The morning sun filtered through the emerald canopy of Green-Hollow Village, painting the world in soft, dappled light. The air was crisp, scrubbing away the lingering heaviness of the previous night’s revelry.

  Li Yu, Si Luo and Bai Ruo sat at a small open-air breakfast stall perched on a lower platform. The view overlooked a quiet stream where they saw an enormous koi lazily swam against the current. Li Yu took this chance to swipe up a few of its kind but much smaller into the Koi Sanctuary. He was leaving the largest one here so as to not affect anything.

  "Congee," Li Yu declared, staring lovingly at the steaming bowl in front of him. "The universal cure for having too much of a good time. At least that’s what my good friend Jian Xuan says."

  "I require no cure," Si Luo stated while sipping a cup of jasmine tea with perfect posture. "My constitution is absolute. However, this pickled radish is... agreeable."

  "You were definitely wobbling last night, Princess," Bai Ruo noted as she was neatly slicing a dough stick. She didn't look up from her food but her tone was sharp. "I distinctly remember you trying to have a philosophical conversation with a bamboo stalk on the way home yesterday."

  "I was inspecting it," Si Luo corrected smoothly, though a faint pink tinge touched her ears. "It was a tactical assessment."

  "Mind if I join the tactical briefing?"

  A familiar, slightly raspier voice drifted over. Uncle Fan stood there, clutching his head with one hand and holding a wooden staff with the other. He looked like a man who had fought a war with a wine vat and achieved mutual destruction.

  "Uncle Fan!" Li Yu kicked out a chair. "Sit. You look terrible."

  "The wine gives and the wine takes," Fan groaned poetically while sinking into the chair. "Last night, I was an eagle soaring over mountains. This morning, I am a toad trapped under a rock. Shopkeeper! A bowl of congee, extra ginger!"

  "Put it on my tab," Li Yu called out.

  Fan smiled weakly. "You are a saint, Li Yu. A saint sent by the God of Hangovers."

  As they ate, the village around them began to stir with a different kind of energy. It wasn't the festive chaos of the night before; it was the warm, tearful energy of reunion.

  More cultivators were arriving from the lifts and walkways. These weren't tourists; they were sons and daughters of the village returning from the front lines. These were cultivators that had left the village to strike it out on their own.

  At a nearby table, an old woman dropped her basket of fruit when a man in battered leather armor walked up the ramp. He looked to be in his thirties, weary and scarred. They embraced, weeping openly and ignored the staring crowd.

  "I'm back, Ma," the man sobbed. "I'm done. I'm not leaving again."

  "Good," the old woman cried as she was hitting him lightly on the shoulder. "Your father needs help with the harvest. No more swords. Only sickles."

  Li Yu watched them and a warm feeling spread in his chest.

  "Peace looks good on people," Li Yu murmured.

  "It does," Uncle Fan agreed. He was watching and blowing on his spoon. "Conflict makes for exciting stories but peace makes for happy endings. Speaking of stories, look who just arrived."

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  He pointed toward the main landing platform.

  A sleek, ornate flying vessel—shaped like a jade leaf—was descending. It hummed with high-grade formations and bore the crest of a silver hawk against a stormy sky.

  "The Divine Wind Sect," Uncle Fan noted. "One of the Great Sects across the entire land, not just here. Heavy hitters."

  Li Yu watched with interest. Usually, when big sects showed up, trouble followed. He braced himself for arrogance, demands to clear the area, and the inevitable headache it will all cause. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with over the top spoiled kids.

  The vessel landed softly and a ramp extended. Two figures walked down.

  To a mortal eye, they looked young, perhaps in their mid-twenties. But Li Yu could sense the density of their Qi. These were not new junior cultivators. They were likely over a century old, their youth preserved by powerful cultivation techniques and longevity pills. They were both early Core Formation experts. Extremely impressive for their age.

  The man, Feng Wei, wore robes of silver silk with wind patterns embroidered in white. He had a handsome, open face and carried a sword on his back wrapped in simple cloth.

  The woman, Feng Xi, wore similar robes but with blue embroidery. Her hair was done up in a complex style held by jade pins. She looked elegant but her eyes were curious, scanning the village with genuine delight rather than disdain.

  Behind them, however, trailed four retainers. They wore the uniforms of inner disciples and looked significantly less friendly. They had the classic "we work for important people" scowl.

  "Clear the way!" one of the retainers barked immediately and was pushing a villager aside. "Elder Feng Wei and Elder Feng Xi are passing through! Do not block the path!"

  The villager that was pushed was a young girl carrying a tray of buns and she stumbled. Li Yu frowned at the sight. He put down his spoon to come to the young girl’s aid.

  But before he could stand up, Feng Wei had already moved.

  "Stop," the man commanded. His voice wasn't loud but it carried the snap of authority that came from decades of command.

  The retainer froze. "Elder?"

  "Apologize," Feng Wei said as he was pointing to the girl.

  "But... she was in your path, Elder," the retainer stammered. "A mortal blocking the way of the Divine Wind—"

  "She is a resident of this village," Feng Xi interrupted. She stepped forward and her expression was stern. "We are guests here. Guests do not shove their hosts. Apologize. Now. Before you regret it."

  The retainer paled. He bowed deeply to the girl. "I apologize, miss. I was rash."

  Feng Wei smiled at the girl. It was a kind smile, one that reached his eyes. "Please forgive my servant. He forgets his manners when he's hungry. Are those buns for sale?"

  "Y-yes, my lord," the girl squeaked.

  "I'll take the whole tray," Feng Wei said as he handed her a silver coin. "Keep the change."

  He took a bun and bit into it immediately. "Delicious. Sister Xi, try one."

  Feng Xi took a delicate bite and nodded. "Exquisite. Much better than the spirit-pills back at the mountain."

  Li Yu had a smile playing on his lips as he watched.

  "Well," Li Yu said. "That was refreshing."

  "Good people," Uncle Fan nodded approvingly. "The Feng family raises them right. Strict and strong but honorable."

  Later that afternoon, the tavern was packed. The lunch rush had merged with the early drinkers and was creating a shortage of tables.

  Li Yu, Si Luo, Bai Ruo and Uncle Fan were nursing a pot of tea and enjoying the breeze when the siblings from the Divine Wind Sect walked in. Their retainers looked frustrated by the crowd and looked like they were scanning for a table to commandeer.

  Feng Wei saw the look in his retainer's eye and sighed. "Don't even think about it, Liu. We wait like everyone else."

  "But Elder..."

  Li Yu was listening and was curious about the siblings. He waved his hand at them. "There's space here. If you don't mind squeezing in with a poet, a scholar, and..." he looked at Si Luo and Bai Ruo and was unsure what to say, "...two beautiful ladies."

  Feng Wei’s eyes lit up. He walked over and bowed politely, treating Li Yu like a peer despite Li Yu feeling like a mortal and someone much younger than him. No older than 30.

  "We would be honored. I am Feng Wei. This is my sister, Feng Xi."

  "Li Yu," he replied. "Sit. The tea is fresh."

  The siblings were surprised by the name, thought of something and then dismissed it. They then quickly sat down. Their retainers hovered awkwardly behind them until Feng Xi waved them off to find their own food but reminded them they better not cause trouble.