Jieyun

[Code Name] Jieyun

[Gender] Female

[Combat Experience] 2 Years

[Place of Birth] Yan

[Date of Birth] July 6

[Race] Anasa

[Height] 164cm

[Infection Status]

Confirmed Infected by medical examination.

[Physical Strength] Standard

[Mobility] Standard

[Physical Resilience] Standard

[Tactical Acumen] Normal

[Combat Skill] Excellent

[Originium Arts Assimilation] Standard

Jieyun, an Anasa girl living in the northwestern deserts of Yan, was introduced by Waai Fu to Rhodes Island's Great Yan branch for treatment, and simultaneously serves as a field operator.

Imaging tests show the indistinct outlines of internal organs, obscured by abnormal shadows. Originium granules detected in the circulatory system. The subject is confirmed to be infected with Oripathy.

[Cell-Originium Assimilation] 9%

Small distribution of Originium crystals on the left shoulder.

[Blood Originium-Crystal Density] 0.23u/L

Operator Jieyun's condition is stable and still under control.

Pouches of various shapes and sizes can always be found hanging around Jieyun's waist, most of which contain an assortment of tools needed to survive in the wilderness, while others contain things that might leave people bewildered. Heavy pebbles, shriveled petals and leaves, hairs shed by animals... These seemingly worthless things have always been among Jieyun's prized possessions. When people ask where they came from, she can always detail when, where, and why she obtained them.

When she was young, she and her tribe lived a nomadic life in the barrens. Everything had to be left behind except for the bare necessities. It wasn't until she met her master and experienced a completely different life of stability that she began to adopt a new outlook. Perhaps out of nostalgia, perhaps as a form of commemoration, whenever she leaves a place behind, she will always pick out a few small things close to her and stow them away.

Once, an operator who was acquainted with Jieyun, after learning about her habit, brought gift a back while returning from a mission, in hopes of sprucing up her collection, but this gesture was politely declined by Jieyun.

'The things I bring with me, even the tiniest feather, all need to be carefully selected.

'A gift, no matter how small, no matter how insignificant, may form a monumental connection with people.

'And these connections... are terrifying.

'After leaving my hometown, I've met a lot of people. Every time they go to a new place, they'll decorate it with all sorts of items. But when it's time to move out, it's always difficult and painful to let go.'

'I think these items represent their roots, firmly holding down the place they call 'home,' which makes it difficult for them to leave.'

'C-C-Can you imagine that?! When the tribesman ran into an Originium dust storm in the barrens, there were already some among them who were enlightened!' ––Jieyun didn't clearly explain what she meant by this: instead of escaping, they embraced the land and truly 'felt' the storm in its entirety, even if they lost their lives as a result. Because in their eyes... 'everything happens for a reason.'

'You might be thinking, 'what a strange form of devotion,' right? Broadly speaking, in the Anasa worldview, Oripathy is not a disease, but rather a conduit to feel the emotions of heaven and earth. Crystals grow on the surface of the body, and the pain in the affected areas is unbearable, just as Catastrophes leave scars across the land's surface.

'Therefore, whenever a patient suffers from Oripathy, the tribe does not reject him, but instead helps him sit down by the campfire, holds his hands tightly, and listens carefully to his pained whimpers as they dissipate into the air. This way, it is as if he can share all the pain he is going through in that moment, and feel the wild emotions of the earth coursing through him.'

'What's with that look on your face?'

'Let me get this straight. I asked you to talk to Jieyun about her diagnosis and Oripathy treatment plan, and you just ended up listening to her stories?'

'And it was a truly incredible story, thank you very much. But you know how she is too, if you say she made the whole thing up, that only makes it more incredible!'

'That's not what I'm trying to say. I've also heard about Anasa mythology, but it makes me a bit concerned. With such a worldview in mind, what will she think about our diagnosis and treatment plan?'

'She agreed to them.'

'Huh?'

'I had a little debate with her... Although she doesn't think it's necessary to treat Oripathy, it's also not necessary for her to die, right? Look at it this way—I didn't manage to convince her, but she is at least willing to cooperate so we don't look bad.'

'Legend has it that long ago, there once was a patriarch of the Anasa tribe who wished not for his people to live in the dangerous, dark night. So, he passed the position of patriarch to his son and went east alone, hoping to find a place where the sun never sets. But after a long journey, he failed to find this place. Every evening, he could only watch as the sun dipped beneath the horizon. Finally one day, exhausted and hungry, he collapsed on the ground and started to cry helplessly.'

