Lenient Pine moved with fluid grace behind the makeshift bar - really just an L-shaped counter with a modestly stocked shelf behind it. The setup was simple but elegant, with just enough space for the essential bottles and glasses. Crystal tumblers caught the soft light streaming from surrounding lighting fixtures, creating delicate patterns on the polished wooden surface.

Three high stools were arranged along the counter's longer side. Flint and Felicity sat next to each other, with Felicity deliberately leaning closer to Flint, shrinking the space between them. Serene perched on the stool beside Felicity, his posture ramrod straight, looking oddly formal in such a casual setting.

"What would you like, Flint?" Lenient asked, his sage-colored hair tied loosely back, a few strands escaping to frame his face. The wide sleeves of his robe were neatly secured above his elbows, revealing pale forearms. He picked up a simple iron shaker, the soft clink of ice cubes echoing as he dropped them in one by one, each crystal-clear piece catching the light as it fell.

"Pine's Tear," Felicity chimed in before Flint could speak, her eyes bright with anticipation.

"Of course." Lenient's smile held a hint of amusement as he reached for various bottles.

"I'll have the same," Flint said, deciding it was safer to follow Felicity's lead when faced with unfamiliar choices.

"My pleasure." Lenient began arranging an array of mysterious bottles before him - Crystal Moon Spirit, Mountain Shadow Liqueur, and Forest Dew Essence. Their labels caught the light as he lifted each one with practiced grace. "And what about you, Serene?"

"I don't drink alcohol. Would lemon water be possible?" Serene sat with his hands neatly folded on the counter, maintaining his characteristically proper posture as if he were at a formal meeting rather than a casual gathering.

Felicity wrinkled her nose at Serene, her expression exaggeratedly disgusted. "How boring."

"My stomach is sensitive," Serene adjusted his glasses, the metal frames catching the light. "Alcohol makes me feel ill."

"Just one drink won't kill you," Felicity scoffed, her voice dripping with mockery.

"How about Mountain Breeze?" Lenient interjected smoothly, his timing perfect as he gestured to a slender bottle filled with pale golden liquid. "It's much lighter on the alcohol content."

"Well..." Serene glanced between his two expectant companions, his shoulders tensing slightly under their combined gaze. "I suppose... alright."

Lenient began crafting the first Pine's Tear, running a lemon slice along the rim of the glass. Then, with a casual motion that made Flint tense slightly, he snapped off his own little finger. Neither Felicity nor Serene seemed fazed by this display.

The severed finger transformed into a small pine branch covered in needles. With methodical precision, he plucked the needles and ground them into a fine powder using a polished black mortar. He dusted the powder along the bottom of the glass, poured in the liquor, then sprinkled the remaining powder on top in the shape of a star before sliding it to Felicity.

When he prepared Flint's drink, the powder on top took the shape of a heart. "That's my love for you, little stone!" Lenient announced cheerfully, his eyes sparkling with affection.

"How sickeningly sweet," Felicity rolled her eyes.

Lenient merely offered a gentle smile in response to her mockery, turning his attention to preparing Serene's drink with the same careful attention.

Felicity lifted her glass and took a sip. The pine needle powder dissolved in her mouth, creating a cool sensation that left her hovering between tipsiness and clarity.

"Do you remember how you died in your past life?" The alcohol had loosened her tongue, opening the floodgates to questions that had been piling up in her mind.

"Executed by the Immortal Alliance?" Flint took a sip of her own drink, tasting a gentle bitterness that did indeed remind her of tears. She only remembered dying in front of The Bamboo Sovereign. The execution part was something Sage South Rain had told her.

Felicity let out a small laugh. "There's something rather ironic about asking a living person how they died."

"Little stone isn't human," Lenient corrected gently as he slid the finished Mountain Breeze toward Serene. "Little stone is just little stone."

Felicity paused. "Being executed... that's the answer everyone knows."

