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 19 - Episode 20 - Episode 21 - Episode 22 - Episode 23 - Episode 24 - Episode 25 - Episode 26 - Episode 27 - Episode 28 - Episode 29 - Episode 30 - Episode 31 - Episode 32 - Episode 33 - Episode 34 - Episode 35 - Episode 36 - Episode 37 - Episode 38 - Episode 39 - Episode 40 - Episode 41 - Episode 42 - Episode 43 - Episode 44 - Episode 45 - Episode 46 - Episode 47 - Episode 48 - Episode 49 - Episode 50 - Episode 51 - Episode 52 - Episode 53 - Episode 54 - Episode 55 - Episode 56 - Episode 57 - Episode 58

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 Grand View Garden Daguanyuan 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 Grand Flower HallDahuating (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	Aha! 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	Jia 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 my 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	… Such kind of people, though rare, indeed do exist.
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 Ginger-plant Court Hengwuyuan. 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, she's just a childhood friend. I call her ‘big sis’ since she’s older than me... it’s just something we do here when one friend’s a bit older.
Hong Lu	She's also 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 Joyous Red Court Yihongyuan(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 Elevated Virescent-Jade Hall Tubitang(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 muttered 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, I should...!
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 but fifteen minutes, at least.
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	If aught be owed, a swift vengeance shall arrive in time; it is simply yet to return. (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	... Yeah.
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 chugged 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 sis 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.

Episode: 19
Hong Lu	O the garden's sorrow-bearer, lamenter at the flower-funeral
Hong Lu	Flower-rake in hand, teardrops in eyes,
Hong Lu	You carve bloodstained tears upon branches floral.
Hong Lu	I heard yesternight from the garden a song of grief,
Hong Lu	An elegy for a flower and a bird departing.
Hong Lu	Availed naught to hold the parting spring,
Hong Lu	Surrendered I become, heeding the endless woe sans relief.
<color=#9a2d30>Do you understand now, child? There is nothing you can do.</color>
<color=#9a2d30>Thus...</color>
Location: Somewhere in Hongyuan
In the silent, windless sands...
... stood only the desolate ruins of a building, swept through and thoroughly destroyed by a brutal, unstoppable force that was determined to leave nothing in its wake.
Remember the day ruin came to the Kong family,
who have brought this destruction upon themselves through their grave transgressions.
To violate the laws of Hongyuan is no tragedy—as such, it warrants no pity, only humiliation and scorn.
This site of history stands as a monument to the inevitability of karma.
Ishmael	So this…
Ishmael	... is the annihilated Kong family's... building?
Ishmael asked Hong Lu, having read the plaque on the building.
Location: Ruins of the Kong Family Building
Hong Lu	Yes, it is.
Hong Lu	And it's no longer in use.
Sinclair	So everyone inside this building must’ve been…
Gregor	…….
Sinclair	What... kind of 'transgressions' could they possibly have committed to deserve to be destroyed like this...?
Outis	If there was something to lay waste to a building of such magnitude, with such totality, it... cannot have been a mere strife between Syndicates or Fixers. Something must've happened here, nothing less of a war, to leave these ruins behind.
Hong Lu	You’re right. It was unusual, even for the City.
Hong Lu	And that’s because the Head was here.
Hong Lu replies, like it was the most obvious answer to a complicated question.
Faust	…….
Sinclair	The... Head.
Ishmael	So the Kong family… broke a taboo...
Hong Lu	... And the Sweepers came to clean up anything that was left behind, to erase any sign of whatever it was that violated the taboo.
The Head… must really be a terrifying entity, if the mere mention of it could cause the Sinners to shrink so much. As we were ambling aimlessly with this revelation…
Host	Welcome, welcome to round 2 of the Evaluation, brave contestants!
… A disembodied but sonorous and excited voice broke the silence through the speakers.
Host	As there were numerous complaints regarding the possible partiality issues with our previous host, please understand that I will be taking over as the host with the start of the second round...
… Looks like this Jia Zheng got kicked off from the host seat.
Heathcliff	Oi, hold on a minute. Up there, are they...
Heathcliff	Hah… Don’t tell me we’ve got a live audience.
What initially appeared to be a dilapidated rooftop was revealed to be where the spectator seats were installed. They were filled to the brim, to the point where I couldn't spot a single empty seat.
Faust	It would be reasonable to assume that they are indeed spectators, considering the way the seats are arranged.
Host	There were some unfortunate troubles in the first round, yes, but hey. This is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the Family Hierarch Evaluation live and in person! Is it worth it or what?
Host	We wanted to give as many people as possible the opportunity to witness this history in the making.
Host	Alrighty then! Before we really get the game rolling, please give the contestants a round of applause and cheer! Let them meet this challenge as their best selves!
Audience	YEAAAHHHH!!
Heathcliff	Holy mackerel, what a shitshow.
Heathcliff	They're sittin' on their arses, poppin' popcorn into their mouths while we're stuck shittin' bricks down here?
Hong Lu	I'm sure they've been placing bets all night.
Hong Lu	Though I doubt many of them bet on us~
Ryoshu	They'll regret that.
Ishmael	By the way... we're still indoors, right? Didn't we descend deep into a basement, even if we did ride a lift upward? How come there's a blue sky above us...?
Hong Lu explained that we're still within the subterranean area of Hongyuan, but...
... most of the Sinners were having a hard time believing that with the pale blue sky above them.
Faust	Though this is a practice limited to the affluent class of Hongyuan, many have taken to installing artificial environments within their rooms. In fact, there are several buildings within Daguanyuan decorated in much the same manner.
Hong Lu	Yes, the road taken to visit the elders is similarly decorated. Always so sunny and green.
Hong Lu	And it feels more like the outside than the actual outside.
Rodion	So what's uh... that?
I realized that what Rodya was looking at was a parasol. It was installed in such a random place that I doubted it was actually there for anyone to sit under.
Hong Lu	Oh, that's a parasol.
Rodion	I-I know what a parasol is, alright...? I'm asking what that old thing is doing there all on its own?
Hong Lu	Mm…
Hong Lu tilted his head, thinking.
Hong Lu	A real big shot who brought the Claws watched the whole thing from that seat.
Hong Lu	The four houses left the parasol there because...
Hong Lu	... they wanted it to be a lasting reminder. A warning for the remaining houses, too.
Sinclair	Reminder? ... Reminder for what?
Hong Lu	That we mustn't seek what is not permitted to us.
Hong Lu	That we should know our place, live the life we deserve, and part from this world the way we deserve.
Hong Lu	... Said the elders.
Hong Lu	Shall we enter, now?
While we all gaped about like fish out of water in this unfamiliar environment,
Hong Lu casually walked ahead of us into the building like he was out on a mundane stroll.
Dante	<I know you said you heard it all from the family elders, but...>
Dante	<... you saw everything that happened here, didn't you? All of it.>
Hong Lu paused, then turned around.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	Yes, I probably did.
I'm starting to have less and less idea as to what his smile really means.

Episode: 20
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F
Host	... Which means that the results of the second round of the Family Hierarch Evaluation, will become the final results of the event! In other words, the contestant who comes first place in this round...
Host	... will become our next! Honored and venerable! Hierarch!
Host	Aha! As I speak, I have just been informed that the candidates have all arrived safely to their starting positions.
Host	Now, are you ready to get round 2 rollin'?!
Don Quixote	AYE—!!!!!
… Don Quixote was the only one who gave an enthusiastic reply.
Don Quixote	Ahem... Now, what must be done?
Heathcliff	Whack the first bastard we see, what else? This is s'posed to be a simple battle after battle, innit?
Host	Oh my~
Host	Looks like we have some hotheaded contestants here, raring to go even before my introductions are complete!
Host	But don't you think it would be helpful for you to hear the full set of rules and regulations before getting into the game?
Ishmael	... You heard her.
Host	Dear candidates, please inspect the area near your entrance points to locate a bundle of coins with a rope threaded through them.
Don Quixote	Oho... this must be what the voice speaketh of!
Don Quixote	Mm... pray, what might be the purpose of these round curiosities?
Rodion	Mon... money? Hey, there's that familiar jingle-jangle! Maybe it's some sorta local currency?
Ishmael	Guys... the host just told us to let her finish, didn't she?
Host	And now, those coins have just become the most important things in the world. Wanna know why, friends~?
Host	... That's because, from this very moment, these coins represent how much life each of the candidates have left! Lifetokens, if you will!
Don Quixote	Heeugh...! Th-thou must make haste and take these tokens of life, young Hong Lu! T-thy life dependeth on thee!
Blood drained from Don Quixote's face as she hastily tried to return the bundle of coins to Hong Lu, but Heathcliff casually snatched it out of her hands.
Heathcliff	Lemme see that, lass. Hm... these look like coins, but aren't actual cash. So how are these 'lifetokens' again?
Host	By now you must be wondering something like "So how are these 'lifetokens' again?", and you would be absolutely right to ask that question!
Host	Allow me to now explain the rules of the second round of the Family Hierarch Evaluations.
Host	Each candidate must keep their coins secured by the rope threaded through them and attach the bundle to their waists.
Host	Hiding them, swallowing them, hanging only some of them on your waist and keeping the rest in your pockets... basically, any behavior that does not allow them to be on full display at all times is cause for disqualification!
Outis	Disqualification...
Heathcliff	Oi! Take this rope, now! Quit faffin' about and tie it 'round your waist!
Sinclair	Weren't you the one who snatched it away...?
Host	Each of you have been given three coins at the start of the game. If you lose all of your coins, you will be immediately eliminated!
Don Quixote	Y-young Ishmael!!! Thou must tie the, uh, the Des-Desperate's Knot upon the bundle of coins! Never let this knot be undone!
Ishmael	Yep, working on it already...
Hong Lu	Ahaha, I don't think there's any need to hurry~
Host	In the second round, you will have a total of two hours to collect as many coins as you can! Might wanna get on with it, because the candidates' rankings will be decided by the number of coins they each have!
Hong Lu	Aha~ So that's how I'm supposed to hang it.
Outis	Ohoh! Be careful with that!
Ishmael	Relax. Short of a sword cutting through, it's staying put. I've seen to that.
Three coins now hung from Hong Lu's waist, threaded by a rope.
And with that...
Host	Let the second round of the Hierarch Evaluation commence!
The second round begins, and the two-hour time limit begins to count down.

Episode: 21
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F
Ishmael	It's one thing to keep our coins as safe as possible from any candidates we might come across, but...
Ishmael	... it also means that our only means of gaining more coins is by taking them from the other candidates.
Outis	Good point. Unless we're informed of a new rule mid-game, we must also prioritize taking as many coins as we can from the other candidates.
Ishmael	Yeah, the host said that our ranks are decided by how many coins we have.
Faust	The subject of the first round of the Hierarch Evaluation has been an open secret for a long time.
Faust	To find a clue toward freedom from aging and death.
Faust	However, the only information that has been made public regarding the second round of the evaluation is that it will be a martial contest.
Faust	Indeed, there may be secret rules or rules that the host has intentionally neglected to reveal to us. However, it is of high likelihood that, in terms of informational advantage, all participants in this game are equally underequipped.
Faust	This leads to the prediction that, should we engage in our usual form of confused brawls...
Faust	... we should at least place somewhere in the middle of the pack.
Rodion	Aw, don't be such a downer, Fau! We gotta make it to the top two at least to get what we came here for~!
Sinclair	Well, at least we're not under attack... yet...
Sinclair gingerly scouts the surrounding area, anxious that another candidate might suddenly jump out of nowhere and snatch all of Hong Lu's coins away.
Outis	No enemy movements detected... yet...
Outis muttered something similar as she marched forward, on high alert and standing protectively next to Hong Lu's bundle of coins.
Gregor	Not sure if it's a good thing, but... at least the huge size of this building means that we won't be running into other candidates left and right.
Ryoshu	... Peeping machines. They're everywhere.
Host	Mm~ I'm seeing some people making threatening gestures at the cameras up here, but... please be informed of this rule: you break a camera, you pay up with a coin of your own!
Gregor	... I'm pretty sure she just made up that rule.
Hong Lu	Ah, we should be able to keep moving by following this hallway.
Despite everything, Hong Lu still remains calm.
Ishmael	Hong Lu, you've been here before, haven't you...?
Hong Lu	I have. But I don't suppose any other candidates have. Oh, except big brother Qiu, maybe.
Hong Lu	Besides, anyone who's ever set foot in here's already...
Hong Lu stopped.
Hong Lu	Mm, at least we won't have to worry about getting lost, so that's nice~
Gregor	He was absolutely about to spill something before he decided to bite his tongue, right?
Rodion	So guys, I... have this weird sinking feeling that I just can't seem to shake.
Rodion	Daguanyuan... that place was huge, right? Like stupidly huge, right?
Rodion	Like, think about it. We chatted a while on that Palanquin before we got anywhere near Hong Lu's room.
Ishmael	Yeah, apparently they have deer frolicking in the garden, a whole lake to themselves...
Rodion	Right! So why are they holding the Family Hierarch Evaluation at some creepy abandoned building like this when they've got more than enough space to spare there?
Ryoshu	Simple. Art deserves an exhibition of equal extravagance.
Rodion	Okay, but why? Why drag us all the way out here? It's almost like... they're trying to show us something.
Gregor	Show us what?
???	The pride and glory of Daguanyuan. And the cautionary tale of the house of the Kong family.
???	So that the prospective Hierarch and the other candidates would be reminded of their downfall.
Outis	…….
Outis	We weren't asking you, intruder. Here to ambush us?
The Sinners all immediately took a defensive stance at the sudden appearance of a different candidate.
???	Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not here to fight you guys.
???	Saw you guys earlier, back during the first round.
???	I also saw that interesting healing method of yours. I'm guessing that's what you used to get past the first round of the Hierarch war.
Ishmael	... Do you know this guy, Hong Lu?
Hong Lu	Um... nope. But I think he's from the Wang family, though I haven't exchanged many words with him before.
Wang Zhao	Wang Zhao. Not surprised that you don't know who I am.
Wang Zhao	It's not like I gave you much chance to get to know me... I was always the type to prefer sitting in my room and passing the time reading books.
Dante	<If he's not here to fight... is he here to make an alliance?>
Gregor	Hah... Listen here, fella. We're not here to make any friends, alright? We've had enough bad experiences with it as is.
Wang Zhao	Yeah, totally. I get you guys. I'm not here to make an alliance, either. I just thought that maybe we could at least travel together, given that our goals don't seem to clash.
Wang Zhao	I'm not actually here looking to become the next Hierarch. My goal is, uh, how should I put this...
Wang Zhao	... more like wanting to become a cannon pao(砲) in a game of Xiangqi. I have enough self-awareness to know that that even a chariot ju(車) is too much for me.
Wang Zhao	Let me give you a demonstration. Catch.
Dante	<…!>
Meursault deftly snatched the coin out of the air with one hand.
Rodion	Dang! Nice catch, Meur!
Meursault	Mm.
Dante	<This is...?>
Sinclair	Is this a r-real coin? One of those life tokens or whatever...?
Wang Zhao	Feel free to bite into it if you don't believe me.
Heathcliff	Oi, bite into it!
Faust	... That method of material discernment is ineffective for coins not made from soft metals such as gold.
Sinclair	Why would you just...
Sinclair	Are you sure this is a good strategy?
Wang Zhao	Hm, well...
Wang Zhao	I'm sure our dear host has something to say about that.
The host's voice buzzed from the speakers not long after Wang Zhao's reply.
Host	Aha, a candidate has willingly handed over his coin to another!
Host	Yes, of course! The candidates are permitted to trade coins and favors amongst each other without necessarily having to take them by force. You may use it to convince others to do your bidding, or use them to formulate various other strategies.
Meursault	Then the decision to use coins as representation of tokens is symbolically appropriate.
Dante	<The host doesn't immediately catch on to what's going on, huh? It took her a moment to react to what Ryōshū was doing in front of that camera, too.>
Outis	A highly discerning observation, Executive Manager. It appears that she chimes in to add commentary based on the actions of each candidate.
Faust	... It is to keep the audience informed on the actions of the candidates.
Wang Zhao	I knew it.
Wang Zhao	We don't have to take the coins by force, after all.
Wang Zhao muttered with some satisfaction once the speakers fell silent again.
Sinclair	So... um... would you like to have this back, now?
Wang Zhao	Don't worry about it. Consider it my token of appreciation for helping me figure out the game.
Ishmael	Sure... thanks for the coin, I guess... But are you sure it's a good strategy to just give away your coin like that?
Wang Zhao	Probably not, if my goal was to come in first place. ... But like I said earlier, I'm more of a prey animal than a predator.
Wang Zhao	Prey animals like myself have to remain highly aware of our surroundings and observe. And once you get good enough at that... you'll see which of the prospective candidates should hold the most coins.
Wang Zhao	And that's my strategy.
Rodion	Ooh... and that's us, huh? Are ya saying that we're the team that deserves to hold the highest number of coins?
Rodion	Mhmm, hmm... hey, I'm starting to feel pretty optimistic! Gee, it's real refreshing to finally have someone recognize us like this, ya know?
Outis	He's trying to butter us up. This man is just another boring old wheedling schemer.
Gregor	Still... we're already at four coins right from the get-go. I'd say it's a good start, huh?
Sinclair	We might actually end up coming in first place at this rate.
Wang Zhao	So... what do you say? Informational advantage can be a pretty significant variable this early in the game.
Wang Zhao	I follow you, seek my chances and feel out the game, while you gain information.
Wang Zhao	It's a win-win, right? We both get what we want, and we'll go our separate ways when the time is right.
Sinclair	W-what should we do? I don't think he looks... agile enough to stab us in the back and steal our coins.
Sinclair asks, giving Wang Zhao a side eye.
Ishmael	I think he makes a decent case. It's not like he's offering us an alliance out of the blue... Like he said, I think it's a nice win-win strategy for both parties.
Outis	The decision is yours, Executive Manager. It does not seem like he has any ulterior motives... Perhaps we could use our superior numbers to demand more coins from him in return for letting him accompany us.
Meursault	A net profit of one additional coin has already been secured. If alliance with this individual causes you concern, it would be a rational choice to simply cut ties while we are ahead.
Dante	<Hmm...>
The Sinners' arguments all sounded pretty reasonable, so I tried to signal Hong Lu, the actual candidate of the Family Hierarch war, but...
Dante	<Any thoughts on this, Hong Lu?>
Hong Lu	I think they all sound pretty nice!
His reply is terse, cheery, and thoughtless.
... It seems to me that he's still unwilling to make a single choice.
Dante	<... Let's accept his offer. Outis, please keep an eye out for any signs of betrayal.>
Outis	You may place the utmost faith in me to carry out that task, Executive Manager!
Hong Lu	Let's do this, Wang Zhao.
Wang Zhao	Okay, Jia Baoyu. Let's.
Wang Zhao	... So, are you still the favorite child of Daguanyuan?
Hong Lu	…….
Location: Kong Family Building, Past
Jia Baoyu	Um... Umm... Jia... Jia Baoyu extends... his greetings to you...
Relative	Ah... Welcome, little Baoyu.
Relative	It has been a while, Baoyu.
Jia Mu	Answer them, Baoyu. You're a good boy, hm?
Jia Baoyu	... Ookay.
Relative	Still as pretty and lustrous as always.
Relative	He truly is the unchanging, precious jade of Daguanyuan. You must be so happy to have him, venerable Jia Mu.
Relative's Child	Aha... So he's that Jia Baoyu kid?
Relative's Child	Really? I thought he'd look... more special, I guess? He's actually pretty unimpressive in person.
Relative's Child	Oh yeah, mom told me about him.
Relative	Shh, shush, child. You can't just talk to him.
Relative's Child	Ahh, I think he just looked at me.
Relative's Child	So why do they all love him so much?
Relative's Child	Dunno, maybe they painted his insides with gold or something.
Relative's Child	Must be nice to be loved and coddled by everyone the moment you're born.
Relative's Child	But... why does he look so gloomy?
Relative	That child will never suffer once to his dying days.
Relative	Yeah, and I envy him for it, but... I don't know...
Relative	... I don't know why he's such a smileless child...
Jia Baoyu	…….
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F
Heathcliff	Uh... ain't these memories for Clockhead's eyes only? Why can we see it, too?
Dante	<Um... huh? You saw that, too?>
Faust	It appears that the gradual reconstruction of the Golden Bough is expanding Dante's ability to peer into the fathoms.
Dante	<Is... is it? I'm not so sure myself.>
Faust	That is enough for now, Dante.
Faust	... Perhaps these powers will become controllable in the future, to be used as one sees fit.
Hong Lu	Hehe, didn't think this is how I'd be sharing my childhood with everyone.
If Wang Zhao had also made it into the Dungeon of the Fathoms alongside the rest of us, he must've seen Hong Lu's past as well...
Wang Zhao	What are you guys all standing around for? Don't tell me your strategy is to sit here and wait for the whole thing to blow over, is it?
Dante	<…….>
... but it seemed that the vision was for our eyes only.
Unlike the Hong Lu we know, the younger version of him...
... did not have even a trace of that familiar smile. His eyes were fixed to the ground in silence, and that was all he did.

