Chen Ping'an had deliberately chosen Start of Winter for the ferry boat to dock at the Lower Sect. Cui Dongshan had hastily put up several thatched huts outside the mountain gate and moved out a few tables. With people from both the Upper and Lower Sects, there were nearly thirty of them. Cui Dongshan was like a shopkeeper and waiter rolled into one, bustling about the kitchen with Shi Qiu. At the start of winter, there was a bowl of dumplings and a bowl of Winter-Tonifying Soup, also called Earth Root Soup, brewed from the roots of various plants. It was merely for good fortune, using whatever ingredients were close at hand, nothing from any immortal family. Each table also had small dishes of soy sauce, vinegar, and other condiments, along with a large platter of cabbage pickled during Frost's Descent.
As for wine, sorry, if they wanted to drink, they could conjure it themselves. Their Lower Sect was now poor enough to jingle when it walked.
Five people sat at the main table.
Chen Ping'an, Mountain Lord of Luopo Mountain in the Upper Sect.
Chang Ming, Luopo Mountain's Law Enforcer, whose Daoist name was Ling Chun.
And the three temporarily highest-ranking figures of the Lower Sect: First Sect Master Cui Dongshan, Money Manager Zhong Qiu, and Lower Sect Law Enforcer Cui Wei.
Cui Wei had originally been unwilling to sit at the main table and wanted to yield his place to Mi Yu, who would soon become the Lower Sect's Chief Guardian. But Lord Mountain Lord had grabbed his arm and refused to let go, so Cui Wei could only resign himself to it.
Yu Xiehui, seated at another table, glanced at Cui Wei. The child curled his lips. Oh, he could even drink at the same table as