HS-9 Reap the Consequence

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

...

Is it really so much fun to pick on mortals?

It's you—?

Not bad, kid. You managed to tail him all the way here. Gotta hand it to you.

But this is a family matter. You Sui Regulator folks will have to give us some personal space.

You escaped the heart. You are moving faster than I anticipated. Seems my little sisters have grown up.

Don't talk like we're all getting along.

What do you think this is, a test? And here I thought you were actually trying to off us.

Don't be ridiculous.

So you've been laying low all these years to weave this cloth.

Making clothes out of Yan's splendor Not bad.

He needs this before he goes to see It.

Having travelled all around Yan, I thought it a shame when I finally decided to weave Dahuang into it.

So you two are in on this together—

And he's finished preparing already...?

I should've figured. You get along with the weiqi failure the best.

Don't act like you don't know what taking your cloth out of this place means.

This is a straight-up declaration of war against Yan.

And?

You're Sange, my third brother. And truth be told, out of all my older siblings, you're one of the ones I like best. I always feel like the two of us crank out some pretty sick ideas.

Remember how I helped you sell fakes of Dusk's paintings that one time?

You what?!

But I'm sorry, this is way overdoing it, even for me.

A shame.

From the looks of it, you're not on my side either, Dusk?

In your dreams.

It's been a few centuries since we've had a family reunion with more than three of us. To think that the first thing we'd be doing is fighting among ourselves, just like all those years ago.

What's the deal? Reminiscing on old times?

If we can talk this out peacefully, I would rather us not come to blows.

How could I possibly raise a hand against my little sisters?

Drop the big talk already. It's two against one. The odds are stacked against you.

Well, we'll just have to see how it all turns out, then.

This time, not even the army of that great wild hunt years ago could stop me.

Poor thing.

Hardship strikes at will. Such occurrences are common.

If the wheat dies in this freeze, how many people will perish next year?

A great many.

But there will also be many who come to their aid, and a lot of them will survive.

Life itself will not cease.

Nian, let's wrap it up.

It took a considerable amount of effort to build this heart for you. It would be a terrible shame to see it torn apart in this conflict.

You aren't in a position to be making small talk yourself. I nearly took your head off with that firecracker blast just now.

Where'd all that destructive might of yours go? Why don't you make a massive pair of scissors and cut his little fabrications to bits?

You put some effort into it too! He's about to turn your painting into papercraft!

Oh, it's my fault now?

Cut me some slack here, he just turned that big ol' firecracker I built into a pile of threads. Has he always been able to do stuff like that?

Didn't think he'd ever have the will to work on his powers over the years.

But the question is, why does he seem to have such a good grasp of what our powers are...?

Hold on, is it really just one guy we're up against?

Time's almost up...

I truly would like to stick around to chat more, as rare as our reunions are. However, the unfortunate reality is that I am short on time, and must bid you farewell.

I really wish I didn't have to use this. The next time we meet, I will have to make amends.

If we meet again, that is...

To think you'd strike down your own sister. What a disgrace.

Shu?

I didn't think you'd just go and disappear altogether, but... Are you alright?

I sincerely hope you weren't just trying to scare us on purpose...

Think of it as a much-needed rest. Sorry for worrying you.

And here I was wanting to see my little brother again, lo and behold the scene I come back to. Does he really not see this place as home anymore?

...My dear sister.

I know that look. That's the look on your face whenever you've done something wrong.

How long has it been?

...Sixty-seven years.

Then, you'll have to stay for dinner. If you have anything to say, you can say it at the table.

I'm sorry, my dear sister. I can't listen to you this time.

So, you're taking orders from someone else now, huh...?

The one who's been behind the curtain this whole time. How much longer does he plan to stay hidden?

Whatever it is, wouldn't it be better to tell me face-to-face?

You finally decide to show yourself.

There's a whole crowd... What a lively gathering.

You all... are still inclined to such excitement?

—!

Wait, didn't he go insane?

The atmosphere of our little reunion isn't quite what I expected...

What happens in the movies when a relative on the most-wanted list suddenly shows up at your doorstep?

Is he actually the real deal, or just a shadow?

Any shenanigans the weiqi failure tried to pull wouldn't surprise me at this point. It'd be a big deal if he pulled another Sui-Xiang out of his ass though...

So, what's the plan, Shu? Are we fighting?

...

Shangshu, Yumen, and now here... Don't you think you've gone too far?

Small sacrifices for the greater good, each unto their own. Nothing more, nothing less.

Look at all the devastated fields out there, and all the suffering people... I can't forgive you for talking like that.

Upon careful consideration, there still remain two lines of inquiry regarding who owes this debt.

Then, you stay here so we can tally it up.

This account has been accumulating debt for over a thousand years.

You haven't been here in a long time.

There are things I must do... There is a battlefield to the north. When the troops assemble, I must stand on the front lines.

'Bleached bones exposed in the wilds, where fowls sing not for a thousand li.'

