act31side

Lord Zuo, have you ever seen a silkworm? Or perhaps, heard the idiom: 'to wrap yourself in your own cocoon'?

What are you getting at?

I'm quite familiar with these things.

For these creatures to grow, they must endure a calamity. Those that survive will break out of their cocoons; those that do not will have their lives quietly snuffed out in the darkness.

Who are you implying is the silkworm here?

You and I, and all things in existence.

Say what you will, but we have no interest in comparing ourselves to insects.

You people are so proud of the civilization you've built, but are there no records of the very beginning in the Sui Regulator's files? Of how the True Lung was able to end the Hundred Clan Rebellion?

Of course we're aware. We understand full well that it was nothing more than a bout of folly brought about by the bestial Sui's arrogance, not a gift of any sort. Why, are you that keen for Yan to sing the praises of your kind?

Besides, you no longer have that kind of power.

No living being can escape the cycle of destruction and rebirth. Summer insects sing not of sleet or ice. Everything we see, hear, and think is enclosed in a silken cocoon, and we must never forget our humility.

What are you getting at?

Since the end of that great battle and the appearance of our kind, the Sui Regulator has also accumulated a thousand years of history.

Have you ever considered why Yan never moved to banish the Sui, until now?

A hundred years ago, the convict incited great chaos, resulting in the death of a proxy. Now that the awakening of the bestial Sui is an inevitability, banishment has become a clear imperative.

The bestial Sui is awakening? Which Feranmutologist came up with that conclusion?

Who stands to benefit when Yan goes to war? In whose interest would it be to banish the Sui?

Did you fail to consider these questions, Lord Zuo, or are you simply pretending that they don't exist?

Why should I take anything you say at face value...?

Naturally, you don't have to believe me. Let us settle another account.

Setting aside the fact that I am a lowly peddler, my brothers and sisters have for centuries kept a great many dangers from Great Yan.

Even when it comes to my 'unemployed' little sister, Yan cannot even fathom the amount of effort it would've taken to build its nomadic cities without her.

Of course, there's also the sister who has been standing guard here all this time.

When it comes to the symbiotic history of the Feranmuts and Yan, from beginning to end, my brothers and sisters have done nothing to harm you. All they've wanted is to live like ordinary people.

But now, they are about to lose their lives over some undeserved disaster... Tell me, Lord Zuo, how are we to settle this account?

Indeed, a number of you have made invaluable contributions to Yan, which the nation has never forgotten.

Yet now, there are some of you who choose to stand against Great Yan, threatening the lives of countless people.

Ah, were you not suggesting just now that your <i>Xians</i> had taken good care of Yan? Why then, at the first sign of hardship, do you turn against the <i>Xians?</i>

Where even are these <i>Xians?</i> From beginning to end, there have only been ordinary people.

Why not take a look at the ground beneath your own feet?

Didn't we already dispose of the contaminated crops...?

No, no... This is the grain that was harvested normally before. How did it become like this...?

The granary is filled with the rice that was harvested only a few days ago.

What should have been a golden mound of grain has now turned into a red-and-black mass.