Arknights story · First of A Thousand Autumns
TA-10 Capping the Sui
Zuo Le brings the truth to the city, and the Lord Exorcist regains command. However, the order to fire upon the Tomb of Sui has already been issued. In the depths of the Tomb, Wang grasps a record of a game Jie left behind. Finally, he meets the one who plays White from the shadows.
2 scenes, 551 lines
1. Before Operation
229 linesThe sand blots out the sun.
Zuo Le crouches within Yumen's shadow, looking out at the Wind Aegis, the sand sluices, the distinct silhouette of the cannons...
The entire city slowly rumbles towards the Tomb of Sui.
Yumen really did receive marching orders.
But... why would His Majesty order an attack on Sui before It has awakened?
After this moment of hesitation, Yumen is almost right on top of the crouching Candleholder.
Soon, there will be no more room for him to move forward. There are only the city walls, jutting up perpendicularly from the ground.
You wish to leave via the sand sluices? Have you perfected your qinggong yet? Not to mention, once you head out...
...Never mind. You will see for yourself.
Do not think that your fall will excuse you from punishment. It would be one thing if you caused this trouble on your own, but you dragged Qingping into it!
General, it was just because Zuo Le—
Do not make excuses for him.
He should have thought of how to come back up before he jumped down! All that bravery, but all he knows is how to fight, fight, fight, and how to make others nearly die of worry!
...
Back to your place, and once your wounds have healed somewhat, come and receive your punishment.
The city walls are only ten-some meters away from Zuo Le.
And so he takes a great leap forward, the qinggong others praise him so much for is now the only thing he can rely on.
Though the sand sluices have not started up, the Wind Aegis has been fully erected, its smooth walls nearly impossible to find purchase on. A single slip would mean a horrible death.
Halfway up, and there are still battlements he can use to support himself. But to go further would be as strapping thousands of catties to himself.
Faster...
As he passes through the yellow sand, the young man sees the figures of soldiers manning the walls.
Many of them seem to have already forgotten just how long they have stood atop these ramparts.
However, with the sudden blast of a horn, they have now been tasked with spending the rest of their lives on this new hunt.
Faster!
The higher he climbs, the clearer his thinking becomes, the steadier his steps.
Even so, the final stretch of the walls is no stroll down a garden path.
Still fifteen kilometers from the Tomb, can't see anything about Sui's movements from here.
Still no news from the Sui Regulator... Did the higher-ups really give the order to open fire?
—No, I would never! Yes! Understood!
...
Who—
My apologies.
...!
Don't move.
Help! There's a spy—
This area's long evacuated. Shout all you like.
How would you know? What're you up to?
I am an imperial envoy. I have come to investigate why Yumen is taking action without permission.
An imperial envoy? Didn't they already come by earlier? You think you can pretend to be one of them while sneaking around?
(Already came by earlier?)
Of course I am an envoy of the court. Don't you recognize these clothes?
Beastshit you are! Those are nothing like the clothes they wore! They had proper court mandarin uniforms on!
...The Ministry of War.
How do you know that?
Not long after the Ministry of War's envoys came to Yumen, the order to deploy was passed down, correct?
Has General Zuo made a public appearance since then? Before any great battle, he would always personally beat the watchtower drum to inspire morale.
...Are you really from the court?
Of course I am.
These marching orders did seem really strange, but... if it wasn't General Zuo, then who could have issued them?
...I see.
I've already untied your wrists. Returning to the tower now will most likely raise suspicion, so I suggest you wait here a while. Goodbye.
The soldier rubs his eyes with his numb hands, wondering why the young man, leaping away with his qinggong, seemed somewhat familiar.
...Father.
Zuo Le?! How did you get into the city?!
I climbed up through the sand sluices—No, that's not important right now...
I am just glad you are safe...
Where are the men from the Ministry of War, Father?
You... Why are you trying to find them?
The orders to march upon the Tomb of Sui and fire at it, if they were not your orders, then they must be theirs, correct?
Otherwise, why would you be here alone, like you are under house arrest?
Silence! Do not presume to comment on military affairs—
Father! The Grand Commandant is doing all this because he has decided to overstep His Majesty! He is vainly trying to fire on the Tomb to start a war!
The Grand Commandant has formed a cabal, and will sit and watch as Baizao is overrun by scriptgeists, in collusion with the Supervisor of the Sui Regulator.
Not only that, but he tried to seize the proxy's artifact within the Sky Mirror Pavilion, and also force Chief Executive Wei of Lungmen to attack Sui using some secret technique. None of these plans worked, which is why he commanded Yumen to fire upon the Tomb.
