act31side

May the scent of rice fill Heaven and earth, north and south, and fear neither drought nor flood! If only I was the wind and spring rain, bringing spring to the people♪

...*cough* *cough*...!

Uncle, don't stop here! A few more steps, and we'll be there!

(Shrill howl)

Arrrgh–-! Outta the way! Outta the way!!

Urgh...!

Uncle! What's wrong... Ugh, you need pressure on your wound!

Don't worry, it'll be okay. We're almost there! I've carried injured burdenbeasts home before, and you don't look any heavier than them. Trust me, I can take you back!

All of you... get out of my way! Gun kai!

Stay away!

Stay away... from––

Her tiny body falls to the ground, the sound ringing in the lumberjack's ears. He braces himself and lifts his weapon again.

(Pants heavily)

Uaaaaargh––!!

Halt.

...shi...

Zu... Zushi...

Alright, come on down.

Your mind has already reached its limit. Stand down. I don't want to have to kill another apprentice with my own two hands.

Go back. There's a clever young lady waiting out there. We can't let her go without her parents.

Even if she'll never recognize you again.

(Breathes feebly)

It's been difficult for all of you...

I thought I'd head back to Dahuang to recover from my injuries, but imagine running into something like this... You'd better hope I don't get my hands on you, needle prick.

The golden eccentric looks around and reaches for her belt.

Where's my fan...?

The strange fabric seems aware of the danger and hesitates, not daring to draw closer.

My sorry disciples even asked how I'm not scared of these things.

I flipped the question around: after killing so many of them, why are these things not afraid of me?

(Terrified wail)

A billowing current of air sweeps up, the Tianshi's golden figure uplifting light and heat into a spatial distortion, incandescent white flames outlining the chasm in the wilderness.

She snaps her fingers lightly.

<color=#000000>Long has she walked among us, countless demons has she subdued.</color>

Grow, flax, mulberry and fields, grow as the sun rises...

Drive away all evil, and bring new light to Heaven and earth...

Lalala... lalala...

The cocoon has formed...

It is time to weave.

A fowlbeast flies by.

In a domain not meant for fowlbeasts. In this place, the sun, the moon, the stars, the wind, the frost, the rain, the snow, the mountains, the rivers—none of it is meant to exist in the first place.

But, this particular fowlbeast picks up an ear of rice, flaps its wings, and tarries on the peak of a hill.

Its heart beats, and beats, as if something is about to burst out––

A gust of wind blows by, causing the saplings to wobble.

The rivers flow without cease, the water coursing.

The mountains and rivers rise, the earth and soil rumbling.

The trees plant their roots, their shadows swaying.

As if sensing something, the fowlbeast takes flight once more with the ear of rice in its mouth, two seeds of rice falling into the boundless paddies.

Swish, swoosh... swish, swoosh––

A pair of eyes open.

...You?

You've come back?

Pitch black.

Unfathomable depth, without a shred of sunlight. The stifling atmosphere almost feels as heavy as the roof's own weight.

The roof of a tomb.

What's going on...? Why am I back here?

Wei, old thing, still alive? I came to see you.

(Hoarse howl)

The sound emanates from behind the heavy door before her.

You've been sleeping for so long, and you're still as pissy as ever...

Drop the scary act already. Can you even do anything after lying here all this time?

Hoo...

Nothing to be afraid of... right?

Shangshu?

Which mountain is this? Why isn't there a single road sign... no, what year is it even?

Judging from the houses by the road, this looks like Shangshu before it went nomadic... why does it look like the city I saw when I first got here?

*ding*— *dong*—

A man hangs from a steep cliff with a rope, engraving a sentence with the hammer and chisel in his hands.

Wei—you, up on the mountain! What'cha doing?

You don't know who I am?!

Why would I?

It was I who designed and created this city!

Oh, that's pretty cool.

The Catastrophe's about to arrive, and everyone's already evacuated. But the disaster will destroy all the houses I built.

I can't let it happen just like that!

The fifth year of Jingyan, when I had just arrived here, and stayed for three decades... 'Record of Shangshu City'?

I'm carving how I crafted the city onto this cliff so future generations will remember my achievements!

But the Catastrophe's just around the corner. You're risking your life for this, but what if a thunderbolt cleaves the mountain into two? Wouldn't your hard work be in vain?

I couldn't care less. This is the only thing I can do. Why even bother living, if no one will know of my feats?

How do you even live like that...? Fine, just keep working, I'll disturb you no more.

Wei, where does this mountain path lead?

I don't know.

It's you...

Sir, I wish for you to grant me a sword.

What for?

To save. To avenge.

I've told you, my swords don't come cheap. What're you offering?

My life.

Again...

...I should've said no already.

Do you hate me for giving you that rusty piece of scrap metal?

What am I saying? This is just an illusion.

But you do remember me.

Just thinking about that screenplay draft... I still can't help but wonder if the story would've ended differently, had I given you a proper blade then.

How can someone so remarkable and knowledgeable show compassion to a nobody like me?

A mere mortal life is honestly worthless to you.

Hey, don't go that far. I still like you mortals a lot.

You look at us as if you're watching a play.

Your casual acts can add a little marvel to the show and change the fates of countless people. Sometimes you'll even be in the mood to join us for a few songs.

But in the myriad of plays, you're the only one offstage.

You've been alone all along.