Part 8: Waking of Insects

Open the way to peace everlasting.
Liang Yue's Father: The person who was entrusted with Qiángliáng took Liáng as their surname, passing this knowledge down through their descendants.
Liang Yue's Father: But to this day, the Xiǎndào Beast, Qiángliáng, has not appeared to a Liáng family member for nearly a century.
Liang Yue's Father: If the mind wavers or selfish desires dominate, Qiángliáng may turn on its master.
Liang Yue's Father: You are destined to carry on the Liáng legacy and bring glory to our name!
Liang Yue's Father: For the 101st time, wipe off your sweat. It'll affect your vision.
Liang Yue's Father: Stand before the ancestors' tablets with steadfast posture and grounded breath!
Liang Yue's Father: That opening stance is feeble. Your crouching stance is too clumsy. Your entire form is haphazard and weak!
Liang Yue's Father: Stand up! Again! Do it again!
Liang Yue: Do you hear their voices?
Liang Yue: Morning and night, they come to honor you, to beg blessings from you.
Liang Yue: What they pray for, their countless requests, have nothing to do with you or me.
Liang Yue: Locked away in a statue for so long, you must be lonely.
Liang Yue: Hello?

Liang Yue: Let me know if you can hear me.
Liang Yue: This is Officer Liáng Yuè—
Liang Yue: I'm calling out to you.
The colossal beast before her glares menacingly, hot vapor seething from its jagged fangs.
The red clouds of the night burst like blood blossoms behind it. It looms over her as tall as a pagoda, striking awe and terror.
Its eyes are hot sears that burn into her skin. The tiny figure at its feet is emotionless and inscrutable.
Liang Yue: Don't you recognize me?
The beast scrapes its claws against the ground, lowering into a poised stance.
She recognizes the move. It wasn't friendly. It was preparing to strike.
Liang Yue: I see. Waking you up won't be so simple.
Liang Yue: I'll have to entertain you first, right?
Before she could finish, the beast lunges out like an arrow from a bow.
Stones tumble, and the temple appears on the verge of collapse.
Her pounding heart pushes blood and primal adrenaline through her veins. Liáng Yuè lands barely along the edge of a water tank.
Liang Yue: Huff, huff. You really don't hold back, do you? I didn't think you'd come at me with full force.
Liang Yue: But I knew playing with you would come with some risks.
The beast tilts its head to look around. With a flick of its tail, a row of roof tiles tumbles to the ground.
Liang Yue: Calm down, Liáng Yuè. Even without it, you have your own strength.
Liang Yue: You can defeat it.
The wind howls, carrying bamboo leaves and debris swirling through the air.
In the hazy moonlight, the sweat on the girl's nose glistens with a silver sheen.
Liang Yue: First Move: Starting Form.
Focus your breath in your core, feet skimming the ground, as though lifting a thousand pounds.
Liang Yue: Second Move: The Dance.
The rain and wind serve as blades. Roars become bullhorns. Dance to the rhythm, the wilder, the better.
Liang Yue: Third Move: Pressing the Seal.
Twelve-hour scripts, nine palaces, and eight trigrams. Fingers spin like scattered stars, reshaping the cosmos.
Liang Yue: Fourth Move: The Heavenly Step.
Rise to the heavens, traverse the nine provinces, and roam the world. Starry pearls shine in the cosmos, eclipsing all beauty.
Liang Yue: Fifth Move: Stomping Fire.
Thunder and fire collide. Swarms of cobalt blue damselflies gather and spread, becoming phosphorus flames and burning everything to ash.
Liang Yue: Sixth Move: Banishing Evil.
Flames roll across her skin as the beast unleashes a deafening roar, retreating step by step against the tolling of the copper bells.
Only then can one understand—
All things are one with me.
With a fierce roar, the beast turns the night blood-red. Moonlight shatters like bones, illuminating the girl's flowing black hair in the wind.
Dressed in ceremonial attire, the girl murmurs, her form shifting as she combines martial arts and ritual dance. She harnesses her energy, bamboo leaves spiraling like knives in the air.
Copper bells chime, resonating through the tiled temple. The beast shudders under the relentless clanging, retreating inch by inch.
Qiangliang: Arooo—!!!
Under the vast sky, the beast let out a painful wail.
Liang Yue's Mother: Did you feel that?
Liang Yue's Mother: It felt like an earthquake.
The rhythmic chopping slows to a stop.
The elderly couple turns to look out the window.
Liang Yue's Father: Listen closely. That sounded like a tiger's roar.
Liang Yue's Mother: The sound is so vivid. It's coming from the temple.
The two lock eyes, faces shifting into mutual realization.
They have a bad feeling.
Liang Yue's Father: We need to go.
Liang Yue's Mother: Huff … huff …
Liang Yue's Mother: Yuè—?!
Liang Yue's Father: Yuè? What are you doing here? Didn't you say your flight was delayed?
The temple is tranquil now. Duckweed ripples gently in the cistern.
Despite the bamboo shadows swaying, all traces of the storm have vanished.
There standing in the moonlit courtyard is a girl.
She turns to face them.
Liang Yue: Father, Mother.
Liang Yue's Mother: Why are you wearing ceremonial attire?
What were you doing out here?
The question is loaded with meaning. She never doubts her mother's intuition. But now isn't the time.
Liang Yue: Oh! Nothing, I just came back early and thought I'd surprise you, so I didn't tell you.
Liang Yue's Mother: Surprise? Who surprises someone by coming to the temple and making a racket? That's ...
She looks over to her husband, expecting a matching response.
He says nothing but gives his daughter a long and deep stare, filled with unspoken words.
Then, he reaches out for her.
Liang Yue's Father: You look full of energy.
Liang Yue: That's because I'm your daughter.
She gently takes her father's hand from her shoulder.
Liang Yue's Father: Hahahaha!
Liang Yue's Father: Come on! Let's go home for dinner.
Liang Yue: Wait a second, Father, Mother.
Liang Yue: Can I invite a little friend to join us for dinner?
Liang Yue's Mother: Of course! Why not?
Liang Yue's Mother: Who is it? A new friend you made in America? Or an old classmate from the academy?
Liáng Yuè shakes her head and takes out her phone, dialing a number.
The beast appears before them.
Liang Yue: Allow me to introduce you to my new colleague and friend.
Liang Yue: Officer Qiángliáng.
Text Message: "."
Text Message: "--&@ ... #% ..."
Text Message: "..."

