To say that Svarggam Xiaochun's dinner was cooked to impress was an understatement. The entire surface of the table was quickly covered in a hundred small dishes, each no more than a dozen bites large, the smells all mixing together into a single beautiful tapestry.

"And you've made all this yourself, Xiao?" Qian Shanyi said with no small amount of respect. She was hardly a master chef herself, and knew none of the recipes, but eyeing the dishes… She'd have struggled to make a third of this in time - not unless she was literally forced to cook since the sun rose. Even accounting for the fact that some of the dishes had clearly been unpacked preserves, the sheer variety was, frankly, intimidating.

"Oh no, of course not," Svarggam Xiaochun giggled. "We have cooks here that work for the Steel Torrent sect. I helped, and picked the dishes, but most of this isn't mine."

Qian Shanyi breathed out a little tension. The thought of someone being this much better, this much faster, even at something as meaningless as cooking, wounded her pride more than she cared to admit. Now that she knew it was the work of many people, she could stomach it far better.

But the dishes were only the beginning. Svarggam Xiaochun and Zhang Xiaogang started with the etiquette - how to greet others, how to take a seat, how to ask for a given dish without causing undue offence to the chef, before they even got to the food. All throughout, it sat there at the table, looking absolutely delicious and making Qian Shanyi salivate. Perhaps it was meant as an incentive to learn quickly.

"What a curious utensil," Qian Shanyi said, once they were finally allowed to eat - but even that was not a simple affair. Instead of the expected chopsticks, they were given small, three-pronged metal forks - about the length of her palm. "And you use it to spear things?"

She had seen cooking forks before, of course - but they were large, the length of her forearm, not at all convenient to eat with. The principle here was obviously similar, yet the size and context kept throwing her off.

"No, no, you are holding it wrong," Svarggam Xiaochun said, pointing to her own hand. "The other way around, like a spoon."

Qian Shanyi easily spun the fork around with her fingers, only for Linghui Mei to reach out and put her hand over hers. "No master, like this," she whispered, subtly adjusting her hold on the fork again. It felt awkward to hold it that way, but perhaps Qian Shanyi was simply unused to it.

Qian Shanyi surreptitiously glanced around herself. Wang Yonghao seemed entirely in his element, chatting quietly about the dishes with Svarggam Xiaochun, while Linghui Mei was nibbling on a small dish of raw fish. They had politely informed their hosts that their disciple already ate before coming here, though Qian Shanyi didn't think they really believed her. Perhaps they simply thought that she was too awkward to eat in the presence of cultivators.

"I suppose I can see how it works, though I must say, I still prefer the chopsticks," Qian Shanyi noted once she got a handle on the process.

"Many restaurants will offer both choices these days, especially in the cities," Zhang Xiaogang said, "But not all."

Qian Shanyi nodded, wondering how often this caused tension before. She definitely knew a couple people that would throw a tantrum if the restaurant refused to serve them exactly what they expected.

The dinner proceeded quietly and cheerfully. Svarggam Xiaochun led the discussion while Zhang Xiaogang seemed content to stay back, only stepping in to bring everything back on track. Qian Shanyi felt that made his intense manner stand out well - it made him seem more mysterious - and frankly, incredibly attractive. Admittedly, she wasn't sure if that was the best way to be a host. Perhaps he behaved differently, when his sister wasn't here to assist him.

The samples of the dishes tasted just as good as they looked, if on the spicier side, but without a doubt, Qian Shanyi's favorite was the strange black drink they served, which was apparently called "Ke Fei". It tasted bitter, but had a strong kick to it, one that reminded her of the Ivory of the Rampaging Divine Ape. The rush was far weaker, of course, but also far more stable - and according to Zhang Xiaogang, it was even practically non-toxic!

Supposedly it was brewed from some kind of beans, though neither of their hosts knew much of agriculture. If Qian Shanyi could only get her hands on those, grow them in the world fragment, she could skip so much sleep.