"But," she continued, taking another sip of her drink, her expression turning serious, "Obsidian was incredibly powerful. How could she have willingly let the Immortal Alliance capture her? Don't you find that strange, Obsidian?"

The sudden use of her past life's name sent an odd ripple of familiarity through Flint. "Well... maybe the Immortal Alliance had some way to control her natural aura?" she suggested analytically.

"You don't know either?" Felicity's lips curved into a slight smile. "I suppose that makes sense. After all, Obsidian never reached The Perfect Completion of Deity. She couldn't retain her memories... so you really don't remember anything?"

"Mm... not exactly. There are fragments, like..." Flint concentrated, searching through her scattered memories. "I saw The Bamboo Sovereign before I died... he looked quite similar to Lenient, just with lighter hair."

"See, see!" Lenient chimed in from behind the counter, beaming. "Little stone admits I was The Bamboo Sovereign in my past life!"

Felicity shot Lenient a withering look before continuing, "Based on the information I've gathered, I think..."

She took another sip of her drink and cleared her throat softly, as if preparing to announce a momentous discovery. "Obsidian might have wanted to die."

Lenient, who had been calm until now, suddenly burst out in protest. "That's impossible! In my past life memories, little stone was executed by the Immortal Alliance!"

Felicity raised her index finger and wagged it gently in a 'no' gesture. "The two aren't mutually exclusive. Perhaps Obsidian realized she needed to die and used the Immortal Alliance as a means to that end. Maybe she couldn't kill herself?"

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Lenient relaxed slightly - as long as they didn't think Obsidian had committed suicide... that would be too dishonoring to her memory.

Flint furrowed her brow at this novel interpretation. "But why would Obsidian need to die?"

She turned to find Felicity watching her intently, as if waiting for her response. Hearing the question in Flint's voice, Felicity sighed. "Ah, so you don't know either. I had hoped your return might reveal the truth."

"However," Felicity's brow creased in thought, "I still believe Obsidian was seeking a way to end her life. After all, the divine anomalies disappeared after her death. She must have known... so..." Felicity's voice caught slightly.

"How noble!" she exclaimed, taking another drink. The glass was now half empty.

"Obsidian- I mean, Flint," Felicity corrected herself when Flint didn't respond to her former name, "Will you need to die by your own hand at some point too?"

Suddenly, rage burst from Lenient. "What did you say?!" The glass he was holding for his own drink shattered in his grip, sending liquid splashing across the counter and speckling Flint's clothes. Crystal shards embedded themselves in his hand, drawing white sap that quickly congealed over the wounds.

Flint stared at Lenient, caught off guard by his outburst. Felicity, who had never seen Lenient this angry, looked equally startled. Even Serene's quiet observation shifted to tense alertness.

"What's wrong?" Felicity ventured.

Lenient forced himself to take a deep breath, plucking crystal shards from his hand with mechanical precision, seemingly numb to the pain. "Little stone did not commit suicide. Not in her past life, and certainly not in this one. It was the Immortal Alliance who wanted her dead..."

"Then how do you explain that the divine anomalies disappeared after Obsidian's death?" Felicity challenged.

Lenient lifted his head, planting both hands on the counter. His eyes held an icy intensity that could freeze blood. "That was mere coincidence. The divine anomalies had simply run their course. And some disasters, like the ground splitting and the sea flooding inland, didn't actually stop until a year later."

Felicity continued dreamily, her voice tinged with admiration, "But isn't that exactly it? The disasters gradually ended after Obsidian's death. I find it rather poetic - one sacrifice to save the world..."

"Shut up!" Lenient slammed his hand on the counter. "Little stone doesn't need to die! Those damn disasters had nothing to do with her!"

"Why are you yelling at me?!" Felicity shot back, matching his intensity.

Flint had never seen Lenient lose control like this. "It's all in the past now..." she offered weakly, unsure how to calm him.

"Yes, yes," Serene chimed in hastily, "Perhaps we should discuss current matters instead."

