act49side

Your Majesty is well-versed in our history... *cough*—surely you must know...?

Across the many times the blood that ought be shed... when was it ever avoidable...?

One ought to act swiftly when necessary. Indecisive efforts for want of perfection will only lead to more bloodshed.

I had thought... Your Majesty understood this long ago...

It has been more than two weeks since the great offender entered the Tomb of Sui, but his fate remains unknown.

All Great Yan is in an uproar, not only due to the five Feranmuts, but the presence of foreign foes as well...

Leave him in the Tomb for even one more day, and the danger to Great Yan will increase tenfold.

This is not my opinion alone...

Even if I could temporarily suppress public sentiments for Your Majesty's sake... it would be no true solution...

So, how do you want to go about it?

I cannot ask Your Majesty to rescind an imperial edict...

I can only make an earnest request... to set a day.

...A final deadline until which Great Yan must hold.

Whether or not blood should have ever been shed will be determined thousands of years from now by historians and common folk alike.

But for now, I am afraid neither the Grand Commandant, nor I, will get to make that determination.

Is it Great Yan that cannot hold, or the collective lust for glory?

...Your Imperial Majesty...

But your request is not without merit.

I recall, it was the day after the full moon when he went in...

The next day of the full moon it is.

If the man fails to achieve anything in the Tomb of Sui, then we will proceed as the Grand Commandant proposes.

Your Imperial Majesty... is wise and just...

Let it be so.

A cold is no grave illness, Grand Commandant, but convalescence is still important.

I hear Danyan's snow pears are a great expectorant. I'll send for some.

Finish the pears before you rest for the night, and your illness should be cured in the morning.

I will hold court early tomorrow. Do not be late.

<p=2>Three days before the day of the full moon</>

Are we... outside?

Those Feranmut proxies... have quite the mystical prowess.

Is the Placation finally complete?

Perhaps...

No... just how many times have we tried? Is that complete?

How long have we spent in the Garden of Grotesqueries?

Based on the dates on the Tianshi Bureau's terminal... it's been more than two weeks since we entered the Garden.

More than half a month? Why do I feel as if we've spent even longer than that...?

We don't know if anything's happened in the Tomb of Sui since we've been here...

Zuo, you asked 'how many times'...?

I'm getting the sense this isn't our first time standing on this spot.

Concluding the Placation, taking the jade rule, leaving the Garden, and going back to town... I feel like we've done it all multiple times, and also...

Sometimes it's Mr. Yi who greets us, while other times the weiqi player blocks our path.

Sometimes the bestial Hou turns into a butterfly and gravely injures the bestial Sui... but other times we fall into a geist trap and get chased out of the Garden for no apparent reason.

And this hunch isn't a recent realization?

It was a faint feeling at first, but it was only just now that I suddenly realized we seem to have been repeating our Garden visits.

If that is the case, maybe the Placation is finally complete?

...I certainly hope that's the case.

Right, who has the token? It seems Mr. Yi hands the rule to a different person each time we complete the rite...

I don't have it.

Neither do I.

Then—

A small object falls from Zuo Le's pocket.

To everyone's surprise, it is no jade rule, but a tiny 'doll'.

What...?

Auntie Lin, Yun... Have we seen this before?

Yo, so you made it out alive. Pretty tough, huh?

<i>Zushi!</i>

<i>Zu... Zushi.</i>

Why are you calling me that when you're not even a Tianshi disciple, kiddo?

Um, how should I address you then...?

Who cares about titles? Your <i>qinggong's</i> good and you move quick, so just get to wherever you need to be.

Where do I need to be...?

What should a Candleholder do after getting the token from the Garden?

Return to the Sui Regulator and submit the jade rule along with a report.

Then begone! No more dawdling!

But the jade rule—

A token's a token. Maybe there's a reason you didn't get the jade rule this time, but just hurry back to the Sui Regulator already. Or are you scared that proxy's gonna report you for theft?

<i>Qianbei,</i> there's something I'd like to ask about Baizao—

Just be quick. Who's the Candleholder here, you or me?

Won't you know the answer once you see the city yourself anyway?

Act your age. I'm sure you know how to adapt to a situation, don't you?

...Yes.

I'll go with Zuo Le.

You stay.

<i>Zushi...?</i>

Baizao doesn't have much use for a judiciary at the moment, so it'd be a pointless trip for you. You'll be more useful here.

Same goes for the Yun kid. Neither of you is a member of Sui Regulator, so stay. You'll make less trouble for all of us.

The three exchange glances, and silently agree to the Tianshi's directive.

Zuo Le puts the token back into his pocket, and after bidding farewell to the party, leaps off northward.

Old... <i>Qianbei,</i> there's something I want to ask...

Where is the young lady who claimed to be of the Shanhaizhong, the one you took away before we entered the Tomb?

Oh? I didn't think a dimwit like you would concern yourself with that lass.

I just remembered, she mentioned there was something from the Garden that could keep Yan and the bestial Sui from coming to blows.

You granted us permission to enter the Garden, but you didn't examine the token Zuo Le had at all.

Does that mean... you believe she spoke the truth?

How intriguing... Smarty pants like you are so different from the martial types.

Of course, I believe you have your reasons for sending him alone, but I'm worried Zuo Le might come to harm if the token is truly important.

Hmph, to speak of safety... no one's truly safe right now.

If that kid really has what it takes to be a Candleholder, now's the time to show it.

What's wrong? I rarely ever see you so down.

I just worry they might not manage to deliver that token.

Those who know what the token truly is can only stand and watch, while those helping us don't even know where it should go.

That Old Tianshi has already done us a grand favor. The rest is up to the family's fate.

I didn't think those youths would get involved in this, and I'm not sure whether to be relieved or worried.

Many have come to this garden over the past century.

But this group of youngsters was the first to retrieve that glimmer of hope from our memories left behind and bring it back to this realm.

No matter what, we must believe that their fates are somewhat linked to ours.

You speak sense, sir.

Well, myriad sights abound in the land, but encounters are still up to fate.

You could buy a ticket early, do your research, memorize the map, stand outside the garden until it opens... but then a storm comes, and you see nothing at all.

Or you could enter through a random side gate and roam around aimlessly, but as long as you have a goal in mind, you might be pleasantly surprised by what you find.