Chapter 30: Heian-kyo?!

It wasn't just him; others were glaring angrily at President Yamazaki as well.

Because, in everyone's eyes, compared to the ancient castle, Osaka Castle was, in terms of grandeur and beauty, a distinction between heaven and earth.

The two simply could not be mentioned in the same breath.

Although Osaka Castle was magnificent, it absolutely did not possess the same splendor as the ancient castle.

Gazing from afar at the ancient castle.

For every additional glance the crowd took,

their shock increased by a degree, and their understanding of the castle was refreshed by a degree.

So...

In this world, there actually existed an ancient castle so towering and magnificent, like a divine palace in the nine heavens.

It was almost unbelievable, giving a sense of dreamlike unreality.

If one were to say this was a mirage?

They did not believe it.

It was simply because this vast, boundless ancient castle was so clear.

The structures upon it, layered towers and jade halls, overlapped one another.

Every pillar supporting the city's palaces and towers was intricately carved and painted.

Various dazzling jewels and jade stones were inlaid upon them, decorating the halls, displaying extreme luxury, yet without losing elegance and antiquity, satisfying all people's imaginations of nobility and refinement.

Even.

The words "nobility" and "refinement" seemed to have been created specifically for it.

These things could absolutely not be presented by a mirage.

The scene was incredibly real.

Absolutely stunning!

Sakada Wenzhijie and the others exclaimed in awe.

Compared to this ancient castle, the Emperor Sutoku's Palace, the Meiji Hall, and all such things were trash.

Just as Sakada Wenzhijie and the others were gazing at the ancient city and exchanging praises.

Tokyo, the highest conference room of the Metropolitan Police Department.

"Where is the lip-reading expert? Go get him for me immediately; I want to see him within three minutes!"

Chief Saito roared, his gaze never leaving the conference screen.

The lake view in the clouds reflected the Sakada Group members, but it did not reflect any sound.

They were like watching a pantomime; they could only see the figures in the picture opening and closing their mouths, yet they could hear absolutely nothing.

Everyone present felt uncomfortable, their hearts itching with anxiety.

At this moment.

"Wait, there are characters on the castle!!"

Mizuno Yuichi shouted involuntarily, pointing frantically at the very top of the ancient castle, urgently reminding everyone.

In the distance.

The setting sun of dusk, the fading sunset glow.

The magnificent ancient city was surrounded by swirling clouds, like an elderly man in twilight, drifting slowly. Finally, a gust of wind blew, and the clouds obscuring everyone's vision drifted away, revealing the scenery at the highest point of the ancient castle.

It was a palace pavilion, towering into the clouds, piercing the sky straight up, reaching the same height as the moon.

The pavilion was very high, built from immortal stone rocks. Observing the mottled traces upon it, it had endured for a long time; despite the wind and rain of a thousand ages, it had never been destroyed. Time could not corrode its brilliance; it was as old as the heavens.

At the highest point of the pavilion, immortal mist filled the air, and divine light faintly appeared, carving out streaks of brilliant radiance.

These strange phenomena originated from a plaque hanging at the highest point of the pavilion.

Upon it, the strokes were like iron hooks and silver paintings, as if a divine being from the heavens had descended, using blood as ink and fingers as a brush, carving out shining, brilliant golden ancient characters.

"That is!!"

Sakada Wenzhijie's pupils dilated; as if struck by lightning, he stood frozen in place, his hair standing on end.

Mizuno Yuichi and President Yamazaki looked over.

"Group Leader Sakada?"

"Boss?"

They knew that Sakada Wenzhijie loved antiques, usually enjoyed studying ancient calligraphy and paintings, and had some knowledge of ancient Japanese characters.

From his reaction, he must have recognized the characters on the plaque.

At this very moment, Sakada Wenzhijie, as if suffocating, as if using all the strength in his body, only to utter a single sentence, roared out.

"Heian-kyo!! That is Heian-kyo!!"

His legs stumbled.

President Yamazaki and his assistant Yamamura almost lost their footing.

"What did you say?!"

"That is Heian-kyo? How is that possible!"

Unlike Mizuno Yuichi and the others, President Yamazaki and Assistant Yamamura had both received higher education and graduated from prestigious universities.

Naturally, they had studied Japanese history.

Regarding the "Heian-kyo" shouted by Group Leader Sakada, how could they not know what it represented?

Heian-kyo.

This title originated from Japan's Heian period.

It was the ancient name for the imperial capital of Kyoto during Japan's Heian period.

Correct, Heian-kyo is indeed the Kyoto of the Heian period.

And Heian-kyo is precisely the imperial city of the Heian period!

In other words.

That magnificent, ancient city in the sky is the Heian-kyo Imperial City?

"Absolutely impossible. Heian-kyo is absolutely not this grand."

President Yamazaki shook his head vigorously.

He knew Japanese history very well.

Heian-kyo could absolutely not be this large.

You must know, according to history, the entire Heian-kyo covered only twenty-plus square kilometers, yet the Heian-kyo before their eyes already surpasses Heian-kyo, exceeding it by who knows how many times.

What kind of joke is this?

A single Kyoto is not even as big as an imperial city?

Just as everyone was in doubt and completely unable to understand why the ancient city in the sky bore the name Heian-kyo.

They suddenly noticed.

The streetlights on the street they stood on were shaking, emitting a creaking, creaking sound.

On the utility poles, the wires were swinging wildly.

The surrounding buildings were also shaking.

A violent tremor swept over; everyone immediately understood.

It was not the surrounding things shaking, but the earth itself quaking.

"An earthquake?"

"Is this an earthquake?"

Everyone was in doubt and panic, facing the sudden earthquake with inexplicable fear.

Logically, as Japanese people, they should have some immunity to earthquakes, yet the earthquake had just begun and everyone was panicking.

The main reason was that the place they were in was filled with eeriness.

The twilight sky, bleak and mournful; the deserted, lonely streets; the ancient city in the distant sky—any single one of these alone was enough to make people horrified and terrified.

This earthquake made them fearful.

They did not know what would happen next.

……

Arakawa Ward, Tokyo, Japan

In the sky, the scenery within the Yunhu shook the earth and mountains.

At the same moment, the most terrifying thing occurred: accompanied by the earthquake within the lake's image, the entire Arakawa Ward was also shaking.

The earth trembled chaotically, with bursts of roars; this region seemed to be splitting open, the sky felt like it was about to collapse, and the ground felt like it was about to be overturned.

Eerie and terrifying.

No one had ever expected that the earthquake within the image in the Yunhu in the sky would cause the Arakawa Ward to quake as well.

It was as if the two were actually one and the same, prospering together or perishing together.

Or perhaps, one of the two was actually a mirror, merely reflecting the situation of what was truly happening.

"An earthquake?"

"Run!"

With the intense tremor, countless people panicked, having no time to think about who was the mirror and who was the reality.

The Arakawa Ward was in complete chaos.

"Director! The Earthquake Bureau called, saying they detected a magnitude six earthquake in Arakawa Ward, and the tremors are intensifying."

In the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department conference room, a police officer finished the call and spoke hurriedly.

"What did you say?"

Director Saito's face changed in shock.

They had seen everything happening on the screen clearly; the Yunhu was shaking, so how could Arakawa Ward be shaking too?

Suddenly!

They were terrified. Could it be... that everything happening in the Yunhu would manifest in reality?

If that were truly the case.

Is the Yunhu in the sky the reality? Or the mirror? Or perhaps...

Those who could reach the positions of the Metropolitan Police Department and high-ranking government officials were not fools; with almost a single clue or piece of information, they could guess a bit of the truth.

……