After a thousand years of war, in the end, it is still the commoners in the fields who suffer.

You care about them a great deal.

The people you take so lightly are actually our teachers, in the truest sense. We take after their form, find things that interest us, and only then do we find our place in the world.

We have nothing in common with them. Not a single thing.

What is so different about us?

Feranmuts may have lives spanning tens of thousands of years, while mayflies die as quickly as they live. But in the end, we are all lives born under Heaven. Everything that has a beginning must also have an end.

Warfare and slaughter. Why exactly did you choose this path? What value do you see in it?

Law and order.

I recently learned a game, weiqi. The rules are simple, but the underlying principles are quite similar to the art of war.

It has demonstrated to me a singular wisdom: as chaotic and disorderly as things may appear, master the rules, and the final outcome will fall into place.

The final outcome that we've all been so keenly focused on.

...

This dead silence... This is the outcome that you see.

Not just for us, but for all things living in these lands.

How ironic. If death is the effect, then does that not make life itself the cause?

Do you never get tired of standing watch here?

Everything in existence is worthy of being cherished, just as it is now.

All things have their time. People, beasts, mountains, water, grass, trees. They are all alike in this regard. That is the Dao the people speak of.

The grass becomes lush and green every spring. We have come, and we have existed. Is that not enough?

So, you've resigned yourself to this end.

That's not what you really think.

I was simply wondering...

Have we ever lived as our true selves?

Wait, don't tell me you...?

I've been contemplating this for a long time... Calculating.

Finally... I have seen another outcome.

I know you can see it, Shu.

Can you read my palm for me?

'Endless solitude; kalpas blurred, death nigh inexorable.'

I'm very much looking forward to that... I shall be waiting.

...Were you able to see her again?

You know that wouldn't be possible.

I often find myself thinking of her.

She said that 'education is the great equalizer' and wished for every person to be able to read and write... All those schools and books are her legacy.

In that regard, you are quite similar.

But, these last few years, I've forgotten many things... including her.

About the books she wrote, and the meaning held by a true name in one lone word...

I can clearly recall that she once played a game with me. She wanted to tell me something during that game, but I've already forgotten what it was.

...

I thought...

Yes... Even we cannot escape this influence.

You have regrets.

I want to find a remedy...

A hundred and eighty-one fragments. Everyone thought... you had lost your mind.

Perhaps...

What do you intend to do?

I wish to return to that husk. I require Its power.

I will slay It. And then I shall become It.

And using Its power, I will plot a 'great windfall' for all beings in this realm.

It'll cost you your life.

But the rest of you will live. And truly be yourselves...

Shu, lend me a portion of your power.

The twelve of us, with each additional portion of strength comes another chance at victory.

This must be your answer.

You reap what you sow.

If you haven't veered off the path and really are heading towards our end, then these seeds will germinate at the right time and bear the fruit you desire.

You will have conditions for me as well.

We can't let you keep creating problems for us.

Hah...

And so concludes the discussions concerning my affairs. If there's anything else, you should speak.

...

You've really grown up, huh? Ready to fly the nest?

I'm a thousand years old... my dear sister.

I can't stop you.

We had a big argument the last time I left. Could you leave me something to remember you by, this time?

You've already woven all of Dahuang into that brocade of yours. What else do you want to take from me?

If you have a bit of remorse in there, you'd better come back alive.

Fair enough...

Dusk, can I ask one last thing from you?

What?

That painting... Can you give it to me up front?

How did you–

...

I will take good care of it.

And with that, consider our account settled.

Who said you could go?

You again...

The second Sui brother! Ni ya ting de! I knew you were behind this!

Do you have nothing better to do? Done hiding out in your ruined temple playing your shitty game of weiqi, and now you have to come to my turf to ruin everything?

Look at the mess you've all made with your little spat here, and all the crops you've destroyed! See if I won't beat your ass right here and now!

Watch out!

...

Originium Arts that can reverse decomposition? When did you learn how to...? No, that's not it... This is causality?

Hah... Let's see how many more seeds you have left to withstand my flames!

Tianshi... This might not be the best time to launch your attack.

The Chamber of Heaven's Designs has suffered grave losses. Any more wrong moves, and Great Yan's entire northern defensive line may be imperiled.

It is more than just the demonic taint that has eyes on Yan's northern border, right?

Stop trying to scare people! I swear, I'm gonna teach you a lesson if it's the last thing I do!

Then, do you not care at all about the other long-lived among you?

You little...

Ahh... You feign lunacy to protect your mind from demonic contamination, but you've not forgotten your true purpose at all.

Weigh the pros and the cons. Surely there's no reason we shouldn't be able to come to some accord.

Until we meet again.

Is it... over...?

Yes, it's all over now.

You were willing to throw away your life for this project. Why?

...To become renowned for such a grand accomplishment.

And then what?

I have a dream...

