The formal reception that followed the trial was an affair of lavish royal luxury held in the Jade-Pavilion Gardens of the Outer Citadel.
Tables of polished sandalwood were loaded with roasted spiritual pheasants, steamed white sturgeon from the northern alpine lakes, and flagons of thirty-year-old plum wine cooled in ice-slow snow. Dozens of senior elders and wealthy merchant deacons crowded around Elder Song, laughing loudly at his jokes and showering him with extravagant gifts of spirit jade and carved coral to secure his favor.
At the edge of the terrace, overlooking the vast, mist-covered valleys of the outer sect, stood Lin Tao and Tie Shan.
Lin Tao had removed the heavy star-gold Golden Phoenix medallion, placing it securely inside his green jade spatial ring alongside his four-inch cold-drawn steel land-mapper metal pen. He wore his clean charcoal linen tunic, sipping hot roasted barley tea from a simple baked-clay cup, his cold, observant eyes scanning the distant mountain peaks.
Beside him, Tie Shan stood leaning against a marble stone railing. He held a massive roasted haunch of wild boar in one hand. It tore off chunks of savory meat with the calm, careful appetite of a healthy bear. Across his chest hung a new sash of crimson silk bearing the bronze badge of Grand Marshal of the Outer Gate. An official military title awarded by Elder Song that authorized Tie Shan to carry his twelve-pound iron pry-bar into any office hall without being questioned by sentries.