Episode: 22
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F
We traversed down the hallway Hong Lu found, walking in awkward, depressed silence.
Until Wang Zhao broke it.
Wang Zhao	I've been meaning to ask—are the rumors true?
Hong Lu	What rumors?
Wang Zhao	The rumors that Jia Xichun lost her Heishou Pack.
Wang Zhao	Hey, who knows. Tell me something valuable, and I just might hand over another coin.
Wang Zhao suggested, gesturing broadly at the coins dangling from himself.
Hong Lu	Unfortunately, I lost touch with Xichun after we arrived at Hongyuan.
Hong Lu	So I don't know any details myself.
Wang Zhao	Alright... Okay, I guess we'll see in due time.
Wang Zhao	As you know, losing your Heishou Pack... is a bigger loss than losing a limb.
Wang Zhao	If the rumors are true, then she must be having a pretty hard time out here.
Sinclair	Jia Xichun... I wonder if she's doing okay...
Hong Lu	She'll be okay, like always. She's a plucky one, after all.
Somehow, Hong Lu ended up comforting Sinclair.
As we continued down the hallway, chatting...
... we eventually found ourselves before a shut gate.
Ishmael	… Let's head inside.

Episode: 23
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F - Lab Ruins
Gregor	This place... looks like a laboratory.
Ryoshu	There's nothing left. Not even a faint blood fragrance.
Ryoshu	Though I sense a scurrying rat.
???	A rat...?
???	Know who you're talking to before you insult them. Who are you?
Sinclair	W-we're a different candidate's clan.
Hong Lu	Hi, I'm Baoyu of the Jia family.
Hong Lu extended a placid greeting.
???	I thought you had twelve companions, Jia Baoyu... so what's this Wang guy doing here? You've already made an alliance? A thing like you?
Hong Lu	Aha, but we're not allies.
Wang Zhao	Doesn't seem like he's buying it. Doubt he ever will.
Sinclair	So who is he, Hong Lu?
Hong Lu	He's uh... He's... I'm pretty sure he's from the Shi family... So he must be Shi...
Hong Lu	Shi...
There was an awkward silence.
???	Ahem... Hua... c'mon, man. Hua...
Hong Lu	Ah, thanks for the help~ So he's Shi... Hua... something...
???	Good, you're getting there. You're getting warmer. Now, let's—
Ishmael	What the hell are you guys doing?
???	…….
???	Forget it, who gives a shit anyway.
???	If every candidate indeed has the same number of coins... I should prioritize finding weaker candidates like you to steal from.
???	It's beyond me where you even got the guts to throw your hat in the ring for the Family Hierarch war outta nowhere.
???	Last I heard, you were roaming the City like some unemployed lout after spending years holed up in Daguanyuan. So what brings you here, huh? Had enough of the City tour?
Hong Lu	Luckily, I never had a moment of boredom. I found so many marvelous and interesting things out there.
Hong Lu	Like, did you know that there are people out there who sleep in roofless rooms?
???	Asshole, think you're funny...?! I swear, I'm gonna eliminate you here...!
Wang Zhao	You sure know how to make friends, young master Baoyu.

Episode: 24
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F - Lab Ruins
Outis	Now... hand over your entire coin bundle. Cough it up, I know you don't have many.
???	But... if you take all my coins, I'll be eliminated...
Outis	Yes, exactly. Are eliminated candidates subject to summary execution here?
???	T-that wasn't a rule...
Host	Looks like some candidates have finally had some exciting run-ins with one another!
Host	As a reminder, the goal of this game is to collect as many coins as possible within the given time limit.
Host	Sure, cooperation and alliances are all well and good, but when negotiations go up in smoke, might becomes a pretty reliable fallback plan.
Host	Don't you worry, though! The shadows of Hongyuan hiding in the corners of the arena will safely guide any coinless candidate out of the building.
Host	Oh, by the way—resisting them is kind of a terrible idea. I heard they're faster to act than to talk.
Faust	They must have placed the Heishou here.
???	W-what the hell, that's bullshit!
Host	Of course, if you've lost more than your coins... your life, for example... I suppose the Heishou'll be escorting your corpse out of here instead. Ha ha ha!
Outis	... You heard her. Would you like to have your corpse escorted out, or would you rather leave on your own accord?
???	Fine... my coins are yours. Take them all...
Host	Aha, a candidate from the Shi family has been eliminated from the game. What an overwhelmingly dominating display of charisma from the opposing candidate's clan member!
Host	If you've been eliminated, please come out to the hallways, forfeit your weapons, and wait for further instructions. Please note that any eliminated candidate loses all rights and privileges appertaining to candidates of Family Hierarch Evaluations, and...
Hong Lu	Ohh, I remember now. His name's Shi Huazhen~
Rodion	We're already up to seven coins, huh?
Rodion	Hey, that's not bad! Let's wrap this up asap and get the heck outta this creephouse~
Yi Sang	We are beset in all directions by sorrow and tragedy. This appears to have been a laboratory for an unknown purpose...
Yi Sang's eyes scan over the various machines that are messily strewn about the room.
Wang Zhao	Kong family's laboratory, most likely.
Gregor	Yeah... saw the plaque earlier. Apparently their entire family got completely annihilated after presumably breaking a taboo or something.
Sinclair	Going by what Hong Lu said earlier... and gathering from everything we've heard about the Kong family so far... i-it sure sounds like they're all dead...
Wang Zhao	It was in the time before the Jia family wielded as much power as it does now...
Wang Zhao	Boy, the Kong family really was something back then.
Wang Zhao	Outputting a constant stream of new, groundbreaking Boluses with all kinds of unique qualities can't have been easy. But they somehow managed it back then.
Wang Zhao	Because the Kong family had made such impressive contribution to the City as a whole, even past the boundaries of Hongyuan itself...
Wang Zhao	... the other families had no choice but to watch in awe as it stood like a mountain so far above them.
Hong Lu	Yes, I heard that they delved into various research subjects here.
Wang Zhao	Well. Despite all that glory, what awaited them at the end was a tragedy.
Ishmael	So there's no record or evidence of any kind left that could tell us what kind of experiments they carried out down here?
Wang Zhao	Nope. It all got purged. Anything to do with their experiment has been practically atomized by the Claws that came here.
Yi Sang	... Perhaps, in search of the novel, they failed to notice the avarice spiraling out of control; a recurring development among those whose passion is research.
Wang Zhao	For a while, people from the high-and-mighty families of Hongyuan refused to even look in the general direction of this building. They thought it was heretical, that it would bring them misfortune.
Wang Zhao	Of course, I was pretty young then, so all this is just what the adults told me.
Yi Sang	Do you recall aught from then... Hong Lu?
Hong Lu	I was also very young, only ten years old, so my memories aren't very clear...
Hong Lu	But I do. I recall.
Hong Lu	... I recall the day when the weight of avarice broke both the heavens above and the earth beneath the Kong family and smote them.
Dante	<…….>
Hong Lu	But our existence is as fragile as paper, bound to fade away into nothingness just as they have.
Hong Lu	So... I guess that's why we should always be mindful of excess, to empty ourselves that we will not overflow.
Hong Lu spoke so calmly and clinically about the day when countless lives were lost.
Announcement	…….
Announcement	Thank... you so... much again... everyone... who is here today... for the Kong family and Hongyuan's... eternal... prosperity.
This... must be a recording from before the Kong family's complete annihilation.
Announcement	Let this... experiment... be another resounding success for us... so that everyone... in Hongyuan... will be a step closer... to achieving... immortal life...
Announcement	Do... know that our success... is...
Location: Hongyuan's Laboratory, Past
Announcement	Do know that our success is a guarantee, so we would like to ask all research personnel to put their best into every project.
Jia Mu	Do you see now? It was not a matter of formula but rather the process, the order of formulation that diminished the efficacy of your previous Bolus.
Jia Mu	Let me demonstrate by example. Directly mixing two diametrically opposed ingredients—safflower (紅花), which carries an element of fire, with fleeceflower (何首烏), which carries an element of water—will cause a repelling reaction. What does the Kong family do in such a case?
Kong Youjin	Mm. Use white peony (白芍藥) or gold in between the addition of either ingredient so that they may coexist.
Jia Mu	Yes, a rudimentary application of the Bolus production methodology. However, one thing we must know is that the law followed by our ingredients is not defined solely by the five phases and eight trigrams. Though the five phases are correctly aligned, ingredients each imbued with elements of the sexagenary cycle—distinguished by both the heavenly stems and the earthly branches—all exhibit different effects.
Jia Mu	Another aspect of this art to consider is that spacetime itself is a variable that modifies the laws by which yin and yang operate; thus, even if the same recipe were to be followed to the letter, the hour, the minute, and the second during which the Bolus is combined affects its quality and characteristics.
Kong Sihui	So that's why following the same family recipes could yield Boluses of varying effects.
Jia Mu	You must also remain wary of where one stores the Boluses once they are completed, and when to remove them from shade.
Jia Mu	Do keep in mind that a wise forger of Boluses always remains acutely aware of the harmony and discord that exists between ingredients.
Kong Youjin	You certainly have an exceptionally high degree of expertise when it comes to Boluses.
Kong Youjin	I cannot help but always depend on you so. You're the only person who would ever come up with such innovative ways to forge these boluses.
Kong Sihui	You've managed to untangle this side effect in a matter of moments, when we've struggled with it for months. We cannot help but feel a tinge of shame before your skill.
Jia Mu	... Consider this boon good karma for your vast and profound generosity.
Kong Sihui	It is all thanks to your wisdom and acumen, venerable Jia Mu.
Kong Sihui	You deserve every reverence and admiration for coming this far, armed with nothing but your skill and wit.
Kong Sihui	And as they admire your achievements, they'll find hope as well.
Jia Mu	... Of course.
Jia Mu	No one could have possibly foreseen that the declining Shi family would produce the next Hierarch, after all. Especially someone without a proper clan.
Kong Sihui	Oh...! That is not what I had intended to convey, venerable Jia Mu. If I had offended you, by any chance—
Jia Mu	Worry not, for you have spoken true.
Jia Mu	I understand that it was all thanks to the Kong family's generosity that I could rise. I know better than anyone that you could have easily eliminated me before I had the chance to ascend to the seat of the Family Hierarch.
Jia Mu	And you would have done so, had you wished to further solidify the Kong family's position here.
Kong Youjin	In fact, our hearts were truly stirred by the most unexpected outcome of the Family Hierarch war.
Kong Youjin	You have clutched victory with nothing but wisdom when all odds were against you.
Kong Youjin	Not to mention that we are greatly appreciative of all the assistance you have so graciously provided us.
Jia Mu	Save your compliments, please. I am only honored that you saw any use for my insignificant tricks.
Jia Mu	After all, our collective pursuit is to prolong the eternal prosperity of Hongyuan, is it not?
Jia Baoyu	... Grandma, are you making new Boluses again?
Jia Mu	Indeed, little Baoyu.
Jia Mu	There is karma to be repaid.
Jia Baoyu	And do I have to... keep coming here with you, grandma?
Jia Mu	Yes. This beautiful scenery will not be complete without you as its witness.
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F - Lab Ruins
Yi Sang	You have frequented this place… with regularity, Hong Lu?
Hong Lu	... Yes. Grandmother often brought me here to play, hand-in-hand.
Wang Zhao	…….
Wang Zhao	Oh, are you guys done collectively spacing out? I've been thinking while you were gone.
Wang Zhao	And I've come up with something quite interesting.
Wang Zhao	So, since the results of the second round are decided only when the time's up...
Wang Zhao	... I'm sure there are candidates out there coming up with strategies like...
Wang Zhao	"Collect a moderate amount of coins, find a nice, hidden corner to lie low, wait until everything blows over, and we just might walk away with a decent rank." Know what I mean?
Outis	There are many points of failure to that plan, but... it would indeed be an appropriate strategy for candidates who are not so confident about their odds in open combat.
Wang Zhao	Right?
Wang Zhao	But here's the thing. Wouldn't it make for such a boring show if most of the candidates are just hiding and doing nothing for the majority of the game? I mean, they even made the show of gathering an audience for this song and dance.
Wang Zhao	There must be—
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F
I sensed a very subtle vibration the moment we walked out of the lab and into the hallways.
Wang Zhao must've felt it, too. He stopped in his tracks and looked around.
Gregor	Hold on. Do you guys hear that?
Wang Zhao	Well... looks like this is where our brief fellowship comes to an end.
Wang Zhao	That was a short but sweet exchange, Jia Baoyu.
Wang Zhao	But... I don't think you're the one who should hold the most coins.
Dante	<What...?>
Wang Zhao	Once the games end, I hope we'll all find what we came here for.
Outis	We weren't planning on sticking with him through the entire round, but...
Ishmael	Yeah, it's a bit sudden, huh? I guess it's better than a full-on betrayal.
Sinclair	W-we're going our separate ways, just like that...?
Faust	... There is no time to spare worrying about him.
Outis	...!
Outis	Atten-tion! Full-speed sprint toward the 3'O clock direction! Go, go, go!
Heathcliff	Huh? W-what?! Oi, at least tell us what's going on!
Outis	Eyes forward! The walls are... rising from the floor!
That's when the host's cheerful voice began booming from the speakers, excitedly explaining the situation.
Host	Let's keep things interesting with... a new rule!
Host	And this one's for you, dear viewers who must've been bored outta your minds with how safe the candidates were playing things! Starting now, walls are gonna start closing off rooms and corralling our candidates every set interval, shrinking the arena!
Host	If you somehow end up trapped in a room, if you fail to make it into the shrinking arena...? Well, that's an elimination, of course!
Outis	Of course...
Host	Aha~ Looks like it's real chaotic out there! Now, let's try not to push your luck and get yourselves stuck between walls, mmkay? It'll be one hell of a clean-up job to have to scrape and scrub your bits off the walls. Better get moving!
We began sprinting full-speed to where the walls were starting to rise from the floor, the host's snidely chipper tone taunting us the whole time.
Host	Oof! Looks like some of you didn't make it! You were so close, too... And... ouch, I spy a candidate who's been separated from her clan in the chaos. Whoa, try not to lose your coins in the chaos!

