Previous recap: On the twenty-fifth day of midwinter, the setting sun looked like blood, its lingering glow staining the Spirit Rice paddy market in shades of dusky gold.
Beneath the fading sun, the shadows of withered branches were shredded across the chilling bluestone pavement. A biting draft swept through the alley, rustling the fallen leaves as if whispering untold secrets.
Only the bronze bells at the eaves swayed lazily in the twilight, tolling a few lonely notes that steeped the dusk of the ancient city into a jar of silent wine.
Chapter 577