act14mini

Yes, I bombed the temple. And after three years I, Fang Xiaoshi, have returned. If they can't get over that, they can come find me.

Even now, today, I still want to blow the thing up.

Fine, go do it! Blow it to pieces!

Three years ago, your nerve was as high Heaven itself, and now three years later, it's soared even higher.

What did you come back for? Just to blow it up and run away again?

I'm done talking, Dad.

*sigh*

What did you bring that log in for anyway?

...I'm making a coffin.

Your father's health is failing with each passing day, and all the money I saved for my burial went to rebuild the temple.

I didn't know if you were dead or alive, so I... I thought I should at least make my own coffin while I could.

Hey, come on, no need to talk like that...

I spent a whole month looking for you.

I was hurt. I passed out near the Chidao...

You sure are smart.

A caravan carrying goods from the mountains found me and threw me onto the back of some burdenbeast carrying fodder. By the time I came to, I was already in a nomadic city.

It's lucky some good people found you, and not a pack of beasts.

What happened after you healed up?

I, I decided to make a name for myself before coming back.

Why aren't you asking me what I did in the city?

If you actually accomplished something, there wouldn't have been a swordswoman escorting you home.

I said it before, you can't bear to live here, but I'm afraid you'll suffer even more if you go out to a town or nomadic city. Returning with your life intact is already a blessing to me.

I've never been to a city, so I have no idea of what it's like. When you feel like talking about it, you can let me know.

...Okay.

So, are you going to cause a ruckus this time?

Only if they bully us.

You're still so stubborn...

The day you ran away, the Elder gathered up the whole village to help me look for you.

I live here alone, but the villagers don't give me a hard time. That plot of land you keep bringing up, haven't I been tending to it even now?

That just means they have some shred of conscience left in them.

Can you just promise your dad one thing?

Just stay here for good... and don't make a fuss about it...

Fine, whatever you say.

So you're leaving? Going to Jiangnan?

I have places to be. Bringing you back here has already delayed my journey by a lot.

Then there's no harm in delaying it a while more, right? It's dark already. Why not rest here a few more days and teach me some kung fu before you go!

Didn't I teach you enough on the way here?

Dad, let's...

Miss, thank you so much for bringing my boy home. We have nothing to repay you with...

It's fine.

Since you're in a hurry, I won't pressure you to stay.

Fang Xiaoshi, we may have met by chance, but I have some parting words for you.

The Jianghu can be vicious, and you have learned something, whether you wanted to or not. But now that you're home, you should make your peace and avoid causing any more trouble.

Hmph, I can make a name for myself wherever I am. One day, in Jiangnan, you'll hear all about the valiant Fang Xiaoshi's deeds!

As long as I don't hear of you making mischief.

And whoever you trouble next, she may not be as forgiving as I am.

You, forgiving...?

Oh hey, can you say that line the heroes always say... the one in all the novels...?

Hm?

'Jianghu zai jian.'

Jianghu zai jian. See you around, kid.

Miss, let me see you off.

No need to trouble yourself.

It's alright.

We haven't done any work on the roads for a long time, so they're full of holes. I'll guide you to the gate.

Qiubai walks at a brisk pace, and the old man quickens his steps to catch up, ending the conversation.

The sky gradually turns dark. It may be strange to ordinary folk, but Jianghu adventurers prefer to travel at night, using the darkness to their advantage.

The newly raised grave at the entrance of the village is stubby and inconspicuous, hardly visible in the twilight.

Zhou Si, is everyone here?

I'll count again, Elder.

Aside from Dayuan who stepped on his plow out in the fields today and couldn't make it, everyone else is here.

The whole village is here, Dad? Isn't this a bit much for a welcoming party?

We're not Zhous, after all. Even when they had that meeting at the temple back then, there was nothing for us.

*sigh*

Considering what's happened today, and how we're mixed up in it...

Three years later, Fang Xiaoshi stands once again before the temple. This time there are no explosives, and the man beside him is even older.

The wall he blew up has already been rebuilt and the statue of the mountain digger repaired, but the craftsmanship is a little lacking, and upon seeing this slightly amusing sight Fang Xiaoshi carelessly lets out a laugh.

There are several broken tiles on the floor, with bugs in the still-damaged ceiling forming layers and layers of webbing that blends into the wood.

Perhaps it is too dark to be certain, but he can't figure out if the temple was impossible to renovate, or if it was successfully repaired but has gradually returned to a dilapidated state.

So, this is where we stand now.

Xiaoshi has apologized. He was still a child then, and the hunter has spent the last three years doing his best to help rebuild the Yishan temple.

Come on, Elder. Let's get to the point already.

Hunter, how many years has it been since you first came to the village?

This year-end, it'll be twenty one.

Your family is the only one with a different name, but you married a daughter of ours, so all these years you have been a part of our family.

Let our previous bumps in the road, misunderstandings and conflicts, all stay in the past.

From this day forward, the clan officially accepts you into our family and our ancestors will bless you with peace and prosperity as well.

Xiaoshi may change his family name to Zhou too, if he so wishes.

What?!

What are you trying to pull this time...?

Nuh-uh, I like my own name just fine. Why would I change it?

Elder, just come out and say what you mean already.

In the end... we are all one family, and that means we face our challenges together.

I gathered the whole village here today, to make one request:

Xiaoshi, for the sake of the village... can you pretend to be dead?

Is there a way to make the mountain disappear?

The people of this settlement have been here for generations, begging the mountain to grant them a living.

The wild fruits are poisonous before they ripen while the beasts are cunning and vicious. One could easily lose one's life to carelessness, but there is no other source of food.

The rain flows through the rocky crevices, turning yellow by the time it reaches the foot of the mountain. But there is no other source of water.

He sharpens a stone's edge, breaks some vines and ties the rock to a slender tree trunk.

Now he has a hoe.

He finds a small patch of relatively moist and flat ground at the foot of the mountain, and digs out ridges with his hoe. He plants seeds he has collected over time.

Now he has a plot of arable land.

This small piece of land cannot feed everyone, but if the mountain weren't there...

It is tall enough to pierce the clouds, it spans wider than the eye can see. With sharp peaks and drops this way and that, it makes an imposing obstacle.

The wind itself cannot freely pass, let alone men. It's as if the mountain before them is draining their very vitality.

And so, hoe in hand, he begins digging into the mountain.

He works and rests at the foot of the mountain. Armed with just hoe and pan, he would wake, dig, sleep, repeat.

Six months pass and the mountain shows little more than a few shallow scars. But the spectating villagers put down the fruit and pulp in their hands.

More and more join the excavators. With more hoes at work, the arable land expands.