Ji'an, possessing the hyper-attuned, razor-sharp sensory awareness of a Head Chef who could tell when a pan was burning from three rooms away, immediately stopped writing.
She didn't look up. She kept her eyes locked on her parchment. But her spiritual senses expanded, sweeping the immediate vicinity.
The air had changed.
The faint, omnipresent scent of sulfur and toxic miasma that permeated the Azure Dragon Sect had vanished. It was entirely overwritten by a new, rich, incredibly distinct aroma.
It smelled like those dark, heavily roasted, imported southern-leaf tobacco.
It smelled like dark, heavily roasted, imported southern-leaf tobacco, mixed with the faint, metallic tang of an ozone strike, and the deep, earthy scent of ancient, smoldering charcoal.
'Who is smoking a pipe in the VIP lounge?' Ji'an wondered, her brow furrowing slightly.
She slowly, casually lifted her gaze, sweeping the open-air pagoda.