His Majesty never gave such an order! The ones given to Yumen to move and fire are false! Do not be deceived, Father!
He did all these things to wage war upon Sui...?
Surely you believe me, Father.
...Yes. How could I not?
But know this: the Tomb lies in front of Yumen, and Baizao behind it. No matter what orders are given, the city must not fall into disarray!
Those above want to advance, those below want to observe. When these two forces clash, they will cause panic in the city. If Sui truly were to awaken, the soldiers of Yumen will be decimated!
But these soldiers, do they know they fight for the Grand Commandant's false orders, and not the will of Yan?
Before a march, their general usually pounds the drum atop the walls to inspire morale. Have you done so, General Zuo?
...
Without this encouragement from their commander, the men's spirits have not been lifted. On the contrary, they are confused. Are they truly braving Sui's claws to protect Baizao?
Or are they the inevitable first sacrifices at the altar for the belligerent Yan the Grand Commandant envisions?
Zuo Le—
Father, you are not only General Zuo of Yumen, but also the Lord Exorcist of Yan—
We just received reports of a suspicious individual infiltrating Yumen. It appears he stole into your residence.
What crimes should your son be charged for his trespass into military fortifications, General Zuo?
Just as Zuo Xuanliao is about to open his mouth to reply, Zuo Le steps forward, drawing the sword at his waist halfway.
I assume you heard all I said earlier, sir. Considering you can still say such things after that, you must be in league with the Grand Commandant.
You're talking nonsense, you insolent child!
Are you going to turn a blind eye to your son's disrespect, General Zuo?
Sir, I truly must wonder, why is the Grand Commandant is so eager to wage war against Sui?
Still questioning your orders even now, General?
With Terra in such turmoil, the entirety of the court unanimously passed the Twenty-Eight Policies. But outside those twenty-eight, there were two more hidden policies, the first of which is that the Sui menace must be eliminated!
If we do not eliminate It now, surely you do not mean to wait until our enemies from abroad are at the gates?!
I shall tell you the truth, General. It is not only the Grand Commandant who supports this policy! More than half the court mandarins do as well!
...And what does the Grand Tutor say? What does His Majesty say?
It is not your place to ask!
It is also a question I have been meaning to ask, sir.
Besides the Grand Commandant and the Ministry of War... The mandarins of the Six Ministries and His Majesty, do they know all the facts? Have they agreed to all this?
These are not matters you should concern yourself with, Zuo Xuanliao! You are merely a general!
So they do not know.
...
Soldiers must heed orders, and Yumen cannot be allowed to fall into chaos. Thus, I am willing to be patient, and watch as you replace me before battle is met...
But if what comes next is an age of strife, would your actions not be drawing Yan into panic, creating new conflict within?!
I may be a military man, but I am also the Lord Exorcist of Yan. Forgive me, but I cannot receive such arbitrary orders!
...You've put your own head on the chopping block. Guards, arrest this man!
It seems you really are all preparing to revolt.
Who goes there?!
I am Taihe, Monitor Censor of the Department of Discipline and Supervision. I happened to be here for rest and recuperation, and I must say, I did not expect to find the Ministry of War acting without authorization, causing unrest within Yumen.
You need not mind me. I will not interfere in your affairs.
But so long as I leave this room alive, do not believe the events that have taken place today can be treated like they never happened.
The Ministry of War's envoy and his men freeze in place.
...Enough.
Here and now, I am still the warden of Yumen. If the Grand Commandant wishes to court-martial me after the matter, then whether I am to be sacked, exiled or otherwise, I will submit.
But as for now, out of my way. I must go see my men.
Zuo Le fully draws his sword, shielding his father as the two of them walk out the room.
Those so-called envoys are now in detention, Father.
Good. Next—
Grave news, General! The city's communications systems... They've been severed!
What?!
It seems those Ministry men picked up where the wind was blowing before they barged into the meeting room, so they performed some sabotage. We're relying on runners right now.
The mobility layer still works fine, but there are artillery emplacements all across Yumen, and the order has already been passed down. The orders the men receive keep changing...
Begin repairs immediately, and do everything you can to stop the cannons from firing.
Yes, sir!
Taihe, relay my orders to the mobility layer.
It shall be done.
Zuo Le, I shall entrust the emplacements within the deepest regions of the city to you.
Yes, sir!
One more thing.
You've done well today.
...Damn these monsters! There's no end to them!
We can't... hold out much longer...
Another twenty-four hours passed, and the fighting continues at the defensive line against the geists in Baizao.
The strange geists are like an endless tide, wave after wave crashing against their defenses. Though they may be cut down, they always reappear, stronger than before.
There is no doubt. The force the defenders face now are the 'god-hunters' of days long past.
