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'Wind Aegis'
- Du Yaoye
Someone! Anyone!
- Patrol Battalion Soldier
You again! Didn't we just let you out?
- Patrol Battalion Soldier
Keep making noise, and it's no more Mr. Nice Guy!
- Du Yaoye
Daizi!
- Du Yaoye
This box is holding something that can save the city, so shut up and give it to Zuo.
- Patrol Battalion Soldier
This is... data for the Imperial Astronomical Bureau? And a token?
- Patrol Battalion Soldier
Girl? How did this come into your possession? Hey, wake up!
- Patrol Battalion Soldier
Hurry! Call the medic!
- Ch'en
Where... where exactly did this woman come from?
- Lin Yühsia
Has Superintendent Ch'en finally met her match?
- Ch'en
Chi Xiao can't cut through her Arts.
- Ch'en
If you can even call it Arts in the first place...
- Waai Fu
She doesn't seem to know any kung fu, but her swordplay is ridiculously quick.
- Waai Fu
It's like the kind of kung fu you find in those fake 'forbidden techniques' manuals that say they'll teach you transcend space and time.
- Waai Fu
I'll trade a few more blows with her and see if I can figure it out...
- Qiubai
Careful now, she's not playing with us.
- Qiubai
Slip up once and you might die.
- Shanhaizhong Boss
......
- Shanhaizhong Boss
Even if you don't, you still will.
- Shanhaizhong Boss
You want a few more rounds with me? Sure, let's start with you.
- Waai Fu
—!
This time, her blade flies quicker than in their previous bouts. Waai Fu can only feel the autumn wind brushing against her face, leaving her no time to react.
Suddenly, a wall appears in front of her, or rather, a man's back as thick and wide as a wall.
Waai Fu looks at the wall in front of her that she last saw over a decade ago. Still, the sight overlaps with the one in her memories.
The reunion comes sooner than she expected, and catches her off guard.
- Huai Tianpei
So this is the one Lee mentioned, the one who's been bothering everyone?
- Shanhaizhong Boss
You again?
- Huai Tianpei
Turns out I've been sleeping bad because I was about to run into someone I'd rather not see.
Huai Tianpei sweeps a quick glance behind him.
His movements are light and quick, but Waai Fu catches them perfectly clearly.
- Huai Tianpei
I didn't want to fight anybody until my match with the Grandmaster.
- Huai Tianpei
*sigh*... Guess today's a cheat day.
- Huai Tianpei
So yeah, you've got some skills, but I can't say I know any kung fu school where you bully your juniors for practice.
- Huai Tianpei
If you're itching for a fight, I'll take you on!
- Qiubai
Huai, you're at a disadvantage unarmed. I'll lend you my sword.
- Huai Tianpei
Don't need it.
- Huai Tianpei
Anything my fists can't break, a sword won't cut either.
- Shanhaizhong Boss
Don't overestimate yourself.
- Huai Tianpei
Haah—!
Waai Fu gets a front row seat to the action.
Sidestep, chop, quick step, twist, elbow strike. All moves she has learned herself.
Seeing the pained expression on his opponent's face, it is clear that Huai Tianpei is using his full strength.
Waai Fu imagines what it feels like to be slammed into a wall.
- Huai Tianpei
Right...
- Huai Tianpei
That's some blade. I dodged it by a hair, but it caught my skin.
- Shanhaizhong Boss
Damn you—
After being knocked back several feet, the woman steadies herself with her blade. The tremendous impact seems to have little lasting effect on her, as she lifts her sword again and assumes a defensive stance.
But being knocked off-balance has made her furious, and anger whips into a tangible wind, with everyone present feeling a chill run up their spines at the same time.
The moonlight intensifies.
- Ch'en
Still got more tricks under her sleeve?
- Qiubai
This sensation again...
- Huai Tianpei
Oh? Her Qi feels different... Great, let's go for another round!
- Di Beast
(low-pitched hissing)
- Shanhaizhong Boss
......
The woman raises her head and glances toward the sky, the clouds drifting across and obscuring half the moonlight.
She lowers her half-raised blade.
- Shanhaizhong Boss
Since the girl already delivered the data, I'm not going bother with you any longer.
- Shanhaizhong Boss
It doesn't matter. You're out of time.
- Shanhaizhong Boss
Yumen city won't escape this calamity.
- Waai Fu
......
- Huai Tianpei
......
- Chongyue
Seems like we weren't needed.
- Wei Yenwu
We did witness a splendid showdown, though, so I wouldn't say it was a waste.
