The Surrendered Witnessing

This is recently released content. If anything is out of order or you spot any errors, please let me know. I can be reached on discord (reqons). You can also ping me in the PMCH (Project Moon Community Hub) server. Please ping me in a spoiler channel or lore thread though. Thanksssssss -Dexian

Year: 985 - 01

Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3 - Episode 4 - Episode 5 - Episode 6 - Episode 7 - Episode 8 - Episode 9 - Episode 10 - Episode 11 - Episode 12 - Episode 13 - Episode 14 - Episode 15 - Episode 16 - Episode 17 - Episode 18 -

Episode: 1
Flowers wilt, petals fall, a drizzle of blossoms sky-blotting;
Colors fade, fragrance dies—but who shall mourn their passing?
To the garden I go, in hand a flower-rake,
Only to pace, lest crushed the scatter'd blossoms I make.
Thus, in this troubled world I breathe,
To shut my eyes
Is my sole reprieve.
Location: Daguanyuan Banquet Hall
Jia Mu	Little Baoyu. You must have walked and toiled tirelessly on your journey home.
Hong Lu	I wouldn’t say I suffered much, grandmother. My days were always filled with new and interesting things to see.
Ishmael	Ugh… What are they talking about over there?
Ishmael	They’re sitting so far apart that I can hardly hear them. I mean, is this even a dining ‘table’? I can’t even see who’s sitting at the other end from here.
Busy-looking Servant	Is there anything bothering you, dear guests? If this humble servant can help with any—
Heathcliff	Oh, there’s somethin’ bothering me alright. We’re in the middle of a meal, can you please stop—
Sinclair	Noooope! Nope, not at all! Nothing’s bothering us at all…! Everything’s good.
Lady Wang	Now… Baoyu, my boy. When will you introduce me to your new friends?
Gregor	… Oh, boy. I never know how to act in front of others' parents… Where should I look? Is… this an appropriate size for a polite smile? I hope I don’t come off too smarmy—
Hong Lu	Ha ha, it's nothing to fuss over. Think of this as your own place, and enjoy your time here~
Rodion	Woohoo~ Thank ya!
Rodion	… But whew, this place is soooo huge that I can hardly relax. I’m worried I might get lost going out for a cup of water.
Hong Lu	Ah, don't you worry~ We have stray people shelters located all around the house for that. Our servants visit them once a month to collect anyone who’s unfortunately gotten lost. If they’re still alive, that is~
Sinclair	Ha ha… Hong Lu, that has to be the funniest jo...ke you’ve ever told, ha ha ha...
Hong Lu	Ha ha, I wasn’t joking, but I’m glad you enjoyed it anyway~
Yi Sang	I must ask, Hong Lu, for I spy no other sibling of yours here; this is quite odd, for I had thought this to be a welcoming party for your return...
Jia Xichun	Hey, it’s my welcoming party, too.
Jia Xichun	Besides, what makes you think we’d ever want to see their stupid faces? Just to get mad?
Jia Xichun	It’s been like ten whole years since we even shared a meal together.
Jia Xichun	Oh, and… don’t even think about trying to chat me up. Did you already forget what I said earlier? There is nothing between us anymore. We're enemies.
Rodion	Uh… did we initiate the conversation, though?
Lady Wang	Oh, I am simply so glad that my son, Baoyu...
Lady Wang	… has returned as a man who can now more than carry his own weight... And unharmed, too...
Lady Wang	So, dear Baoyu…
Lady Wang	I don’t mean to rush, but… when are you planning to depart again?
Hong Lu	Nothing has been decided yet, mother.
Ishmael	…….
Lady Wang	I see… I-I am simply concerned that, were your stay here to be prolonged, perhaps you might fade before your duties are completed.
Lady Wang	D-do you not also agree, venerable Jia Mu?
Jia Mu	Indeed.
Jia Mu	Dear Baoyu, our peerless treasure, tarry not overlong in this mundane world; leave when the time is right, and fulfill your worth.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	Okay, grandmother. Mother.
Throughout the entire familial discussion, Hong Lu's expression remained the same, in that tranquil, perpetual smile.
Despite his return after years of wandering being met with the family's obvious push to make him leave as soon as possible...
... he stands unaffected, as though he were expecting this gaudy yet hollow welcome.
Dante	<…….>
With his attitude being so passive, I also had no choice but to watch as a bystander.
A few hours ago...
Location: Backstreets of District 8
Jia Xichun	…….
Saude	... The palanquin'll be here soon.
Rodion	... A p-palanquin?! Woahh~ So cool! That sure sounds like a fancy ride! Isn’t that just super, Greg?!
Gregor	Ooh! Yeah, Saude! Are we getting a palanquin or whatever it's called to give us a ride all the way to the m-mansion?!
The usual comedy pair’s desperate efforts to lighten the mood are particularly appreciated today, as tragically ineffective as they seem to be.
Saude	Yes. The LCB and Jia Xichun will be heading to <ruby=Grand View Garden>Daguanyuan</ruby> where one of the most prominent families of H Corp. reside.
Dante	<If they’ve sent a whole palanquin to pick us up… huh, does Hong Lu’s family already know that he’ll be participating in the Family Hierarch war?>
Faust	No, it is unlikely that they are aware. After all, it can be assumed that the most likely reason that the company waited until the last minute to relay us this order was to minimize the chance of information leakage.
Faust	Therefore, it would be correct to presume that the palanquin is here merely as a gesture of welcome for Hong Lu and Jia Xichun's return.
Saude	Which means that only the invited—Hong Lu, Jia Xichun, and their ‘factions’ can ride the palanquin to Daguanyuan.
Saude	Unfortunately, this means the LCCB, Vergilius, and Charon won’t be able to join you on this journey.
Hong Lu	That’s too bad. It would’ve been nice if we could all go there together.
Jia Xichun	… Just as petty as I expected from the seniors of our family. Would it kill them to house a handful more people in that humongous park of a house? It’s not like they’d notice the difference.
Saude	Oh my, how touching. Looks like miss Jia Xichun thinks she’ll miss us too.
Jia Xichun	What a thing to say to my face after that shameless backstabbing.
Saude	Ahaha...
Jia Xichun	I mean, do any of you even comprehend what it means to participate in the Family Hierarch war?
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Xichun	Do you even understand why we call it a ‘war’ when the official name for it is an ‘evaluation’?
Jia Xichun	You’re risking your lives by getting involved in this. Once you get in there, you'll be stalked at every turn by people looking to kill you.
Jia Xichun	Including me.
Dante	<…….>
Jia Xichun	Remember how Wei saved your life back at that fake kezhan? Now imagine the same scenario, except this time, it could be Wei who's there to kill you.
Wei	I must say ahead of time that this is a truly regrettable turn of events. I did not wish to have to fight any of you, but…
Wei looked at us with an unfamiliar and cold, intense glare.
Sinclair	W-well, we feel… very much the same way, so… Looks like we’re on the same page there… ha… ha ha...
Jia Xichun	This means that I'm also fair game. You could stab me in the back again, literally, this time.
Sinclair	Uh… no, never. I wouldn't even dream of doing something like—
Jia Xichun ignored Sinclair’s anxious pleas and looked straight toward Hong Lu.
Jia Xichun	This... could be the last chance to change your mind, brother.
Jia Xichun	I didn’t invite you to join my faction with a light heart.
Jia Xichun	Besides, it’s the Family Hierarch war. This isn’t something you can just flippantly decide that you wanna particip—
Hong Lu	I know the life you've lived, Xichun.
Hong Lu	I also grew up hearing those countless tales about the Family Hierarch war, just as you did.
Hong Lu	So the weight we’re feeling must be the same.
Jia Xichun	…….
Jia Xichun	Right. So this is where our tenuous alliance really ends.
Jia Xichun	Well, not like I care. It did drag on a little too long for a temporary alliance forged out of convenience.
Jia Xichun	… We’re just going back to how things used to be, that's all.
Jia Xichun	And that's fine by me. I think that's enough chit-chat with you, then.
Hong Lu	Okay. If that's what you want.
Hong Lu	... Oh, Xichun.
Jia Xichun	... What.
Hong Lu	... Please don't tell the family that I'll be participating, will you?
Hong Lu	I was told to keep this a secret for now.
Jia Xichun	... Hah.
Jia Xichun	Tell me one reason I should do you that favor now.
For someone who supposedly doesn’t care, Xichun appeared rather hurt as she took a moment to glare at Hong Lu, biting her lower lip…
Jia Xichun	…….
... then suddenly strode right up to him.
Dante	<…!>
Jia Xichun	Is this even your call, brother?
Jia Xichun	Or are you just following their orders?
Jia Xichun gestured toward the rest of us with her chin.
Hong Lu	Mm... my participation in the Family Hierarch war is already decided. If you're still curious to know why, then...
Hong Lu	Xichun, do you believe that my choices carry any significant meaning?
Jia Xichun	… Oh, I see what's up. This crap again.
Jia Xichun	So you already know what participating in the war means, but you just have no idea why I'd ever ask you something like that, huh?
Jia Xichun	Fine, looks like I don't even need to hear your reply. There’s no point in trying with you anymore.
Jia Xichun	At least I’ll have fun watching how far you get with that shallow, meaningless attitude of yours.
Dante	<Hey, wait…>
Jia Xichun appeared pretty distressed after that exchange, so I was about to say something—when Pilot, who had been fiddling with the radio behind Saude, began shouting urgently.
Pilot	Woah! Manager Saude! A palanquin's been seen coming this way!
Rodion	Ugh… I’d like to chill a bit today, yesterday was too tough. Let’s head on over so we can at least relax on the way there—
Jia Xichun	Nope, we’re taking this one.
Jia Xichun	You never think twice about giving things up to others anyway, do you, brother?
Rodion	Huh? What the heck do ya mean? C’mon, let’s do this fair and square with, like, uh… rock, paper, and scissors?
Jia Xichun	Wooow, sure. Why not decide the next Hierarch with a game of rock, paper, and scissors, too? How’s that?
Jia Xichun gave us a wry grin before leaving. Wei followed her wordlessly.
Gregor	Boy… and I thought we were finally making some friends out here.
Stranger	Look! Over there, there's a group waiting for a palanquin! One of ‘em must be the candidate the client told us about!
Sinclair	E-everyone, there's a group of hostile-looking people coming our way...
Outis	Shi Yihua is unlikely to be the only one who's going after the other candidates… Executive Manager, we best take care of them before the next palanquin arrives.
Dante	<… Yeah. What can we do, right?>

Episode: 2
Location: Backstreets of District 8
Outis	No more signs of enemy reinforcements, Executive Manager.
Sinclair	Phew… at least there’s an end to them this time. The guys that attacked us when we first got here were endless.
Ishmael	Well, that's because we walked right into a trap then. Shallow, but still.
Sinclair	Anyways… Xichun appeared pretty hurt by that, didn’t she…
Rodion	Honestly, though… I get why she feels so betrayed.
Rodion	Remember all those stories about Hong Lu’s family we heard? Imagine you're one of their kids, thinking that you finally found like, a potential ally in your family… only for him to pretty much stab ya in the back last minute.
Saude	Yeah, right? It was really awkward for me too, even though I wasn’t exactly involved.
Saude chimed in nonchalantly as though it wasn't her who pulled the plug on our alliance at the last second.
Ishmael	Anyways…
Ishmael	Where’s our escort? I can’t imagine that H Corp. can’t afford to send us guards with the palanquin.
Saude	If this family loved each other enough to send escorts for their safety, I doubt they’d be holding a cutthroat ceremony like the Family Hierarch Evaluations.
Saude	It’s a world where might makes right, where the strong prey on the weak…
Saude	People won’t bat an eye even if one of the dozens of candidates is found dead in some ditch on the road.
Hong Lu	…….
Saude	Oh. Sorry, Hong Lu. I must’ve been running my mouth again without thinking about how that sounds.
Saude	Someone usually stopped me before I got too far...
Hong Lu	Don’t worry. You didn’t say anything wrong.
Hong Lu	It took me a while to realize that other families weren’t like this, but…
Hong Lu	… there is no reason to be upset by the way things are.

