Under that same night sky, amid the sound of the tides, a robed craftsman knocked on the door of a workshop. Jiang Tongguang grinned at the stern-faced, bearded man before him. “Ah, what a beautiful moon tonight. Mr. Gustav, sorry to bother you.”

Gustav looked thoroughly unamused. He did not even bother to smile. “Mr. Jiang. What brings you here this late?”

Jiang Tongguang raised the bottle in his hand and gave it a shake. “A batch of whiskey I made recently just came out of the cellar. It’s only been aged five years, but it turned out pretty well. Care to have a drink?”

The two stared at each other for a long moment. Finally, Gustav sighed and stepped aside. “Come in.”

The workshop’s sitting room was as cluttered as ever. Drafts and materials lay scattered everywhere, leaving barely any room to walk. 

As fellow craftsmen, they were both used to this sort of thing. Jiang Tongguang couldn’t be bothered figuring out which manuscripts were important and which weren’t, so he simply planted himself on...