The blue-canopied carriage set out from Youzhou, crossing prefectures and provinces on a journey of a thousand miles.
In the blink of an eye, it was the third day of the seventh month.
The carriage finally entered the Capital Region, less than a hundred miles from the towering, majestic imperial capital.
On either side of the official road, paths crisscrossed the fields, and villages dotted the landscape like stars scattered across a chessboard.
The carriage reached a fork. One branch was the broad official road leading onward to the gates of Chang'an City; the other wound toward a dense, secluded elm grove. Just as Qing Dai was about to continue along the main road-
"Chirp, chirp, chatter-"
"Tweet, tweet! Chatter, chatter!"
An unusually dense chorus of birdsong suddenly erupted from deep within the elm grove off to the side!
Countless sparrows, magpies, orioles, and even a few unnamed birds with brilliantly colored feathers burst from the trees as though responding to a single command. They formed a dark mass circling in the air before the carriage, chirping incessantly. Yet they did not attack. Instead, they seemed to be... showing the way?
Lu Changfeng lifted the window curtain and glanced outside.
His keen gaze picked out a lively myna with glossy black feathers amid the flock.
When the myna saw him looking, Ink Jade actually wheeled gracefully through the air and let out a clear call:
"Changfeng! Changfeng!"
It was Ink Jade.
Lu Changfeng could not help smiling. The sudden birdsong swept away some of the weariness and dust of his long journey.
"Stop the carriage."
He gave the order with a hint of lightness in his voice.
The carriage stopped at once.
Lu Changfeng briskly slung the Wind-Raising Sword across his back, then secured the sealed Sword Case containing Gan