The heavy snow over Anping County had fallen for an entire day and night, and by the following morning, it still showed no sign of stopping.
Goose-feather snowflakes tumbled from the lead-gray heavens, wrapping the remote little county town tightly in a mantle of silver and white.
Icicles hung thick beneath the eaves of ordinary homes, and snow lay more than a foot deep in the streets and alleys. Even the most industrious vendors had shut their doors today, huddling around braziers to ward off the cold.
Yet in this bitter weather, cold enough to freeze dripping water, the rear hall of the Anping County Yamen was as warm as spring.
The three formation grandmasters sent by the Great Wall Prefecture's Astronomical Bureau worked with astonishing efficiency.
In a single night, they had used the faint spirit vein beneath the County Yamen as their foundation, supplemented it with spirit stones and stardust sand, and established a [Lesser Celestial Circuit Spirit-Gathering and Heat-Sealing Grand Formation] around the compound.
Now, the swirling snow melted silently against an invisible, gently glowing barrier three feet above the County Yamen's rooftops.
Not a trace of cold wind entered the County Yamen. Instead, spiritual energy suffused the grounds. Nourished by its abundance, several old wintersweet trees in the courtyard had even produced lovely buds ahead of season, their delicate fragrance drifting through the air.
In the study within the County Yamen's rear hall, the underfloor heating burned vigorously.
Dressed in loose blue everyday robes with a snow fox cloak casually draped over his shoulders, Chu Bai sat behind a broad rosewood desk.
He was toying with the Black Jade Slip Zhu Wuji had given him before departing.
As his divine sense entered it, the filthy dealings hidden in plain sight throughout Anping County's past century, the