Chapter 16: Gourd Vine

By every account, it was abrupt. The dead-silent, lightless pit had changed without warning. A fragrance shot straight into the sky, so clean and sharp it made people's mouths water. Then seven-colored radiance boiled up, as if the darkness itself had caught fire. The pit blazed like a lantern. Something inside seemed to have taken root, a Gourd Vine, and the news spread like wildfire. Diners abandoned their tables mid-bite and rushed for the streets. They had paid a fortune to enter Floating...