Fortunately, this illuminating behavior, unlike the other Elemental Spirits, only uses the light from Merit Golden Light to illuminate and enwrap the Gold Bricks, expelling the filthy evil on them, and doesn’t devour her Merit Golden Light, so there’s no actual loss.

Little Taotie found illuminating one by one too tiring, so she threw herself onto the rows of Gold Bricks, cradling them.

Her whole body looked like the Golden Boy in a New Year’s painting, or the little child under the knees of the God of Wealth, shimmering all over with gold, holding the Gold Bricks that shone under the Merit Golden Light, blindingly bright.

The elderly character: "..."

His fingers twitched involuntarily, feeling the urge to pull out his phone and take a picture.

But he suppressed this impulse.

Hua Jinyan looked at Little Taotie, thinking she would surely love such a golden photograph of herself, so he took out his phone and started snapping pictures.

The elderly character gave a sidelong glance at the engrossed Hua Jinyan, lowering his voice: "Send me a copy."

Hua Jinyan almost couldn’t hold his phone steady and looked at him oddly.

The elderly character kept his smiling-tiger expression, his gaze steady and matching his age and temperament.

But what he just said didn’t fit this temperament, at this age.

Little Taotie finally gathered all the Gold Bricks in her arms, all shining brightly with Merit Golden Light.

She grinned, Little Dimple deep, eyes crescent-shaped, her little face soft and tender, sitting on a high pile of Gold Bricks, holding more in her arms, surrounded by gold shimmer. The Merit Golden Light on her body was overshadowed by the light from the Gold Bricks, as if the Gold Bricks’ light was illuminating her, rather than the other way around.

Hua Jinyan quickly pressed the shutter button.

The elderly character urged eagerly, "Quick, quick, send me this one."

Hua Jinyan’s mouth twitched.

The elderly character coughed dryly, "Hurry up."

Feeling helpless under the urging, Hua Jinyan could only send it to him.

The elderly character saved it immediately and set it as his screensaver and desktop background.

Looking at the golden desktop, the elderly character was very pleased, smiling: "If she endorsed gold, it wouldn’t be bad."

At this moment, his smile was not the usual perpetual friendly tiger-smile, but a wide, happy grin that exuded gentle warmth.

Hua Jinyan looked at the photo and nodded, "She’d probably love to endorse gold, maybe even buy a lot herself."

Little Taotie started using the Gold Bricks to build an Ancient Pagoda, which howled, "No, not here, it’s useless. You’ll have to rebuild it later. Go there, where I originally was!"

Little Taotie nodded and ran back and forth with the Gold Bricks.

Hua Jinyan found it amusing and held her shoulder to stop her running around.

The elderly character maintained a smile and didn’t respond.

Little Taotie looked up at him, recognizing this elder as the one she met in the haunted laboratory during a task, seemingly a foreign returnee.

During that task, Little Taotie crawled into a pipe and captured a frighteningly human-like Ghost, but far scarier creatures than this Ghost dwelled within the pipe. Little Taotie only caught the weakest one.

The task was undertaken with Mo Haihao. At the time, Mo Haihao was eager for achievements, and upon their return, Shen Cang summoned him to inform him about the elder’s past, who was also from the Special Department but chose to leave for family safety and went abroad to undertake missions.

No one expected someone who left the Special Department to return in such a way.

This person said not a word about their past, increasing concern.