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I see...

Oh, Yü, little Yü, where are you...

...Ah.

Here, I'll buy you some sweeties. How about that?

Shall I take you to see the fireworks?

...If your mama was here, little Ah Jan, she wouldn't want to see you refusing to eat or drink, would she?

...Ma...

Mama... mamaaaaa...

Oh. Cry, cry it out, now. Better than keeping it all trapped inside.

Mr. Nothing, who's this child?

Oh, benefactor... this child is called Ah Jan. I heard her father left home in search of work so long ago, and never came back. She hasn't seen her mother since yesterday, and has been utterly shaken ever since. She still hasn't had a single thing to eat or drink, not even today...

Benefactor! My benefactor, don't look so downcast. If it weren't for you and Kroos, this village's people would be suffering so terribly. As the proverb puts it...

...Oh, what use would be a proverb.

Benefactor, what do we do now?

Find Dawn and that storyteller.

They clearly know something.

Oh... a rare guest.

Do you recognize me?

Owner of the Elegant Garden, the Umbrella-Boiler. In P'o-shan Village, who doesn't know of you?

The storyteller you are, inheritor of that great merchant's gardens, you're the very god of P'o-shan Village.

Please sit, sir.

...I refrain.

You're already leaving?

You're very strangely silent today... that said, stay for the moment, please.

Usually, it's you telling everyone stories to relieve the boredom, and all you take is some token money for tea.

How about today, instead, I tell you a story? And I won't take any tips; this bowl of tea is free. How about it, sir?

Today, the story I'll tell will be much simpler than any of those mythical tales you've collected.

They say that ten years ago, on the southeast border of Yan, there was a small town named P'o-shan...

You...

Hm?

No. You can continue.

Mm. Okay.

P'o-shan was normal as could be. It had no more than a hundred households, and they lived off the mountain, passing simple days. Sometimes a merchant caravan would pass through, and on those days, the children went wild with joy.

And this small town, one day, suffered a Catastrophe.

The Catastrophe didn't completely destroy the town, but active Originium polluted its springs. The adults thought to seek aid from a nearby city, but there were no town Messengers, and all the adults who left went completely dark.

So, helpless, the people abandoned this town, and began to aimlessly journey—

Nobody from the town actually knew where to go, and they didn't even have an idea of where the nearest city was. It was just as if they entrusted themselves to fate, and chose a direction.

To the children, the warm beds, the winding fences, the amusing water stains along the walls, had all suddenly turned into pitch-black nights, and one... very long road.

And on this road, many starved to death.

There was a child, not very old, whose family was so poor.

She went with her mother and father, watching as all her close neighbors had less and less to say.

Watching as all the older kids who played with her fought each other, fought with sharp stones, over a moldy piece of shaobing bread.

She thought, maybe things would get better. And she tried hard, to find berries, find small animals, catch the scalecis in the river.

She almost drowned in there trying to catch them, and several times passed out from hunger.

Maybe fortune felt cruel one day. Maybe the ones closest to her came to a sudden realization, that this thin little girl's final use would be to save them some rations.

And when she returned 'home' clutching mountain fruits she didn't know if anyone could eat, there was not a single person left.

The cry of the beasts on the cold night cliff reminded her: her life was worth nothing. In her confused daze, it was as if heaven and her were of the same sympathy, every inch of her skin telling her the temperature of death. And then—

She met someone. A... very strange someone.

How did it go again? Oh... if you'd like to know what happened, you'll have to hear it next time.

Leaving an audience hanging at these points is so rotten to do. How does it feel, sir, having the rare chance to taste it as an ordinary person?

Oh, shopkeep, I have been searching for thee for some while—

—Ho? Why art thou here, sir? In that great disaster just now, all were worrying for thee.

No particular reason... only taking a stroll in here.

Saga.

Hm? I am here.

You've been in the painting long. It is about time. This is enough now.

Why exhaust yourself catching the moon in the water?

All are in stupor, you alone awake. Yet you act in a stupor still, and it pains to see.

Thou art not the storyteller... indeed, thou art...

Fend for yourself.

My compliments. To your fan.

Oh, dear, if it isn't my benefactor Kroos. What brings you barreling in?

*Sigh* The people have all met calamity this time. No matter. I, along with you two benefactors, will help them rebuild this garden.

...Mr. Nothing.

Perhaps you really are just a normal Messenger, but I still need to warn you something...

The way things are, if you're still gonna keep holding stuff back from us... we're gonna have to give up our trust in you.

...My benefactor! What are you saying!?

My compliments. To your fan.

...You saw that?

I did.

There's all kinds of martial arts, and I'm no specialist, but your skills aren't half bad... not half bad any way you slice 'em.

I'm assuming you hide your skills for some personal reason or other. I'm not planning to dig out what it is...

...but I do not like people when they a) clearly have the power to get in and help out, but b) find every excuse to play the coward.

Strictly speaking, that's selfish as hell, isn't it?

Eh, those might've been some harsh words, but you did save little Ah Jan too. Don't need to feel too guilty.

I'm sorry, benefactor. You both saved me. I really ought to give you the whole story.

Perhaps, benefactor... you long since saw through me?

Course I did. Watching you put on the act was funny, that's all.

Ahahah... once we've gotten out of here, I'll give you two a full confession.

Then it's agreed.

Benefactor... I'm wondering about something.

Hm?

I'm wondering, before we suddenly saw the light in this garden, how long did we spend... trapped in this unusual village? I have absolutely no idea... that is to say...

Just how long has it been since we opened that door on Mount Hui-ch'i?

...It's autumn.

The hawthorns have sweetened around this time. The children most loved eating hawthorn fruits.

...It's another day.

How much life do I still have left?

When I shut my eyes, I remember so many things of the past...

...and all night, I'm sleepless.

...Dusk?

Why are you here...?

You don't seem shocked at all.

Living to this age, the things that shock you, dwindle fast... *cough*, *cough*. But talking to you about this... it all pales in comparison.

We haven't seen each other... for how many years?

I can't remember. Likely decades.

...You really are Dusk.

You still remember me.

How do you know you're not in one of my paintings, with the life you've lived?

I couldn't be.