Twin Swallow Pincer

...Bu Fan, 'No Rebellion'. Sounds like 'No Return' too.

My ancestor sacrificed himself and made the reigning True Lung the subject of future human sacrifice. Henceforth, the True Lungs that came after him gave their lives to harness the power of this Originium.

I would not have known it was so massive if I did not see it for myself...

Yet it's no more than a tiny crystal compared to all of Yan and Yan's future.

Yan could have done much more with this object.

How much energy have we spent on suppressing the sleeping beast? With such energy, how many armies could we have raised, how many machines could we have built?

How could I tolerate such... inaction?

I am still inexperienced. I will be relying on the three of you for many things.

Yan has been peaceful and prosperous for centuries. Why is it that there are still rebellions?

Is there still land where the blessings of Yan do not touch? Or seditious subjects who will not submit to imperial rule?

I will decide myself, then, as you do not answer.

The blessings of Yan shall touch every corner, so that not a single person shall worry for food or shelter. The teachings for Yan shall reach every heart, so that not a single rebellious thought will enter the mind of a single man.

We shall vanquish the northern traitors and build the nomadic city of Baizao. Both are the foremost priority, and neither shall be delayed.

You shall summon the Six Ministries, discuss the specifics, and deliver a proposal by the end of the month.

Dismissed.

Ah, you have arrived.

...It is an honor, Your Imperial Majesty.

I've long heard of the twelve 'extraordinary talents' of Yan, credited with no small number of achievements for the empire. I've been curious for some time.

I therefore perused the Sui Regulator's archives, and found something rather interesting.

Be it reports of triumph, or suspicious activities...

No name has been mentioned more often than yours.

...

But I see your visage is not as terrifying as the rumors claim.

Why has Your Imperial Majesty summoned me?

They call you the most cunning strategist in all Yan.

How do you propose to resolve the two great obstacles we face?

The northern rebellion is hardly a major threat. The rebels may be influential in their local area, but they are powerless to expand. Nevertheless, it would be inadvisable to allow them to consolidate their position.

Fifty-thousand soldiers and six months' worth of rations will be sufficient to defeat them.

Your estimate is much more optimistic than the Ministry of War... but I have more reason to trust your judgment on this.

What about the other matter?

As for the modification of Baizao into a nomadic city... I understand the Ministry of Works has validated the engineering principles. The only issues are funding, supplies, and...

...the Tomb of Sui beneath Baizao.

Yes. You understand the problem.

It is for this that I have summoned you.

How do you intend to eliminate Sui?

...

If you are familiar with the scrolls of the Sui Regulator... you understand that 'we' were the same and one as Sui, and our fates intermingled.

Do you mean to ask how to kill 'us'?

It is only 'Sui' that Yan is concerned about, and no other being.

...

You understand, of course, the price that Yan paid for the hunt that occurred centuries ago.

The price that must be paid, if Yan is to force the issue, is seven-tenths of its armies, one-tenth of its population, and fifty years of unceasing unrest.

If that is the case, Yan will be in no position to ensure the safety of the twelve of you.

...

I am determined to cleanse Yan of this thousand-year bane. I am not afraid to pay the price—any price.

The Sui will be destroyed. The tremendous energy that was used to suppress that beast shall be reutilized to build a hundred cities and ten thousand battleships, and usher in another thousand years of prosperity for Yan.

I had hoped that there would be a place for the twelve of you in Yan's future prosperity, on account of your past deeds. It is regrettable.

...

If your decision to eliminate Sui comes from practical judgment, rather than reckless pursuit of glory...

...I may have a way.

Oh?

The twelve of us were one and same as Sui. We were destined to fade, whether It awakes or is destroyed.

But it is possible that I could... replace It.

...

How sure are you?

I will need time...

That ginkgo sapling was planted in the spring of this year.

The Ministry of Works swore an oath in this hall several days ago that the rebuilding of Baizao into a nomadic city will be complete before the tree bears fruit.

Twenty years. That is the time you have.

That is too little time.

I am not here to bargain.

Immortality has made you arrogant. Perhaps you have forgotten that mortals do not have many 'twenty years'.

Yan cannot wait, and neither can I.

You're the new Candleholder? So much time has passed, in the blink of an eye.

Has the previous Candleholder...

She retired last month, and asked me to tell you not to worry.

I will take over your communications with the Sui Regulator from now on.

Well, you'll have your hands full.

Most Candleholders have to worry about tracking down my free-roaming siblings. As for mine...

They have to sit in this office all day, handling books and scrolls. They are more like secretaries than Candleholders.

I enjoy reading and writing. This is right up my alley.

Perfect.

What's your name?

I'm Chun.

'Chun'?

