level_act49side_09_end

Hah, hah...

Do you... intend to use Heaven's Eye.

...Scared?

Skillful, but not yet the peak of perfection.' The Grandmaster once said of your swordplay.

Your skill has improved much in five years, and you've surpassed my expectations in comprehending Chi Xiao's techniques.

But you are still one step away from Heaven's Eye.

The eye of Heaven sees all and nothing.

Only when the clouds are parted is Heaven's wrathful eye revealed.

Let your heart guide the sword, never looking back. Turn around, and the sword loses its sharpness, harming the user.

I was only reminding you of its form... but I see you remembered it all.

But you should be well aware a fog remains in your heart, so the technique is beyond your ability.

Drop your sword. I especially don't want to go that far with you.

Will you use it though, if I don't give you the writing knife?

...Just like you did thirty five years ago?

Don't force my hand, Hui-chieh.

When you walked out of the Forbidden City forty years ago, when you decided whether Tal and her father would live or die, did you do it with the technique's ideals... 'never looking back'?

Hui-chieh!

If that's what Chi Xiao's final technique demands, then I shall never be able to unleash it.

Trial. Justice.

Good and evil, right and wrong—they aren't weights you can easily tell which is better when placed on two sides of a scale... 'Don't judge a life until its end' was never a positive term to use.

The same goes for people, and even more so. They shouldn't be used and then unceremoniously abandoned.

Workers in the Victorian siege, warriors of the Ursus tundra, and even the casino bosses in Dossoles. All of them understand that.

So you <i>are</i> right. I won't use Heaven's Eye. I can't learn it. It's not my bladework.

What are you getting at?

More than keeping a resolute will to abandon everything, I'd rather pick the path of knowing what I find impossible.

Hui-chieh... you still don't understand!

You're right. I don't.

I don't actually understand what happened that night, whether your father actually died by Chi Xiao or something more sinister.

I don't understand what you were thinking. I do know Edward and Tal both bore the curse of their bloodline, while I could only watch from the sidelines.

I don't understand why Mother resented you, Father, and even me on her deathbed.

I'm only clear on one thing. And Tal knows it too.

Apologies from the dead are meaningless. If there are people you want to apologize to, then tell them you're sorry while you're still alive.

Otherwise, you're just a coward consumed by guilt to the brim, putting on a heartless and stoic act for a ridiculous facade.

I won't let you keep making the same mistakes.

There is no real merit in winning a verbal fight.

If you truly have a strike that surpasses Heaven's Eye, you shall indeed become a legendary Yanese swordswoman.

Show me. Prove with my blood that you are right.

I'll show you...

Ch'en silently switches Chi Xiao to her left hand, and wields the writing knife with her right.

I'll prove that if the dilemma itself is fundamentally wrong, you'll never get the right answer, no matter which side you take.

I'll prove that before we reach an inevitable dead end, we can take a step back and consider other options.

A choice that requires no sacrifice or abandonment, but allows all things to thrive.

You plan to use Chi Xiao's swordplay with the writing knife?

You said the techniques of Chi Xiao were all about one's state of mind, so it doesn't really matter which sword you use, right?

Uncle...

I still remember your last words to me when I left Lungmen.

Wei Yenwu's fingers stretch and bend before finally settling into a sharp form.

A gale swirls around him, blowing at his simple robes.

Hui-chieh, I'll respect your determination.

I won't hold back.

Heaven's Eye. Wrathful eye revealed, never looking back.

Even without a physical blade, his fierce form remains like merciless sunlight, never to return once it has shone.

Remorse does not linger on his fingers nor in his sword's aura. Yet it pervades the air, like mountains of withered leaves in late autumn.

Hesitation, regret, self-blame.

She knows why the old man before her wields his blade. His pent-up emotions do not have to be expressed in speech for her to empathize with.

Then, like a sigh, she thrusts the writing knife out.

After the truth comes to light, a judge's long exclamation often feels heavier than the verdict itself.

After the sigh, the sharp wind rolling around him dissipates like a fading dream, leaving nothing but a solitary palace, a desolate square, and the two standing in silence before it.

So this is... the swordplay you meant.

After I came to Baizao, I heard some stories about my mother.

When you left the city, she followed you to Lungmen. I never understood, but now, what other reason was there...?

She wanted to convince her brothers, her own two siblings, to make up.

And now, I think she was probably even more naive than I am.

You met someone from the House of Ch'en...

...I owe your parents and them an apology.

There <i>are</i> some things that should be resolved with blood, but this matter—this family matter that has entangled your entire life and my decades doesn't have to be one of them.

You felt regret in the end.

You dared only hold the form of Heaven's Eye, but not its spirit. You know what comes after remorse.

The Heaven's Eye you wielded decades ago was before regret reached your heart. You saw all and nothing, never looking back.

And when you finally felt it, it gnawed at your heart nonstop.

You win... Of course, you're right.

