The imperial road leading to Jade Splendor Mount Hua grew increasingly crowded.
The closer they came to Jade Splendor Mount Hua, the more prosperous the scenery on either side became.
First came scattered tea stalls and resting pavilions, then rows of stone and timber houses, with all manner of stalls set out front. Some sold medicinal herbs, some brocade, others talismans and jade wares, their vendors' cries rising one after another.
Farther along, the gravel gave way to smooth bluestone paving, and the rough wooden houses became towers with carved beams and painted pillars. Strings of wind chimes hung from their upturned eaves, tinkling whenever the mountain wind swept past.
The travelers wore splendid clothes. There were Featherfolk draped in feather cloaks, wandering swordsmen from the Laomin Kingdom with jade swords at their waists, and proud-faced scions of eminent clans from the Deathless Kingdom dressed in embroidered finery. Occasionally, groups of three or five giants could be seen mingling among them after shrinking their bodies. Everywhere was a picture of prosperity.
This was clearly not Bai Qianqian's first visit.
Holding Lu Changfeng's hand, she wove through the crowd with practiced ease and turned into a relatively quiet alley. An old shop lay tucked away at its far end. Its frontage was small, and a wooden plaque hung beneath the eaves, bearing the words "Qingqiu Guesthouse" in an archaic hand. The paint at its corners had worn away in patches, betraying its age.
The stone steps before the entrance had been worn smooth and glossy. On either side stood a pot of Nine-Tailed Orchids unique to Qingqiu, their flowers in full bloom. Pale purple petals swayed gently in the wind, releasing a faint trace of sweet fragrance.
Bai Qianqian pushed open the door, setting the bronze bell above it jingling.
Behind