Inside the Lord's Mansion hall, sunlight slanted in through the high windows, spreading several long, narrow bands of light across the blue-brick floor.
Xiao Yun took his seat at the head, while the six women stood behind him in order. Shui Bing'er, Yao Zi, Shui Yue'er, and Sheng Minglan stood on either side, while Shui Ruoyan and Yao Yuerou stood beside Xiao Yun.
The eight people below sat in two rows. Shui Yuntian occupied the first seat on the left, followed by Feng Wuhen, Huo Lie, and Yao Yang. On the right sat Old Madam Xu Huiyin of the Sheng Family, followed by Xue Mingyuan, Shui Ruolin, and Ma Sanbao.
When Xiao Yun spoke, his voice was not loud, but the hall was quiet enough for every word to be heard clearly. "While I was away this past year, Dragon Ascending Territory became what it is today because of everyone's hard work. When I arrived, I looked down from the spirit vessel. The town is more orderly than before, its population has grown, and the shops on the streets are far livelier than they were last year."
He paused, then waved a hand forward. Eight silver-white rings appeared in his palm. With another casual sweep of his hand, the eight rings flew out and hovered before them.
"These are storage soul rings, each with three cubic meters of space. Consider them last year's year-end rewards. Each one also contains one hundred Gold Soul Coins, a belated New Year's gift for you all."
All eight rose to their feet and bowed. "Thank you, Lord."
Their tones differed, but their movements were perfectly uniform.
When they each reached out to take the ring hovering before them, their movements were half a beat slower than before. They lowered their heads to look at