"Bar the gate! Bar the gate! Fix the walls!"
As the saying went, grain in hand kept panic at bay. The smoked bear meat was enough to last them a month or two, giving everyone some confidence. Then they began considering safety—repairing the walls and rebuilding the wooden gate to shut out whatever lay beyond.
It might not necessarily do much, but walls and gates brought a sense of security.
The front courtyard bustled with activity.
There was an old well in the rear courtyard of the Ancient Temple. In years past, pilgrims who came to burn incense liked to quench their thirst with its water.
The spring in the well was extraordinary, and its mouth had been polished from a single block of bluestone.
A round well mouth had been carved into the center of the smooth circular stone, with a dragon sculpted around its edge as though guarding it. Though the mouth was round, the well itself was square within. Looking from the inside out, it carried the meaning of round heaven and square earth. Its depths were unfathomable, and rumor had it that the spring beneath connected to the distant Eastern Sea, ten thousand miles away.
These past days, the refugees had survived by sheltering in the Ancient Temple and relying on the well water.
Once the walls had been repaired and the gate sealed, the men could finally lie down and get some proper rest.
Bundles of weeds served as bedding. The side rooms and the space beneath the eaves were packed with refugees, yet no one dared sleep in the spacious main hall.
It was not entirely out of respect for the lifesaving favor they had received.
More than that, it was fear. Entering the main hall to offer incense and pray for blessings was