Episode: 3
Location: Backstreets of District 8
Dante	<Hm? What’s that ominous metallic noise…?>
Yi Sang	The tolling of bells… Bells with the resonance unlike that of any other, normally marked by their clarity.
Yi Sang	This bell is muddled, as if it tolls for ill-fortune on the horizon...
Hong Lu	Wow~ That bell sure is a resounding reminder that I'm home again~
Hong Lu	It's the bell that tolls every once a while. You can hear its resonance from anywhere in Hongyuan.
Saude	…….
Saude	It’s restructuring day(再積日).
Ishmael	Huh? But the restructuring day already—
She trails off, unable to finish her sentence as a brutal scene unfolds behind us.
Ishmael	Whoa… are you guys seeing this?
Ishmael	The buildings are all… starting to shift…
It was as Ishmael said; the buildings, all tethered to a complicated network of rails, were either rising from or sinking into the earth.
Meursault	Movement has been observed from every building in the vicinity. Everything is changing.
Yi Sang	The localized shifting of structures we had observed yesternight were... not as sweeping as this.
Saude	What you saw last night must’ve been a premonition of the restructuring day, nudging some buildings to their positions for a smoother overall redistribution of space.
Saude	Now this… this is the real deal.
Ishmael	Huh… that whole mess was just a premonition?
Saude	It's a remnant of an old H Corp. that was here long, long before the current Hongyuan. This structure has been here for a while, so we can't quite know the nature or the purpose of its Singularity, but at this moment…
Saude	… they shift based on current H Corp.’s restructuring standards.
♬The world's assembly shifts overnight♬
♬Yet those who toiled and toiled have naught to fear♬
♬Is it not joyous, to have a place to rest your feet tonight♬
♬To those who weren't availed of fortune, this is simply the reality to bear♬
♬Only choice is to retreat in silence, to accept your fate as one might♬
♬Await the coming month, ponder how one might save their skin♬
♬How many shall plummet today, and how many shall remain?♬
♬Hold on not to all things too tight♬
♬For you may lose sight of when to let go, and feign ignorance when you must take flight♬
Yi Sang	The consequence of re-assembly for the evicted is an endless plummet...
Yi Sang	What a terribly distressing sight to behold, unable to do aught to help.
Sinclair	Is this… another one of H Corp.’s idiosyncrasies?
Saude	Hm, I don't know. Didn't other nests also have their own measures of one's wealth?
Yi Sang	Mm... As T Corp. makes use of time as currency?
Saude	Exactly. H Corp.'s measure of wealth and currency is based on how much space a person owns, measured by a scale they call 'rooms'.
Yi Sang	Id est: the measure of one's space is the measure of one's wealth.
Saude	Exactly. So once every month, the worth of each person’s labor and the quantity of their income are measured to determine how much space they are assigned.
Gregor	So they can just kick me out of my home for no reason...?
Gregor	What the... Just what kind of ridiculous rule is that...?
Saude	Well, it might appear that way to outsiders like us, but…
Saude	… the calculations behind these redistributions are meticulously designed and have been here for a long time, so it seems to me that everyone just accepts them as a natural part of their lives.
Sinclair	Have you seen this happen... in person too, Hong Lu?
Sinclair	This ‘restructuring day’...
Hong Lu	… I have.
Hong Lu	Sometimes, I’d watch the cityscape from behind the railings of my room.
Hong Lu	It happened far, far away from me, but I could see it all very well.
His expression remains tranquil and still as he calmly reminisces.
It was like then, when he was merely watching the featureless scenery pass him by.
Hong Lu	Daguanyuan, my old home, was never too concerned about the restructuring days. We’d get more rooms some days, but we’d never, ever shrink.
Hong Lu	So I've never been affected by these restructuring days. I only ever witnessed them as they happened beneath me, high-up in my room.
Heathcliff	You, you’re… hah, fine. I doubt there was anything you could’ve done, but…
Heathcliff	… You just sat on your hands and watched all this shite—
... Heathcliff trailed off, but I could see that he was gritting his teeth.
Pilot	Ah! Another palanquin’s coming!
Saude	And there's your ride. I think we’ve chatted enough, so let’s get you guys going.
Ishmael	... This is a palanquin?
Saude	Yep. Looks like they sent us a palanquin large enough to comfortably seat a big crowd of people together~
Palanquin Bearer	Young master Jia Baoyu and his twelve honored guests, is that correct?
Saude	Mm~ it's thirteen, to be exact?
Dante	<... Uh, but I thought Saude wasn't invited?>
Palanquin Bearer	Woah, woah, hold your horses. I was told that young master Baoyu’s faction was just twelve people?
Upon hearing that, Saude began aggressively striding toward him, causing the palanquin bearer to shrink in fear.
Palanquin Bearer	W-woah, slow down, lady…
Saude	We are twelve people, what’s wrong?
Saude	I mean, don't tell me this thing looks like a normal, contributing member of a clan to you?
Dante	<Whuh?>
Saude suddenly grabbed my shoulders and presented me before the bearer like I was some product.
Palanquin Bearer	Uh… I mean, that’s a pretty unique head this one's got there, don’t think I’ve seen anything like it ‘round here in Hongyuan... but isn’t that just a prosthetic? In the shape of a… clock, I guess, but still…
Saude	I mean, let me ask you something. Can you imagine why anyone in their right mind would stick a clock where their head’s gotta go? Even if they were hurting for cash?
Palanquin Bearer	Aw, no way, ma’am. Never. There are way more versatile bio-modifications available here in Hongyuan than… whatever that hack-job is. Nobody in their right mind would.
Saude	Exactly, right? No idea what went down, but this fellow here sure seems to have fallen on hard times. Too bad we live in a world where such misfortune can befall an honest soul like them.
Palanquin Bearer	Boy, oh boy… looks like this one’s got scammed. A nasty scam, too—whatever Backstreets they got that from, musta been a real scoundrel who did it. Tsk, tsk...
Saude	And look, even the clock isn’t on time, and this poor person is barely conscious! Look, all they can do is make these weird ticking noises because they don’t even have a mouth!
... Those were some pretty darn hurtful things to say, but I decided not to take them at face value. It was pretty obvious what she was trying to do.
Dante	<Somebody... tell Saude... I'm getting dizzy...>
Palanquin Bearer	Good grief! You weren't kiddin'... who coulda done something so awful...?
Saude	It's a real blessing that young master Baoyu's got such a kindhearted soul. He simply could not walk past the timepiece emporium selling this human being like they're some toy or a tool, so he picked them up to get their head replaced with something proper. Hongyuan's got more than enough resources for something like that, right?
Palanquin Bearer	Oh, well, you're not wrong there... It's really easy to swap out your whole body as long as you've got the cash to burn...
Dante	<Wha…? A new head? For me?>
Saude	Right? See what I mean? So that’s why they told you that young master Baoyu only has twelve people in his faction. Including yours truly.
Palanquin Bearer	W-well, I see your point. But we can't just—
Saude	—let all of us board, yes. Our young master fully understands the moral conundrum you find yourself in. So we'd like to offer you this tiny, tiny token of appreciation...
Saude produced some bills from her pocket and smoothly slid them into the palanquin bearer's own.
Palanquin Bearer	Aw man, aw, lady, you really shouldn’t do this… I really shouldn't...
Saude	Oh, and another thing. I'm sure I don't need to tell you this, but... if a word of this gets out, things might get pretty messy for both of us. And that doesn't have to happen, does it?
Palanquin Bearer	Ahem. Indubitably, ma'am. I’m doing this purely out of the goodness of my heart, after all! What’s a free ride for the downtrodden, eh?
Heathcliff	Seems to me the bloke’s doin’ this purely out of interest in the fatness of his wallet...
Saude	Alright, alright. Stop gossiping over there and get on board.
Dante	<Wait, wait... are we leaving Pilot alone here?>
Pilot seemed to have noticed me staring in his direction. He stopped fidgeting with a radio and waved at us.
Pilot	Ah! Don't you worry about me, and have a safe trip over there! I've got some stuff to handle on the outside!
Location: Palanquin Interior
Yi Sang	This design is more akin to an... extravagant limousine than a palanquin.
Rodion	Oh look, a bottle of champagne... can I chug this?!
Outis	Of course not! Drinking while on a mission is—
Saude	Okay.
With a quick clap, Saude promptly put an end to the hubbub the unexpectedly flashy appearance of the palanquin caused.
Her demeanor had shifted entirely into that of a calm and collected strategist, a far cry from the person who was chatting up a storm with the bearer just a minute ago...
Saude	Time to get to work, everyone.

Episode: 4
Location: Palanquin Interior
Saude	Then, you'll—
Outis	Wait.
Outis	Something's going on outside.
Not long after Saude paused over Outis's remark, a grating speaker whine rang out, followed by the worried voice of the bearer on the other end.
Palanquin Bearer	W-we're under attack!
Saude	Mm~ I thought things were going a little too easy. It's no surprise that other candidates are trying to eliminate us just in case.
Dante	<... Why am I not surprised?>

Episode: 5
Location: Palanquin Interior
Palanquin Bearer	Entering Daguanyuan now!
Despite some troubles on the way, it seemed that we managed to arrive at our destination mostly unhurt.
Hong Lu	…….
Daguanyuan, Hong Lu's old home.
Saude	Oof, we’re running out of time.
Saude	Faust, I'm sure you understood the most important part of my plan, right?
Faust	…….
Faust	It is... unlikely to be a pleasant sight to behold.
Saude	Remember, the plan hinges on your patience, everyone. You have to remain calm and wait, even if they freak out and actively try to kill you.
Faust	There is a chance that they might panic and immediately order for the Sinners to be executed on the spot. However, it is unlikely that the person whose responsibility is to judge the next Family Hierarch of Hongyuan will make such a hasty response.
Saude	Exactly. Everything's going to be fine as long as the decider has the capacity for patience.
Heathcliff	Nnh? Execution? Wha?
Saude	Great. I'll follow up with a subsequent contact once you've safely completed the first round of the evaluations.
After that cryptic exchange with Faust, Saude leaped gracefully off the moving palanquin as Heathcliff murmured in his half-sleep.
We watched her grow smaller and smaller as the distance between us grew, but what really caught our eyes were the scattered humans that the restructuring day had evicted from their homes. They were trying to drag their broken bodies off the road, sobbing and writhing.
Sinclair	This… is horrible. There isn’t anything we can do to help, but...
Meursault	Such sense of futility and powerlessness will negatively impact the efficient performance of your professional obligations.
Meursault	Repeated exposure to similar stimuli is recommended to desensitize oneself to this sensation.
Sinclair	…….
Sinclair	S-so Hong Lu, how do you feel about going back home after so long?
Sinclair changed the subject.
Hong Lu	Hmm… I don’t know...
Heathcliff	Don’t even need to ask him, lad. I know it can’t be easy.
Heathcliff	As for me... blimey, I hesitated almost a thousand times, wonderin' if I should just turn around and leave.
Heathcliff	What if I knocked on those gates, but she, she—
Heathcliff	…….
Heathcliff came to a suffocating stop, his voice trembling lightly as he did so.
The other Sinners stared at him in confused silence.
Ishmael	What, what is it? Why’d you stop in the middle of a—
Dante	<Um… wow, look at these cool windows. I think we can swap them out with other images!>
Ishmael	Sigh...
I quickly tried to swerve from this subject again, but all I got was Ishmael’s scolding glare that seemed to wordlessly tell me “not the time!”.
Hong Lu	Fuhu, I remember.
Hong Lu	I remember what happened each time one of us returned to the part of the City that held our memories. Memories of happiness... anger... sorrow... and joy. And as we traveled, I remember that they were all looking at sceneries only they could see.
Hong Lu	Rodya, you awkwardly tried your best to crack jokes.
Hong Lu	Sinclair, you tried your best to hold back the welling tears, again and again.
Hong Lu	Yi Sang, you shut your eyes for a long, long time.
Hong Lu	Ishmael, you couldn’t stop talking to yourself while glaring down at the lake’s surface.
Hong Lu	And Heathcliff, I saw you scared and anxious, shaping your hair over and over again.
Dante	<You've really been... watching us closely, huh.>
Rodion	Did... we?
Hong Lu	Spring leaves, petals scatter, and all shall turn around to find the doors to which they belong and return forevermore.
Hong Lu	I think everyone has a small mound of petals they gathered for themselves.
Heathcliff	... What? I don't. Why would anyone collect somethin' like that?
Hong Lu	Then you simply haven't discarded them yet.
There was still a transparent smile on his face, but I think I saw a burying, sinking shadow behind it.
Location: -1
Dante	<Oh...>
The moment I felt that, a familiar light came into view.
And I immediately understood what was going on.
The Golden Bough is close, and it is resonating with Hong Lu's fathoms.
???	They watch the flower-burial of mine and mock away
Location: Somewhere in Daguanyuan, Past
???	Who lays me to rest once I die?
???	When spring passes, youth passes, as wrinkles shear it all away
???	Flowers pass, people pass, and ignorant they remain to where they hie.
Hong Lu	Why do you always recite these strange, complicated poems, Daiyu?
Hong Lu	There are plenty of ways to remain young, aren't there?
Daiyu?	Because we needn't see the snow in our hair to know that spring will pass.
Hong Lu	Why are you cleaning up those fallen petals?
Hong Lu	Just float them away downstream. You'll get dirt on your hands...
Daiyu?	And be so wasteful?
Daiyu?	How will we hear the sound of falling rain once we sweep all the petals away?
Daiyu?	This is a remembrance. Remembrance of a rainy day. So I'm gonna treasure it.
Daiyu?	Besides, these beautiful blossoms'll get so dirty in the stream if we let them float away.
Daiyu?	So please, don't scatter all the petals from your embrace, big bro Baoyu.
Location: Palanquin Interior
Dante	<Hong Lu...>
Dante	<Is there anyone you miss here at Daguanyuan?>
Hong Lu	Hmm…
Hong Lu	No, there isn't.
Sinclair	… But how's that possible? Isn’t your family there…? And… a bunch of other people who are so important to you…?
Yi Sang	…….
Hong Lu	Well, as long as I believe them to be doing well…
Hong Lu	… there isn’t any need for me to yearn to see them again.
Dante	<……. >
Dante	<Do you still... treasure your petals?>
Hong Lu	No. I scattered them all the day I departed my home.
Hong Lu	So my rainy days are now silent.
Dante	<I see... >
Hong Lu	You saw that, didn't you? Dante.
Hong Lu	You saw my memory.
Dante	<... I did.>
Hong Lu	Hehe.
Hong Lu laughed. He wasn't surprised or angry that I peered into his memories.
Sinclair	Uhm...
Sinclair	Do you want to tell us about your parents? Or, uh… yeah, you talked about your grandmother pretty often, right? What kind of people are they... ?
Sinclair added carefully.
Maybe he was trying to commiserate, tenuous as that connection might've been. We were headed to his home to meet his family, anyway.
Hong Lu	Ah, they are both very wise in the ways of the world.
Hong Lu	Grandmother always treated me preciously.
Hong Lu	So did my mother, and my father.
Sinclair	Uh, uhm...
Hong Lu	Ah, we're almost there.
Hong Lu	I can see the garden.
Dante	<This is one massive garden...>
Hong Lu	We still have some time before we get to the main buildings.
Hong Lu	I remember the days when deer and hares would frolic out here in the garden, fuhu.
Ishmael	Well, I can see myself taking a long walk around here. It’d take a whole day and then some to cover the entire ground...
Hong Lu	I usually lingered only around my own room. It’s dangerous to stray too far, after all.
Dante	<It’s dangerous? Why?>
Hong Lu	There's the stranger danger, getting lost, getting targeted... Besides, it's very dark at night.
Heathcliff	Well, that ain’t a very big deal, is it? Kids run around, scrape their faces on the branches, trip and eat shite on the pavement all the time.
Hong Lu	Hehe, I’m sure you would’ve run freely around the garden, Heathcliff. But it's important to always be careful.
Hong Lu	When I was five, someone had lathered a deadly poison on a random tree branch.
Rodion	Ack... poison?!
Hong Lu	I had a little brother who liked to frolic like you do, Heathcliff.
Hong Lu	But by some coincidence, he happened to be running around the same tree that had its branches lathered with poison.
Don Quixote	What… what hath transpired thereafter?
Hong Lu	I'm sure he got better.
Hong Lu	Xiren told me he’ll be just fine after a hundred nights' rest.
Hong Lu	And because Xiren was always so smart, I'm sure it happened exactly as she said.