Keep your chins up! The battle is not yet over! This is no time to admit defeat!
The sword in her hand is bent, her armor slowly but steadily getting covered in a mass of scars.
His Majesty decrees—
All soldiers, whether Patrol Battalion, Yulin Guard, or otherwise, are to gradually withdraw from Baizao's core plate. Join with the troops stationed outside the city, and pull back defenses to a ten-kilometer perimeter around Baizao.
Pull back our defenses?! That's ridiculous! The Forbidden City is right behind us!
Don't tell me His Majesty is prepared to abandon even the core plate?
I double-checked, those really are His Majesty's orders!
Your Majesty...
Where are you right now?
After forty years, he steps into this secret chamber once more.
He still remembers the emotions he felt the first time he set foot in here—
Remorse, confusion, resentment, terror...
Forty years has been long enough to smooth them away, long enough to grind away at all feeling, aside from the one known as helplessness.
Forty years, passed in a flash.
If you are still unwilling to bow your head to Yan, then I alone shall bear your thousand years of rage.
The sin of disloyalty... I shall also stamp out alone.
This millennium of grudges and grievances shall end here. From now on, Yan will begin a new chapter in its history...
Why wait for Heaven to bless the nation? There is only... the triumph of man over nature.
The True Lung looks towards the blazing radiance before him, as if he can see a pair of giant, ancient eyes burning within, burning with a great fury.
All he waits for is the signal that Sui has fully awakened before he martyrs himself.
...
The heart-pounding, golden light has nearly faded away. All that remains is an afterglow that falls into Wang's palm.
Within that very instant, a flood of jumbled, shattered memories flows past his eyes. With all his might, he reaches in to grab hold of a fragment, a splinter, anything with a trace of her.
For a hundred-and-twenty years, she has never appeared in his dreams.
Finally, finally, he grasps onto something that survived—
A record of a game.
Not some legendary game handed down the ages, but rather, a casual game between brother and sister as they chatted.
He flips the record over, wanting to see what was written in that message she left behind that is missing from his memory...
He finally reads it.
You are a pessimistic one, brother, always thinking that the heart of humanity is unknowable, an unending flow of evil. Only through careful calculation and reasoning can it be understood.
I beg to differ. I believe humanity to be fundamentally good, evil deeds merely a covering of the heart. Thus, I believe there is no need to attempt to decipher it. Simply read the history books and learn the ways of the world, and you shall understand through analogy.
You knew I was lazing about, brother, which is why you came to give me a 'bored' written atop your board. Even before you placed your first stone with that blatant scowl on your face, I knew you had come to poke fun at me.
Both interpretation and analogy are fine. These split paths shall meet again, at a summary of the human heart. Of our family, only you and I walk this self-defeating road, always wanting to know the hearts of men.
Perhaps, when we both obtain the same answer...
The letter stops here.
The weiqi player stares at the exquisite handwriting for a long, long time, seemingly forgetting the life-and-death struggle he is currently locked in.
Split paths shall meet again.
Split paths. She is long gone.
But to meet again...?
The game nears its end.
How amusing. She was the first of you to raise the flag of rebellion against me.
I must admit, over these past thousand years, I truly did fear her growing power, even if only for a moment.
But her plan was defeated by her lack of cunning, defeated by the 'unknowable heart of humanity'.
What is even more preposterous is that she chose to give you a chance to live...
...She has never once been defeated.
Through her own force of will, she bought the rest of us the chance to live.
Because she believed that after her death... we would be able to surpass you...
Haha... Hahahaha...!
How pitiful!
Are you actually feeling... regret?
You came to do battle with me, so determined to die, but you could not even triumph over your own weakness.
Do you care for her?
...
Yes. I care for her.
I once thought I did not... I thought the outcome of our battle should be the only thing I cared for.
Until I learned something later on.
The hearts of men. You, a wild beast... will never understand.
And so... You are doomed to pay the price.
Enough!
So this is to be your final struggle... This is the result of all your careful planning and preparation for a hundred years, this amusement that you now present to me?
Things will not end any different from last time.
The only difference is that now, you are even weaker than before!
Or do you mean to say that, with her choice, killing me will be akin to killing her, which is why you have not the will to make even a single move?
Pitiful! Pathetic! Laughable!
But no matter... None of it matters.
We can wait here. There is time to wait.
Let us see which of your so-called siblings shall come charging in to die in your stead this time.
The haggard weiqi player slowly rises from in front of the board, only a few black stones left within his bowl.
His movements are slow and stiff, so stiff as to seem like he had been sat there, withering away for the last hundred-and-twenty years.
