Weave the Silk

Here A People SowsAfter Operation

It was just like a dream.
She traversed a great, long journey, crossing mountains and ridges in the ice and snow, reaching an endless field of rice at the end of the road.
The rich stalks glimmered like gold. She did not know who had planted them here, or why they grew so prosperously.
How wonderful.
'Then, stay here.'
She hears a voice calling out to her.
No... No.
She remembers her unfinished business, and the place she must return to.
She picks up a stalk of rice.
A vague figure waves a hoe around, burying seeds in a plot.
Busy Farmer
You're back?! Thank goodness, everyone was waiting for you!
Busy Farmer
You were gone so long. Did the trip go smoothly? Did you find the crops you were searching for?
Busy Farmer
Laoshi... Are you alright? You look a bit...
Busy Farmer
Wh-What is this?!
Busy Farmer
Help! Someone!
Old Xiangzhang
Xiaohe? You're still here?
He Sheng
I found it...
He Sheng
The contamination... It didn't come with the flood. The source must be underground.
He Sheng
If we gather the Tianshi Bureaus, it might not be too late to start researching now!
Old Xiangzhang
There's no need to bother with that.
Old Xiangzhang
We've already decided to abandon these lands...
He Sheng
It won't take that much time! Give me maybe two or three days, and I should be able to pinpoint the source of the contamination! There must be a solution!
He Sheng
Every bit of land here in Dahuang was hard-won. We haven't put in anywhere near that much effort yet, so how could we just give up—
Old Xiangzhang
It's not just a few plots of land. It's the entire city.
He Sheng
What...?
Old Xiangzhang
Everyone is to move into the core city and follow it east, leaving behind all the other fields here by tomorrow.
Old Xiangzhang
The other Tianshis are getting everyone together to prepare for the move. This is what matters most right now... You should go help them.
He Sheng
Whose... idea was this?
Old Xiangzhang
Who else could order the entire city relocated?
He Sheng
Why...?
He Sheng
All these experimental fields, and these newly-planted crops...
He Sheng
This has already been a famine year. If we give up on these crops, how many more people are going to go hungry?
He Sheng
It'll be just like it used to be...
Old Xiangzhang
We've tried our best.
Old Xiangzhang
Evacuate the people as soon as possible. Establish post-disaster countermeasures in advance. You are a Tianshi, so have your priorities straight at a time like this—
He Sheng
Is the legend true...?
Old Xiangzhang
What nonsense are you spouting now...?
He Sheng
What's hidden in the permafrost on the north bank of the river? It's those things that contaminated our land, isn't it?
Old Xiangzhang
Just treat it like any other Catastrophe.
Old Xiangzhang
There've been so many things we couldn't protect over the years...
He Sheng
The people aren't just going to leave.
He Sheng
This is our land. Nobody's going to leave until we figure out exactly what's going on.
He Sheng
If Shennong could keep these enemies from our homes, then so can we.
Old Xiangzhang
...
Is it an illusion?
The vast fields in front of him instantly turn empty and barren.
No, it's not that the fields have turned barren. Rather, Heaven and earth are being invaded by a foreign space. It warps beyond the recognition of any soul.
He Sheng
What's going on over there?!
Old Xiangzhang
It's too late...
Terrified Farmer
Shu, what in tarnation was that...?
Terrified Farmer
Laoshi... is she sick? How did she become like this?
Shu
...
Shu
Give her... a proper burial.
The thin, emaciated body falls to the cold, hard ground, a small pack of seeds tucked in the pocket of her flimsy shirt.
Terrified Farmer
Are these the seeds she brought back? Did she manage to find the legendary seeds?
Terrified Farmer
Our harvests have been terrible the last couple of years. Maybe with this packet of seeds, there's some hope after all.
Terrified Farmer
Let's take it back...
Nian
How'd the demonic contamination end up underground?
Nian
Isn't the Chamber of Heaven's Designs standing guard outside? How did the contaminants get past the old one and make their way inside?
Tianshi of the Chamber
Based on current observations, the contamination here likely existed long before the Chamber of Heaven's Designs did.
Tianshi of the Chamber
The underground area here is already highly contaminated.
Nian
But, the demonic influence here hasn't spread in all these years. Was it because of her?
Nian
But, why now of all times...? Could she have...?
Tianshi of the Chamber
The Chamber has likely already determined the source of this calamity. But, the top priority remains dealing with the crisis at hand.
Tianshi of the Chamber
The impact of this demonic catastrophe is unprecedented, and well beyond the scope of any of the Chamber's plans.
Nian
That's clear from the fact that you Chamber Tianshis actually called me up... So, what options do we still have?