Episode: 25
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F
Heathcliff	I... huff... I swear, she's gonna get... a fist to her face before we... huff... leave this place...
Dante	<Huff... man... I... really should've done some... cardio... with you... guys... Huff... huff...>
My legs were screaming at me to take a seat and rest, but... we simply did not have the time to sit still.
Dante	<We've got no choice but to keep on running...>
Yi Sang	Hong Lu... This place must not have offered much diversion for a child...
Yi Sang	Was it not drab or tedious?
Hong Lu	Grandmother really knew a lot about Boluses.
Hong Lu	Every time I was here, I would always watch her take command of the room, fiercely bringing about a storm of directions and orders for the researchers.
Hong Lu	So no, it wasn't drab or tedious. And...
Hong Lu	…….
Yi Sang	Hong Lu?
Hong Lu	... Thinking back on it, whenever grandmother summoned me to visit this place together, I...
Hong Lu	... I think I felt a bit of happiness.
Sinclair	Why?
Hong Lu	That's...
That's when Outis suddenly came to a stop, raised her fist, and motioned in a way that caught everyone’s attention. She'd been walking ahead in the vanguard.
Gregor	Stop, stop. She saw something up ahead.
Outis	Figure up ahead. Solo.
Outis	Hopefully, she's a candidate who's been separated from her clan. It should be easy coins for us if that's the case.
Outis muttered with a bit of anticipation. It really seemed like she was in her element here...
Hong Lu	Don't worry, Outis.
Hong Lu	I am acquainted with her.
However, contrary to Outis's wishes, she was not one of the candidates.
Daiyu	…….
Outis	She's a... bodyguard of a Xue family candidate.
Hong Lu	Why are you here all alone, Daiyu?
Hong Lu	How funny, I was just thinking about you.
Daiyu	You...?
For the briefest moment, Daiyu's eyes looked at Hong Lu with disbelief—before hardening into a stern expression.
Daiyu	Ah... I must have alarmed you all. Apologies.
Daiyu	The walls came out of nowhere—excuse me. My inattentiveness has separated me from the rest of the clan.
Ishmael	So... you have no idea where the rest of your clan or your candidate is?
Daiyu	... No.
Sinclair	But if a different candidate finds you here alone...
Daiyu	... they will attempt to eliminate me, though I am but a follower. Because it would be beneficial for them to do so.
Hong Lu	Daiyu, then... have you been waiting here all along, waiting for the one you follow to return?
Daiyu	... Yes.
Daiyu	I suppose I did, in the belief that if I simply waited in the same place we became separated, they would... eventually come back for me.
Outis	A foolish belief. The arena is constantly shrinking; they wouldn't take the risk of coming back here just to pick up a straggler.
Daiyu	... Of course. They wouldn't.
The air between us had become palpably awkward with impressive rapidity.
Daiyu	I suppose... it could be said that you have a certain advantage over other candidates here.
Daiyu	You're more familiar with this place than anyone else, are you not?
Hong Lu	…….
Daiyu	Silence again. Just like then... Just like when you refused to tell me anything to the end.
Daiyu	In all those years I was in your service after the complete annihilation of the Kong family...
Location: Kong Family Building, Past
Daiyu	Baoyu, big bro Baoyu! Here, here!
Daiyu	Ugh, what happened now? You're looking so glum again! We're still gonna play the game you like today, right?
Daiyu	Oh, don't tell me. Are those meanies back at it again? I'll kick their butts with this new move I learned yesterday—
Jia Baoyu	No, it's okay. Don't worry, Daiyu.
Jia Baoyu	I still don't understand why they say those things to me, but...
Jia Baoyu	... I still think I could be their friend one day.
Nervous Stranger	Young master Baoyu... do you know the whereabouts of the venerable Jia Mu?
Jia Baoyu	She said she'll be at the lab for a little bit.
Nervous Stranger	Oh, oh no, that's not good. I... I have something to tell her... It's actually, umm, very urgent...
Nervous Stranger	I need more of those Boluses to maintain this body... but she just wouldn't return my attempts to reach her, so I thought I would pay her a visit myself and—
Nervous Stranger	Kuh—
Jia Baoyu	...!
Jia Baoyu	A-are you okay?
Daiyu	Big bro... h-hide behind me...!
Daiyu	He's... he's not from Hongyuan...!
Claw	…….
Jia Mu	I see... She must not have discarded her clone for over a week.
Jia Mu	Foolish girl. I warned her time and again that either the clone with a cloned brain or the original must be discarded within the week of production.
Jia Mu	It seems that she could not bear to relinquish this new body of hers, unburdened by ailments of both body and mind.
Jia Baoyu	G-grandma, is... is there anything we can do for her?
Jia Mu	The Head... will not suffer those who have broken their taboos to live.
Jia Mu	This is the omnipresent terror they cast over us; they are always watching, always primed to appear no matter where you are.
Jia Mu	Even as you eat. Even as you slumber. Even as you are wed.
Jia Mu	The circumstance matters not; the context is meaningless. If a taboo is broken, they will be there to carry out the sentence. Almost as if they are... the executors of the natural law.
Jia Mu	Let us leave here, Baoyu.
Daiyu	Be careful! Don't touch her!
Daiyu	I... I think she's gone. She's not breathing.
Jia Baoyu	B-but look, her eyes are still open.
Jia Baoyu	I want to... help her close her eyes. It’s too cruel and sad for her to be all alone, even in her final moments... looking at this lonely place.
Daiyu	Baoyu...
Daiyu	... Then come here again tomorrow, then again the day after.
Jia Baoyu	Grandma brings me here everyday anyway...
Jia Baoyu	It's going to happen whether I want to or not. Why would you say such a thing, Daiyu?
Daiyu	Because... whenever I see you, I see...
Daiyu	... I see the face of someone who's just about ready to leave this world forever.
Daiyu	Okay? Promise you won't leave me alone in here.
Daiyu	I'm just as scared of this place as you are, it feels too big, too vast... But... just by thinking about playing with you, flying kites with you, it makes...
Daiyu	... it all makes me feel a little better.
Location: Palanquin Interior, Past
Jia Mu	The restructuring day has begun, it seems.
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Baoyu	I hate... I hate these restructuring days... I hate the sound of those bells...
Jia Mu	Rest easy, little Baoyu, for these restructuring days will not touch us. Daguanyuan only expands, and never shrinks as the homes of the poor do.
Jia Baoyu	Um, grandma...
Jia Baoyu	Do you think... Daguanyuan can change?
Jia Mu	... What has prompted this question?
Jia Baoyu	Because I...
Jia Baoyu	I want Daguanyuan to...
Jia Baoyu	...! Oh...!
Falling Villager	Agh... Nngh...
Jia Baoyu	A-are you okay?
Jia Baoyu	Stop the palanquin!
Jia Baoyu	Please... please, help me pull him up! He's gonna fall!
Palanquin Bearer	Wha... I'm sorry?
Palanquin Bearer	Young master, it's too late for him.
Palanquin Bearer	Helping him now won't do any—
Jia Baoyu	How can I just turn a blind eye and pass him by like nothing happened?! He's right there, in pain!
Jia Baoyu	Please help me pull him up, please.
Jia Mu	Little Baoyu, you cannot save them, let alone everyone.
Jia Mu	And if you cannot save everyone, it is wiser to not try at all.
Jia Baoyu	I know, I know I can't save everyone. But...
Jia Baoyu	At least this one person who's about to fall, please...
Jia Mu	You struggled to move past this during the last restructuring day as well.
Jia Mu	So, has your struggle managed to save even a single life?
Jia Baoyu	... No.
Jia Baoyu	Still, grandma... still...
Jia Mu	…….
Jia Mu	Try it, then.
Jia Mu	It would be much better for you to learn this lesson early.
Jia Qiu	…….
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Mu	What is it, little Baoyu?
Jia Baoyu	Uh...
Jia Baoyu	I... I must've been mistaken. I thought I saw someone watching me...
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F
Once the memory faded, Lin Daiyu stumbled before leaning on a wall.
Daiyu	What... was that? Visions... of the memories I never wished to see again...
Dante	<...?! Wait, she saw that, too...?>
Rodion	Did you just... did you just see that, too?
Daiyu	What... what kind of...
Faust	... Dante. Perhaps this is another feature of the previously discussed expansion of your abilities.
Dante	<... So does that mean I can show our Sinner's past... to non-Sinners, too?>
Dante	<And it's totally out of my control...?>
Faust	That possibility cannot be entirely dismissed, but it is unlikely that your abilities activate with no discernible pattern. There must be a condition that must first be met.
Sinclair	I wonder what that might be? Wang Zhao from earlier seemed unaffected by it...
Faust	... A possible connection can be drawn to the rising level of one's emotions. The visions, even when they activated for the Sinners, were brought on by certain emotional triggers.
Faust	In such a case... an individual who is a part of a powerful memory that causes the Sinner's emotional state to drastically spike could trigger a resonance effect.
Dante	<Hong Lu...?>
Hong Lu	Daiyu...
Hong Lu	I ended up leaving you all alone in Daguanyuan, in spite of your pleading.
Hong Lu	So, your resentment is justified.
Daiyu	…….
Daiyu	You know that's not what I wanted to hear.
Daiyu	Nothing. You refused to tell me anything about what happened here on that day, your only response a... smile.
Hong Lu	…….
Daiyu	... And I see that hasn't changed.
Hong Lu's only solace in those... unwilling visits to the laboratory...
... was that he got to spend time with Lin Daiyu.
Daiyu	After that day, you've wasted your days away, locking yourself within the bounds of Daguanyuan, never leaving its premises even once...
Daiyu	And when I inquired, you'd only make a sorry smile, not giving me an answer all the same...
Daiyu	Until one day, completely out of the blue, you said you'd be leaving Daguanyuan.
Daiyu	You... weren't the only one who lost those who were important to them in the annihilation of the Kong family.
Daiyu	... In fact—did you ever, truly care about anyone to begin with?
There was a silence. Her questions were sharp and thorned, but Hong Lu made no attempts at making excuses or denying her accusations.
Hong Lu	... You're right, Daiyu. You must've suffered so much worse than I have. So much so that I can't even begin to imagine it.
Hong Lu	But even if you were to learn of everything that happened... what will that knowledge do to heal your pain?
Hong Lu	All this suffering, all this joy, they're just... moments, bound to be lost in time. Trying to catch what is destined to slip away will only bring pain to your heart, nothing more.
Daiyu	I know.
Daiyu	But what I really couldn't bear was... It's— Just... Just what happened to you that—!
Daiyu	…….
Daiyu	Apologies. I must have lost myself for a moment.
Daiyu	It was... improper of me to show such emotion to a candidate who’s not my master or even a relative. Please excuse my impudence.
Gregor	So... I'm really sorry about having to bring this up in the middle of a serious discussion, but... don't you think we should probably get moving?
Faust	Enough time has passed. The walls... will begin invading this space soon.
Hong Lu	Daiyu...
Hong Lu	How about you come with us? Only if you'd like to, of course.
Hong Lu	At least until we run into big sis Baochai again.
Daiyu	Tossing me a pinch of pity?
Hong Lu	No. Because this place is too dangerous to be alone.
Daiyu	…….
Daiyu	If I travel with you, will I... see more of those bizarre visions?
Hong Lu	Well, I don't know... That was the manager's power, not mine...
Hong Lu	I'd like to recommend against going through more of these visions, but I won't stop you.
Daiyu	... Then, please excuse my intrusion.
Daiyu	I will try my utmost to not be a... burden to you.

Episode: 26
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F
Ishmael	... There's a suspicious looking door to the side. Should we check out what's inside?
Dante	<Hmm... Yeah, what should we do?>
Heathcliff	Your choice, self-appointed class president.
Heathcliff replied nonchalantly.
Ishmael	Well, alright...
Ishmael	Let's head right in, then.
Location: ???
???	…….
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F
Ishmael	…….
Dante	<…….>
Rodion	Y-yeah, smooth moves, Ishy. Let's just pretend none of that happened, turn around, and keep walking.
Outis	What happened?!
Ishmael	I-I don't—I just didn't expect that, you know...?
Dante	<So... does that mean that we can move on like nothing happened? Or is it a case of no-backsies—>
That's when the host's voice, after a long silence, suddenly began buzzing again.
Host	My, oh my... a certain candidate and his clan elected to bravely open a mysterious door... only to immediately slam it shut in fear! Right, so... I won't name names, on account of it being a rather embarrassing display of spinelessness, but hey. I'll give you guys a chance to rectify that!
Don Quixote	Heeugh! M-Manager Esquire! We must open the door once again, posthaste! An agile craven we shall be made, should we not act swiftly!
Don Quixote ran up to the door and began bouncing up and down with genuine panic.
Dante	<We did see something pretty ugly-looking in there, but...>
Dante	<It wasn't an Abnormality or a Distortion. I didn't feel anything like it around here, either.>
Rodion	I dunno, that almost makes it worse...
Ishmael	... It might seem like the host is there just to make some goofy commentary on us, but everything she's said so far has had at least one grain of truth to it.
Ishmael	Sigh... let's check out what's inside. We won't know what's waiting for us in there unless we actually face it.
Ishmael, now motivated to make up for her earlier blunder, confidently opened the door.
Location: ???
Meursault	The same type of coin we received at the beginning of the game is hanging from the entity's neck.
Another demonstration of Meursault's impeccable observation skills.
Sinclair	H-huh, you're right! Why is it wearing a coin...?
Gregor	Well, given the circumstances, we can probably gain that coin by kicking this monster to the curb, right?
???	We...
???	We... desire only to repent... An eternal repentance... We desire only to repent... An eternal repentance...
The thing endlessly repeats an unknowable mantra.
It sounded at once desperate and hopeless.
Hong Lu	They're certainly not abnormal beings.
Ishmael	...? Yeah, that's what Dante just said.
Hong Lu began as though he recognized them.
Hong Lu	They're... people.
Location: Evaluation Arena - Chamber of the Condemned 1F
Hong Lu	Hongyuan's condemned.
Daiyu	…….
The condemned howled madly as they charged us.

Episode: 27
Location: Evaluation Arena - Chamber of the Condemned 1F
With a simultaneous click, the coins hanging from the condemned's necks clattered to the ground.
Host	As many candidates must have realized by now...
Host	This game provides its contestants many, many ways to obtain those precious coins!
Host	You could gain them by completing battles in some special rooms, or— Aha! Another candidate has obtained some coins!
Despite the host's energetic voice, we couldn't help but be disturbed by what Hong Lu said.
Yi Sang	The condemned of Hongyuan...? What is the implication of that particular choice of denomination, Hong Lu?
Hong Lu	Years ago, the elders have told me of many, many old fables and legends.
Hong Lu	'Then... a rooster's crest is grafted over the visage, a goat's hooves move beneath the legs, and an eldtree's branches extend from the arms—thus closer Daguanyuan grows to boundless eternity.'
Yi Sang	…….
Yi Sang	... Experiments regarding expansion of the Bolus technology, is it?
Hong Lu	I haven't seen it myself, but I once heard that there is a laboratory beneath even the basements of Daguanyuan... built to research secretive and valuable Boluses.
Outis	And they... experimented on these prisoners.
Outis	It's not exactly a unique practice among Wings.
Daiyu	I believe that the smallest speck of greed lies at the origin of all misfortune.
Daiyu	I do not believe that the definition of immortality that Hongyuan originally sought is the same as the one they seek now.
Hong Lu	…….
Location: Kong Family Building, Past
Daiyu	What took you so long, big bro Baoyu?
Jia Baoyu	Sorry... Jia Mu's experiments went on for longer than planned.
???	That's so cool. I wanna see what they do in there, too.
???	No fair! Why are you the only who gets to go in there, bro? I’m a fast learner, too.
Jia Baoyu	I'm not... going in there to learn anything.
???	Then how come?
Jia Baoyu	I dunno. I'm...
Jia Baoyu	I'm just there to watch.
???	That's weird. It's not like you have to work for anything like we do to live a nice life, bro.
???	Maybe it's because you're the precious jade of our family?
Daiyu	Hey, Jia Huan! I told you to not say stuff like that, didn't I?! Wanna see what new moves I learned yesterday?!
Jia Huan	Wah, sorry... I won't do that again...
Daiyu	Anyways... Today, we're going to play a ball game!
Daiyu	Here's how it works. We're gonna start by kicking this ball at each other, and the one who lasts the longest without dropping the ball wins!
Jia Baoyu	What's the point of... playing a game like that...?
Daiyu	...? Because it's fun, duh.
Jia Huan	I wanna play a Bolus making game!
Jia Huan	Gather a bunch of sand, and pebbles, and leaves, and seed to make a Bolus, and the best Bolus wins!
Daiyu	No can do~
Daiyu	Remember, I'm from the Lin family, and you guys are from the Jia family. Children of these noble families shouldn't play a nerdy game like that.
Jia Huan	Big bro! Bro, wanna come play with us?
???	Oh, little Huan. I'm sorry. As much as I would like to join you in that very serious game of yours, I don't think she'll let me play.
???	Daiyu's going to give both you and me an earful about the rules if you drag me into the game. Isn't that right?
Daiyu	Jia Huan, you're trying to pull outta the game, aren't you?
Daiyu	Fine, fine. Let's play that Bolus-making game once we're done with the ball game.
Daiyu	And tomorrow, we'll play whatever big bro Baoyu's favorite game is. How's that for a plan, huh?
Jia Baoyu	I...
Jia Baoyu	I'm good with anything, really...
Daiyu	But what do you want? Here's some homework for you—when we meet tomorrow, you better have come up with something you like, okay?
Location: Hongyuan's Laboratory, Past
Kong Youjin	I understand that I may be letting the impatience get the better of me, but...
Kong Youjin	How... certain are you about the plan regarding the... thirteenth branch of the Heishou Pack?
Jia Mu	Have I ever let you down?
Jia Mu	Ultimately, a family's power comes from the Heishou they wield. Yet, ever since the olden days, there have been but twelve branches of them—which is what maintains this stalemate between the great families.
Jia Mu	Yes, the Heishou are the shadow of Daguanyuan, its most dexterous and capable limbs, yet... they have their failings. An immense physical cost follows their explosive strength.
Jia Mu	Even if you wield a Heishou Pack, it is difficult to expand their numbers, as their population is strictly controlled by the Heishou-Xianren of each branch.
Jia Mu	Indeed... no one could even attempt to create a new branch, for the Heishou-Xianren have concealed their unique Bolus recipes.
Jia Mu	Yet I am wise in the ways of Bolus-making, and armed with the Xianren's insight. With help from the Kong family, this is certainly a viable endeavor.
Jia Mu	The Kong family once led the forefront of the City's medical sciences with your bioengineering achievements, yet now... You must know that your family's place in the City is quite precarious.
Jia Mu	There have been developments for easier treatments, better modifications... superior Singularities are rising from all corners of the City; at first, they were only subjects of study and research, but through various applications, many of them are now entering the stages of mass commercialization.
Jia Mu	H Corp. will fall by the wayside if the current trend continues... and one day, it may even decline so far as to fall prey to a war of the Wings.
Jia Mu	Hongyuan hides many valuable secrets, as they are often passed down from generation to generation; certain areas within the territory even lead into the Ruins as well. Many Wings even consider us a treasure chest to be cracked open.
Jia Mu	For the City to fear Hongyuan, to fear the Kong family, you must wield absolute power. A power that... perhaps, a new branch of Heishou with mass-production capabilities could provide.
Kong Youjin	Would you... keep this a secret from my wife?
Kong Youjin	I would like for this experiment's success to be a happy surprise for her.
Kong Youjin	In truth, we received news from the doctors that we have managed to conceive a child...
Kong Youjin	Thus, if we were to coincide that event with our discovery of this new, auspicious path toward what was once considered an impossibility...
Kong Youjin	... would it not be a happy cause for all of Daguanyuan—no, Hongyuan to rejoice?
Kong Youjin	If you require any assistance, materials or people, simply say the word, and us Kong family shall provide.
Kong Youjin	So, shall we let this be a secret between you and me?
Jia Mu	Duly noted. I will prepare a special Bolus to celebrate the birth of a new life.
Jia Mu	…….
Jia Mu	This seems to be a good time to return home for the day, little Baoyu.
Jia Baoyu	Grandma... why do you look so happy today?
Jia Mu	The doltish fish has snagged the bait I have been preparing for a long time.
Jia Mu	My offer must have been far too tantalizing for them to simply let it pass.
Jia Mu	The Kong family's pretentious overconfidence remains a marker of their bloodline; they have done well hiding it underneath the veil of generosity. But one's nature cannot be overcome.
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Mu	Now, let us hurry.
Jia Mu	The revered Xianren await us.
Location: Evaluation Arena - Chamber of the Condemned 1F
Daiyu	…….
... Lin Daiyu had peered into the memory as well with the rest of us.
Daiyu	The ball game...
She fell into a brief, contemplative silence as she seemed to recall a long-forgotten memory.
Daiyu	I remember. You...
Daiyu	You won that game.
Daiyu	I remember it because it was the first time you ever beat me in a game of physicality.
Daiyu	I remember... being covered head to toe in sand...
Daiyu	I remember Jia Huan... whining about that little scratch on his hand...
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	So we did.
Hong Lu muttered as though he was talking about something that happened an eternity ago.
Daiyu shook her head, shaking herself from the reminiscence.
Daiyu	The thirteenth Heishou branch... what is it? This has to do with a taboo, doesn't it?
Hong Lu	Daiyu. Much time has passed since then, but...
Hong Lu	... no matter what question you ask me, no matter what reply I give... it will not be the answer you want.
Daiyu	That... is not up for you to decide.
Hong Lu	You will never find what you seek. So why even try to gain it, and for what?
Hong Lu	That is why I always replied that your questions were such meaningless inquiries. That is why I do no more than observe.
Daiyu	…….
Dante	<Hong Lu... are you okay with seeing all these memories?>
Hong Lu tilted his head to the side curiously, as though he couldn't understand why I'd ask such a question.
Hong Lu	Mm... I don't think it's a matter of whether I am okay with it or not. It just feels unfamiliar... it wasn't a memory I wanted to forget, nor was it a memory I wanted to recall, anyway.
Hong Lu	... The emotions I felt then feel so, so distant from me now.
Hong Lu	I feel like I'm looking down at them from somewhere so high up.
Hong Lu	So I don't know what to say to a question like 'are you okay'.
Hong Lu	Because I have nothing more to change.
Dante	<…….>
Yi Sang	It may be gathered that, from Hong Lu's memories...
Yi Sang	... it was Jia Mu who first made the suggestion of researching the thirteenth Heishou branch.
Meursault	However, it also appeared that the desire was mutually shared by the Kong family as well.
Ishmael	... Yeah, but it didn't seem like they were driven mad with greed like the plaque suggested. They certainly had ambition, I won't deny that, but still...
Sinclair	R-right? I know I only have this vague feeling to go on, but... it seemed that they really wished the best for Hongyuan.
Daiyu	What I have come to realize in my almost-thirty years of life in here is...
Daiyu	... that it is exceedingly rare to find a leader who is generous in both character and temper.
Daiyu	Most refuse to give anyone other than themselves a chance. Everyone's so blinded to everything but their immediate profit and interests.
Daiyu	But the people of the Kong family, at least the ones I remember... sought to give others a chance, at the very least.
Daiyu	It was only by their support that our Lin family, formerly so insignificant, could become a family of guards because they prioritized selection by merit, not by the nobility of their births.
Daiyu	But once the Kong family was eradicated, every family other than the four pillars lost any means of upward mobility.
Daiyu	So when I heard that they were... simply gone, all because they were blinded by greed, it felt as though...
Daiyu	... I was just a child then, but I vividly remember that crushing feeling.
Daiyu	It was devastation.
Daiyu	Because I no longer had any place to return to.
Gregor	Man... You've been dealt a heavy hand, huh. It must've been hard out here.
Regardless of these revelations, however, the Family Hierarch war was still ongoing.
So with Gregor's succinct words of consolation, we moved on from the area, away from the rising walls.