- Chongyue
The young will surpass us in time.
- Wei Yenwu
I assumed you were referring to that fellow.
- Chongyue
I'd say Ch'en here has already learned a good chunk of what you have to offer.
- Wei Yenwu
What do you think of her swordplay?
- Chongyue
Hmm...
- Chongyue
Skillful, but not yet the peak of perfection.
- Wei Yenwu
Oh?
- Wei Yenwu
So what you mean to say is...
- ???
Brother Meng—!
A sorrowful howl resounds through the long and deserted street.
- Chongyue
......
Back at the agency, Waai Fu saw plenty of soap operas depicting children reunited with their parents.
Some cried bitterly while others threw furniture around, the actors' intense performances felt strange and unfamiliar to Waai Fu.
When watching with Hung or Lee, they would always silently change the channel.
She tried to imagine what it would be like when she saw him again. The pent-up resentment, anger, confusion, and dissatisfaction that accumulated over a decade... How would she express herself to him?
But at this very moment, the man standing right in front of her feels less real than the cold wind blowing on her face.
- Waai Fu
You came to my rescue, so thanks for that.
- Huai Tianpei
Sure...
- Waai Fu
Anything else you'd like to say?
- Huai Tianpei
I'm good.
- Waai Fu
Then prepare yourself.
- Huai Tianpei
Alright.
Dad, what does 'Hung Mei Wing Chun' mean?
Of all the countless kung fu styles under Heaven, you choose this one, huh? Alright, I'll teach you this one.
Which style do you use, dad? I want to learn the same one as you.
I'll teach you mine, but not now. You still haven't mastered the basics. Once you've got a solid foundation, then you can learn my kung fu.
Okay!
I've sparred with him so many times that I've lost count.
The moment our fists connect, my arm adapts with my muscle memory. More submerged memories also flow out from my mind.
A small courtyard with blue brick and stone flooring, a large porcelain water jar always filled full, wooden stakes wrapped with cloth... and a tall figure whose face could never be clearly seen.
That was my world, day after day, diligently practicing and enduring hardships, year after year, cultivating my mind and tempering my character.
My sparring partner changed from my father to a wooden dummy, never letting myself rest, even for a day. Over the past decade, practicing kung fu became as natural as eating and sleeping.
I think I asked him the question.
'Why?'
Why did you teach me kung fu, why did you have me become a warrior just like you?
The intertwining of moves and techniques, the simple and genuine connection.
You've taught me so much.
But I was never chasing you.
I've found my own goals, I know why I practice kung fu, and I won't change the path I chose just because a man's back popped up in front of me.
And I will surpass you.
A fist lands on the man's robust chest, as if hitting a thick wall.
It gives off a muffled sound.
- Huai Tianpei
You've improved over the years, but you're still a long way from matching me.
- Waai Fu
Big talk. But I wouldn't have even landed a hit on you back then.
- Waai Fu
If this is as far as you've come in a dozen years, then I'll catch up to you real soon.
- Huai Tianpei
My daughter enjoys some big talk.
- Waai Fu
That's not a compliment.
- Waai Fu
I lose.
Huai Tianpei twirls his beard, thinks for a long time, and suddenly bursts into laughter.
- Huai Tianpei
That move where you kicked me in the chin doesn't look like anything I taught you.
- Huai Tianpei
...What fun.
- Huai Tianpei
Anyway, I'm heading back to the clinic.
- Qiubai
Huai, wait a second.
- Huai Tianpei
Do you need me for something?
- Qiubai
Where is the Grandmaster's sword? And Zuo Le?
- Huai Tianpei
The sword's with the girl, and that mandarin boy probably went after her.
- Huai Tianpei
Can't say for sure. I'm pretty much done with all this stuff.
- Qiubai
Wait.
- Qiubai
The Grandmaster wants to see you.
- Huai Tianpei
Oh?
- Shanhaizhong Ringleader
I've been going easy on you, since you're Anasa.
- Shanhaizhong Ringleader
But hand over the sword now, or I'll show no mercy.
- Jieyun
*cough*...
- Jieyun
No.
Her wound reopens, and the young Anasa girl holds the sword in front of her chest with her left hand, throwing her chakram with her right, barely deflecting the enemy's attack.
She falls back step by step, as her arms feel heavier and heavier.
- Jieyun
......
- Zuo Le
It just occurred to me that even if I let you go, you still need a way out.
- Jieyun
How did you know I would be here?
