act49side

Yes, use your arrow, your staff, your pest-like forms to smash all that you see as coffins!

Then come with me in your sly disciple's stead, and take a good look for yourselves...

Witness how this thousand-year old feud shall finally end.

Ya's figure vanishes into thin air, leaving only Ju and Hou on the frozen river.

...Ju?

I see stopping the war is no longer possible.

Are we really going to destroy this realm She has preserved for so many years?

Pity for your kin' really struck a nerve with Ya, but isn't that why we've been trying to make Her see the error of Her ways? How can we drive the knife even deeper when She's already wallowing in self-abandonment?

So from now on, must we only watch from the sidelines as Wang's plot unfolds?

We guided that lass once. We saved that Candleholder, and even stood in for that precious disciple of yours. We've done our part for Wang.

He probably knows we can't stop Ya, which is why he even let us involve ourselves in this troublesome affair in the first place.

He really is like It. Only, he has a bit more...

What's done is done. Let's just rest on this river and partake in the scenery from a millennium ago.

Time's running out for It as well.

Aiyo...

Wait, I'm back?

And you're alive too! Where's Ya?

I saw an old man and a... person covered with machinery.

They stopped Ya, then they all vanished.

Someone covered in metal? Don't tell me—

Damn it, I was so close! Why am I the only one who hasn't seen Him!

Forget it. Since He's already here, I'm sure I'll get another chance to meet Him when this is all done with.

...*cough*...

Thanks... for saving me earlier.

Saving you?

Haha... Without my convincing performance, she would've thought my actual intel was fake, right? Wouldn't that be a real shame?

...What?

What were you planning, divulging the location of Bu Fan to that proxy?

You keep asking me what mission the Old Tianshi gave me, right?

Man... you wouldn't believe me anyway, maybe when you become that Sui Regulator Supervisor whatchamacallit...

...What was that?

From far away, a bugle horn sounds, sending Mo Yi in a frantic search for its source, but to Zuo Le, it could not be more familiar.

That's Yumen's call to march.

Yumen... is preparing for an assault on the Tomb of Sui.

So soon?! The bestial Sui hasn't woken up, right—

The bestial Sui has yet to wake, the city is in chaos, and the Sui Regulator still hasn't fulfilled its duties... how could they possibly issue the order to attack the tomb right now?

Something must have happened inside Yumen... I should—

Well then, get going!

But we have to take that token to the Tomb of Sui!

After a moment of silence, Zuo Le speaks with hesitation.

Can I... trust you...?

Just shut up... and leave it to me.

...Since you saved my life earlier.

...Stay safe.

<p=2>The Day of the Full Moon</>

Baizao outskirts, near the Tomb of Sui.

An old man stands alone amidst dry grass and withered poplars, silently staring at where the barrens end, in the direction of Baizao's urban core.

Gah... it's been so cold this autumn.

What are you doing out here all alone, on a day this cold?

Waiting for someone.

Oh... have you eaten?

Here, I have a bag of buns with me. Fill your belly a little?

We can eat once everyone's here.

If we're gonna wait for more, then I better prepare a proper meal, buns won't do...

...Do you think they'll come back?

What do <i>you</i> think?

Of course I think they will!

I know we rarely come together, we always argue whenever we do meet; we don't share the same hobbies and have conflicting personalities...

But it's times like these that I believe our hearts are all as one!

Though, even if everyone comes back, can we even...?

*sigh*...

I'll wait with you then.

<p=2>The Day of the Full Moon</>

The sand blots out the sun.

Zuo Le crouches within Yumen's shadow, looking out at the Wind Aegis, the sand sluices, the distinct silhouette of the cannons...

The entire city slowly rumbles towards the Tomb of Sui.

Yumen really did receive marching orders.

But... why would His Majesty order an attack on Sui before It has awakened?

After this moment of hesitation, Yumen is almost right on top of the crouching Candleholder.

Soon, there will be no more room for him to move forward. There are only the city walls, jutting up perpendicularly from the ground.

You wish to leave via the sand sluices? Have you perfected your <i>qinggong</i> yet? Not to mention, once you head out...

...Never mind. You will see for yourself.

Do not think that your fall will excuse you from punishment. It would be one thing if you caused this trouble on your own, but you dragged Qingping into it!

General, it was just because Zuo Le—

Do not make excuses for him.

He should have thought of how to come back up <i>before</i> he jumped down! All that bravery, but all he knows is how to fight, fight, fight, and how to make others nearly die of worry!

Back to your place, and once your wounds have healed somewhat, come and receive your punishment.

The city walls are only ten-some meters away from Zuo Le.

And so he takes a great leap forward, the <i>qinggong</i> others praise him so much for is now the only thing he can rely on.

Though the sand sluices have not started up, the Wind Aegis has been fully erected, its smooth walls nearly impossible to find purchase on. A single slip would mean a horrible death.

Halfway up, and there are still battlements he can use to support himself. But to go further would be as strapping thousands of catties to himself.

Faster...

As he passes through the yellow sand, the young man sees the figures of soldiers manning the walls.

Many of them seem to have already forgotten just how long they have stood atop these ramparts.

However, with the sudden blast of a horn, they have now been tasked with spending the rest of their lives on this new hunt.

Faster!

The higher he climbs, the clearer his thinking becomes, the steadier his steps.

Even so, the final stretch of the walls is no stroll down a garden path.

Still fifteen kilometers from the Tomb, can't see anything about Sui's movements from here.

Still no news from the Sui Regulator... Did the higher-ups really give the order to open fire?

—No, I would never! Yes! Understood!

Who—

My apologies.

Don't move.

Help! There's a spy—

This area's long evacuated. Shout all you like.

How would you know? What're you up to?

I am an imperial envoy. I have come to investigate why Yumen is taking action without permission.

An imperial envoy? Didn't they already come by earlier? You think you can pretend to be one of them while sneaking around?

(Already came by earlier?)