The message was carried from Leilani to Tong'an by a raven which was a large all-black passerine bird. The raven mostly symbolises death or ill omen, and for some darkness and lost souls. But it is a talking bird and capable of travelling unspeakable distance in a short span of time, the raven Yishen used was his own and he owned it since he was a young boy.
He was positive it would deliver the news to Tong'an because he spoke to it about the directions of where Tong'an was and the raven never gets lost.
And indeed it never lost its way, three days later it had already reached Tong'an and landed safely on the front of the palace. It dropped the letter to the guards and flew back in a hurry - most of ruthless rulers tend to kill the ravens because of the superstitious beliefs.
"A raven... it dropped a letter!" said one of the guards and he picked it up.