Tianshi of the Chamber
Have all the Chamber's forces on the north bank withdraw, and at the same time, have the demon defense line pull back fifty kilometers to the south.
Tianshi of the Chamber
Abandon all plots, and evacuate to the core city. After that, we'll need your help activating the core city's defenses, and re-establishing a defensive line using the core city as a barrier.
Nian
This plan doesn't tally up how many people are going to be sacrificed.
Tianshi of the Chamber
Demonic taint is not like any ordinary calamity. It must be nipped in the bud.
Nian
I've never seen Yan make such a rough call before. Who ordered it?
Nian
Was it your big boss, the great and unknowable Old Tianshi?
Tianshi of the Chamber
Just do as you're told, and don't ask too many questions.
Dusk
...
Nian
What are you looking at?
Dusk
Why would she do this?
Nian
She probably doesn't want to leave though...
Nian
If the demons had already contaminated the land all the way back then... She's been single-handedly suppressing it all this time.
Nian
A thousand years... What would it feel like to have your consciousness gnawed by demons for a thousand years...?
Nian
Shu... Good grief...
Dusk
There's no other way?
Nian
There's nothing we can do. You can't whisk everyone away inside a painting, and I can't build a castle out of thin air to carry everyone off either.
Dusk
Then, what about her?
Nian
What do you mean...?
Dusk
Surely she would've known that this day would eventually come?
Dusk
The question is... where is she now?
Old Xiangzhang
...
Crying.
The cries came from far away. Babies wailing, old people sobbing. Even the crops in the field are mourning.
Just like the scene from forty years ago.
That was another famine year.
You're Shu?
Shu
You're... from the Sui Regulator?
Your orders are to farm Dahuang. Catastrophes have been frequent in recent years, and harvests have failed year after year. As a proxy, you clearly have the ability to save these crops, yet you've chosen to stand by and do nothing?
Shu
...
Shu
The people can't do what I can.
Shu
If I save them, the people will only think about how to make this 'miracle' happen again.
Shu
But, I can't save them every time... One day, I will be gone.
Shu
And when that time comes, the power I wield now... will become nothing more than the 'root of evil' that harms others.
Is there nothing you can do?
Shu
There really isn't much that I can do... other than write down my experiences and pass them down to future generations.
Shu
Once the hard years are over, there will be bountiful years to follow. People have always had to rely on themselves to survive.
But how am I to believe that by remaining here, you're doing something good for Yan and its people?
Shu
...
Shu
How long are you staying here?
...Until this time next year.
Shu
Wait for this year's harvest. You'll see.
Shu
By the way, have you ever worked the land before?
Shu
It's planting season now, and everyone has their hands full. Would you mind lending me a hand?
I vaguely remember that the crops grew particularly well that year.
The plowed rice piled up into little hills, and the farmers said they wouldn't need to worry about Catastrophe for the next few years.
Shu
You're smiling?
...I'm really glad.
Shu
Are you still going to write me up in your report to the Sui Regulator?
Are you going to stay here forever? Stay here and help us...
With you here, everyone feels safe.
Shu
...
Shu
I used to have a friend just like you.
...
Now, there truly is no other way.
Just once... I'm begging you just this one time.
Can you please save the people here, only once?
You promised me that you'd stay here forever...
Old Xiangzhang
Shu...
The room is empty.
A warm bowl of soup still sits on the table.
Old Xiangzhang
I see... You've already...
The rain starts to fall.
Farmer by the Fields
It's raining?
The farmer looks up to see a thin cloud covering the crescent moon in the sky. Shortly thereafter, a few drops of cold rain fall.
Farmer by the Fields
Who is that...?
In the distance, someone walks deeper into the fields.
She walks across the barren fields, and wherever her feet fall, small verdant patches follow.
'Wei, where are you going?'
She does not respond, and simply continues to walk forward.
She walks further and further, until her figure disappears altogether with a thunderclap.
Unlike the heavy rain from just a few days earlier, the rain right now is so tender and fine.
As the rain falls, all the cracks in the land fade away.
And thus, a soul trapped for a thousand years dissipates.
All things will come to grow.
He Sheng
Laoshi?
Zuo Le
It's raining?
Ji
As I thought...
Like ink stains blending and blurring with water, the painting sealing this section of space gradually dissipates without a trace.
Zuo Le
What just happened?!
Ji
You were so close...
Zuo Le
Why you—
Ji
Lord Zuo, I have no intention of becoming your enemy. However, I do hope you take what I said to heart.
Ji
The days ahead of us are long, and there shall come a time when we meet again.
Ji
In the end, this is how it turned out. Just like I said.
Ji
My dear sister... These humans can't do anything without you.
Ji
May you rest well now.
Ji
When you next awaken, everything will be better.