In Jingyu City, at a modest tavern…0

A few dishes were laid out on the table—not plentiful, nor particularly lavish. There were only four diners: Magistrate Liu, his advisor who had followed him from Yizhou, Song You, and Shu Yifan. Even Lady Calico, though a cat, wasn’t disregarded. She, too, had a place at the table.0

“Four years have passed, and yet, sir, you remain as remarkable as ever,” Magistrate Liu said, raising his cup with a touch of nostalgia. “Allow me to toast you first.”0

“No need to stand on ceremony, Magistrate.” Song You raised his own cup, glancing at the commandery magistrate.0

Back in Yidu, his encounters with Liu, then a county magistrate, had been infrequent. Now, just shy of four years later, the memories were faint but gradually resurfaced as he looked upon him. Magistrate Liu, though still short in stature, now bore visible signs of aging, his face weathered by the trials of the past few years.2

“You must be weary from your travels and efforts in ridding us of demons, sir. Please, do eat.”0

“Hezhou is nothing like prosperous Yizhou,” the advisor added humbly. “People here lack the culinary finesse of Yizhou, and times have been especially unkind—first...0