The red-clothed woman sat atop a towering platform built from bluish stone. After enduring countless years of wind and rain, moss and weeds had grown between many of the cracks in the bricks, making it ancient and weathered.
Three men sat beside her, and there was no one else. The four of them occupied the entire platform by themselves, with no one else daring to approach, because each of them bore a crimson mark on their foreheads, like blazing flames!
I smiled faintly and led Green Luo toward the platform. Yet the moment I stepped onto the first stair, a somewhat frivolous voice came from above. "Men aren't welcome here!"
I did not stop walking. As I continued up the steps, I looked up and called out, "Then are women welcome?"
"Hehe, beauties are welcome. But the one beside you is a little too old. I don't really like her."
I turned back to Green Luo. "He says you're too old."
Green Luo's face immediately darkened. No woman liked being told she was old! But she also knew that the people on the platform likely had extraordinary backgrounds, so she did not dare argue with them. She could only sway her body and coquettishly complain to me:
"Left Envoy, I'm not old at all. Besides, compared to those immature little girls, don't you think a mature woman like me is more beautiful?"
I laughed heartily without answering Green Luo. My footwork suddenly changed, and in a few steps, I shot up onto the platform.
Of the four people seated there, the red-clothed woman wore a veil, concealing her features. Of the three men, one was middle-aged, composed and capable. Another wore white robes and was even more handsome than me, refined and elegant.
The last one had a pair of