Mufang

Mufang is an NPC aboard The Xianzhou Luofu, located in Central Starskiff Haven.
==Profile==
Mufang is a Xianzhou Native who illegally traveled to other worlds. She was recently captured and returned to the Luofu by the Cloud Knights and is now waiting for her case to be processed.
==Location==
==Voice Lines==
;(Version 1)
:: "Hmph... How did it come to this?"
;(Version 2)
:: "Well, it's about time the Ten-Lords came and picked me up."
==Dialogue==
;(First interaction)
:Mufang: *sigh* As a celestial, all I wish for is a refreshing, exciting life. How did it end up this way...
:Mufang: Hm? I was overheard... How embarrassing. I... Ahem, who... who's eavesdropping on my monologue?
: It is me!
::Mufang: I haven't returned to Xianzhou for some years. Do eavesdroppers now have no shame?
: Celestial?
::Mufang: It was a slip of the tongue. Please do not remind me.
:Mufang: We should lower our voices. The guards over there don't want me to be chatting with others... I'm nothing but a lowly criminal now.
: What crime did you commit?
: You're a convict?!
:Mufang: Shh! I already told you to lower your voice! It's something I'm proud of anyway.
:Mufang: I stole away from Xianzhou and lived for a few centuries in the otherworlds. I was recently captured by the Cloud Knights.
: Is it such a serious offense, running off to other worlds?
: I bet you absconded without a passport!
:Mufang: If only the world was as naive as you.
:Mufang: On Xianzhou, leaving for other worlds without the Sky-Faring Commission's permission is a serious crime. It may be hard for you Outworlders to wrap your heads around, but you've heard of the Denizens of Abundance, right?
:Mufang: Blessed by the Abundance, they are allied armies of other long-life species who engage in wanton pillaging and reproduction. They have destroyed and transformed many worlds.
:Mufang: Xianzhou forbids the propagation of the Abominations of Abundance, and laid down strict laws to restrain the long-life species' behavior.
:Mufang: So you wish to chat a while longer? It's not like I've got anything else to do around here, besides waiting.
;(Continue onto dialogue options below)
----
;(Subsequent interactions)
:Mufang: Why're you here again?
: Why haven't you left?
::Mufang: I'm puzzled too. Why aren't the Ten-Lords spiritfarers here yet?
: I thought you left...
::Mufang: Thank goodness I'm still here. The Ten-Lords spiritfarers haven't come for me.
:Mufang: So... is something the matter? Or do you simply wish to chat with your honored celestial... I mean, me? Hurry up then. You know I don't have much time left.
: I want to know more about you.
::Mufang: Sure, I know you Outworlders are always curious.
:: I want to hear your stories of other worlds.
:;(Mufang can give one of four responses)
:;(Version one)
:::Mufang: ...Ahem, I've had many encounters these past centuries. Whether they are interesting is for you to decide. 
:::Mufang: Back when I just fled from Xianzhou, I chose a civilization that was not even a millennium young. To evade the Cloud Knights' queries, I drove the smallest escape sheath I could find to descend on the surface. 
:::Mufang: Gosh, I'll never do such a dumb thing ever again. The escape sheath almost crashed into a village full of people. 
:::Mufang: I had to force a landing from the orbit, an experience I bet no one would ever wish to have twice. I was almost smashed to bits when I landed. If I were a short-life species, I'd definitely have been killed on the spot... Good thing us Xianzhou physiques are quite tough. 
:::Mufang: Mmm, the villagers brought me back to their village. The Synesthesia Beacon had been dislodged from my synapses, so it wasn't until a long time after my recovery that I could finally understand their language.
:::Mufang: They believed I was a celestial fallen from the skies, and when they called me a "goddess," it felt like a fair reward for my ordeal. 
:;(Version two)
:::Mufang: I am... Ahem, sorry. Over the centuries, I have encountered many interesting happenings. But the most memorable one is this...
:::Mufang: Once, there was a wealthy man in a small town near the village. I called him Old Zhou. He had money, yet he also was kind and helped others in need.
:::Mufang: A pity that he wasn't very lucky. He had a son who was intellectually impaired. They are what us Xianzhou people call "Incomplete Ones"... Ahem, I digress. 
