Guixu Relay Station, the "No Returner" Tavern.
The stench of liquor mixed with mold from years of poor ventilation, swirling through the cramped space.
Chu Qing sat behind a square table with peeling paint. He was not wearing that eye-catching Dark Gold robe, only a coarse brown garment draped over his body. Barefoot, he tapped his toes rhythmically against the rough wooden floorboards.
"Tap, tap."
He lifted a clay bowl. The harsh, cloudy liquor went down his throat like a ball of fire, burning all the way down his esophagus into his stomach. That scorching sensation restored warmth to limbs that had grown somewhat stiff from drifting through the void.
[Profession Column: Chu Qing] [Current Environment: Causality is exceptionally chaotic.] [Keywords detected: Great Calamity, disappearance, White Jade Capital.]
In a corner of the tavern, a table of Heavenly Prides clad in ornate gear were shouting at the tops of their lungs.
"Three more shattered."
The leading young man slammed his wine bowl onto the table. He used too much force, and a ring of cracks spread across its bottom. Murky wine splashed over his sleeve, but he paid it no mind. His fingers only dug harder into the table's edge, their tips turning white from the strain.
"Qingyuan Realm, Liusha Realm, and that one from last night whose name never even made it through—their origins were all drained dry. You can't even find a whole bone upstream in the river channel now."
Another Heavenly Pride swallowed with difficulty. He instinctively drew in his neck, lowering his voice. "Do you think those old monsters are carrying out a 'harvest'?"
"A harvest?" The leading young man sneered. His cheeks were flushed with alcohol, yet his pupils were unconsciously tightening. "I think Heaven is hungry."
Chu Qing sat in the shadows,