Dozens of boats, large and small, were moored along the river at Lan River Wharf. The market teemed with people, every tavern and inn was full, and quite a few people stood by the windows listening in.
Inside an inn overlooking the river, a wanderer who had just come from Baiyang City sat in the middle of the common room, holding a bowl of wine and recounting the story with great animation:
"That Chu Hao was always so highly respected. Who would have thought he was rotten to the core in private? His sweetheart was six months pregnant, but when she refused to become his concubine, he slapped her right out the door. They say she vomited three pints of blood on the spot..."
"Hiss..."
"That bastard..."
On the inn's second floor, Luo Ning stood behind the corridor railing in a Veil Hat. Her bearing was cool and aloof, but behind the thin gauze, her face held a trace of anger. The gossip seemed to have stirred her emotions, making her want to take up her sword and help that poor woman slay her faithless lover.
In the room behind her, Xue Baijin sat upright beside a tea table, a candle lamp at her side. She held the Cold-Iron Long Mace and slowly wiped it with a handkerchief.
Although Xue Baijin looked stern and unsmiling, she was listening to the gossip below as well. Had Ye Jingtang not already intervened, with her fiery temper, she would at the very least have gone back shortly to beat Chu Hao half-paralyzed.
Xue Baijin and Luo Ning had followed the Clear River to Lan River Wharf a few days earlier. Their destination was Jiangzhou Xiaoshan Fort, and the journey would take them through Yazhou, Yunzhou, Zezhou, and Wu Prefecture, almost all the