act31side

This is a report on the Shanhaizhong and Catastrophe countermeasures... and review of my own actions.

I'm sorry I let you down, Father...

Now, I will—

No need.

You won't have to participate in Yumen's return to the capital anymore.

But...

Are you giving me a suspension?

It's not my place to interfere with the Sui Regulator's appointments, but as the warden of Yumen, I have authority over military personnel assignments.

There's an important mission for you to undertake, away from Yumen.

It's planting season in Dahuang, in the north, and they're short-handed. Go and help them.

Planting season? You mean, agriculture?

That's the 'important mission'?

Is that not important?

I understand that agriculture is the lifeblood of the nation, and I've heard about Dahuang, but...

I don't understand. Why me?

So you might see.

And after I see...?

You think.

Be ready to depart, once you've completed the mission handover.

One last thing, Father.

I discovered some suspicious activity when investigating the Shanhaizhong's movements.

They appeared to be very familiar with Yumen patrol schedules and routes.

If they really managed to obtain intelligence on Yumen's defenses—

I have spoken.

This is not your concern anymore.

Never forget what all you do is for.

A man like you can't be trusted!

*pant*... *pant*...

Working in the fields by day and practicing kung fu by night for a whole month. You must be exhausted.

*pant* Yun... it's you.

You were focused.

But I didn't achieve anything...

...I don't even know what I'm doing here.

Perhaps, by focusing on improving myself here, I'll be able to do what I couldn't before.

Well... perhaps.

You know, there's this old Lungmen kung fu movie...

The hero was an arrogant and haughty swordsman who spent all his life pursuing martial perfection, which always seemed just out of reach.

His fortunes took an ill turn and he lost everything: fame, fortune, reputation, even one of his arms. Now a broken man, he found himself in a tiny, remote village.

There, he lived amongst the peasants, eating with the lowly folk who used to lie beneath his notice. For three years, he chopped his own firewood and boiled his own water, not touching his sword even once.

He finally drew his blade when his enemies came for him. To his surprise, his sword struck with a fury he had never known before.

Are... are you saying that I'm arrogant and haughty?

I'm just telling you what happened in the movie.

Do things like that happen in reality?

To my knowledge? Of course not. The audiences love it, though. Back to basics, the proud humbled, that sort of thing.

However, it is true that one's temperament has an effect on many things.

Have you felt your perspective change since you left Yumen?

I don't feel like it has at all...

How about a break? Water?

Thanks. I have a question myself...

Why did you come with me? Why not stay in Yumen?

You're traveling across Yan as Candleholder. I felt like I could learn a lot by accompanying you on your journeys.

I was demot—sent here by father. You could have learned just as much by going back to the capital with Yumen.

I went with Laoshi to Baizao. It was prosperous, but little else.

Dahuang seemed more interesting.

You're talking like you're on holiday.

Hah.

I don't understand what Father wants me to see...

What have you seen, then, during your time in Dahuang?

What have I seen...?

Dahuang used to be one of the rare places without much Originium pollution, due to its unique geography, making it an important Yanese breadbasket since antiquity.

But thanks to the hard work of the Agricultural Tianshis, arable land area is growing year after year.

Construction has begun on defenses against potential Catastrophes.

Currently, the city has sixteen large plates, some sixty or so small plates, seven hundred and thirty Tianshis, and a population exceeding fifty thousand.

Despite its remote location, the people are content and hardworking...

Is that all?

Just some insignificant details.

Insignificant, eh?

What about you? Did you find any sights that you couldn't have seen with the Grandmaster?

Well... for example...

The couple next door had a big fight after dinner last night.

The husband had gone on a journey last month and found the other cities to be much more interesting. He wanted to move away.

I saw the pair of fowlbeasts that make their nest in that tree outside taking turns to hunt and sit on their eggs. The eggs should hatch any day now.

I also saw the strange sight that was Tianshis of all vocations coming together to fret, even cry their hearts out before Shennong's statue...

The strangest scene I saw, however, was that of a few animals making a fool of a young kung fu master.

Er...

Did you find the stockbeast?

When did you...?

Many years ago, the Grandmaster instructed me in the moves of all the various schools of kung fu and had me record the clashes with experts from those myriad schools. But my innate condition prevents me from studying the martial arts.

I said you must be exhausted, working in the fields by day and practicing kung fu by night. I envy you, as a matter of fact.

...I'm sorry.

Even so, the Grandmaster allowed me to follow him, allowed someone who could not study kung fu to watch you do so.

He didn't tell me what I was supposed to learn, only that I should pay attention to detail and accuracy. I recorded and studied according to his instructions.

Then I began to realize that kung fu isn't just about moves. The Grandmaster's philosophies on the fist are also philosophies on life, and every action or lack thereof corresponds to the natural laws of wax and wane.

This wisdom amazed me even further, focusing on the infinite mysteries of kung fu. Where do you even start?

The Sui Regulator's kung fu is not just for self-defense, but also to suppress the enemy and protect the innocent.

I don't think one should draw too many conclusions about it. It's just a skill.

Right. I later realized that it wasn't so complicated. Kung fu is just kung fu, no more, no less.

I didn't learn this through study of the martial arts. I learned this wisdom from everyday life as I grew older and wiser, correlating it with kung fu.

Wisdom isn't about one thing. It's about everything.

Everything.

The Grandmaster wrote in the <i>Book of Arms</i>, 'See the other through the self; remain upright and wait for the proper time.'

What he means is that one must ensure that one's posture is upright and firm, then seek the opportunity for victory.

No matter the situation, one must remain composed, unaffected by outside matters...

Eek!

What's that? You look like you saw a ghost.

There you are, Candlestick! So you were with Inkbrush. I was looking for you all day!

Rice Experiment Area A: Soil Originium activity was twenty percent during the growing period. Total production was approximately three hundred and twenty catties.

Experiment Area B: Twenty-three percent Originium activity, one hundred and fifty catties' production; Experiment Area C: Twenty-five percent Originium activity, almost zero crop survival...

Negligible change from last season's data, or the season before. The same goes for the other crop experiment areas.

I see.