Chapter 214 Book 5 Eyeing a Tiger
The sun broke through the early morning mist like a lantern behind silk, casting a golden sheen over the waters. From the deck of the Blue Flame, Heaven Mist City finally came into view—its famed alabaster towers emerging from a shroud of vapor that hugged the river like a second skin. White cranes circled high above, their wings glowing like spirits in the sky, while the clamor of the waking metropolis drifted faintly across the water.
Li An stood at the prow of the Blue Flame, her cloak fluttering behind her in the breeze. With one hand resting lightly on the cool iron rail, she observed the city with narrowed eyes. She had heard of Heaven Mist's grandeur—how the nobles built their manors into the cliffs, how the old merchants paved their courtyards with imported jade, how every shadow whispered secrets from courtly halls to opium dens—but now, looking upon it with her own eyes, she felt no awe. Only caution.