As you lay there, half-asleep, half-awake, you turned the void within your body into a puppet, causing all sorts of trouble these past few centuries.
You decided that puppet should walk in the dark, while we walked in the light. And so at first, he tottered as he learned to walk, then he secluded himself to gather his strength, and finally, he ran amok.
But you forgot...
When all is said and done, there is only one of him.
If I had stormed in alone to that game a hundred-and-twenty years ago, having forgotten how wide the board is, and how suffused it was with your might...
Then this time, it is his turn to have too much to do. He must cover all of Yan... and even lands beyond, dealing with black stone after black stone.
This time... Will you still be able to see through my stratagem?
Hah...
You tore yourself into a hundred-and-eighty-one pieces, nearly driving yourself to madness, and you believed this would be enough to fool me?
What of it?
'What of it'?
A gravely-wounded Feranmut, forced to sleep and recuperate, having to play a game with humanity while Its thoughts are trapped in unending nightmare...
Such depletion will cut away at the root of your life.
All your bluff and bluster cannot hide it from me. You are growing weak.
And what of it?!
All you have done is walk the same road the first to leave me walked, doing all you can to delay my awakening.
But do you truly believe you are awake?
By killing me in every memory, every fantasy, will you be able to throw off the shackles of dream?
How could the clash between he and It be limited to these confrontations?
Countless possibilities, countless imaginings, countless conclusions.
Even more things that have transcended cause and effect gently fall through the Tomb of Sui like snow. The proxy looks through each and every snowflake, seeing a game that leads to his death in all of them.
Enough.
Finally...
You finally wish to put down that ridiculous game and bare steel against me?
...
Haha, hahahaha.... Yes, good!
...This shall be my last bit of sport before I awake.
...
...Finally.
...
The one who chose White. My reflection in the mirror. Its nightmare.
How difficult it is to meet with you.
2. After Operation
322 linesUrkh—
Pathetic... Just as I expected. The exact same ending, once again.
You were not bad entertainment, by my standards.
But let us end it here... I must also thank you for this grand... gift you have given me.
With your strength, I shall be able to fully awaken, and devour the power of you twelve whole.
The strength you have gathered over the past thousand years shall be my nutrients, and I shall become strong, far, far stronger than I was a thousand years ago.
I shall become a true god! I shall rule over this land, and lead all those weak insects in breaking through the curtain separating us from the stars, stepping over the ultimate darkness!
With your combined strength... I shall see and obtain that future.
And you, as a part of me, may use my eyes to see it.
Foolish... dreamer...
...Why resist? You will be like that consciousness you call a 'younger sister', returning to where you should be, returning to the primal chaos you came from.
The dream you twelve have been stubbornly chasing after shall be realized within that chaos.
No need for hellish preparations. No need for wasteful schemes. No need for fragile freedom.
You will be me. You will be us.
A great, illogical terror intrudes upon the proxy's mind. His heartbeat quickens, as cold sweat drips down his brow. His body dearly wishes to leap away, but he cannot even swivel his eyeballs.
A blessing.
Split consciousnesses returning to the whole would be the cruelest of blessings.
Abandon your desire for hardship, abandon your worthless obsessions, abandon those duties you bear, abandon those clumsy emotions you learned from wretched humanity.
Abandon that which consumes you. Embrace that which nourishes you.
Suffering must be eliminated. You shall become a keepsake within my great consciousness, a futile... yet respectable memento of the past.
Suffering... eliminated?
Pain seeps down from his skin into his marrow. Terror spreads across his body from his backbone. What the proxy can see slowly begins to blur.
Close your eyes.
Yes, close them. You do not need your own, for my eyes are your eyes.
No need to hesitate... Have you not thought this from the very beginning?
The mortal realm does not seem as interesting as your siblings said it was—
...Hmph. Why is this rebellious heart of yours so hard to tame?
No matter. Simply yet another tangled consciousness to slowly digest.
From this thousand-year-long dream...
...I shall finally awaken.
No...
...NO!
It thought It had crushed that shard of consciousness...
But It does not sense Its scattered strength from a hundred-and-twenty years ago flow back into Its body.
What does this mean...
Why... am I still in the dream?!
The poet lifts the wine cup in her hand, but not to offer it to the heavens, but rather, to pour it upon the ground.
The wine falls, splashing across the yellow soil, becoming a drifting cloud of dust.
Near a winter and a summer since we parted in Shangshu.
Ever since, I had no time to dream of you, for in the lands of man are many things worth dreaming of more.
As for you...
...Hah.
Using dream, using imagination, using things yet to pass to prevail? Verily, you and he are evenly matched, on par with one another...
