Two days later.
Red clouds filled the eastern sky, heralding fine weather that day.
Cheng Xinzhan sat upright on the terrace with the two children, facing east and drawing in purple qi.
Once the appointed hour passed, the purple qi gradually faded and golden radiance blazed forth. The three exhaled, concluded their practice, and slowly opened their eyes.
"Master, look!"
Zhaoli pointed toward the snowy mountains to the south. Sunlight had gilded their silver peaks, making them glitter.
In particular, fierce high-altitude winds still whipped up the snow and ice, but now they no longer resembled white dragon banners. Instead, they looked like gilded flames dancing in the wind.
The sight reminded him of how, many years ago, he had looked up at Kui Gate from the middle of the Yangtze River. At sunrise, Red Armor Mountain had shimmered with the same flowing colors, like a torch.
The two mountains happened to stand at the eastern and western ends of Ba-Shu, more than five thousand li apart, yet beneath the great sun's radiance, they displayed the same spectacle. It truly inspired wonder at nature's handiwork.
Moved by the sight, Cheng Xinzhan drew a banana leaf from beside him, pressed it onto his knees, and took out his talisman brush. Facing the morning sun, he wrote upon this green paper:
"On my third day in Yanhuai, the sky cleared. Thus I rose at dawn to gather purple qi upon the terrace and saw sunlight gilding the snowy mountains, as though they had been overlaid with gold leaf, while the wind swept up jade-like flakes into flames.
"At this sight, I suddenly recalled the boiling dawn clouds over Red Armor Mountain; the scene was just the same. There, shimmering waves surged against the banks; here, snowy waves brushed the heavens. Five thousand