Episode: 28
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F - Lab Ruins
Ishmael	…….
Ishmael	There's someone here.
???	Nngh...
???	Dammit... had to run into a different candidate now, of all times...
Daiyu	... She's Qingshan of the Wang family.
Outis	You're hurt. Who did this?
Wang Qingshan	Jia Qiu... he... I barely escaped him...
Wang Qingshan	Why'd he have to come back...? Disappearing from Hongyuan like that after investigating the annihilation of the Kong family, I thought he’d never return... So why now...?
Wang Qingshan	He took almost all... of my coins.
Outis	Was he carrying... many?
Wang Qingshan	Yeah...
Wang Qingshan	To the point where he was running out of space to carry them...
Outis	That's not good...
Wang Qingshan	Jia Baoyu...
Wang Qingshan	We've sacrificed so much of ourselves... just for this day... just for the Family Hierarch war...
Wang Qingshan	Meanwhile, you could've continued to live large outside Hongyuan, so why? What are you even doing here—what more could you possibly want?!
Wang Qingshan	Please... please give me those coins, please.
Wang Qingshan	Come on, you don't even care about becoming the Hierarch... It's not like someone like you'd do anything with all that power...
Hong Lu	You're not wrong. But I'm sorry, I don't think I can give you my coins.
Heathcliff	That's it. Listen up, rich boy. If some sod thinks they're smart, prattlin' on about shite like that, you don't apologize to 'em, ever. You let a club like this do the talking instead.
Hong Lu	Using a club would only grow the resentment in her heart.
Heathcliff	... But it'll... at least it'll make you feel better.
Hong Lu	I never needed to feel better.
Heathcliff	…….
Wang Qingshan	Then... I swear, I'll use what remains of my clan... to take what is yours, Jia Baoyu. And seize my opportunity once again.
Wang Qingshan	Because I... I'm going to survive... no matter what.
Outis	If you insist on drinking that poisoned chalice, then we have no choice.
... Wang Qingshan stumbled to her trembling feet, weapon in hand.
Hong Lu	Okay~ If that's what you'd like to do.
Daiyu	…….
I beheld two different eyes. One of Hong Lu, who was willing to let the flow carry him away, and the other of Lin Daiyu, swirling with a kaleidoscope of emotions.

Episode: 29
Location: Evaluation Arena 1F - Lab Ruins
We took Wang Qingshan's remaining coins.
Ishmael	Well, that's not a lot of coins. But hey, it's still...
Wang Qingshan	If I fail here miserably... having accomplished nothing... they might kill me when I get home...
Wang Qingshan	I have to do something, anything... to be a proud sister to my little siblings...
Ishmael	Come on, let's leave her and keep moving. It's not like getting eliminated is an instant death sentence.
Wang Qingshan	You... you don't understand, Jia Baoyu...
Wang Qingshan	You've done nothing but watch all your life... as this fight defined our entire lives...
Hong Lu	No, I don't understand.
Hong Lu	And I never will.
Without a reply, she shambled out to the hallways, weeping.
Ishmael	... So all that passivity and talk about not getting angry wasn't because you're a nice guy, huh.
Ishmael	You're more difficult than I thought, Hong Lu.
Hong Lu	Mm, am I?
Sinclair	It's getting more and more likely that we'll be running into the other candidates as the space around us shrinks.
Ishmael	Yeah. And another thing—it's getting clearer every second that the biggest threat to us now continues to be...
Yi Sang	... Jia Qiu...
Sinclair	Let's hope we never run into that guy...
Host	Ohhhh~ So that's it, huh? We have our twelfth elimination!
Gregor	Yeah... then all the mediocre candidates must've been eliminated by now. The remaining ones gotta be a tough bunch.
Gregor	Anyways... there certainly are a lot of posters around the lab here.
Gregor	They were gonna present the research to the public, huh?
Hong Lu	Yes, they were.
Gregor	Puff... Typical. I guess researchers just can't help showing off their achievements, huh.
Heathcliff	Well, too bad the Sweepers 'n the Claws tore through everything. Even the posters— Hang on a minute. Why are these posters untouched?
Faust	... They did not destroy the posters.
Faust	Once they are put to task, they are extremely thorough with erasing any evidence of the taboo ever having existed. But the fact that these posters remain...
Faust	... would lead to the conclusion that the experiment advertised on these posters is an entirely different one from the experiment that broke the taboo.
Sinclair	What?! Then how...?
Faust	Simple.
Faust	This experiment is unrelated to the annihilation of the Kong family.
Ishmael	Then this Jia Mu must've prepared an entirely separate experiment using the Kong family's support. With an escape plan just for herself, too.
Daiyu	... I remember those posters...
Daiyu	And how excited everyone was the closer we got to the presentation.
Daiyu	Boluses made by the Kong family always performed beyond everyone's expectations, after all.
Location: Hongyuan's Laboratory, Past
H Corp. Researcher	Venerable Jia Mu, may I ask why you continue to bring young master Baoyu to this place?
H Corp. Researcher	I don't think he's even old enough to understand what these experiments are for. Not to mention it must be quite troublesome for you.
Jia Mu	You ask a question with an obvious answer.
Jia Mu	This experiment will define the destiny of Hongyuan itself.
Jia Mu	It is only right that the jade of Daguanyuan is here to witness such a great undertaking.
H Corp. Researcher	... I see.
H Corp. Researcher	Huh, now that I'm looking at young master Baoyu...
H Corp. Researcher	He's not much of a smiler, is he?
H Corp. Researcher	He'd look much better with a smile on his face. He's the precious jade of the family, after all.
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Mu	His existence itself is precious—this jade shall shine when the time is right.
Jia Mu	In the meantime, draw your focus entirely to the experiment.
H Corp. Researcher	Right, I see what you mean. Not this experiment, but the experiment.
H Corp. Researcher	That reminds me that we really don't have much time.
H Corp. Researcher	They say that every clan under the Kong family is quite excited about the announcement.
Jia Mu	Yes, indeed... The time is nigh.
Jia Mu	The time is nigh indeed.

Episode: 30
Host	Okay~ The end of the game is nigh!
Host	The stage shrinks once again! Looks like today's cardio day for everyone, huh?
Location: Evaluation Arena Interior B1
Host	It shrinks and shrinks... and now it has corralled the contestants a floor below, to the basements!
Host	Things are really going to get interesting from here on out, so don't take your eyes off the spectacle!
Gregor	This... this place looks even more deserted than the upstairs.
Ishmael	This looks like just another lab, but...
Ishmael	I wonder what they did down here?
Meursault	A notable difference is that there is nothing left in here.
Faust	That is a correct observation. This is where it must have begun.
Faust	Everything that was connected to the taboo.
Outis	The number of remaining candidates is still shrinking.
Outis	We need only collect the coins. Do not lose sight of our mission, no matter what.
Outis gave us a consistent and constant stream of encouragements as we moved from room to room.

Episode: 31
Location: B1 - Lab Ruins
We found more of the condemned of Hongyuan in this room, who were in a similar state as the ones above.
Draped around their necks were more coins.
Prisoner of Hongyuan	Forgive us... Forgive us... Forgive us... Forgive us...
Heathcliff	…….
Heathcliff	The bloody lunatics who came up with this shite... and the deviants who consume it... They're all fucked in the head. All of 'em.
Yi Sang	These poor people are all barely conscious.
Yi Sang	... Yet these terrible markings on the wall...
Yi Sang	... tell a tragic tale of those who desperately desired to escape here.
Heathcliff	Putting prisoners who've been experimented on like some pawns in a game—no, even experimenting on humans at all, it's—
Outis	—It's so very common in the City. We don't need to look very far, do we? The same thing happened at your manor.
Heathcliff	…….
Don Quixote	I... detest that we are behooved to purloin the coins by bringing them harm.
Don Quixote	They harbor us no ill will when they attack us, they are all merely...
Don Quixote did not finish her sentence, but we all knew what she wanted to say.
These prisoners are not monsters, Distortions, or even Abnormalities. They're...
They're just people. Exploited and experimented on by the great houses.
Don Quixote now knows that the world is not as black-and-white as she used to think. But...
Don Quixote	…….
... I doubt she could simply turn away from all this injustice without it leaving a bad taste in her mouth.
How could she, when the prisoners and we were all treated like nothing but entertainment...
... for the spectators watching us from so high up? When all of this was just to select the Family Hierarch?
Prisoner of Hongyuan	Forgive us... forgive us...

Episode: 32
Location: Hongyuan's Laboratory, Past
Prisoner of Hongyuan	Forgive us... forgive us...!
Prisoner of Hongyuan	I am... I'm scared, please...
Prisoner of Hongyuan	I am begging you, please... stop... no more...
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Baoyu	G-grandma...
Jia Baoyu	What... what is that sound? Why are they... why are these people crying? Why are they screaming?
Jia Mu	Little Baoyu. Let me tell you a story of the olden times.
Jia Mu	Many years ago, the Shi family used to reign over all of this land.
Jia Mu	Other families could hardly hold a candle to us, let alone meet us eye to eye.
Jia Mu	On days when my grandfather would grace Daguanyuan with his presence, no palanquins dared to move. And every servant in the house served him, and only him, exalting his very path.
Jia Mu	His words were absolute. He shaped the very landscape of Hongyuan with his every command.
Jia Mu	What a travesty it is that they dare to presume what they have afforded me is generosity and compassion.
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Mu	Now... How is subject #4 responding?
H Corp. Researcher	Hemoptysis and severe internal organ damage has been observed. Its skin layers are entering status #17 as well.
Jia Mu	Mix reagent #3 and #8 at a fifty-fifty ratio, dehydrate it for one Earthly Branch hour, and inject it into subject #2.
Jia Mu	Do not forget to shuffle the ingredient labels randomly before numbering them.
H Corp. Researcher	Understood, venerable Jia Mu.
H Corp. Researcher	An experiment to create the thirteenth branch of Heishou...
H Corp. Researcher	I can hardly wait to see the results.
Jia Mu	Now close the lids on all reagents.
Jia Mu	I will now undo the blindfolds.
Jia Mu	Open your eyes, little Baoyu.
Jia Baoyu	But...
Jia Baoyu	But they're crying, like they're in so much pain...
Jia Mu	Yes, they are. Which is why you must open your eyes.
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Baoyu	…!
Prisoner of Hongyuan	Forgive us...! Forgive us...!
Jia Baoyu	G-grandma, I'm scared...
Jia Baoyu	I don't wanna see this... You're... you're hurting them...
Jia Mu	Don't worry, little Baoyu, for they cannot bring you harm. They are things condemned to an eternity of pain. Whether you are afraid, whether you are sad, they will continue to suffer.
Jia Mu	So, you must continue to witness them, child. Be sure to get a good look at them all.
Jia Baoyu	But... I don't want to.
Jia Baoyu	I wanna go out to Daiyu... to Huan... and play.
Jia Mu	A gem is useful only when it sits and glimmers wordlessly in its place, nothing more—for that is the worth inhered in its existence.
Jia Mu	We will be visiting here more often from now on, so familiarize yourself.
Location: Yihongyuan Interior, Past
Xiren	Young master, did something happen? You look so pale!
Xiren	You said you were going kiting with Miss Daiyu and young master Jia Huan today, right? Did Miss Daiyu's kite snap your string?
Jia Baoyu	Xiren...
Jia Baoyu	I... I saw something so... horrible there.
Jia Baoyu	There were people... in pain... People... crying. They kept crying for help, but no one would help them, and they only hurt them more...
Xiren	What are you talking about, young master? What people, where?
Jia Baoyu	At the lab where... grandma brings me...
Xiren	I thought she was there to assist the Kong family with the creation of a new Bolus? Why would—
Jia Baoyu	I don't know... Said they're gonna make a new Heishou... But I didn't get to see any experiments because they put something over my eyes, and they made me watch people cry...
Xiren	... How could they.
Xiren	Young master, have you shared this with anyone else?
Jia Baoyu	Just you, Xiren... why?
Xiren	... Then you mustn't speak about this with anyone else. Do you understand?
Jia Baoyu	Why? But I'm so scared...
Jia Baoyu	I don't wanna go there anymore...
Xiren	Young master, I will see if there's anything I can do to help. Anything...
Xiren	So please, hold on just a little longer...
Location: Evaluation Arena Interior B1
Hong Lu	Thinking back to it now...
Hong Lu	I think Xiren was just as scared and lost as I was.
Hong Lu	I should have known then that telling her wouldn't have changed anything. Too bad I didn't.
Rodion	But Xiren now...
The Xiren in his memory was nothing like the Xiren we saw just a few hours ago.
Hong Lu called it... erosion.
Hong Lu	Xiren always worried so much about me. More than I did for myself.
Hong Lu	And when all the worry and anxiety became too much... I guess she decided to not feel anything at all.
Hong Lu	Because she would fit in much better in Daguanyuan as she is now.
Daiyu	…….
Daiyu	I... miss the old Xiren.
Daiyu	Though it seems that I am alone in that sentiment.
Outis	So the thirteenth Heishou...
Outis	... must have been Jia Mu's real experiment.
Hong Lu	... Yes.
Hong Lu	She told me that the other experiment was the part of her 'sleight of hand'.
Gregor	So she was crafting two different Boluses at once, huh...
Hong Lu	No one in Daguanyuan's as well-versed in crafting Boluses as grandmother is.
Daiyu	But recipes for Boluses used to create the Heishou are really complicated and well-guarded to the point where no outsider ever learns of their recipe.
Daiyu	Even with her expertise, even with the support of the Kong family, creating a new branch of the Heishou Pack was an entirely different matter.
Daiyu	This brings us to question whether... it really was a thirteenth branch of the Heishou Pack she wanted to create.

Episode: 33
Location: Evaluation Arena B1
We noticed a group of people approaching us from a distance.
Rodion	Hey, I hear coins jangling... Guess we're about to run into another candidate.
Gregor	What's that fella so livid about...? I can tell that his face is bright red all the way from over here.
Indeed, despite the distance between us and the candidate, we could hear his irate tirade against his clan echoing between the walls of the hallway.
???	Useless fool, cowardly dullard.
???	I could have gained more coins had you managed to last three more miserable seconds in that pot.
???	I... I...
???	I don't need to grab anymore... what use are my hands?
???	My head still sits above my shoulders, but why is it there?
???	He's gone completely mad. We're leaving him.
???	Actually, let's kill him before we move on. We can't risk this idiot blabbering all over the place about us...
Outis	You've let your guard down, whelp.
???	…!
???	Ha... And here I was, wondering who it could possibly be... It's you, Jia Baoyu.
Hong Lu	Been a while, Sijing.
Shi Sijing	It seems that your clan is entirely intact. No casualties yet, hmm?
Shi Sijing	That tells me that you still haven't cracked the code to gaining the most coins in this game.
Hong Lu	Hm, and what might that be?
Shi Sijing	Know when and where to deploy your tools. If there's a mysterious door, push 'em in first. If things don't go your way, use 'em to make your escape...
Shi Sijing	Now that's how you use your human resources. Haven't you read any books on the art of war?
Hong Lu	Oh, I see.
Shi Sijing	Well, I guess it makes sense that you're too soft to make sacrifices. Not used to it, huh? After spending your whole life stuck in your room enjoying that nice outdoor breeze, you've gotta be.
Hong Lu	It's the opposite, actually. I think I'm too used to it that I don't really want to do it again.
Shi Sijing	... You're just as much of an asshole as you were then.
Shi Sijing	Let's see if you'll still be spouting off that bullshit after I take all of your coins away.

Episode: 34
Location: Evaluation Arena B1
Rodion	Dang~ Now that's a big fish!
Rodion	Thanks for the coins, my guy~
Shi Sijing 다친	I... I refuse to let that bastard take my coins...
Shi Sijing 다친	I... I forfeit! I'm gonna forfeit!
Host	Aha~ A candidate from the Shi family has just announced that he will forfeit from the game!
Host	Oh, by the way—the number of coins he had at the time of his forfeiture will be reflected in his final ranking!
Rodion	What? What the heck, that wasn't a rule! You just made that up!
Ishmael	Looks like they're taking measures just in case the number of contestants drops under ten.
Outis	We should've knocked him out. Sly bastard.
Shi Sijing 다친	Father... Please forgive me... I should've done better than this...
Outis	Stop crying, you embarrassing milksop!
Hong Lu	…….
Location: Kong Family Building, Past
Daiyu	Ugh, you're embarrassing me, big brother!
Daiyu	Did you know that you've gone from sulking all day to looking like you're about to cry all the time?!
Daiyu	Just what happened to you?
Jia Huan	I know why he's like that.
Jia Baoyu	…!
Jia Baoyu	How... do you know?
Jia Huan	That's 'cuz big sis Daiyu kicked his butt in the archery game yesterday~
Jia Huan	So go easy on him today, big sis!
Daiyu	Nope~ Game's gotta be fair and square!
Jia Baoyu	I... I think I'm gonna go now. Grandma'll look for me.
Jia Huan	…….
Jia Huan	Must be nice.
Jia Huan	If I was in brother Baoyu's shoes, I woulda thought of it as a huge honor to be able to witness those super cool experiments myself.
Location: Hongyuan's Laboratory, Past
Jia Baoyu	Grandma...
Jia Baoyu	This experiment... is it really an experiment to create a new Heishou branch...?
Jia Mu	You're asking me a meaningful question for once.
Jia Baoyu	I heard that only the Heishou-Xianren knows the recipe to make the Bolus used to create their branch... and that they don't share that secret even with the Family Hierarch.
Jia Mu	Your suspicions are correct. Making a thirteenth branch of Heishou was... always a foregone failure.
Jia Mu	They could have figured that out themselves merely by patiently ruminating upon it for but a moment.
Jia Mu	Instead, they elected to give me their full trust. Though it was I who laid the trap, it was the festering greed in their hearts that made my lure irresistible to them.
Jia Mu	How utterly gormless of them. Did they truly believe that a task so grand as the creation of a new branch of the Heishou could be achieved so easily, without sacrifice?
Jia Baoyu	If it's all impossible, then... why...? What are you even... doing down here...?
Jia Mu	Little Baoyu, they are but pretenders. Nothing but dishonest charlatans who behave as though this purloined power they wield was gained by their own noble qualities.
Jia Mu	Hongyuan used to be... different. Not a place for those ilks to wield and shape as they see fit.
Jia Mu	If they refuse to relinquish it to its rightful lord, then I have no choice but to pry it from their hands.
Jia Baoyu	Grandma...
Jia Baoyu	I'm... scared. I can't... I don't want to watch anymore. Someone help, help me, anyone...
Jia Mu	Little Baoyu, you are a precious, peerless treasure, a necessary element of this sacred plan.
Jia Mu	Thus, it is imperative that you do not speak so lightly around the foolish masses of the secular world.
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Mu	That girl, Xiren, was always a smart one.
Jia Mu	But it seems that she was quite naive to the way this world works.
Jia Baoyu	Wha... what are you... what...
Jia Mu	Know that this was all for your own good.
Location: Yihongyuan Interior, Past
Xiren	Welcome back, young master.
Jia Baoyu	Xiren...!
Jia Baoyu	Oh, thank goodness. Grandma really worried me, she said...
Jia Baoyu	She said...
Xiren	Young master.
Jia Baoyu	... Xiren?
Jia Baoyu	Did something... happen to you?
Xiren	A Heishou visited me.
Xiren	I was beaten, for I did not know my place. My head was removed, for I did not know my place.
Jia Baoyu	What...? What are you saying?
Xiren	But with venerable Jia Mu's mercy, I was rebuilt. It is of no concern to you anymore.
Xiren	You are trembling. Would you like a cup of tea?
Jia Baoyu	Xiren... I'm... I'm... I'm scared... so scared... It never ends... it never ends...
Xiren	It cannot be helped, young master.
Jia Baoyu	Then... what should I do?
Xiren	Young master...
Xiren	The prudent option would be to witness it all in silence.
Jia Baoyu	…….
Xiren	Young master, it is time for you to visit the revered Xianren.
Xiren	Neatly comb your hair, and dress yourself in the most elegant outfit. Do not forget to carry yourself in a reverent manner.
Jia Baoyu	... Okay.
Location: Hongyuan's Laboratory, Past
Prisoner of Hongyuan	Forgive us, forgive us...
Prisoner of Hongyuan	I will never sin again... I will never covet the room of another again. I will never covet the food of another again. I will never covet the fortune of another again.
Location: Kong Family Building, Past
Daiyu	How many times are you going to make me ask you?! What! Happened?!
Daiyu	... Tell me.
Daiyu	If it's some sort of secret, then whisper it in my ear.
Jia Baoyu	... It's...
Jia Baoyu	It's... nothing. Dai...yu.
Jia Baoyu	The people, I...
Jia Baoyu	... I can still hear them fall...

