An old man was carving wood in the workshop.
With an oddly shaped curved knife, he shaved a block of deep purplish-red hardwood into shape, layer by layer.
It was a bird with its wings spread. The same design as the totems atop the stone pillars.
"What kind of bird is that?" Yang Wanqing leaned closer to ask.
The old man lifted his eyelids.
Yun Wanlan answered for him.
"A Three-Tailed Mysterious Bird. The ancestral totem of the Sushen Tribe. Legend has it that when the mighty cultivators of the Primordial Era built the Taiyin Realm, a Three-Tailed Mysterious Bird guided our ancestors through the void between Blue Star and the moon."
"Cool..."
Yang Wanqing moved the Recording Crystal closer to the wooden carving in the old man's hands.
The livestream chat came alive again.
"That knife work is badass. So smooth."
"Blue Star doesn't have wood that purplish-red, does it?"
"Three-Tailed Mysterious Bird, Three-Legged Golden Crow? Are they related?"
"You're overthinking it. That bird has three tails, not three legs."
The three of them spent more than four hours exploring the Floating Island Archipelago.
Yang Wanqing's backpack bulged with purchases: bone-carved earrings, little wooden dolls, a jar of Fruit Syrup, two bags of jerky, a pair of handwoven straw sandals, and a dyed animal-hide scarf.
Chen Siyao had collected fewer things. A pottery bowl, which the old craftsman said was the best he had ever made.
And a small bag of dried leaves that could be steeped in water for a refreshing drink.
By the time they returned to the Eastern Pavilion, the sun—no, not the sun, but a large spirit stone on the dome of the Taiyin Realm that simulated sunlight—had already dimmed.
Twilight spilled down from the dome, bathing the Floating Island Archipelago in warm orange.
Chen