act49side

<p=2>Two days before the day of the full moon, Hour of Hai</>

The man walks past rows of fallen bookshelves, trying to return the scattered books to where they should be.

'The Earth's blessings have granted this stone to its people; the Heaven's blessings shall bring an end to Sui'... but in this thousand-year river of history, is it fate ordained by heaven and earth, or nothing more than a coincidence?

Lord Zuo and Miss Ch'en...

It was they who brought the token to the Sky Mirror Pavilion today...

Was it a coincidence, or...

This mayhem... what happened?

Someone joins him, stepping lightly, and bends down to pick up a book from the ground.

Mr. Liang.

Miss Ning... why are you still here?

Did you forget that I am an official of the Ministry of Rites? Neither of us should leave, until all the civilians have been evacuated.

You are quite right...

Is the evacuation of the civilians complete?

Essentially. Baizao will soon separate.

Tis unsettling... is it not?

Perhaps you wanted to ask how I knew you were here, when you did not tell me about your demotion.

...It rained through the night yesterday. I only fear that you may be cold...

The man clears a little spot for the two of them to sit down.

It has been a long time since I last visited the Sky Mirror Pavilion.

I suppose you used to frequent here?

As did all the students of the Academy.

I had a headache whenever I looked up at the books stacked all the way up to the ceiling.

But now... I find here a place of rare peace, away from the troubles beyond.

I... I heard about Mr. Ning.

You have my deepest sympathies....

My grandfather did what he felt was right.

He would not have kept the secret for so long out of selfish interests. He did it to protect the younger generations too.

I cannot reproach him, whether with reason or sentiment.

Of course, he must also pay the price for his deeds.

I see you have laid it down... I am glad to see it.

Perhaps you misunderstand. I do not mean that I could lay it down easily.

I cannot deny that my career benefited greatly from my grandfather's influence... those on the outside would undoubtedly say that the House of Ning has fallen on hard times.

I would not say this to anyone but you, Mr. Liang.

You should not say that. I do not feel that any of your honors are undeserved.

I trust you—

What if you are the only one?

My grandfather said that once one has passed the walls of the palace, one must not trust in others easily, and certainly not expect to be trusted easily.

I listened... but it seems that I forgot about it when I met you in Shangshu.

I simply believed that I found a kindred spirit.

You... you flatter me.

You've always been like this.

I admire your honesty and your sense of responsibility, but I hate how you make decisions by yourself and keep other people at a distance.

But then I realized... you would not be Liang Xun, if everything you did was to my liking.

I could no more reproach you than I could reproach my grandfather.

I once thought that all I needed to do was to be fair, honest, diligent, and persevering.

But the years have taught me how powerless I am.

Your grandfather was right, but even more frightening is the thought that I could not even trust myself to keep my aspirations and ideals.

I would not claim that everything I did was honest and upright... but you should not have been involved in the ones that were not.

Is it my turn to comfort you with the words 'clear conscience'?

You and I have done all we could, following the path of justice that we believed in.

Perhaps we are ultimately powerless to change anything. Perhaps this entire city will be no more when the sun rises tomorrow...

Then... here and now, at least... my conscience is clear.

The night is deep.

The ancient library has kept some old rules. All is quiet, except the passage of time.

They hold each other's hands tightly in their own.

The desolate pond lies wrinkled by the wind; beneath the crumbling eaves, no voices remain. One can still recall those days of green sashes and red plumes in their splendor...

<p=2>One day before the day of the full moon, Hour of Tzu</>

The scriptgeists seem to be appearing less frequently.

Could it be that you were right, and these geists are the breathing of the bestial Sui...?

I told you so. You just won't believe me.

Whatever the reason, this is our opportunity to head for the top—

Hm... so this is the Sky Mirror Pavilion's restricted area.

What are you planning?

These geists turn back into words when they're defeated.

Say, if they were transformed from the secret tomes of the Sky Mirror Pavilion, would defeating them reveal the secrets of Yan that are usually kept hidden?

You dare—?

No sudden moves!

Let me see what secrets the words form!

<i>'Sang' 'Tu' 'Cui' 'Shou'...</i> what is this? It makes no sense.

The top three floors of the Sky Mirror Pavilion are off-limits. We only enter because we have an important mission.

Refrain from doing anything unnecessary.

Hah. You still won't admit that you're already in on this.

Your deceptive words mean nothing. I know what I'm doing...

There's a lot that you don't know.

This building began as a public library, one of the first buildings to be completed after Baizao became a nomadic city. But there was no such thing as a restricted area at the time.

Then, one hundred and twenty years ago, the death of the proxy affected tons of history books, causing their text to become unreadable.

The Sui Regulator wanted to dig deep, but the number of books was enormous, so the Sky Mirror Pavilion set aside space up top for the Sui Regulator's research.

Decades passed. When the discussion of the turmoil had almost settled, the place became a warehouse for dusty old books.

Some restricted zone. Why would it be sealed off from public view, if it held any actual knowledge?

You do know a lot...

Just a little bit more than you.

The things you speak of should not be secrets to the Sui Regulator. But I have not heard them before.

My studies have been inadequate.

You—this is what I hate about you. Always stiff, always by the book.

Was that white-haired Perro we met in Mangshan Town a friend of yours?

You mean... Yun Qingping?

Yeah, that's the name, I think.

He couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag, and it looked like a stiff wind could blow him over, but he was a quick thinker. Talking to him was kind of interesting.

Why don't you learn a thing or two from him?

I know Yun's smart! I don't need you to lecture me!

Hahaha! Now you start to drop the official tone and sound like a human being.

...Why did you join the Shanhaizhong, Mo Yi?

What answer do you want to hear?

You want me to tell you that I had a difficult childhood, drifted into the Shanhaizhong, and I'm looking for a chance to repent and mend my ways?

Doesn't that sound a little cliche?

I wasn't—

Say whatever you want.

Of course, the Shanhaizhong who murder and pillage are villains. They deserve to die.

But I hate hypocrites even more, those people who look like they'll die if they stopped flaunting their high and mighty morals for a single moment.

They think they're better than everyone else the moment they come out of their mama's tummy. Frauds!