Cities interconnected for ten thousand li, stretching to the palace of Heaven; no longer would anyone across this great land want for shelter from wind and rain.

What is the point of being a Tianshi without any accomplishments to his name...?

Must you stand head and shoulders above the rest in order to lay the bricks of the city of your dreams?

...

Are you... one of the Heavenly Xians?

I'll trade your life for your dream.

(Shallow breathing)

The Skybound White Jade Capital, of Twelve Pagodas and Five Cities... The Xian strokes my head, knots my hair, and grants eternal life...

You're awake?

Where am I...?

Don't worry, the monsters are gone.

You saved me...?

I wouldn't say that.

You were lying unconscious on the ground when I found you, so I went over to try to wake you up.

...Duoxie.

You're the Old Xiangzhang of Dahuang, but the responsibility does not fall solely on your shoulders.

It might not necessarily be a good deal to exchange your life for the safety and stability of this place.

That's my choice to make... What matters is that Dahuang is safe.

You care a lot about this place.

Of course I care. I've spent most of my life here, and my roots run deep...

Mmhmm.

Take care of yourself. I'm off.

Goodbye, Shu.

You deserve your freedom.

The incubator, the incubator...

The rice plant can still be saved... There's still hope for the experiment...

Here you are...

I've found it!

Found what?

This is the one rice plant... the one that survived the 'Wanqing' project's experimental plot.

It isn't impossible to grow crops on Originium-contaminated soil. Laoshi's experiments proved it––

Wait...

You're...

...

Judging from your clothes, are you a Shouye Tianshi from the Bureau? I don't think I've seen you before...

...

Yes... I haven't been here very long.

I'm an apprentice of the Tianshi Bureau, called He Sheng. I guess I ought to call you Laoshi now too.

Hello, He Sheng...

I just discovered a very important crop... one that can grow on soil contaminated by Originium...

This has been a long-term project. As long as this crop can be widely distributed, we'll be able to reclaim tons of wasteland into usable farmland, and nobody will go hungry ever again...

It might take a while to reach that goal, maybe even a really long time, but at least, there's a glimmer of hope now.

In that case, are you willing to devote the rest of your time to that goal?

Yeah!

I wish you luck.

Do your best. I won't keep you from your research any longer. Zai gin.

Huh? You're leaving already? I was hoping to tell you a bit more about the project, and maybe get a few pointers...

That's alright. I trust that you'll be able to accomplish your goals.

Zai gin.

Hmm...?

That teacher... Why does it seem like I've seen her somewhere before?

Off to deliver the goods, Laobo?

How are food prices this year?

Famine year. Each catty of grain is three wen more expensive than last year.

I suppose when everything's accounted for, your coin sack's a bit heavier than it was last year?

That's not necessarily a good thing.

Farming's all about putting food on people's tables. Never heard of farming to get rich.

Let me teach you a method to make a little extra money. Just keep it in the back of your mind when you're selling your goods.

Sell your highest-quality crops locally at a normal price to increase your reputation; for your average-quality stuff, mark up the price and hire a caravan to ship it far away as a novelty product.

What are you going on about? Never anything so silly.

The best crops are for family and friends first. You sell the average-quality stuff, and then use the rest as feed.

You youngsters have way too many sly tricks.

...

Where're you planning to go?

Baizao.

After making that much trouble, you just up and leave without saying anything?

It is time to leave. Though, I also don't have Dage's martial skill. If you won't let me go, then naturally, I won't be able to leave.

So, it depends on you. How unwilling are you to let me leave?

I just wanted to ask you a question.

You said you were gonna make a deal with Yan. Were you planning to help build Dahuang up from the very beginning?

I am a merchant, and when doing business, I value mutual profit and reciprocity. If only one side profits, how would I be any different from a robber?

If you didn't want to make an enemy out of all Yan, why did you need to do all this?

Did you two brothers really have to pick a fight with Yan?

Our sister was killed, after all.

...

That said, the people of Yan harbor no animus towards us. Even if Erge sees the world as nothing more than a weiqi board, a weiqi player naturally feels some sentiment towards the pieces and equipment he's used for a long time.

However, those sitting in the court, lurking in the shadows, must pay the price for what they've done.

This account... must be settled eventually.

Even if your own life is on the line?

Using a twelfth to combat the whole was already a fool's errand.

My life has already been assigned a price upon the ledger.

You really have lost it...

I still remember, a long time ago, you came to visit all of us, one by one, posing a question to each and pointing the way.

'What do you see in the lands of Great Yan?'

My answer has never changed, and I imagine the same is true for Erge.

Wo pei! Never cared for either of you bastards from the very beginning. There's no talking wisdom with you. And when the time is right, I'm still coming to beat your asses.

My brother used to have quite the temper. Whenever he'd lose a game, he'd start throwing cups and bowls around. But weak as he was, there was never any strength behind it.

This time, he went a bit overboard, so thank you for stepping in.

Gun kai! Get outta here already!

...

Until we meet again.