Not that she would, of course, but in an emergency…

"So what brought you to the empire, Xiao?" Qian Shanyi said to Svarggam Xiaochun, when they had mostly finished with the main course and moved onto the equally impressive dessert, sampling a little bit of everything. Qian Shanyi was especially partial to a certain cup-like pastry, soft-shelled and filled with peaches. "It's quite a ways away from the Fourfold Constellation City."

"I'm a healer," Svarggam Xiaochun said with a wide smile. "I was traveling, learning - I haven't been back home in years. It's a tradition in our sect."

"And what sect is that?"

"Oh, it's the Silvery Mycelium Abode, the greatest sect in the Fourfold Constellation City!" Svarggam Xiaochun said, clapping to herself. "Everyone knows our sect."

"Silvery Mycelium Abode…" Qian Shanyi mused, tapping her cheek. "I have indeed heard of it."

She remembered it well - it was one of the five sects for which she drew up an entire org chart - though neither Svarggam Xiaochun nor Zhang Xiaogang were counted among their members, at least according to the cultivator almanac. That left Qian Shanyi guessing as to their exact relationship to the other disciples.

Zhang Xiaogang's absence, at least, was only to be expected - once he joined a ministry, he would have obviously been forced to quit his sect. As for Svarggam Xiaochun… Perhaps she was away when the other disciples got registered, or perhaps she was skipped because she was a woman. Listing in an almanac was free for loose cultivators, but the sects were made to pay, and over the past few weeks, Qian Shanyi had already seen many that yuan-pinched by leaving their female disciples off the records, even when they were already mentioned as wives or daughters of other cultivators.

Admittedly, she wouldn't have guessed that Silvery Mycelium Abode would be the one to do that - their records seemed more or less equal in terms of men and women - but it was far from impossible. One of the other five major sects, the Bone-Scouring Lancet Temple, had no records of women on their roster at all. Amusingly enough, another of the five - the Bloodstained Thornbush Sect - had no men.

But none of that helped her puzzle out the way Svarggam Xiaochun and Zhang Xiaogang fit into the picture.

Well, there was one guess she could make right away. An important guess, one she couldn't simply leave unsaid.

"Zhang, isn't that the name of your patriarch?" Qian Shanyi said, turning to Zhang Xiaogang with a playful smile. "You wouldn't happen to be his son, would you? You look awfully well-preserved, if so."

Unlike the two siblings, the almanac did have a picture of the patriarch, who looked nothing like them. If anything, the old man looked like he was born in the heart of the empire, though perhaps the portrait was not quite true to reality.

A slight frown flickered over Zhang Xiaogang's face, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. "Grandson, actually," he grunted. "But we were both named after him." He gave Qian Shanyi a suspicious glance. "You already know the name of our patriarch?"

Qian Shanyi looked away, faking shyness. "I must admit I've glanced through the almanac today."

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Zhang Xiaogang give her an approving nod. Her guess was right - it was a good thing to mention.

"But how did you decide to join the ministry?" Qian Shanyi said, now turning back to fully face him. "It seems a baroque choice, for someone so close to the patriarch."

That same frown came back in force, and Qian Shanyi had a moment to regret the question, before it was gone again. "We were never that close, and I didn't have much of a choice. I was thrown out of the sect for marrying the wrong woman." He grimaced, a hateful look passing through his eyes that made him look twice as hot in Qian Shanyi's eyes. "She was a lowly Cheli, unbecoming of a mighty Zhang."

"My horrible brother is lying again," Svarggam Xiaochun cut in. "Our family still loves him, and it was more complicated than that."

"You love me," Zhang Xiaogang corrected her. "Father… Father told me to forget my way back up the mountain and change my name after I married. I think it really was that simple. Of course, once the empire came, the family saw use in their wayward son once again."

Qian Shanyi gave him a commiserating look, thinking over what he said. Him being estranged played into their hands, if anything - she was a little worried that Wang Yonghao's luck might entangle them in some sect affair.

