In Chang'an during the Tang dynasty, the city appears prosperous and peaceful, but under the surface, currents are shifting. Spiritual energy is not evenly distributed. Instead, like an underground river, it gathers at certain points known as "spiritual apertures." The imperial Court Astronomical Bureau controls the official apertures, while countless "wild apertures" are scattered among the people, often hidden beneath ancient temples, abandoned homes, and old wells. The Xuandu Temple stands in a corner of Yongning Ward in Chang'an. Its gates are quiet, and its incense burns thin. The abbot is an old Taoist who loves alcohol, and the temple has only three disciples. To outsiders, it's a shabby temple that can't even afford its rent. But the old well in the temple, which has been dry for thirty years, gives off the faint sound of running water on every new moon night. An algorithm-trapped food delivery worker finds the dignity of being human in a world of cultivation…