But this way you stake everything on a war that cannot be controlled. Now countless Yanese soldiers and civilians have their lives on the line, not just you and I.

Those with power and privilege love hiding their selfishness with big numbers and scary consequences. But obviously, there are plenty of other choices besides your death.

There are many who stand with us, proxies who have joined forces with Yan, your own brother and even, if there really is no other choice to take up the responsibility, there's me.

Let's finish the conversation from earlier.

...'The path before you is long and hard. But I know you will master it.'

I thought for a long time about what you meant by that 'will'. When I found the answer, I was loath to believe the conclusion it led to.

But now, seeing you in such a pathetic state, I can only believe it...

From that moment on, when you placed your unfulfilled hopes on my shoulders, you were already old.

You're old. You can't even harden your heart into stone as you did in your prime. You want to make amends, pay your debts. So you choose... to die.

Death won't let you make up for all you've done, death won't preserve your last shred of dignity. Death will only leave a final knot in your relationship that can never be untangled.

So don't do it... don't do what Tal did.

Is she...?!

If you want to ask me 'Is she doing well?', then I'll tell you. No. Not at all.

But you should rejoice in the fact I'm willing to talk about her with anybody... with you.

What's that?

...The horns signaling the attack. It's not from Baizao, but outside... from Yumen.

Yumen's about to attack the Tomb of Sui?

The Grand Commandant has issued the command, but whether or not the troops move is up to Zuo Xuanliao.

He cannot hold on forever, though. Yumen's troops are not his personal army.

...I should go.

To do what?

Our family matters have to be resolved, but those incarnations of the Feranmut, the same goes for them too. They'll try their best, and I'm willing to trust them.

And that Grand Commandant...

I can kind of guess what's on his mind. He's not selfish, but he thinks his judgements are logical and realistic.

Disasters caused by people like him are usually the worst ones.

Be it for Lungmen or what's left of the House of Ch'en, I should try and win whatever peace is possible for Yan.

I know you will.

Right.

Before I go, and if you want, help me think up a name for the move I pulled off. A name like Heaven's Eye that would get a young me all excited.

...Heaven's Plaint.

Heaven's Plaint. Doesn't that sound a little old-timey?

Surely you don't have to remind me of my age every five minutes.

Even so, there are some things that I must do myself.

Such as?

This time, I will do something that won't leave me with regrets.

((dummy text))

The mastermind who turned Yumen upside down, and an actual Feranmut.

Zuo Le grips his blade and swallows hard.

But the other party does not seem to pay him any mind, instead looking towards Mo Yi.

And where is the thing you promised me?

I... didn't find it...

Then there is no meaning in leaving you alive—

With no hesitation, a long, narrow blade manifests in Ya's hand, dazzling the other two with its silver glint.

W-Wait!

Kill me, and you'll never know where Bu Fan is!

What?!

Mo Yi, what exactly—

Faced with Zuo Le's angry stare, Mo Yi can only turn her head away.

Let me ask you first... what are you planning to do with Bu Fan once you have it?

Just kill Sui, or do you want the whole city, or even all Yan to also die alongside your grudge?

That is of no concern to you.

I only promised to help you exact revenge against the bestial Sui... but before I give it to you, I need you to promise me something.

Your rage can only be directed at Sui... and once you're done with your vengeance, you'll leave Yan.

Absurd.

Why should I promise you anything?

No particular reason... but I'm not giving it to you unless you agree.

You've exhausted my patience with your life.

Zuo Le steps in almost instinctively, and takes the blow. He realizes once more just how much power a Feranmut holds.

All he feels is his insides churning as blood spurts from his mouth.

Zuo Le—

The Sui Regulator will not allow you to harm anyone, even if she is a Shanhaizhong—

Ridiculous.

It is this very human game that I hate—

A light flick of Her longsword, and the Candleholder's own blade flies from his hand, as his throat meets the edge of Her blade.

The whereabouts of Bu Fan, or his life.

No way... You can't...

I...

...Don't hurt him! I'll tell you!

The Shanhaizhong takes out an elaborate box from her pocket, and opens it to reveal an ancient map within.

That's from the Sky Mirror Pavilion, when did you—

...Sorry...

Lord Zuo... I admit to the crime of deceiving you over and over again...

Dare I ask you to trust me... and if a chance comes, to let me be the good one and make amends?

You mustn't——!

Ignoring the Candleholder's futile attempt, Mo Yi hands the map over to Ya, the latter merely sweeping a glance at it before the parchment turns into ashes.

Enough. I did what you wanted... you should leave.

You tricked me once, and still hope for me to trust you?

You shall come with me, until I find Bu Fan.

Ya raises Her longsword, but does not point it at the two, instead slicing a rift into the air...

Don't just stand there, run—

Mo Yi is swallowed by the rift, leaving only withered autumn leaves all around Zuo Le.

What... did you do...?

...Stop.

Where are you going...?

I think it beneath me to make another move on someone I have no business with.