The news of marriage was obviously disappointing, in as far as it meant she might not get laid - but then again, perhaps the wife was already dead. She caught Zhang Xiaogang glancing at her breasts a couple times, and he did not rebuff her light flirting, at least so far. She could still be hopeful.

"A Cheli - that would be one of your castes?" She said after a moment, mostly to break the silence. "Fellow cultivator Zhang, I must admit that that entire topic still confuses us all greatly."

It didn't help that all the books spoke of the topic as if you were already supposed to know what it all meant. Even the word caste wasn't explained. Qian Shanyi went as far as digging up a Maliyad dictionary, which just defined it as an "endogamous hereditary class", which was so abstract it was of no help whatsoever.

She was glad to see Zhang Xiaogang nodding, as if he already expected the question. "It's a common experience, and one of the many things we always make sure to discuss before departure," he said, carefully picking his words. "Are you… familiar with cultivators who take pride in their bloodlines?"

Qian Shanyi simply nodded, while Wang Yonghao spoke up. "Yes," he said in a perfectly flat tone that took him hours of practice. "I disagree with them, but I still respect their beliefs."

"Really?" Zhang Xiaogang said, surprised. "You do?"

Wang Yonghao crossed his arms, returning Zhang Xiaogang's look with a challenging glare. It was incredibly over-acted, but at least he got into character. "Is that so hard to believe?"

Zhang Xiaogang leaned back slightly, raising an eyebrow at Wang Yonghao. "I apologise for speaking too hastily, fellow cultivator Wang," he said calmly. "It's admirably cosmopolitan of you. It is only that very few imperial cultivators would say that." He raised his cup to his lips, and took a sip with a light shrug. "I personally despise them, but I suppose to each their own."

Wang Yonghao froze, and then slowly turned to glare at Qian Shanyi. She pretended to not notice it. Instead, she reached over Linghui Mei to pat Wang Yonghao on the shoulder.

"My little Shunwei is far too cordial to let something like that get in the way," Qian Shanyi said with a kind smile.

Wang Yonghao kicked her in the shins under the table. It stung a bit. His glare got so hot that it would have melted a hole straight through her head, if only he could.

"Well, I suppose some resentment might always be there," Qian Shanyi continued smoothly, turning back to Zhang Xiaogang, who was giving her a skeptical look. With the cultivator's senses, he didn't need his eyes to know what just happened under the table. "But I assure you, any hot hearts will be kept in check."

"Hm," Zhang Xiaogang said, not entirely convinced, though Qian Shanyi spotted a small smile gracing his lips. He gave Wang Yonghao a short nod. "Fellow cultivator Wang, you were the one who visited the province before, right?"

Wang Yonghao glared at Qian Shanyi some more, before relaxing slightly and leaning back in his seat. "Yes," he said, "But the path of cultivation is a lonely one. I haven't talked to many people back then."

Zhang Xiaogang nodded and leaned back as well, mirroring Wang Yonghao's manner. "Let us go back to the question of castes," he spoke slowly. "Fellow cultivators, this is a sad and unfortunate story, one that we are trying to put behind us. Since joining the empire, the practice has been outlawed, though of course the old prejudices still remain."

"Would those prejudices affect us?" Qian Shanyi said.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Not as such," Zhang Xiaogang said, shaking his head slightly. "As imperial cultivators, you would be treated as Thaamara, so -"

Svarggam Xiaochun gasped, leaning across the table with a grin. "Or as Svarggam if you come with us!" she said, grabbing Qian Shanyi and Wang Yonghao by the hand. "People will see us together and -"

"Xiaochun!"

"What?" she snapped, turning back to Zhang Xiaogang. "You -"

They immediately fell into another argument, tempers rising quickly. Qian Shanyi gave each of the siblings a look, but neither of them had any mind for her anymore. Instead, she once again turned towards Linghui Mei.

