Liuxian Town, Taibai Street.
The once-bustling street had abruptly fallen quiet after the Sword Champion Assembly began.
On the lush Parasol Tree at the street entrance, a magpie chattered away, hopping up and down beside its nest.
Inside that nest nestled two turtledoves, one large and one small.
At last, the magpie mustered its courage, leaped from its branch, and lunged at the two turtledoves with its claws spread.
"Smack!"
Yet the magpie had barely left the branch when the small turtledove in the nest stretched out her neck, opened her beak wide, and swallowed it whole, skin and bones.
After swallowing the magpie, the small turtledove opened her beak as though burping, then actually spoke in a human voice:
"Finally, some peace and quiet."
After the small turtledove spoke, the large one spoke in a human voice as well. "Just as well you ate it. That woman beside Xu Taiping will find this place within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea at most. We must leave no threads of spider silk or tracks of horses behind."
The small turtledove giggled.
"You're absolutely right, young master."
The small turtledove added:
"If you weren't gravely wounded, young master, with this power to take over a magpie's nest, that woman couldn't find you no matter how high her cultivation was."
The large turtledove shook his head. Then a rare trace of lingering fear flashed through his eyes as he said:
"That woman's strength is far beyond your imagination. My escape this time was sheer luck."
These two turtledoves, one large and one small, were none other than Su Chan and Witch Su Xue, who had hidden in Liuxian Town after escaping Fairy Lingyue.
Witch Su Xue rarely heard Su Chan speak of anyone this way. A trace of