A tense silence fell as Felicity and Lenient glared at each other. Flint and Serene sat awkwardly between them, though Serene seemed unfazed, calmly sipping his Mountain Breeze - he'd seen them argue before and knew it would likely blow over.

Flint felt a twinge of guilt, feeling like she was the cause of their argument.

Looking at Felicity's half-empty glass, she turned to Lenient. "Why don't you make another drink for Felicity?"

Lenient's expression darkened as he glanced between Flint and Felicity. "What do you want?" he muttered sullenly, beginning to clean up the shattered glass from the counter.

"Bitter Truth," Felicity demanded, her voice still hostile.

"There's no such drink. You mean 'Bitter Mist,'" Lenient corrected without meeting her eyes, focusing on wiping down the counter.

"It's bitter. Can you handle that?" Lenient glanced at her, his words coming out in a sullen mutter.

Something's off about Lenient today, Serene thought silently. He's different from usual - normally he'd have made some jokes by now to lighten the mood.

"Of course I can handle it. Though some people clearly can't handle the bitter truth," Felicity retorted with pointed sarcasm.

"Fine." Lenient turned to the shelves, reaching for bottles.

Felicity took another small sip of her half-finished Pine's Tear, and Flint followed suit. Felicity's eyebrows quirked up. "Let's share some Abyssal Pavilion gossip with our new family member!"

Flint found herself leaning in, intrigued - knowing the gossip of a place always made you feel more connected to it. Serene continued quietly nursing his drink while Lenient sullenly added ingredients to his shaker.

"Did you know," Felicity quickly drained her glass with a large gulp, "that old man Patio is gay?"

"You're only just figuring that out?" Lenient shot her a dismissive glance while shaking the cocktail.

"What?" Serene turned to Felicity in shock, adjusting his glasses.

"You didn't know?" Felicity stared at him.

"I... uh..." Serene took a sip of his drink. "Actually, no..."

"Patio... you mean Wind Patio, the leader of the Abyssal Pavilion?" Flint asked.

"Actually, I'm the true leader, I'm just letting old Patio take charge for now," Lenient's tone lightened as he corrected Flint.

"Yes, that Wind Patio," Felicity confirmed to Flint, then mockingly added to Lenient: "You're only at Adept level, how can you compare yourself to a Legend?"

"I have a Transcendent level Vita spirit root," Lenient countered softly, his tone gentle but with an undercurrent of pride.

"Doesn't old Patio have that too? He has a Transcendent level Void spirit root, plus a Gifted level Stasis spirit root," Felicity shot back, absently tracing the rim of her empty glass.

"Master Patio has another Gifted level spirit root?" Serene asked, surprise evident in his voice as he adjusted his glasses, but his question went unanswered in the flow of conversation.

Soon, he realized he shouldn’t have had this doubt, as many of his Stasis-based secret arts and cultivation methods were taught by Master Patio.

"I also have a Gifted level Stasis spirit root," Lenient added, measuring out liquid for Felicity's Bitter Mist with precise movements.

"Oh, how impressive," Felicity's shoulder lift was deliberately casual, dripping with sarcasm. "Given enough time, you too can become an old fossil like Patio."

The conversation stirred something in Flint's memory - that first meeting with Spark, when she'd thought having just one Transcendent level spirit root seemed somewhat lacking and been firmly corrected... Now here she was, discovering that someone actually did possess both a Transcendent level spirit root and a Gifted level one. And not just anyone - a tree, of all things.

Lenient placed the drink in front of Felicity. She took a sip and immediately wrinkled her nose. "It's so bitter."

"You ordered it," Lenient's eyebrows lifted slightly, his expression brightening as he began washing the cocktail shaker.

"But I have something even juicier," Felicity took another unconscious sip, wincing again as the bitter taste assaulted her mouth and senses. "About Serene."

"Huh?" Serene looked puzzled, wondering what gossip could possibly involve him.

"It's actually about Serene's name," Felicity announced proudly. "Old Patio named him after his ex-boyfriend, Serenity. I discovered this while researching Abyssal Pavilion's history."