But I seem to see, amidst your bout, many of my tales emplaced?
...Who could see a gulper of cups, become now a sorrowful drunk?
The poems of others are fine, but at such a juncture, their styles shall not do.
I shall help you change a line. How about...
After rain's end, petals fall beyond count... In wine's embrace, thy freedom is found'?
What say you, sister dearest?
The words of others are fine indeed, and its flow is pleasing, but when you are the one chanting it, it flows far too free, as if you are uninvolved.
Haha, you, me, Jie, Dusk, consensus has always been out of our reach.
Then why not have it be your turn to sing a song, for the me that we share? How about it?
No.
Still unwilling to break your vow?
Jie still has not returned.
However, I shall play for you.
The bloody battlefield is flooded by a peaceful stream. The ripples upon the water quiver, becoming a pair of giant eyes.
Even from within the water, those eyes stare at everything around it. Fierce, pained, near-crazed eyes.
Yet even so, the musician lightly plucks her strings.
In the middle of the river, the poet toasts alongside the tune, her cheeks flushed red.
She does not chant to match the tune, but with a bright, clear voice. Yet even so, it is in perfect harmony with the tranquil music.
The stars in the sky spin along to the poet and the musician, blending together into a pool of sweet water. From that water appear wines, some bitter, some fragrant.
Even those great eyes begin to show signs of intoxication.
I invite you to share one last cup of wine...
At some point, the tones that started off high and steep gradually deepened, going from near-inaudible to an inescapable bass, lingering within the water.
As for the simple sounds of the instrument, no longer are they quiet and mellow. It is as if only a tenth of the strings were silk, the rest three parts longing, three parts grief, and three parts determination.
But in contrast, the poet's recitation grows lighter, higher, as if a whisper, as if a consolation, as if a torrent of rain. Flicking it away will only serve to wet your clothes.
One low, one high. One disciplined, one unrestrained.
The woman's voice merges with the voice of the instrument, weaving a dream fit to entomb a Feranmut.
I invite you to share one last cup of wine...
...For beyond the western pass there are no more of mine...
You... You...!
You dare... You dare use such tricks against me?!
The furious Feranmut lifts Its head, attempting to discern the source of the sound, but to no avail.
Its giant, bloodshot eyes first flick towards the proxy, still shackled to the ground. After a moment of quiet, It finally realizes that this dream will not be so easy to break free from.
It does not care if this is the last of the power of the proxy that is here, or interference from proxies far away.
Those great eyes staring at the outside world watch the dream that Ling and Jun weave...
As they watch back.
Within that confrontation that never happened, Its actions, Its moves, Its weak points, even Its psyche. They have seen it all. He has seen it all.
Such base deception, such pointless struggles!
Before I have my vengeance on Yan, I should kill you all first, one by one!
Absurd... Ridiculous!
Your so-called 'sisters' may have deceived me with dreams, and cracked open your shackles, but do you not feel how weak your body is, unfettered though it may be?
This time, I shall crush you, and your miserable schemes!
In that instant of fear and anger, Its enormous body, as great as a mountain, shifts a fraction of an inch.
The entire room begins to shatter into rubble. The great structure that suppressed Sui gradually crumbles, and collapses...
Save me... Save me!
They're back! Those monsters from a hundred years ago are back!
Don't panic, don't panic... Form an orderly line, and walk cautiously...
Why aren't you listening to me?! Oh, what to do, what to do...
Mr. Pu!
Why are there still so many townsfolk who have not evacuated yet?
There are still many geists here—
Stay your hand, Tianshi!
They are not geists born from the turmoil in the Tomb, but rather, the original 'townsfolk'...
They are... the students of the School?
They are my students, yes. I cannot bear to see them lose their lives here, so I beg you two, lend me your aid...
...The Old Tianshi is still guarding the mountain pass. I'm afraid I cannot protect them all on my own.
I shall do my best to hold back the rebellious geists. Yun Qingping, help Mr. Pu in guiding everyone away.
Surely you don't mean to do it alone, Deputy Minister Lin—
It's long past the Garden's closing hours. Why are there still so many tourists here?
Mr. Yi?
You still remember me? And here I was, worried you would forget me, what with you running circles about my garden.
No need for further chatter. You are all lovers of things, which makes us kindred spirits.
You two help this elderly gentleman see everyone out. I can deal with things here myself.
I know you proxies have extraordinary abilities, Mr. Yi, but these are extraordinary times.
I ask that you take care.
No need to worry. If I cannot subdue even these apparitions, then I'm not fit to be the master of the Garden of Grotesqueries.
If I may, by the way, a request for my humble... record-keeping friend?
