The entire estate shone as bright as day. Though snow drifted outside, it was warm as spring and summer here. Flowers blazed in every color, and the greenery between the courtyards looked lush enough to drip.
In the spacious hall, the imposing middle-aged man did not speak at once. The brief silence left Cui Hong, standing respectfully with his hands at his sides, feeling as though he faced a towering mountain.
"Leave him more Day Gold. Let him live out his life there in comfort, with no worries about food or clothing."
Cui Hong, a man with unusually long arms, immediately nodded. Then he cautiously asked again, "If he's already achieved New Life, should we..."
"The method in the Silk Scripture cannot be mastered," the middle-aged man said.
"But if he's abandoned the Silk Scripture and, in that remote, barren region, taken up another method to survive and set foot on the path of New Life..." Cui Hong asked carefully.
The middle-aged man rose and stood before a thick pillar engraved with Cloud Patterns. Looking out at the garden, where pavilions and towers adorned a new vista at every step, he said, "Let him live an ordinary life. Let him put down roots there for good. Prosperity and peace—that will be enough."
Cui Hong nodded, but he found the matter deeply troublesome. It would be easy to handle for now, yet who knew whether it might bring trouble to his door later?
Before leaving, he said, "If he's no longer alive, if he didn't make it, I'll see that he receives a proper burial."
The imposing middle-aged man gave a quiet acknowledgment, signaling that he could go.
The destruction of Golden Chicken Ridge swept through the region like a hurricane. Naturally, cheers erupted from the villages beyond the mountains.