Episode: 6
Location: Palanquin Interior
Palanquin Bearer	Entering <ruby=Grand Flower Hall>Dahuating</ruby>(大花廳) now!
It wasn't long before our arrival to a new place within Daguanyuan was made known by the palanquin bearer's sonorous announcement.
Heathcliff	More buildings...? What's Dahuating mean, anyway?
Hong Lu	Mmm~ Grand Flower Hall, so I think you could call it a place for banquets?
Gregor	Huh... So you host banquets in this... village-sized 'venue'...?
Sinclair	I-is that a lake over there?
Hong Lu	Nope, it's a pond~
Gregor	A p-pond...? Daaamn...
Hong Lu	Once we arrive, we will find ourselves a welcoming party for Xichun and me.
Hong Lu	Rodya, you should be able to stuff yourself to your heart's content this time. It's been a while, hasn’t it~?
Rodion	I don’t think I’ve been this excited in a long time…
Ishmael	Whoa... Is that a ship over there? You have a ship?
Hong Lu	Aha, yep~ We'd sometimes go out boating.
Hong Lu	Oh, and Xichun's building is right across that pond!
Dante	<You each get a building of your own?>
Hong Lu	Yes, we do. So when I first departed from Hongyuan, I found the concept of an entire family living under the same roof so fascinating.
Don Quixote	Alas… ‘twould be quite the challenge for thy family to see one another.
Hong Lu	And that's exactly why we each get a building.
Ishmael	... Are we even talking about the same thing here?
Don Quixote	Alack for woe! We could have merrily enjoyed our vacaciones at young Hong Lu’s residence all along?!
Hong Lu	That wouldn’t have worked, Don Quixote. When I left home, grandmother and the elders really impressed upon me that...
Hong Lu	... "The footsteps shall eventually bring you home when the time is right; thus, witness, and only witness, as much of the world as you may before you make your return."
Hong Lu	... I was wondering when that would be… but time really slipped through our fingers, and just like that... it brought me here.
Most Sinners did not welcome their turn. Some of them were even terrified of it.
Sometimes, they had to confront what they'd been avoiding all their lives.
And for some, important things that were once forgotten or lost were waiting for their return.
But their reluctance is really not surprising at all.
I don't think I'd welcome an opportunity to get my memories back with open arms if it was thrust upon me out of nowhere, especially if I was getting dragged there against my will.
But despite the fact that it couldn't be more obvious that his turn had arrived, Hong Lu was as tranquil as he always was.
He's always been able to remain aloof no matter what happens. Maybe it won’t be different this time, either.
But even so... can I judge that so hastily?
Palanquin Bearer	Young Master Baoyu of the Jia family has returned!
Again, with the palanquin bearer's deep, full-throated pronouncement of our arrival, the door opened.
Hong Lu	Here we are. You must all be so tired! Come in, come in~
Leaving behind the Sinners, who were still reeling from the astronomical level of opulence at display, Hong Lu bounced lightly off the palanquin and moseyed into the building.
Yi Sang	Quite the…
Yi Sang	... lightfooted steps he take, unhindered by excitement nor trepidation…
Sinclair	Right...?
Heathcliff	Rich boy’s got nothin’ to fear 'cos he’s used to this kind of poshness, that’s all this is.
Don Quixote	Verily, this may be a subtle expression of that teensy part of him that longeth to see his family again!
Once we all left the palanquin...
Location: Daguanyuan - Dahuating Banquet Hall
Yi Sang	I find myself beset by overwhelming vastitudes and objects of great magnitude...
Ishmael	Just how many servants do they have…?
Hong Lu	Ah, grandmother will visit us once Xu hour(戌時) arrives.
Hong Lu	The banquet will start then, I think.
Dante	<'Xu hour'...?>
Faust	The ‘Xu hour’ refers to the time between 19:00 and 21:00. This is a unique time system used in certain regions of the east.
Faust	In addition...
Faust	... it would be best to remember that Hong Lu's grandmother, Jia Mu, is the Hierarch of Daguanyuan. It would not be an incorrect assessment to see her as the ruler of Hongyuan.
Outis	Your relative is... the head of a Wing, I see.
Hong Lu	Yes. Though she'll be handing that over to the next heir pretty soon.
Outis	Why now? What does she seek to achieve by abdicating at this precise time?
Outis, as she probably saw an ulterior motive behind every move, inquired.
Hong Lu	She's been saying that her time would eventually come, that she's carried this responsibility for too long.
Ishmael	I bet she’d be pretty shocked to hear that you’ll be taking part in the Family Hierarch war.
Hong Lu	Hehe, I don't know about that. Maybe she'll take it well.
Hong Lu	There's never been a reason for me to bother participating, but... there wasn't a reason for me to not, either.
Dante	<…….>
Sinclair	Huh? Hey, there’s Xichun and Wei over there. Looks like they both arrived safely.
Jia Xichun, who arrived before us, shot us the briefest glance… before looking away with exaggerated disinterest.
Sinclair	X-Xichun just turned her back on us…
Ishmael	Well, didn’t take long for things to become super awkward…
Don Quixote	Oo, we must capture this opportunity to seat ourselves adjacent to young Xichun!
Gregor	Too late... We are forever banned from ever getting anywhere near her...
Don Quixote	Yet wherefore...?
Faust	We are no longer Jia Xichun's faction.
Faust	Her hostility is to be expected.
Meursault	Things have changed.
Meursault	Us versus them. In-group versus out-group.
Outis	Deception and treachery are natural parts of war.
Outis	An ally of today may as well become an enemy tomorrow…
Ishmael	And that’s a funny way to say “I don't have any friends”...
Outis	What did you just—
Hong Lu	Ah, there are my parents.
Heathcliff	H-hold on, we’re just walkin’ right up to ‘em? Blimey, at least tell us their names!
Hong Lu	Aha. Father's name is Zheng of the Jia family. And in Daguanyuan, they call my mother Lady Wang.
Hong Lu	I greet you for the first time since my departure.
Location: Daguanyuan - Dahuating Banquet Hall
Jia Zheng	…….
Hong Lu	Baoyu of the Jia family has returned home.
Jia Zheng	... You're early.
Lady Wang	Bao… Dear Baoyu… it has been too many years…
Lady Wang	To see you again after so long, I... it is so good to see your face.
Lady Wang	Oh… I don’t know what I should even say…
The father, Jia Zheng's eyes dart nervously between us and Hong Lu.
Meanwhile, his mother gingerly brings him in for a careful embrace as though she was in the presence of something so utterly, deeply moving. It was... more than the pure joy of reunion.
So they're Hong Lu's parents...
Hong Lu	Thank you so much for your hospitality. You have certainly spared no expenses.
Lady Wang	So… who are these people you've come here with…?
Hong Lu	While there aren’t too many of them, they are my friends I made out in the world.
Ishmael	... At least he’s not introducing us as his 'lackeys' like a certain someone I know.
Heathcliff	Oi, that's—! Agh… ahem.
Hong Lu’s mother slowly turns around to look at us.
I mean, it’s a weird thing to say, but…
… somehow, it almost felt like she was looking down at each of us, one by one.
Lady Wang	I am so glad to meet you all. Baoyu’s always been such a stubborn child… I’m sure he was quite the handful to accompany you on your journeys. I hope you can still embrace him despite every—
Ishmael	Stubborn? Hong Lu?
Jia Zheng	Hmmmh...
Lady Wang	…….
Whatever it was she said, they don't seem all too happy to hear that...
Lady Wang	Dear Baoyu…
Lady Wang	Why do you allow your friends to call you by that name? What of your noble, blessed name, bestowed upon you by the revered Xianren, our elders...?
Heathcliff	What? What’s goin’ on with her…?
Hong Lu reached out and, gently yet indifferently, held his mother’s violently trembling hands.
Hong Lu	Of course I would, mother.
Hong Lu	Because the name is too noble indeed.
Lady Wang	Oh...! Ah, ah. Yes. It is not a name that any rabble should so heedlessly speak…
Lady Wang	Of course, of course…
Gregor	Oh, do you also have an old name and a new name?
Rodion	Well, don’tcha remember~? Back in P Corp., Wei called Hong Lu ‘young master Baoyu’.
Ishmael	Also, remember how he announced himself before that duel on the day we arrived at H Corp.? He introduced himself as 'Baoyu of the Jia family'. I thought it was a pseudonym back then though, given the circumstances.
Heathcliff	Well... it ain't like us callin' your real name's gonna cheapen its 'nobility', or whatever... tsk.
Hong Lu	Hehe, it’s just a name, so you can say it as many times as you want and it won't depreciate in whatever value it has. Oh, but some people do actually believe that it does, I suppose.
Jia Zheng	It was… wise of you to refrain from using that name.
Lady Wang	Right, right. To let your precious name be known among the plebeian populace is to encourage knives in the dark to strike. Even here, too...
Faust	It is as your mother says. Were your true name to be made known, any individual with a passing connection to H Corp. would have easily connected you to Hongyuan.
Yi Sang	It is said that most names are repositories of their keepers' origins.
Yi Sang	In the eastern region of the City, when the parents name their children, they imbue them with meaning; it carries their wish for their children's place and use in the world.
Ryoshu	… You. What’s your name mean?
Hong Lu	My name… My name is a culmination of wishes, not only those of my parents, but those of many more.
Hong Lu	It means that I was born with a precious jade.
Ishmael	Jia Baoyu…
Ryoshu	Tsk, awful. Hong Lu’s better.
Sinclair	<size=80%>At least try to whisper!</size>
Heathcliff	Eugh, I’ll call the rich boy however I want to. If I'm ever forced to call 'im ‘young master Baoyu~’ or some servile shite like that, I’d rather take a punch or two from the guide.
I could feel the horrified gaze of the servants staring at us.
Hong Lu	Hehe. I don’t mind, so please continue to call me Hong Lu if you want.
Befined Servant	Please seat yourselves, honored guests. The food will be served soon.
Heathcliff	Oi... what's all this?
Ishmael	Do they actually expect us to eat all this?
Dante	<... I don’t think I’ve ever been intimidated by food before.>
There was, quite literally, a mountain of dishes on the table—I was starting to wonder if the purpose of these dishes was more to flaunt their wealth than to feed us a reasonable amount of food.
Rodion	What a feast! I can ask for re... refills, right? Ehehe...
Befined Servant	Huh? Um, yes...
Dante	<Anyway, what's up with those empty seats over there? Are we still killing time for some guests to arrive...?>
Hong Lu	Mm…
Hong Lu	I don’t think so. They’re probably seats for my older siblings somewhere in Daguanyuan. They probably just didn’t want to attend.
Hong Lu	This is a banquet to welcome me, after all. I’m sure they believe it’s a waste of time to attend.
Gregor	Man, they better be on some real busy schedule to miss this…
Befined Servant	Jia Mu, venerated be her presence, graces us!
Beticent Servant	Jia Mu, venerated be her presence, graces us!
With the announcement, utter silence quickly devoured the busy hubbub of the banquet...
Those who were sitting quickly rose to their feet and bowed, while those who were standing knelt down on all fours, their backs bent so low that their foreheads were nearly touching the floor.
And the woman walking out from between them, the crowd itself parting down the middle from her sheer presence...
Hong Lu	Oh, there's grandmother.
... was Hong Lu's grandmother, the Family Hierarch of H Corp., and its Chief Executive Director.
Jia Mu's presence was at once warm, gentle, yet immense and overwhelming, like a personification of an insurmountable mountain.
Crowd	We are graced by your presence, venerable Jia Mu.
Lady Wang	We are graced by your presence, venerable Jia Mu.
Rodion	W-whuh? Should we bow, too?
Gregor	I don’t think you could bow any lower with your face halfway in the bowl, so you should be fine... probably...?
Sinclair	S-she’s surrounded by Heishou too, I think.
Dante	<Guys, everything’s gonna be fine as long as we don’t do anything stupid…>
As everyone was bowing before Jia Mu, awed and humbled...
... only Hong Lu looked straight at Jia Mu without bowing.
Then, he got up from his seat and walked toward her.
Hong Lu	It has been a while, grandmother.
Jia Mu's Servant	Please ascend, young master Baoyu.
It seemed that a special permission was needed to even stand next to her, as Hong Lu was allowed to approach her only after the servant gave him the go ahead.
Jia Mu	Little Baoyu.
Jia Mu	You must have walked and toiled tirelessly on your journey home.
Hong Lu	Not at all, grandmother. I was able to learn so many new things, thanks to everyone who treated me so nicely.
Jia Mu	Had you sought to master the art of learning, no master, regardless of pursuit, would have been out of our reach; you could have learned much in the halls of erudition from them.
Jia Mu	Yet the world taught from sheets of paper are simply that—words on paper.
Jia Mu	We wished that you, dear Baoyu, would learn more of the secular world, to not let flow betwixt your fingers the time that is given to you.
Hong Lu	I know this opportunity was more than what I deserved, grandmother.
Jia Mu	I appreciate your return all the same, that you have deigned to return before me ere my abdication of the great responsibility.
Don Quixote	Verily, it appeareth that young Hong Lew shigned onto Limbews Chompany ash a gran churismo of shorts! Mmhm.
Rodion	Gran chewrismo? Whash' shaat?
Outis	… Can the two of you stop babbling with your mouths full?
Don Quixote	Young masters of families moooooost eminent are oft sent out to the world on a grand tour—thus coined was this practice 'gran turismo', if thou wilt—afore they are to commence their public activities!
Meursault	Mm. The purpose is to learn the varied experiences that cannot be gained from books, to grow familiar with the world outside.
Jia Mu	I hear that you have met with Xichun in the world not long ago?
Hong Lu	I have.
Jia Mu	A bright child, she is. Well-prepared to take on the challenges of the Family Hierarch Evaluations, I presume.
Hong Lu	I agree. I am sure Xichun will wisely overcome the trials.
Jia Mu	Indeed.
Jia Mu	Have you paid visit to the revered elders, then?
Hong Lu	... I will, soon.
Jia Mu	Lady Wang, ascend here as well.
Lady Wang	With your mercy, Jia Mu, of course...
Hong Lu’s mother hurried up to where Jia Mu stood.
Jia Mu	It must cause your heart great distress to have your one and only son depart his home, to wander the world beyond the hedges.
Lady Wang	O-of course not, Jia Mu…
Lady Wang	Oh, I am simply so glad that my son, Baoyu...
Lady Wang	… has returned as a man who can now more than carry his own weight... And unharmed, too...
Lady Wang	Thus, dear Baoyu…
Lady Wang	I don’t mean to rush, but… when are you planning to depart again?
Hong Lu	Nothing has been decided yet, mother.
Lady Wang	I see… I-I am simply concerned that, were your stay here to be prolonged, perhaps you might fade before your duties are completed.
Lady Wang	Complete your duties and return soon, so that the… agreement Jia Mu has so graciously made for us is fulfilled, hmm?
Jia Mu	Indeed.
Jia Mu	Lose not, forget not.
Jia Mu	You are our family's one and only jade.
Jia Mu	Dear Baoyu, our peerless treasure, tarry not overlong in this mundane world; leave when the time is right, and fulfill your worth.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	Okay, grandmother. Mother.

Episode: 7
Location: Daguanyuan - Dahuating Banquet Hall
I thought the Sinners were doomed to chew uncomfortably through this incredibly awkward meal, but Jia Mu and her retinue of Heishou left the banquet hall quite promptly after that exchange. It was as though they had no more reason to remain here.
Yi Sang	It is odd, that they should inquire Hong Lu of his departure plans on the very welcoming of his return.
Ishmael	Right…? One moment it appears like they really care about him, then…
Meursault	The appearance of that 'care' for one's own child was also quite distinct and unusual compared to the typical display of emotional intimacy expressed in average households.
???	Hey, Baoyu.
That's when an unfamiliar, chipper voice hopped jovially into our conversation.
Xue Baochai	Why didn’t you come see me first? I’ve been staying in the same building ever since you departed here, you know?
Hong Lu	Aha, big sis Xue Baochai. It’s been so long.
Hong Lu	You’ve come all the way to my welcome banquet to fill a seat? I appreciate that.
Xue Baochai	Had I known that you’d be coming home today, Baoyu, I would’ve summoned everyone I could from Xue family to see you, too. Big bro Pan’s really been itching to know how you’ve been doing.
Jia Xichun	... Yeah, sure he was.
Xichun, who’d been sitting in complete silence for the entire banquet, muttered quietly to herself.
Xue Baochai	Who else have you greeted since you arrived today, Baoyu?
Hong Lu	My parents and Jia Mu.
Xue Baochai	Really? So I’m your first, then?
She made a cheerful remark before leaning close up to his eye.
Xue Baochai	Your jade is always so glimmering and pristine, Baoyu.
Xue Baochai	Look, I made myself a necklace in the same color as your eye and wore it every single day to constantly remind myself of you. Well, do you see it?
Hong Lu	Oh, you have. Thank you for remembering me.
Rodion	Ahem, ahem. So… are you gonna introduce her to us, orrrr…?
Gregor	Hey… Why couldn’t we just let that nice reunion play out? Man…
Rodya stepped forward, unable to stand the curiosity.
Hong Lu	Oh, she's—
Xue Baochai	Hi, I'm Baochai. Baochai of the Xue family. I have a very profound relationship with dear Baoyu here.
Rodion	A very profound relationship?
Xue Baochai	Hehe, he is my betrothed, and I to him. I'd say that's pretty profound, hmm?
Rodion & Heathcliff	WHAAAT??!!
Hong Lu	It's nothing to be surprised about. These 'profound relationships' can be established effortlessly in the simple exchange of agreements between our elders.
Rodion	H-hey, you coulda at least given us a hint!
Hong Lu	Mm... but I won't be married until I leave Limbus Company, though?
Hong Lu	I just thought that it wasn't relevant enough to share.
Xue Baochai	So… sorry about overhearing earlier, but you guys are Baoyu’s friends, right?
Xue Baochai	I’ve been so, so curious to hear what kind of life Baoyu lived out there. Care to share some tales of your journey with me?
Ryoshu	Don't have stories for kids. Shoo.
Xue Baochai	Why? But I loooove stories about bloodshed!
Hong Lu	Ah, one of big sister Baochai’s pastimes was curating creepy stories of urban legends.
Ryoshu	Puff… then maybe I’ll share some.
Xue Baochai	Wah~ What about everyone else? I love, love, love adventure stories.
Gregor	Be careful what you wish for…
Don Quixote	Ah... I beseech thee to find a seat, for I shall now regale thee with a tale in which an adventure of most wondrous valor unfolds; brace thyself, for this particularly olden and terrifying tale features a big, scary bear lurking in a cavern...
Jia Xichun	Ha...!
Jia Xichun	If you're finished with your meals, why don’t we all go back to our residences?
Xue Baochai	You’re so angry again, Xichun. Last I heard, you lost much of your followers in a large battle, didn't you? I'm so sorry. I used more than three handkerchiefs wiping my tears away upon hearing that news.
Jia Xichun	So the Xue family’s heard it too, huh.
Jia Xichun	You’re not wrong. But… that's irrelevant to what I've brought to the Family Hierarch war.
Xue Baochai	Always a big fan of your confidence, Xichun. It's a good look, you know?
Jia Xichun	Oh, that reminds me... You better watch your back, big sis Baochai. Looks like Big brother Baoyu’s learned how to sink a knife into your back with that same carefree smile.
Xue Baochai	What’d she mean by you knifing people in the back?
Hong Lu	Ha ha, I just had a small falling out with Xichun, that's all.
Xue Baochai	Aha! Xichun must’ve been trying to get you on her side, huh?
Xue Baochai	Yeah, no wonder she wanted you on her team. Baoyu’s always excelled at whatever he does without stressing out or losing that happy smile...
Hong Lu	It just kinda worked out that way~
Rodion	I guess he can be a bit irritating like that, huh?
Faust	… Some people, though rare, are indeed like that.
Xue Baochai	Oh! That reminds me, uh… um…
Xue Baochai	Did you, by any chance, run into big brother Qi... Qiu?
Hong Lu	I haven’t, but they have.
Xue Baochai	T-that's good...
She placed her hand over her chest as though she'd just survived an incredibly dangerous accident, before eyeing us anxiously.
Xue Baochai	So... what happened...?
Xue Baochai	I do know that he was trying to ‘ally’ with Shi Yihua. I mean, it didn’t seem like anyone else was viewing that as an ‘alliance’ other than Shi Yihua himself, but…
It must’ve been a pretty open secret among the candidates that Jia Qiu was trying to ‘ally’ with Shi Yihua.
Hong Lu	Mm… they cut big brother Yihua’s head off when he was with us.
Xue Baochai	Oh my! Horizontally, or vertically?
Hong Lu	…….
Ryoshu	H.
Xue Baochai	Mmh… so this is his third time, huh? Yihua’s really incorrigible. He never knows when to zip it and sit down.
Xue Baochai	Well, big brother Qiu… I had a feeling he’d be here when the Family Hierarch war begins. Everyone in Daguanyuan's heard that creepy song from the Backstreets, you know.
Xue Baochai	Gosh, things get so awkward and hostile here at Daguanyuan every time there's any mention of him.
Xue Baochai	Well, I guess it's fortunate that he won't be coming after me once the competition begins.
Outis	... And why is that?
Xue Baochai	Because I'm simply too charming and adorable to kill outright, of course.
Outis	…….
Xue Baochai	Besides... whatever big brother Qiu's goals are... they probably have nothing to do with the Xue family.
Hong Lu	Mm, I can see that.
Xue Baochai	…….
Baochai took a step toward Hong Lu and leaned in close to his face.
Xue Baochai	Do you smell my fragrance still, Baoyu?
Hong Lu	You have never reeked, big sister Baochai.
Xue Baochai	…….
Xue Baochai	Baoyu, I've always been, and will always be, residing at <ruby=Ginger-plant Court>Hengwuyuan</ruby>. Promise to pay me a visit before you leave.
With that, she gracefully walked out of the room.
Hong Lu	Well, how about we also start heading back? This place can get pretty dark around Hai hour(亥時).
Heathcliff	You... why'd you leave...?
Hong Lu	Ha ha, it's nothing. She's just a big sis I used to play with when I was a child.
Hong Lu	One of the very few in Daguanyuan who was nice to me.
Dante	<... So where should we head to next?>
Rodion	Good question. Just going by the scale of everything in here… it should be safe to expect something real ritzy, right?
Hong Lu	You’re my guests, so you should be able to stay at my building within Daguanyuan.
Hong Lu	It's within walking distance from here. We should be there in no time, even on foot.