Episode: 35
Location: Evaluation Arena B1
Daiyu	But...
Daiyu	But you still... should have told me...
Hong Lu	It wasn't just Xiren. People around me, they...
Hong Lu	... they all began to change.
Hong Lu	On the other hand, I found myself relieved that Xiren...
Hong Lu	... no longer worried about me.
Hong Lu	Sharing this with you would not have changed a thing.
Hong Lu	It would only have drawn grandmother's unseen shadows to you.
Hong Lu	They would have drawn the light from your eyes and smile from your lips...
Hong Lu	... and you would never have sparred with me again.
Daiyu	I...
Xue Pan	Yo, Baoyu!!!
The loud voice sounded so elated that it might as well have been ecstatic.
Dante	<…!>
Xue Pan	You're pretty good at hide-and-seek, huh?
Hong Lu	It's you, big brother Xue Pan. Have you been looking for me?
Xue Pan	Yep. And I'm gonna kill you before Baochai finds you!
Rodion	Hong Lu... you really know how to make friends, huh... ha ha...
Rodya muttered, clearly taken aback.
Hong Lu	But why were you looking for me? I don't even have that many coins on me.
Hong Lu replies with a smile.
Xue Pan	... Because it's you.
Xue Pan	Because you exist, Baoyu.
Xue Pan	Do you know how many brushes with death, some of them fatal, we had to suffer?! While you...
Xue Pan	... enjoyed a peaceful life with the favor of the elders? Just because you were born lucky?
Xue Pan	So why didn't you just take that privilege and fuck off to some other Nest out there, huh? Oh, wait. Are you here...
Xue Pan	... because you wanted a front-row seat to our struggles? Is that it?
Hong Lu	…….
Location: A Certain Day at Daguanyuan
Xue Pan 어린	Baoyu, please. Please just ask the venerable Jia Mu if it's possible.
Xue Pan 어린	Please... I’m your friend. We used to play together. Me, you, and Baochai. Don’t you remember?
Xue Pan 어린	Or, or if that won't do, then ask your revered Xianren. Can't you ask them for just a little favor...?
Jia Baoyu	…….
Xue Pan 어린	Please, I'm begging you. I don't want to fight anyone.
Xue Pan 어린	I just want to live a quiet life like you do. I just want some semblance of a peaceful life, that's all I ask...
Jia Baoyu	There... isn't anything I can do for you.
Xue Pan 어린	I'm pleading here, Baoyu...
Jia Baoyu	Go away, big brother.
Jia Baoyu	You know how this place gets... dangerous when the shadows take over.
Location: Evaluation Arena B1
Xue Pan	Feel free to keep up that nice guy charade. Pretend to be a good person all you want.
Xue Pan	But know that I have seen your true, hideous face. You're just another messed-up Jia who doesn't give a shit about anyone else but yourself.
Xue Pan	And that's exactly what I can't stand about you. Acting like you're above us... like we're dirt under your feet... All the while pretending to be this noble... generous guy...
Xue Pan	I'm not just gonna disqualify you, Baoyu... I'm gonna cut your brain up so we'll never, ever have to suffer—
Hong Lu	Say, big brother Xue Pan.
Hong Lu	If having their favor could be considered 'lucky'... and if it was something I could have just given away...
Hong Lu	... then I wouldn't have hesitated to give it to you.
Hong Lu	It's just too bad that that's not possible.
Xue Pan	... What?
Xue Pan	I've gotten this close to death... no, I've already been decapitated three, four more times... I've lost count...
Xue Pan	You have no idea what I had to crawl through to even live. You think you can just—
Daiyu	…….
Xue Pan	... Lin Daiyu.
Xue Pan	Ha ha, what a fool you are, Jia Baoyu. Do you not know that her family is in service to ours?
Xue Pan	Baochai, that girl will lose all sense upon seeing Baoyu, so it falls to me to use you right.
Xue Pan	My mother saved you from the terrible fate of being thrown to the streets—it's about time you repaid that favor.
Xue Pan	You haven't even done much ever since our family picked you up, have you? Your standing's on thin ice here.
Xue Pan	Perform well in this Family Hierarch war, and I promise you fame and fortune for you and your family.
Daiyu	…….
Daiyu	What cannot be mine must remain out of my sight...
Daiyu	The people of Xue family have said as such many, many times.
Daiyu	But you must let go of what cannot be yours.
Daiyu	That is the only way to preserve your heart and endure Daguanyuan.
Xue Pan	You're absolutely ridiculous.
Xue Pan	A mere bodyguard in service of our family dares to lecture me about the nature of Daguanyuan?
Daiyu	No, I... know Daguanyuan better than you do.
Daiyu	So... let it be known that my advice comes from my heart.

Episode: 36
Location: Evaluation Arena B1
Xue Pan	Shit... shit...
Xue Pan	It... doesn't matter...
Xue Pan	Jia Qiu, that bastard...
Xue Pan	... he'll find you... to exact his vengeance for what happened to the Kong family...
Xue Pan	I know more than you think, Jia Baoyu...
Xue Pan	I know that the Kong family's annihilation... was the result of a devious machination...
Xue Pan	Daguanyuan bastards... never knowing when they've had enough...
Ryoshu	You talk too much.
Ryoshu	Just like any other loser.
Xue Pan	A loser...? I'm not— I'm not a loser...! I've never...
Xue Pan	Don't call me a—
Hong Lu	Daiyu...
Hong Lu	Why did you help us?
Daiyu	Because lady Baochai is my mistress, not young master Pan. Besides...
Daiyu	I wanted to prove to him that he was wrong.
Hong Lu	…….
Daiyu	Big brother Baoyu...
Daiyu	The Heishou are indeed hiding in every corner of Daguanyuan, but...
Daiyu	... not even they are omnipresent enough to know your every single word, your every action.
Daiyu	So how did Jia Mu come to know them with such detail?
Hong Lu	…….
Once again, Hong Lu did not reply.
Location: Hongyuan's Laboratory, Past
Jia Mu	This is a special Bolus of my own design.
Jia Mu	And it was made only thanks to your husband, who, in support of my endeavors, truly did not spare any expenses.
Jia Mu	He told me that this project was to be a surprise for you, so feign ignorance for now.
Kong Sihui	But... do I dare receive something so valuable...?
Jia Mu	I am giving it to you because it is valuable.
Jia Mu	Remember, that baby you carry is an important, precious child. More deserving of adoration than anyone else. The future of your Kong family.
Kong Sihui	Jia Mu... I want to show this child of mine... a changed Hongyuan.
Kong Sihui	Imagine, a Hongyuan where people like you can thrive, against all the odds that the world has pitted against them.
Jia Mu	... The karma of your actions shall shape the child within your womb...
Jia Mu	So, see, hear, and claim only what is precious, and you shall beget a precious child.
Kong Sihui	If I could be just a bit greedier, I do hope my child would be born with even a fraction of your wisdom, venerable Jia Mu.
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Baoyu	…….
Baoyu, our little Baoyu, the gem of our family...
Welcome, little Baoyu.
We have waited long for your arrival.
Location: Hongyuan's Laboratory, Past
H Corp. Researcher	Venerable Jia Mu...
H Corp. Researcher	We have... but a month left.
Jia Mu	And we are making steady progress.
Jia Mu	The results will be as intended.
H Corp. Researcher	Of course, I don't have an iota of doubt in that.
H Corp. Researcher	But...
H Corp. Researcher	Please forgive me for what I am about to say, venerable Jia Mu. But I am starting to get the picture of your... plan.
H Corp. Researcher	I—
H Corp. Researcher	I... I saw the entire procedure, the whole recipe, from the beginning to the end, Jia Mu.
H Corp. Researcher	You know what that means.
Jia Mu	Have you forgotten that Daguanyuan stands firmly behind us?
Jia Mu	Your loyalty to me is loyalty to Daguanyuan itself; do you truly believe that I, its Family Hierarch, shall abandon a loyal follower such as you?
H Corp. Researcher	But...
H Corp. Researcher	... Understood, Jia Mu...
Jia Mu	Hm. Her heart has already fallen to the seduction of fear.
Jia Mu	She shall not be long.
Jia Baoyu	Grandma...
Jia Baoyu	I'm... I'm your most precious... treasure, right?
Jia Mu	You are, little Baoyu.
Jia Baoyu	Then... tell me.
Jia Baoyu	What's going to happen here in a month?
Jia Mu	Baoyu, do you know which part of the body one must use to bring down the shameless and prideful, yet mighty family? Do you know what shall allow one to exact utter ruin, devastation, and humiliation to such a house?
Jia Mu	You use the Head.
Jia Mu	The plan carries a high risk, but the return shall be just as great. Once mobilized, the Head will be more thorough than anything in the world.
Location: Yihongyuan Interior, Past
Jia Baoyu	Xiren... what do I do now?
Xiren	…….
Jia Baoyu	... You're not even asking me what happened like you used to.
Xiren	Because nothing will change even if I were to ask you that, young master.
Jia Baoyu	Something so, so scary, so terrible's gonna happen soon...
Jia Baoyu	What... should I do?
Xiren	There is no need for one to question the rights and wrongs of the many things that occur here.
Xiren	Would you like some tea, young master?
Jia Baoyu	I…

Episode: 37
Location: Evaluation Arena B1
Host	Alrighty, the game space is still shrinking!
Host	Let's see how the candidates are doing.
Host	The leading contestant at this moment is Jia Qiu of the Jia family, practically vacuuming up the other contestants' coins.
Daiyu	Jia Mu...
Daiyu	... summoned the Head here?
Daiyu	But... how...?
Ishmael	Hold on. Do you hear that? It's coming from that passageway over there.
Xue Baochai	Like I said... there isn't much time left!
Xue Baochai	Are you willing to take the responsibility if Baoyu gets hurt because you decided to dally here?!
Xue Family Footsoldier	Lady Baochai, please calm yourself... It seems that young master Pan's been eliminated as well, so we must conserve our strength for now... We definitely cannot afford to run into Jia Qiu with our current force...!
Xue Baochai	No! I have to see with my own eyes that Baoyu is okay. Losing Daiyu earlier was bad enough...
Xue Family Footsoldier	Oh, if you're talking about what happened earlier, we've lost five others on our end other than Daiyu—
Xue Baochai	That's different!
Daiyu	…….
Daiyu	Miss Baochai.
Xue Baochai	…….
Xue Baochai	Daiyu...
Xue Baochai	... and...
Xue Baochai	Baoyu!
Xue Baochai	So you were the ones that ran into big brother Pan earlier! Phewie, you really worried me, Baoyu.
Rodion	But uh... hey, Mr. Xue isn't doing so hot, you know...? I think he's got a gnarly case of... not breathing...
Outis	Merely the consequences of running his mouth where he shouldn't.
Xue Baochai	Don't worry~ We're not so easy to kill.
Xue Baochai	But maybe they'll use a different treatment method on him this time. Hopefully they'll edit him to be more obedient to mother's commands this time around~
Xue Baochai	I guess everyone's different to a degree, and big brother Pan's not as easily tamed as others, you know?
Sinclair	I... uh, I see.
Xue Baochai	Are you unhurt, Baoyu?
Hong Lu	Yep, I'm okay.
Xue Baochai	Phew... that's a relief. But...
Xue Baochai's expression suddenly turned somewhat sour.
Xue Baochai	... what's Daiyu doing there with you?
Daiyu	... Please, miss Baochai. This is a misunderstanding.
Daiyu	He merely found me, lost, and has decided to generously help me out of here. There isn't anything more to this.
Xue Baochai	Did you run into many other candidates?
Daiyu	Yes. But, as luck would have it, I have been able to keep myself safe thus far.
Xue Baochai	…….
Xue Baochai	Hey, Baoyu...
Xue Baochai	How about we finish the game right here, right now?
Xue Baochai	If you're bound by some monetary contract, I can take care of that for you.
Xue Baochai	And that offer extends to everyone else in your clan, too. Everyone, if you're here on a contract, I'll add three zeroes to however much they're paying you to back out of the game.
Rodion	W-we're...
Rodion	We're not bound by stuff like... money...
Gregor	Oh c'mon, really? You're gonna let that shake you here, now?
Judging by the way she gulped and hesitated, it seemed to have taken a significant amount of effort for her to refuse this offer.
Hong Lu	Big sister Baochai.
Hong Lu	May I ask why you would suggest something like that?
Xue Baochai	Do you have any idea what's happening up ahead?
Xue Baochai	Jia Qiu, he's up there...
Xue Baochai	Beating the crap out of everyone regardless of what family they're from.
Xue Baochai	Three candidates charged at him at the same time, and he still wiped the floor with all of them without breaking a sweat!
Xue Baochai	The stage is going to continue to shrink, which means you'll inevitably run into big brother Jia... Qiu.
Xue Baochai	Oh, right. There's big brother Huan, too—he won't go down easy, either.
Hong Lu	... He won't.
Xue Baochai	…….
Xue Baochai	Baoyu. Do you recall what you said to me when you found me crying?
Location: Somewhere, Sometime in Daguanyuan
Befined Servant	Miss... please.
Befined Servant	We will buy you a new bird from the market. One with the prettiest voice, with the most beautiful feathers.
Xue Baochai	But I... I want the same bird I kept in my cage... That's the bird I liked...
Jia Baoyu	…….
Befined Servant	Ah, young master Baoyu?
Xue Baochai	Baoyu? What's the most precious gem of Daguanyuan, the prized jewel of Jia Mu, doing here?
Jia Baoyu	... You're angry.
Xue Baochai	I'm not angry. I'm just sad.
Xue Baochai	The bird I cared a lot for flew away when I opened its cage to refill its water bowl...
Jia Baoyu	Don't worry. When the apricot flowers bloom again next year, it will recall its scent...
Jia Baoyu	... and return here to relive the memories of the blossoms.
Xue Baochai	…….
Jia Baoyu	So, there is no need to be irate about such things. It will be a waste of your pleasant fragrance.
Location: Evaluation Arena B1
Xue Baochai	Then you smiled, your jewel-like eye glimmering.
Xue Baochai	I used to think you were a brooding, frail man, but... there was something about what you said that I really liked.
Hong Lu	…….
Xue Baochai	Baoyu, remember how Jia Mu and my mother agreed that we would be wed should you return to Daguanyuan?
Xue Baochai	So, I've gone through the trouble of preparing your room ahead of time. I look into that room every single day, dreaming of the Daguanyuan for the both of us.
Xue Baochai	Let me show you the things I have done to the place later. Only wonderful things are going to happen to us as long as you're with me.
Xue Baochai	So let's go back.
Hong Lu	... Sorry.
Hong Lu	I still have a promise to keep.
Xue Baochai	Can't you just... leave something like that behind?
Xue Baochai	A gem like you deserves to be placed where it may glimmer most incandescently, right?
Hong Lu	I...
Heathcliff	Oi, you're... are you getting married?
The exchange must've reminded him of Catherine.
Heathcliff looked at Hong Lu, Xue Baochai, then at Lin Daiyu before falling silent.
Wang Dawei	A mantis that stalks a cicada must practice caution... (螳螂捕蟬)
Wang Dawei	... so that they do not become prey to a siskin. (黃雀在后)
Wang Dawei	What an appropriate aphorism for your present state, isn't it?
Heathcliff	Ugh... who is it this time?!
Wang Dawei	A candidate on the wiser end of the intelligence spectrum, seeking to find profit amidst the chaos. My name is Wang Dawei.
Wang Dawei	The most important elements of this Family Hierarch war were intelligence and the formulation of strategic alliances.
Wang Dawei	Thus I, Wang Dawei, have allied with another, formerly prospective candidate who, while he could not partake due to certain personal tragedies...
Wang Dawei	... remains most passionate about the war all the same.
Shi Yihua	Kneel and kowtow before me, peasants!
Shi Yihua	For I... return to grace you with my presence!
Ishmael	Seriously... this asshole again? After all that?
Outis	Just how many times must we teach you this lesson, whelp?!
Shi Yihua	Ha ha! What lesson?! Whatever. I've never felt better than I do today!
Wang Dawei	We have made a few adjustments to the usual, more popular method of life insurance using our Wang family's secret recipe.
Wang Dawei	By the way, this Bolus hasn't been released to the mass market just yet; thus, it is my honor to demonstrate its various functionalities before you all.
Sinclair	Just who... is he talking to...?
Don Quixote	The camera, perchance...
Host	Wonderful~ What a sudden, interesting turn of events! The crowd is going wild!
Host	Oho!? It seems that the candidate has managed to impress one of the audience members enough! A blessing from the audience!
Host	Here's a special reward for you. A chance to siphon a large portion of coins from another candidate of your choice!
Host	Just say the candidate's name, and their coins are yours!
Wang Dawei	... Heh, then I'm taking Jia Qiu's—
Host	However, do keep in mind there’ll be nothing stopping the candidate from coming after you for taking their coins.
Wang Dawei	—relative, Jia Baoyu's Coins...
Ishmael	Wha... what?
Hong Lu	He sure is a fast thinker.
Host	Here's our man, Baoyu of the Jia family!
As soon as the host's announcement ended...
Hong Lu	Oops...
A portion of the coins hanging from Hong Lu's waist separated themselves from the bundle before clattering to the floor.
Gregor	Wha... how did that even happen?
Ishmael	N-no...! But we... we went through so much to find them...
Heathcliff	... Can't we just pick 'em back up, then?
Don Quixote	Forsooth, it shan't be an issue, provided that the dust on its surface is removed...
Don Quixote muttered, despondently watching as the coins rolled away.
Host	Aha, but these are special coins, as they are now considered rewards bestowed by the audience! Which means that they are no longer yours!
Host	Dusting and blowing on it won't do anything, sorry!
Wang Dawei	Heh heh... big brother Yihua, our work here is done. Let us proceed to the next—
Shi Yihua	Nonsense! My revengeance has just begun!
Wang Dawei	... Uh, no, we have other work to do here. Come on, let us move on.
Shi Yihua	No! NO! NOOO!
Shi Yihua	I won't budge a step away from here before I hold Jia Baoyu and Jia Qiu's heads in my hands!
Shi Yihua	Yes... mother'll forgive me... I just need to cut off big brother Qiu's head and bring it home...
Wang Dawei	... Did the Bolus make him even stupider? No, there's no way my Bolus could've done that...
Shi Yihua	Ahh... to be free from aging and death... what a euphoric concept it is!
Shi Yihua	Normal, ordinary humans like you can't even dream of one such realm...
Shi Yihua	Once I had the taste of that ascendant world, I realized that the throne of the Family Hierarch was an insignificant illusion all along.
Shi Yihua	You will pay me the respect that I am owed! For I have achieved immortality that you miserable insects have been crawling through mud and shit to find!

