The Hall of the Great Hero at Waguansi had been completed in the fourth year of Shengping. Five zhang high, it faced south, with a frontage of five bays and a depth of four. It had a double-eaved, hip-and-gable roof edged with yellow and green glazed tiles. A covered gallery encircled the hall, its roof frame supported by stone columns with beveled corners, making the front gallery and inner hall seem exceptionally spacious.
Lady Lu, Zhang Wenwan, and Lu Weiwei, accompanied by Duan Chu, Zanhua, and the other two maids, followed Ran Sheng through a small door in the side gallery into the Hall of the Great Hero. The weather was fine that day, and although the hall doors were shut, it was not dark inside. Sunlight streamed through the openwork windows, countless motes of dust dancing among the interwoven beams-
Once inside, even the rough-mannered Ran Sheng instinctively softened his footsteps and held his breath in concentration. The vast, empty hall inspired a sense of immense solemnity.
In the center of the hall stood a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, one zhang and eight chi tall, seated in the full lotus position. His left hand lay across his left foot, while the fingers of his right curved into a ring to form the "teaching mudra," the gesture of the Buddha expounding the Dharma.
Blue Cloth curtains screened the eastern and western walls. The curtain on the eastern side was half drawn back, but no one was visible; only rustling sounds came from behind it.
Lady Lu, Zhang Wenwan, motioned to Ran Sheng not to disturb Chen Caozhi at his painting. She and Lu Weiwei first paid homage to the Buddha, praying silently and devoutly-
Suddenly, someone by the western wall said, "Chang Kang, I've finished the initial outline of Śakra.