Episode: 8
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan
Hong Lu	Ta-da, here we are~
Ishmael	That was a pretty long walk. Still technically within walking distance, but...
Hong Lu	Hehe, this place is called <ruby=Joyous Red Court>Yihongyuan</ruby>(怡紅院).
Hong Lu	This room was made from the most aromatic flower tree within H Corp. Try taking a deep breath, and…
Hong Lu	… you can smell the lovely fragrance of flower aroma, pervading, spreading from the very tip of your nose. It's unique to this building.
Yi Sang	Very much so. It is an unseen and invisible thing, yet it retains much of its pleasant redolence.
Dante	<This place is huge, too… You’ve been living here alone all along?>
Hong Lu	Yes. I was told to stay in a larger room, but I preferred this place more.
Xiren	It has been long, young master. Xiren reporting.
Dante	<Oh hey, is she—?>
Hong Lu	Have you been well, Xiren?
Xiren	Yes. I am as I always have been.
Xiren watched us emotionlessly as our rowdy crowd poured into the yard. Her expression did not change even when she saw Hong Lu, who presumably hadn't been home in quite some time.
Xiren	Are they young master’s guests? I will guide them to their room. Please follow me.
Hong Lu	Now that we're here, I’ve got to pay a visit somewhere. I’ll be back soon, though.
Don Quixote	To where wilt thou journey? Allow us to accompany thee—
Hong Lu	Ahaha, it's okay.
Hong Lu	Just on my way to say hello and pay my respects to the elders, so it’ll be better if I go there alone.
Xiren	... This way.
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Interior
Ishmael	Well, I guess I could say this about every operation, but...
Ishmael	... the weight of our mission doesn't really sink in until we're actually there.
Sinclair	You're talking about the Family Hierarch war... right?
Ishmael	Yeah. The other candidates have been preparing for this for years, while we have… what, an overnight?
Rodion	I dunno, I’m a procrastinate-until-the-last-minute kinda gal, so I’m pretty sure we got a handle on this.
Meursault	This is not the first instance in which we are demanded to work through a task in an unfavorable, inequitable situation.
Outis	Why does it matter? Our goal...
Outis	... isn't to claim the throne of the Family Hierarch anyway.
A few hours ago...
Location: Palanquin Interior, A Few Hours Ago
Saude	Well, isn't it such a relief that our goal isn’t to come first place in the Family Hierarch war?
Don Quixote	Dost thou meanest to say that we needn't be the first?!
Saude	... Yeah? Obviously? Why would we want a Sinner to become the head of H Corp.?
Outis	Would it not provide a much more reliable means of control to plant an individual of this company at the highest seat of a Wing, instead of letting an unaffiliated individual assume it?
Saude	There's a lot more going on behind the scenes, guys... besides, LCB still has much left to do as the LCB.
Faust	…….
Gregor	Then… would I be right to assume that this isn't a winner-take-all kinda situation here? Do other candidates get something for participating, too?
Hong Lu	Anyone who places within the top ten will gain the right to take one item of their choice from the family treasury. Of course, the one who places the highest goes first~
Saude	But we're going to have to come in at least second place in order to ensure that we obtain the item we're looking for.
Heathcliff	Now that’s weirdly insulting. Sod it, why don’t we just shoot for the top anyway?
Saude	Your confidence seems to have gone through the roof since our last operation together.
Gregor	Well... we did go through a lot of crazy stuff.
Saude	Anyways... care to guess what's deep inside Hongyuan's gargantuan treasury?
Ishmael	The Golden Bough.
Saude	Right on~ Buried in the middle of all kinds of other treasures, along with any knowledge of its true value.
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Interior
Outis	So... Faust. What did manager Saude share with you as our strategy for the first round?
Yi Sang	I very much wish to know that as well, for the suggestion of mutual understanding seemed to exist exclusively betwixt miss Faust and Saude.
Faust	The first round of the Family Hierarch Evaluation... tests what the descendants have prepared and brought for the elders of Hongyuan.
Dante	<What the descendants have prepared, huh... So this must be what Jia Xichun's been referring to this whole time...>
Faust	Yes. To be free from aging and death—immortality.
Faust	Each candidate is to present an answer before the judge to demonstrate their idea of true immortality.
Dante	<Right, so… what’s the answer to true immortality, then...?>
Faust	Not even Faust can answer that.
Outis	Then what are we even doing here...?
Faust	But we may be able to demonstrate a facsimile of immortality—or, at least pretend as though we are close to the answer.
Faust	Given that they are the ones who are seeking that very answer, they will not disqualify us—Hong Lu, to be exact—from the competition.
Outis	I see... They will cling onto whatever clue they can get their hands on, so we'll be using that desperation.
Faust	Precisely.
Heathcliff	That important lookin' old bat Jia Mu favours him, don’t she? Maybe she’ll give ‘im bonus points or something.
Outis	So that's what we'll be using Hong Lu for.
Faust	That is...
Hong Lu	Yes, you're right. It is my turn to be used.
Sinclair	Woaaah! W-when’d you get back!?
Hong Lu nonchalantly chimed into the conversation, having slipped in between us unnoticed.
Dante	<Hey, uhm... you're back pretty soon, huh.>
Unfortunately, what Outis just said... could sound quite crass depending on how you cut it.
Dante	<Hong Lu, you don’t have to… don’t mind what she just said.>
Hong Lu	Hmm~ But why would I mind it?
Hong Lu	My use is to be a ticket to participating in the Hierarch war, the only option for obtaining the Golden Bough in H Corp. She didn't say anything wrong.
Dante	<Your 'use'...>
Hong Lu	Well, if you'll be using me, hopefully this'll lead to an outcome we can all be happy with.
Don Quixote	Verily, such outcome would be best; yet... young Xichun hath already exhaled with great gusto out of her nostrils before turning away from our party when our eyes met...
Hong Lu	Well... Xichun...
Hong Lu’s eyes twinkled briefly, as though he was shifting into a dream.
Hong Lu	… I didn’t think it was possible for me to be friends with Xichun again.
Hong Lu	We're back to not being on speaking terms again, but...
Hong Lu	… it was as though I'd gone back in time, back to when we were both children.
Hong Lu	But we can't go back to the past.
Location: Daguanyuan, Past
Jia Xichun	What… did you say?
Jia Xichun	Are you drunk or on something? Did you really just say that to me?
Jia Xichun	Oh, what a stupid thing of me to ask.
Jia Xichun	You’ve never been drunk in your life. Your mind’s always been so, so damn clear.
Jia Xichun	None of this matters to you, does it? Even when I get angry at you or when I shout at you like this… none of it gets to you, does it?
Jia Xichun	Just… just what happened to you that day? How can someone become so...
Hong Lu	Xichun, I...
Jia Xichun	Forget it, I don’t care. Do whatever you wanna do. It’s my fault for expecting to have at least one normal sibling in this messed up family.
In that memory, Hong Lu...
... was wearing a quiet smile, even before her hushed anger.
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Interior
Dante	<But… don’t you want to be friends with her again?>
Hong Lu	Mm…
Hong Lu	At the end of all things... these connections between people, they're just moments. Ephemeral things.
Hong Lu	So what I ‘want’ doesn’t matter.
... Hong Lu.
A Sinner so aloof, so detached that it feels as though he's always floating through the clouds.
I once thought that was just the kind of guy he was. Someone who just happened to be above everything that's happening around us, instead of just another messed-up person with messed-up problems of their own.
But... slowly, and gradually, I had begun to realize that there was something off about him under the surface.
Dante	<Hong Lu, about participating in the Family Hierarch war...>
Dante	<... do you really not feel anything about it? Have you completely excluded yourself from it?>
Hong Lu	I don't, and I have. It's just the way things worked out, right?
Outis	Executive Manager, it is true that his value judgment will have no tangible influence on this company's direction.
Faust	Faust is in agreement. Sinners do not have the right to refuse their missions.
Yi Sang	That may be true, yet...
Yi Sang	... I find it unnecessary to turn away and neglect the suffering conditions of their hearts... stemming from the obligation to their missions.
Hong Lu	Conditions of our hearts... But perhaps unnecessarily peering into them is how we beget suffering?
Yi Sang	What manner of…
Hong Lu	Back then, when I lived here in Daguanyuan…
Hong Lu	… so, so many choices passed before my eyes.
Hong Lu	Should I kill that child, who was from a different family? Should I even survive? Should I walk past that dying boy, or should I stop to help him?
Hong Lu	When they were first presented to me, I tried to make a choice.
Hong Lu	But it didn't take that long for me to realize that my choices meant nothing.
Hong Lu	So I…
Hong Lu	… decided not to choose at all.
Hong Lu	And that’s me, as I am now.
Hong Lu	There were so many wonderful things about joining Limbus Company, but…
Hong Lu	… I think my favorite part of the experience was that I was never given a choice.
Dante	<…….>
Ishmael	That’s, uh… That’s… definitely... kinda weird…
Hong Lu	Oh? Looks like things have gotten weirdly quiet around here.
Faust	... That was enough discussion of private matters. There is much ground for us to cover.
Faust	Let us begin by discussing our plan for the first round.
The next morning...
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Yard
Dante	<There's still some time until we have to leave.>
Yi Sang	What... may be the purpose of these... scarecrows? Veiled in nocturnal shadows they were at yesternight.
Hong Lu	Oh wow, they're still here~
Hong Lu	There are training courts next to every building where children of this place live.
Hong Lu	Here, every child of walking, running age all get to play with these dummies.
Ryoshu	Play... puff. Early education is important.
Don Quixote	Yet how doth one ‘play’ with these dummies? And it appeareth that this dummy is adorned with a most dashing piece of fashion for its head!
Hong Lu	Aha, that’s the first dummy I received when I was seven.
Hong Lu	Hehe, back then, I thought even dummies could feel pain when struck.
Yi Sang	Such was the blissful rumination of all those who were once children...
Rodion	So is it like, tradition for kids born here to formally learn how to fight?
Hong Lu	Oh, not exactly.
Location: Yihongyuan Yard, Past
???	Woaah! So this is what grandmother gifted you, big bro…?
Hong Lu	Yep. I don’t know how it works, though.
Daiyu?	It must be a doll or an effigy for dress-up. Oh, perhaps you could adorn it with some trinkets?
???	Maybe it’s got like, a guardian spirit that protects your house, big bro Baoyu!
???	... Oh boy.
???	Here, lemme show you how it's done.
???	… Why’d you punch grandma’s gift?!
Hong Lu	Um... Don't you think you're hurting it?
???	Hurt it...? Really now, this wooden thing?
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Yard
Hong Lu	It’s more that they have to grow up this way if they want to survive.
Ryoshu	... This W.T.D. isn’t so bad.
Outis	Hm… this wooden training dummy appears to have been designed and crafted with some precise engineering craftsmanship. We still have some time until departure, so why don’t we try using them for a warm-up exercise?
Rodion	Ack, I don’t wanna get all sweaty, though…
Ishmael	Well… it’s not like these things will pose us any danger. I think we can try them out once just to see how we’re doing today.
Outis	Atten-tion! We have orders from the Executive Manager! From this moment forth, we will put our all into laying utter ruin unto these training dummies!
Dante	<Hey, I didn't even give an order...>
Oh well... it won't hurt to get our blood pumping now.
Outis	All forces, charge!

Episode: 9
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Yard
Outis	Hooah… How refreshing!
Gregor	Ooh... I guess morning workouts really do wake you up.
Ishmael	We've gotten so used to getting in tussles before we get to the real meat of the missions that... mornings feel incomplete without some action.
Meursault	Mm. Nevertheless, this was a meaningful warm-up activity.
Sinclair	So I’ve been meaning to ask, Hong Lu. Why did you never consider participating in the Family Hierarch war before?
Sinclair	It seems to me that all of your other siblings have been waiting and training all their lives for this event…
Hong Lu	... It's simple.
Hong Lu	Because I never once thought I wanted to be the Family Hierarch.
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Interior, Past
Lady Wang	Is it not… truly, most fortunate?
Lady Wang	Had you not been born with the jade, my son… you would have had to toil all your life, preparing for the Family Hierarch war like your other siblings do…
Lady Wang	You needn’t waste your strength on those things... to win the favor of the elders and Jia Mu, venerated be their blessings.
Lady Wang	Simply... witness as much of the world as it has to offer, jade of our family… my precious son, Baoyu...
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Yard
Dante	<More memories...>
Yi Sang	…….
Dante	<What’s wrong, Yi Sang? You seem kinda distraught.>
Yi Sang	It is to do with the plan miss Faust had explained to us last night.
Yi Sang	I find the plan… rather detestable.
Sinclair	Me too...
Sinclair	... B-but… Hong Lu said he’s okay with it, so…
Ishmael	Can we even call it a plan, if we’re being honest here?
Meursault	It matches the definition of a ‘plan,’ given that it illustrates certain instructions to be followed for the purpose of achieving a defined goal.
Faust	And please remember that... there are no second chances in the Family Hierarch war.

