Liberi Reader

...

Mm... what a dream.

How did you find the time to come?

Aren't things pretty exciting over here? I wanted to see whether the kaoliang liquor you promised me was ready.

How do I give it do you in a dream?

What year's vintage are you talking about? Which dream of yours is this?

At least let me sniff a whiff, if I don't get to taste it in a dream.

Or see if my hardest-working sister got a little thinner.

...

This is what Nian has made?

Is this what you see in this 'heart'?

Rice fields as far as the eye can see, the seasons rotating. You farm here day after day. Is it really possible to build what you talk about here?

Do you need a hand?

I just don't want you to turn this whole vessel in to a huge pot of wine, or suddenly get all philosophical and think you would rather dream forever than to wake up in a world without freedom.

You sure you don't need my help? I've almost forgotten how many years you spent here. You're gonna become my aged liquor if you don't get out and get some fresh air.

For our other brothers and sisters, I worry that they don't see things clear enough. For you, I worry that you see too clearly.

See too clearly, such that you fail to see 'yourself'.

I'm just farming here.

Everything has a heart, from the mountains to the rivers, to the trees and to the grass. To you, the trees and grass may not be any different from our own lives.

What is it that you still can't put down? What keeps your mind occupied?

Jie left behind so many scrolls and books. She wanted to teach everyone to read and write. But all those scrolls and books disappeared with her. No one remembers her, other than us.

But I've visited schools and the Tianshi Bureaus, and I've seen handwriting that looked exactly like hers in their books.

All of her things are no more. Even I didn't manage to keep a single one. But the words she said are now being said by students, and the words that she wrote are now being written by the pens of students.

She once told me, 'It's the things I leave behind that count.'

I just want to see what I can leave behind on the far end of all these fields of rice. What I can leave behind if the day comes that I am no more.

Has the end that you have been staring at for so long changed at all?

Never. Nothing but snow as far as the eye could see.

The spring harvest, the autumn harvest, all buried in snow.

I see...

Do you feel disappointment at the result? Regret?

Is life itself not a result?

Do the countless mortals of the world give up living just because they realize it will eventually come to an end?

Not all our siblings think that way... has our little brother come back?

Yes.

Where has the timid and docile Ji we knew and loved gone?

Little brothers and sisters are always cuter when they stay little.

...I'll go to him.

One, two, three...

What species is this, Megaphone? I've never seen it. It looks nice.

You wouldn't understand if I explained. Just shut up and keep looking.

That's not the right attitude when you're asking for help...

Say, Megaphone, I wanted to ask you something...

You're a student at the Tianshi Bureaus, right? Out of all my friends, you know more than anyone else, except for Shu and Xiaohe...

...

Well, what is it? Spit it out.

Have you... have you ever seen my parents?

...

Pi hua! How many people do you think there are in the Tianshi Bureaus? You think I remember everyone who passes through the doors like the security guards?

Did the mud ball give you a concussion or something?

You could've just said you don't know them. No need to be rude.

Why are you asking?

I saw a strange merchant today. He said he came from outside Dahuang, from very far away.

Oh?

Shu said my parents went to become Tianshis in a faraway place, but I never knew what they did, or why they never came back after all these years. No one ever talked about it.

Is there a chance you could ask for me, Megaphone?

I'm not asking them to come back. I just want to write to them and tell them that Dahuang is about to get moved onto mobile plates, so they won't lose their way when they come home.

...

...Don't you worry. The Tianshi Bureaus aren't stupid. Someone will bring them home when it's time for them to come home.

Hm...

Is this all the flood-affected plates?

I think so...

Why? Does the rice you're looking for have something to do with the flood?

Don't ask questions that don't concern you. You wouldn't understand the work of the Tianshi Bureaus, even if I explained it.

You just wait and see! Xiaohe said that with my talent for Arts, all I need to do is to read a few more books, and I'll get into the Tianshi Bureaus for sure! Then I'll wipe that cocky look off your face!

Sure, sure. If and when you do.

And don't tell anyone that I asked you to look for the rice stalks.

But why...?

Forget it. You'll never say.

Hey... how have you been doing? Anyone bullying you?

Me? I'm pretty happy. Shu and Xiaohe take care of me, and all the farmers around here are really nice. I also made two new friends, Candlestick and Inkbrush.

Why do you ask? Are you worried about me?

Worried about you? Of course not! Nope!

Well, thanks for the help anyway. Take care of yourself.

If anyone bullies you, smack them on the head with your flute like I taught you.

Grow, flax, mulberry and fields, grow as the sun rises...

Drive away all evil, and bring new light to Heaven and earth...

Lalala... lalala...

...

I never liked this statue.

Who decided that Shennong should be shabby and weathered? She liked to look pretty. She always had flowers in her hair, and she liked the clothes I made.

And I remember how much her eyes looked like yours.

If only Dusk had a portrait of her... but that was before she started to paint.

I didn't think you would ever come back.

