"What did you want, anyway? And make it snappy! At my age I could die at the drop of a blossom".
- –Ming
Ming also known as Old Ming was an elderly resident of Two Rivers who spoke Tho Fan. He spent most of his days on the beach tending to a statue of Emperor Sun Hai and sweeping the sand with his broom. He was present on the beach during the bandit attack.
History[]
- "History is best taught through stories. A teacher lecturing about the past is like listening to paper crumple when you want to hear a waterfall! Everything's lost in the translation".
- –Old Ming
Ming was born in Two Rivers, so many years ago that he can no longer remember when. He used to grow rice, but began to live on a small stipend of silver after old age set in. The stipend was set by Ming's only son who long ago moved farther south in the Golden Delta. His son never visited, which Ming thought was typical. Ming foresaw himself moving in with his son when he became older.
To keep himself busy, Ming swept the beach to create a meditation garden; the patterns in the sand represented the pathways of the future. Ming also tended a statue of the Emperor, though he admitted he could no longer clean it properly due to back problems. He found the statue to be a fitting tribute, though none of the other Two Rivers residents seemed to care.
Fountain of Knowledge[]
Old Ming knew much information on a variety of subjects. Not many people were interested in Old Ming's knowledge, but he was perfectly willing to talk if asked questions.
Thoughts on Two Rivers[]
- "Who are the important citizens?"
- "That would depend on who you ask. I suspect everyone would cast a single vote for themselves".
- –Player and Ming
Ming felt that Two Rivers had only three important citizens, those being Master Li, Gujin the weapon master and merchant Fen Do. In Ming's eyes, Li was a true leader with unquestionable wisdom. He also described Gujin as being the most well liked man in the village due to the way Gujin helped out a lot around town.
The Spirit World[]
- "Perhaps you think I have an affinity for spirits since I am close to becoming one myself? I'm not that old yet".
- –Ming
Ming had a practical approach to spirits. When hearing travelers speak of ghosts they'd encountered, Ming was quick to blame their experience on too many bowls of wine. He highly doubted that areas across the Empire were filling up with ghosts.
The Long Drought[]
- "A decade of thirst with all the land cracked and bare".
- –Ming
Ming described the drought as a ten year stretch of thirst and riots wherein thousands perished. He completely believed the Emperor ended the drought by correcting a great offense that the Empire had given to the heavens. While he did not know how the offense was corrected, he knew that the Emperor's brothers, Sun Li and Sun Kin, were the price that had to be paid. Ming understood that this was not a practical answer, but felt that there were things the Emperor knew that others were not meant to.
Ming would refuse to speak about the Emperor in general, claiming that his words could not do proper justice to Sun Hai's glory.
Herbs[]
- "One of the students was wounded during the bandit attack".
- "Oh, yes, I heard about that. Some fool girl out walking on the overlook, wasn't it? Serves her right for not studying or meditating, I say!"
- –Player and Ming, talking about Kia Min
Ming had knowledge of healing herbs and could tell the difference between herbs that could heal and herbs that gave the illusion of healing. After the bandit attack, Ming recommended the use of a poultice made from red silk grass clippings for Kia Min and cautioned against the use of bearded tongue grass.
His knowledge helped the player complete Quest: Kia Min.
Fate[]
Ming was killed during the bandit attack on Two Rivers. His deceased body could be seen near the statue he cared for in life.
Trivia[]
- Old Ming shares his character model with Wei.