Baiyang Commandery, Yazhou, Red Feather Manor.
Red Feather Manor had been built atop a cliff. Though the cliff face was precipitous, the summit was extremely flat. The Clear River took a sharp bend below it, and from a boat passing through, the cliff looked from afar as though it had severed the river. Thus, this place had acquired the name Dragon-Severing Terrace.
At noon, countless martial wanderers who had come from far away traveled by boat along the winding river between sheer cliffs, moored below Dragon-Severing Terrace, and followed the road up.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the river, a black-awning boat drifted downstream. Two heroines who had traveled a long way stood side by side at its bow, gazing toward the top of Dragon-Severing Terrace.
Luo Ning still wore green, but she had wrapped a cloak around herself against the cold. Standing at the bow and surveying the distance through the Telescope, she asked in puzzlement:
"What's Red Feather Manor doing? Celebrating Old Master Chu's birthday?"
"Chu Hao is in his fifties. A birthday celebration wouldn't warrant such a grand affair. It looks like he's welcoming a new daughter-in-law..."
"Look at them. They make a wedding look like the Martial Arts Assembly. When I went to Southern Skies Mountain, all you arranged were two red candles. I even wrote the wedding character myself. You ate every last bit of the tableful of food, and I had to clear up and wash the dishes. Afterward, I even had to coax Yunli to sleep..."
Xue Baijin wore a bamboo hat and was dressed as a martial wanderer, looking every inch a gallant heroine. Hearing Ning'er's complaints, she frowned:
"Back then, when I wanted to hold a grand celebration on Southern Skies Mountain, you felt awkward and refused. I prepared a