It pained He to watch, but she couldn't bring herself to stop Juhua. All she could do was continuously rub the spots on the rooster where the feathers had been plucked.
Juhua, meanwhile, quickened her pace and said, "Just a little longer, almost done... There!" She let out a long breath, clutching a handful of bright, gleaming feathers as she announced the end of the rooster's torture. Hearing this, He immediately released the bird.
The rooster jumped to the ground and bolted for the front yard. It had clearly been tormented by Juhua—after all, wasn't it a miserable fate to have a patch of its colorful coat plucked out for no reason? It even staggered as it ran, as if drunk, only steadying itself after covering a good distance.
Juhua watched with amusement, then called out to He before heading off to make breakfast.