:::Mufang: Old Zhou heard of my story and held grand sacrifices with livestock to beg me to help him. I thought, darn, such fanfare! I was secretly very happy, but you know, us celestials have to put on some airs. So I replied, "I shall give it a try." 
:::Mufang: I knew that Old Zhou was a good man, so I had to try to find a way to cure his son.
:::Mufang: It is said that in the era of the Ambrosial Arbor, many alchemists — in order to gain knowledge — would feed what's called a Freelingo pill to their own experimental animal subjects to increase their intelligence, then inquire the animals on their emotions. 
::: You weren't worried about any side effects? 
::: How's that even the same thing? 
:::Mufang: Well, humans are also a type of animal. So, I took a few pills to his son, then that child suddenly came to his senses and called out the word "father." Old Zhou was overjoyed. He offered so many times to have me live in his house, all expenses paid. 
:::Mufang: So, I moved into his home and lived with him... for many years. Both Old Zhou and I disliked socializing, so I turned the yard's hens and dogs into talking beasts to help us tide over the boredom. 
:::Mufang: With every year I spent with Old Zhou, my fear for his death grew and grew. It wasn't until he lived to a hundred years old that I realized I had overdone it. 
:::Mufang: I, of course, looked just as I am now, but Old Zhou looked more like withered wood than flesh... He took my hand and said, "Enough. Enough." 
:::Mufang: I spent thirty years after that learning how to live by myself all over again.
:::Cloud Knights Soldier: Hey! Over there! That's enough talk! 
:::Mufang: They're warning us already. I'll tell you about other stories when we get the chance. 
:;(Version three)
:::Mufang: Do you take me for some storyteller? Not that I mind... I'll tell you something a little more fun this time. 
:::Mufang: After word of my feats got out of the town, many people came to me to treat their illnesses. Some I could cure, some I could only relieve, but some I couldn't do anything about with the tools I had on hand. It didn't matter though, for everyone believed in me. 
:::Mufang: As they say, "fame invites trouble to your door." A local official came by a few years later to investigate my origins. 
:::Mufang: I initially intended to dupe him, so I just showed a cigarette lighter and some immersia. This man was a tough sell though, and he didn't believe a word of it. He insisted that I resorted to illusive trickery, and had his men arrest me. 
:::Mufang: I didn't want to hurt anyone, nor did I dare to, so I followed him to the magistrate's court where he interrogated me on my background. 
:::Mufang: I was so afraid, so I told him the truth about me being a visitor from beyond, that I came from a star-faring ship in the sky, that those on the ship wouldn't age...
:::Mufang: When all that was done, he was steaming with anger, thinking I was being facetious. But he was a good man. He didn't dish out any physical punishment, just imprisoned me and told me to seriously think about who I was. 
::: Now, that's a profound philosophical question...
::: He didn't believe you even when you told him the truth...
:::Mufang: I got angrier in my time in prison. This man was a bully! I had already told him the truth, but he still threw me in a cell. 
:::Mufang: So, I remotely activated the two aurumatons I originally brought here with me. There was nowhere to maintain them, so I just kept them in Old Zhou's storehouse after I moved into town. They were too valuable. 
:::Mufang: But now I had no choice but to activate them. They marched into the prison and tore the primitive bars open with their bare hands. 
:::Mufang: As I sauntered my way out, both the guards and the local officials who scurried over to investigate looked upon me with terror, but they dared not stop me. Hahaha, just thinking back on that scene tickles me.
:::Mufang: Later on, my reputation in the county rose to new heights, to the point where I was the undisputed local governor. There was even a year when the land's Emperor sought me out to treat his eldest son. This was the highlight of my time there. 
:::Mufang: *sigh* Now that I think back on those vivid memories, that part of my life was truly exhilarating. Alas, good things never last. 
:::Cloud Knights Soldier: Hey! Over there! That's enough talk.
:::Mufang: They're warning us already. I'll tell you about other stories when we get the chance. 
:;(Version four)
:::Mufang: How about buying a cup of tea for me? Startaro bubble tea works. It tastes terrible, but I've left home for so long that I appreciate even the most terrible drinks here. 
:::Mufang: Let's see... I'll tell you about my most harrowing experience this time, when I was closest to death. 
:::Mufang: When I crash-landed on that world, there were already other charlatan celestials there. The Abominations of Abundance would never overlook primitive worlds that had no means to defend themselves. 
