"Third Master and the others are back!"
A sudden shout rang out, its rich, resonant voice like a bell piercing the clouds. Even the bronze bells beneath the Xu Residence's eaves hummed in response.
The maids, servants, and guards going about their work in the residence looked up in alarm. Even the mist over the distant mountains seemed to have scattered somewhat beneath the force of that shout.
They had carried the sixty- to seventy-foot Red-Scaled Python out of the mountains. Many people had spotted them and, driven by curiosity, followed them all the way to the Xu Household's gates.
The snake was as thick as a barrel, its scales gleaming gold and red in the sunlight. Its sixty- to seventy-foot body wound like clouds ablaze at sunset. Though its forked tongue had stiffened, it still gave off a pungent, chilling stench.
"What an enormous red snake! Is that a demon beast?" an old man asked in a trembling voice, leaning on his walking stick.
"Yes! To think Third Master and the others could kill a demon beast. They're truly impressive."
The crowd erupted into chatter.
The children watching hid behind the adults, unable to resist peeking out. "Father, look! There's a horn on the python's head. Can snakes grow horns?"
"Indeed. A snake growing a horn is a sign that it is transforming into a flood dragon," a learned schoolteacher said in astonishment.
A moment later.
Someone suddenly called out, "The head of the household is here!"
The crowd fell silent and parted to make a path, clasping their hands respectfully. "Greetings, Household Head."
The newcomer strode with the bearing of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, exuding authority without a trace of anger. It was Xu Mingwei.
At the sight of the Red-Scaled Python, his sword-like