act31side

So this is what heaven looks like to those insignificant souls.

For the first time, I walked out of the chaos and void into these vast lands.

Where did I come from, and where am I going?

I still carry memories of that enormous body, and I seem to have some kind of divine power as well as a lifespan that far exceeds those of the masses I see before me.

But like a confused child, I followed the people I saw and imitated what they did.

After a great length of time, I met two teachers.

There is a barren swath of land in the northern reaches of Yan.

I'm trying to reclaim and farm the uncultivated fields there with the locals. It's fun to watch crop after crop grow out of the soil. If you don't know where to go, why don't you come give us a hand?

What is the place like?

Hm... It's much colder than the towns here. Plus, those things from beyond the door are a bit dangerous.

But you wanted to find out what 'man' is like. It might just be the perfect place for you.

You'll have all the time you need to find your answer.

That was when I found out for the first time that there was such a concept as 'comradery' between living beings.

Maybe this is why they were able to defeat those enormous beings?

How strange. It was hailing furiously last night, but the crops are all fine.

Maybe luck is on our side? Maybe Heaven saw how hard we worked the fields and decided to have mercy?

Ji, this is your doing, isn't it?

I simply thought it would be a shame for a hail to destroy the hard work and effort that everyone put in over the last six months...

Everything in this world lands moves according to its own set of rules. When a season's harvest is ruined, you can bury it to fertilize the soil and help the next year's crops grow even better.

You saved this field's harvest this season, but how many fields are there like this one in Yan? How many mouths are there to feed at the mercy of Heaven?

You did this out of the kindness of your heart, but mankind needs to learn to survive on these lands by itself.

Will you leave one day, too?

Of course.

But this swath of land will be here forever. Life will exist forever.

Everything under Heaven has its own position.

But we live between Heaven and earth, like rootless trees, destined to drift about.

No cause and no effect. No beginning and no end.

Where should we return?

Times change...

You're a merchant here for grain, you say?

There are droughts everywhere this year. I heard the granaries in the north have a surplus, so I'm here to purchase grain to resell where the situation is more dire.

Heaven and her rainstorms show no mercy. The farmers have it hard.

A famine year's not necessarily a bad thing for farmers, though.

You speak nonsense, my good gentleman. How could a famine be a good thing for the farmers?

Simple wisdom. The more severe the famine, the more their harvests earn them.

Compare five hundred catties at one wen per catty to a hundred catties at ten wen per catty. Even a three-year-old can calculate which is the better deal, from a seller's perspective.

I've lived here ever since I was a child. The only way I know to use food is to feed the masses and save lives.

To think such wisdom existed in the lands outside.

You haven't seen what it's like outside Dahuang. Not everyone is a Xian that can see only the abyss but not the water that fills it. If all one does is guard these plots, how is he or she meant to understand all the wisdom under Heaven?

Young man, my caravan needs someone to help manage our affairs. Might you be interested in coming with us to the lands outside?

Get me a room.

Per the old rules, the cargo goes in the warehouse. You pay first, then you get your room.

You said you wanted to get in the tea business because of all the tea farms sprouting up around Shangshu over the last two years. How come you bought out these inns instead?

How much do you reckon a truckload of 'Shangshu Greens' can earn when transported from here to Baizao, and how much in tariffs will the court take?

If the journey to Baizao is uneventful, a twenty-percent profit would be a fairly good return to me.

Now how much do you reckon I can make here with all the tea merchants coming and going, even the ones unwilling to pay their taxes?

When you put it that way, certainly you are in a more lucrative business.

But I also noticed that you withheld some of the cargo for the mandarins?

Now that is my other line of business.

The people working in the government need something to show, too.

Are you not afraid of the mandarins looking for trouble or the tea merchants turning against you?

That wouldn't be a very good bargain to them.

Without me, the tea merchants would have to pay their fair share in taxes or take the risk to find another route.

Without me, the government would have to spend a hefty sum to get their hands on tips about smugglers. Or, say the merchants ended up revolting. How much would it cost to quell this revolt?

A win for all three parties. Indeed, an unusually lucrative line of business.

We've been in Shangshu for long enough. I'm starting to grow tired of the cuisine here. Let's hand the business off and head east.

East? What kind of business awaits us there? Mining? Grain transport?

Whatever earns us money, that's what we'll do... This time, I mainly want to go home to have a look around.

You asked me before if there exists a wisdom that stands true everywhere.

All under Heaven live for profit, and die for profit.

Be it law and morality, faith and honor, there is nothing under Heaven that cannot be accounted for in a ledger.

Thank you for that.

That is indeed what I saw.

I am starting to understand.

My dear sister, I've settled an account.

All these years, each of us have lived lives across Yan and recorded our own gains and losses on our respective ledgers.

Dage found his own path, but he found himself an outlier in this mortal realm, a place in which he cannot love, hate, or even let go. A loss.

Ling has lived a carefree life. This realm cannot bind her. She finds her own joy. A profit.

And our younger sisters. Not necessarily incisive, but they have little that troubles them. They are breaking even.

As for Erge, our second-eldest brother... Well, Jie is dead. No matter how you slice it, a tremendous loss.

Our family has been under the Yanese thumb for over a millennium. I truly cannot see how we are gaining anything from this transaction.

Most important... is you, my dear sister.

Has the question of profit really never crossed your mind?

A substitute?

Yes.

I place my bet on a conclusion. For revenge, and for us.

How... is it even possible?

One-twelfth is no match for the whole.

What are your chances... How confident are you?

I've worked this out over a long time...

There are nineteen lines on a weiqi board, both horizontal and vertical. All the moves one could make have already been calculated. The white player is compensated seven-and-a-half points, giving black less than half a winning chance.

Truly, a most difficult task on my own.

That is why I need your help.

If I were to tell you there remains a shred of hope and that this is the one and only way...

Would you be willing to put your wealth and life on the line?

You catch up fast.

Perhaps it's time to give an explanation for your actions.

What form of explanation would you like, Lord Zuo?

You roused demons to lay harm to the citizenry, seized the country's fortifications, and even plotted against the other proxies.

Given your actions, your crimes are far worse than Wang's.

I may have some objections to your charges, but what would you like to do here?

Hand over the cloth, and return to the capital under Sui Regulator supervision.

And what will I get in return?

A chance at a fair trial.

A shame that it is not a price I am willing to pay.

You would make an enemy of Yan?

If I would, what could you possibly do?

Zuo Le takes a step forward and unsheathes his blade.

Is it really so much fun to pick on mortals?

It's you—?