Ming Jie, Messenger of the Lord Magistrate of Verdant Hill, put one foot in front of the other. He was weary, but pleased he had completed his duty—and that the road to Verdant Hill was beneath him. In the distance, he could just make out the walls. He had made fantastic time back north, the worst of the weather far behind him. He had made such good time he had even surprised himself. Some days he must have managed a hundred li! And now the journey was at its end. He felt his heart swell over the fact that his task was nearly completed… even if he would not be able to deliver his message directly to his lord. He had been found by a fellow messenger in a stroke of great luck, who were also participating in the grand mail experiment. Some organisation called the Plum Blossoms or another, who were conducting a deep review of the more populated Grass Sea. The man had informed him of his Lord’s departure from Verdant Hill to handle urgent business in Pale Moon Lake City; apparently his message from the Young Master, now Acting Lord Magistrate’s, predicament had advanced some timetables. Still, he was not particularly worried. Pale Moon Lake was a nest of vipers, to be sure, but his Lord treated with cultivators on a regular basis. The Patriarch of Verdant Hill was sure to walk all over those fat fools. The Lord Magistrate was superior to them in all respects—and Ming Jie had proof. A puffing, hissing contraption in a nearby river, attached to a long animal hide tube. It looked a bit like a pump—and indeed, it was drawing water from the river and into a field. A man was just standing beside it, chatting with a friend, instead of doing the arduous task (...)