Some people spent their whole lives pursuing what they wanted, only to find it forever beyond their reach, forever impossible.
Others pressed steadfastly onward, having long since learned to walk with ease through wind and rain.
In a certain sense, Wang Changji and Jiang Wang shared a similar attitude toward fate.
Wang Changji did not believe in miracles, because the miracle he had hoped for had never happened in Maple Forest City.
Jiang Wang, on the other hand, believed he could accomplish anything he set his mind to, no matter how impossible it might seem.
Neither of them placed their hopes in others.
Inside See Me Pavilion.
Once the "Jade Dragon" had been finished, another server carrying dishes came up to the second floor. He held a serving tray bearing five wooden cylinders, each seeming to hide in a bank of clouds.
Before he reached the round table, he handed one to each of the five people seated there.
After eating the "Jade Dragon," Lord Jiang had already developed a profound respect for this feast.
He studied the wooden cylinder in front of him, examining the beautiful carving on its surface—a picture of a fish leaping through the Dragon Gate.
"The second dish of this feast is called 'Dragon Gate.'"
The lead serving maid lifted off the entire cylinder. Jiang Wang saw a small, antique gatehouse in gold and red, standing atop a wooden base carved in the shape of a lotus.
Wisps of steam curled upward, drifting like something out of an immortal realm.
A faint, invigorating fragrance playfully curled around the tip of his nose.
The maid serving the dishes explained, "This pastry is made primarily from the Jade Dragon's fish marrow and roe."
She handed him ivory chopsticks. "Please, young master."
Jiang Wang took them. With a