Ethan Lockwood received his first assignment as Astramere's itinerant guardian—delivered via talisman paper crane from Theodore, chief steward of Stellar Ascent Vineyard.
These enchanted paper cranes were the Stellar Ascent Sect's most common messaging method, requiring only basic Qi-Refining cultivation to operate.
They typically carried urgent but non-critical notices.
Ethan had been sound asleep when the persistent tapping of paper wings against his window roused him.
Catching the crane, it unfolded to reveal his mission:
Fox spirits harassing travelers thirty li west of Astramere. Ambushed two wine carts on the main road, scattering our convoy in panic.
By order: Itinerant Guardian Ethan Lockwood must resolve this matter immediately.
"Fox spirits?" Ethan hesitated, a knot formin
