Terminus

In the excessively prolonged stupor and slumber, the long dream seemed finally to reach its end. Tong Shan's eyelids fluttered, and he opened his eyes. Outside the window lay the afternoon sunlight; within the outpost, voices bustled with clamor. "Ayo, the vegetable is awake!" A face covered in scars and wrapped in gauze poked forward, grinning. It was Ji Liu, winking and mugging. "Actually, you've been in a coma for twenty years. It's twenty years later now—isn't that right, Little Xue?" "Ah, yes, yes, totally!" Ji Xue, seated in a wheelchair, nodded furiously, beaming ear to ear. "The doctor said some parts were damaged beyond repair and couldn't be saved, so they snipped them right off... Brother Shan, you're a pretty girl now!" Tong Shan's lips parted with great effort, his breath weak as a thread: "You..." "Hmm?" Ji Liu froze, waving at Ji Xue to fetch the doctor, then leaned in closer. "What is it? Where does it hurt?" Tong Shan breathed faintly, "You're... sitting on my... oxygen tube..." Ji Liu looked down in horror, only to find nothing beneath his backside. Turning back to Tong Shan, he finally caught the sly smile at the corner of the man's mouth. Unable to hold it in any longer, he burst out laughing. "Welcome back, Brother Shan!" He bent down and gave him a fierce hug. The commotion went on for a short while. Only after his colleagues' visits and the doctor's examination finished did he finally relax, just in time to hear a crisp knock on the door. "Sorry, I was just in a meeting. Came a little late." She waved the fresh flowers she had just pinched from the meeting room, tossed them casually into a vase, and sat down. "Didn't expect you to wake up after sleeping for only two days. How are you holding up?" "A bit... can't muster any strength." "Matrix trauma, corruption pollution—perfectly normal." Lyu Yingyue sighed. "If Madam Lou hadn't arrived early, you'd probably be dead by now... "You really should have heard how she chewed out Tong Ting. Your Fourth Uncle's face turned completely green, and he couldn't even talk back. Hahaha, that was the first time I've ever seen him look so pathetic." Tong Shan forced a faint smile, but in the end couldn't resist asking: "How is Quancheng?" "Restored to peace. Lord Tao's lifelong aspiration can be considered fulfilled. "These past few days, traces of corruption have largely vanished. Word is that scavengers have already appeared in the surrounding area; the bolder ones are already scheming to climb over the isolation barrier to make a quick fortune. "Before long, once the Security Bureau's sentry posts withdraw, many survivors who fled Quancheng back then will probably migrate back, won't they? "Native-place associations across Haizhou are already mobilizing manpower and seeking support. It's just that some residual corruption still lingers, and the events of back then aren't that far behind us, so it's hard to see immediate results yet. "In another ten or twenty years, after everyone forgets the past, new settlements will emerge. In several decades, perhaps a bit of its former prosperity can be restored." Lyu Yingyue paused, sighing with emotion. "Only, by that time, it might not even be called Quancheng anymore." "But what about what happened in the past?" Tong Shan asked quietly, "And Lord Tao's sacrifice—is that to be forgotten as well?" "Lord Tao wouldn't care." Lyu Yingyue patted his shoulder. "There is too much suffering in the mortal world, which is why people must learn to forget. Otherwise, unable to bear the weight of the past, they wouldn't be able to move forward." Tong Shan fell silent for a long time. "A lot of this could have been avoided." He said, "If... if only the Federation had acted sooner... No, if Midtown had acted earlier... Since they can command the Heavenly Overseer, why couldn't they make a decisive call sooner?" "A decisive call?" Lyu Yingyue could not help but shake her head again. "Sometimes, steeling one's resolve takes nothing more than the courage of a single man. But other times, making a decision requires the unity of myriad minds. "Not to mention..." She paused, unable to suppress her contempt and derision. "If those old bastards could truly wield the Heavenly Overseer, how could the Federation have fractured to this extent?" The Federation had been founded four hundred years ago, enduring to this day through countless trials and storms. Its glory and prosperity seemed greater than ever, yet had its internal divisions and tremors ever ceased? Reshuffle after reshuffle, struggle after