"But we couldn't find any traces of poison, could we? I have a feeling that, after all our efforts, if we still can't find anything... maybe she never poisoned it at all."
"Once the Falcon Squad arrives, there will be poison in the field!" Sophie Sun looked at him. "Get it now?"
Leo Bo's eyes lit up. "Got it! I'll make my move tonight!"
Sophie Sun said nothing and strode away.
Grace stood on the hillside, watching them leave, her dazzling eyes blinking.
Clearly, they hadn't found any poison, yet they still wanted the Falcon Squad to investigate.
What are they investigating?
Grace thought for a moment and figured it out.
She entered her Sanctum.
Inside, there was a sizable patch of woods.
This patch of woods had been here since she got her bracelet. The trees, who knows how many centuries old, were tall and massive—like a primeval forest.
She whistled toward the woods—a sharp, playful sound.
Soon, a golden bird flew out from the woods. It was sparrow-sized, covered in golden feathers, with a single emerald tuft on its head, looking lively.
Grace gave it an order: "Chirpy, bring Captain Lucas Hua of the Falcon Squad here. I want to see him before sunset today."
The golden bird turned into a streak of gold and vanished.
People on this continent usually use spirit messenger pigeons to send messages.
This golden bird was also a spirit messenger pigeon.
But this one had lived for over six hundred years.
Spirit messenger pigeons are usually white or gray, and much bigger than the golden bird.
This one had undergone two rebirths, transforming completely. Its flying speed was unbelievable.
A normal spirit messenger pigeon would take most of the day to fly from here to Yan City, but this one could make it in fifteen minutes.
It was the spirit messenger bird passed down through generations of Vermilion Spirit Alliance leaders.
Legend has it, it belonged to an Alliance Master over six hundred years ago. On his deathbed, he instructed it to serve every future leader of the Vermilion Spirit Alliance, protecting the Alliance for as long as it lived.
So, it only recognizes the Alliance Master as its owner.
In her previous life, after Grace became Alliance Master, this golden spirit messenger pigeon was passed on to her.
Because its cry sounded like "chirpy chirpy," Grace named it Chirpy and kept it in the woods of her Sanctum.
After her rebirth, her Sanctum came with her—and so did Chirpy.
...
The Falcon Squad isn't just one person—it's a guard squad under the Spirit Alliance.
They're highly skilled cultivators and serve as the Alliance's protectors. Whenever a case related to the Alliance pops up, they're the ones to investigate.
They answer directly to the Alliance Master, so naturally Grace couldn't just summon them on a whim.
But with Chirpy, she was confident Lucas Hua would come.
Sure enough, that afternoon, she saw Lucas Hua at the foot of the mountain.
He wore a fitted blue outfit, looking lean and spirited.
Compared to twenty years later, he hadn't changed much—just seemed younger and more energetic.
In that great disaster, Lucas Hua and the other Falcon Squad members all died protecting her...
He looked Grace up and down, confused, and asked, "Who are you?"
"My name is Grace Zhu," she said. "I'm a member of the Blue Moon Spirit Alliance."
"The golden messenger pigeon has been missing for nearly a year. Why is it with you?"
Grace was startled.
So, in this life, Chirpy had already gone missing?
Missing for nearly a year?
Doing the math, it seemed to be right when she was reborn last year.
Suddenly, she realized something.
It seemed that everything she'd brought back with her upon rebirth disappeared in this world.
Like the bracelet.
And Chirpy...