Though you have come from afar, I regret to say I have no time to be a proper host. If you ever have some spare time in the future, I ask that you come again.
But if fate is against us, and you are the last visitors to my Garden... I would like you to preserve its sights with your brush and ink.
...I shall do my utmost.
Please, stay safe, sir.
(Smiles and nods)
My my, this shaking is far too strong, as well as this... resentment?
Even though only a fraction of this millennium of hatred and rage has spilled out here, it still has such strength. I dare not imagine what exactly Wang is confronting down there...
But even having come to this point, It is still not yet awake, which means... our designs with the Garden are still in effect.
It is a shame though. I fear the structures within the Tomb are almost completely destroyed... I suppose I shall have to put a bit more effort into suppressing It, then.
...You really know how to cause quite the stir, Wang.
*sigh*... These geists are, in the end, formed from your fury.
I have no desire to entertain such vulgar creations, nor am I interested in collecting them... All I can say is that they will be a little hard to handle.
The proxy looks up towards the once-peaceful town at the foot of the mountain, now devastated and in ruins.
Even a layabout has times when he is angered... I cannot forgive such destruction.
Now, how much of this account shall be considered yours, Wang—
I shall make it whole for him. Reluctantly, I might add.
Ji?
...Wang chased me away, so with nowhere else to go, I came to help you.
Hahahaha... Seriously?
It does not really matter.
I suppose I shall owe you a great deal if you were to help me with this big mess today...
Since when have you been concerned about what you owe me?
Why, I would never. It is simply because you are so magnanimous, our third eldest brother, that you find it embarrassing to settle accounts with your younger siblings.
Hmph...
Shall I help you suppress Sui, or help you look after Mangshan Town?
First, we deal with the geists and protect the town. We will still have time to suppress It. There are two of us, after all. With enough speed, neither issue needs to wait.
Rather greedy of you, no?
Hardly the first time you have seen my greed.
True. If I had not dropped by today, all those exotic plants, fine woods and strange stones you so painstakingly gathered would be ruined, which would be quite the pity.
...Well, I need only come and ask you for more later.
Teal and pink flames join the spreading golden threads, searing away the murky black geists.
What a pain. We just got here, and all these things popped out of nowhere. There's no end to them either, they just keep coming like misua that's been soaking for too long...
Best hide somewhere behind me, Grand Tutor. I'm not too good at fighting, nearly whacked you a few times there.
It's a half-baked plan, but all I can do is—
Still talking about food, kid?
I've added a little something to your pot of half-baked, swollen misua, no need to thank me!
Let's see... Sisters number one and two, the kiddo, who else? No big deal if Eight-o doesn't show up. What about Ji? I've got a little something for him too...
Forget it. Heed me, Dark Devastator!
Quantum Firecracker, Quantum Launcher, Quantum Rumbler, Quantum Cannon, lock onto thirty meters around the kid, and—
Fire at will! Fire everything!
Fire!
FIRE!
SHUT UP ALREADY!
What the hell even is this stupid Dark Devastator thing?!
Shu and I only agreed to help you because you promised you wouldn't make these weird things again!
Made it pretty much the same way as the Twelve Pagodas and Five Cities. This is war, after all, and all's fair in it! That weiqi failure loves saying shit like that.
This really isn't what you promised earlier. Once this is all over, don't forget to make an apology.
Heheh, sorry, sorry...
These firecrackers really do remind me of Dahuang, though...
They are subdued during the Shennong festival, but when the New Year arrives, the firecrackers they light up might be even fiercer than the ones Nian just used...
Right? A family reunion should be more lively—
If you had fired that barrage earlier, it would have fallen at Yu's feet.
Take a break and let Dusk play with it. She's been waiting for a while now.
Me? I don't want to touch that thing—
So should I continue?
Shu! And Nian, and Dusk! You're finally here!
Long time no see, kiddo. Dinner ready yet?
We aren't done with work yet, Nian. How could you only be thinking of Yu's cooking?
One's not gonna affect the other!
Oh, right, we never did give them a heads-up that we'd be meeting here. Hey, Grand Tutor, it should be fine, right?
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.
If you are able to resolve this geist crisis together, then that shall be an act of great merit.
I always knew you weren't the dried-up stick in the mud you look like!
...
Say, Grand Tutor, do you think our business with Yan has been a good one?
Perhaps it would not only be considered business in Yan's eyes.
Making a friend is far more important than doing business.
Hah, those're some wise words. Next time those old fogeys from the Ministry of Works come to pester me, I can throw them in their face.
Everyone who should be here is here. Let's take a headcount of the ones who aren't here yet...
Whoa, is this Yan's New Year celebration?
