Sun smiled as he watched the participants snatch tools and various materials from the villagers, who had kindly carried them all the way to the forest.
Heh, you crafty ones, do your best, he chuckled, until Su approached him.
"Ahem."
"What is it?" he frowned.
"Sh-sh-sh-sh."
"Again? Oh, why can't you just…" He tilted his head to the side, wincing, as if this wasn't the first time he'd dealt with such odd behavior.
"Sh-sh-sh-sh," she continued, and then pulled two pouches from her belt, deliberately pouring the powder from one into the other.
"It's shifting… tiny particles… oh… it's time! Did I guess right? … Wait, time…"
He shot up almost instantly, finding himself in front of the participants.
"Wait! One important clarification: this test, like the previous ones, has a time limit." He looked around at everyone, hoping they were paying attention. "Ten hours. That includes the journey there and back, so here's my advice: don't waste your time. If you're too late, even if you get the bird's handkerchief, you won't pass. I hope that's clear. That's all."
Having announced the final rule, he spun around and headed into the shade beneath a large tree, where Ma Jian was lounging on the grass and Su Rui sat nearby.
"Is everything ready?" Jie Ming asked the youngest of the group.
The boy grinned broadly and nodded, slinging a basket full of ropes over his shoulder.
"Great, let's move out," commanded Jie Ming, stepping ahead and leading everyone behind him.
***
Through the rustling of grass and leaves, the young men and women of the Windy Chain followed Jie Ming deeper into the forest.
Tu Heng walked lightly, as if he could collapse at any moment, but despite staggering, he kept going. He followed an old, well-trodden path where not a single blade of grass grew. It must have existed for decades, maybe longer, he thought.
He glanced to the side: Zhude walked nearby, watching him just in case. In his hands he carried a clay vessel almost the size of a human torso, without a handle. From the sound of the liquid sloshing inside, it was clear that it held water… most likely, Tu Heng decided.
The sight of someone else working drew his attention back to his own empty hands. He wasn't carrying anything, and no one had entrusted him with anything. They didn't want to overwork him or simply wanted him to recover — he understood that, yet he still drifted away from the group in embarrassment, staring at his feet, trying not to stand out.
Maybe out of boredom, his gaze wandered everywhere, unable to focus on anything specific. Sunbeams filtered through the dense canopy of low trees. Red, yellow, and brown plants and flowers meant nothing to him — a traveler from another world.
Looking at them, he couldn't help comparing them to the ones used to make his wreath. Quickly concluding mine are prettier, he smiled with a sense of superiority, not noticing the others had stopped beside him.
"Alright," Jie Ming clapped his hands, and everyone looked his way.
"Zhude, Zhuge, can I trust you with the rest?"
"Hehe, of course, boss," Zhuge chuckled brightly.
"We'll take care of it," Zhude nodded, placing the vessel on the ground.
"Okay, gather closer and… Hey, Tu Heng! Stop drifting off — get over here, now."
"What?! Ah… oh, yes, I'm listening, I'm listening," he repeated, hurrying to the circle.
Jie Ming sighed, covering his eyes and shaking his head.
"I won't repeat myself, Tu Heng, this is important. The rest of us want to join Luo He, and if you're so eager too, don't get in everyone's way. We'll help you as well, so be good and show some responsibility."
"Alright…" he answered sourly, looking aside.
"Are we done? Then I'll start."
Zhuge announced this as he sat down and drew a squiggle and several circles in the dirt with a stick lying nearby.
"This forest doesn't have an official name, but our family calls it Deer Forest, because deer are especially active here in the fall."
"Are you hunters?"
"Don't interrupt, Tu Heng."
"Okay, okay…"
"We're now at the western entrance," Zhuge continued, drawing a cross on one part of the squiggle and a circle in the center. "Moving straight ahead, we'll reach a spring at the center — a place where all the forest creatures gather, and where a small bamboo grove grows. That will be our camp for the ten hours. It's easy enough to find if you follow these flowers."
At the word flowers, Zhude approached, holding out a five-petaled green blossom.
"It's a sort of weed that grows in very humid places. Follow its clusters and you'll reach the center." He looked around at the group. "I hope you remember that. Now my brother will cover the main topic — he understands bird hunting better than I do."
"I hope everyone understands," Zhude began, "that even with restrictions placed on them, birds still have an advantage over us — they can fly."
He frowned as he surveyed the surroundings: even the smallest trees were twenty meters tall. And deeper in, they reach forty.
"Hehe, exactly! But fate is smiling on us, hahaha!" Zhuge leapt up with a huge grin.
Everyone stared at him in confusion. But he simply snorted and walked over to Tu Heng.
"What are you doing? Hey, wait! No, don't touch that—hey!"
Tu Heng shouted, but no one listened. Zhuge tore the wreath from his head, pulled it apart into its components, and handed them to Jie Ming.
"That's mine!" Tu Heng cried, almost in tears. "I won it in a fair drinking contest…"
"Yes, yes, yes," Jie Ming muttered, distributing a few flowers to each person. He placed the last three flowers into Tu Heng's hands.
"This is blue sapphirosa," Zhude explained, rolling the flower between his fingers. "In sunlight it glimmers like an azure wave, grows along the banks of the Nan River, and attracts birds with its scent and pleasant taste. It's inedible for humans, but we use it for decorations during festivals. Who knew we'd get so lucky?"
"Hahaha, I'm telling you, it's fate, brother!" Zhuge nearly bounced with excitement.
"I think you understand," Zhude continued with a smile. "With this flower, our chances will rise significantly. Listen carefully — I'll share several bird traps based on it. Time is short, so I'll be brief. So…"
He began explaining, holding everyone's full attention. They listened closely, looking only at him, not glancing around — and not noticing that just above them, on a branch, a plump blue bird watched the scene.
Its eyes burned with the flame of vengeance, fixed solely on him — Tu Heng.