------------
Emerald Court—a private club in Nanning City, famed as one of the city's most elite venues, a magnet for the upper class. Few realize its true owner is the Morin Family!
Today, the Three Great Houses of China were holding a major internal meeting at Emerald Court, so the club was closed to the public. VIP members were notified in advance. Before the meeting began, Samuel Morin sent someone to escort Yvonne Hu—who was waiting in her Lamborghini—inside, arranging for her to join other socialites from the other two families. Then he led Shawn Young into Emerald Court’s private conference hall.
Because this was an especially important core meeting of the Three Great Houses, only key participants were allowed inside; everyone else was barred. The entrance was heavily guarded—even heirs like Charles Morin weren’t permitted. Only four people could enter the hall.
Shawn Young, Samuel Morin, Quentin Easton, and Fiona Nangong, who was in charge of the ritual.
Shawn Young was the only outsider allowed in, thanks to his status as a 'government official.' He knew he was here because of the powerful organization backing him—representing the country’s most influential department!
What surprised Shawn was that Emerald Court was nothing like the lavish venues he’d seen before. There was no aggressive grandeur, no stiff formality, no overwhelming luxury. The holly in the courtyard hadn’t been trimmed into neat lines; it grew wild and almost melancholic. The open corridors and scattered ancient rosewood furniture, the dark curtains drifting in the breeze—it all evoked memories of old operas, the bustle of a great family turning away, or maybe just faded echoes of ancient China…
Following Samuel Morin and Quentin Easton through the ancient courtyard, Shawn felt as if he’d stepped into a time tunnel from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Entering the conference hall—decorated in classic Chinese style—felt almost surreal, like crossing into another world.
Inside the hall, there were antique redwood stools from the Ming and Qing eras, a dark round sandalwood tea table with a steaming pot of fragrant tea, and in the center, a large dark zitan Eight Immortals table.
Shawn glanced over and was startled—the arrangement on the Eight Immortals table looked familiar. Hanging above it was a golden banner embroidered with nine dragons, and below that sat a bottle of ancient black ceramic wine, exquisitely crafted, with three elegant yellow jade goblets beside it.
Suddenly, Shawn remembered—at Nine-Bend Bay Manor, when he’d impersonated Mantis Guo Fenglin at the Thirteen Enforcers’ gang meeting, he’d seen almost the exact same setup. The only difference: the Thirteen Enforcers used five jade goblets for their ritual, but here, there were only three!
Fiona Nangong was already standing beneath the Golden Nine-Dragon Banner, her expression solemn. On her right thumb, she wore a striking Vermilion Bird Jade Signet. As Quentin Easton and Shawn (pushing Samuel Morin) entered, she nodded and said, 'Alright, it’s the hour of the Dog. Everyone’s here. Let’s begin this year’s Nine-Dragon Spirit Rite!'
At her words, Quentin Easton and Samuel Morin nodded, each taking out an ancient-style Divine Beast Jade Signet from their inner pockets and slipping it onto their left thumbs.
Shawn’s eyes lit up. He suddenly recalled that, during the ritual at Nine-Bend Bay, Luna Xiao had also worn a similar dragon-carved black jade ring! But on closer inspection, he realized that the rings they wore now were all different in design, shape, and even the color of the ancient jade compared to Luna’s.
Luna’s signet featured a fierce green dragon, while Fiona Nangong’s was carved with a red phoenix about to take flight. Quentin Easton’s was adorned with a pale white tiger, and Samuel Morin’s showed a turtle with its head raised, carrying a stone tablet on its back.
'White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise—three sacred beasts present. Azure Dragon is absent. The ritual is about to begin—' Fiona intoned, raising her right hand with the Vermilion Bird Jade Signet across her chest in a strange gesture. Quentin Easton and Samuel Morin did the same.
'Oh—I get it! Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise! It’s a set of four Divine Beast Jade Signets!' Shawn realized.
'Honored guest, please step aside and observe. Thank you—' Fiona shot Shawn a stern look.
'Oh—okay!' Shawn quickly stepped aside, knowing that outsiders weren’t usually welcome at such rituals—especially with ancient families like the Three Great Houses. He was definitely a bit of a gatecrasher here!
Once Shawn had moved aside, Fiona Nangong, Quentin Easton, and Samuel Morin gathered around the Zitan Immortal Table. With thumbs and pinkies hooked, other fingers pressing on their right shoulders, they closed their eyes in prayer, hands pressed together, chanting an incantation. Soon, they finished and raised their Divine Beast Jade Signets—three rays of light shot out: 'Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!' The Golden Nine-Dragon Banner floated up, spinning in midair. The nine dragons seemed to come alive, writhing with majestic power!
The strangest thing—the spinning nine golden dragons seemed to be circling a blurry object, shrouded in a hazy barrier. All you could see was nine flying dragons revolving around a misty golden light, their true form hidden from view.
Then Fiona Nangong called out, 'Dragons soar the seas, phoenixes fly the skies—rise!' Whoosh—a faint red light flashed as the ancient black ceramic wine on the zitan table floated up. Fiona traced an arc in the air, tapping three times with her finger. The wine’s spout moved with her, pouring three sparkling streams into the three jade goblets—filling each perfectly, not a drop wasted. Then she called, 'Heaven is round, earth is square—all is emptiness—descend!'
The bottle floated back to the table, and the nine flying dragons circled the golden light once before returning to the banner, which hung back in place as if nothing had happened. 'Nine-Dragon Spirit Rite complete! Now, will the heirs of the two compound surnames please drink. May the coming year bring smooth sailing, peace for the Sacred Vault, true dragons in the heavens, and everlasting harmony!' Fiona lifted one of the goblets.
Quentin Easton and Samuel Morin raised the other two goblets and said together, 'Peace for the Sacred Vault, true dragons in the heavens, everlasting harmony! Cheers!'
After finishing the strange prayer, all three raised their goblets and drank the ancient wine in one go. Then they set down their cups and removed the Divine Beast Jade Signets from their thumbs, stowing them away safely.