This is just like how Master said they celebrate it. Lanterns, banners, and screaming firecrackers... Though I don't see any lanterns. This is the first time I've seen this many firecrackers, though...
Alright, time to land!
Watch out, Nian! Someone just flew over my head, I think they're going to land right next to you!
Nihao! I'm Taraxacum! I'm from Sargon, and I'm an apprentice under my master, though usually I just drive the cart!
Oh, right, my master's called Fāng.
Figured it'd be Number Ten. Man, didn't expect a shy guy like him to have a cheery apprentice like you.
I'm Nian, the ninth, which means I'm his older sister.
Let's give you a quick rundown. Those two chatting over there are Shu, the sixth, and our youngest brother Yu. The one on top of the Dark Devastator splashing ink everywhere, trying to melt away the geists? That's our youngest sister, Dusk.
Ji and Yi, the seventh and eighth, are probably by that mountain over there, while our big sister Ling and second sister Jun went off to nap who-knows-where after some drinks.
Then under our feet, there's Number Two, Wang. Strictly speaking, today's party is all on him—
Wait a sec, got too into introducing the family. If you're here, where's the big one-zero?
It's not that my master didn't return, he just... err... He asked me to give you this...
...A steelyard scale?
Target Feranmut about to arrive at critical position! It's still moving forward!
No time to wait for reinforcements from other cities! We attack the moment It takes Its next step!
We beat Them once a thousand years ago, so no excuses!
The ancient titan lurches forward, powered by the confusion and anger of a rousing from age-old slumber.
It suddenly notices, by Its hind claw, a miniscule, near-imperceptible existence.
Don't go any further. Turn back.
(Doubtful rumble)
I know... The weiqi player summoned you.
I don't want to speak ill of my elder brother. He might not have been thinking of exploiting you for no reason, or throwing your lives away.
(Disdainful snort)
You're heavily wounded. I may have ways to heal you.
If you insist on continuing forward, I also have ways to make you feel pain, a hundred-fold, a thousand-fold... Though I would really rather not.
Turn back... I can heal your wounds, and help you find a new home.
Just don't cause any more death and destruction.
Then Master gave me this scale and told me to deliver it to you quick. He hasn't gone anywhere, he's still where he was earlier... looking this way.
Got it, got it. He's still too scared to come, scared this meeting would be the last... But he still wants to help us out a bit, and that weiqi failure.
So in the end, he decided to be real awkward and send you over, while he waits on some mountaintop somewhere.
Man, our family can be such a... pain in the ass.
On the other hand, I didn't think dried-up ol' Tenner would learn some proper bedside manner. Did he pick up that silver tongue in your part of Sargon?
Not really...
Damn shame, then! I'd also like to learn how to speak good better, maybe then my next movie's funding and lead actor wouldn't jump ship halfway through—
What the... There's still people rushing over to start a war?
Everyone turns their heads towards the nearby city, a city that is slowly but inexorably heading towards their gathering.
Can't just stand by and watch as a bunch of jerks stir shit up... How about we see how the Dark Devastator matches up against Yumen?
No, no, bad idea... But getting in a fight like this seems a little... impolite.
Leave it to me.
Oh, you're... you're that... Ch'en Hui-chieh!
You know me?
You were my supporting actress! The one I cast for that movie! Shame I wasn't able to find you afterwards, or most of the rest of the cast, so I had to delay the shoot.
Uhh... Do you mean that movie Lava was talking about?
Li'l Lava told you about it? Great! We've got the money-guzzling Dark Devastator on scene, and now you're here too...
...You have that thing she left behind.
That's why I'm here.
How d'you plan on stopping that city?
With my sword.
It wasn't part of my original travel plans, but I've stopped by Yumen before. I know a little bit about its structure and weak points.
I heard that master swordsmen don't see things as 'things', but rather 'weak points' and 'flaws'. You one of those masters?
You've been watching too many movies.
There are things only you and your family can do. Likewise, I have things I can't shirk from.
Believe in me, like how I believe in you all.
Ch'en Hui-chieh turns to face the nomadic city rumbling towards her.
She can see the weaponry lining the walls, the soldiers atop the observation posts, and the Tianshis with their furrowed brows. She believes they can see her too.
But simply standing here will not be enough.
She takes a small step back. She looks at the entirety of the city's structure. Its treads, the Wind Aegis, the sand sluices, the watchtowers, the gates.
She knows where this blow should fall.
The writing knife in her hand is not pointed at any one part of Yumen, but rather, up towards the sky.
The knife becomes a longsword, becomes a heart-pounding, golden light...
And then finally, becomes a sandstorm that engulfs Yumen.
Sand?!
