If he hadn't had business to discuss, Chen Ping'an would not have gone to Peach Blossom Ferry to disturb Sparrow Mansion's cultivators. Delaying their work on Daoist Robes meant delaying Luopo Mountain's earnings. Cross anyone you liked, but never cross money.
Sparrow Mansion stood in Shuixiao Kingdom, a land of lakes and marshes where even the capital, like every prefectural and county city, was built on an island. The mansion occupied the meeting point of a great lake and a broad stream called Peach Blossom Water. White clouds hovered year-round above Peach Blossom Ferry, circling the green mountain like a snow-white crown. Mountains and water nestled together, clouds curled among peach blossoms, and the scenery was exquisite.
Mi Yu had once spent years here "cultivating." Word was he'd left a whole heap of Debts of Affection behind. Did that count as disgracing Luopo Mountain?
Chen Ping'an silently made a note of it. Once they returned to Luopo Mountain, he would have a proper talk with Great Sword Immortal Mi.
At the foot of the mountain stood a teahouse run by Sparrow Mansion. Business had always been slow: the tea was too expensive, and cultivators passing through Peach Blossom Ferry generally preferred strolling through the Peach Forest.
After Chen Ping'an's party sat down, he introduced himself to a Sparrow Mansion cultivator. Hearing that Luopo Mountain's Young Mountain Lord had come in person, she dared not neglect him and immediately sent a paper-kite message to the Patriarch Hall. The mansion's cultivators knew perfectly well that although Luopo Mountain on Treasure Bottle Continent had been founded only a few years ago, it was filthy rich. And now it was a sect, too.
Sparrow Mansion owed its present prosperity to the "Patriarch" Daoist Robe supplied by Luopo Mountain. From that one robe, they had