Entering the Manor
The birthday banquet was being held at Feng Manor. By the time Yu Xing and the others arrived, the carriages outside were already packed in.
The courtyard gate was decorated with lanterns and streamers, a grand display. Handwoven knots of colored thread hung on either side, along with strings of exquisitely crafted lanterns in unusual shapes.
A beaming middle-aged man stood by the gate, clasping his hands in greeting to every guest who entered. He accepted gift boxes and lists of presents while returning their congratulations. A breeze stirred his fine clothes, making his wide sleeves flutter.
"Congratulations, congratulations—"
"Oh, Lord Jin, you're too kind. Please, come right in."
"Steward Feng, you're looking radiant today! It's been a while since we last—"
The polite pleasantries went round and round, making the entrance rather noisy.
It was the moment when guests were arriving, and there were many of them. At a glance, Yu Xing spotted several members of wealthy merchant families whose homes he had visited the night before last.
But even more conspicuous than these people was the enormous mass of resentment hanging over Feng Manor. To ordinary people, the formless resentment was as faint as a wisp of smoke, but to Yu Xing, it looked like a churning black tornado, almost blotting out the sky.
The day was overcast—or rather, the closer they got to Feng Manor, the gloomier the weather became.
Occasionally, dim golden characters flashed amid the churning black resentment. They seemed embedded in it without any apparent pattern, but on closer inspection, they were like chains, binding the resentment within a hemispherical space. Like an overturned bowl, it covered the entire estate.
First, it gathered the resentment and kept it from spreading. Second, it turned away outsiders, barring anyone without an "invitation."
Anyone