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Wanshi: Lucid Dreamer VI
Okay... That should do it.
By the time Wanshi finishes treating the injured researcher, the sun that had been stubbornly hanging in the sky has long set, marking the end of this year's Rain Flower Festival.
While you did take a tumble, too, everyone still acknowledges your time as the "fastest record" in Rain Flower Festival history.
The festival prizes—several vats of rice wine and basketfuls of maltose candy—have all been delivered to the clinic.
While Wan goes door to door giving candy to the children, the yellow wine remains in the clinic, filling the room with its rich, mellow aroma.
The fragrant wine draws in some of the researchers who are eager for a few gulps—since nobody at the clinic is particularly interested in alcohol, you decide to share it with the townspeople and researchers alike.
That's why everyone's drinking themselves into oblivion.
Upon returning, Wanshi steps carefully around the drunk revelers and begins brewing yesterday's herbs on the stove.
Don't worry, this one's not meant for you.
A few people got drunk at the festival and went into the woods to pick mushrooms, ignoring all warnings.
We're heading back to Babylonia when the Rain Flower Festival ends.
I haven't been here for all that long... but this place is a pleasant one, and the memories will stay with me.
I hope I can visit again someday.
Hurried footsteps from outside the door interrupt your thoughts.
Dr. Wanshi! Commandant!
The Rain Flower Festival! Yes, that's it, the Rain Flower Festival! Oh, it sure took me a while!
Supported by Wan, Zhongjing hurries inside, carefully cradling a worn notebook in his hands.
You struck me as oddly familiar... I can't believe it didn't occur to me sooner who you are. I should have guessed who you are right away.
Zhongjing stares at Wanshi with excitement, his aged body trembling with emotion.
Your parents are from Kowloong, right?
...? Why are we talking about this all of a sudden...
Your mother! Her name... was it Wanxu?
...
Wanshi doesn't answer, but the look on his face says it all.
It was before the Punishing outbreak, right before the Rain Flower Festival. A group of Kowloong researchers got lost in the mountains then, too, and my daughter brought them back to the clinic.
They made quite a few mechanical aids for Nanyun and helped repair our clinic. Some of those machines were lucky enough to survive the Punishing... and we're still using them to this day...
Also, there was this incredibly skilled doctor from Kowloong who came with the researchers. The doctor left behind quite a collection of medical records.
Wait, you can't be talking about...
I'm talking about your parents, Dr. Wanshi!
It's amazing how you managed to make these mechanoids look so much like humans... Truly remarkable.
It's just what I'm interested in. They're nothing advanced, but they get the job done.
They even helped repair our clinic... But there are fewer and fewer people in town now. I'm afraid all this advanced equipment will go to waste in the future. It's just my daughter and me now... The clinic probably won't stay open much longer...
Don't worry. Nanyun is a wonderful place. Everyone who leaves here carries it in their hearts... As long as there are people, they'll need clinics, and they'll need mechanical support, too.
Those medicinal herbs you use for treatment—you gather them from the mountain back there, right? Some of our fellow researchers are interested in that, too. They say these herbs are rare varieties that are hard to find elsewhere. Why don't you try making something of this?
Besides... there will come a day when people return to their roots. They will come back home, and the town will prosper once again.
This... This couldn't be more perfect.
The pristine, aloof woman shows a rare smile.
Whether it's ten, thirty, or fifty years from now, I hope that when I return to this small town, I'll find you all still doing as well as you do now.
She places her hand on her own abdomen.
Everyone wants to see their children grow up... just as they want to see what the future holds for this town.
And so it will be passed down through generations.
After helping us organize that year's Rain Flower Festival, Wanxu never came back here...
Soon after that... the Punishing hit. Nanyun was too remote—by the time we learned what was happening, it was already too late.
I took my daughter and some mechanoids to follow the townspeople into our mountain refuge. It was a long time before we came back.
During that time, I lost my daughter, who left Wan behind. Wan was infected by the Punishing... and I had to operate on her myself...
Wanshi lowers his head to the story, but Zhongjing shows no signs of sadness.
Some people are gone now, and some places have been destroyed, but...
As you can see, everything was gone, yet everything has also returned.
The Rain Flower Festival hasn't changed a bit.
Zhongjing pats Wanshi on the shoulder.
Take this journal with you.
Wanshi accepts the weathered journal and gently opens it. The steady, methodical handwriting within has finally traversed the long expanse of time and space.
Inside are research logs from Wanxu and the other researchers, notes on the medical case they worked on after they arrived in Nanyun, and even personal musings scribbled in the margins.
In the margin of one of the pages, however, is a name that everyone reading these pages knows.
When this child is born, we'll name him "Wanshi".
Wanshi?
The researchers pause their work to look at the woman at the desk. A component covered in oil rolls down the corridor, but no one pays it any mind.
Yes, and the name comes with quite a few meanings... "All Things in Creation"...? Or perhaps "May All Things Go Well, And Every Wish Come True"...?
What a beautiful name.
Sure is.
That's not asking for too much...?
Wanxu gently strokes the hair of Zhongjing's daughter, who is resting her head on the table.
But it is what it is... Humans as a species—mothers especially—are naturally greedy creatures.
Every parent wishes to give their child all the best things this world has to offer.
I want to watch him grow up, see what life brings his way, witness the choices he makes...
Wanxu closes her eyes, as if visualizing what Wanshi will become in the future.
I hope that no matter how difficult life is going to be for him...
May he eventually get everything he desires, guided by the meaning of this name.
On the day you and the others leave Nanyun Old Town, a brilliant sun hangs high in the sky. The group has barely covered any distance when large beads of sweat begin rolling down your foreheads.
"After the Rain Flower season comes the scorching heat"—the townspeople weren't kidding when they said that.
Phew... This sun... it's way more brutal than when we first got here...
Maybe I should find some shade and catch a quick nap...
Um... fine.
Wanshi rubs his eyes and straightens his back, as if trying to keep himself from dozing off on the way, then picks up his pace.
Ever since Wanshi obtained the researchers' notes that night, Wanshi's mood has noticeably dampened, although he's never brought up the subject himself.
Yup?
Wanshi lifts his head and looks over.
Oh, that...
I know what you're gonna ask, but as I've said... "Let's not worry about each other."
I made a promise—I know exactly what I want now, and there's no room for hesitation.
At these words, Wanshi stops in his tracks.
And there is this other thing I've said before.
—I'm not interested in fighting for humanity's fate. I just want to heal those who matter to me.
The circle of people I hold dear is so much bigger now.
Kamui, Camu, Chrome, the Gray Ravens, the people from Nanyun... I've met more and more people, and the number of people I've saved... has grown beyond anything you could imagine.
I wasn't quite sure if I could truly shoulder the weight of all these lives.
But that's not the way I see it anymore.
With what I've gained from all of you, I'm not more than capable of overcoming these hesitations.
You listen to Wanshi's response and nod slowly.
Hm? What is it?
After a brief pause, you continue.
Wanshi listens quietly. The wind through the forest suddenly picks up, stirring leaves all around into a rustling chorus, yet it fails to drown out the earnest voice of the human speaking.
—Having heard everything you've said, Wanshi simply smiles.
Yeah, I know.
Likewise... you've done well all this time.
Stepping onto a root protruding from the soil, Wanshi reaches out his hand to you once more.
Come on, let's keep going.