Episode: 10
Location: Daguanyuan - Tubitang
Beticent Servant	Young Master Baoyu and his twelve companions, arriving at <ruby=Elevated Virescent-Jade Hall>Tubitang</ruby>(凸碧堂)!
We entered the hall where the first round was to be held. As always, the servant by the gate announced our arrival with the resounding holler we'd grown to expect.
Outis	An arena or a stadium, I see... Hm. We have many eyes on us, Executive Manager.
I looked up to see that the audience seats, which were brimming with people, were divided into stair-like terraces; and on the platform at the opposite end of the hall, three shadows of chairs could be seen cast on the obscuring curtain fabric.
As for us... we followed the attendants' guidance and stood next to the other participants at the circular area in the center.
Dante	<So, are the evaluations happening past those curtains?>
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	... Daiyu?
Dante	<Hm? See someone you recognize?>
Hong Lu	No. It's nothing, Dante.
Hong Lu	Even if we were to meet again… we don't really have anything to talk about anyway.
Hong Lu	Maybe we'll have another chance later, if fate wills it.
Ishmael	Oh hey, I think it's finally getting started.
The curtain slid open, and the old woman we saw from yesterday's banquet walked out to the platform.
Jia Mu	Many scores ago, I ascended to the seat of Jia Mu with a stroke of fortune. Yet, a lifetime has passed since I assumed this great responsibility; such as it is, I seek to abdicate and walk the path of mountains and streams as a river does.
Jia Mu	With the seat voided, the responsibility seeks the one with the qualities of the Family Hierarch to fill it.
Jia Mu	Thus here at Daguanyuan, a collective upheld by pillars of four great houses of Jia, Xue, Wang, and Shi, we once again ask you the perennial question.
Jia Mu	Have you brought us aught to prove that the answer indeed exists?
Jia Zheng	…….
Dante	<Who's the woman next to her...?>
Hong Lu	Ah, she’s my oldest sister, big sis Yuanchun.
Hong Lu	She married a very important person in Q Corp. and spends most of her time there… Looks like she's visiting for the event.
Jia Yuanchun	... Though I have resided long in a foreign Nest, I now return fleetingly to share the love with my flesh and blood, to fulfill my duties as observed by the order of filial piety.
Jia Yuanchun	I return, that the truth shall be observed to the best of my abilities.
Jia Yuanchun	Some of you may have walked a laid path gentle to your feet; yet some of you may have struggled through an unlaid, brutal path of cragged mountains a thousandfold to find your answers.
Jia Yuanchun	Yet, regardless of the severity of your suffering... all of you, equally, have but one opportunity for the first round.
Jia Yuanchun	Even still, you were all once prospective heirs of the great house; even your failures shall bring power and prosperity to Daguanyuan.
Jia Yuanchun	Now, come forth in the order you are summoned, and demonstrate the invaluable answers to the question of three freedoms: one from aging, one from death, and one from brevity of life.
Jia Yuanchun	If the nature of your answer be indemonstrable, present ironclad proof.
Jia Yuanchun	Lose not, and discard not. Let fresh youth be unending and eternal.
After their respective speeches, Jia Yuanchun and Jia Mu disappeared behind the curtains atop the platform.
Jia Zheng	First candidate...
It seemed that Hong Lu's father assumed the role of the host for the first round.
Jia Zheng	... Ren, of the Wang family.
Wang Ren, the first to be summoned, walked up to the platform.
Behind him was his faction, who were dragging someone by a rope toward the platform.
Wang Ren	Hurry up! Foolish thing…
Ishmael	What… who are they dragging up to the stage?
Outis	Whoever it is, they clearly don't want to be here...
Gregor	To be free from aging and death, huh...
Gregor	I suppose every Wing dreams of escaping and rising beyond the body they were born with. Puff... H Corp.'s pursuit of immortality probably isn't special in that regard.
Don Quixote	…!
Don Quixote	He...
Don Quixote	He hath brought a Bloodbag.
That's when we were finally able to recognize who the candidate dragged up to the stage.
The eyes, unfocused and red; mouth slick with drool dribbling down the mouth guard, meaningless snarling…
That is a mindless Bloodbag.
Yi Sang	How does... a Bloodfiend become an answer to immortality?
Faust	In laymen's eyes, Bloodfiends may appear to have truly attained freedom from 'aging'...
Faust	However, as we are now all aware, Bloodfiends can grow old and weak after a prolonged period of blood deprivation.
Faust	Thus, it is unlikely to provide the 'answer' they seek.
After some struggle, the Bloodbag was dragged kicking and growling past the curtains atop the platform.
Stunned Audience	So that creature is the fabled... 'Bloodfiend', then?
Suspicious Audience	I doubt that'll do the job. Bloodfiends would indeed be quite the esoteric knowledge, but... to the judges of this contest, I doubt they're anything more than lukewarm trivia.
Whispering Audience	That Wang kid must’ve been pretty desperate, huh?
???	He's either lazy as balls... or that boy ain't right in the upstairs.
Yi Sang	Mm. It appears that the knowledge of Bloodfiends is oddly common amongst this ilk.
Don Quixote	Indeed, Bloodfiends are present in every Nest... 'tis little surprise that those privy to arcane knowledge art well aware of their existence.
After a brief moment that lasted less than a minute, Wang Ren and his faction emerged from behind the curtains and descended from the platform.
Jia Zheng	Wang Ren, candidate of the Family Hierarch Evaluations. Stand upon the podium and await your judgment.
Then, they ascended the round podium behind the platform as ordered.
Jia Zheng	Thus announcing Wang Ren's Results for round 1 of the Family Hierarch Evaluations.
Jia Zheng	Elimination.
Wang Ren	N-no...!
Wang Ren	Listen, all they need is Blood... As long as you supply them with enough blood, they will be eternal and everlasting...! Venerable Jia Mu, please...!
Don Quixote	Nay.
Don Quixote	What awaits them is no eternity at all.
Don Quixote	Verily, I know not the shape of this ‘true immortality’ the evaluation seeketh to attain, yet...
Don Quixote	... the longevity of a Bloodfiend, shackled by blood and endless suffering… is unlikely to be one.
Wang Ren	W-what...? But those damn hunters told me they still retain all of their memories...!
Don Quixote	… To become a Bloodfiend is to surrender all the desires and emotions that exist within thy being for a singular hunger for blood, and only blood.
Don Quixote	Perhaps that is an acceptable condition for those who expect nothing but fathomless torment for the rest of their lives. Yet, for those with much to lose, with much in life they cling onto, as those present seem to…
Don Quixote	... the fate of a Bloodfiend is no 'freedom' from aging and death—'tis but a sanguine shackle to enslave their minds.
Jia Mu	A member of Baoyu’s faction has given an excellent reply. No further elaboration is necessary.
Jia Yuanchun	And you have failed to bring us a high Kindred, let alone a Bloodfiend at all... This creature is but a miserable Bloodbag. I cannot even well commend your efforts.
Jia Zheng	... Hear, Ren of the Wang family. They have spoken, and mercifully given you the full explanation of your mistake—a privilege that failed candidates do not deserve. Let this be the final blessing of your life.
Wang Ren	AAAAAGH!
The podium suddenly opens under their feet, casting Wang Ren and the Bloodbag to its depths with a bloodcurdling screech.
Dante	<... So that's what happens when you fail to pass.>
Rodion	That’s just… that was just for dramatic effect, right? There’s gotta be like, a side path leading back upstairs, right?
Ryoshu	Of course not. Can't you smell the stench of festering pain, rising like heat from the depths?
Rodion	Ha ha, Ryōshū… you’ve been honing your sense of humor, huh? These are some pretty nasty jokes, though.
Outis	Where does that hole lead? Judging by the time between the drop and the sound of the fall, I presume it goes quite far down.
Hong Lu	It... probably leads to a place with lots of old family secrets. Oh, not treasures, of course, but trying to figure that out might get you a visit from a Heishou, probably?
Ishmael	... They went all out with the theatrics, huh.
Gregor	Yeah, and we could very well be the ones screaming and falling down the hole later...
The next candidate was summoned before we were even able to shake off the initial shock.
Jia Zheng	Second Candidate hails from the Xue family...
We sat through a few more names and subsequent failures.
We couldn't hear what exactly they were talking about beyond the curtains, and unlike the very loud and obvious Bloodbag, the 'answers' other candidates brought were less obvious. So...
... all we had to go on were the shadows of their desperate attempts to explain things before the judges.
Gregor	Another one...?
Ryoshu	B.A.H. It means "Boring as hell".
The longer we watched the death toll rise, the less shocking they became.
Gregor	Are they planning to fail everyone?
Jia Zheng	Eighth Candidate, Baochai of the Xue family.
Rodion	Oh my, look! We know her~
She was technically our competition, but it seemed that she managed to give the Sinners quite the positive impression with yesterday's brief encounter; some of them were even cheering her on.
We couldn't see exactly what it was that Xue Baochai brought, but...
... she was also holding something as she entered past the curtains.
Jia Zheng	... Baochai, of the Xue family...
After her brief meeting with the judges—which, going by the shadows cast on the curtains, appeared to have gone better than we had expected—she emerged.
And as soon as she did, Baochai immediately turned in our direction. At Hong Lu, to be exact...
Xue Baochai	Wah, Baoyu! You were watching me?
... and began excitedly waving her hand.
Jia Zheng	... She passes.
The podium beneath her remained shut.
Yi Sang	Passing connection it may have been, yet I ill wish to see a familiar face be claimed by the abyss...
Yi Sang	... thus, I am glad.
Jia Zheng	... Seventeenth candidate, Jia Xichun of the Jia family.
Dante	<…!>
Sinclair	... It's Xichun's turn.
She slowly ascended the platform, unaccompanied.
She held in her hands a tightly sealed gourd bottle.
Hong Lu	Looks like she found it.
Dante	<She found... the water from the river we saw in Don Quixote's memories back then...?>
Outis	... Impossible. She reached Lethe?
Faust	The possibility that she actually reached there in person is infinitely minuscule.
Faust	There is an infinitesimal statistical possibility that she could have reached the river, yet... not even Faust can conceive how someone of their capabilities could reach the fountainhead of one of the deepest fathoms; this becomes even more impossible when considering the relatively short passage of time since then and now.
Faust	A more likely explanation might be that she obtained the waters by collecting its dew or a portion of what has seeped out.
Don Quixote	Hmm. Alas, that river's water serveth only to put to slumber one's memories... Pray, doth it truly hold a link to the immortality they seek?
Faust	Yes. It is likely closely connected to the 'immortality of the mind' they pursue.
Faust	As there are but an extremely small number of people privy to the knowledge of the rivers, if the contents of that bottle are genuine, Faust expects her to pass.
Jia Zheng	... Xichun of the Jia family passes.
Jia Yuanchun	You have brought before us a priceless treasure. It must have taken unparalleled efforts to obtain this, given the meager size of your clan.
Jia Xichun	... Thank you, big sister Yuanchun.
As Faust expected, all three judges appeared quite satisfied by what Jia Xichun brought before them.

Episode: 11
Location: Daguanyuan - Tubitang
Jia Zheng	Next. Eighteenth candidate...
Heathcliff	Bloody hell, just how many people are there in this household...?
Jia Zheng	Huan, of the Jia family.
Yi Sang	…….
Our first meeting with that man was less than amicable, and I had a strong feeling that another one wasn't going to do anything to improve that. Jia Huan walked up to the platform.
We all fell silent, hearing a familiar name...
Gregor	Bastard...
I could feel that some Sinners were growing tense, some of them even gritting their teeth.
And the other man, closely following Jia Huan, holding what looked like the egg of an Abnormality was... also a familiar face. I'd seen him many times in Yi Sang's memories.
Ishmael	... Dante, are you seeing what they're wearing?
Meursault	E.G.O gears.
Faust	It can be speculated that they have either developed their own method of extraction, or have scavenged them from Lobotomy Corp.
Yi Sang	Gubo... carries what appears to be an egg... of an Abnormality.
Gregor	... Are they planning to just offer them an Abnormality egg?
Dante	<How's that... an answer to anything?>
Faust	While there is room for interpretation...
Faust	... some may present a reasonably argued interpretation that Abnormalities are entities that neighbor immortality.
Outis	So the linchpin of their success hinges on which Abnormality's egg that ends up being.
Hong Lu	If it's big brother Jia Huan I know... he's never going to risk his life for something he thinks will fail.
Jia Zheng	... Huan of the Jia Family passes the first Evaluation.
Contrary to most of our wishes, Jia Huan managed to pass the first round as well.
Many more candidates came and went. One of them carried a massive, mysterious coffin...
Wang Dawei	…….
... one of them brought a thick book, and one of them presented a cage so tiny that we couldn't see what was within.
Some of them managed to pass, while some of them were sent screaming into the mysterious abyss.
As we waited and watched the candidates come and go, people from N Corp., their turn complete, approached us.
Yi Sang	Yet early it is for twilight to arrive—thus, early too is this meeting of ours.
As if to prove his own words back at the LCE, that he's come to accept certain things as they are, Yi Sang coolly regarded his old friend who was now working for N Corp.
Gubo	You must find this small and barren respite of yours quite enjoyable. I have not seen you jest as you do now since the League fell.
Yi Sang	... For what do you now approach me? The rift is too great betwixt us to chatter on with any affection to speak of.
Gubo	Do not mistake my intent, for it wasn't I who desired to approach you. My teammate simply wished to have a look at his brother's face, and I thought I might as well see how you are faring.
Hong Lu	Looks like everyone's coming back to Daguanyuan now that the Family Hierarch war's started, brother. This is our first meeting since then, right?
Jia Huan	Hah! If it isn't the doltish fool who has eyes but knows not how to see. I know you well enough; you'd normally turn purple with aversion upon hearing even a brief mention of the word Hierarch... So, why are you here?
Jia Huan	Who are you and your stinking entourage working for this time?
Jia Huan	Is it that Xue girl, blinded by your looks to the revolting rot within? Or... is it Xichun, who still defends you and your meaningless, faux-profound spiel, deluded in her belief that you're still the same boy from her childhood?
Jia Huan	... Why didn't you save him?
Jia Huan	No, let me ask you a different question.
Jia Huan	Why did you save her... and only her, Jia Baoyu?!
Hong Lu	Brother.
Hong Lu	Humans die. It's what they're born to do.
Location: Daguanyuan - Tubitang
Beticent Servant	The next candidate will be judged soon. Candidates must return to their seats.
Jia Huan	Tsk, you're a servant. You're barely even a living thing...
Gubo	... Let us return. This discourse will not bear any fruit.
Outis	... What's this, a reunion party?
Heathcliff	Tsk, that sure soured things. Those shameless bastards... It's obvious they're here to nick our things again.
Ishmael	Hmm... maybe, but something about them feels different today...
Faust	Whichever is the case... the safer option would be to place higher than them.
Sinclair	Another one falls...
Sinclair	His family has to be watching this, right? I wonder if they'll be okay...
Sinclair mutters, watching another candidate fall down the trapdoor.
Sinclair	I can't imagine how anyone would be okay watching their own fall like...
Gregor	Sinclair, the people sitting behind us...
Gregor	... they're his parents. The guy who just fell.
Disappointed Audience	We raised that failure as our own son? What a pathetic disappointment...
Excited Audience	Don't worry... I have faith in our third child. I mean, it's not like we expected anything from this one, right?
Sinclair	…….
Sinclair	Now I see what it means... to dedicate your whole life to becoming the Family Hierarch.
Hong Lu	Many people desperately vie for the seat of Family Hierarch. Of course, some of them, like his parents, hope to...
Hong Lu	... have their friend or a close blood relative become the Family Hierarch instead.
Outis	So they seek to seize a lifetime's worth of riches, power, and recognition by planting someone they can control in the Family Hierarch seat, without becoming one themselves.
Ryoshu	That kind's got a low shelf life.
Hong Lu	Looks like I finally got to know how my long-lost siblings are doing, thanks to this unforeseen opportunity.
Jia Zheng	Twenty-seventh candidate, Pan of the Xue family.
Xue Pan	…….
Gregor	Xue... Pan? Have we heard that name before?
Hong Lu	Ah, he's big sis Baochai's older brother.
Xue Pan walked up to the platform, holding what appeared to be a large jar with multiple talismans plastered over it.
Rodion	Hey, is it just me, or does that guy look like he's totally up to something?
Ishmael	Let's be honest, who here doesn't?
Heathcliff	Yeah, but that sod's different. He's...
Instead of ascending to the platform and into the curtains, he walked up to the podium.
Heathcliff	... Mate, looks to me he's completely lost the plot...
Xue Pan	…….
Jia Zheng	Candidate Xue Pan, you will ascend to the platform and enter the curtain threshold.
Xue Pan	Where's the fun in walking down the straightforward road?
Xue Pan	It's only right that something so precious and entertaining should be shared with everyone, wouldn't you agree?
Outis	…!
He places the jar on the ground...
And from within...
... a desiccated hand emerges.
Ryoshu	Pathetic sorcerous trickery.
Ryōshū muttered with palpable distaste.
Dante	<Why's he...?>
Rodion	What the heck is that?!
Corpses, their desiccated flesh covered in a light, sparse layer of old papers, crawled out of the jar... and began to shamble.
Dante	<They're neither Distortions nor Abnormalities...>
Outis	... Their behavior reminds me of Bloodbags or sub-entities enslaved by Abnormalities... Any semblance of consciousness has been stripped from them. They'll attack indiscrimiately.
Outis	But it seems that they're just as intent on maiming and killing whatever, whoever they can get their claws on. Executive Manager, we must prepare for battle! Your orders!
???	Gnnnhhhh....
Audience	Aaaaghhhhh!
The jar monsters set upon the audience, stuffing the struggling, still-breathing victims into their jars.
Sinclair	Why aren't the organizers doing anything? This is still an event hosted by a Wing, isn't it?
Hong Lu	Because there isn't a rule in the Family Hierarch war that prohibits bringing harm to other people.
Gregor	So they're just gonna sit back and twiddle their thumbs because no one specifically told them to step in? Hah, what the hell...
Rodion	W-what do we do now? Should we step in?
Hong Lu	We should probably survive and ensure our safe participation in the Family Hierarch war.
Fleeing Candidate	Wha-what the hell are these...?!
Stumbling Candidate	Get away from me!
As the monsters began to swarm in, some candidates scattered and ran away, while some stood their ground and fought back. Those who did neither were the ones getting slaughtered.
I was simultaneously reminded of Saude and the confident smile she flashed at me as she reassured us that we should be able to pass the first round with little to no trouble.
Dante	<Looks like we have no choice but to take them down...>

