Magpie Daxi was completely baffled and began chirping frantically， repeatedly identifying himself. Though they all had black feathers and were of similar size， wasn’t his black-and-white plumage much more fashionable? The crows paid him no mind. He then demanded to see Crow Wu. But the crows mocked him， saying， “Why? Just because you’re a little dark?”