:::Mufang: You've heard of the borisin? They are the most battle-savvy among the Denizens of Abundance, born with full sets of wings and talons. It's said they share an origin with Foxians. Xianzhou and the borisin waged a few wars against each other in ancient times. 
:::Mufang: There was a borisin in that world. I don't know if he was a straggler of a lost world, or a scout plotting some conspiracy, but when I noticed him, he'd already built a stronghold in the mountains. 
:::Mufang: That scumbag used the common folk for experiments, modifying them with no regard for their dignity, and did every horrible act you can think of under the sky. But there was only one of me and there was nothing I could do about him. Even if I was armed, I wouldn't have dared cross him. 
:::Mufang: I thought long and hard before I decided to give it my all. If I, as a celestial, couldn't even protect the villagers who put all their faith in me, I might as well have stayed behind on the Luofu as a coward. So I...
::: You raised the flag of rebellion! 
::::Mufang: Hey! I already said I decided to give it my all!
::: You chose to run away! 
:::Mufang: I stole into the borisin's mountain city and installed a signal emitter there. 
:::Mufang: That thing only had the power for one transmission. I had intended to use it as my last resort — if anything untoward happened, at least the Cloud Knights can get here to clean it up. And now, I had the chance to use it. 
:::Mufang: Not long after, the Cloud Knights' hunting squad arrived. They practically levelled the mountain, ensuring the borisin couldn't escape. 
:::Mufang: I was pretty pleased with myself, but I knew it was probably the end of my time as a celestial. If the Cloud Knights were any good, they would follow the trail and capture me. *sigh* And so they did.
:: Why did you flee Xianzhou?
:::Mufang: I was a measly alchemist at the Alchemy Commission, mediocre in both research and medicine. Those more capable than me had already made their marks several centuries ago and climbed the ranks...
:::Mufang: In a place like Xianzhou where nothing changes, how would I ever get the chance to succeed? 
:::Mufang: There were plenty of individuals like me on Xianzhou, laboring away at mindless jobs. Centuries would fly by in the blink of an eye, then you just wait for the Ten-Lords commission's spiritfarers to claim you before you get mara-struck. I don't want any of that! 
:::Mufang: I then recalled those novels I used to read about reincarnating into a king of some alien world and such. The protagonist would always be a bum in their previous life, but became all-powerful when reincarnated. I truly envied their lives.
:::Mufang: So I thought of something — I was a terrible alchemist on Xianzhou, but if I lived in another world, with my trusty jade abaci and talent in medicine, would I still be mediocre?
:::Mufang: And that's why I found a world so desolate that no one even visited it on the astral charts, and took the chance to steal away...
:: Have you really committed a serious crime?
:::Mufang: I haven't committed a major crime, have I? It's been over three months and it's still not even my turn for the Ten-Lords Commission's investigation. It's obvious that my misdeed was insignificant.
:::Mufang: In hindsight, all I did was make a few animals talk, teach the locals how to plant modified startaros, and cured a few diabetics — though they still ended up killing themselves with primitive alchemical practices...
:::Mufang: All in all, I technically didn't even do anything! 
:::Mufang: That's right! I'm not some hardened criminal. I just want to pursue my own happiness! If I could live out the good life on Xianzhou, who would even think of slumming it out in some lowly civilization! 
:: Why would a prisoner be here?
:::Mufang: Actually, I've already been interrogated multiple times already... Have you ever heard of Xianzhou saying "one-too-many"? That was how they described my crimes — "great disparity before and after my crimes." They have yet to finish processing my misdeeds.
:::Mufang: Something happened in Xianzhou in this time as well, resulting in a processing delay in my case. 
:::Mufang: Anyways, I can only come to Starskiff Haven for a breather under the Cloud Knights' supervision. When it's time for lock-up, I'll still be escorted back by the Ten-Lords Commission.
:: We should stop here. The Cloud Knights are starting to glare.
:::Mufang: Oh... so they are. You should hurry up and go, or you'll end up in the Ten-Lords Commission too, haha.
: We should stop here. The Cloud Knights are starting to glare.
::Mufang: Oh... so they are. You should hurry up and go, or you'll end up in the Ten-Lords Commission too, haha.
==Other Languages==
==Change History==