Episode: 38
Location: Evaluation Arena B1
Outis	Take cover, Executive Manager!
Wang Dawei	Guh...!
Sharp feathers began to fly in all directions, puncturing the walls and anyone caught in their range.
Host	Now, things are starting to get way more interesting. Everyone's in disarray, people are fighting, and chaos abounds! How about we add a pinch of arena shrinkage?
Heathcliff	I swear, that bloody git's gonna get it!
Xue Family Footsoldier	Miss Baochai... we must escape!
Xue Baochai	No way! I'm not leaving Baoyu to fend for himself!
Xue Baochai	... Daiyu! Lin Daiyu!
Xue Baochai	... You have to stick close to Baoyu, okay?
Xue Baochai	You have to keep him safe to the end, no matter what!
Daiyu	... Miss Baochai.
Leaving behind Xue Baochai as she and her Xue mercenaries drew Shi Yihua away...
... we barely managed to make it within the walls.

Episode: 39
Location: Evaluation Arena B1
Ishmael	We... lost so many coins... All those coins we collected...
Rodion	Saude's gonna kill us when she finds out about this...
Daiyu	When the Family Hierarch war is complete...
Daiyu	I suppose you shall return to Daguanyuan.
Hong Lu	Yes, I will. Once everything ends... I suppose that is what will happen.
Daiyu	Big brother Baoyu.
Daiyu	Do you... not want to return to Daguanyuan?
Hong Lu	Well... I've never given it much thought.
Daiyu	Did you not give it much thought when you left this place, too?
Daiyu	If you don't want to return, then... please express what lies in your heart. So...
Hong Lu	Daiyu.
Hong Lu	My one and only heart is long gone. I searched and searched, but it was nowhere to be found.
Hong Lu	So any expression of my heart has become devoid of meaning as well.
Location: Kong Family Building, Past
Obstinate Resident	What? What do you mean 'stay away', kid?
Obstinate Resident	Today's the day they're finally revealing venerable Jia Mu's new Bolus! This is what we've all been waiting for.
Jia Baoyu	Please... please listen to me just once. Just today, please?
Obstinate Resident	Is this kid serious? Everyone in the Kong family's scrambling to get the front-row seats to this presentation. You're not making any sense.
Obstinate Resident	I know you're the precious jade of Daguanyuan, but your request is simply too ridiculous.
Jia Baoyu	... I can't... I can't tell you why.
Curious Resident	Young master, I'm sorry, but we simply can't do that.
Curious Resident	I'm not talking about just us—Master Kong Youjin and Lady Kong Sihui have been waiting forever for this day. You've got no idea how excited they are.
Jia Huan	Whaat?
Jia Huan	But I'm super excited for today's announcement...
Jia Huan	It's gonna start in a few hours, y'know.
Jia Baoyu	... I know. So please...
Jia Baoyu	Please stay as far away as you can from the announcement.
Daiyu	... Okay, I will.
Jia Huan	A-are you serious, big sis Daiyu? The adults are gonna punish you big time if y-you're not there...
Jia Huan	You're from a bodyguard family, they're gonna—
Daiyu	Eh, it's okay. They'll starve me a few days, big deal.
Daiyu	Listen, Baoyu. I won't go, okay? So...
Daiyu	Stop sulking and smile.
Indifferent Servant	Young master Baoyu, venerable Jia Mu summons you.
Location: Hongyuan's Laboratory, Past
Kong Youjin	We are quite excited about this occasion, Jia Mu.
Kong Youjin	Everyone in the Kong family has gathered here to witness this unveiling.
Jia Mu	I can confidently tell you one thing.
Jia Mu	Today will change the course of Kong family's history.
Jia Mu	Every soul in Hongyuan will never, ever forget this day.
Kong Sihui	What a generous and kind thing to say.
Kong Sihui	Ah... the child agrees, too. I can feel the soft kicking.
Jia Mu	I have done the honors of giving you the frontmost seat to the presentation.
Jia Mu	You will have the best view out of all to see how this Bolus, created all thanks to your virtuousness, changes the Kong family, Daguanyuan, and Hongyuan itself.
Jia Mu	Do you see? We have drawn such a large crowd today.
Jia Mu	Dolts of the Kong family, most of them.
Jia Mu	They must believe that this Bolus I am to announce today will ensure their family's future.
Jia Mu	However, the direction of causality is already set in stone, the cause and effect established, the line between those two points drawn. Inevitability awaits.
Jia Baoyu	Grandma...
Jia Baoyu	Let me out of here... please. Please let me leave.
Jia Mu	Little Baoyu, you must stand here and watch all of it.
Jia Mu	Do not blink.
Jia Mu	Ah...
Jia Mu	Our elders will deeply appreciate this act of devotion, this offering I dedicate to them.
Jia Mu	Now... plug your ears.
Announcement	Thank you, family members, affiliates, and friends of the Kong family.
Announcement	Today, we are gathered here to witness a groundbreaking Bolus...
Announcement	The kind that has never been attempted before in Hongyuan...
Announcement	... and shan't ever be attempted again.
Announcement	This Bolus shall bring us to the beginning of all things—a clean slate.
Announcement	This is a record of what shall never remain but will never be forgotten. To the Kong family and all its adherents, I wish nothing but the utmost, eternal glory… in the interminable Avīci Naraka.
First, immediately grind and add the ■■■■■ of ■■■■■■ ■■■■■■grass within ■ ■■■■■■■ of harvest from the ■■■■■■;
For ■■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■ ■■■■, at the ■■■■■ sight of ■■■■■■■■■, ■■■■■ it before incorporation, but it must be first infused with a ■■■■■■■'s ■■■■■■; as for ■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■, use the ashes of the ■■■■■■■■ dead that has experienced four seasons ■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■, but ■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■ must be used to mix the ingredients.
Then, add Whale oil extracted from the ■■■■■ Whale; as for the ■■■■-■■■■■ of a ■■■■■■■, it must first be drawn from the ■■■■■ without making a laceration, ■■■■■ ■■■ contact, and maintain the viscosity level above ■■■.
Prepare a ■■-■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ less than ■■ ■■■■ after production. Preserve it in a ■■■■■■ prior to pulverization, then inject it at a ■■■■■■■■■■■ equal to or below ■■ ■■■■■■■.
Announcement	One individual has consumed the Bolus produced with the above procedure.
Announcement	Repeating broadcast soon.
Curious Resident	Is this...? This sounds like a recipe for a Bolus, doesn't it?
Curious Resident	But why would they just randomly list off a recipe...?
Jia Baoyu	…!
Kong Sihui	Agh...!
Location: -1
Kong Sihui	My... my baby...!
???	…….
???	… … ….. … …
Obstinate Resident	…! …!!! …… ……!
Curious Resident	… …! ……? ………!
Kong Youjin	…….
Kong Youjin	…?
Jia Mu	Little Baoyu.
Location: Hongyuan's Laboratory, Past
Jia Mu	The City is a land of humans, and only humans; but do you know aught of the world beyond its hedges?
Jia Mu	I know not the recipe for this Bolus, but...
Jia Mu	I know those creatures.
Jia Mu	The Outskirts and the Ruins are populated by sapient, sentient beings. Those with intellect and emotions.
Jia Mu	And among them are the Cuckoospawn HumansNiaojia-ren (鳥鴶人), who possess a notably high level of fertility, reproductive abilities, with excessive potential for violence.
Jia Mu	Besides, the Heishou are...
Jia Mu	Fuhu, I must be quite rapt with joy to prattle on like this. Well, it isn't as if you have any knowledge on the subject.
Jia Mu	Even if you were wiser, what can you do?
Jia Mu	You, a thing that need only glimmer on like a precious jade.
Jia Mu	Thirteen minutes have passed.
Jia Mu	Let us leave now, little Baoyu.
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Mu	Thus the Kong family falls.
Jia Mu	My work here is complete—the rest is yours.
Location: Kong Family Building, Past
Jia Huan	... Help...
Jia Huan	Bro...ther... I'm... sorry... I should've listened... to you...
Jia Huan	But I was just so… envious… I just wanted to know… what they were gonna show here...
Jia Huan	Am I... Am I gonna... am I gonna die?
Jia Huan	… … …… …..!!!
Jia Mu	So the bastard son of the Jia family has also crawled in here, I see.
Jia Mu	It cannot be helped. He has caught the scent of his own slumbering greed, and could not stop himself from tasting what he coveted.
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Mu	I'm impressed that you managed to survive.
Obstinate Resident	Help... help me...
Jia Mu	Now that the cause is firmly established, the effect cannot be altered.
Jia Mu	Listen closely. Do you not hear the applause? It started soon after the presentation was complete.
Obstinate Resident	... Oh... I see...
Obstinate Resident	They're not just any monsters... they're not even humans, are they...? That Bolus creates... nonhumans...
Obstinate Resident	Then... they'll be here...
Jia Mu	The desire dreamt by Youjin of the Kong family was but an illusory lamplight, the bell that tolled your collective greed to the vast City.
Obstinate Resident	Ha... Ha ha...!
Jia Mu	Your defiance is meaningless.
Obstinate Resident	No, venerable Jia Mu. That's not what this is for...
Obstinate Resident	This... is the end...!
Jia Mu	At least her final act was wise.
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Mu	You needn't care for the remnants.
Jia Mu	For it shall all begin anew from a clean slate.
H Corp. Researcher	P-Please, spare me… I did everything you told me to...
???	Why are you trembling so much? Where’d the guts to betray your very own Nest go?
???	The Sweepers will arrive soon.
???	Wherever there is trash, they’ll always be on time to gather it up.
H Corp. Researcher	...! N… No… Please…
???	Ah, you have given me a most wonderful face, so listen well.
???	It is arrogance to believe that your mere words were what summoned the Head.
???	In there... a non-human was birthed. Even when the City must not suffer their existence, even when the City permits only humans to live—they were conceived nonetheless.
???	It has been many years since Hongyuan tasted the fresh birth of the beastmen from the Outskirts...
???	Your 'Heishou' borrows the biological qualities of the beastmen that live in the Outskirts.
???	In the olden cases, they were accidental; mistakes born out of ignorance.
???	But things were different today. The hands that conceived it were guided by a purpose.
???	She walked a very thin and translucent line for this scheme... She certainly knows how to use her head, doesn't she?
???	Indeed, it is... admirable in its own way, and... very human.
???	Human wailings, and inhuman wailings.
???	This discordance too... shall soon come to an end.
???	... Won't it? Yes, you. I know you're listening.
Jia Mu	…….
???	You needn't busy your feet to hasten from this place; I haven't the cause to cleanse either of you away.
???	Well... if you would rather hold your silence, then so be it.
???	Ah. My two best companions, silence and the metallic scent of black tea.
Jia Mu	…….
Jia Mu	That chair...
Jia Mu	It would be best left untouched for posterity to know what happened here today.
Jia Mu	As a remembrance to the Kongs' folly, their humiliation, and a warning against those who would hold the same covetousness.
Location: Yihongyuan Interior, Past
Jia Xichun	Big bro, what happened?
Jia Xichun	Why're you ignoring me today?
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Xichun	C'mon, what happened?
Jia Xichun	Big sis Daiyu was crying all day outside.
Jia Xichun	And she's been looking for you the whole time.
Jia Xichun	Xichun wanted to play with you and big sis Daiyu, but there wasn't anyone here, sooo... I missed you.
Jia Baoyu	…….
Location: Evaluation Arena B1
Faust	... This seems to be the first identified case of using the Head to annihilate a family.
It was a horrible memory.
The vision of the massacre, the screaming and crying of its victims... was partially blurred.
But Jia Mu's overpowering, domineering command, that he must continue to witness all of it...
... held Hong Lu's eye in place, unable to look away from the horror.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	I pleaded to every single person I could. That they should stay as far away as they could from this place.
Hong Lu	Some of them laughed it off, most of them got angry at me...
Hong Lu	But as you can see, nothing came of what I did then. My actions changed precisely nothing.
Daiyu	Something did change.
Daiyu	I survived, didn't I?
Hong Lu	But Daiyu, you hated yourself for being the only survivor.
Hong Lu	And you soon aimed that resentment, coiled so deeply and painfully, against me, didn't you?
Daiyu	…….
Hong Lu	It's not your fault. The flow of one's heart isn't something that can be stemmed.
Wordless tears streamed down Daiyu's cheeks.
Daiyu	I could tell you that I had no idea, or that it wasn't your fault... but it won't mean a thing now.
Daiyu	Had I never seen these memories myself, I... would have hated you for the rest of my life, without a clue as to what happened to you.
Hong Lu	You needn't cry.
Hong Lu	This story was never meant for you to know. So please, once you leave this place, let time wash this memory away.
Daiyu	But you... could have at least told me... a small fragment, the smallest hint, of what really happened.
Daiyu	This festering hatred, this sorrow I held against you for all those years were... were...
Hong Lu	It's okay, Daiyu.
Hong Lu	An errant gale came and blew our kites away, ending our game. That's all.
Hong Lu	Do not let the wandering winds pave these streams on your cheeks.

Episode: 40
Location: Evaluation Arena B2
Jia Xichun	Oh...
Jia Xichun	Dammit...
Jia Xichun	It had to be you, huh. I really hoped we'd never have to meet...
Rodion	Xichun...! Ya doing okay?!
Jia Xichun	Well, I'm... not dead.
Jia Xichun	But I'm almost out of coins, as you can see.
Wei	We were attacked by Jia Huan, who wiped out our clan's remaining forces.
Jia Xichun	I barely managed to protect what I had because there was no way I was letting him eliminate me, but... Well, given how the game's going, I guess I'll place somewhere within the top 5 merely by surviving this far in the shrinking arena.
Jia Xichun	Good enough to pick up some trinket from a random corner in the treasury. Isn't that right, brother?
Xichun almost let out a wry laugh, caught herself, then sighed deeply as she regarded us.
Jia Xichun	So what's happening here? You guys look rough. And... what's big sis Daiyu doing here...?
Jia Xichun asked, realizing the oddly downcast atmosphere surrounding our group.
Hong Lu	Oh. You don't need to mind that, Xichun.
Hong Lu	But if you want to come with, you could—
Jia Xichun	No.
Jia Xichun	Just leave me. If I'm to be eliminated, I'll at least face it head-on and accept it.
Wei	My lady...
Jia Xichun	Wei, the Family Hierarch war was a place to demonstrate what I have prepared so far.
Jia Xichun	This just means that I haven't prepared well enough.
Jia Xichun	It sucks, and it's frustrating, but... I have to accept the results.
Hong Lu	... I see. The game should end soon, since they said there aren't that many candidates left in the game.
Hong Lu	I'll see you outside. Stay safe.
Jia Xichun	…….
Jia Xichun	... Really? You're... just gonna let me go? Aren't you gonna take my coins?
Jia Xichun	You don't have nearly enough coins to—
Hong Lu	I'm in the same place as you are. It sucks, but we're going to try our best to the end.
Hong Lu	But I don't want to take what is yours.
Jia Xichun	…….
Jia Xichun	I don't know when it happened, but... I knew that you'd suddenly... changed.
Location: A Certain Day in Daguanyuan, Past
Jia Xichun	What... did you say?
Jia Baoyu	Yes, Xichun. If that is what you want...
Jia Baoyu	... feel free to hurt me, kill me just like our own siblings and children from other families have tried.
Jia Baoyu	I'm bound to leave Daguanyuan in a few years' time, so...
Jia Baoyu	... before that happens, maybe you can—
Jia Xichun	How... could you say something like that to me?
Jia Baoyu	I... Well, you know.
Jia Baoyu	I don't want to care about matters of life and death anymore.
Jia Xichun	You... never should have said that. To me.
Jia Xichun	... I won't be visiting you ever, ever again.
Jia Xichun	And I hope our paths never cross even after you depart Daguanyuan.
Location: Evaluation Arena B2
Jia Xichun	Those words haunted me every time I saw your face, brother.
Jia Xichun	You were smiling... like someone who'd already given up on everything.
Jia Xichun	But I guess I have no room to talk. I didn't even bother asking you what happened, I just...
Jia Xichun	... completely ignored and avoided you.
Jia Xichun	…….
Jia Xichun	I ran into big brother Qiu earlier.
Jia Xichun	I thought he was going to kill me, or take away what few coins I had, but...
Jia Xichun	... he just glanced at me before walking away.
Jia Xichun	Weird, right?
Jia Xichun	You... big brother Qiu... I have no idea what either of you want.
Wei	... You should keep moving.
Wei	Rest assured, I will protect my lady to my last dying breath.
Wei	I wish you good tidings until the end of the games.

Episode: 41
Location: Evaluation Arena B2
Host	We're really getting to the climax now.
Host	As I speak, two candidates have been consecutively eliminated!
Host	The Shi caved the Wang's head right in as soon as he lost his final coin. What a dramatic double-knockout finish!
Host	And in first place we still have... yes, Qiu of the Jia family!
Cool-headed Clan Member	There he is! Get 'im!
Anxious Clan Member	W-who's that? Isn't he from the Jia family...?
Cool-headed Clan Member	We'll never defeat Jia Qiu anyway. Let's at least take Jia Baoyu out!

