Dusk descended over Sunset-Glow Lake.
The icy gleam of daylight shattered and faded, and night shrouded the vast expanse of frigid waves.
An exquisitely crafted pleasure boat lay at the lake's center, lanterns and candles hung high. Warm light spilled through carved window lattices onto the ice, breaking through the heavy darkness.
This was the Hai Family's private boat, closed to outside guests and reserved for evening gatherings of the Provincial Capital's foremost aristocratic scions.
There was no music, dancing, or idle merriment aboard tonight. The atmosphere was quiet, yet an undercurrent of resentment weighed upon it.
Hai Wuya sat upright in the host's seat. He had changed into a slate-blue robe of merfolk silk brocade, shedding every trace of his earlier wine-soaked dishevelment. All that remained was the composed dignity of an aristocratic young master.
Yet deep within his eyes, a flicker of humiliated anger had never quite faded.
Yuan Louchen sat to one side, his ocher robe woven with gold giving off a subdued, mellow sheen in the lamplight. He held his cup in silence, saying nothing.
The dozen or so others aboard were all second-tier prodigies of the Provincial Capital, direct-line descendants of their respective families. They ordinarily followed the Hai and Yuan Families, and their lofty standards were matched by their towering pride.
Everyone had already heard about what had happened at the Immortal Abode Pavilion that afternoon.
After a long silence, a black-clad youth spoke first, resentment and contempt coloring his voice:
"A mere country boy from Verdant Grain County lucked into becoming Qinglü, High Cultivator's disciple, and now he thinks the sky has no height and the earth no depth."
"To openly humiliate Brother Hai at the banquet-he was far too arrogant."
Another immediately chimed in:
"I think he's only relying on the High