Has Sui already woken up?! Look alive, everyone—
No, wait, this is...?
The storm that swallowed up Heaven and earth is not made of coarse sand, but rather gentle, golden snowflakes. They fall onto the soldiers' bodies, their hands, their faces.
The snowflakes melt, and out of nowhere, they hear the beating of a drum.
Those memories, near buried away by the sands, suddenly become crystal clear. They remember a Catastrophe, and those who stood within it...
A poet who drank wine and spouted poetry in its face, or maybe someone who made a lonely exit once everything was done...
They remember the emotions that surged through their minds back then. They worked as one, they fought as one, and for a moment, they forget the confusion and puzzlement pressing down on them as one.
They stop whatever they are doing, silently listening to the pounding of the drum. They count the number of beats, count all the calamities Yumen faced across the years, big and small...
Until the eighteenth rousing farewell boom resounds, the entire weather-beaten city is like an old man overwhelmed by memory...
...One who slows to a crawl, then stops.
*huff*... *huff*... At this rate, I won't make it in time to the last few emplacements!
Why have we stopped?! Don't tell me the artillery already—
A power cut?!
The spent Candleholder realizes he has stumbled upon a stroke of luck.
Even a near-instant cut in power would require many short but essential checks on the cannons before they can re-engage, despite the automatic switch to reserve energy stores.
It has bought him precious time.
A strong wave of emotion sweeps memories to the surface of Zuo Le's mind, but what he recalls did not take place in Yumen...
It is possible that the fate of us siblings will lie in your hands, Lord Zuo.
To be able to chat with you on this festive day, even but for a moment, is destiny at work... I hope that in the future, you can see me as a 'man' you can discuss things with.
The doubt and suspicion he felt at the time have now become some sort of illogical, post-realization incisiveness—though he knows there are still many things he is confused about.
But he soon pushes down that sense of relief, that sense that makes him relax, even feel exhausted.
It's not only about the fate of your family. There's also my family, Yumen, Baizao, all of Yan...
(Wry chuckle) Why am I thinking about this now, of all times?
This fateful decision is not over yet.
He forcibly tamps down the wellspring of emotion flooding his heart. His hates-to-lose attitude pushes him onward, hastily winding his way to the last few emplacements.
...
The golden sands that filled the sky gradually disperse. The radiance fades, turning the blade in Ch'en's hand back to an ordinary writing knife.
To the side, Yu stoops down, grasping a pinch of soft, golden, snow-like sand. Through a daze, he looks at the golden sheen, a sheen he has not seen in over a hundred years.
What he remembers is the older sister he last met over a century ago. But as for what Ch'en sees? She sees a parting far away, in the distant, frigid north.
The snowflakes melt away.
Those newly-bright memories slowly fade again, returning to their worn and shabby states.
All that remains is a sigh on the lips.
Finally... here...
This is... the Tomb of Sui...
Despite having some knowledge of it for a while now, actually seeing such an enormous structure in person leaves her shocked.
With Baizao in turmoil, all its soldiers have been recalled to fight the geists lining its streets.
Across from the door is an abyss that none dare look at.
I was pretty eager to accept this mission, but how do I actually get in...
Ya accounted for my speed and intercepted me. I didn't familiarize myself with that map very well, so she probably beat me here...
So now what? Do I just knock on the door?
Allow me.
—!
You are... Shuo.
Long has it been since I was called by that name. Do we happen to be old acquaintances, madam?
I... happen to be a... friend... of one of your students...
And...
I once stole one of your things, but I already returned it... Sorry.
...
Err, the thing I'm talking about isn't this thing here, I meant—
I know.
You do?
I could hardly be mistaken about the scent of my siblings.
The man notes the clothes on the woman before him, and his face takes a slight turn for the serious.
Whether it be the martial disciplines or the scholarly ones, there should not be a splitting of sects...
But if you wish to eliminate the prejudice in the hearts of others, then you yourself must first have a 'tolerant heart'.
...
My thanks... for your wisdom...
The young lady carefully and deferentially hands over Jie's token.
Duoxie, madam.
Delivering this drop of life to the Tomb is no doubt Jun's plan. Aside from Wang, she was the closest to Jie, and she wished her here, even if only as a token.
But I fear that she did not adequately explain things to you. Our family will be gathering in the barrens outside, not in the Tomb itself.
What?
But this is still a stroke of good fortune. Before our family reunion, I shall have this life accompany me on a trip into the Tomb.
Surely this isn't a piece that weiqi player is planning to use up when defeating Sui... right?
He worked so hard to bring this out into the mortal realm. How could I betray his intention by consuming it?
It is simply to bring him peace of mind, nothing more.