A cold wind blew past, shaking a little snow from the trees and rooftops.
Ding Songyan raised an eyebrow and smiled at Xie Fengchao.
"Leaving already?"
He had actually expected Fifth Young Master Xie to leave sooner or later. After all, the man was not a native of Dingjiang Prefecture.
Xie Fengchao trudged through the deep snow into the courtyard, chuckling.
"I've stayed in Dingjiang Prefecture long enough. I only meant to stay a month, but somehow it became three. No feast under heaven lasts forever. It's time I left."
"Where will you travel next?" Ding Songyan asked curiously.
Xie Fengchao smiled wryly.
"Back to the Flame Capital. Your Xiaoming Sect dealt me quite a setback and showed me where I fall short. Once I'm home, I'll behave myself and enter seclusion, opening orifices and dressing my organs. If we meet again someday, I hope it'll be on the Orchid Honor Roll."
As he spoke, he turned and pointed at Pan Yunzhou and the others with a smile.
"Since we're saying farewell, let's have one more gathering. We'll admire the snow and plum blossoms, then part when our spirits are satisfied!"
"How could you leave me out?" A light, pleasant voice, touched with laughter, came from outside the courtyard gate.
Everyone looked over. Zheng Zhuxi stood gracefully on the stone-paved path, wearing a white padded jacket patterned with green flowers and a thick skirt.
Hearing that a large group had come to visit her junior brother, she had come looking for them.
"Then please have the dining hall send over some food, Senior Sister," Ding Songyan said with a smile.
Relaxed and cheerful, Zheng Zhuxi replied:
"That was precisely my wish; I simply hadn't dared ask."
At a quarter past four, the sunlight was already slanting. Ding Songyan and the