Episode: 12
Location: Daguanyuan - Tubitang
What remained inside the hall after the battle was devastating.
Many in the audience seats had fled, as the seats that were once brimming with people were only half-filled...
... and the candidate zone down here was littered with bodies of candidates who were mauled to death.
Meanwhile, the jar monsters, having eaten their fill, had already crawled back into the jar.
I looked around and saw some candidates still holding tightly onto the treasures they each had brought to the contest, even as they drew their last breaths.
In midst of all this destruction stood the cause of this chaos, watching the slaughter play out with assured confidence...
Xue Pan	Heheh, ha, ahahaha!
Xue Pan	How will you attain freedom from aging, how will you argue freedom from death, with minds so dull and bodies so frail?
Xue Pan	What say you, judges?!
Xue Pan	I present before you not only the clue to immortality, but also a treasure that brings ruin to those who would dare to deceive you! Here is my answer to the perennial question!
Jia Mu	... So you have brought us the clay of the jar.
Jia Yuanchun	It can be said that those who failed to survive this do not qualify as Family Hierarch candidates, yes?
Jia Zheng	…….
Jia Zheng	Pan of the Xue family passes.
Gregor	He gets to pass when he almost got everyone in here killed...?
Faust	All that matters is that what he has brought meets their standards.
Outis	Looks like he managed to get two birds with one stone. He eliminated the distracting rabble from the competition.
Heathcliff	If we ever run into that bastard in round 2, you better let me take more than a few swings at 'im.
Jia Zheng	Twenty-eighth candidate... Shi Dazhen from the Shi family.
But no one walked up to the platform.
Jia Zheng	... As he has failed to appear... he is eliminated by default.
Jia Zheng called a few more names thereafter, but...
Jia Zheng	Twenty-ninth candidate...
Jia Zheng	Thirtieth candidate...
Outis	... The number of candidates has clearly been culled.
But none appeared.
Ryoshu	Disappointingly M.B.
Sinclair	Yeah... all the mediocre bunch got wiped out from that attack...
Ryoshu	And the leftovers are exhausted.
Ryōshū looked around as though she was doing some sort of critique.
Ryoshu	... Hah? That lug...
???	…….
Ryoshu	That motherfu—
???	Hwell, I'll be... thought you'd gone and vanished into the earth! What the hell you doin' crawlin' 'round out here?
???	Girl! I saw ya givin' me the evil eye, 'least have the decency to say hi, eh?
Dante	<Ryō... Ryōshū, that guy's talking to you, right?>
Ryoshu	... Hah.
And in a very, very rare display of raw emotion...
... I realized that she was anxious... and furious.
Sinclair	Oh... do you know him?
Heathcliff	What an absolute unit... Bloke's got to be at least two metres tall.
Faust	... Do not look at that man, Dante. And everyone, avert your eyes as well.
Faust	It is strongly recommended that we do not say a word to him.
???	That's right, ya shrimps. Ya gotta first wrack them teensy' brains o' yours, gotta think real hard 'bout whether you even come close to my rank before runnin' ya mouths, ya hear?
Ryoshu	That shithead, Lei Heng... he's a Finger.
Faust	The Thumb is a Syndicate with the strictest adherence to rigid hierarchical structure even among the Fingers.
Faust	And his placement in the hierarchy is the highest even among their Capos—his rank is immediately beneath the position of a Sottocapo, or underboss.
Faust	A small mistake could drag us into a battle we do not want to fight. Please order everyone to not say a word, Dante.
Dante	<I don't know what's going on... But I get it. You're saying that we're this close to having another Ricardo hunting us down, right?>
Dante	<Yeah, let's avoid that. Do as Faust asks, everyone.>
Lei Heng began stomping his way through the crowd toward us, casually but forcefully shoving anyone in his way to the sides. His gait was blasé and brutish, but I noticed that his eyes were fixed intently on Ryōshū.
It seemed that among the crowd were some people in higher positions as well, but even they either averted their eyes or voluntarily got out of his way.
He marched confidently through the frozen crowd, as though he was familiar with this kind of reception, until a cry rang out from the crowd.
Furious Attendant	You there, you big brute! How dare you block young master Nangong Xianhe's view?! I'll have you know that you stand before the retinue of the Nangong family, the house that shall soon be one of the four houses—
Instead of a reply, we heard a blast of gunpowder, then saw the right arm of the man who spoke out catapult into the air.
Furious Attendant	AAAAARG—
The scream muffled as Lei Heng forcibly shoved his giant hand down the man's throat. Then, with the sound of wet meat being pulled apart, he ripped the entire length of the man's tongue out through the mouth.
Lei Heng	Young master Nangong Xianhe, ain't ya? Ya owe me an arm now. Mighty sorry, but ya shoulda kept a tighter leash on ya boy's jawin'.
The young master of some prestigious house presented his right hand, though it was clear that he was utterly terrified. Lei Heng proceeded to grab his hand and break it off his forearm like snapping a twig.
Lei Heng	I went easy on ya, boy. Seein' a friendly face put me in a good mood.
Lei Heng	Anyhoo... I don't reckon ya miss the Spider's House? Eh, can't imagine why anybody would. Gives me the heebie-jeebies too, whenever I gotta swing by.
Lei Heng	We got some catchin' up to do later. I'll teach ya how to hold your sword real good right like back when.
Lei Heng	Weren't mine the best out of 'em all? I thought I taught ya how to make every cut real fuckin' delicious.
Faust	Ryōshū, now is not yet the time.
Faust whispered to Ryōshū in a low voice without raising her head.
Ryoshu	Shut up for a damn second...
Faust	Faust trusts that you still remember the promise made prior to your employment.
Lei Heng	Get that stick outta ya behind, kiddo. I ain't here to pick ya up, I sure as hell ain't tryna teach ya a lesson either like back when.
Lei Heng	Your baby's still at that house, ain't that right?
... Ryōshū was grabbing the hilt of her sword like she was about to unsheathe it.
The same sword she refused to unsheathe for the duration of our entire journey.
Lei Heng	Huh, am I wrong 'bout that? Just hwat in tarnation happened, then? I ain't exactly nose-deep in them fellers' business, ya gotta understand. Guess somethin' sure as hell went down though, didn't it?
Lei Heng	Hyahhh~ Now ain't that somethin'. So, ya really fixin' to unsheathe that blade?
Faust	... Miss Ryōshū.
In a quiet but coldly stern voice, Faust calls Ryōshū's name.
Ryoshu	…….
Ryōshū...
......♬......
Lei Heng	Aw dangit, what in the goshdang... Haah~ My bad, y'all. I really gotta take this. It's the underboss callin', y'all gotta understand.
Lei Heng	Awrighty then, I'll meetcha'll later. We can talk about your daddies or shoot some other shit then. Seeya 'round, Yoshihide!
The strange man turns around and stomps his way through the crowd again, his booming voice reverberating across the entire hall as he loudly and boisterously answers the call.
Dante	<He's gotta be here for the Family Hierarch war, right?>
Faust	The outcome of the Family Hierarch Evaluation determines the immediately foreseeable future of H Corp., which brings parties of varying, possibly clashing interests here.
Ishmael	Hey, Heathcliff. Noticed you didn't rush ahead this time. I was worried it was going to be like the time with the Middle.
Heathcliff	Tch, I know a thing or two about the Thumb back from my Syndicate days. And about what happened with the Middle—like I said, I had no bloody idea who those things belonged to. Besides, that sod...
Meursault	... Is more powerful and violent than Ricardo, an individual we had encountered in the past.
Yi Sang	The Thumb commands its own manner of terror and violence unlike that of the Middle...
As we were all sharing our impressions of Lei Heng, I found Ryōshū frozen in place, in the same position she had been in when Lei Heng walked past her, spacing out.
Ryoshu	All the way to the Pinky, huh...
Ryōshū mutterd something to herself. As even further chaos was about to overtake the crowd and the candidates...
Jia Zheng	Thirty-second candidate, Jia Qiu.
Jia Zheng called upon the next candidate.
And, at the mere mention of the name, the chaos that had swallowed the hall immediately settled into a hushed silence.
Jia Qiu	…….
???	…….
???	…….
Jia Qiu walked up to the platform,
unaccompanied by his own faction, but not alone.
Dante	<Who are those people next to Jia Qiu...?>
Hong Lu	I've never met them before.
Hong Lu	... Ohh~ Then that must mean that they're big brother Jia Qiu's answers to immortality.
Ishmael	Who could they possibly be...?
Outis	Neither of them appear to be particularly skilled in combat...
Sinclair	Yeah, they're both constantly looking around, like they're nervous...
Faust	They... are...
Faust	Faust believes that they are survivors of the Library.
Dante	<Survivors?>
Faust	The only ones who survived the impossible, inevitable odds and the insurmountable force...
Faust	They're the only survivors who may be able to explain that very force. ... Possibly.
Jia Zheng	Candidate Qiu of the Jia family...
Jia Qiu didn't spend much time behind the curtains. He walked out soon after, his steely expression unchanged from when he entered it.
Jia Mu	The testimony rings true. They are both survivors of the place that soared beyond a Star of the City... before it vanished.
Jia Yuanchun	It is a shame that we were unable to procure ourselves an invitation then.
Jia Zheng	He passes.
Jia Qiu's expression did not budge.
Rodion	Anxiety's gotta be a foreign concept to that guy.
Jia Zheng	Then... that covers all the candidates, it seems.
Jia Zheng	With the first round complete, to all four families who have graced this hall—
Hong Lu	Excuse me~!
Unlike Jia Qiu, whose appearance plunged the hall into utter stillness, Hong Lu's sudden interjection roused the room to a roaring chaos of confusion once again.
Jia Zheng	Baoyu, what...?
Hong Lu	I think you might have missed a candidate.
Jia Zheng	... What do you mean? I believe we have covered every candidate present in the list...
Hong Lu	You missed me.
Hong Lu	Jia Baoyu, of the Jia family, will partake in the Family Hierarch Evaluations.

