The western hills cradled the sun, the rosy clouds served as an inkstone, and the firmament as paper, splashed with wondrous hues of heaven and earth.
Suddenly, homeward-bound geese pierced the rosy clouds, their wingtips stained with twilight.
A thousand acres of rice fields became golden billows. Amid the rolling waves of grain, every husk resembled a tiny bronze mirror, reflecting halos of varying shades.
Gold floated across the stream, leaping like scales—neither fish nor light.
Village children chased one another in merry play, flecks of gold adorning their hair and hems, like crumbs of golden pills scattered by a banished immortal.
The Jade-Cold Pool.
A mountain breeze brushed past, and the strings of wind chimes beneath the Bamboo House's eaves rang with sweet notes that cleansed the soul.
A streak of azure light rode the golden clouds and descended above the Jade-Cold Pool.
At that moment, several people stood around an enormous red python in the clearing before the Bamboo House, apparently pondering how best to process this demon beast without wasting anything.
There really is a Red-Scaled Python. It seems Father truly has a talent for divination.
Xu Mingxian was no longer a small child. He had long since noticed that everyone in his family seemed to possess a talent.
I have talents for qi refining and the Formation Path. Eldest Brother has natural divine strength, Fourth Sister can communicate with beasts, and Third Brother has extraordinary luck—probably something like fortune-seeking and calamity-averting. As for Second Brother... surely there isn't a talent for wealth pouring in from every direction?
Ever since Xu Mingyuan had taken charge of the lineage's finances, Xu Mingxian had never seen him lose anything.
After considering it carefully, Xu Mingxian thought, Perhaps a knack for business is a talent too.
*The Xu Household's secrets