Linghui Mei rubbed her forehead, her face already contorted in a grimace of deep focus, even before Qian Shanyi had a chance to ask anything. <Something about… Friends? There are a lot of insults Shanyi, I barely understand anything.>

<Whose friends?>

<Xiaochun's friends, I think?>

Qian Shanyi looked back at the two siblings. She could guess that they were arguing over their inclusion on the next sandpiercer - so the only question was how could she best swing things in the direction she wanted.

Friends… New friends? Old friends? What does "friends" mean?

Svarggam Xiaochun said that she had been traveling for years. Was she missing the friends she made in the wider empire? Nostalgic about the ones from her childhood? Wishing to share a bit of the wider world with them?

Whatever the case may be, she clearly wanted them to come along with her. There was no need to look a gift horse in the mouth. Her brother was a different matter.

Qian Shanyi didn't get a feeling that he was outright opposed to letting them on the sandpiercer. They came to this dinner to show that they could fit in well with the local culture, and despite a few hiccups, she thought they did well. Frankly, at this point Svarggam Xiaochun was doing more harm than good - insisting on bringing them to her sect was only going to strengthen the natural instinct of contrarianism shared by siblings all across the world.

But that instinct always had an inverse side.

"Fellow cultivator Svarggam," Qian Shanyi said, giving her a sad look. "It was not my intention to cause strife with your brother on my accord."

"Svarggam?" Svarggam Xiaochun said, the sudden address snapping her out of her argument. Qian Shanyi wasn't sure if she entirely heard her. "No, no, please just call me -"

"I doubt we could come with you in any case," Qian Shanyi continued, heedless of the interruption. "We've only just arrived. It would hardly be proper for us to skip ahead of cultivators who had already been here for weeks, now would it?"

"But -"

"- and besides, visiting the Fourfold Constellation City would only be a distraction," Qian Shanyi said, gesturing towards Wang Yonghao. "I've actually been discussing this with Shunwei, and we've been considering simply going around. If we set out tomorrow, we could make good time, even without the sandpiercer."

By the time she finished, Svarggam Xiaochun looked just about ready to cry. She turned her pleading eyes to Zhang Xiaogang, lips quivering.

Zhang Xiaogang could not withstand such an assault. He coughed slightly into his fist. "Actually, fellow cultivator Xing," he said, "I was already considering approving your travel."

In an instant, Svarggam Xiaochun's face lit up with excitement. "So they will come with us?"

"Yes, yes, they will come with us," Zhang Xiaogang grumbled.

"Eeeee!" Svarggam Xiaochun squealed again and leapt out of her seat. She rushed over to Zhang Xiaogang's side and almost tore him out of his seat, smothering him in a tight hug.

Zhang Xiaogang could only manage to wince slightly. Svarggam Xiaochun's mouth was right next to his ear, and she hadn't stopped squealing. He said, "Xiaochun, remind me… Why did I allow you to convince me to help with this dinner?"

"Because you are my best, favourite, perfect brother who loves his little sister," Svarggam Xiaochun said, rubbing her cheek against his. Her eyes met Qian Shanyi's for a moment, and she winked at her, entirely unseen by Zhang Xiaogang.

Qian Shanyi raised an eyebrow at that, knowing Zhang Xiaogang would safely misinterpret it as mere amusement at their antics. Did Svarggam Xiaochun guess what she was doing? She would have sworn those teary eyes were no act.

"I thought I was a terrible brother," Zhang Xiaogang grumbled.

"Who told you that?" Svarggam Xiaochun said, pulling away from her hug, before grabbing Zhang Xiaogang's face with both hands to stare directly into his eyes. "Quickly, tell me who it was. I must know this villain."

Zhang Xiaogang let out a long-suffering sigh. "Will you allow me to explain about the castes?"

"Of course," Svarggam Xiaochun said. She picked up a napkin and wiped a non-existent spot off Zhang Xiaogang's cheek, before finally sitting down.

