act14mini

The cycle of crushing rock and reclaiming soil continues day after day, night after night.

You there, how long have you been digging?

Three years? Five? I'm not sure anymore...

And, how long do you plan to dig?

Til I can dig no more.

Such foolishness! No matter how sharp your hoe, what can it do against hard rock? No matter how wide your pan, how can it possibly collect all the rubble?

Did you honestly think you can clear this mountain within your lifetime?

Who says it has to be done in <i>my</i> lifetime?

Even when I can dig no more, I have my clansmen and my children. And when they can dig no more, their children will carry on.

This mountain cannot change, but our numbers will grow forever.

There is no need to clear the entire mountain, but with each day we dig, we gain one more field, and feed one more child.

You don't plan to stop?

To stop would be to give in.

For what reason would you want to make an enemy of the mountain?!

Why did it have to be here?! It was Heaven and Earth that stood against us first.

Take your words and go back wherever you came from. I have work to do.

Preposterous! And with such a din!

You have been whittling away at my tail for five years, three months and seven days...

I've had enough, if you people won't stop, then I'll just have to move.

The mountain suddenly vanishes.

There are no sounds or sights. After yet another day of work, he uses his pan as a pillow and enjoys a good night's sleep.

The next morning, the only sight is rubble scattered all over the land, a sight so unprecedented he wonders if the mountain ever existed in the first place.

His clansmen said his diligence and sincerity must have moved the gods, who in turn moved the mountain away.

A few days ago...

Hey, the Elder is here.

I was worried about the mud and plaster getting soaked by the rain, so I came to check first thing in the morning. But now I see this part of the Chidao had been washed away by a mudslide.

This boy was lying near where the mud settled. When I went to check on him, he... he wasn't breathing.

Elder? Elder! What's wrong?

Why... why would someone...

If I had to guess, he was probably walking along the Chidao before getting caught up in the mudslide...

I've asked around the village, and no one knows who the boy was. No one from the nearby villages seemed to recognize his face either.

The way he's dressed, he's definitely not one of us mountain folk... what was such a young boy doing all alone in the mountains?

Elder? What should we do? We're all waiting for you...

Did...?

Did he have anything on him that could be used to identify him?

No... if there was anything, I think it would have been washed away by the mudslide.

What's that in his hand?

Ugh, he's gripping it tight... A plastic box? It's pretty heavy.

Take a look. It has some movable parts, and if you open it there's even a mirror? No idea what it is.

This is... a camcorder?

Put it away before you break it.

When the government investigators arrive, give it to them... Maybe we can find out where the boy came from, and notify his family.

Elder, are... are we calling them here just for this?

A life was lost, so of course we have to... Besides, we're obliged to inform them about the damage to the Chidao anyway.

As for... well, I'll explain it to the mandarins when they get here.

It's not that I want to cover this up, but... Elder, if you could hear me out.

The mudslide washed away part of the Chidao, and this child has lost his life... what if he perished doing maintenance work?

What do you mean?

Elder, just look at him...

If the hunter's boy, Fang Xiaoshi, was still with us, wouldn't he look pretty much like that?

The old man grabs his sleeve, wiping the offering table in front of the statue and placing a few stale fruit and a handful of moldy wheat seeds upon it.

He collapses in front of the statue, keeping his gaze to the floor. He keeps silent in that position for a long while.

Man and temple alike, damaged and empty.

The fruit has been in the cellar since last winter... March is almost over, but the few trees in the village have not yet flowered, so I beg for your forgiveness for these paltry offerings.

As for the seeds... we weren't able to stockpile much due to the drought the last two years, and they've grown moldy with all the rain recently.

The weather has only just started to clear up, but Chunfen is almost over. We have so much catching up to do, I've been urging everyone to help out on in the fields.

Honored ancestors... I have no other choice.

It's difficult making a path through the wilderness. The Chidao is such a huge project, and the Ministry of Works pays very well. They pay even more for those who die on the job.

Well over a million. It's more than enough for the village.

We could renovate the canals, and have a Messenger bring us some new farming equipment from the nomadic cities... we could even drill more wells for water.

If, if there was money left over after that, we could buy the finest seeds and store them for emergencies.

The village gone without grain for many seasons. Our harvests have been deteriorating the past few years, and we might not be able to make ends meet...

*sigh* They said they would grant us a subsidy, but we still haven't received it. Moushan needs money to survive.

It's all I can do to borrow that child's corpse, and the name of Fang Xiaoshi...

It's been three years. The hunter has never mentioned it, but everyone knows the boy probably died in the wilderness.

Honored ancestors, this is a most wicked idea, but... it is still an idea.

I...

Everything I do is for the sake of the village.

I really, truly...

Have no malicious intent...

I must share this with you, or my heart will surely crumble...

I am useless. I have been Clan Elder for decades and yet the villagers' lives have not improved. I did not even manage to repair this place in the past three years.

I don't have your strength, to dig out an entire mountain, to provide a place for hundreds to live and work.

I turn sixty-seven this year, and am no longer able to work the fields. I can only do my best to help the rest survive while I am still of sound mind and body.

Honored ancestors, I beg you... bless your descendants, the village, see to it that this all goes well.

Head Priest, pray tell the difference between earthly events and the visions of the painting?

The wandering priest opens her eyes.

She sits on the ground with her back to the statue of the excavator, using her folded-up robe as a cushion, and carrying a half-filled bowl of water.

She looks to have just finished meditating, but also to have just woken up from a nap.

Many thanks for the food and water...

Though thou mayst be naught but a statue, quoth the head priest, 'Karma is infinite, living or dead', and thus I dub thee a being as well.

Last night was such a terrible deluge, and I was so tired and hungry. I could not carry on and so borrowed thine back upon which to rest mine. It was not my intention to eavesdrop.

However...

While all places may not sport a giant bell like P'o-shan Village, all places still need their bell-ringers.

Open up.

Don't worry, it's not poisoned.

It's sand beast meat... your father brought it for you. We haven't any for a long time, and he wouldn't touch it either. He said you like strong flavor, so I made it spicier than usual.

Your first meal after your long trip home shouldn't have been like this, but...*sigh*

*spit*

Come on, have a little, at least? Don't starve yourself.

It's not like we actually want you dead, you know.

You might as well just kill me right now.

Again with the childish tantrums?

I know it's weird, giving your name to a corpse. But it's just a name, isn't it?

You can call yourself Fang Xiaohe, Fang Xiaoshu, or whatever you want. Why wish for death over something like this?

Besides, the village will be grateful for your sacrifice, and treat your family even better. What's wrong with living in peace?

Oh yes, just like a burdenbeast living its peaceful life, letting anybody else name it whatever.

How could you compare us to burdenbeasts?

Though now that you mention it, we both eat, work, age, get sick and die. Then why all the fuss if we're so alike?

I don't care what kind of lives you want to live, but I want to live mine the way I want!