"You're only just finding this out now?" Lenient continued his mocking tone while mixing himself a fresh drink.

"What??" Serene looked even more confused than before.

"The Abyssal Pavilion has a history? Written in books?" Flint asked, genuinely curious.

"Of course not, who would record such things? Though I think storing some in Memory Echoes wouldn't be bad," Felicity tilted her barstool back precariously, playing a dangerous game of balance. "I actually found out from Obsidian's notes about the names of the Seven Assassins who were famous back then, and then I asked Elder Blackwood about it!"

"Obsidian's notes?" Flint leaned forward, her interest piqued.

"Where did you find those?" Lenient sighed with resignation.

"In a small room on the underground level. I was just curious..." Felicity let her chair settle back on all four legs, taking another sip of the bitter drink. "And the soul verification formation that should have locked it was missing... I just browsed through it a bit... I didn't even take anything out - I respect the dead, you know!"

"Oh yes, such respect for the dead," Lenient repeated mockingly.

Flint had already secretly resolved to check out these notes herself. Perhaps they could help her understand more about her past life.

"Don't make things up," Serene cut in, his expression serious. "How did my name become a memorial to Master Patio's... former boyfriend..."

"I'm not making anything up! I confirmed it with Elder Blackwood!" Felicity took another sip of her drink, seemingly growing accustomed to the bitterness. "The truth is as bitter as this 'Bitter Mist.' Even Elder Blackwood never married because his love was one of the Seven Assassins..."

"And they all died when The Bamboo Sovereign first tried to rescue Obsidian," Lenient added quietly.

"Yes! But don't interrupt me," Felicity shot him an annoyed look. "Actually, Serenity didn't die - he betrayed them. That's what led to The Bamboo Sovereign being gravely wounded and the other six assassins dying."

At the suggestion that his name was linked to a traitor, Serene felt his heart sink. He took a quiet sip of his drink, but Felicity's next words chilled him even more.

"Tsk tsk, a traitor, and yet old Patio still can't forget him," Felicity shook her head.

"Speaking of Patio... won't he hear us talking about him?" Flint asked nervously, taking another sip of her Pine's Tear.

"No chance. Those Legend level bigshots spend most of their time in seclusion trying to improve their cultivation. They don't need to eat or sleep, after all. Elder Blackwood is in seclusion too - otherwise he'd have wanted to meet you right away, he really admired Obsidian... As for old Patio..." Felicity took another sip of her Bitter Mist, grimacing at the taste, "he's probably in seclusion as well."

Serene realized he hadn't seen old Patio for quite a while either. Perhaps he really was in seclusion.

Flint thought for a moment, remembering how Sage South Rain was sometimes unreachable, but... "When I was at the Celestial Sword Sect, there was an elder who seemed quite idle and rarely went into seclusion." She recalled Sage Mortius Crane.

"He's probably stuck at some level," Felicity analyzed, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "After reaching perfection at certain levels, you can't absorb any more natural aura to advance. That's when you need to find special pills or other methods to break through."

Flint pondered this. It made sense - Sage South Rain had mentioned that Sage Mortius Crane was stuck at Late Master. She wondered if he'd managed to reach Legend yet.

"Usually, if nothing urgent comes up, they'll seclude themselves for a month at a time, checking in at month's end to handle any emergencies," Felicity continued explaining. "Like old Patio and Elder Blackwood - ugh, I'm the only one holding up the Whisper Exchange!"

"How impressive," Lenient drawled sarcastically. "Are all your colleagues ghosts then? Or trees perhaps?"

Felicity rolled her eyes. "I meant all the important decisions fall to me."

"Oh yes, of course, the entire Abyssal Pavilion depends on you," Lenient continued teasing.

The atmosphere had lightened considerably from their earlier tension, Flint noted silently. Gossip really did help ease things.

As the four of them continued chatting and drinking in this relaxed mood, a voice suddenly cut through the darkness:

"Children, what are you up to?"