struggle, presidents replaced one after another, factions scrambling onto the stage one by one. By now, it had long since become unrecognizable. For more than a century, not a single soul had been able to gain the acknowledgment of the Federation's true supreme authority—the Heavenly Overseer. Without achieving unity from multiplicity, without integrating the states of the Northern Continent and reorganizing the Federation, one was doomed never to receive a response from the Heavenly Overseer. Yet without the Heavenly Overseer's acknowledgment and backing, it was absolutely impossible to reorganize the Federation and unite the many into one. This was a dead end, a vicious cycle tangled like a thousand knotted threads. Just like the Empire's Earthly Warden. The two matrices, functioning as Sovereign Virtue Implements, could only sit idle today, gathering dust in armories, brought out only when necessary to serve as figureheads and deterrents. Who knew what staggering price had to be paid for that fleeting glimpse earlier? Unless fire was singeing their eyebrows, how could the lords of Midtown ever invest such enormous capital for an uncultured backwater like this? "Lately, people often say that Tianyuan and the White Stag are inherently a constant cycle and reincarnation of the world. After four hundred years of the Tianyuan era, perhaps the White Stag's era of wilderness is about to arrive." She let out a long sigh. "Get some proper rest, Secretary Tong. Affairs in Yacheng are complicated and chaotic; there's a whole mountain of troubles waiting ahead." Lu Changsheng was dead. Yet his death was merely the beginning. Sometimes a tragic cautionary tale deterred the vermin, snakes, and rats, but other times, a price paid in fresh blood only awakened more careerists and megalomaniacs. One Lu Changsheng had died, but who dared say a hundred or a thousand more wouldn't crop up? He had proven through his own deeds that black and white were not immutable, and that the established laws of the mortal world were not unshakeable. From now on, who knew how many schemers lurking in the shadows waiting for their chance, and how many troublemakers professing righteousness and orthodoxy, would swarm the stage. A turbulent, agonizing era stretched ahead. This world was like firewood piled perilously high, yet what it lacked least of all was flying sparks. When the rolling flames spread one day, untold smoke from war fires would blot out the heavens. Federation, Empire, Mid-Continent, Thousand Islands... everyone had long since grown impatient. "Oh right, one last piece of good news before I go." Before rising to leave, noticing Tong Shan's melancholy, Lyu Yingyue looked back and told him, "Ji Jue has been found." Tong Shan stared in astonishment. Instinctively trying to sit up, he failed to push himself up and fell back down. Paying no heed to his disheveled state, he asked in a rush: "Where is he? Did anything happen to him? His condition? How is he?" "Right next door to you. Though his condition can hardly be called optimistic." Lyu Yingyue shook her head regretfully. "No telling how long he was tortured in Kanemoto's workshop before this. Now, having escaped by a stroke of luck, his spiritus is overdrawn, his physical body heavily damaged, and his soul on the brink of shattering. "Word has it that when the search-and-rescue team found him in the ruins, he was already on the verge of bleeding to death. After all this emergency treatment, he only just got out of critical condition, and hasn't woken up yet." Saying this, she reached out, pushed Tong Shan back down onto the bed, and patted his shoulder one last time. "Once you feel a bit better, go visit him." The door clicked shut softly. In the silence, Tong Shan turned his head, staring blankly at the sunlight outside the window. After a long while, he chuckled softly. Utterly relieved. *** Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack, click-clack... Throughout the long journey, the rhythmic clatter of wheels striking the rails could always be heard, but strangely enough, it never felt irritating; once accustomed to it, it brought a sense of peace. As if step by step, one were traversing roads and journeying toward the distance. Afternoon sunlight spilled in through the window, carrying faint disturbances of watermarks and specks of dust, pure and limpid, gilding everything in a soft golden rim. Everything seemed steeped in memory, immersed in that amber-like, everlasting gentle glow. Unchanged. "And then? And then?" She rested her chin in her hands, smiling