The paddy fields ripened like liquid sunlight.Every stalk bent heavy with grain, and laughter echoed across Anning as the villagers began the harvest.It was the busiest, happiest time of the year — the scent of wet soil and rice husks filled the air, and even the wind seemed to hum along with their work.
Achu wore her straw hat low against the glare, sleeves rolled to her elbows.Ran and Chen worked beside her, scythes flashing in rhythm.Little Fei ran between them, clutching a bundle of cut stalks nearly taller than she was.
"Look, Mom! I'm helping!"
"You are," Achu said, smiling faintly. "Just don't fall into the mud again."
Fei giggled and promptly slipped anyway, landing on her backside with a small plop.Everyone laughed, even Lin — the sound low and unfamiliar in his throat.
The Stranger Among Farmers
Lin had been in the village for almost a week now.He blended in better than Achu expected: carrying water, fixing the roof, helping the elders lift sacks of rice.But when he thought no one was watching, his eyes always scanned the horizon — alert, measuring distances, tracing movement like a soldier.
Chen noticed it often."Uncle Lin," he asked one evening while stacking harvested bundles, "why do you always look toward the mountains?"
Lin hesitated, wiping sweat from his brow."Habit," he said. "Some things are hard to unlearn."
Achu, tying the bundles nearby, looked at him — but said nothing.
That night, the villagers gathered for the harvest meal under the open sky.Long wooden tables stretched through the square, covered with bowls of steamed rice, pickled vegetables, and roasted boar.Lanterns floated above, soft as stars.
Fei fell asleep halfway through her meal, cheek pressed to her bowl.Ran and Chen helped carry her home, leaving Achu and Lin at the edge of the square, the firelight flickering between them.
Lin broke the silence first."You rebuilt all this with your own hands," he said. "Without the Empire. Without cultivation. Just people."
Achu's gaze followed the villagers laughing, singing."Yes. That was the point."
Lin's hands tightened around his cup. "And yet it was their hands — the Apothecary Order's — that made Fei."
Achu turned her head sharply. "Say it plainly."
He met her eyes. "I was one of them."
The music from the square drifted faintly as Lin spoke."I was the youngest Enforcer of the Royal Apothecary Order. Our task was simple — to bring back you, the lost royal apothecary. The one who fled with forbidden research. They said your work could reshape life itself."
Achu's expression did not move, but the air between them grew colder."And instead?"
"I found you already gone. All that remained was a dying infant — a failed vessel of your experiments."
His voice cracked slightly. "They ordered me to burn her. To erase the evidence."
Achu's breath stilled.
"I couldn't." Lin's eyes lowered. "So I took her. Hid her in the slums. Paid a midwife to raise her until I could no longer protect her. Then… someone left her on your doorstep."
The night was silent except for the rustle of rice stalks swaying in the wind.
"So," Achu said quietly, "you betrayed me to save her."
He nodded once. "And I've been watching ever since — to make sure neither of you were found."
They stood there for a long time, the moonlight pooling at their feet.In the distance, laughter rose as villagers began singing an old harvest song.Fei's soft snores drifted faintly from the nearby house.
Achu finally spoke."The past has long hands, Lin. But I will not let it touch this place again."
"I know," he said. "That's why I came. The Order is moving again. They've learned the cure you released came from here."
Achu's gaze hardened."So peace has an expiration date after all."
Lin looked down, a faint smile on his lips."Then let me help you defend it this time. Not as an enforcer… but as a farmer."
Achu's lips curved slightly. "We'll see if you can wake up before dawn for irrigation."
He chuckled, bowing his head. "I'll learn."
The harvest ended beneath a full rice moon — vast and golden, reflected in every field like a hundred small suns.Achu watched as Lin joined the villagers, his hands clumsy but sincere.For the first time, he looked less like a shadow and more like part of the world he once tried to destroy.
Fei stirred in her sleep and whispered, "Papa…"
Achu turned toward the whisper, her expression unreadable.Then, softly, she whispered back, "Maybe this time, the world will forgive us."