Come now, I'm already past the age for running away from home. When did I ever say I wouldn't come back?

The prodigal son starts to miss home when he's far away for long enough. And this is the one place that I felt like I could call home.

Now, though? At a time like this?

If only I came back two days earlier! I would've made it in time for this year's festival opera, and tasted your handmade dumplings.

Sure. 'Dumplings for the road, noodles for home.' Whatever you want to eat, we've got it at home.

Then, it's time for you to go.

I've hardly been back for two days, and you're already kicking me out?

You could stay for as long as you want, if you were only here to take a rest.

Are you only here to take a rest, though? That's what I want to ask.

...

Dahuang looks different every time I come back. Who would have thought that it was just a land of frozen soil a thousand years ago?

The people claimed this earth from a land of evil. Back then, the mountains and rivers were chaos, and the heavens knew no seasons, but hearts were brave and bright.

There were no differences in upbringing or nationality. Everyone looked out for one another. The only enemy was the barren soil before them, and the demonic threat that always loomed over their heads.

I dreamt of her a few days ago, and I dreamt of that old gentleman too. I thought maybe it was time I came home.

Fortunately, the way home was the same. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of people's hearts.

When was the last time you had a good look at the people here?

All under Heaven live for profit, and die for profit.

Where profit goes, so do the people. It's the same everywhere.

What do you think the imperial court spends its time discussing? How to protect our lives, or how to achieve an outcome that they believe to be safest?

Do you really think that Nian's toy can keep everyone safe?

It's the only way to save everyone's lives.

You're handing your life over to someone else.

It's not a fair partnership, if one side shoulders all the risk.

Both sides must bear the same risk, in order for the partnership to last.

Have you been away for so long that all you care about is profit and loss?

I care about you, my sister.

You're tired.

Helping out with Nian's project is incredibly taxing. As if you don't have enough on your plate already, in the fields and forests.

Otherwise, you would have noticed earlier.

...

How many Catastrophes have struck this land in the last thousand years? You knew when and where each and every one would strike beforehand. You feel everything that happens to this land, as though it was happening to you.

What are you holding onto?

Who's the one working against the laws of nature?

Wake up!

What did you see?

...

What did I see...?

I saw...

Wait... how did you know?

Maybe a practical joke... probably Originium Arts.

What you saw was an illusion, but it was something that he wanted you to see. Some kind of psychological suggestion... what did you see?

I saw an old farmer...

She... made me work the fields. I couldn't get any crops to grow. I grew old, and I couldn't lift the hoe anymore...

There were many placards on the trees across the river. No one ever went there, but there seemed to be names written on them... the old farmer disappeared.

Across the river?

He showed you the other side of the river...

Xiaohe! Candlestick! There you are.

Grain Buds! Where were you?

I was looking for rice stalks...

Rice? I thought you went looking for stockbeasts. What kind of rice was it that you had to look for?

I—

And don't tell anyone that I asked you to look for the rice stalks.

I promised I wouldn't tell anyone...

It's all so weird... I can't make heads or tails of it...

Who asked you to look for rice? What did it look like? Where did you find it?

Candlestick? Wh-What's the matter? You're starting to scare me...

Grain Buds!

Alright, alright...

It was a short little girl, a student at the Tianshi Bureaus, who said she was looking for a special kind of rice to submit for homework...

I didn't know what species it was... it was red, really red. There were some at the dam, and in the paddies not far from there.

...

...

He Sheng, where did they store the recently harvested grain?

The centralized granaries in the core city.

I need you to check on the granaries right now. No delay. Report anything unusual to the Xiangzhang immediately.

Wait, what's going on?

We might be too late already...

Today, the celebration's opera comes in three acts: The Great Hunt, Signs of Heaven, and Flourishing Life.

But there used to be another act between the first and second: Pacifying the North. It hasn't been sung for a long, long time.

Do you remember, Shu? Can you sing another verse?

I still remember the tune, but not the words.

All old stories. Hardly worth a song.

Yes, hard to get in the mood when there's no audience.

And hard for the audience to get into a forgettable opera.

...

But I remember...

I remember this demonic fragment to the north is the result of the people at the time resorting to any means necessary to resist It. Now, Its incarnation is helping the people fend off demonic calamity. Fate works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?

We should not be conflated with It.

You're right. We shouldn't.

The people must never learn of the demonic presence. But how do you resist the lure of this one precious piece of unpolluted soil?

For a thousand years the people here have lived across the river from that blight. Here a people have sowed for a thousand years in blissful seclusion.

The time has come to reap what was sowed a thousand years ago. And it must be reaped by the right person.

Tell me... You didn't have anything to do with that disaster, did you?

I've never lied to you.

True. You just choose not to tell the truth, from time to time.

Why have you come back?

Like I said, I just felt like dropping by.

Just like old times, I want to ask: Will you come with me, sister?

My answer is the same. I will not leave. I can't leave.