A retired Immortal Venerable carries half a sack of black rice into Mistveil Valley on Zhongnan Mountain. He just wants to find a place where no one will bother him and live out his days in peace.
He scatters discarded pills behind the house as fertilizer, and the three mu of spirit rice grow at a startling pace. A plump red-bellied golden pheasant appears in the corner of the yard, so fat it can barely walk. Only later does he learn it's a young Vermilion Bird banished to the mortal realm for sneaking a bite of a peach sprout. All it can do is coo. A weasel spirit shows up with wild chicken eggs, hoping for a free meal, then ends up staying on as an errand runner. A former Demon Venerable comes seeking revenge, but gets handed a hoe and put to work turning the soil. Before long, he becomes obsessed with growing cabbage. The mountain god brings plum wine to help repair the irrigation channel, and on the fifteenth of every month, wandering spirits follow the smell of wine up the mountain. They won't leave until the moon has passed its zenith.
Xie Xuan can't be bothered with anything. Whenever he does get involved, it's only because the noise is getting on his nerves. But more and more people gather in the valley, until even the Celestial Court sends letters every so often to ask: Why are all the spirits flocking to your place?
Xie Xuan picks up his brush and replies: If you don't like it, I can clear them all out and live here by myself. He rolls up the letter, ties it to a pigeon's leg, then heads straight into the wine cellar and never bothers to check for a reply.
There are no fights or cultivation in Mistveil Valley. The spirits compete over whether their spirit rice has filled out properly, who brings the best dishes to a drinking party, and how many days a wooden bowl can retain its fragrance on the table. The seasons follow their usual course, and the clouds and mist in the valley are forever sweet with the scent of rice wine, a fragrance that never quite fades.
