Two Birds Alight on Shoulders, Then Scatter; A Retainer Dances with a Sword, Intent Unspoken!

[Xie Yuan was startled!]

[Not only him—everyone present wore looks of utter disbelief.]

[Liu Yuan's pupils contracted sharply, his eyes filled with shock.]

[Li Qinlan watched the "Radiant Luan" circle several times before lightly landing on Xie Guan's shoulder. Her red lips parted slightly.]

[The divine bird was brimming with intelligence. It used its claws to gently comb through Xie Guan's hair, its vermilion beak affectionately pecking at his collar.]

[Su Yun abruptly rose to his feet, his gaze trembling. "A white crest denotes a male, a red crest a female. This is a male Radiant Luan. Only one who is utterly true and utterly good, whose great virtue embraces the world, may earn its perch."]

["In the legends of Great Qi, only the Master himself..."]

[As you reached out and lightly touched it, the luan bird affectionately rubbed against your fingers.]

[The lid in Colorful Phoenix's hand fell with a clang, tea stains spreading across the blue bricks. This woman skilled in raising birds stared wide-eyed—she had kept this luan for three years, yet not to mention touching it, anyone who came within a foot of it would be met with its piercing shriek.]

[The entire room fell silent. Only the faint sound of the Radiant Luan's wings stirring the air remained.]

[Xie Yuan was also astonished. He merely extended a hand, and the Radiant Luan on your shoulder turned and flew down onto his other shoulder.]

[The bird's eyes were filled with nothing but disdain for Xie Yuan.]

[Helan Zhenshu's face turned ashen. He was the lofty Crown Prince of the grasslands, yet before everyone's eyes, he had been toyed with by two feathered beasts! His dignity had been swept clean away, and he had actually been outdone by this lowborn Xie Guan.]

[Seeing this, Su Shishi could