On a bright, sunny morning in September of the year 4619 of the Great Tang Calendar, the Liu Lineage's annual coming-of-age ceremony for youths who had turned sixteen was about to begin at the Jade Stone Plaza on Little Penglai Island.
This ceremony drew particular attention because of the brothers Liu Fujin and Liu Fusheng. Liu Household members across Little Penglai Island flocked there to admire the two young ancestors.
The plaza had already been carefully decorated. Multicolored banners fluttered in the breeze as though waving cheerful greetings; beautiful flowers clustered around the central ceremonial platform, their rich fragrance filling the air. Dressed in their finest clothes, Liu Household members entered the plaza in order, their eyes full of reverence for the ceremony.
Under everyone's gaze, the brothers Liu Fujin and Liu Fusheng appeared alongside more than two hundred other Liu Household youths who had turned sixteen.
They stood tall and carried themselves with distinction. Their exquisite ceremonial attire further accentuated their youthful vigor, making them the most eye-catching among their peers.
The surrounding lineage members all lifted their heads to watch, their gazes following closely. Children peered at them curiously, their eyes full of admiration, while their elders smiled with gratification, nodding in praise.
Just as the coming-of-age ceremony was about to begin, Liu Changxu arrived with Wu Xuege and the other women, sweeping through the sky from the clouds like deities. Sunlight shone upon their figures, seeming to surround them with auspicious radiance. Their robes fluttered, and within moments, they landed steadily on the platform at the center of the plaza.
The Liu Household members in the plaza froze at first, their thoughts seemingly stunned by this sudden sight, as though time itself had stopped for an instant.
But they soon recovered. In a flash, greetings rose one