rogue_5

Yi is studying a jade cong in one of the treasure rooms of his Garden of Grotesqueries. This was his 'cut' Ji had promised him during the ceremony period. As for how much Ji made from the Candleholders in Sui's Remnant Consciousness, it is none of his business.

After carefully studying the jade's texture and patterns under the light with a magnifying glass, Yi is quite positive that it is a ritual instrument dating back to before the Hundred Clan Rebellion... a rare treasure indeed. He jumps up excitedly, only to promptly fall back into his chair meekly, not because he remembered something unpleasant or because the jade cong that Ji gave him was flawed, but because he saw Liang and the stack of documents he carries. His joy at getting his hands on a treasure is immediately overcome by his distaste for his duties.

'No, I'm not looking at them, not a single word.' Yi turns his head around, lies down on the couch, and starts throwing a tantrum.

'Is that so?' Liang takes one look at Yi, or he would have if he had eyes. 'I'll write to the Baizao Museum, then, and tell them that the Garden is not interested in cooperating—'

Before Liang can finish, Yi snatches the letter out of his hands and starts reading it.

'How many items do you plan on poaching from the Baizao Museum this time?'

'We're formally exchanging collections. Everything by the book.' Yi sits down at the desk and immediately sets about to write a response. 'Besides, you can't call it poaching when everything stays within Yan. Here's my reply.'

Liang takes the reply letter, then places down the documents he <i>really</i> needed Yi to review.

'The Sui Regulator's report, and the list of repairs requests to be submitted to the Ministry of Works.'

Yi is about to get up when Liang grabs him and pushes him back into the chair.

'And the Sui Regulator and Tianshi Bureaus' meeting minutes about the reopening of the garden, and the management committee's safety assessment of the newly-opened area...

'And—'

'Enough, enough!' Yi hastily stops Liang from listing the rest of the departments and the documents that they have sent. 'I made you so I wouldn't have to be bothered by all of this, didn't I?'

'Yes, you did.'

'Alright, then take these papers and...'

'But I can't sign them on your behalf, and you're the only one who can make the materials for the repairs. I've prepared all the forms—which areas are dangerous, which are safe, which can be opened, which still need repairs—but I still need you to sign off on them.

'Need I say any more, Yi?'

'But, but... isn't it all a little much? I still need to find a proper home for this jade cong...'

'Are you done with your futile pleading?'

'Just, four more hours, please? I need to get in the mood for work, you know?'

'The sun will have set by then. You have thirty minutes, no more.'

'T-Two hours. And I'll throw in an upgrade to your frame!'

'...One hour? I'll get on it as soon as I put this baby away!'

'...One hour?'

'One hour! I promise! Absolutely!'

Liang opens a book on the edge of the desk. The papers weave and merge into a three-dimensional model of the Garden. Yi hurriedly grabs a cloud and puts it on the side of the hill, then waves his sleeves, causing the cloud to disperse and revealing a pavilion.

'Don't forget the upgrade.' Liang disappears on the other side of the door after taking one last glance at Yi, who was nodding as quickly as he can manage.

One hour later, Yi puts away the documents on the desk in his jade rule. He wanted to sit down for a little break before going out, but he takes one look at the paper weight waregeist that Liang had left behind to keep an eye on him, and he reluctantly stands back up and walks out the door.

He walks out of the pavilion and gazes upon the lotuses blooming in the pond and the fowlbeasts singing in the air. Perhaps it is true that he should take a break from taking breaks once in a while, and fulfill his responsibility as master of the Garden of Grotesqueries. So he walks down the hill, swinging his jade rule casually, and singing a tune that has been sung for a hundred years.

Three quarters of an hour later, a long-haired man wearing a white shirt and green gown can be seen chewing on roasted seeds in a restaurant in front of the Garden's gate, chatting with visitors about interesting things in the garden.

Liang returns to the pavilion to find Yi fiddling with a sword-shaped Tongbao, which he undoubtedly 'obtained' from a visitor. How much time did Yi spend enjoying himself while Liang was away? But seeing the pile of signed and stamped documents on the desk, he does not disturb him. He collects the documents quietly and departs. This is Yi's home and garden, after all, and all the treasures within were painstakingly gathered by Yi over many years. In the garden, they ignore the passage of time and the laws of decay, forever leaving their mark in the Garden and the world. Yi may be a procrastinator, but he never neglects the care of these treasures.

Outside the pavilion, materials of all kinds are piled up even higher than the pavilion itself, neatly categorized by type. The craftsmen of the Garden have already begun to review the list of repairs, and are delivering the materials to where they are needed. The mess left by those undertaking the rite will be cleaned up in the next few months, and the Garden will be ready for visitors on schedule.