Before dawn.
Purple light hung hazily.
The Great Beaver family lay sprawled across the Ice Platform, sleeping belly-up with limbs splayed.
Liang Qu yawned, scratched his temples, slipped into a single-layer shirt, and sat by the bed.
Creak.
The door opened. Long Yao placed the folded clothes and boots by the bedside, then brought over a towel and washbasin. Long Li took off her shoes and shuffled on her knees behind him to bind Liang Qu's hair and set his crown upon him.
Once Liang Qu had put on his long boots, fastened his belt, and risen, the two opened the drawers again and added ornaments, a waist token, and a scented sachet to his belt.
The entire elaborate, exquisite set of official robes and adornments was fitted onto him with flowing ease in Long Li and Long Yao's hands.
Unless there was special official business, Moon Gazing Tower only permitted entry and exit from eight in the morning at the fifth double-hour until nine at night at Xu Time; at all other times, the palace was under lockdown. Staying in the cultivation room, he would never make the Grand Court Assembly's five-in-the-morning queue, so Liang Qu had gone home to sleep the previous night.
After more than half a month of earnest consolidation, his sea of qi, originally ten times the area of the Immortal Island, had grown to twelve times. Rarely relaxing like this, even the sea of qi within him seemed a little more lively.
Whoosh~ The cold mist ceased blowing.
Long Yao turned off the Ice Platform, gathered up the blankets, and left. Long Li pushed aside the window to air out the room.
A surge of scorching heat rushed at them.
The Great Beaver smacked its huge incisors, scratched its belly, kicked the little beaver