Suddenly, in his tearful eyes, he saw the sun and the moon exchange positions in the sky. In the golden firmament, the moon was in the east, and the sun in the west. In the middle of the desert was a conjoined flower, one side in bloom and the other decaying.

Suddenly, the patriarch understood that day and night are actually two sides of the same coin. The world basks in the splendor of day, but also must endure the cold solitude of night. Finally, during sunrise one day, the patriarch returned to his tribe, embraced his wife and children fiercely. Never again would he grapple with the coming of night, instead choosing to cherish the fleeting light of day.'

After dinner one day, the operators were chatting about stories from their hometown, and Jieyun shared a legend she once heard from her tribe. Though the story sounded nonsensical, it still piqued my curiosity about the Anasa.

After some investigation, I inferred that the origins of the Anasa trace back to a Sarkaz tribe that traveled east. Due to a Catastrophe separating them from their group, they stayed behind in a desert to Yan's northwest. As the cogs of history turned, the Sarkaz that wandered here changed their name to Anasa, became a part of Yan along with this stretch of barrenlands, and were unintentionally integrated into Yanese society. However, they remained extremely wary and chose to keep their distance from the nomadic cities, instead sticking to their traditions and continuing to linger in the wilderness, living a nomadic lifestyle.

I suspect that the Anasa tribe's long-term diaspora and migration was pivotal in shaping their unique ideology. For them, this vast desert is the entire world. Though everything eventually disappears, the soul persists immortal, re-entering the Great Cycle and returning to this land in another form. That is why birth and old age, health and sickness, survival and death, are all parts of the movements of heaven and earth. Rather than focusing on the misfortunes that are bound to happen in the future, they pay more heed to what unfolds right in front of them...

––Excerpts from the notes of a folklore-loving Operator. There are still many blank spaces on the pages titled 'Anasa.'

While speaking with Jieyun, the term 'Shifu' can often be heard from her lips. From her words full of reminiscence and longing, she paints a clear and vivid image of a chilvarous woman with fine lines at the corners of her eyes and a hearty smile.

Many years ago, this heroine encountered Jieyun's tribe after setting out from Yumen. At that time, a deadly Catastrophe was about to befall the tribe, and the heroine could not sit by idly and watch disaster strike. Enduring pain and illness, she tried every means possible to lead the entire tribe away from the Catastrophe, after which she stayed with the tribe, helping them find another place with clean water and fertile soil in which they could recuperate, and teaching them everything she had learned.

Among the children of the tribe, Jieyun exhibited the most talent, as well as the most down-to-earth and diligent attitude, therefore becoming the only semblance of an heir to the heroine's martial arts. Additionally, her innocent and frank disposition perfectly complemented the heroine's temper, and the latter would favor Jieyun over the other children of the tribe. But around that same time, the heroine's condition took a turn for the worse and time was running out. She did not want Jieyun to miss her in the future, and had refused to take her in prior to that point. But before she passed on, the heroine finally gave in and allowed Jieyun to become her disciple.

During the long hours she spent with the heroine, Jieyun heard much about her past in Yumen and her free, unrestrained lifestyle, perfectly encapsulating the world of martial arts that Jieyun had always envisioned. Because of the agreement she made with the heroine, Jieyun was able to come to Yumen to personally relive the experiences and knowledge of the heroine piece by piece. This trip completely uprooted many of Jieyun's inherent ideologies and sowed the seeds of many other inexpressible things in her heart, making her unable to wander freely as before.

'Everyone always says I'm just like Shifu, with a straightforward temperament that flows freely.'

She plays with the dried grass in her hand and ties it into a knot.

'But, she never saw it that way. Whenever I mentioned it to her, she would only smile and shake her head, then stop talking.'

She smooths over the burrs in the straws and begins to weave something with her ten fingers. Soon, the weaving in her hands starts to take shape.

'Later... I found out Shifu told Grandmother that I was very different from her, as well as from the others in the tribe.

'Whenever anything happens, I actually have the hardest time letting go.'

Finally, she stops and puts the craft into your hands.

It is a small bug made from grass.

'But, I think that all those lingering obsessions that can't be walked around or scattered into the wind... all weave together to form what they are today.'