- Zuo Le
I grew up here.
- Zuo Le
I was a mischievous boy who tried to sneak out of the city through the sand sluices, and was duly punished by my father for doing so.
- Zuo Le
But only someone as stubborn as you would dare take this way.
- Jieyun
You still want to stop me.
- Zuo Le
Tell me, did you come to Yumen just for this sword?
- Jieyun
Yes.
- Zuo Le
And you wish to present the sword as an offering?
- Jieyun
Yes.
- Zuo Le
And after that, will you return it?
- Jieyun
Well, I...
- Jieyun
Yes, I will.
- Zuo Le
That eccentric from the clinic promised me earlier that if you broke your word, he would bring you back himself.
- Zuo Le
But having said all that, retrieving the sword was, and still is, my duty.
- Zuo Le
So while I have no qualms about taking you at your word, just this once, I will get that sword back, even if I have to jump into the sand sluice myself.
- Zuo Le
'Yi nuo qian jin.' You may not know the idiom, literally 'a promise worth a thousand gold.' Break your word, and I will drag you back here, personally.
- Jieyun
...Alright.
- Shanhaizhong Ringleader
You're wasting your effort. Hurt as she is, she'll die when she jumps down there.
- Zuo Le
Three quarters past the Hour of Yu... the turbines should have slowed down by now, there's no time to waste.
- Zuo Le
Get going!
The young Candleholder turns around to face his powerful foe, and a light gleams from his sword unsheathing.
The young Anasa girl hugs the sword tightly in her arms, and leaps down into the churning sand.
- Imperial Astronomical Bureau Representative
The observatory has recalculated its results according to the information we have just received.
- Imperial Astronomical Bureau Representative
The Catastrophe has manifested as a sandstorm, and its scale is about three times larger than the one that struck the city four years ago.
- Imperial Astronomical Bureau Representative
The prior misinformation has already cost us too much time, so the situation is not optimistic...
Zuo Xuanliao looks at the box in his hands, the surface clearly worn down by gravel and sand.
A few days ago, was there another person looking at this box just as he is now? How did he feel?
If there was a mirror in his military tent, Zuo Xuanliao would have noticed the strands of silver hair on his scalp multiplying over the past few days.
- Zuo Xuanliao
Let's get to the point.
- Imperial Astronomical Bureau Representative
Presently, Yumen is in the middle of the Catastrophe's trajectory, and won't be able to avoid it, even if we change course.
- Imperial Astronomical Bureau Representative
We have but one method available to us. We can split Yumen up into blocks and disperse in different directions to evade the Catastrophe.
- Zuo Xuanliao
How much time would that cost us?
- Imperial Astronomical Bureau Representative
Reconnecting after separation, and returning to full speed, will probably take about six months.
- Zuo Xuanliao
......
- Zuo Xuanliao
There's no time.
- Imperial Astronomical Bureau Representative
It is the only feasible way to ensure the city's safety.
- Zuo Xuanliao
It is not the city's safety we want to secure.
The General lingers in his tent, the night outside his window still seemingly serene. The unseen danger lurks far away, but he knows it is still out there.
He has seen these sights for decades, but he has never loathed the vast desert as much as he does right now.
- Zuo Xuanliao
If we can only ensure the safety of our people...
- Imperial Astronomical Bureau Representative
General, you mean to...?
- Zuo Xuanliao
Prepare the front for direct Catastrophe impact, and evacuate all civilians from the east side of the core city to the west for resettlement.
- Zuo Xuanliao
Activate all defensive fortifications, and station Imperial Astronomical Bureau Casters on the city walls to resist the aftershocks.
- Zuo Xuanliao
How long will repairs take, after the fact?
- Imperial Astronomical Bureau Representative
General Zuo, the risk is too great...
- Zuo Xuanliao
How long will they take?
- Imperial Astronomical Bureau Representative
Repairing the front walls and some of the city's infrastructure will take... by a conservative estimate, three months.
- Zuo Xuanliao
Sure...
- Imperial Astronomical Bureau Representative
Time is of the essence, so I urge the General to make a decision as soon as possible.
- Zuo Xuanliao
Mr. Liang?
- Zuo Xuanliao
Have you come to shackle me, to ensure I don't act on my own?
- Liang Xun
I'm here to relay the Grand Tutor's opinion—to trust in General Zuo's judgement.
- Zuo Xuanliao
Very well.
- Zuo Xuanliao
......
- Zuo Xuanliao
Prepare to confront the Catastrophe.