Episode: 42
Location: Evaluation Arena B2
Gregor	Looks like everyone's getting more desperate. They're all cornered, just like us.
Ishmael	Dammit, it's not like they're gonna win a ton of coins by coming after us!
Outis	Our best course of action now would be to take advantage of this situation. They're saving us the time by coming at us with their coins.
Daiyu	…!
As we were descending and fighting off groups of enemies after enemies...
A loud bang of a firearm echoed from not too far across the hallway.
Dante	<…!>
Lin Daiyu, who leaped in front of Hong Lu, falls to the ground.
Daiyu	Agh...!
Gubo	Oh...
Gubo	She was certainly not my intended target; forgive me. I am still acclimatizing to the use of this 'E.G.O'.
Gubo	It's never easy to aim right.
Rodion	Daiyu, are ya... are ya alright? That's a pretty big wound...
Daiyu	I'm... alright...
Hong Lu	Daiyu... why?
Daiyu	Don't give me that look. It was just a force of habit.
Daiyu	Or have you already forgotten? I am from the Lin family, the family of bodyguards.
Hong Lu	My wounds can be rewound, Daiyu.
Hong Lu	Unlike yours... You knew this.
Daiyu	I can use Hongyuan's Life Insurance anyway if that's what you are concerned about.
Hong Lu	It won't work on someone who's been dead for too long.
Hong Lu	And I don't—
Hong Lu's eyes trembled briefly. My thoughts wandered to visions of Xiren's past, then to her present. Perhaps his did as well.
Daiyu	... Perhaps I thought I could make amends for even a small fraction of the years of resentment I harbored for you.
Daiyu	Besides, I don't want to see you in pain.
Gubo	This is quite strange.
Gubo	Would anyone in the know care to explain to me why this wound on a different candidate's clan is causing such a stir?
Gubo	Allow me to impart a word of advice. Do not be so hasty in forging fellowships.
Gubo	For you might come across a fellow whom you had trusted to be a comrade who would build a future together, only for them to flit away without a word.
Yi Sang	You will not speak with such impudence, Gubo.
Yi Sang	Our shared past is not to be a subject of your ridicule...!
Gubo	Of course... our recent exchanges tell me that you have learned to speak without letting the dirt on the ground draw the majority of your attention.
Gubo	But Yi Sang, I very much prefer your old self.
Gubo	Now you are much too... let's see. Yes, much too slick. I can tell from your complete lack of hesitation in coming to your new fellow's defense.
Gubo	So please, get out of my way. I do not wish to hit a wrong target again.
Jia Huan	There is no need, Gubo.
Jia Huan	Look at what hangs from my little brother's waist. There are barely any coins there. Now that's Baoyu, pride and joy of Daguanyuan, everyone.
Jia Huan	So you won't need to waste a bullet on that thing.
Jia Huan	It's simply embarrassing.
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Huan	You dishonor the Jia family with your pathetic performance. We Jia deserve to be the very best of the four houses.
Hong Lu	You talk as though you have already met every candidate from the Jia family, brother.
Jia Huan	Yes, you could say that. I made sure that Jia Xichun would be eliminated soon enough.
Jia Huan	A foolish pair they were, both master and her bodyguard. Not to mention the rest of her clan that may as well not exist.
Jia Huan	While others are giving the arms and legs of their followers to traps to scavenge as many coins as they can...
Jia Huan	... she stubbornly chooses the straightforward, honest, and boring path... A privilege not availed to someone who's so low on coins.
Jia Huan	I was about to break her skull to end her suffering once and for all, but... tsk, she managed to give me the slip.
Gregor	Not too interested in improving our horrible first impression, is he?
Gregor	Doesn't look like he's about to start a fight just yet, so let's administer some first aid for miss Daiyu here—
Ryoshu	No. No need.
Outis	…….
Outis	... The Heishou are here. That means...
Host	What a shame... the last remaining candidate of the Xue family is eliminated, but not before bringing such a dramatic defeat to the out-of-control Shi family candidate.
Host	Unfortunately, she wasted too much time in that fight and couldn't make it past the rising walls. If there are any clan members who have been separated from your candidate, please remain still where you are.
Host	You... will soon be collected according to the procedures.
Daiyu	So, miss Baochai has been eliminated.
Daiyu	... It seems that this is as far as I go.
Daiyu	Brief though this journey may have been, I am glad that we were able to resolve many misunderstandings.
Hong Lu	Daiyu...
Daiyu	I will... wish you safe passage.
Daiyu	So please, do return this time.
Host	The game is racing to its end!
Host	Let's try something unique this time to really enhance the experience, shall we? More immersion, more drama, more danger~!
Host	Something like... let's see. What if we corralled the top three candidates into the same room...?
Host	The candidates' placements seem pretty concrete now, don't they? But can we shake that up somehow, in the greatest turnabout of history?!
Host	Games with predictable endings~ can get pretty boring for our dearest spectators.
Dante	<Which means...?>
Host	Let's review the current rankings, shall we? First, Jia Qiu of the Jia family! Second, Jia Huan of the Jia family! Third, Jia... Baoyu of the Jia family!
Ishmael	... They're going to put us in the same room as them?
Host	Are we about to witness a turnabout? Is it even possible? Well, we'll find out soon enough!
Jia Huan	Haah...
Jia Huan	Now isn't this interesting.
Jia Huan	If you've made it to third place with those paltry coins, then... the first place must've really been hoarding all the coins for himself.
Jia Huan	Allow me to enter first, little brother. I'd loathe to display even the faintest semblance of amity with you.
Jia Huan	Although, I wouldn't mind if you would make a correct assessment of your limitations and drop out of the game now.
Gregor	... Turnabout?
Gregor	What even is the point of this 'turnabout'...? Isn't it just another way to make the show more interesting for the viewers to enjoy?
Ishmael	If we come in third place... considering that they're also likely shooting for the Golden Bough, we are almost guaranteed to lose our objective to them.
Ishmael	Okay...
Ishmael	So how the hell are we going to beat that Jia Qiu guy...?
Ishmael	Especially with Jia Huan breathing down our necks?
Hong Lu	But... we have no other choice, do we?
Hong Lu	If there's no way out, then our only path is inward.
Heathcliff	Oi, you sure about this?
Heathcliff	Both of 'em waiting for you in there, they...
Heathcliff	They...
Heathcliff trailed off.
Neither of them are even remotely fond of Hong Lu, so they are likely going to go all-out on trying to kill him. Heathcliff knew that.
Hong Lu	Big brother Qiu must be waiting for me in there.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	Brother Qiu... followed his father's last name, but he was pretty much a part of the Kong family. He survived only because he happened to be away on the day of the Kong family's ruin.
Hong Lu	He found out only after he returned. Both his mother from the Kong family and his father from the Jia family were killed in that bloodbath, and... he didn't even have a single, close relative left.
Hong Lu	What welcomed him upon his return were the empty ruins of this building, the silence of the Daguanyuan people, and the tale of the Kong family's disgraceful greed, and how it destroyed them.
Hong Lu	Some servants warned me that brother Qiu might come to take my life, as anyone could guess that I probably had something to do with that day.
Hong Lu	But he never came to find me. He simply left Daguanyuan, then Hongyuan.
Hong Lu	So... the fact that he has returned...
Hong Lu	... must be proof of his indefatigable determination and will.
Hong Lu	Of course, I wouldn't... know what that's like.

Episode: 43
Location: Final Room of the Family Hierarch Evaluation
Jia Qiu	…….
Jia Qiu was waiting for us, just as Hong Lu had predicted.
We couldn't tell how long he'd been waiting for us in here, as he didn't appear to be even remotely tired or angry.
He only regarded us in that same, collected silence we remember seeing from the day we first met.
Jia Huan	How nice of them to bring us all together.
Jia Huan	Isn't their intent quite obvious? Gathering all of us in here...
Jia Huan	... They're telling us to rid ourselves of the trouble of finding each other, and determine who comes first among us.
Jia Qiu	Still your insolent tongue, Jia Huan. You possess not even an inkling of the path ahead.
Jia Qiu	You have taken that name for a better purpose than to assume such a boorish display of vanity, have you not?
The tension was palpable. No one was going to make the first move.
There was Jia Huan, who's always been hostile toward Hong Lu and us.
Then there was Jia Qiu, whose innermost thoughts we couldn't hope to grasp... but most likely harbored much anger toward Hong Lu and carried the torch of vengeance for his family's destruction.
Ishmael	Look, there's... something written up there.
Ishmael whispered.
A question, written in large, red letters.
‘State the virtue of the Family Hierarch.’
Host	Now, we have the top three candidates all gathered in this room. Are we about to find out the winner of this game right here, right now, right in this room?
Host	So... with the gravity of this particular situation clearly communicated... let's try something completely different this time. Different, but most appropriate for the ceremony of selecting the next Hierarch of Hongyuan.
Host	Behold the wall and ponder the question! This is the time for our finalists to debate the very question at the core of the Family Hierarch Evaluation!
Jia Qiu	…….
Yi Sang	We are to... engage in a dialogue?
Jia Huan	Hilarious. Had enough of the bloodshed, then? Shall we end this game with a sophisticated little confabulation on the sanctimonious ‘virtues’ instead? Might as well put a bow on it, why don't you?
Host	If the opponent accepts your argument... perhaps you could indeed flex your rhetorical muscles and finish the second round with a parlay of words... But wouldn't you like to know what happens if you can't?
Host	It changes absolutely nothing! Simply return to what you've been doing for this entire event! Take or be taken! Grab as many coins as you can!
But all of this was but the host's 'suggestion', nothing more.
If either Jia Qiu or Jia Huan decides to just attack us anyway, we'd have no choice but to fight them.
Dante	<What now...?>
However, Jia Qiu...
... only wordlessly gazed up at the writings on the wall.
Hong Lu	What now, brothers?
Hong Lu asked casually.
I have to start thinking about every permutation of events that could happen this moment onward.
What if he decides to ally with Jia Huan to take us out? Wait, no. Someone like Jia Qiu might not even have to ally with anyone to destroy us.
Which means that, for us to come second, at least one of them must be eliminated.
Faust	There is a possibility that forfeiting the game now could result in us placing third.
Faust	However, what must also be considered is that, outside this room, there are other candidates who have collected a similar number of coins as we have; it is possible that there are additional coins to be collected, the sum of which may be greater than our current sum.
Faust	... A small variable, but a risk nonetheless.
Ishmael	... Yeah, but the biggest problem right now is that the only other clan that's aware of the Golden Bough... currently ranks higher than we do.
Outis	Not only are they aware of it, it's probably the whole reason they're participating in this game. At this point, they might as well have already obtained it if they were to forfeit now.
Outis	The ideal scenario would be for Jia Qiu to utterly destroy the N Corp. forces, take all of their coins, and eliminate them from the game. But...
Outis	Dammit, I can't strategize without knowing what he's thinking. He is impenetrable.
Outis, of all people, appeared completely stumped... This certainly does not bode well for our plan.
Gregor	That big fella... he's not much of a talker, and seems to be the kind of guy who prefers to destroy his way to success than to talk things out...
Jia Qiu	…….
Jia Qiu	They have given us a platform to parlay. Thus rightly parlay we shall.
Dante	<…!>
What Jia Qiu said was a surprise to all of us.
Jia Huan	Now that's unexpected. You're going to play along with this meaningless game, Jia Qiu?
Jia Huan	The long years spent away from Hongyuan must've been quite smooth-sailing for you.
Jia Qiu	There was loneliness and impecuniosity, but it was indeed smooth-sailing.
Jia Qiu	I was deprived of those who would stand with me, for I was wanting in the fortune with matters of people; thus, I sought out the new, embraced them, and learned much.
Jia Huan	I don't know just who you could've possibly met and learned from out there, but... your ambitions have certainly inflated.
Jia Huan	I met this Zhao of the Wang family on my way here...
Jia Huan	And he, whom we had all known to be quite clever, was sitting alone without coins, waiting for his elimination to be confirmed.
Jia Huan	And do you know what he said to me then?
Jia Huan	That he'd already given all of his coins to the one who should have them.
Jia Huan	That he'd already achieved 'his' victory in this game, as he'd already given his coins to the one who deserves them most before anyone who does not could claim them...
Jia Huan	I was tickled by that insolence, so I thought to separate his head from his torso... but the Heishou of this evaluation site leaped in to protect him.
Jia Huan	Jia Qiu, why would you seek the Wang family's alliance now, of all times?
Jia Qiu	Alliance? Quite the lofty phrasing for what that was.
Jia Qiu	I had merely discerned what he deemed to be good—and promised that I would make it so.
Jia Huan	What is good, huh...
Jia Huan	What could you possibly have, after having essentially severed yourself from Daguanyuan for years, to offer him that the Wang family doesn't already have?
Jia Huan	Fine, then... I'll play along with your game for now. If you have something to say, then say it.
Jia Huan gave Jia Qiu a sarcastic grin as he leaned against the wall.
Jia Qiu	To ask one to state the virtue of the Family Hierarch...
Jia Qiu	... is to ask one to state what it is that Hongyuan, soon to be under the lordship of the new Hierarch, needs the most.
Jia Qiu	I saw naught but two kinds of people as I was raised in this vast yet confined room they call Hongyuan.
Jia Qiu	Those who kill, and those who die.
Jia Qiu	To dissolve this vile distinction, to restore to the righteous path this land's trajectory of history, dyed crimson with the blood spilled in the name of our selfish avarice... we need these two virtues: humanity and propriety.
Jia Huan	Your words are utterly meaningless. Do you seriously think the people who clamber around every restructuring day to secure just enough room for them to live have any care left to give about either of your pretentious virtues?
Jia Huan	What Hongyuan needs is simple and pragmatic: the power to dominate and the administrative efficacy to wield it. Not to mention the ability to maintain the constant upward growth of technological innovation to keep up with the other Wings.
Unlike the other two who seemed to be more engaged in this debate than I'd expected...
... Hong Lu kept his aloof silence, as though none of that was of any interest to him.
This seemed to irk Jia Qiu, who turned to look at Hong Lu.
Jia Qiu	... Speak, Jia Baoyu.
Jia Qiu	Dare speak your mind—what does Hongyuan need?
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Huan	Don't treat him as though he's on the same scale on which we operate, Jia Qiu.
Jia Huan	He doesn't even know what he needs, let alone what Hongyuan needs. This is a waste of time.
Jia Huan	He does not even possess an ounce of ambition nor the heart to bloviate meaninglessly about his purposes.
Hong Lu	... Yes, brother Huan is right. How could someone like me even dream of participating in such a... grand discussion of great causes?
Jia Qiu	I will not formulate my judgment of you based on conclusions Jia Huan or anyone else in Hongyuan has drawn. They will be heard, indeed, but my Way is forged only by the answers that spring from my own deliberations.
Jia Qiu	Thus, Jia Baoyu—do not allow the judgment of others to guide your tongue.
Jia Qiu replies sternly. Hong Lu looks toward the ground, somewhat taken aback, before looking up at Jia Qiu.
Hong Lu	Would it not be much more... productive for you to tell us more of your thoughts, big brother?
Jia Huan	Hah... just listen to him.
Zilu	To reply to my lord's question with such a fatuous query signifies that he lacks the vision to perceive the grand picture.
Heathcliff	Oi... This ain't the kind of question you can just pop out an answer for, is it? Don't put 'im on the spot, give him some time to—!
Zilu	Do you still fail to realize which party among those present wields the sharpest blade?
Zilu	Shame that you do not understand the significance of the powerful choosing to engage in rhetoric over crushing others with sheer might in times of chaos...
Jia Qiu	That is enough, Zilu.
Jia Qiu	I ask you again. What virtue must the Hierarch possess? What does Hongyuan need the most?
... For a split second, Hong Lu's lips part.
Location: -1
Jia Baoyu	…….
Jia Qiu	…….
Location: Final Room of the Family Hierarch Evaluation
Hong Lu	I...
But they soon shut again, as though he was shaking himself from an illusion.
Hong Lu	Honestly, I have no idea what kind of answer you're looking for from me, brother.
Jia Qiu	…….
Jia Qiu	This was my first act of goodwill toward you… and quite possibly, the final opportunity I may be able to afford you.
Jia Qiu	Will you discard it regardless, blinded to its significance?
Hong Lu	Brother Qiu...
Hong Lu	You must be anticipating something from me.
Jia Qiu	Anticipation, is it...
Jia Qiu	An imprudent anticipation begets nothing but despair in the face of futility, leaving nothing but a hollow heart in its wake.
Jia Qiu	Even still... I have deigned to grant you my valuable time for that slim potentiality I once saw within you.
Jia Qiu	And by doing so, I risk delaying everything that I have prepared for a long, long time.
Jia Qiu	Yet... you still evade my every query.
Jia Qiu	To swallow one's words when it is their turn to speak is to hide them.
Jia Qiu	As you insist on stopping and veiling your thoughts, I am, perforce, compelled to act in a manner unbecoming of a noble man.
Jia Qiu	It seems that I must dabble in your methods today, Zilu.
Zilu	As you command, my lord.
Jia Qiu	I shall afford you neither the wherewithal nor the time to mask your ruminations.
Jia Qiu	Bring forth a real answer; do not let it languish behind your tongue.
Location: Final Room of the Family Hierarch Evaluation
Jia Qiu does not give us even a moment to catch our breath; the unrelenting storm of strikes pummels Hong Lu and the rest of us to the ground. But he doesn't seem even remotely winded by that effort.
But I could tell that this wasn't his full force; he wasn't looking to kill us here outright.
Jia Qiu awaits Hong Lu's answer...
... but it seemed that his patience was running low.
Jia Huan	If you're going to toy with them, why don't you at least hit them harder, hm?
Jia Huan	I would love to watch you tear his useless head from his torso.
Regardless of Jia Huan's snide remarks, Jia Qiu only looked down wordlessly at Hong Lu, who was still trying to catch his breath.
Jia Qiu	... You have no answers, still?
Hong Lu	I...
Hong Lu's eyes wander, like someone swimming through veils of time.
Hong Lu	What Hongyuan needs...
But the silence continues, letting the countless moments in time to pass by unseen.
Jia Huan	Don't pretend like you are ruminating upon some great secret of the world.
Jia Huan	None of this matters to you. Hongyuan, Hierarch... why should any of that matter when all you care about is but a singular thing?
Jia Huan	You want someone to end your life. To cut off your head.
Jia Huan	But oh, you don't even possess the courage to do the deed yourself, nor do you have the persistence to struggle on.
Jia Huan	Jia Baoyu... what is true greed, if not that?
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Yard, Past
???	... Why didn't you save him?
???	No, let me ask you a different question.
???	Why did you save her... and only her, Jia Baoyu?!
???	Lin Daiyu—she was also supposed to be there at the event. With the Kong family.
???	But instead, she alone was found hiding in some shed far, far from that building, wasn't she?
Jia Baoyu	…….
???	Jia Huan, he...
???	He always envied you. You knew that. You must've.
???	His future in Daguanyuan was more precious than anything you could've ever done, anything you ever could've been! More than this dull, meaningless life you cling to!
Jia Baoyu	Brother.
Jia Baoyu	Humans die. It's what they're born to do.
Jia Baoyu	It's naive to wish for an eternal blossom.
Jia Baoyu	Because everything that blooms is destined to wilt away.
???	…….
Location: Final Room of the Family Hierarch Evaluation
Hong Lu stops himself. The sudden reemergence of this memory has put his reply to sleep, still and silent.
And the familiar, aloof, and cloud-like words fill the vacuum.
Hong Lu	Even if an answer to your question exists, what meaning would it have?
Hong Lu	In our lives that are but sparks that go out in the blink of an eye, what meaning would all this suffering, happiness, pain, and sorrow have? They'll all float away with the flow anyway.
Hong Lu	So... if Hongyuan needs anything, I guess, it might need to find something like... contentment in poverty and the joy of having principles. (安貧樂道)
Hong Lu	To not desire more, nor to discard what is given to us... and instead, to simply and fully accept the present. That must be the remorseless path to true inner peace, right?
Jia Qiu	"Even in poverty-stricken lives, if one finds contentment with what is given to them, they will find inner peace," I see.
Jia Qiu	However, Jia Baoyu... I must doubt the truthfulness behind your words. For you... do not know poverty.
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Qiu	If you knew true poverty, you would also know that it is not something to be uttered so lightly with that insouciant smile of yours. None of us here in Daguanyuan, neither you nor I, deserve to discuss it in the manner with which you have.
Jia Qiu	Thus, I am compelled to believe that you are still yet to give me a real answer.
Rodion	... He's right.
Rodion	You want us to just accept what's given to us... that it just is what it is...? That's too wretched and pathetic for the poor.
Dante	<……. >
Shadow draws over Jia Qiu's expression as though he observes every hour that has been slipping through Hong Lu's fingers.
And he... remains patient. It seemed as though he was waiting for a reply he thought Hong Lu must rightly give.
Jia Qiu	I will ask again.
Jia Qiu	What does Hongyuan need?
Jia Qiu	What is it that its people need—those who are too busy dying, too busy living, too busy simply persisting, breathing?
Hong Lu	What Hongyuan needs is...
The silence has grown.
Location: Daguanyuan - Yihongyuan Yard, Past
Daiyu	You're leaving Daguanyuan?
Daiyu	After all those years... you keep your silence to the final moments of your departure.
Daiyu	Not even... a hint of an answer about that day.
Daiyu	…….
Daiyu	Why...
Daiyu	Why won't you stop smiling like that?
Daiyu	Oh... I see. You...
Daiyu	... buried it all.
Daiyu	Then I hope you'll never come back here again.
Daiyu	Because you have abandoned me. You've abandoned Daguanyuan and Hongyuan both.
Location: Final Room of the Family Hierarch Evaluation
Hong Lu's mouth opens and shuts, once again caging the words that ache to be let out.
And his lips once again assume the familiar arch.
The same, lonely smile that has seen far too many things they care about float away.
Hong Lu	Hongyuan needs...
Hong Lu	... a long life expectancy, fortune, and health in both body and spirit. (壽福康寧)
Hong Lu	Wouldn't it be nice to live a long, fortunate life, free from any inequities of the world from the beginning to the end of your existence?
Jia Qiu	You spew such hollow, worthless lies in place of the truth that you so nearly uttered.
Jia Qiu	Let it out. Your truth.
Jia Qiu	That is what I wish to hear.
Jia Qiu	To be content with what is given to us, and to live a long life unburdened by sickness and worry on account of inequities...
Jia Qiu	They may both be answers, indeed.
Jia Qiu	If they were, truly, replies risen from the fathoms of your heart, then I would have accepted them and thereby drawn my conclusions.
Jia Qiu	Yet...
Jia Qiu	I am yet to hear your answer.
Jia Qiu	That answer, hiding in the shadows of your hesitation.
Jia Qiu	The answer that you buried deep within.
Hong Lu	I...
Zilu	My lord, while there is effort, he is—
Jia Qiu	Withdraw now, Zilu. It seems that a brutal winter must come afore I am to estimate the green within him.
Jia Qiu	Reflect upon yourself! Exhume your humanity, your righteousness from deep within!

