Qinglan Prefecture, a tavern.
"No fame, no fortune, free to roam, meeting wine and song with a verse of my own. For years I've not approached the Emperor's throne; for a millennium, my home's been Xianzhou alone."
Taoist Yuan He listened to the singer's tune while sipping the tavern's light brew. His cheeks were slightly flushed, and he felt perfectly at ease. 'Back in the day, Lü Zu roamed the world with just a single sword. To think that I, an old Daoist, am now enjoying a similar fate.'
In the tavern, an old man plucked a six-stringed instrument while a young woman sang a soft ballad.
Unlike the three-to-five-minute songs of Blue Star, a single piece in this Otherworld told an entire story. Finishing one song would take half an hour at least.
The singer had just finished her song. She gently wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead, picked up a small woven bamboo box, and went around the tavern's tables with the old man, offering auspicious words as they collected tips.
