The Pulse of Mountains and Rivers

The land has a spirit, and its culture is bound by the written word.

Ink edicts and painted strokes guard the four corners; ancient paintings form arrays, and mountains and rivers cast their shadows in homage.

Lanterns patrol yin and yang, seeking hidden caves; shadow puppets pass through the darkness, while ancient spirits hold banners and bestow their light.

Tea boils with stars and constellations, steaming across three rivers; tender leaves cleanse the heart, and jade bowls brew a drink of moonlit frost.

Wood receives the celestial pivot and accords with Heaven's design; within a square inch, all is at peace, and talismans hang from the beams at the heart of the halls.

The twenty-four seasonal signs patrol the eight wilds, keeping all things in balance through the ages.

A thousand volumes of history settle at the foot of the inkstone; a new age takes up the brush and renews the realm of the Nine Provinces.

Now the land has fallen silent. The “Erosion Scribes” gnaw at invisible ancient seals, and the legacy of civilization slowly fades into nothingness.

Some gather the scattered spiritual essence,

lighting lamps to turn night into day, using their souls as guides,

breaking their bones to form beams, transforming themselves into bonds,

until the mountains and rivers weep as one, and sun and moon shine anew!