Zhang Xiaogang picked up a different napkin and warily wiped his cheek again, checking to make sure it was actually clean. "There were - still are, in the eyes of some people - three groups of people in our region," he began. "Svarggam, the descendants of the sect disciples, the Thaamara, descendents of the merchants and tradesmiths, and the Cheli, descendents of the farmhands."

Qian Shanyi saw the names in the books, and they, at least, were easy enough to find in the dictionary - Svarggam meant heaven, Thaamara meant lotus, and Cheli meant either earth or mud. But what they meant semantically was difficult to guess at. Qian Shanyi knew a dozen different sayings about Heaven and Earth, but somehow, she doubted the meaning of Cheli was quite as positive.

"Of the farmers?"

"Farmhands," Zhang Xiaogang corrected Qian Shanyi. "Those who work the ground, not own the land."

"Why does that matter?" Wang Yonghao said, picking at his dessert.

Zhang Xiaogang sighed again. "Fellow cultivators, you must understand that you are asking me to explain centuries of our culture, at a time when we of the ministry are actively working to change it. I can only speak to what is, not why it is so, or how it came to be - for that, you best consult with the ministry of education."

"Fair enough," Qian Shanyi said. "So three castes - that is the term, yes?"

"It is."

"Okay. Three castes, and the relationships between them are frowned upon, for some reason?" She continued quickly, seeing that Wang Yonghao was ready to ask another question. "The books weren't terribly clear, but you've mentioned your wife - I apologise if I am being indiscreet."

Zhang Xiaogang nodded. "Your understanding is worth more than your discretion."

"What about everyone else?" Wang Yonghao said before Qian Shanyi could follow up.

"There is nobody else," Zhang Xiaogang said with a light shrug. "Everyone is one of the three. Miners are Cheli. Lumberjacks are Thaamara. House builders - bricklayers, carpenters - are Thaamara, except for those who dig holes, who are Cheli. Those who join a sect are Svarggam, unless they were Cheli before, in which case they are sometimes treated as Thaamara."

"And their wives, or husbands?"

"Usually the same as their spouse."

"Usually?"

"Usually," Zhang Xiaogang confirmed, his lips narrowing down a fraction.

There was clearly complexity here that even he wasn't willing - or able - to go into. Perhaps it didn't matter much, especially if the empire had already moved to abolish the entire system - but Qian Shanyi was still curious. There was something to it, to the little spirit of taxonomy in her soul, of putting everyone she met in a neat little table. An aberrant desire, to be frank, but it was still there.

"It would certainly help if these things were written down," Qian Shanyi said, feeling more than a little frustrated. "Perhaps with a diagram or two."

"They are," Zhang Xiaogang reluctantly admitted. "But not in this town's library."

Qian Shanyi gave him a playful look. "Because you don't want to give a bad impression to imperial cultivators?"

"Because we do not want to make my compatriots lose face," he corrected her, rubbing his nose with one hand. His cheeks blushed slightly. "They travel through this town, and these books are quite unkind."

"Hm. I could see why they would be."

Zhang Xiaogang's stomach rumbled slightly, and he grimaced, standing up from the table. "Before we continue - would fellow cultivators excuse me for a moment?"

Qian Shanyi glanced back at Wang Yonghao, who shrugged, and Linghui Mei, who gave her a look of utter confusion, as if trying to say why are you even asking me?

"Oh but of course," Qian Shanyi said, gesturing back to Zhang Xiaogang. The man bowed to her gratefully, and quickly left the room. She took that opportunity to ogle his backside again.

He really had a magnificent ass.

"Qiaoli," Svarggam Xiaochun said, leaning over the table. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Naturally," Qian Shanyi said, tearing her eyes away from the doorway once Zhang Xiaogang had turned a corner.

Svarggam Xiaochun glanced at the door again, and grinned. She raised a hand to her mouth, covering it up from the side - though there was no point. Wang Yonghao could hear her regardless, while Zhang Xiaogang no longer could, even if she spoke normally. Qian Shanyi easily kept track of him with her spiritual energy senses, and he had headed down into the basement.

