On a barren mountain at the border of Yang Province and Central Province, northwest of one and southeast of the other, stood a small temple. Its walls were broken, its grounds lay in ruins, and even its gate had mostly collapsed. A plaque hung crookedly from the lintel that still barely stood. The words "Orchid Temple" could just be made out, but the writing after them was too blurred to read.
The mountain and temple were usually hidden in the void, unseen by anyone, let alone visited. In the Mortal World, a military camp founded in the early years of Great Xia occupied the mountain's location, housing an army of the Great Xia Dynasty.
The imperial family commanded this army, replacing half its troops every ten years. Each rotation brought countless experts to stand guard, tense and wary as though facing a formidable enemy.
Yet year after year, neither mountain nor temple showed the slightest stir. A thousand years slipped by. The Great Xia Dynasty grew ever more prosperous, the temple ever more dilapidated, and even the imperial commanders responsible for the camp grew increasingly careless.
Inside the temple was a small courtyard with a vegetable patch and a pond. A few lotus flowers floated on the pond, neither fully open nor closed. Beneath them, several fish lingered without bothering to swim. A few ordinary vegetables grew in the patch, though they hardly looked vigorous. They had merely managed not to wither.
Between the vegetable patch and the pond sat an old monk in a worn robe. Smiling, he gazed at the lotus flowers with peaceful delight, as though the mere sight of them brought him endless pleasure.
Suddenly, his brow twitched. Puzzlement crossed his face, and he turned toward the southwest.
"Strange. The calamity has yet to arrive, so