Frostlike moonlight spilled across the inn's rear courtyard. Two buckets by the door gave off faint wisps of steam.
Ye Jingtang stood before the door. Only after making sure the formidable Cult Leader before him had calmed down did he step forward.
"You're right, Cult Leader. I'll certainly keep striving. Um... what brings you here? Where's Ning'er?"
Xue Baijin stood straight, holding the long saber reversed, her bearing keeping others a thousand miles away. She tilted her head slightly.
"Ning'er is the wife formally married into our Sky-Pacifying Sect. Until she remarries, you must respectfully address her as the Cult Leader's Wife."
Ye Jingtang opened his mouth, then decided he did not mind and corrected himself.
"All right. Where's the Cult Leader's Wife? Is she in town?"
"Ning'er is resting at the inn. She and I are boarding a ship at the docks to make a trip to Jiangzhou."
Jiangzhou? Ye Jingtang had been counting on returning to the Capital City with Ning'er. Hearing this, he naturally frowned and asked,
"What are you going to Jiangzhou for?"
Xue Baijin explained, "We found some clues at the Unreturning Plains last time. The Imperial Jade Seal and Son of Heaven Sword and the other items may have something to do with Jiangzhou Xiaoshan Fort. We're going to look into it. Ning'er's ancestral home is also in Jiangzhou, so I'll accompany her home to pay respects to her ancestors while we're there."
Ye Jingtang felt that accompanying his wife back to her hometown ought to fall to him, her rightful husband. After some thought, he asked,
"When are you leaving?"
"As soon as the ship arrives."
"Uh..."
Xue Baijin did not dwell on these matters. She turned and asked,
"Why did you come to Yazhou instead of returning to the Capital City after