Ruilian held up a Kucha magnifying glass with a gold handle. Under the lens, the mucus on the roots of the Blue Flower was slowly absorbing particles of gold dust.
"Look here," Ruilian rotated the lens. The golden beaded chains on the root system refracted iridescent colors under the candlelight. "The Blue Flowers in the desert use this mucus to bind sand grains, much like a hand gripping shifting sand."
The elders of the Caliphate leaned in to observe, their snow-white beards hanging over the glass tabletop like frost fallen into a galaxy.
Chapter 146