The fan half-unfurls, drenched in a heavy aura of ink; in this square inch, a strange realm suddenly manifests.
Within the stones lies a dormant, one-eyed mechanical great ape. Its posture is towering, its arms powerful-the bearings forming its joints are inlaid with metal balls, distinctly visible. Through the crevices of the rocks, coiled power lines are exposed, their intricate overlapping forming the shadowed facets of the strange stone mass. The ape's hind limbs, as heavy as a giant elephant's feet, have developed muscles that transform into mechanical architecture; little fish-men dwell there, occasionally peering out. The ape's pitch-black mouth opens and closes in silence, appearing not in anger, but as if slowly breathing; held high in its grip is a giant mechanical fish, its gills embedded with turbine blades, its scales casting a cold light upon the paper.
The clusters of bamboo slanting beside the stones have shed the frailty of common flora. Covered in openwork reliefs, they appear like components carved from ivory or fine steel, yet they retain a distinct, noble character.
At the top of the composition, a piece of ancient wood stabs diagonally into the sky. It avoids the cold hardness below, its trunk entwined by soft patterns. These patterns overflow and morph as they unfurl, transforming into swimming fish and flying birds. Accompanied by strings of rising bubbles, they conjure a layer of warm, moist vitality atop the withered remains of the wood.
"Possessing the hardness of metal-stone and the softness of vapor, the logic of machinery and the divinity of nature"-even so, it leaves large, quiet areas of blank space within the frame.
In the Dark, Speaking with Peaceful Breath:
Pay it no mind;