'For the ancient tree that shares your name, eight thousand years is a spring and eight thousand years is an autumn...' Was the one who named you remarkably ambitious, or remarkably cautious?

Wait, you are...?

...An Elf?

Yes.

Judging from your appearance... you're an Elf of Yaan?

The bestial Yaan and its Elves are well-versed in the ways of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements. The element associated with spring is wood, and the character for 'Chun' combines both 'wood' and 'spring', representing vitality and longevity... I see.

My mother told me about it when I was young. I didn't expect anyone else to know.

Stuff like this is what history is about.

It's your first day. I won't put you to too much hard work. Just familiarize yourself with the space; you can look at any books and documents in this study.

Did you write all of these?

No, I simply collect the materials. The historians of the Imperial Historical Cabinet are the ones who actually write the books.

After all...

Is writing history a difficult task?

It's a heavy responsibility.

History books form people's perception of the past, but a few words are hardly enough to give them a complete view.

Choices must be made as to which parts to record for posterity, what sorts of lessons those who come after should learn...

It's easy to say, 'write with an impartial pen,' but it is a most profound and complex discipline.

What if there is a mistake in the history books?

Then it should be corrected.

History is inevitably warped by the position of the narrator, no matter how impartial the writer attempts to be.

I see a few more problems because I've lived longer than most and remember more than most.

Most... it's true that your kind, the proxies, are different from other long-lived. Before I joined, I heard that each of you had your own 'powers'.

Do you use your powers to correct the errors in the history books?

I heard you have a magical writing knife... do you use it to correct those errors?

It can, but this is not how it should be used.

...Huh?

Mistakes take root in people's hearts as they are passed down from one generation to another. The proper way to fight them is to form a new consensus through debate and clarification, not to simply erase it.

Erasing a wrong word from one's own writing is not a significant issue, for it only concerns oneself.

To do it to a published book would be to meddle with the memories of thousands.

As for history... setting aside the question of how much I can alter, it will not be a good thing, for myself and for Yan.

Frankly, it's already a chore to ensure that history is not altered. I hardly have the energy to alter it myself.

Hm...

Seems like there's something you would like to change with the knife yourself.

Huh?! I—

I...

Before my mother passed away, she said I may be the last of the Yaan Elves.

...

She... she wanted me to find a home.

I wandered for many years. I tried many ways to blend in, but I always failed. Yan does not want—

Yan does not want to accept you, because the Yaan Elves were depicted in the Great Hunt as... 'fickle and disloyal.'

But I know that's not true...

The bestial Yaan stood against Yan simply to survive. That cannot be denied.

The Elves, though, had only wanted to mediate the conflict, yet they became the enemy of both sides... ultimately, most were killed in battle, and their deeds lost to time.

So you wanted to alter this history?

I don't deny that I thought about it. But I'm your Candleholder now, and my work comes before all else.

I can't lend you the writing knife, nor can I allow you to use it to alter history.

I understand. I shouldn't have—

But if we can find proof that the Elves were in fact not disloyal, I will do all that I can to help you correct the erroneous records, in the proper manner.

Huh?

Things haven't been too busy lately. We could visit the area where you used to live. What do you think?

I... I've only just come. Besides, the things I said aren't necessarily true. I—

I can tell that your passion for words and history is genuine. Besides... who will believe you, if the historian does not?

Yes... yes!

This is the key to my office. You're my Candleholder now. Take good care of it.

How do you get in, if you give me the key?

Why should the master of the house need a key?

The court building has only just been completed! Why...?

Don't worry, it will not be torn down. Our Tumu Tianshis will transplant the Judicial Review Office to the nomadic plate, undamaged.

But wouldn't it have been so much cheaper to build it directly on the nomadic plate?

I hear the imperial court is putting everything behind this 'nomadic city'. I'm sure our cooperation will be very important.

Get to the point. What do you want?

My rosewood chair, ebony table, Kou-wu plates and Danyan lamps... none of them were inexpensive.

Here are the receipts from when I ordered my things. If there is any damage...

Fine, fine. You'll be reimbursed accordingly.

Yes, the prisoners have been transferred.

The previous instructions were from the Judicial Review Office, while the new ones are from the Ministry of Justice?

I understand, but am I supposed to conjure the prisoners out of thin air?

You don't care? The burdenbeast carriages are arriving in minutes?

Minister. Please excuse the poor hospitality. I did not know you were visiting.

I have never seen you in the Sky Mirror Pavilion. I take it you have important business?

There isn't much time, Miss Jie. I'll get straight to the point... there is an error in this year's archives that I would like to ask you to correct.

A mistake in the documents that I audited? Pray tell.

The documents submitted by the Ministry of Works state there were around a hundred deaths associated with the Chidao project at Danyan this year. Why did the number become three thousand?

