Recommendation ticket, please.
Today, two chapters, 3,000 words.
April 1, evening.
The lanterns had just begun to bloom, like scattered stars fallen into the mortal world, gently pushing back the night.
The Winding Stream Party Chang'an Branch—this rare neutral ground tucked away in the northeastern corner of Chang'an, detached from the turmoil of the mortal world—was now bathed in an unprecedented atmosphere where fervor and tranquility intertwined.
Today was the grand day of its contest against the renowned Cultural Brilliance Pavilion of the Imperial Capital, and the air was thick with both tension and excitement.
Night had fallen, yet it was not the beginning of silence, but the raising of the curtain on splendor, draping this contest in a veil both mysterious and dazzling.
People streamed in like woven threads, bustling and clamorous, gathering from every direction toward this focal point. Voices in conversation and laughter intertwined, merging into a lively prelude.
The main building of the Winding Stream Party branch looked even more imposing amid the fading glow of countless lights.
Upturned eaves held up the dusk, and twelve glazed Soul Power lamps cast warm yellow halos across the blue brick walls.
The crowds passing through the moon gate stepped over moss-speckled flagstones. The scent of Purple Vine mingled with a Scholarly air and drifted over the three-bend arched bridge, swirling beneath the corridor eaves where bronze chime-bells hung.
From the dome of the main building hung a seven-treasure gilded grand lantern, already kindled with three thousand candles, making the carved wooden railings inside gleam as though plated with gold.
The Nine-Bend Corridor wound down from the third floor, running water murmuring softly, deep and far-reaching, a beautiful waterside scene.
The first-floor hall was packed with Eight Immortals tables, every table filled with people, some conversing in low