The moment their feet touched the stone path through the forest, Azar and his companions had entered Pandaren territory. They walked slowly, admiring the unusual scenery and taking in the ancient sculptures scattered throughout the jungle.
"This style is completely different from anything we know. It has a charm all its own. But why are there so many Mogu statues?" Saruman, a mage well-versed in knowledge, was naturally curious about the unknown.
"This shows that the Pandaren are a people who love nature and don't want to disturb the natural environment. They also have a great deal of self-control. They didn't let their victory over the Mogu go to their heads and start building all sorts of structures to flaunt their achievements. We Night Elves could learn a lot from them in that regard," Azar said earnestly. He liked the simplicity of this place and its culture of living in harmony with nature.
"Uncle, do you know about these sculptures?" the curious Maiev asked.
"I know a little. They're statues of the Mogu Emperors. Every emperor had a statue of himself erected."
"How many emperors did they have?"
"The books mention Supreme Emperor Duyang, the Flame-Crowned. During his reign, he personally led an army to conquer the Krasarang Wilds, bringing them into the Mogu Empire and completing the work Lei Shen had left unfinished. Legend has it that there was a pool in the Krasarang Wilds called the Pool of Youth. Duyang felt he was getting old and nearing death, so under the pretext of exterminating rebels hiding in the area, he sought the Pool of Youth to prolong his life and reign. Afterward, he had his new slaves build Duyang Dungeon in the hot, humid jungle, and announced throughout the empire that he would tolerate no acts of betrayal. Near the end of his reign, the Saurok, who had originally guarded remote regions, grew increasingly insubordinate. Whenever they couldn't be bothered to deal with exhausting campaigns, they openly defied their Mogu commanders. Duyang responded in the traditional Mogu manner: he stripped the souls from every living Saurok in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. He also gave the same order to the legions still fighting on the battlefield. This came to be known as the 'Great Purge.' The Great Purge sparked Saurok rebellions in many places. Some fled into Mantid territory beyond the Serpent's Spine and were never heard from again, while others held out in the swamps of Krasarang. To crush the rebels, Duyang sent his armies into Krasarang again and again, but with little effect. He never accomplished his goal in his lifetime." The well-read Saruman had turned into a tour guide.
"What a waste of lives and resources! He wasn't a good emperor. Anything else?" Her judgment was direct and to the point, just like her.
"Duyang II, Duyang's son, was short and cruel. His obsessive pursuit of his father's unfinished work and his determination to complete the Great Purge of the Saurok rebels led him down the irreversible path of personally leading his armies into battle, while his rule grew increasingly unstable. Standing on the towering cliffs overlooking the Krasarang Wilds, he saw the sharply outlined jungle, the completed Duyang Under-City, and the Saurok on the verge of extinction. But what he hadn't expected was that the remnants of the Saurok Fifth and Seventh Legions would set out from the Valley of the Four Winds in the dead of night, surround the cliffs, and ambush his royal tent, forcing him to leap off the cliff. No one ever found his body. Chaos in the inner court plunged the empire into turmoil for more than two years, while the Saurok retreated into the wilderness and vanished without a trace." Saruman recounted the history.
"Did he really die that disgracefully?"
"That's exactly how disgraceful it was," Azar chimed in. He thought, Damn, this sounds just like Qin Shi Huang and Qin Er Shi.
"Go on, scholar. Don't stop." The more Maiev heard, the more engrossed she became, and she urged Saruman to continue.
"The later emperors weren't his descendants. The Guo-Lai Emperor brought the empire together and continued to rule, but no one knows how he did it. Everything about the Guo-Lai Emperor has long since become impossible to trace. These days, people can only recall the dynasty's former glory at the Guo-Lai Halls in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Next came Emperor Moshen. Even less is known about him. Judging by the rubbings of the Shen Dynasty brought back from the Shadow Tomb in the Vale of Emperors on Kun-Lai Summit, soul-binding was common during his reign. Then came Emperor Meng'en, nicknamed the Tyrant Mad King. The books say he was the most evil and insane tyrant to ever live, so later rulers buried almost everything about him and the dynasty he founded. Very little survived. They say Meng'en was once extremely fond of a balance. An obscure line of ancient writing on it suggests that he went mad only after losing it, and that this was what cost him his empire."
"They don't sound like very good people."
"Exactly. The next few aren't worth mentioning, but there are two we should talk about. One is the Cao Emperor. Unlike the previous few, he wasn't cruel. On the contrary, he was a wise and gentle ruler. In his short life, he accomplished two great things. First, he devoted himself to reforming the inner court, hoping to change the Mogu people's outlook, but he failed. Second, he decreed that Pandaren slaves could read, write, and establish their own schools. This decree left the Pandaren an immeasurably rich legacy. The statue of the Cao Emperor still stands on the coast, facing the sunrise and watching over the people he had helped. The other is the last emperor, Laofei, known as the Slavebinder. He was a monster, because even by Mogu standards, the last emperor Laofei was a monster through and through. His favorite way of punishing Pandaren slaves was to tear families apart. The children of any slave who offended him were sent by Laofei to the Serpent's Spine, where they became a feast for the Mantid swarms to torment and devour. He did every evil thing imaginable, so that bastard brought his own empire to ruin!"
"We've been listening for a while. You can come out now, can't you?" After explaining things to his cousin, Azar called toward the jungle to his front left.
As soon as he finished speaking, a giant panda emerged from the bushes ahead. A cleaver hung at his waist, and he carried a bundle of firewood on his back.
