Chapter 229 — The Fifth Epoch
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 1 of 4
Little Jade Capital, in the heavens above.
The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping and his wife had been here more than ten days now; this city in the sky was like an immortal realm, holding sights the mortal world seldom saw. "Has the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping been lodging comfortably these past days? " An old man in a white robe came over and asked with a smile.
The Imperial Preceptor said gravely, "Little Jade Capital is worthy of its name. The air of this place is surpassing fine; it makes a man linger and forget to go home.
Yet good as it is, it lies far from the mortal world, and my ambitions are not here. In the end I must still leave. I ask Qingyou the Mountain Hermit to forgive me. " The old man, Qingyou, laughed.
"There is no hurry, Imperial Preceptor. This mountain hermit invited you here as a guest, and has not yet told you of Little Jade Capital's origins. " Curiosity stirred in the Imperial Preceptor.
"Pray tell.
" Qingyou led the way himself, bringing the Imperial Preceptor and his wife onto a rainbow bridge. The bridge was carved from jade of seven colors and spanned the empty sky, so that standing on it was like standing atop a rainbow. At the middle of the bridge the scenery of Little Jade Capital looked different again from what they had seen below: the mountains suspended in the heavens were arrayed like a natural formation, and the palaces upon those mountains seemed the dwelling places of immortals. "Little Jade Capital's origins are older than the Imperial Preceptor imagines. " Qingyou smiled. "The history of this place can be traced back to the Kaihuang Era. " "Kaihuang?
" The Imperial Preceptor had truly never heard of Kaihuang.
"Which kingdom was the Kaihuang Era?
No emperor of Jingping was ever called Kaihuang.
" "Kaihuang is not Jingping. Kaihuang was a land, and it was called the Kingdom of Kaihuang. " Qingyou said, "The Imperial Preceptor must know the Kingdom of Kaihuang.
It is what is now called the Wasteland Ruins.
" The Imperial Preceptor's frame trembled slightly, and he breathed out a mouthful of turbid air. "The Wasteland Ruins.
" Qingyou led the couple across the rainbow bridge, toward an immortal mountain that floated in midair, speaking unhurriedly.
"Kaihuang is the Daoist term; the Buddhist schools call it the Era of Emptiness. The Buddhists say that all things form, abide, decay, and empty; the Era of Emptiness is the fourth age, and we Daoists call it the Kaihuang Era. And now that Jingping has risen, here in Little Jade Capital we call it the Jingping Era. In Kaihuang's day the Wasteland Ruins flourished and prospered in great abundance. That great calamity which destroyed Kaihuang, we of Little Jade Capital call the Kaihuang Cataclysm; and before the Kaihuang Cataclysm there were three further cataclysms. " The Imperial Preceptor's wife's eyes flickered. "Elder, you speak of the kingdom of Jingping and say you call it the Jingping Era. Then if Jingping should fall, will you call it the Jingping Cataclysm? " "The lady is quick-witted.
" Qingyou smiled and pointed into the distance, where a jade mountain drifted in midair and several Daoists were raising a palace. "That palace is meant to hold the history of the Jingping Era. When Jingping falls, the whole course of the Jingping Cataclysm can be set in order and left for later generations to consult.
" The Imperial Preceptor's wife could not hold back.
"Elder, what place is Little Jade Capital, exactly? Is it good or is it evil? What do you intend toward the two of us? We have been here some while now, and all this time you have let us wander and look about. Now you should speak Little Jade Capital's true mind.