Episode: 13
Location: Daguanyuan - Tubitang
Gossiping Audience	... Isn't that Jia Baoyu?
Gabbing Audience	What's that doing here...? And what did he just say?
Ishmael	I had a feeling this was going to happen, but... we really kicked the hornet's nest, huh...
Don Quixote	Hark, one and all, and gaze upon our glory! In the eleventh hour doth the final band of heroes arrives!
Yi Sang	…….
Gregor	Yi Sang, don't pretend you're not with us, huh? At least give the audience a wave.
Dante	<Guys... I don't think they're taking the announcement too well...>
Meursault	A large portion of the audience is vociferously expressing their collective confusion, wrath, and concern. These emotions are expressed by their jaws that have been opened past a certain degree.
As Meursault observed, I realized that the chaos wasn't restricted to the audiences; the candidates were starting to get agitated, too.
Jia Huan	And there he is. The disgusting, duplicitous bastard who brings annihilation to everyone around him with that silly, innocent smile...!
Xue Baochai	Huhh!? What's going on? I thought Baoyu wasn't participating in the Hierarch war?
Jia Xichun	... That dumbass.
Ryoshu	S.Y.N.C...
Ryoshu	...? Explain yourself. Now.
Sinclair	Miss Saude told me to grab onto your sword like my life depended on it if you said that exact phrase...!
Heathcliff	Blimey, can't we just—
Sinclair	She mentioned you too, Heathcliff...! She told me that, if you ever said anything like, "can't we just give 'em a good beating and be done with it"...!
Hong Lu	Ha ha, what a throwback~
Jia Zheng	Decorum... I demand decorum.
Jia Zheng	… I hope you do not mean to risk having your body marred.
Jia Zheng	W-withdraw your name, it isn't too late. Now!
Hong Lu	... Fuhu.
Hong Lu	I'm heading in, father.
Jia Zheng	... Thirty-third candidate, Baoyu of the Jia family.
Jia Zheng	Come forth.
Hong Lu	Ready, Dante?
Dante	<I don't know...>
Hong Lu	And...
Hong Lu	... what about you, Ryōshū?
Ryoshu	Puff...
Ryoshu	I'm itching to get chopping.
Ryoshu	Need to vent this shitty feeling.
Sinclair	A-are you sure they're going to be okay, Faust...?
Faust	This is something that must be done regardless of the soundness of its participants.
Faust spoke sternly.
Yi Sang	I still... quite detest this plan.
Ishmael	Let's be honest for a sec. Are any of us actually happy to go through with this?
Ryoshu	…….
Ishmael	Okay, I guess there's the one...
Hong Lu, Ryōshū, and I walked up to the platform.
Up close, it was much larger, grander, and more imposing than I thought it'd be.
Jia Mu	Enter the fabric threshold.
Location: Tubitang - Atop the Platform
Once we walked past the curtains as instructed, we saw Jia Yuanchun, Jia Mu, and Jia Zheng waiting for us inside.
Jia Yuanchun	I know not what, in your life beyond the hedges, could have wrought this change of heart...
Jia Yuanchun	... but to see you aspire to the seat of the Hierarch is indeed a sight most curious.
Hong Lu	It's been a while, big sister.
Hong Lu	Has the life in Q Corp. been treating you well?
Jia Yuanchun	I have seen and learned much.
Jia Yuanchun	As you must have, Baoyu.
Jia Mu	…….
Jia Mu	Now I see your true reason for returning home today.
Hong Lu	I’m sorry, grandmother. I thought better than to let this be common knowledge.
Jia Mu	So you did.
Jia Mu	Now that you have revealed your intent, withdrawal is no longer an option.
Jia Mu	Very well. Now present the answer that you have brought here today.
Hong Lu	I'm sure you've already sat through many, many people standing in the same place I am now, explaining to you what it was that they'd brought.
Hong Lu	So, I suppose you would much prefer that I give you a straightforward visual demonstration than make you sit through another thousand-word lecture.
Hong Lu gave Ryōshū a nod.
Hong Lu	Yes. I'm okay.
Ryoshu	…….
Location: Daguanyuan - Tubitang
Faust	Our "answer" that we may be able to demonstrate before them...
Faust	... is resurrection via Dante's power. To show them that to us, death is but a temporary setback.
Faust	And a most dramatic demonstration of that ability would be to...
Location: Tubitang - Atop the Platform
Jia Yuanchun	…!
Jia Mu	…….
Jia Yuanchun	Indeed... you have certainly demonstrated something.
Jia Yuanchun	You were truly the least dreary part of today, Baoyu.
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Interior, Last Night
Hong Lu	Aha, I see. So the most effective way to do it would be for me to get killed in front of them.
Hong Lu	Without any room for ambiguity, at that.
Faust	... Yes.
Sinclair	Uh, then...
Sinclair	Does that mean that one of us has to... uhm... make sure that Hong Lu... no longer lives?
Heathcliff	Oi, no need to beat 'round the bush.
Heathcliff	Remember what we did to each other when we first met?
Yi Sang	Then, Heathcliff, is the implication that you...
Yi Sang	... are still willing to murder Hong Lu without hesitation?
Heathcliff	Murder— Mate, did you really have to put it like—
Don Quixote	Verily, I do not wish to hurt my good companions more than I already have...
Faust	It may be a stretch to say that it is fortunate, however...
Faust	... we seem to have an individual among us who may be able to carry out the task in a most painless, swift, and unburdened manner.
And everyone immediately turned to look at...
Ryoshu	... Hoh.
Ryoshu	So, how would you like to be cut?
Location: Tubitang - Atop the Platform
Ryoshu	... Puff. Where's that fucker, Lei Heng? Who's he working with?
It seemed that slicing Hong Lu in half... did nothing to distract Ryōshū from her own thoughts.
Jia Mu watched us in silence, motionless in her seat.
Jia Mu	You have... split his brain in half.
Jia Mu	You have irreversibly ended this child's life; not even Life Insurance shall be able to bring him back now.
Jia Zheng	Baoyu?!
Jia Yuanchun	Well, then... what will you do now?
Jia Yuanchun	You have no means to restore this jade of the family. For your transgressions, you will...
Ryoshu	Clock. Spin it.
Dante	<…….>
... And so it turned, in one of the most high-intensity situations I'd ever turned it.
The muscle fibers, the nerves, the flesh that was split, all begin to reconnect like a rewinding videotape...
Dante	<Hnngh... huh? Wait, why doesn't this hurt at all?>
Ryōshū's skill with the sword was no joke. I didn't feel even the slightest bit of discomfort.
Dante	<I doubt Hong Lu even realized that he was dying...>
Jia Yuanchun	Baoyu… I truly realize that it has been a while since we've met.
Jia Yuanchun	He has grown quite bold.
Dante	<…!>
Ryoshu	…….
Ryoshu	I smell beasts...
... Dark shadows had appeared outside the curtains, surrounding us before I even realized what was happening.
Ryoshu	Bull. Rooster. Dragon. Monkey. The Heishou are here.
Jia Yuanchun	The task was to find the answer to freedom from aging and death...
Jia Yuanchun	... not to break a taboo and precipitate the destruction of our home.
Jia Yuanchun	... It has not been long since the family that once led H Corp. was brought to ruin. No Arbiter nor Claw shall ravage a family of Hongyuan again—
Jia Yuanchun appeared ready to command the Heishou to kill us all, but...
Jia Mu	…….
Jia Mu silenced her with a wave of her hand.
Jia Mu	You will wait.
Jia Yuanchun	Venerable Jia Mu...
Jia Yuanchun	Once the resurrection is complete, the Head will...
Jia Yuanchun	We must end this before they—
Jia Mu	Hold for one moment.
Jia Mu	To be rash in judgment is to judge incompletely.
Jia Mu	I wish not to lose either—our treasure, and a clue to immortality.
Jia Yuanchun	…….
And Hong Lu was whole again.
Hong Lu	Ah...
Hong Lu	Thank you, Ryōshū. It really didn't hurt at all. And you too, Dante.
Ryoshu	N.P.
Hong Lu	Grandmother, big sister Yuanchun.
Hong Lu	Did you see that? This is the immortality I found.
Jia Yuanchun	…….
Jia Yuanchun	... Are we safe?
Jia Mu	…….
Jia Mu	<b>If aught be owed, a swift vengeance shall arrive in time; it is simply yet to return.</b> (不是不报, 时候未到)
Jia Mu's quiet utterance seems to dissipate the forces that had surrounded us outside the curtains.
Jia Mu	Jia Baoyu, in the first round of the Family Hierarch Evaluations...
Jia Mu	... you pass.
Location: Daguanyuan - Tubitang
Jia Zheng	... Baoyu of the Jia family passes.
Gossiping Audience	What trickery is this?
Gabbing Audience	I thought he was off on some sightseeing tour away from Hongyuan like a jobless rich kid. When'd he even manage to find his own answer?
Jia Zheng	... Thus ends the first round.
Jia Zheng	Those who passed must prepare for the second round, set to commence tomorrow.
Jia Zheng	Remember. The candidates are barred from harming one another between now and the commencement of the second round of the Evaluations.
Jia Zheng	This is your one and only rule, thus remember it well: anyone who dare break it shall immediately be disqualified.
Jia Zheng	... That is all.
As soon as Jia Zheng announced the end of the first round, everyone in the audience seats began rushing toward the first floor...
Dante	<G-getting mixed up with that crowd's probably not a great idea. Let's get out of here...!>
Faust	Indeed. Let us immediately return to Hong Lu's room.
... and we decided to slip out of here before the curious crowd swept us away.
However, as we turned around to leave...
Jia Qiu	…….
... stood Jia Qiu in our path.
Hong Lu	Oh, big brother Qiu. Congratulations on passing the first round.
Zigong	I hear that you have passed as well, young master. Congratulations are in order, it seems.
Zigong	How is it that you, young master, who has not shown an inkling of ambition toward the seat of the Hierarch...
Zigong	... suddenly emerge as one of its candidates, positively stealing the show?
Rodion	Well, ya know. Sometimes people get swept up by random surges of ambition.
Zigong	Wasn't that 'surge of ambition' your company's, and not young master Baoyu's?
Dante	<... Well, if our last meeting didn't confirm it, it sure seems like they know us well.>
Zigong	Have we not impressed upon you enough that you were to nicely remain within the borders? Instead, he sparks such disorder at the fringes of his perimeter.
Zigong	I had thought that his only role in this design would be to be played as a pawn by Jia Xichun, no more...
Zigong	My lord. Perhaps you have overestimated this young master.
Jia Qiu	…….
Jia Qiu	Are you... still of the belief that inaction is a path without consequences?
Hong Lu	I didn't even get to say hello to you earlier, brother Qiu.
Hong Lu	Baoyu of the Jia family formally extends his greetings to you.
Jia Qiu	…….
Hong Lu	I realize that this is the first time we're meeting face-to-face since I reached adulthood.
Hong Lu	Speaking of which, did you manage to stitch big brother Yihua and Mr. Qingtao's heads back onto their bodies?
Heathcliff	…?
Heathcliff was the first to let out a flabbergasted gasp before the other Sinners followed suit.
Ishmael	I guess that's just how siblings of Hongyuan greet each other, huh?
Gregor	Seems like Miss Baochai was just a particularly nice exception...
Jia Qiu	... You ask a question that deserves no answer.
Jia Qiu	You have arrived here, unprepared, yet ready to cast yourself into the flames all for the mere reason that your 'turn' had come.
Jia Qiu	If your mind hasn't changed, then it would have been wise to remain unseen and unnoticed as you were.
Hong Lu	Yes, thank you for your concern.
Jia Qiu	…….
Jia Qiu	This... façade of wisdom and pensiveness worn upon your speech...
Jia Qiu	... is truly intractable.
Hong Lu	Mmhm... do I do that?
Noticing Jia Qiu's hand tighten around his weapon, Ishmael quickly jumped in.
Ishmael	Oh, in case you forgot, there's a rule preventing candidates who passed the first round from killing each other. Hopefully I'm not the only one who remembers that.
Ishmael	If you're going to continue to bully us, don’t be surprised if there are... consequences.
Ishmael	Outis... you've finished the preparations, right?
Outis	Mhm. The reinforcements are standing by at the front gates.
Heathcliff	Huh? What reinforceme—
Outis	WHICH! is why I am warning you that taking any rash action prior to the start of the second round could result in a pointless skirmish for both of us.
Zigong	A loud boast from an illusory army in an empty fortress. Though, I believe that sheer might is hardly the quality one should flaunt.
Outis	... Tch.
Jia Qiu	I am not intent on fighting you here.
Jia Qiu	Jia Baoyu, you will beget great suffering by endeavoring to embrace beyond your abilities.
Zigong	Yet if he still wishes to challenge and be broken, then perhaps that outcome is simply meant to be.
And with that, they turned around and left us. It seemed that they were here only to give us a warning.
Sinclair	What a relief... I thought we'd have to fight Jia Qiu and his... Heishou Pack...
Ishmael	They did see right through us in the end, but... hey, nice teamwork, Outis.
Outis	Hmmh...
Outis	What unbelievable impudence.
Outis	Did you notice how they did not even glance at the rest of us through that entire exchange?
Sinners	…….
Xue Baochai peeked out from a pillar before walking up to Hong Lu.
Xue Baochai	You passed the first round! I'm so happy for you, Baoyu. Seriously, what's going on here? I didn't imagine even in my wildest dreams that you'd be participating in the Family Hierarch war!
Hong Lu	Congrats to you too, big sister Baochai. For passing the first round.
Xue Baochai	Gathering from the fact that you hid it even from me... you really didn't want anyone to know, right?
Hong Lu	Yeah. I imagine that must've kicked up quite the ruckus with everyone.
Gregor	Now I'm starting to feel kinda bad about this... Somehow we ended up lying to everyone.
Ishmael	Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. Own it instead.
Xue Baochai	Well, if it's all the same to you, then... I wanna say that I'm so happy that you decided to take part.
Xue Baochai	I was... worried that you might have already left Daguanyuan, so far, far away from me again by the time I was finished with the Family Hierarch war. That would've been too bad.
Xue Baochai	So I'm glad that we'll get to spend more time together, even as contestants.
Xue Baochai	Don't forget to say hello and give me a wave if we ever run into each other, okay?
Xue Baochai left us to rejoin her faction, waving sweetly as she did so.

Episode: 14
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Interior
Xiren	... You have returned, young master.
Hong Lu	Yep. Good evening, Xiren.
Xiren bowed wordlessly in that same detached coldness we sensed earlier.
She did not seem at all excited about her master's success today, nor did she appear to be concerned about him.
Xiren	A letter has arrived for you, young master Baoyu.
Ishmael	…….
Ishmael	You didn't even try to hide the fact that the envelope was tampered with, did you?
Xiren	My responsibility was to deliver the letter...
Xiren	To protect its integrity was not one of my obligations.
Ishmael	Hong Lu, are you sure she's your maidservant?
Hong Lu	It's okay~
Hong Lu	She's not wrong.
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Interior, Past
Hong Lu	Xiren, Xiren! Can I ask you something? Jia Ling promised to play a rock tossing game with me, but I can’t find him anywhere.
Xiren	Ah, that’s… uh…
Xiren	Umm, uhm… well, let’s see. How many numbers have you learned so far, young master?
Hong Lu	Xiren and I learned up to ten!
Xiren	Mm, then he’ll be back after one hundred nights' sleeps. Sleep ten nights, ten times, then that’s one hundred nights.
Hong Lu	Woah, that's so cool~ Xiren, you’re so smart!
Xiren	Aw, it’s nothing. It’s something we all learn growing up.
Hong Lu	Xiren. I slept ten times ten nights, but I still don’t know where Jia Ling’s gone.
Xiren	…….
Xiren	… Did I say that young master Jia Ling was to return?
Hong Lu	Mhmm, you said he’ll be back after one hundred nights.
Xiren	Oh…
Xiren	One hundred nights is hardly enough, young master.
Xiren	It will take at least a thousand nights.
Xiren	Given what they did to him.
Hong Lu	I see.
Hong Lu	You’re smart as always, Xiren.
Xiren	Young master. It's been years, but young master Jia Ling's body is still decaying.
Xiren	He has lost control of over half of his body.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	… Even after he was fed the Boluses I’d sent him...?
Xiren	I was told to relay that your Boluses were useless, young master.
Xiren	The decay reached his brain, and I overheard the other servants gossip that it is impossible to recover from such a wound.
Xiren	The body is functionally dead. Death would be preferable, in fact.
Xiren	So give up your naive hope and forget about him.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	You're... always so smart, Xiren.
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Interior
Dante	<…….>
Outis	I will now read the letter, Executive Manager.
Dante	<Uh? Ah, right. Yeah.>
As I stood there pondering, Outis walked up to the front with the letter in hand.
Outis	... This is from Manager Saude.
Saude	Hello everyone, heard you managed to pass the first round.
Saude	I wrote this letter before I heard the news, actually. You wouldn't even be reading this letter if you hadn't passed.
Rodion	The heck...?
Saude	But let's save the celebrations for later. The real game starts in round 2.
Saude	The other candidates must've been making alliances, strategies, sharing information about the next round...
Saude	... meanwhile you guys stumbled around, aimless and alone, before returning to your lodging. And here you are now, reading my letter.
Heathcliff	Is she... watching us from somewhere?
Saude	But not to worry. For your team specifically, round 2 doesn't require much strategizing...
Saude	... because it'll be messy and continuous battle after battle.
Saude	So battle on, as you always do.
Gregor	Huh?
Saude	It's what you do best, right?
Rodion	H-hold on...
Saude	I would like to go into more detail in this letter, but I'm sure this letter will be—and has been, most likely—intercepted by someone from other candidates' clans or coalitions.
Saude	So, in order for you to obtain our objective, you have to rely on what you have learned and gained so far: your intuition and fearlessness.
Saude	Like I said earlier, we have but one purpose.
Meursault	Contextual clues suggest that the 'one purpose' is implied to be 'come in second place and obtain the Golden Bough'.
Saude	Well, that wraps everything up, then. Oh, one last thing...!
Saude	Shameless curs who have rested their eyes upon the contents of this letter without authorization shall be struck down with a curse of misfortune that lasts generations upon generations; ne'er shall they ever be successful in any endeavor regardless of nature—
Dante	<The bottom part of the letter's been torn off, huh...>
Ishmael	What a way to end a letter...
Gregor	So... does anybody know what to expect in round 2? That letter really didn't help with anything at all.
Faust	... It would be better to learn the exact rules on-site and hear from the organizers themselves.
Faust	It is likely that there are forces who already have their eyes and ears on us.
Outis	... Executive Manager, there is someone by the door.
Heathcliff	Right on cue, eh...
Hong Lu	Mm~ I don't think that's what this is.
Dante	<…!>
Outis	Dammit, you! Grab your weapons, prepare for batt—
Despite our rush, the person by the door was none other than Jia Xichun.
She wore an expression that we had grown quite familiar with by now: an interesting combination of annoyance and disappointment.
Jia Xichun	Why do I ever expect anything better from you anymore?
Jia Xichun	So you're just opening your front door to anyone, without even checking who knocked? Just like that?
Ishmael	Uh, I thought you were done talking with—
Rodion	Ha ha ha, yeah, we can be pretty heedless from time to time.
Hong Lu	Mm~ But I don't think anyone who's intending to kill us would have the decency to stand and hesitate in front of my door wondering if she should knock or not.
Jia Xichun	…….
Jia Xichun	Earlier, in round 1...
Jia Xichun	You had yourself killed in front of Jia Mu and big sister Yuanchun, didn't you?
Jia Xichun	And revived yourself in front of them too, I presume...
Hong Lu	Right.
Jia Xichun	Why even go that far, huh...?
Jia Xichun	What's gotten into you, brother? Family Hierarch, really? Why now, why all of a sudden?
Jia Xichun	I can tell, just from that look on your face...
Jia Xichun	... that you couldn't care less about becoming something like the Family Hierarch.
Jia Xichun	Is that... really it? That they told you to do it?
Rodion	Xichun, imagine, just for the sake of it. What if, juuuuust what if, like, what if... our actual goal isn't to come in first place?
Jia Xichun	... Do you seriously expect me to believe that?
Rodion	Ha ha... right? Totally. Heck, I wouldn't buy that either...
Jia Xichun	Anyways...
Jia Xichun	I'm not here to ally or parlay with you. I am never, ever doing anything like that with you again, brother.
Jia Xichun	It'll be nighttime soon, you know.
Jia Xichun	And your room's always been so dark because you barely let so much as a ray of moonlight in.
Outis	Seems like she's warning us that we'll be visited by some... uninvited guests soon.
Jia Xichun	Yeah. No way they're letting you, a sudden, unforeseen variable, spend the night in peace.
Dante	<But didn't they warn us earlier that round 2 candidates are prohibited from hurting each other...?>
Outis	... I see. The only thing that matters is the exact wording of the law, not the spirit of it.
Jia Xichun	Right. They won't intervene as long as a candidate's not trying to kill a fellow candidate, literally, with their own hands.
Jia Xichun	So don't trust anyone, even your maidservants.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	Thanks for coming here in person, Xichun.
Jia Xichun	Tomorrow, we'll be... we'll really be enemies.
Jia Xichun	I know it's too late to change anything... but tomorrow...
Jia Xichun stumbled over her words, trailed off, then turned around and left as though she swallowed what she wanted to say.
Wei	…….
Wei	When she expressed a wish to visit you herself, I made three attempts to talk her out of it.
Wei	It was highly impertinent of someone of my station to advise against her three times, yes, but...
Wei	... I implore you all to know that her choice to come here was not an easy one.
Ishmael	... I know this question can sound a bit nosy, but... are things okay over there?
Wei	We will face the trial to the best of our abilities.
Wei	I wish with all my heart that our paths will not cross tomorrow.
Yi Sang	And I share his sentiment.
Yi Sang	I wish not to ever bring harm to them, nor they to us in turn.
Heathcliff	Well, when's anything ever gone as we wished, eh...?
But Heathcliff sounded just as uneasy.

