January 1, Year 10001 of the Yulan Calendar.
New Wushan Town.
It had snowed for three days, only stopping that morning. The plains outside town were a vast expanse of white, like an unsigned sheet of rice paper seen from afar. The snow on the streets had been swept to either side and piled into low walls. Walking between them felt like walking down a white alley.
Baruch Mansion was the largest residence in New Wushan Town, built with help from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce. It had three courtyards and dozens of rooms from front to back, with gray bricks and gray tiles, in the same style as the old residence in Wushan Town. A plaque hung above the main gate, bearing gold lettering on a black background-"Baruch." Yale had specially commissioned the calligraphy and even sent someone to deliver it afterward, saying that his third brother's family residence could not look shabby.
Old Hiri stood at the gate in a thick padded coat, its collar turned up, his face reddened by the wind. He had aged considerably over the past two years, but his back was still straight and his eyes still bright. Hillman stood behind him in a warrior's fitted outfit with a fur coat over it and a sword at his waist. Hillman's wife and child stood nearby, the child hiding behind the mother with half a head peeking out to look at the snow.
"Grandpa Hiri, come back inside. It's cold out here." Wharton walked out of the mansion.
Wharton was fifteen that year. He had already shot up to over a hundred and eighty centimeters, with broad shoulders and clearly defined muscles on his arms. He was even more muscular than the last time they had met. His face bore some resemblance to Linley's,