The Spring Festival had officially arrived at the Celestial Sword Sect, painting the usually austere mountain peaks in vibrant shades of crimson and gold.
Red paper lanterns swayed gently from the eaves of the grand pavilions, and the crisp, lingering chill of winter was finally giving way to the fragrant bloom of plum blossoms.
Up on the Drunken Peak, however, the festive spirit smelled distinctively like seasoned pork, sesame oil, and impending chaos.
Lin Ji'an stood in the center of her newly renovated kitchen, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows and her signature gray apron tied tightly over her festive red robes.
She was attempting a twenty-course banquet for the Drunken Sovereign, but her kitchen had somehow been invaded by the most terrifying, overpowered, and culinarily inept men in the entire Northern Territories.
