Liberi Reader

There is a barren swath of land in the northern reaches of Yan.

I'm trying to reclaim and farm the uncultivated fields there with the locals. It's fun to watch crop after crop grow out of the soil. If you don't know where to go, why don't you come give us a hand?

Hm... It's much colder than the towns here. Plus, those things from beyond the door are a bit dangerous.

But you wanted to find out what 'man' is like. It might just be the perfect place for you.

You'll have all the time you need to find your answer.

How strange. It was hailing furiously last night, but the crops are all fine.

Maybe luck is on our side? Maybe Heaven saw how hard we worked the fields and decided to have mercy?

Ji, this is your doing, isn't it?

...

I simply thought it would be a shame for a hail to destroy the hard work and effort that everyone put in over the last six months...

Everything in this world lands moves according to its own set of rules. When a season's harvest is ruined, you can bury it to fertilize the soil and help the next year's crops grow even better.

You saved this field's harvest this season, but how many fields are there like this one in Yan? How many mouths are there to feed at the mercy of Heaven?

You did this out of the kindness of your heart, but mankind needs to learn to survive on these lands by itself.

Will you leave one day, too?

Of course.

But this swath of land will be here forever. Life will exist forever.

You're a merchant here for grain, you say?

There are droughts everywhere this year. I heard the granaries in the north have a surplus, so I'm here to purchase grain to resell where the situation is more dire.

Heaven and her rainstorms show no mercy. The farmers have it hard.

A famine year's not necessarily a bad thing for farmers, though.

You speak nonsense, my good gentleman. How could a famine be a good thing for the farmers?

Simple wisdom. The more severe the famine, the more their harvests earn them.

Compare five hundred catties at one wen per catty to a hundred catties at ten wen per catty. Even a three-year-old can calculate which is the better deal, from a seller's perspective.

I've lived here ever since I was a child. The only way I know to use food is to feed the masses and save lives.

To think such wisdom existed in the lands outside.

You haven't seen what it's like outside Dahuang. Not everyone is a Xian that can see only the abyss but not the water that fills it. If all one does is guard these plots, how is he or she meant to understand all the wisdom under Heaven?

Young man, my caravan needs someone to help manage our affairs. Might you be interested in coming with us to the lands outside?

Get me a room.

Per the old rules, the cargo goes in the warehouse. You pay first, then you get your room.

You said you wanted to get in the tea business because of all the tea farms sprouting up around Shangshu over the last two years. How come you bought out these inns instead?

How much do you reckon a truckload of 'Shangshu Greens' can earn when transported from here to Baizao, and how much in tariffs will the court take?

If the journey to Baizao is uneventful, a twenty-percent profit would be a fairly good return to me.

Now how much do you reckon I can make here with all the tea merchants coming and going, even the ones unwilling to pay their taxes?

When you put it that way, certainly you are in a more lucrative business.

But I also noticed that you withheld some of the cargo for the mandarins?

Now that is my other line of business.

The people working in the government need something to show, too.

Are you not afraid of the mandarins looking for trouble or the tea merchants turning against you?

That wouldn't be a very good bargain to them.

Without me, the tea merchants would have to pay their fair share in taxes or take the risk to find another route.

Without me, the government would have to spend a hefty sum to get their hands on tips about smugglers. Or, say the merchants ended up revolting. How much would it cost to quell this revolt?

A win for all three parties. Indeed, an unusually lucrative line of business.

We've been in Shangshu for long enough. I'm starting to grow tired of the cuisine here. Let's hand the business off and head east.

East? What kind of business awaits us there? Mining? Grain transport?

Whatever earns us money, that's what we'll do... This time, I mainly want to go home to have a look around.

...

You asked me before if there exists a wisdom that stands true everywhere.

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

Be it law and morality, faith and honor, there is nothing under Heaven that cannot be accounted for in a ledger.

Thank you for that.

My dear sister, I've settled an account.

All these years, each of us have lived lives across Yan and recorded our own gains and losses on our respective ledgers.

Dage found his own path, but he found himself an outlier in this mortal realm, a place in which he cannot love, hate, or even let go. A loss.

Ling has lived a carefree life. This realm cannot bind her. She finds her own joy. A profit.

And our younger sisters. Not necessarily incisive, but they have little that troubles them. They are breaking even.

As for Erge, our second-eldest brother... Well, Jie is dead. No matter how you slice it, a tremendous loss.

Our family has been under the Yanese thumb for over a millennium. I truly cannot see how we are gaining anything from this transaction.

Most important... is you, my dear sister.

Has the question of profit really never crossed your mind?

A substitute?

Yes.

I place my bet on a conclusion. For revenge, and for us.

How... is it even possible?

One-twelfth is no match for the whole.

What are your chances... How confident are you?

I've worked this out over a long time...

There are nineteen lines on a weiqi board, both horizontal and vertical. All the moves one could make have already been calculated. The white player is compensated seven-and-a-half points, giving black less than half a winning chance.

Truly, a most difficult task on my own.

That is why I need your help.

If I were to tell you there remains a shred of hope and that this is the one and only way...

Would you be willing to put your wealth and life on the line?

You catch up fast.

Perhaps it's time to give an explanation for your actions.

What form of explanation would you like, Lord Zuo?

You roused demons to lay harm to the citizenry, seized the country's fortifications, and even plotted against the other proxies.

Given your actions, your crimes are far worse than Wang's.

I may have some objections to your charges, but what would you like to do here?

Hand over the cloth, and return to the capital under Sui Regulator supervision.

And what will I get in return?

A chance at a fair trial.

A shame that it is not a price I am willing to pay.

You would make an enemy of Yan?

If I would, what could you possibly do?

...

Is it really so much fun to pick on mortals?

It's you—?

Not bad, kid. You managed to tail him all the way here. Gotta hand it to you.

But this is a family matter. You Sui Regulator folks will have to give us some personal space.

You escaped the heart. You are moving faster than I anticipated. Seems my little sisters have grown up.

Don't talk like we're all getting along.

What do you think this is, a test? And here I thought you were actually trying to off us.

Don't be ridiculous.

So you've been laying low all these years to weave this cloth.

Making clothes out of Yan's splendor Not bad.

He needs this before he goes to see It.

Having travelled all around Yan, I thought it a shame when I finally decided to weave Dahuang into it.

So you two are in on this together—

And he's finished preparing already...?

I should've figured. You get along with the weiqi failure the best.

Don't act like you don't know what taking your cloth out of this place means.

This is a straight-up declaration of war against Yan.

And?

You're Sange, my third brother. And truth be told, out of all my older siblings, you're one of the ones I like best. I always feel like the two of us crank out some pretty sick ideas.

Remember how I helped you sell fakes of Dusk's paintings that one time?

You what?!

But I'm sorry, this is way overdoing it, even for me.

A shame.

From the looks of it, you're not on my side either, Dusk?

In your dreams.

It's been a few centuries since we've had a family reunion with more than three of us. To think that the first thing we'd be doing is fighting among ourselves, just like all those years ago.

What's the deal? Reminiscing on old times?

If we can talk this out peacefully, I would rather us not come to blows.

How could I possibly raise a hand against my little sisters?

Drop the big talk already. It's two against one. The odds are stacked against you.

Well, we'll just have to see how it all turns out, then.

This time, not even the army of that great wild hunt years ago could stop me.