The figure of three thousand deaths was not cited from a single document, but calculated based on documents from the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, and local government departments.

The records are carefully sourced. I have kept a copy, should you wish to review them.

While it is not my place to question the work of the Ministry of Works, I have no idea why the three thousand deaths in Danyan's local records became just a hundred when it reached Baizao.

You must submit sufficient evidence, however, should you wish to question the documents audited by the Sky Mirror Pavilion.

Ahem... well, Danyan is not so well-staffed as Baizao, and there are only limited resources available for record-keeping.

Besides, the cold climate there causes disease and frostbite in winter. Perhaps not all of the three thousand died in the course of constructing the Chidao...

I see. You wish for me to alter the documents to make the Ministry of Works look better before the cabinet.

This is not about the cabinet. This is about Yan.

You know about all the projects being carried out across Yan. They push the nation's resources to the limit, but there is no doubt that these projects will benefit the nation and its people.

I'm not the only one who feels that such... depressing figures will weaken the people's morale.

I don't deny the benefits of these measures. Precisely because of that, the three thousand people who died to build the Chidao gave their lives for their country. It would be an insult to their memory to reduce it to a hundred.

Unless you can prove that there has been an error, any text that I have reviewed must not be altered. Anyone else who has a complaint can bring it to me directly.

The nation must be united in the monumental task of building the nomadic city. Everyone at the court is doing their best, and each faces their own challenges...

Yet the writings of the Imperial Historical Cabinet and the Sky Mirror Pavilion have been most... aggressive and deprecating. It is as though you wish for work on the nomadic city to stop immediately!

Is it the writer who has something to hide, or the reader?

How dare you...!

The imperial court has compensated the next of kin in full! Not a single coin has been withheld!

I have noted this in the documents that I approved. The care that the imperial court has shown towards those injured and killed, as well as their families, illustrates Yan's love towards its people.

Then why do you cling to a single number like this?!

I understand your concern for Yan, minister. But I worry that people will only see the glory of the accomplishments, and not the people whose sacrifices made it possible.

All I can do is to ensure that the history I see is recorded exactly as it is.

And you think you alone can decide the history of Yan?

...

History has never been decided by one person. It is the combined soundless voices of millions.

You are a learned man in a position to improve the lives of thousands upon thousands, minister. I simply leave behind some words for the people whose voices will never be heard.

Now, ask your conscience, and answer again for those people...

How many died building Danyan's Chidao this year? Was it a hundred... or three thousand?

(Mutters irritably)

The Minister of Works just stormed off in a huff... is it because of Danyan?

Is this why you have come, sister?

I can't imagine how they managed to convince you to lobby on their behalf... am I actually dreaming, while the one in the Tomb of Sui has awakened?

Are you so sarcastic to everyone these days?

...

I came to tell you that the Sui Regulator and the Ministry of Justice have approved your request to clear the Yaan Elves' name.

I...

I'm sorry. I was in a bad mood.

Apologies accepted.

That's the first good news I've heard in days. It will make Chun less gloomy, I hope.

It's not good to be fighting with the Sui Regulator, but I doubt they would be happy to see you get too friendly with your Candleholder.

I understand. But she's really taken to her work, helping me compile the histories... she clearly likes it.

I have a feeling... she didn't become a Candleholder because she wanted to, but because she was alone and didn't have a choice but to take the hand that was offered.

Well, a wrong has been righted. That's always a good thing.

Of course, I think part of their intention is to get you to compromise on changing the documents.

I simply came to discuss matters, because this matter has gotten to the three Grand Ministers and the True Lung. I'm not lobbying on anybody's behalf.

Just treat it as the guy in the Tomb of Sui throwing a tantrum.

You're the only one in the family who jokes about this.

Ling has honeyed words, and you speak with heaven's authority. I'll settle for the frivolous tongue, then.

It's true that the officials of the court are facing a dilemma in this matter.

The figure of three thousand will cast a shadow upon the nomadic city project, and the implications it may have for Yan are unknown.

Did you tolerate the falsification of records while you were still administering justice?

Falsifying records is a crime, of course. However, if the perpetrator did not do it out of selfish interest, I will consider extenuating circumstances when determining the punishment.

I'm surprised to hear that.

We each have our own specializations. I don't work in history, and you don't work in law.

Perhaps that is how matters of law work... but not in history.

I wanted to study history and language because I wanted to learn what the human mind is truly like.

The answer to my questions may lie in the intention behind words, and the truth behind history...

Not for Yan, nor for the land, not even for our family... only for my own questions—

Jie! Jie!

Chun? What are you doing here? I wasn't ready to tell you—

Tell me what?

Never mind... what's the hurry?

I went to the study to get the drafts as you asked, but I discovered signs of an intrusion!

The writing knife on the desk is gone!

...