After Wei An crossed through the door, he found another Dao Lodge on the other side. It appeared unoccupied. A desk and a meditation cushion stood ahead, while beside them was a small stove that burned without cease all year round, bubbling and steaming.
He saw a paper slip pinned beneath a paperweight on the desk. From afar, he glimpsed the words written upon it: "There is tea here. Please help yourself."
Looking at the rows of tea canisters on the nearby shelf, each labeled with a different variety he did not recognize, he casually selected one called "Cloud Aspect." He brought it over, took a teacup and poured out the leaves, then set it on the little stove. At once, the fragrance of tea spread through the room.
He sat upon the cushion and savored it for a while. It was clear and bracing, refreshing his spirit and soothing him within and without. Without realizing it, he had sat there for a quarter of an hour, and the slight restlessness he had felt upon entering Celestial Xia gradually subsided. After cleaning the tea cup on the desk and returning it to its place, he rose and walked outside the lodge.
Yet when he lifted the curtain and stepped out, the sight before him stunned him. His state of mind, which had only just settled, stirred once more.
He stood atop a high hill at that moment, with an open, unobstructed view in every direction.
Stretching outward from this place were elevated platforms of elongated oval design. Countless flying vessels radiating mysterious light came and went, rising and descending without pause. Below, guiding beams flashed back and forth, swaying out trails of rainbow light. The sky was nearly filled with this brilliance.
Lines of metallic giants marched across the plaza