After the brief talk about Sze Chang, Ye An avoided the subject like a plague, but their walk continued. The head monk showed Ye An the different peaks and bows of the hills and mountains hugging the basin below. They passed by a hilltop that housed a maze of bustling and steaming kitchens which was connected to a vast mountaintop that overlooked the snowscape of the North's extensive territory. An open dining hall sat right smack in the center of that mountain with natural rocks dotted around it. Smaller pavilions that were scattered around were connected to the main dining hall through a network of waterways. Ye An's eyes gulped in the beauty of the calm landscape but couldn't hide her surprise about the running water that defied the nature of the season. 

Before Ye An could ask about it, the head monk already answered. "It's something our residents came up with. To put it simply, the water is heated and the troughs were dug in a way that they're of different levels, which moves the water around."

Ye An nodded in suppressed awe.

"And I heard that they did it because they wanted to hear the sound of running water when they dined." The head monk shook his head incredulously but Ye An could sense the pride in his voice as they continued their walk.

At their next stop, an entire bamboo forest was perched on one of the larger hills, the snow resting on the bamboo leaves sparkling as the sunlight passed through the gap between the bamboo stalks. As a breeze traveled by rustling the thin leaves of the bamboo, the head monk's steps came to a slow stop and he held a hand up which prompted Ye An to stop in her tracks as well.

"Close your eyes and listen." The head monk said as he closed his own eyes. So, Ye An closed her eyes and perked her ears. There was only the quiet sound of the bamboo leaves brushing against each other as the sunlight and shadow danced around both of them. Ye An's heart and mind slowly settled into a quiet place, her breathing became slower and easier.

When the wind died down, the head monk put his hand down and opened his eyes. When he spoke, Ye An's eyes opened as well. "This is where we come to meditate. It's where we come to heal when everything feels like it's going up in flames."

The head monk ended the introduction with a stare at Ye An that felt a little too long and a little too pointed. But Ye An merely nodded and cleared her throat before turning away.

The sun was a deep red when they finally arrived at the mountain where the main temple stood. It was the building that Ye An first saw when she left her assigned room. This close, the building was ginormous which was also a testament to the sheer size of the gargantuan mountain that housed the building. As they neared the bright red double doors that were studded with golden knobs the size of Ye An's palms, she could hear the chanting on the other side of the doors. The hum of the chantings reverberated in her chest.

"Here's our last stop. You could explore the other half of the mountains on your own leisure but they're mostly just residences." The head monk introduced as he stepped aside to show the interior of the temple. "Welcome to the main temple. The first building that started it all." The heavy doors yawned open to the main hall, and a gigantic bronze statue of a deity that Ye An had never encountered stood at the end of the hall. Right in front of the statue was what looked like a large cauldron that was carved to look like a lotus flower that was filled to the brim with sand. Lit joss sticks were stuck into the sand, standing proud and burning away. The smell of the incense swirled in the air and pricked at Ye An's nose with its spiciness.

And then, there were rows and rows of monks and nuns, both young and old, in swaths of yellow and gold holding their heads low in reverence as they chanted, their knees on well-worn cushions. Some of them had their eyes close as they chanted, but even those who didn't, did not glance at Ye An or the head monk, their eyes trained on the bronze statue and their fingers moving along small wooden beads as they prayed.

The head monk's voice had turned into a hush as they walked to the other side of the hall, careful to keep close to the walls. "We do not enforce a set time for prayers so our disciples can come and go as they please."

The muffled echo of their footsteps was half drowned by the chantings as Ye An asked, her voice also down by a notch. "What do they pray for?" Ye An couldn't imagine the kind of prayer one would have when one live in such an isolated and seemingly idyllic place.

"I don't know. World peace? Happiness? The possibilities are endless. But when you pray, it's between you and the deity. No one else. Even as the head monk, the monks and nuns here do not answer to me. They only answer to the deity."

Ye An nodded slowly, absorbing his words.

"Here we are." The head monk said once they reached a stairwell that was on the far right side of the bronze statue. The stairwell reaches up into the next floor while simultaneously going down to the basement or lower floor.

Ye An couldn't help herself and blurted a question. "There's a basement in this building? A building that was built atop a mountain?" 

The head monk smiled kindly at Ye An's expression. "I'll show you later. For now, we go up."

The hall was so tall that it took some time before they arrived at the next floor. By that time, Ye An was slightly wound up, especially after the long walk that had spanned almost the entire day.

