In a rural farmhouse near the Bamboo Sea of southern Shu, Wen Mang had already been staying for several days.
"Is that wild cat begging again? Stop scratching the door…" he muttered as he pulled on his jacket and shuffled over.
The Breezes in the Bamboo Sea was a well-known scenic area. Since his weekly upload schedule was relatively light, Wen Mang had decided to stay for two weeks to rest and gather material. The farmhouse was cheap, but its isolation meant small animals often came prowling for food. After a few nights, he had gotten used to it.
Still, the moment he opened the door, his mind froze.
A round, black-and-white creature was crawling unsteadily across the threshold.
"I must still be asleep," Wen Mang muttered, bending down and scooping up the "cat." His half-lidded eyes met a pair of dark pupils set inside unmistakable black circles.
"…That's not a cat."
He stiffened.
"…That's a panda?!"
A cold shiver ran down his spine as a famous slogan flashed through his mind. Confess and be lenient. Resist and be punished severely. Was he—an ordinary freelance content creator—about to go straight from "flexible employment" to "sewing uniforms behind bars"?
The cub toddled around his feet, completely unconcerned.
After a long internal struggle, Wen Mang swallowed and dialed the emergency number.
"Hello… I'd like to turn myself in—no, wait. I mean, I'm reporting a discovery."
It turned out to be a false alarm.
The police arrived together with specialists from the National Treasure Protection and Breeding Research Center. Wen Mang's background was clean, and his cooperation immediate. After a short statement, he was free to go.
Just as he was leaving, the officer in charge stopped him.
"The experts searched the surrounding area," the captain said. "It appears the cub was abandoned by its mother. That's… quite rare."
"I'm willing to help!" Wen Mang blurted out. "I still have some savings!"
The captain's expression turned delicate. "You don't think you can adopt it, do you? The cub will be taken to the reserve. However, since you found it, the experts asked whether you'd like to give it a name."
Wen Mang was disappointed—but only for a moment.
"Then… call it Xuande."
Public Province, Side Hall
The hole in the side hall wall had been hastily patched with wooden boards. Liu Bei was speaking gently to Ma Liang, who looked completely overwhelmed by the favor being shown to him. Pang Tong sat hunched over a scroll, carefully comparing earlier records shown by the light-screen.
Only Kongming stood motionless, staring at the empty center of the hall.
Earlier, when they had attempted to "send" the cub away, the light-screen had flashed a stark warning:
[Warning: Biological Health Inspection Failed]
Fortunately, Kongming had spent years studying medical texts. From the context alone, he could grasp the meaning. He borrowed medicinal herbs from a local physician and performed a fumigation to cleanse the cub.
Only then did the light-screen finally accept it.
"That cub looked perfectly clean," Kongming murmured, "yet the screen detected a hidden illness."
The screen had repeatedly mentioned how the neglect of medicine in the Han era had led to the premature deaths of countless capable men. In the future, it seemed that medicine was no longer a mere craft, but a foundational discipline—a pillar of civilization itself.
At that moment, the light-screen shimmered back into existence.
Chen Dao narrowed his eyes at the divine glow. This time, instead of still images and dense text, the picture trembled slightly, as if held in someone's hands—much like the earlier tour of the Wu Hou Temple.
[Light-Screen]
"Hello everyone, Wen Mang here—dragged back to work again. We don't have a big donation drive this time, but you all know I found a panda cub in the bamboo sea of southern Shu. The protection center invited me to visit the little guy and confirm his name: Xuande.
On the way, let's do a quick science lesson on giant pandas. After all, I'm basically a panda dad now—even if I only got naming rights."
The officials frowned.
They enjoyed seeing the future—the towering bridges, the metal carriages, the faces of descendants yet unborn. But a white bear? Why such fuss over a bear?
Then the image shifted.
A monstrous beast filled the screen, grotesque and terrifying.
"First, we've confirmed that pandas originated around eight million years ago. They did not coexist with dinosaurs—the age of dinosaurs ended sixty-five million years ago. But due to the unique terrain of this region, pandas survived to the present day. They are what we call 'living fossils.'"
A red mark crossed out the monstrous beast, but the number lingered.
Eight million years.
The hall fell silent. It was a span of time none of them could truly comprehend.
"There are also ancient records of pandas. During the Han era, the imperial parks housed rare animals, and pandas were among them. A complete panda skull was even excavated from the burial site of the grandmother of Emperor Wu of Han. It seems she was fond of them—though her method of appreciation was… permanent."
Liu Bei almost said that burial alongside royalty was an honor—but the words stuck in his throat.
Compared to eight million years, the rise and fall of dynasties was nothing more than the blink of an eye.
"During the Tang era, the ruling empress practiced what we now call 'panda diplomacy,' sending two pandas overseas to Japan."
An empress?
Huang Yueying's eyes lit up. "Didn't the screen say the Tang rulers were surnamed Li? How did a woman rule as emperor? Was she like Empress Lü…?"
Kongming's gaze deepened. "Perhaps. Centuries separate us from that era. Much can change."
"Sent across the sea," Pang Tong echoed, intrigued.
"After the Second Opium War, when foreign powers forced open our borders, certain treaties allowed missionaries to roam freely. A French missionary hunted and killed a panda, smuggling its specimen back to Europe. This sparked a frenzy. Hunters from multiple Western nations began poaching pandas relentlessly.
In the twentieth century, during the Japanese invasion, the land was engulfed in war, and we were powerless to protect this national treasure. Between 1936 and 1946, at least sixteen live pandas and seventy specimens were taken overseas. Only after the founding of the modern state did strict protection measures and reserves finally bring them peace."
"Invasion…"
Liu Bei cried out in anguish. Even without images, words like forced treaties, plunder, and invasion stabbed straight into the heart.
To this era's people, the panda had already become a national treasure. To watch a national treasure stolen and slaughtered while the people stood helpless was no different from seeing one's home looted while bound hand and foot.
"How can the children of our land suffer such humiliation?" Wei Yan roared.
Guan Yu rose as well. "Brother, now I understand why the future speaks so often of a navy. Our descendants were bullied from the sea. Once the Han is restored, we must build a fleet worthy of the realm."
At that moment, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun returned. Mi Zhu rushed forward anxiously.
"Yide, Zilong—did you hurt the white bear?"
Zhang Fei blinked. "The beast was fast. We saw it disappear into the deep mountains and stopped the chase."
"So long as the national treasure is unharmed," the officials sighed in relief.
Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun exchanged utterly baffled looks.
Meanwhile, in another age—
Outside the Ganlu Hall in the Tang capital, attendants stared in terror as a go board flew out the doors and shattered on the ground.
"Traitors and thief!" a furious voice thundered from within.
"How dare they rebel again!"