"My brother is already married," Svarggam Xiaochun whispered conspiratorially. "Far too happily to ever take a mistress."

Qian Shanyi's mood had plummeted instantly. The corners of her lips drooped downwards, as she leaned back in her chair. "How disappointing," she said, studying her nails. There were a couple small flakes of that fucking dust beneath them, and she blew them away with quick bursts of spiritual energy. "But I suppose the good ones always are."

So the wife wasn't dead after all…

Svarggam Xiaochun giggled like the worst kind of gossiping maiden. "You've been trying to eat him with your eyes ever since we arrived."

Qian Shanyi bit her lip, looking up at the ceiling. "I assure you I'd have done far more than just eat him…"

Wang Yonghao's groan tore her away from her very, very pleasant - if now pointless - fantasies. "Is sex all that you ever think of?"

"Well what else am I supposed to think about?" Qian Shanyi snapped back, growing irritated. She glared at her partners. Wang Yonghao seemed positively exasperated, while Linghui Mei was blushing, staring down into the tablecloth. "The man is captivating, and I haven't gotten laid in several months." she gestured dismissively towards them. "It's not like I can drag either of you two prudes to bed."

Linghui Mei suddenly choked on nothing, and Qian Shanyi gave her a suspicious look. What was it with her? She had been doing that a lot as of late, whenever Qian Shanyi would make a dirty joke. She could have even sworn it was happening more often. Why would -

"Oh, are you -" Svarggam Xiaochun gasped, covering her mouth with one hand. There was no real judgement in her eyes, but Qian Shanyi could tell she wasn't used to this line of discussion, and still found it far more amusing than it really deserved.

"Yes, yes," Qian Shanyi grumbled, distracted away from her earlier line of thinking. She sighed, reaching over to pour herself more Ke Fei. "I don't suppose his wife is in town?..." she muttered, giving Svarggam Xiaochun a vain and hopeful look.

Linghui Mei was taking a sip of water to quiet her earlier choking, which ended disastrously when she started to choke even more.

"Shanyi, you can't break up a marriage just because you are horny," Wang Yonghao groaned again, covering up his face.

"Oh please, who is talking about that?!" Qian Shanyi snapped again. "I was just thinking of asking her if she'd join us. There is no problem if she joins, now is there?"

She could totally break up their marriage. Wang Yonghao would have no chance of stopping her. She wouldn't, of course, she wasn't that petty. Even if doing it just to prove the point was now incredibly tempting. But she absolutely could.

"She is back home," Svarggam Xiaochun said, barely holding herself from laughing out loud. Her eyes twinkled brightly. "Oh, I just can't wait to tell her about this! Join you - she would just die of embarrassment."

"Ah Xiaochun, please give me a little face and keep this between us…. Us four," Qian Shanyi grumbled. "I might need to work with fellow cultivator Zhang later. I do not want his wife thinking of me as a flirt."

"You are a flirt," Wang Yonghao immediately pointed out.

"That's not the point, Shunwei," she snapped back at him again. He seemed to have a real talent for infuriating her.

"Fine, fine," Svarggam Xiaochun said, drawing a complicated character against her lips. "My lips are sealed."

Zhang Xiaogang had returned only a couple minutes later. He eyed them all suspiciously - his sister, who looked positively jubilant, Qian Shanyi, with her depressed air, Linghui Mei, who was still blushing, padding a napkin against her robes to get some of the water out, and Wang Yonghao, who was busy devouring a pastry.

"What have I missed?" Zhang Xiaogang finally said, settling back into his seat.

"Oh nothing, just a few women ruminating over broken dreams," Qian Shanyi said sadly. This evening was officially ruined, at least for her. "Fellow cultivator Zhang, why don't you tell us more about the Fourfold Constellation City? I think that any more of this talk of castes and relationships will only worsen my mood."

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