act15side

Who?

One who would never fall, but absolutely must never fall.

You're kidding. I heard some of the rumors from Leizi. Her founder was a super-annoying guy... even if she never met him.

Hmph... a special case of a long life warped by dependence on Originium. Such humankind really doesn't agree with me...

Isn't this just because she gave you all that hassle?

Tch.

Ah... I remember her.

Is she still well?

She is.

She's been stationed at the north for over three hundred and seventy years now. If she can return home, the court would be willing to let her rest at ease, allow her a peaceful retirement...

But the man always says he'd hate to be idle.

Sounds like some major engineering work. What do I get out of it, then?

The court will help you with what you want to do.

The wild bestial of bloodshot eyes can't be caged forever.

Hah. It all sounds like a win-win for you. We Yan people sure love to haggle...

That's all on that. Think about it.

I have a matter I'd like to ask of you in turn.

Please, go on.

As of now, is he...

His actions surpassed all feranmutologists' predictions. Turning his own flesh into one hundred and eighty-one black stones... scattering them in the human realm... hmm.

He wants to set up a game across the entire land.

Why?

In his endgame days, he'll surely appear again. You'd best ask him yourself then.

It's a game we must win.

We cannot lose.

Did you hear that, you two?

Would he lose to this Grand Tutor, playing on nineteen by nineteen?

Of course he wouldn't.

Then how did the Grand Tutor beat him?

The Grand Tutor did not play go with him.

Why?

Black and white in their millions upon nineteen by nineteen—it has its intrigue, true, but the Grand Tutor speaks that absorbed within a board of pieces, he cannot see man.

Man?

Thus the Grand Tutor played a different game with him. With Yan's domain as the board, with the land's every commoner as the pieces.

Who won?

The Grand Tutor, at that time. Thus he was willingly bound in captivity by Yan, and with every loss, he would stay prisoner sixty years.

Heh. If Yan always had a genius to beat him, he'd never get a foot out of the capital his whole life, huh?

Who can profess to know? He's very poor at the chesses, truth be told.

Very slow to learn them, too. Centuries ago, in one cycle of sixty years, he lost hundreds upon thousands of games. The following cycle, he lost some less, and after one more, no more than a hundred games, give or take.

And so forth, until a point when no one was left who could beat him.

Thus on that cycle, he left the capital... and so that incident transpired.

That's when our third sis...

Mm.

We could all sense that this was no pleasant matter.

So the Grand Tutor had to kick his ass before he dragged his own tail back to the capital, ready to be punished?

Perhaps it was a good, long while since last he lost in one fell swoop.

Or it may be... that his sights were not set on Yan alone anymore.

So you're Ning Ciqiu.

And you, the bounty hunter of enough bravery to plunder a Tianshi Bureau procession.

I-I didn't know they were good guys yet...

Where's that old man anyway? The Bai guy?

I will take you to meet him.

I think, in this turn of events, thanks are due for you.

It's alright.

But I still don't get the full picture. Wasn't it just a goblet? If you knew where it was, couldn't you go sneak it off yourself and be done with it?

He would not want to hand it to me, so I could hardly take it.

So you got me to help? Why?

Why, I wonder.

I simply did not want him drawn into so many vexing matters, without the slightest self-awareness.

So this bounty hunter really was yours, Assistant Minister Ning.

Hey!

You need not raise your hackles. They are not enemies.

Only...

It was the Sui Regulator who hastened in its conduct; we won't question her deeply. Er... as long as she entered Yan's borders through legitimate means, of course...

Of course.

Go and meet with Tianshi Bai, Blacknight. He awaits you at the agreed location.

Alright. You take care.

You'd seen through both the Sui Regulator and Mr. Liang's schemes.

Not too long ago.

But you seem to not have seen through Mr. Liang's plans to mediate from within.

He may simply have been apprehensive about betraying you, Miss Ning.

Regardless, the Sui Regulator overstepped their bounds in this. We will later address the matter ourselves with the Ministry of Rites.

It is no matter. 'Tis all to plan further for Yan.

'Tis cold outside; may you all rest soon. I will go see young Blacknight; 'tis her first time in Yan, and I cannot rest easy.

Farewell, Miss Ning.

Be safe.

Lord Zuo.

I can only hope this pair in love... aren't shaken by big things to come.

You're young, Lord Zuo. To say such things invites ideas of feigned maturity.

As a Candleholder, I've none of my own ties of the sort.

If I may boldly mention, when you previously passed through that village and dealt with bandits, you did have—

*cough*, *cough*—I trust that girl was only repaying the favor! How can you muddle this with affairs between the sexes?

It was a life saved. If the intent was impure, that would only further serve doubts of advantage being taken.

You presume wrong, Uncle Taihe.

Hmm.

It is as you say, young man.

Not heading back to Lungmen, Mr. Lee?

No. There's still someone I need to find.

Come with?

I'm stopping by the branch office with the funnyman anyhow, and then I've got to get back to the Rhodes Island landship...

It seems we'll be tagging along. But I'd rather not be a nuisance to Rhodes Island again.

No need to stand on honor.

Trust me, it's personal matters.

That codename Nothing operator got drawn into all this mess, had his leg hurt for nothing, and he's still in the hospital now. Don't want to give you all any more grief than that.

That's good, then.

K-Kroos!

Oh, fancy that! Mulberry!

If you're in Shangshu already, I'm guessing Lava got to the branch office a while ago, then?

Y-Yeah... and Lava wanted me to tell you too, it's best you head there quickly. It seems like something else happened...

Ahaha... this trip to Yan sure never takes a breather.