Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren) novel Chapter 1821

More guests were arriving at the great hall. Andrew and Zachary did not draw attention to themselves and simply found a quiet corner to stand in.

Those who came later were seated according to rank and status, with the powerful and renowned taking seats in the front rows on both sides of the hall. The small fry naturally stood in the back.

People in the martial world loved this kind of unspoken hierarchy. It was how they showed rank and status.

Zachary pointed toward a stocky man with a round belly who looked like he was in his third trimester. "Captain, that's Riker Lamar, the leader of the Hidden Dragons."

Andrew looked over and saw Riker sitting squarely in his seat. He was short and broad, with an oddly oversized head that made him look almost cartoonish.

Though he looked comical, his slightly closed eyes occasionally flashed with sharp light. Anyone could tell he was a ruthless expert who had mastered internal martial arts.

Zachary pointed toward another guest and grinned. "And over there, Captain... See that delicate-looking pretty boy? That handsome guy isn't simple at all! He's the young president of Onyx Serpents! He's Rowan Maddock, known as the Vicious Serpent, though I don't know why this pretty boy has such a feminine name when he's clearly got the goods!"

Andrew shot him a look. "Did you forget to clean your eyes this morning? That so-called 'pretty boy' is a woman in disguise. Since she's female, having a feminine name is perfectly normal, isn't it?"

Zachary blinked. "Wait, what? Rowan's a woman? She's cross-dressing? How can you tell?"

Andrew smirked. "Years ago, I treated her for something… So yeah, I've known about it for a while. She loves playing dress-up to keep people guessing. Classic bait-and-switch."

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