"Wow! He's so cute!" The moment Maiev saw him, she cried out. It looked like she wanted to rush over and pinch his cheeks. Were all women like this? They just couldn't resist cute things.
"May I ask who you are? Why have you been following us?"
"Ah'm just a woodcutter. What're you folks doin'?" the Pandaren replied, his face full of honest simplicity.
Hearing that, Azar nearly toppled over. What the—an accent from Shaanxi?
"We're here sightseeing! Could you show us around? We mean no harm. You should be able to tell."
"Sure. Follow me." With that, he turned and led the way.
Along the way, Maiev kept chattering with the Pandaren, and little by little, they all became acquainted. His name was Jiang Si, and he was the fourth-generation descendant of Jiang, the famous Pandaren general and first leader of the Order of the Cloud Serpent. After Lei Shen died, relations between the Zandalari and the Mogu had gradually grown more distant. The Trolls badly needed the Mogu's Arcane Magic, but the Mogu's endless clan wars and tense political atmosphere were unbearable. Once they were certain that the Mogu no longer had a ruler like Lei Shen, the Zandalari stopped pledging allegiance to them.
When the Mogu Empire fell, the Zandalari thought the time had come to claim Lei Shen's promise: "a vast stretch of fertile land near the Vale of Eternal Blossoms." But the Trolls couldn't agree on whether to use "diplomacy" or "violence" to obtain the land. In the end, Mengjazi, a descendant of High Priest Zulasa, convinced them all: the Pandaren had overthrown even the Mogu, so why would they honor an agreement the Trolls had made with the Mogu? The Trolls should launch a surprise attack and break their will. Wielding mysterious powers and riding great war beasts, the Trolls raided farming villages in northern Kun-Lai Summit and slaughtered every villager. The Pandaren had no way to resist them. They longed for a peaceful life, free to wander like idle clouds and wild cranes, while their only force that could be called an army—the Monks—was stationed along the Serpent's Spine, holding back the Mantid invasion. When the Monks rushed to face the Trolls, they helplessly discovered that they were outmatched in both numbers and tactics. The Trolls swooped down from the skies on Sky-Screamers and bats, and the Pandaren had no way to fend off such an aerial assault. Jiang, Jiang Si's ancestor, stepped forward. As the Monks made their last stand against the Trolls in the Jade Forest, Jiang and her Cloud Serpent companion, Luo, broke through the Trolls' lines and forced them to retreat. News of the victory quickly spread through the empire. People began training Cloud Serpents, and before long, a force had formed that could fight alongside Jiang. They called it the Order of the Cloud Serpent, and Jiang was its first leader. The emergence of the Order turned the tide of the war, so Mengjazi decided to resurrect the Thunder King! A fierce battle erupted at the Tomb of Conquerors, Lei Shen's resting place. Jiang and Mengjazi killed each other, while the other Trolls were routed. The evil plan to resurrect Lei Shen ended with the Trolls fleeing back to Zandalar. The four of them already knew what happened next: strike while your enemy is down. Azshara and Azar joined forces, bringing Zandalar's nominal rule to its final end. The weakened Zandalari could no longer contend with the Night Elves for influence.
"For decades after the war ended, people often saw Luo circling above the Jade Forest, as if searching for his old friend. Look! That's Luo." Jiang Si pointed to a long dragon in the sky as he told them about his ancestor's heroic deeds.
"Here we are. This is my home."
They entered a Chinese-style building. As they admired its beauty, a crowd of Pandaren outside admired them. Which side was the sight to behold? Perhaps curiosity was something every race shared.
"Move along! What kind of behavior is that? You're making our guests laugh at us!" Before long, a stern voice sounded outside. A middle-aged Pandaren had arrived. He was probably the village head or clan leader. He called out to the crowd as he walked into the house.
"We're honored to have guests come from so far away, yet we failed to welcome you properly. We're country folk with little in the way of manners. Please don't take offense." He came up to them, clasped his hands in greeting, and apologized.
"We've only just arrived in your fine land, and we've caused you trouble. Please forgive us," Azar said, returning the gesture.
Just then, Jiang Si came out of the back room carrying tea. Seeing the middle-aged Pandaren, he said, "Uncle, I met them on the road. They didn't seem like bad people, so I invited them over." Then he turned to Azar and the others. "This is my uncle, the head of the Jiang Clan."
"So you're the head of the Jiang Clan! A pleasure to meet you." Azar bowed again. It never hurt to be polite.
"Please, no need for such formalities. We live in a remote village, and outsiders rarely visit. It's our good fortune to meet you today. If you don't mind, please join me at my humble home for a chat." He rose and spoke courteously.
"We're in your hands, Clan Head. We'll follow your lead."
We followed him outside. As he stepped out of Jiang Si's home, he beckoned to a Pandaren and whispered a few words. The Pandaren turned and dashed off, his movements quite adorable. Though he'd said he was taking us to his home, he actually brought us to the ancestral hall. By the time we arrived, many people were already there, and more kept filing in. Good grief, there were so many! It looked like every household had sent a representative. Before long, the whole village had sprung into action, everyone pitching in to entertain guests from far away. Azar told his three companions to forget about everything else and simply enjoy the customs of this unfamiliar people. The feast began, and the warm-hearted Pandaren came over with bowls of wine. They toasted one another with unrestrained enthusiasm. The four of them accepted every offer, emptying each bowl. After several rounds of drinks and a few courses of food, the mood grew lively. Everyone ate, drank, sang, and danced. It was a wonderfully joyous scene.
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