Shu

"All life requires both sunlight and water to grow. While this potted plant seems to have its needs met, I don't think you've had your ten cups of water yet today."

"Who am 'I'? The answer lies only in all that I've seen. The same way seeds are inanimate, and yet they germinate after you put them in the ground. I too lodged myself in a seed once, to feel the growth of life. You wonder what it's like? Hehe, take a deep breath and you've more or less felt it."

"I am no fin, and yet I can reason what one is thinking. You may say I've spent the whole day idling. But you are not me, so how can you tell I've not been swimming freely with the fins in the ever-flowing streams? Yes, I know you think this water jug is too small for fincatching, but who's to say I can't drop a line in?"

"My eldest brother Shuo guards the border all year round, while my eldest sister Ling sleeps her days away clutching a pot of wine. Without me worrying over the rest of us, we would've ceased to be 'siblings' long ago. Hmm? Of course it's my duty to look after them—I'm the sixth out of us twelve, making me a dà jiě jiě to five."

"Give me your hand. I'll read your palm. Hmm... Your heaven, earth, and human lines are really impressive. Your past is dim and vague. Your journey is fraught with peril. Your future is criss-crossed with conflict... I see. You are an 'ordinary one' who 'stirs up a storm fighting for a good end.'"

"A pity? How so? Petals fall to the ground, so the soil may be nourished, allowing new flowers to bloom the following year. Rivers flow into the sea, but the water will condense into clouds, raining the drops back onto the mountains and streams. Even if this great land is to meet a snow-white end, the cycle continues. When spring comes, there will always be buds sprouting anew."

"Grain Buds is teaching some children how to make string figures? Yes, it's a Yanese children's hobby. A millennium ago, my younger brother had just arrived in Dahuang, where he invented this pastime to entertain the lonely children. A string in his hands could turn into countless hours of fun... Ah... it's been a thousand years."

"There's a pond up ahead—Nian! I see you adding chili oil to Dusk's cup. The villagers tell of a huge fin—Dusk! Pouring ink into Nian's bowl is going too far. Oh, Doctor, would you like to go fincatch—Are you two still fighting?! ...Get over here, both of you."

"Our lives vary in their spans, and in their spans only. Just as how this landship holds so many people on its decks, a fallen leaf floating in that puddle is a sufficient vessel to sustain an ant for its entire life. Our burdens only grow as we gather more, yet you and I are naught but a single millet grain in our respective realms."

"In east sun lifts; in west moons fall. Spring cold foretells rain; summer chill, clear skies."

"Nian should have already told you my name—'Shu'. With my eldest brother, eldest sister, and my two younger sisters here, I feel as if I've returned home... Intriguing. Has that boy from the Sui Regulator not caused you any trouble yet?"

"Sow no reason for retaliation—point your blades at one another, and strife will never end."

"The people of Dahuang pray for a year of peace and harvest with this jade cong. The ceremonial artifact also serves as the source of the one I hold in my hand. Summon wind and rain? Hehe, of course I can. Want me to demonstrate?"

"The fertile fields stretch to the horizon, the fragrance of rice spreads from the golden ocean... Day after day, year after year, with constant work, it finally draws near."

"A day of fine sun and gentle breeze. I hope everyone makes it home safe."

"Just don't get yourselves hurt."

"Reap not what's sown by malice."

"When were the seeds of this tragedy planted?"

"I wasn't supposed to act, but..."

"If you're really incapable of settling this, then let me handle it."

"Spring breeze, timely rain; now we sow the grain."

"'War'... A word I've not heard in a long, long time."

"Clear skies for Qingming, rain clouds for Guyu."

"Sow the mountains when summer leaves a white dew. Seed the plains when equinox paints russet hue."

"Branch and bone bear weeds; mounds and ruins bloom fields."

"I'll plant you into the soil to grow anew."

"Seeds are now in the field—another season full of hope."

"Good, good. I had no idea you were so clever and learned. I was going to ask you help me make maiyatang, but with such a good head on your shoulders, I'm feeling a little bad now."

"Perfection is a tall order, just as our crops may suffer from inclement weather, Catastrophe, and pestilence. These problems may not be solved in ten thousand years. You tried your best."

"Fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same coin. What you have sown is not necessarily wicked, so why lose heart?"

"Now let's see... where's a good spot for my fincatching tools?"

"You want me to plant you in the soil too?"

"Hm? You want to come fincatching with me?"

"Come over here for a bit. Let's see... Hmm, the crops cultivated in Jiangqi this year are indeed taller than a man."

"What a crowd! I'll take you to Dahuang for their famous opera, if we get the chance. In the old days, its people numbered no more than a hundred, but today it truly is a city. I see you've gained a good number of new faces too. For tens, hundreds, and thousands of years, those before us and those yet to come will spend their days just as we do now—with company."

"'The third nine days after Winter Solstice, all lakes and rivers frozen to ice. The fourth nine days, we can still walk on them.' Soon those ice surfaces will be thick enough to carry us, and the coldest time of year will arrive. Did Nian's hotpot warm you up? If not, you could ask Ling for some of her drink. Come on, let's go out and see if it's snowing. An auspicious snowfall tells of a bountiful year, and perhaps the new year will bring us a good harvest."

"Happy birthday. Let me tell your fortune for the year. Hmm, I see a prosperous one in store for you, investments made will bring you gain, and all your wishes will come true. Truths or lies? I've told you before—the answer's in your hands."