Although Hu Qi couldn't understand what the duck was saying, after more than half a year together, he could roughly grasp its intentions.
From its behavior, it was clear that it had been cooped up in the cage for too long and wanted to go out and stretch its legs.
After chiding it with a laugh,
Hu Qi picked up the cage and went out to the courtyard behind the villa.
The courtyard had everything one could want, from rockeries to flowing streams.
However, due to the snow, the entire courtyard was a vast expanse of white.
The settled snow crunched underfoot.
...
Ahead,
at the end of a small stone-paved path,
the pond beneath the rockery was like a sleeping mirror, covered in a thin layer of ice.
The surface of the ice wasn't completely transparent, but rather veiled in a hazy mist.
By the pond, the branches of a crooked willow tree were withered and frail, swaying feebly in the cold wind.