But it was beautiful. The stairs ended at an open, roofed pavilion of sorts with the orange-red of the sun blasting through the spaces between the cleanly-designed pillars on the edges of the open space. With all of the openness and airiness of the architectural design, Ye An breathed in the crisp air of the higher altitude. There were monks and nuns here as well, all of them unhurried and paid them no mind but walked with a purpose. As if they already knew their place in the world.

In the center of the pavilion, hung a great bell. Its height was of two full-grown men, while its width was approximately the length of one and a half cows. A beam was also situated beside the bell which was suspended on thick ropes.

Noticing my fascination with the hanging bell, the head monk led me to it.

"This bell is much larger than the one hanging over the Imperial Palace." Ye An mused as her eyes grazed the bronze surface, taking in the bosses and raised bands.

The head monk raised a sparse eyebrow. "I heard that there's a similar bell in the capital. I didn't know that it was in the Imperial Palace."

Ye An started. That statement made her wonder how old was the head monk and how long had he been isolated in this place. "Not exactly in. It's placed over the gate where announcements are made. But I don't think the bell has inscriptions like these." Ye An cocked her head to try reading them but realized that she couldn't recognize a word.

"It's in the Old Language." The head monk supplied. "From a time when the Middle Kingdom and the North were still on good terms."

The head monk didn't continue after that and Ye An didn't ask for more information. They stood in comfortable silence as they shifted their stance and watched the sunset.

Once the last glow of the sun was swallowed by the horizon, the head monk turned to Ye An once again. "Alright. Now, shall I bring you to the Lake of Eternal Spring?"

"The Lake of Eternal.. Spring?" Ye An was confused by the word choice, and rightfully so, as snow fluttered across the basin of the temple grounds once more.

The head monk only smiled and led Ye An down from where they came from before continuing down the stairs that brought them deeper into the mountain itself. As her head cleared the floor where the giant statue of the deity stood, Ye An was enveloped by the heavy weight of warmth and heat. The temperature made the air feel stuffy even though the space was much taller and wider than the hall above. Down here, there were no smooth walls and floors. Both of those surfaces were covered by jagged rocks. It was as if they suddenly entered a cave. Torches of flame lining the rocky walls were the only sources of light down here. Even then, Ye An could see that moss grew all around them. Some of the carpets of moss even had small flowers decorating them, giving the dark green tiny pops of white, pink, and yellow.

Ye An looked up to survey the ceiling that was made by the floors above and marveled at the ingenuity of the person who had built an entire building over a mountain crater because it was what this place was. In the middle of the space was an ink-black mirror shining toward the ceiling of the enormous cavern. It was a lake in a crater.

"Watch your step." The head monk reminded Ye An when they stepped off the last of the stairs. "It's humid in here and the slippery moss grows everywhere they could even though we have disciples scrubbing the floors and walls here twice a day."

Ye An took each step gingerly, making sure that the sole of one foot was gripping securely to the floor before lifting another. Through the dim flames, Ye An could barely make out the outline of the head monk who was leading her to the lake.

"This is the Lake of Eternal Spring." The head monk gestured.

When she stepped closer, Ye An realized that the lake wasn't ink-black at all. The water of the lake was like the clearest spring water. Reeds waved their spindly arms as small fishes and water critters nestled in between them.

Curious, Ye An reached a hand into the clear water, and the fishes scattered. She was pleasantly surprised by the tepid temperature of the lake water. Ye An eyed the head monk questioningly.

"This mountain was a volcano a long time ago. When it stopped erupting, the snow gathered in the crater and melted, forming the lake you see here. Even though this mountain has stopped erupting, it was still full of lava which is what warms the lake. And thus, it was named the Lake of Eternal Spring. Approximately five hundred years ago, a monk found this place on one of his excursions and fell in love with the energy of the place. So he built a temple over it. The lake is said to have the purest water. Untouched by the outside world since the temple was built over it and probably even dates back to centuries before that. And that is why it has magical healing powers."

Ye An was rightfully skeptical. "Does it heal everything?"

"It has never failed us." The head monk simply said as he smiled and gestured out into the lake. "There's actually someone who is currently being healed by the lake."

Ye An's gaze followed the head monk's gesture and she laid her eyes on what seemed to be a person floating in the middle of the lake.

It was a familiar silhouette. It was- "Xi Chen."

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Writer's note: Our green flag KING is backkk