act23side

I will remember your teachings.

You have always been a good student.

I remember when I taught you and your brother. You were always the quicker learner.

Are you injured?

Just a scratch.

The Tumu Tianshi say it was you who protected the sand sluices.

I let them get away, though.

By the way, I came to say goodbye.

...Alright.

I will find a place where this sword will realize its potential, even if you're not with me anymore.

I have no doubt you will succeed.

There is no more hatred between us, but I haven't given up on surpassing you.

I'll come and find you, when I feel ready.

Like I said, anytime you feel ready.

See you again.

No regrets?

What regrets?

Who will she seek if one day It wakes from Its dream, and you and I return to the void?

She managed to let go of her obsession with vengeance at her age. She will let another one go when I'm gone, and forgotten from her mind.

Then the sky is the limit for her on the path of kung fu.

Well, you <i>are</i> the Grandmaster. You're the authority on kung fu.

Speaking of which, I think you just gave birth to a new legend when you single-handedly turned away the Catastrophe on the walls.

I was drunk. I have no memory of those events.

When you sober up, raise another flask. Where will you be going?

Where Nian and Dusk went.

The man has been playing against himself the whole afternoon, not speaking or inviting anyone to play against him.

His moves are brilliant, but eccentric. There were a few that confused me.

Some Go grandmaster I've never heard of? But why would he come to a place like Yumen?

Oh?

A man faces a Go board outside a parlor. He is not playing against a manual; he thinks for a long time before each move, as though locked in a struggle against himself.

Black and white pieces intertwine on the rough wooden board, setting into motion a dazzling battle.

Do you know Go?

A little.

What do you think about the board?

The battle has been decided in three places. The balance of power is roughly even.

But white pieces occupy a large area in the center, with no isolated pieces. It seems inevitable that black will lose by half a point...

Look again.

I've taught you.

There is one ko left in the corner.

Keep the ploy and take the last area.

White is spread out, with more to protect... therefore, more ammunition for my ko.

The match is not over.

You won't give up. You'll go on until a winner has been determined.

The Go game doesn't matter. I'm playing against me, in order to determine a winner.

Your sword taught me a few things. This game state is my gift to you.

I knew you had pieces around me.

I just didn't know you had already lost faith in humanity then.

Man and beast are different.

You sealed yourself in the sword in exchange for a human body. You treated yourself as one of them. What became of you in the end?

All your friends are gone. You wander afar, alone. No one trusts you, no one knows.

It's not that you don't know the hearts of man. No, you know it all too well. For centuries, you have always been the one most connected to them. How would you not know?

You could not blend in because you know that the hearts of man are unpredictable. You will always be an outsider.

All the things you've done since Jie disappeared, you did to find someone to talk to.

We've been lonely for far too long. We want to find someone to talk to.

We've fought for so many years. How ironic that we would end up knowing each other best.

You were never my enemy.

Never once did I consider you my enemy... even if it was you who stopped me then.

I'll stop you again, if you drag people into your Go game.

Of course you will. Assuming, of course, that you can see the board.

We'll meet again.

Farewell, brother.

Chongyue picks up a white piece and puts it down in a corner.

Slap.

An orthodox, classic move.

General.

This is...

The Grandmaster planned to write the Book of Kung Fu twenty years ago, but the responsibilities of Yumen kept him busy.

Work finally began on it five years ago, with the Grandmaster dictating it to me. I finally finished editing it yesterday.

It is a record of the Grandmaster's observations and interpretations of all kung fu under Heaven, every school and branch known to man.

Grandmaster wants you to have it.

Grandmaster says that there is much in common between kung fu and medicine. He has included some instructions in the appendix, which he hopes will improve your health.

Where is the Grandmaster?

He left Yumen an hour ago.

He says he has already sent away the 'guest', and you will be able to focus on dealing with things after the disaster.

He regrets not saying goodbye in person.

I see.

Why didn't you go with him?

I've been with the Grandmaster since he saved my life ten years ago. I began helping him record the martial arts of the world when I grew up, meeting many great heroes along the way.

The Grandmaster says that all I need to do is to study all that I've seen and heard during these years, if I wish to pursue the martial arts.

And if I do not wish to do so, I should go and find something I want to do, now that the Book of Kung Fu is complete.

'Life is a long journey.'

He has always been like this.

The more whimsical encounters there are, the more ties one needs to let go of.

Man values formality, beasts value empathy.

Rescue and relief efforts have begun, sir.

Very well.

...The sun is setting.

Oh, the Wangfeng Festival...

Yesterday was the last day, but the beacon-lighting ceremony was suspended because of the Catastrophe.

Would you like to resume it?

Of course.

The wizened general gazes beyond the city and sees nothing but sand.

I will beat the drum myself.

Sir, you've been in the tower all day. You should rest. We'll take care of it.

The journey is long. Someone should see him off.

All your companions have returned. Where do you fly off to, alone?

The drumbeats begin.

They are heavy, ringing clear and far.

Seventeen beats of the drum, representing the trials and tribulations that befell Yumen the past year, both big and small.

The Catastrophe has passed. The storm has swept away the many colors in the sky.