warmly as she asked, "What happened after that?" "And then? Well, then came the awesome part!" Ji Jue snapped back to the moment and continued, "I stepped right up, pointed right at his old nose, and cursed him out! I said, 'You shameless old bastard! In the name of the Embers and in the name of Tianyuan, I'm ridding the world of you today!' "And then that guy named Kanemoto got so scared he plopped onto the ground and started bawling! He began kowtowing and begging for mercy, spouting nonsense about high purine levels and lacking democracy, begging to kowtow and take me as his adoptive father! Shameless as hell, so I kicked him right aside. "A pity he ran too fast—I didn't get to chop off his dog head with one slash... "And what Evil Transmutation Cult? What abomination? Mere clay chickens and pottery dogs! I gave 'em a couple of kicks and they all scrambled away! Piece of cake!" "So amazing!" She clapped in admiration, filled with joy and delight. No matter how absurd and bizarre the things coming out of Ji Jue's mouth were, she trusted him without hesitation, gently stroking his hair. "You worked so hard." "It was just minor stuff, nothing hard at all," Ji Jue said with a laugh. "Besides, so many people helped me." "You made lots of good friends, didn't you?" "Yeah." "Though there seem to be quite a lot of pretty girls..." "There are plenty of guys too." "Wouldn't it be better if there were fewer of them?" "Mom..." At that, she laughed once more. She embraced him. Her long hair flowed like water under the sunlight, glowing with radiant luster, breathtakingly beautiful. Until long afterward, when the rhythmic clatter against the rails came to a sudden halt, and the distant city drew near. The oncoming scenery shifted from desolate wilderness to clusters of houses, with high-rises and towering buildings standing in the distance. A voice came over the loudspeaker: "Next stop, Terminus: Yacheng. Passengers disembarking, please prepare..." "Wear more clothes." "Yeah." "Take good care of your body. You can't let it get all battered up anymore." "Yeah." "Study well. But you're already doing great at studying, so take more breaks and give yourself some time off." "Okay." "Find a girlfriend soon, okay?" She leaned in fondly, rubbing her cheek against his. "When two people are together, you won't be lonely anymore, and no matter how big the trouble is, you won't be afraid." "Yeah." Ji Jue lowered his head, listening in silence. Ignoring the platform they were gradually pulling into, and the departure chimes ringing out urges time and again. After a long time, he finally gathered his courage and raised his eyes to look at her. She was looking at him too, as though she had been waiting for a long time, full of hope and encouragement. Ji Jue said, "Mom, I have to go." "I know." She raised her hand to caress his cheek, her fingertips gently tracing every scar, feeling the gradual changes in his contours, clinging yet letting go. "Have you thought about where you're going?" "Not yet." Ji Jue hesitated, looking at her. "Do you think... I can still keep moving forward?" "Of course." She nodded firmly, without the slightest hesitation. "Journeys are just like that, aren't they? There will always be times when you get tired. If you can't figure things out or find your direction, just sit down and have a good rest." She opened her arms and gave him one last gentle embrace. "When you're ready, set out on a new path. Gather your courage and move forward. There's no need to worry, and nothing to fear." Ji Jue closed his eyes, holding her tight. Until she released him and took a step back. Smiling, she looked at him. Ji Jue froze for a second, instinctively reaching out to touch her. Standing right where she was, she took his hand, so gentle. "It's time to set off, Ji Jue." She said, "Don't let the train meant for you wait too long." From far away came the sound of a train whistle. Standing by the door, Ji Jue looked back at the figure waving to him from inside the carriage. She was watching him, gazing with the same enduring hope as always. For a fleeting moment, he could no longer hold back; he wanted to turn, rush back, embrace her, and tell her that it was fine if he never set out—that he could stay here forever. Yet she was looking at him. Gently shaking her head. So solemn, so resolute. Until at last, he took that first step forward. Amidst her blessing laughter. Outside the train car, sunlight cascaded down like a waterfall, sweeping forward with a roar. Engulfing everything. Ji Jue opened his eyes.