Liu Xuezhen spotted Xie Tie Niu and his daughter behind her. Smiling at them from a distance, she stopped to wait for them to catch up.
"How was our master last year?" Liu Xuezhen asked quietly. "I was away on business, so I missed the last gathering."
"Same as always. It's like he hasn't changed a bit," Xie Tie Niu remarked with a sigh.
The three of them arrived at the courtyard gate and gave a slight bow to the tall, sturdy, short-haired woman there.
"Senior Sister Anning, it's good to see you're well."
"You as well..." Wu Anning smiled and nodded at them. "My, your child has grown so much. Go on in. The timing is perfect, actually. Master has been talking about going away for a while... After this visit, the next time we want to have a gathering, it might be..."
Xie Tie Niu and Liu Xuezhen's hearts skipped a beat. They hurried through the gate.