If you cherish your life, then leave.

Zuo Le silently picks up his blade from the floor and steps forward into a fighting stance.

Countless times he has done this, against formidable foes he thought he could never defeat.

So you have a death wish.

As if merely following the proxy's murderous intent, a chilling autumnal breeze blows by, and sharp withered leaves cut tiny wounds on Zuo Le.

But right after, he sees something he can hardly believe—the dead leaves turn into flowers and green, and the piercing autumn wind is gradually replaced by a gentle spring breeze.

Who dares?!

Why do we always run into each other when a fight's about to start?

This encounter is no different from the one a thousand years ago.

Our former foes are gone, as are our dear friends...

To draw your blade for vengeance now—how is it not a futile grasp at the past?

You two...?!

The proxy is loath to address Her kin by the names humans gave Them, yet She realizes—how else are They to call one another?

Ya detests these names.

Hou.

Ju.

So you were both alive all along?!

As you can see, we are no illusions or walking corpses, so yes.

But this is no place for chit-chat... Can your hidden realm welcome us as guests?

I thought It and I were the last of our kind on this land.

How have you survived these last thousand years... and why have you come here today?

Do you want to stop me as well?!

We don't intend to make things difficult for you... but are you aware just how much trouble you've added to our plates with your awakening and return to Yan?

Since that day, I've been followed by hundreds of eyes, even when I'm just casually angling for some silverfin on the Dusk River.

Staring at your decrepit shell. Hah, those ants sure are experts at wasting time.

Ruined mounts and streams, bodies weak and sick. That's all we are now, and you're no exception.

Weak and sick...

Yet enough strength to leave another wound on It that will never heal!

...Is that the only thing you've gained from your long journey?

After this millennium-long journey, all that remains in your head is wanting to settle the score between you two?

Seriously, your smarts are not up to par...

Anger, humiliation, discontent, confusion. You came back on account of these, and you use them as excuses to level your blade against your own kind.

Humanity gave a name to this obsession born of anger—they call it 'vengeance'.

You proudly claim to be a Feranmut and look upon 'human emotions' with contempt...

Yet you've changed. When did you become so obsessed with the boards and games humans play?

And when did you primordial beings pick up the rhetoric used by those crass pests?

Fooling humans, hunting our own kind... when have we ever suffered such humiliation?

When have we suffered... such a betrayal?

Vengeance? Boards? Games?

This is a war between It and me that has yet to end!

Lands shorn of life, mountains split asunder, rivers choked with crimson... The war at the dawn of time is not worth my remembrance.

Eons ago before you granted these insects your cunning, they had long embarked on the wrong path.

Now look at you, taking on a form similar to theirs—comical, ugly, broken, unbearable... you make me laugh!

And you, Hou. The ancient bestial Hou, the 'nature' of antiquity—you who once floated between heaven and earth have too learned how to live like an ant.

One can live as they wish in this realm. Rafting, swimming, fowl-watching, fincatching... You're not me, so how would you understand the joy I derive from this land?

You find joy in dragging your tail through the mud?!

Seasons change, life and death come and go, joy is but a speck, and sorrow the same... to me, these joys and sorrows are but floating weeds on the Dusk River. Where the wind blows, I go.

If one day a finbeast devours me whole, I shall drift freely for ten thousand miles with the current; if a fowlbeast snatches me, I shall be lifted up into the highest heavens.

Will you raise your weapon against the wind, a fin, a fowlbeast?

To be used or cast aside is of the times; to act or to hide is of my own will.

That is what Ju and I have come here to tell you.

Continue your reckless act, and you shall only meet your end—A Feranmut's end, with your shell no more, as only ash and dust.

Simply put, we pity you, our kin.

Pity?! For your kin?!

The two of you only leave me with shame.

Kin, you say?

The two of you, as primordial manifestations of 'nature' and 'rules', are groveling at my feet to surrender the ages?!

Puny, weak, filthy, low... What grants you two rotting corpses the right to call yourselves my kin?

I'll lose my body, and end as only ash and dust?

Heh, the destruction in your eyes is to me simply a return.

A return.

To the sleepless chaos, the indistinguishable dawn.

So what if I am reduced to nothing? So what if I am consigned to eternal nothingness?

This realm is but a coffin with no borders in sight. A thousand years I have waited, and the only thing missing is a dark red pattern—

Soaked, painted, lined, and carved...

A breathtaking pattern made from Its flesh and cries.

You take this realm as a coffin... Is it then not a waste, preserving this vast realm when only death awaits you?

I dwell within a leaf, but see an entire realm within... All things arise from the mind, and it should stay free and unfettered.

*sigh*...Is it this realm that confines you?

The land trembles from its master's rage. The chill of the cold, jade mountains grows even sharper from Her raging fury.

But the old man merely taps his long staff on the water's surface, and a plum blossom blooms on the river that has never melted.

Hah... so you wish to face me in my own realm?

Arrow's nocked.

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.