Episode: 15
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Interior
♬O moon, once it waxes it wanes♬
♬O water, once it fills it overflows♬
♬For all lights must go out, the night is still♬
Hong Lu	... It's time.
Outis	... Sharpen your senses.
Outis	Hey, what are some known infiltration routes in this building that our enemies could use?
Hong Lu	Mm…
Hong Lu	Anywhere, really. As long as the assassin's willing to put their mind to it.
Hong Lu	There was this one time when one of them suddenly appeared from under my bed.
Sinclair	That sounds... kinda terrifying...
Ryoshu	…….
Ryōshū, who was leisurely puffing her cigarette as the Sinners were looking around in full alert, suddenly pointed up.
Ryoshu	Up.
Ryoshu	Ceiling. Someone just landed above us.
Hong Lu	Ah, so if they're hiding in the ceiling...
Hong Lu	... There must be more waiting for us just out the door.
Hong Lu spoke casually as though he was expecting to have them join us for tea or something.
???	Impressive... You're pretty sharp.
Outis	…!
The Sinners all whipped around and swung their weapons toward the voice, but...
... the assassin dodged back with ease and began chugging from a gourd in his hand.
Heathcliff	Wait, this smells like...
Heathcliff	Is that sod drinkin' on the job!?
???	Gimme a break, I'm an old guy on a night shift. I say I deserve a drink.
???	Our target's young master Jia Baoyu. Let's kill him quick and call it a night.
With that, the enemies began flooding into the room.

Episode: 16
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Interior
???	Glug... glug...
???	Whew-ee... Wha? Still workin' on it?
Outis	It seems that we are continually underestimated by our foes. Shi Yihua made the same mistake.
Outis	You didn't seriously think that we would be defeated by such a pathetic force, did you?
???	Ow, ow... pipe down, you're givin' me an early hangover.
???	And don't you compare us to that little troublemaker of the Shi family, will you?
Faust	...! Be careful, Outis. His combat capabilities are leagues beyond those of his companions.
Outis	... So that's why he's so sure of himself, I see.
Outis	Identify your name and allegiance.
???	Really? You think I'd just tell you all that if you asked nicely, working in this line of business? Heh heh. I have no name nor allegiance to give you, friend!
???	Haah... though I have no name to give, I have a title that others took the liberty of giving me. You tend to pick up one or two of those after surviving for so long.
Night Drifter	He who emerges with a liquor bottle, only to fade into the nightly shadow... the world has deigned to call him the Night Drifter of the Drunken Palm!
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Interior
Outis	Hooah... You're next. And the last one.
Night Drifter	How strangely confident you are, for someone who has failed to protect her master.
Dante	<…!>
Dante	<He doesn't know that the Sinners can come back from death.>
Night Drifter	Well, now that I've claimed young master Baoyu's life, I should be free to clock out. There's no coming back from a crushed brain.
Night Drifter	Real shame... Had he studied under my tutelage, he coulda almost matched me in skill.
And the intruder disappeared from the room without another word...
... and after a brief break, I revived the dead Sinners.
Ishmael	Just who could've possibly sent him...?
Heathcliff	Could be that Jia Qiu bloke from earlier. You saw the way he was glarin' at the rich boy.
Sinclair	He wasn't the only one glaring daggers at Hong Lu, you know...
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	Heh heh...
Heathcliff	Oi, you alright? If your brain's feelin' funny, ask 'em to turn the clock again.
Hong Lu	No, it's just that this feels new to me.
Hong Lu	Whenever I was attacked in here, this building felt so... infinitely vast.
Hong Lu	But now that I'm here with all of you, it feels so crowded and alive.
Rodion	And that's... funny how?
Gregor	Well... I imagine he's saying that he's happy we've got his back. To paraphrase.

Episode: 17
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Interior
Xiren	Young master, I have brewed some nu'er tea. Will you imbibe some before departing?
Ishmael	... No way, Hong Lu. Remember how the envelope we received yesterday was torn open? Refuse it.
Hong Lu	I'm okay. I'd love some tea, Xiren. Thank you.
Xiren	Yes, young master.
Hong Lu sips Xiren's tea.
Ishmael	…….
Ishmael	Hey, that tea could be poisoned... I know we have Dante here, but you're being too reckless.
Hong Lu	I wasn't being reckless on account of having Dante around. If I was, and if it really had been poisoned, I would be needlessly hurting Dante in the process.
Hong Lu	I just... Even if she's become a lot less friendly, Xiren's still Xiren. So I thought it would be okay.
... That's when I realized that Xiren's odd change of character was reminiscent of those we'd seen earlier in the Backstreets of District 8.
Dante	<... Xiren went through a lot of revivals, didn't she?>
Hong Lu	Yes. She's my closest maidservant, so she was on the most expensive version of Life Insurance.
Dante	<So when you say 'Xiren's still Xiren'... you mean that her memories are intact.>
Hong Lu	Yep. Life Insurance doesn't actually decay your memory.
Hong Lu	But still, you'll slowly...
Hong Lu	... erode away. Like a stone weathering merciless gusts and rainstorms, the memory shrinks and shrinks, slowly losing its definition... until the form itself is lost.
Hong Lu	It only leaves the faint sensation that the stone was once there, until it was no more.
Hong Lu	But I... hope that faint sensation remains a warm remembrance to Xiren, at least.
Xiren	…….
Xiren quietly cleared away the tea set. We could not tell if she had heard Hong Lu, or if she cared at all, if she did.
Regardless, we left her to her job and made our way to the palanquin that was waiting to take us to the round 2 venue.
Location: Palanquin Interior
Outis	When marching out to meet your foes in a deadly war...
Normally, most Sinners would've laughed Outis off for being overdramatic. But today, they were all listening intently to her every word.
We've already had several close run-ins with the candidates and their factions...
... and even the formidable Heishou Pack.
Those experiences were more than enough to convince us that this was the time to take her seriously.
Outis	... we must first learn as much as possible about our primary foe.
Outis	The one that poses us the greatest threat, if you will.
Outis	And that is Jia Qiu.
Outis	So let's list everything we've learned about that individual so far.
Ishmael	Well, we know that he has no problems with bloodying his own hands. Remember how he grabbed those decapitated heads...?
Ishmael	And we know that he tried to ensure that both our team and Xichun's wouldn't participate in the Family Hierarch war...
Yi Sang	We are also aware that he is flanked by Zilu, a mighty Heishou, and Zigong, a strategist.
Rodion	And... it seemed like he was the one who sent the assassins from last night too, right?
Ishmael	Yeah. We know that he's definitely wary of us, so we should also stay on guard.
Hong Lu	As we all know by now... Daguanyuan is led by four ancient and great houses—the Jia, the Shi, the Xue, and the Wang.
Hong Lu	Ever since the times before my own birth, this place was a den of political intrigue, a jungle where a single misstep could spell your death. Today, the Jia family holds the most power and influence among the four.
Hong Lu	Which means that I was at the top of the world, afforded a life of luxuries and leisure, the kind of envious life that everyone looks up to and aspires to attain.
Hong Lu	But big brother Qiu, he...
Hong Lu	... He was beneath even the rock bottom of the same world.
Yi Sang	Rock bottom...? A metaphor for aught, perhaps?
Outis	If it isn't, then I presume he's implying that someone pushed Jia Qiu to the depths.
Hong Lu	Yes. Many, many hands pushed him toward the cliff, until there was no more room for him to back up to... until his only remaining choice was to plummet.
Hong Lu	Brother Qiu is... the last surviving descendant of the annihilated Kong family.
Don Quixote	Mm? Yet his surname was 'Jia' was it not?
Hong Lu	His mother was from the Kong family.
Don Quixote	Ahh... how...
Hong Lu	My hand was probably one of the many that pushed him off the cliff.
Sinclair	I-I don't think you're the kind of person to do something like that, Hong Lu...
Hong Lu	Fuhu, no need to make excuses for me.
Hong Lu	Envy and jealousy came about from my Grandmother and the elders' favoritism...
Hong Lu	... and where there is a zenith, so exists a nadir.
Hong Lu	Hiding won't let me get away from it, so I'm going to accept it.
Hong Lu remained placid throughout that entire reveal, as though he was making some innocent commentary about the weather and the clouds going by.
In fact...
Ryoshu	Watch out for the ones working with the Thumb, too.
... it was Ryōshū who appeared more agitated than he was.
Ishmael	The Thumb...? Oh, that walking brick shithouse from earlier?
Ryoshu	Lei Heng.
Rodion	Hmm... you're weirdly worried, Ryōshū. Don'tcha usually just—
Ryoshu	It's because he's powerful.
Silence descended in the palanquin.
Rodion	... Has Ryōshū ever called anyone straight up powerful before...?
No one replied.

Episode: 18
Location: Round 2 Evaluations Assembly
Befined Servant	We have arrived at the venue for the second round of the Evaluation!
We found ourselves at some kind of deep subterranean area with multiple lifts installed inside it.
Some contestants were already rising on those lifts, but most of them had elected to remain down here to quietly and furtively discuss their strategies.
As for us, we were slowly getting used to our presence drawing the attention of every single person in the room the moment we entered.
Befined Servant	Contestants must now each board their lifts and ascend.
Sinclair	Well, then... should we get going, too?
Sinclair	I feel like we're drawing way too much attention, so let's—
But we were stopped by a voice calling us.
Daiyu	... Big brother Baoyu.
Hong Lu	Ah, Daiyu.
Daiyu	Have you been well?
I'd seen a child who looked just like her a few times in Hong Lu's memories. I remember her beaming at Hong Lu as she made a mound of petals with one hand—
... But now, she looked on at him without a discernible emotion, a spear in the very same hand.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	Daiyu. I didn't think you'd be participating in the Family Hierarch war.
Daiyu	Have you forgotten that my family cannot exist unless we are in service of greater houses?
Daiyu	I am but a blade serving a clan from the Xue family.
Hong Lu	I see, for big sister Baochai's family...
Daiyu	Yes. I will be fighting in the service of others to the last of my days.
Hong Lu	... Daiyu.
Hong Lu took a step toward her, but she raised her hand and pushed him away.
It was not a threat, but her gesture carried such implicit resoluteness that it brought Hong Lu to a stop.
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Yard, Past
Hong Lu	Daiyu. I'll be departing Daguanyuan soon. The elders have commanded me to leave here and experience more of the world.
Daiyu	You're leaving Daguanyuan?
Daiyu	So you leave me now, still refusing to illuminate me the truths about that day.
Daiyu	…….
Daiyu	Why...
Daiyu	Why won't you stop smiling like that?
Daiyu	Then... I hope you'll never come back here again.
Location: Round 2 Evaluations Assembly
Daiyu	We shared an intimate bond once, yet all is for naught.
Daiyu	Now I am unbound by the heavens, unbound by the dirt.
Daiyu	Still lies this heart of mine now, with emptiness wrought.
Daiyu	A blossom may be lovely now, but its wilting sharpens the blade of woe, the blade of hurt...
Daiyu	Our meeting never should have come to pass.
Hong Lu	... You always say things that are so difficult and saddening to hear.
Daiyu	My own funeral was held long ago. And now, having met you for the final time...
Daiyu	… when we meet our ends here…
Daiyu	… may we each become a lone thread of formless smoke, to be scattered to the winds.
With that, Daiyu walked away from us.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	Ah, looks like I forgot to introduce her to everyone.
Hong Lu	She's someone with whom I had had a brief connection in my childhood. Though, I guess our reunion was made under pretty unfavorable circumstances.
Yi Sang	That she has come here in service of another candidate...
... Means that we'll be enemies the next time we meet.
Yi Sang trailed off without vocalizing that sentiment, and sighed.
Hong Lu	Connections are such fickle things, after all.
Location: Grand Lift
Hong Lu muttered with a faint hint of loneliness as we entered the grand lift, enclosed by four pillars.
The lift rises ploddingly.
When I looked down, I could see the other candidates, still waiting for their lifts, looking up at us. The candidates whose fates may or may not intermingle with our own in this battle.
Xue Pan	Jia Baoyu!
Xue Pan	You will never leave this place alive!
Xue Pan	No matter what it takes, we will cut off your head! No matter what it takes!
Someone screams bitterly from beneath us, but the lift does not stop.
Don Quixote	Young Hong Lu...
Don Quixote	... are we to be battle villains henceforth in this quest?
Hong Lu	Mm... but to them, we are the villains.
Hong Lu	Then are they to be evil in our eyes? Hehe, it's a distinction without a difference.
Ishmael	Well, whichever is the case, I'm pretty sure that...
Ishmael	... trying to draw a clear line between enemies and allies won't mean much.
It seemed that we finally arrived at our destination as the lift slowed down.
Location: Somewhere in Hongyuan
We were greeted by a sight that, at first glance, appeared as though it belonged outside. But we were still clearly within the confines of Hongyuan.
Underneath the blue sky were two metal gates leading into a massive, looming structure. Red lights flickered ominously around the building.
Ishmael	Looks like they decorated this huge space to look like the outside... I can't even fathom how much money they must've poured into this project.
Jia Yuanchun	Family Hierarch Evaluations round 2.
A disembodied voice echoed from the speakers with a buzz.
Jia Yuanchun	... Begins now.
The door to the lift that carried us up here closed shut.
Hong Lu	Ohh... I finally recognize where we are.
Gregor	You've been here before?
Hong Lu	... This place is~
Hong Lu	~ the site of the former H Corp. that was once headed by the Kong family.
Hong Lu	This place still bleeds from the wounds made then. I wonder if we will be spilling fresh blood over them today.
Location: -1
We are surrounded by the loud and crowded bustle of the teeming audience.
Is Hong Lu smiling still, as he always has since our first meeting?
I turn around to face him...
... only to see a much younger Hong Lu.
The deep sorrow in the child's eyes was about to overflow, as if he were ready to burst into tears.