Li Ming barely had time to catch his breath before the light swallowed him completely.
When his vision cleared, he wasn't in the courtyard anymore. He was standing on a narrow stone path suspended over what looked like a pit filled with… glowing feathers?
Bai Guo appeared next to him—not as a chicken, but in full human form. Tall, lean, with silver hair streaked with white, and a smug grin plastered on his face. His eyes sparkled with that same arrogant gleam he'd had in chicken form.
"Welcome to your doom… descendant Li Ming," Bai Guo said, hands on hips. "Just kidding. But also… not really."
Li Ming blinked. "You… are human now?"
"I can do both. Chicken when it's convenient. Human when I feel like showing off," Bai Guo replied, twirling a feather between his fingers like it was a sword.
Li Ming rubbed his eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"
The floor beneath them rattled. A ghostly voice boomed.
> "Trial of the Cursed Feather… begins!"