When Uncle Zhang Zhi was telling a stale story by the lake to his companions.

On the magic stage.

A Green Bird suddenly appeared in the roaring flames, spread its wings, and hovered in front of Zheng Qing and Jiang Yu, rebuking: "Which family do you belong to, young man? Why are you so reckless, interfering with others’ spellcasting on the stage without permission?"

How could Zheng Qing not realize he had made a blunder at this moment?

Naturally, he was tongue-tied and speechless.

Jiang Yu pulled him behind her.

"He’s here to replace me for the challenge."

The Witch dropped the bamboo slips on the ground and calmly said something that made Zheng Qing’s eyes widen: "I concede the previous challenge... He’s here to take on Senior Sister Tushan on my behalf."

Centimeter Mountain fell into silence.

By the lakeside, there was an uproar.

The Elder of the Jiang family, who had just been smiling, suddenly stood up, pointed at Jiang Yu, his lips trembling for a moment, then sighed heavily, threw his sleeves, and sat back down, glaring viciously at the instigating Warlock.

The Big Foxes of the Tu Shan Clan ceased discussing fur conditioners, the affluent-looking elderly woman from the Sima family picked up her bead string, and guests from the Three-Eyed and Multi-Armed races stopped gossiping, watching the scene with interest.

Only the witches from Qingqiu maintained their usual unpleasant expressions.

The Green Bird furrowed its brows tightly—Zheng Qing was surprised he still had the mind to observe a bird’s brow—its gaze lingered between the young Warlock and Witch for a moment.

"Concede? Do you know what you’re saying?" After a while, the Green Bird pondered and asked.

"I know."

Jiang Yu replied casually, then shifted the conversation: "The challenge rules of the Shanglin Garden Spring Hunt state that once a match ends, the next match can proceed with mutual consent... There’s no rule prohibiting two sets of hunters from appearing simultaneously on one magic stage, right?"

The Green Bird crossed its wings, looking conflicted.

"Indeed, there are no such rules."

After a while, it nodded reluctantly, albeit still somewhat unwilling: "But after the two hunters from the previous match bow and exit, the next pair of hunters then ascend the stage... This is basic etiquette for the Spring Hunt, right?"

The implication was that these etiquettes were unspoken rules among the Noble Wizards. Like when Duke Xiang of Song set up an array by the river but chose not to attack the Chu army halfway across—although it seemed foolish, it was an invisible boundary distinguishing civilization from barbarism at the time.

If a country claiming to be civilized abandons the rules of the civilized world and starts becoming unruly, it’s bound to be rejected by the truly civilized society.

The small circle of Aristocratic Wizards is the same.

Of course, a minor breach wouldn’t cause Jiang Yu too much trouble, so she looked at the Green Bird and insisted somewhat formally: "Without prohibition, one can act."

"But as you said, the next challenge requires mutual consent..." The Green Bird hesitated.

"I have no objection."

Tushan Chujiu, who had been watching the show with her arms folded, raised her hand, smiling, interrupting the Green Bird, glancing sideways at Zheng Qing, her eyes charming: "I’m very willing to have a polite exchange with this gentleman... It looks like it’ll be quite fun."

This truly is a Fox Spirit, Zheng Qing thought to himself, lowering his eyelids.

"Thank you."

Jiang Yu kept a straight face, bowed properly to her opponent, and after Tushan Chujiu returned the bow, a rainbow light descended from midair, wrapping Jiang Yu and sending her back to the Crescent Lake.

On stage, only a young man, a young woman, and a bird remained.

A sense of heat continued to pervade the magic stage where flames had swirled, and on the smooth blue stone slab surface remained the twisted marks left by the magic circle formed by the fire snakes.

"We all know the rules, right?"

The Green Bird clearly wanted to end this rather troublesome episode quickly, glancing at the two hunters and spreading its wings to sweep away the lingering heat and residual marks on the ground: "Then... bow to each other!"

Before the words fell, it turned into a blue flame and disappeared from the magic stage.

"Tushan Chujiu, please guide me."

Tushan Chujiu smilingly placed her hand over her chest and bowed, her gaze never leaving the young Warlock in front of her, eyes filled with curiosity, but more with a disconcerting desire to try.

"Senior Sister Tushan, please."

Somewhat nervously, Zheng Qing returned the bow.

These etiquettes he had learned at the Greenhill Mansion; though unfamiliar, he wasn’t completely at a loss.

"Don’t be so nervous, I won’t eat you." Tushan Chujiu said, hands behind her back, smiling at the boy, her Law Book hanging at her waist, swinging as if she had no intention to open it or make a move.

Zheng Qing lowered his eyelids, opened the Bronze Book, and quietly cast various mental protection, charm removal, and tranquility spells on himself.

Whether the Big Fox opposite truly intended not to act, or was planning something behind the mask of calm, it would never hurt to be more prepared.

Seeing the Warlock remain silent, Tushan Chujiu suddenly proposed again: "Do you want to finish the first round of spellcasting first? Our competition isn’t urgent."

Zheng Qing finally couldn’t help but lift his head, surprised: "Is that allowed?"

"Of course."

The Witch replied with a smile: "The Shanglin Garden Spring Hunt doesn’t have too many rules; the freedom is high. Everyone comes here to make friends and have fun... Even if you jump off the magic stage there’d be no loss. But I guess you won’t jump down, right?"

As she spoke, she crossed her arms in front of her, leaning back slightly. Three white, furry, large tails silently slipped out from under her skirt, supporting her from behind, making her look like she was sitting on an ornate lounge chair, adopting a leisurely posture.

"This Fox Spirit!"

The witch from Qingqiu on Centimeter Mountain finally couldn’t help but mutter a curse.

Causing others to glance askance.

On the magic stage, Zheng Qing tentatively raised his hand.

A bamboo slip fell from the void, landing in his hand.

As Zheng Qing wiped his hand across it, a line of shiny small characters simultaneously projected into the air—’Please use Transformation to analyze any Talisman.’

Is this luck?

The Warlock instinctively turned to look towards the Crescent Lake, simultaneously recalling the Silent Bird he had transformed not long ago, his face showed no joy, only extreme caution. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Having been a wizard for long enough, he deeply understood there were no coincidences in this world; destiny was merely a puppet of big players, chaos was the true principle of the world.

But at this moment, he didn’t need to think about such distant topics.

He composed himself, retrieved a Calm Heart Talisman from the Grey Cloth Bag, opened the Bronze Book, and chanted the Transformation spell. The spell light flickered, the Calm Heart Talisman vanished, and a light blue spotted bird appeared in his palm.