Man in the Ark: Revitalizing Kazdel

In the wilds of Victoria Rock, there's a small, unnamed lake. A small hut, built of reeds and dead wood, sits quietly on the plains beside it.

Stones collected from all over the wilderness formed the first line of defense outside the village, protecting the villagers and crops from the wild beasts in the wilderness.

Apart from caravans and tax collectors, there are generally no unfamiliar faces in this remote village.

A few days ago, the appearance of a large group led by white-haired Vaifan broke the tranquility of the village.

They took the initiative to help the villagers repair houses, plow fields, fish and hunt... The purpose was just to allow the villagers to free up some time to listen to them tell the history of Tara.

The innocent and simple villagers didn't understand why those strange people did such a meaningless thing.

However, the villagers were willing to accept them as they had someone to help with the work and could listen to interesting poetry and history.

The white-haired Vaifan in the team, obviously had the elegant temperament of a noble lady, but she never refused to get along with farmers like them who worked in the fields all day long.

It has a very common name - reed grass. This grass can be found everywhere in the rocky plains and has many uses.

Even the uneducated villagers felt that the name Weicao was not worthy of the elegant qualities displayed by Miss Vaifan.

The children in the village all liked the kind and beautiful Miss Reed because she knew many poems and epics of Tara and often told the children stories about the heroes of ancient Tara.

There is a long-standing tradition in the village. At the turn of spring and summer, villagers will hold sacrifices and perform choreographed dramas to pray for smooth farming.

As the day of the sacrifice approached, all the women and children in the village were mobilized to fill the threshing floor with hay and colorful cardboard scenery.

Then, a suitable young girl was chosen to play the role of the red dragon in the play. The villagers had never seen a real red dragon, but they only thought it should have majestic horns and a thick, powerful tail.

In previous years, props and costumes had to be coordinated to make the actors fit the image of the legendary red dragon. The appearance of reeds solved a big problem.

She was a true red dragon, but she called herself Vaifan to everyone. Hiding her identity saved her a lot of trouble, as most people couldn't tell the difference between Vaifan and Draco anyway.

After repeated requests from the village chief, Wei Cao reluctantly accepted the role of Red Dragon. She was always worried about not performing well and often recited her lines over and over again before going to bed.

The day of the performance soon arrived, and the villagers rushed to the threshing ground early with their own chairs, waiting for the performance to begin with great anticipation.

In the small room behind the stage, the carefully dressed Wei Cao touched the black, carefully tidied her hair, and then stood up straight again.

She remembered a dream she used to have, in which her sister stood in the shadow behind her, watching her put on a heavy crown.

She felt she had done something wrong by wearing the crown, but she could not take it off, so she melted it with fire.

The metal flowed down her face, it was very hot, but she was more afraid of the cool purple fire to comfort her, so she said nothing.

"Reed... Reed..." Someone outside the house called her name. Reed, lost in her memories, came to her senses, stood up, and walked through the narrow wooden door.

Walking onto the threshing floor, which was covered in hay and filled with colorful cardboard scenery, the costumes were a bit cumbersome, and everyone wanted to add two decorative ribbons to her body, just like pinning two flowers to the buttonhole of a loved one.

The red dragon thousands of years ago definitely didn't go to the battlefield like this.

But it doesn't matter. The appearance of the one wearing the crown is not worth their attention. Let the bard assume that the legendary Drakken hero also has long golden hair for the sake of rhyme.

Weicao stood on the stage, cleared her throat, and flicked her tail nervously. Her companions, who had followed her all the way, sat in the back row, looking at her expectantly.

They had taught Wei Cao before that if he memorized the lines incorrectly, there would be no good harvest in the new year.

"I will give you land and good weather."

A flame erupted from the tip of the gun, and the entire audience fell silent. Everyone present seemed to simultaneously experience an illusion, or perhaps a vague premonition about the identity of the person before them.

The reed lowered its head with a solemn expression, and the child put a colorful wreath on her head, with each flower corresponding to a thriving crop.

The wreath was very light. She paused, then presumptuously added a line to the village's long-standing script.

"I'll give you life."

......

The annual performance ended successfully, and amidst the audience's thunderous applause, Wei Cao, wearing a wreath on her head, slowly walked off the stage and returned to the small room she had been in before.

She locked the wooden door, took off her ill-fitting costume, and changed into a comfortable long dress. She put the garland the children had carefully prepared back on her head.

Weicao, who had just come out of the small room, met his companion who was jogging towards him with rapid breathing.

"Wei Cao, there's a Sarkaz man in the village who looks like he's not someone you'd want to mess with. He said he's looking for someone."

"A Sarkaz man, who is he looking for?" Weicao frowned slightly, thinking about the purpose and identity of the visitor.

Was he sent by my sister, or an intelligence officer sent by the local duke to gather information, or perhaps a bandit roaming the wilderness...

"The man claimed he was looking for a white-haired Vaifan who used fire magic." The companion looked into Weicao's eyes, his tone full of concern for her.

"Wei Cao, I think he's coming for you. If you don't want to see him, we'll find a way to deal with him. If he dares to attack, we have more people, so we don't have to be afraid of him..."

"I'll go out and meet him and ask him why he's looking for me." Weicao gave his companion a reassuring look and walked out with firm steps.

Outside the threshing ground, villagers who had just finished watching a performance and were about to go to work in the fields surrounded a Sarkaz man who was behaving suspiciously.

The reason why the man was considered suspicious was that his personal dress, speech and temperament were quite different from the Sarkaz people that the villagers knew.

To borrow the words of a villager, it was like a big shot from the city, but how could the Sarkaz be big shots?

The old village chief, leaning on his cane, stood before the Sarkaz man and negotiated with him. The appearance of the reeds attracted the attention of some of the onlookers.

They made way for Weicao, and Weicao and her companions slowly walked out of the crowd.

The noisy conversation gradually died down, and everyone was waiting for the outcome of the matter.

Wei Cao stood beside the old village chief, observing the Sarkaz man in front of him with his emerald green eyes.

Wei Cao was very sure that he did not know the other person.

"Who are you and why are you looking for me?"

"Rafushini, long time no see. I am pleased to see that you have embarked on the path you have chosen."

Hearing the words coming from his ears, Wei Cao couldn't help but widen his eyes. A blurry figure gradually became clearer.