Stars crowded the sky, and the twin moons were hidden. A torch hung outside the pavilion, while a candle burned on the stone table. Three men who could rightly be called masters of the age sat facing one another across it. Summer breezes occasionally stirred, making the torch outside flicker, yet they could not disturb the candle flame inside in the slightest.
Not only that, cicadas called incessantly all around, and the heat was palpable, yet beneath the pavilion the temperature was so pleasant that spring and autumn were indistinguishable.
All three were visibly reserved. They offered only brief introductions and, before exchanging any pleasantries, drew back into restraint, each plainly preoccupied.
Xiong Bonan, however, was clearly a forthright man. Perhaps noticing something amiss in the atmosphere, he simply asked outright, "Senior Flowing Cloud Crane, did you have some business to discuss with our Dragonhead Zhang? If my presence makes things awkward, I can step aside for a while."
"You're overthinking it, Purple-Faced Heavenly King." Xie Minghe immediately gave a wry smile. "I'm an idle man, a crane roaming free in the wilds. What business could I have? I came simply because Jiangdong is a pool of stagnant water, yet things grow tighter by the day. I had no idea what to do, or what I could do, when suddenly I turned around and heard that my worthy younger brother had accomplished great things here in the Eastern Territories. So I came to take a look, that's all."
"I see." Xiong Bonan nodded and relaxed a little, then continued seriously, "What exactly is the situation in Jiangdong? What do you mean by a pool of stagnant water?"
"It's been crushed down and stifled." Xie Minghe stopped smiling wryly, but his voice grew still lower. "His Majesty returned to Jiangdu, proclaiming