Deep within the Silent Forest, before the temple ruins, outside Lingxing Gate.
Two rats sat side by side on a branch extending from a Soul Returning Poplar, silently studying the quiet depths of the forest without saying a word. Below them, the Wanderer Wizard wore a gray robe and an old-fashioned pointed wizard's hat, standing with his arms folded as if asleep.
"Heh heh..."
A sound like a cold sneer drifted from the distant bushes, particularly conspicuous in the chilly forest. The insects that had been chirping and buzzing fell silent at once upon hearing that sneer, like mice spotting a cat.
"Who?! Who's there!"
Of the two rats and one man, Fei Rui was the smallest and the most timid. At the sound of that "heh heh," the soft fur on the back of its neck immediately stood on end. Its toes flexed lightly as pale-red magical ripples silently gathered, as though it would hurl a string of fireballs into those bushes the next second.
Rat Immortal sat motionless in the wooden carriage, eyes narrowed and mouth shut, as if asleep.
The Wanderer Wizard merely lifted his pointed hat slightly, revealing a pair of shrewd eyes as he looked toward the bushes.
"It's only a Guan Guan Bird." After examining it for a few moments, the Wanderer Wizard sneered. "You can be considered a High-level Wizard, yet you can't even recognize a Guan Guan's call?"
Guan Guans were magical birds shaped like pigeons. They preferred living among low bushes and often fed on the many insects in the forest. Their meat was delicious, while their feathers and eyeballs could dispel illusion magic, making them very popular among wizards.
Precisely because they were so popular, these Magical Creatures had been hunted to the brink of extinction and were rarely seen