Celestial Immortals of the Ming Dynasty

Ruyi Tavern in Xianyang—one of the most renowned establishments in the Central Plains. Within its halls, a lovely songstress sang sweetly, her voice drifting through the air:

“Maiden’s flower, beauties of the realm as lovely as a painting! Lovely as a painting, faces like jade, lips red as blood! Their hearts gentle as the moon, their love as flowing as water, pure and unsullied as ice and jade, steadfast as iron. Maidens dream, and fates are bound to meet…”

It was a rare sight to see a woman drinking in the streets, rarer still for a woman to drink alone in the famed Ruyi Tavern. This was a quiet, refined young woman, clad in white from head to toe—a dress as spotless as new-fallen snow. Her long, dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, gleaming with luster. Her features were as exquisite as if carved from jade and ice, yet her beautiful, limpid eyes were so cold that none dared meet their gaze.

Fine wine may warm the heart, but it could not thaw the chill in her eyes. Those mesmerizing eyes, beautiful enough to haunt the soul, were now fixed intently upon the cup of wine balanced between her slender, elegant fingers. Lost in thought, she tossed it back in a single bold draught.

The drink was not the celebrated house specialty, but Fenjiu—one of the ten famed spirits of the Central Plains. A fine wine, but a heady one. Even most men would hesitate to down it as she did, cup after cup. Thus, the staff and serving girls watched her in amazement. The songstresses, accustomed as they were to drinking for company, had never seen a woman drink alone so