The fishing boat docked at Zhen E, and Nian Shangyou followed Qiao Yi ashore.
There was a station beside the harbor. Qiao Yi and Nian Shangyou boarded a train together and traveled through the mountains for a full five hours.
Nian Shangyou kept watching the scenery outside the window. He desperately wanted to know what the Former Dynasty's capital actually looked like.
Yet along the way, he could not catch so much as a glimpse of a city. All he saw were lush forests and deep snow. Apart from the rails and platforms, he did not even see another building.
The train reached central Kan'e. Qiao Yi led Nian Shangyou off the train and climbed a mountain on foot.
Looking down from the mountain, Nian Shangyou was stunned.
He saw a gigantic ring towering before him.
The ring's base stood in the wilderness below, while its top reached the mountaintop. Shifting black shadows flickered at its center, making Nian Shangyou dizzy in waves, as though boundless darkness could swallow him whole at any moment.
Qiao Yi asked, "Shangyou, do you know what this is?"
With a thud, Nian Shangyou dropped to his knees, unsure whether he should kowtow to Qiao Yi or to the Great Totem.
Though his thoughts were a complete mess, the instincts drilled into him over many years remained. He kept kowtowing to the Great Totem, yet his mouth continued to shower Qiao Yi with praise:
"Lord raised a platform a hundred ren high and built ramparts weighing a thousand jun, restoring the Great Totem. Such towering merit and mighty achievement will shake the ages and blaze through all time!
"Lord plotted within the command tent and alone held the creation of yin and yang in his palm. With every breath, wind and thunder surged; with every