Xi Yan smiled. "No wonder you're so pleased with yourself. You've improved! Too bad even the finest footwork can't get you out of the palm of my hand."
The strange smile on Xi Yan's face gave Hu Xiaotian a sudden sense of foreboding. Then he heard a flurry of wings. A flock of crows swept down from the pagoda above, bearing down on him like a bank of black clouds. Hu Xiaotian nearly jumped out of his skin. Damn it, no footwork could dodge an attack by this many crows! He covered his head and scurried like a rat, his steps falling into disarray. His Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps vanished clean out of his mind.
The crows closed in on Hu Xiaotian from every direction. Just as they were about to descend on him, he shouted, "Wait! I have something to say!"
His shout actually worked. The crows abruptly stopped attacking, turned around, and flew back toward the pagoda. Hu Xiaotian broke out in a cold sweat. Something lightly tapped his shoulder, and there was Xi Yan beside him, all smiles. She giggled. "Catching you couldn't be easier."
If you've got the guts, come catch me yourself! Hu Xiaotian thought. You just called in a whole army of crows. This little enchantress really was formidable. Snakes, insects, bats, crows-she could command them all at will. Against someone she could beat, she fought one-on-one; against a tougher opponent, she called in her helpers. Making an enemy of her would be inviting an enormous headache.
"It looks like there really is some fate between us," Hu Xiaotian said. "Who would have thought we'd run into each other even in Skywave City?"
"Hypocrite!" Xi Yan said.
"How am I a hypocrite?"
"You really don't want to see me, do you?" Xi Yan said. "Every