Text Message: "(#￥(()#——"
Text Message: "..."
Text Message: "@ ............ @ ..."
Liang Yue: Huh, it seems like deciphering your language will take some time.
Liang Yue: But we can do it, right?
The beast hears her and shakes itself, lifting its chin to give Liáng Yuè a sideways glance.
Then, almost imperceptibly, it nods.
Liang Yue's Mother: Qiángliáng wasn't really lost, was it?
Liang Yue's Mother: But ...
Liáng Yuè wonders how to explain, but her mother's concern is cut short.
Liang Yue's Father: Well, losing it wouldn't have been a bad thing, and keeping it isn't something to take for granted either.
His gaze lingers on his daughter for a moment longer, studying her with doubt until he looks away.
He exhales deeply, releasing a breath that had been stuck in his chest.
Liang Yue's Father: We're just glad you're alright.
The coarse hand that had almost settled on her shoulder hesitates and falls to his side.
The family's shadows stretch long as they walk away, their outlines tracing the moss-covered stone steps of the temple.
The stone steps silently crack open.
The fissure runs upward along the pillars, past several beams, reaching the temple's roof ridge, where two Chīwěn statues perched.
Liang Yue: —!
She swivels back to look back at the temple.
In the cool night, it seems almost like a mirage, majestic and serene.
Liang Yue's Father: What's wrong, Yuè?
Her father follows her eyes backward.
From behind the temple, a flock of white cranes takes flight.
Their snow-white wings stretched wide under the boundless sky before folding back again, soft feathers gently floating down from above.
Liang Yue's Father: What are you looking at?
It's a fleeting moment lost in a trance.
Liang Yue: Nothing.
She watches the flock of white cranes and smiles before stepping across the temple's threshold.
Part 8 Waking of Insects
Liang Yue as Herself
Qiangliang as Itself
Poitier as Herself
Elden as Himself
Liang's Father as Himself
Thank You For Watching