Episode: 44
Location: Final Room of the Family Hierarch Evaluation
Jia Huan	Haah...
Jia Huan lets out a frustrated sigh.
Jia Huan	This is unbearable. What an utterly vain exchange.
Jia Huan	As I said earlier, what Hongyuan needs is a realist at its helm who knows how to pursue the practical interests. How do none of you understand that there is nothing more, nothing less to it than that?
Jia Huan	Those who are so busy living and dying need their immediate and tangible interests to be fulfilled.
Jia Huan	It doesn't matter if they're just delusions or fantasies. All they need is for someone or something to enable them to visualize and witness their desires and dreams. That is all there is to it.
Yi Sang	…….
Don Quixote	That is...
Jia Qiu	... Not incorrect.
Jia Qiu	Yet Jia Huan, while your Way is sound in reason, it is hollow.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	Then, brother Qiu, would you say that you...
Hong Lu	... walk the Way of humanity and righteousness?
Jia Qiu	What did you see? What shape did my 'Way' take in your eyes?
Hong Lu	... I saw fervor. Burning.
Hong Lu	Like fire, melting many things away with its warmth.
Jia Qiu	Fire that melts.
Jia Qiu	So that is what you see.
Hong Lu	If you indeed walk the Way of humanity and righteousness... then what does it mean to be virtuous?
Jia Qiu	You have said it yourself.
Jia Qiu	Years of fell deeds have shaped the valleys that devoured men; people have accepted the broken, iniquitous establishment as reason, as part of immutable nature.
Jia Qiu	And in this malformed existence, the hearts of men were cooled and hardened. But benevolence—the true humanity, and righteousness, is what softens the calcified heart.
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Qiu	Daguanyuan demanded me silence.
Jia Qiu	Do not ask about that day, do not try to learn more of that day.
Jia Qiu	It was but the consequences of the forbidden avarice, pitiful yet deserved.
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Qiu	You weren't the only one who was forced to let everything float away, Jia Baoyu.
Jia Qiu	The difference is... that I never did let go.
Hong Lu	... But there was nothing.
Location: -1
Jia Baoyu	…….
Hong Lu	There was nothing but an infinite, bottomless darkness.
Location: Path to the Revered Xianren
Hong Lu	All I could think of was that I wanted someone to hold me and tell me that it was all going to be okay.
Hong Lu	The elders could be stern from time to time, but...
Hong Lu	... they cared for me more so than anyone else in Daguanyuan did.
Jia Mu	Enter now, little Baoyu.
Jia Mu	The revered Xianren await.
Hong Lu	I wanted to let it all out. All of it.
Hong Lu	Everything that I witnessed, but never should have been made to.
Hong Lu	The ecstatic screeching of the eldritch things, the echoing hatred of the dying and the dead... the wailing universe.
Hong Lu	Laughter. Shouting. Screaming. Then nothing.
Hong Lu	After today, nothing good will ever happen to me again.
Hong Lu	This is the moment that will wrest me from slumber every morning.
Hong Lu	And every night, it's going to drag me from sleep.
Hong Lu	So please... please comfort me.
Hong Lu	Tell me that everything's going to be okay. Tell me I don't have to be scared anymore.
Jia Baoyu	…….
The Elders	Welcome, little Baoyu.
The Elders	I have not watched anything as exhilarating as that sight in centuries.
The Elders	The beginning was the most enjoyable part. The one that pathetically clung to her life, scrambling away from the chaos in spite of his twisted ankle—oh, it truly is fascinating how a mere crawling human could be so engaging to watch.
The Elders	The entity from the Outskirts, conceived and born from the Kong mother's womb certainly reached adulthood swiftly—truly, it was a most magnificent sight. I'll not soon forget the glint of hunger in its eyes when the reproductive instincts kicked in.
The Elders	Did you see the contortion of the mother's face when she saw the creature burst from her womb? Madness took her swiftly.
The Elders	Indeed, and what a dramatic finale it was! To watch the Claws arrive just in time... They have exceeded our expectations indeed, leaving quite literally nothing behind. It was just as we had heard.
The Elders	A most heavenly offering, it was. We shall reminisce it to sustain our amusement for months to come with this rare gift of yours.
The Elders	Baoyu, oh dear little Baoyu... You...
The Elders	... are our family's peerless jade. Its shine is like a mirror and a window that reflects to us what lies beyond the iron threshold of the Tiekan Temple.
The Elders	Do persevere to cleanse and shine your light—ensure that its glint is unmarred by cloudiness.
Location: -1
Jia Baoyu	…….
Daiyu	What are you doing, big brother?
Daiyu	Come on, your kite's flying away, go catch it!
Jia Baoyu	... And do what?
Jia Baoyu	Let it float away to wherever the wind takes it.
Hong Lu	Over yonder, on a small field, I made a burial of flower-petals.
Hong Lu	I collected the petals and blossoms in my flower pouch and gave them a pretty burial.
Hong Lu	That way, even when they return to dust... they'll still be clean like they were never ever here... right?
Hong Lu	And now that I've buried them...
Hong Lu	... I found myself freed from this suffocating, endless flood of colors.
Hong Lu	Only then could I...
Hong Lu	smile.
Location: Final Room of the Family Hierarch Evaluation
Jia Qiu	Jia Baoyu. You have abandoned your Way in Daguanyuan.
Jia Qiu	But this Way of mine, learned beyond Daguanyuan's hedges...
Jia Qiu	... it taught me patience, gave me peace.
Jia Qiu	Desire bereft of humanity and righteousness begets only self-immolation.
Jia Qiu	Yet desire guided by adherence to the Way maintains its embers.
Jia Qiu	If fire does not rise to meet the darkness upon its descent, all roads shall converge on a path with nothing but nihility at its culmination.
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Qiu	So what lies within, Jia Baoyu?
Jia Qiu	What has slumbered, nestled within you all those years?
Hong Lu	I buried it all, brother...
Hong Lu	On the same day the peach blossoms whirled like in a gale.
Jia Qiu	…….
Jia Qiu	In the end, only I alone enter the crater.
Jia Qiu	Thus, I am the only one who may lift myself out of its depths.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	What Hongyuan needs...
Location: Hongyuan, Past
Jia Mu	Little Baoyu, you cannot save everyone.
Jia Baoyu	I know I can't save everyone. But...
Jia Baoyu	At least this one person who's about to fall, please...
Location: Final Room of the Family Hierarch Evaluation
Hong Lu	... is kindness.
Hong Lu	To be kind is to care about one another, to embrace those who suffer.
Hong Lu	It is to cry alongside a grieving friend. It is to join in laughter when they are elated with joy.
Hong Lu	It needs the warmth of kindness and gentleness.
Jia Qiu	…….
Jia Qiu	Your words...
Jia Qiu	... flow like a vast, winding river that wishes to bring all of existence into its gentle embrace.
Jia Qiu	Yet kindness alone, while it may illuminate those who surround you, will never be enough to embrace all those who need it.
Jia Qiu	Not to mention how unbecoming of the lord of Hongyuan it would be for him to weep and guffaw at such little, insignificant things.
Hong Lu	That's not true.
Hong Lu continues, his voice carrying more confidence than it did a moment ago.
Hong Lu	If people can see, feel, and share the same sorrow and joy they see in others...
Hong Lu	And if that moves them to hold one another, even if it's just one other person...
Hong Lu	... everyone can be moved to embrace someone, to share the warmth of a fellow human... even if I can't hope to hold them all by myself.
Jia Qiu	…….
Jia Qiu	That was quite the lacking answer, given all the time I have granted you.
Jia Qiu	But...
Jia Qiu	It suffices.
Jia Qiu	In nihility, everything becomes consumed by the monotonous, gray meaninglessness; but an empty canvas can be painted anew.
Jia Huan	Jia Qiu, you've been waiting and prodding this whole time for these... wishy-washy platitudes?
Jia Huan	I just don't understand.
Jia Huan	That idiot's drivel could not be further from what it means to rule.
Jia Huan	Kindness can't give people the satisfaction they desire. No kindness has ever saved any lives, nor did it ever fill a starving stomach.
Jia Huan	You can't change Hongyuan with such foolish flights of fancy.
Jia Qiu	Jia Huan, you need only walk the path of your own choosing.
Jia Qiu	But in this room, I shall pursue my own idea of true humanity with clarity, without a moment's hesitation.
Jia Huan	... What are you doing?
Jia Qiu	It means that I...
Jia Qiu	... will forfeit the Family Hierarch Evaluation.
Host	…!
Dante	<Wha-what?!>
There was a shocked, hushed gasp from the speakers.
Jia Huan	…….
Jia Qiu	Now, only Jia Baoyu and his clan must remain.
Jia Qiu	Should you choose to forgo the same choice that I am about to make, then prepare to spill much blood.
Jia Qiu	But it is not the throne of the Family Hierarch you have come here to seek, is it?
Jia Huan	... Hah!
Jia Huan	You know me well. My goal lies far beyond this insignificant squabble surrounding who becomes the next Hierarch of Hongyuan.
Jia Huan	But I don't appreciate being told what to do by someone who presumes he has some sort of control over me.
Jia Qiu	Beneath your mask of unscrupulousness and temperamentality, you are someone who pursues nothing but the extremes of reason and logic.
Jia Qiu	... And I believe your reason would lead you to forfeit here as well.
Jia Huan	You know something...?
Jia Huan	You're all disgusting hypocrites, the both of you! This stench of hypocrisy follows you both and haunts every meaninglessly convoluted word born from your deceit.
Jia Huan	... Gubo, we are leaving.
Jia Huan	I will forfeit the game as well.
Jia Huan	I've already collected more than enough of these stupid coins.
Hong Lu	... Brother Qiu?
Jia Qiu	You are like a tuft of cloud, floating high up in the heavens.
Jia Qiu	Yes, clouds do not bring suffering to trees, to earth, or to anything—it is not a force that tramples.
How bizarre.
Jia Qiu walks past us, making his way toward the exit of this room of his own accord.
Jia Qiu	But clouds cannot do more than that. To embrace a fellow human, as defined by the shape of humanity and righteousness you spoke of, you must walk the earth with your own two feet as a human yourself, not float by as a lofty tuft of cloud.
Jia Qiu	Mind this as you open your own path.
With that, Jia Qiu unfastened the rope from his waist and handed it over to Hong Lu.
A huge bundle of coins, several times greater than the sum of every coin we've collected so far, jangled heavily.
Ishmael	Wai-wait...! But why...?
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Qiu left the room without saying another word.
Host	…….
Host	Jia Qiu and Jia Huan of the Jia family have both been simultaneously eliminated from the game via forfeiture!
Rodion	... H-hold on, doesn't that put us in first place...?
Heathcliff	What's wrong with that? I'd much rather come in first than second.
Ishmael	That's not the problem! We're here to pick up that Golden Bough from the treasury, not seat Hong Lu in the throne of the Family Hierarch...!
As the Sinners were chaotically scrambling from this unthinkable turn of events...
Sinclair	Wait, there's someone out there who's still trying her damnedest to become the Family Hierarch.
Sinclair	And she still hasn't given up.
Host	Looks like we all have a pretty good picture of who's going to be our next Hierarch, huh? There's only ten minutes to go 'till the Evaluation is complete!
Dante	<…….>
Dante	<Hey, guys...>
Dante	<... Are you thinking what I'm thinking?>
Some time later...
Location: Daguanyuan - Aojingguan Banquet Hall
Jia Yuanchun	Thus the Family Hierarch Evaluation has come to an end. I extend my admiration and congratulations to every candidate and their clan for their exemplar participation in this event.
Jia Xichun	So... uhm... this is actually happening, right? Someone, tell me how this is actually happening.
Jia Yuanchun	I implore upon all those present to accept this sacred outcome with grace.
Jia Yuanchun	The victor will first descend to the Tiekan Temple and pay their respects to our revered elders. Then, upon returning to the surface, they will march to the first floor of Daguanyuan, and assume the seat of the Family Hierarch of Hongyuan.
Rodion	I'll be honest, we're all still trying to understand how we actually got here...
Jia Yuanchun	The following are the final results of this Family Hierarch Evaluation.
Jia Yuanchun	Third place: Huan of the Jia family.
Wei	My lady, please compose yourself... there are many eyes... you have a certain dignity to uphold—
Jia Yuanchun	Second place: Baoyu of the Jia family.
Yi Sang	... Have you an inkling of why he has done such a thing... Hong Lu?
Hong Lu	Um... no.
Hong Lu	I don't know.
Jia Xichun	What the hell are you guys all talking about...?
Gregor	Well... All's well that ends well, right...?
Jia Xichun	No, that's not... I don't... But why me—why would I...?
Jia Yuanchun	And first place, our next venerable Hierarch, and the final victor of the Family Hierarch Evaluation...
Jia Xichun	I'm...
Jia Yuanchun	Xichun of the Jia family.
Jia Xichun	I'm really the... next Hierarch?
The games ended with a hush, devoid of even the perfunctory applause to mark its closing.
Jia Xichun stood dumbfounded, still processing the situation.
And I still had no idea what Hong Lu was looking at.
That's how the Family Hierarch war... came to a close.

Episode: 45
Hong Lu	Let flourish from my back the pinions of flight,
Hong Lu	To chase the parting blossoms, their wilting voyage a sky-high plight.
Hong Lu	Ah, where at the edge of heaven does it lie, this flower-mound?
Hong Lu	I bury you today, for you have passed on
Hong Lu	But when will I be buried when I am gone?
Hong Lu	I bury the petals, under people’s mocking laughter
Hong Lu	But who shall be burying me then, in the thereafter?
Hong Lu	No one will cry at my burial-mound.
Hong Lu	For, as morning springs die and blossoms wilt
Hong Lu	They all float away and turn to silt.
Rodion	Alrighty, boys and gals! Grab your cups, on my mark~
Rodion	Ahem, long may Xichun reign, the Family Hierarch!
Location: Daguanyuan - Aojingguan Banquet Hall
Rodion	Long may she reign!
Once all the guests had taken their seats, the banquet hall became packed, crowded, and chaotic.
... Except for where we were sitting.
Yi Sang	... L-long may she reign!
Rodion	C'mon, guys~ Really? No one joined in on that cheer? We gotta celebrate the occasion! Stuff ourselves with gourmet food, play games, get wasted... How else are we gonna recharge for the next mission?
Yi Sang	Yet... I have...
Rodion	Ugh~ Oh, right. I wonder if Saude's written something to congratulate us?
Rodion	Heya, hey! Did anyone send us a letter or something?
Reticent Servant	...? We haven't even received any notes, let alone a letter...
Rodion	Tsk, rude. We're the team that came in second, ya know~?
Rodya grumbled. I wasn't sure whether it was this poor servant or the oddly silent Saude she was calling rude.
Lady Wang	Baoyu... are you hurt? Any scratches?
Hong Lu	No, I am unhurt.
Lady Wang	I was so anxious throughout the Evaluation... Just what errant fancy has taken hold of you to risk yourself in such a dangerous ordeal...?
Lady Wang	So... how did you get to the banquet hall?
Don Quixote	Aha! Thou wishest to hear our tale, then? Forsooth, were I to bestow a title upon this adventure, I would call it IN WHICH LIMBUS COMPANY CLAIMETH A MOST GLORIOUS HONOR OF ATTAINING THE RANKING OF THE RUNNER-UP IN A CONTEST OF MIGHT AND WIT! Now, worry thee not, for this tale shan't consume overmuch of thy time. To recount a few highlights of this adventure~
Don Quixote	One might call attention to the merciless march of walls closing in! Verily, some might even recall the interminable onslaught of rival candidates! Yet these triflings have all failed to smite us down, for... we! Are!
Lady Wang	... It seems that she has misunderstood my... question. My intent was to ask by which means of travel you have come here.
Hong Lu	Aha. We took a palanquin, mother.
Lady Wang	... I see. Then I suppose you are yet to have visited the revered Xianren?
Lady Wang	Shouldn't you... pay your visits to them first... don't you... think?
Lady Wang	They must be so anxiously waiting for you, to hear about you.
Hong Lu	Yes, I'll visit them soon.
Hong Lu	Though I don't believe they're exactly waiting to hear about me.
Lin Daiyu	So... you've come back safely.
Rodion	Daiyu~! You're okay!
Lin Daiyu	Yes, I've gotten much better.
Lin Daiyu	As luck would have it, the injury was not so severe as to require using the Life Insurance.
Lin Daiyu	So… what are the circumstances that led to you sitting here?
Don Quixote	Aha! If thou wishest to hear the tale in which— Ah, uh...
Don Quixote	Ahem... we were carried... by a palanquin.
Lin Daiyu	... Come again?
Gregor	Don Quixote, I think she's actually asking us how we managed to come in second place.
Don Quixote	... Aha, verily!?
Lin Daiyu	Yes, that was indeed my question. Please tell me what has transpired during the game, if you wouldn't mind.
Don Quixote	Then...?
Gregor	Yeah, yeah. Feel free to get the ball rolling.
Don Quixote	Muahaha, eheh... Then I shall do as thou askest! Ere embarking upon this tale, one must first explore...
Don Quixote	... how we were made to convene in the fated chamber along with Jia Qiu! ...And Jia Huan, that discourteous cur. Thereafter—
Location: Final Room of the Evaluation, Recent Past
Don Quixote	... the dialogues complete, Jia Qiu, all of a sudden...
Don Quixote	... departeth the chamber, taking his entire retinue alongside him! A most puzzling decision, wouldst thou not say?!
Heathcliff	Oi! Quit screamin' every bloody sentence in my ear!
Don Quixote	Ahem... thus... uhm... at the climactic finale...
... we were the only ones left in that room.
Alone with over one-hundred coins that Jia Qiu had left behind...
... as he and Jia Huan both suddenly elected to forfeit from the game.
Ishmael	W-well... what now?
At this strange turn of events, we all stood around aghast and dumbfounded.
Even Ishmael was stuttering, just as confounded and lost as anyone else was about what happened.
Ishmael	So... claiming these coins is going to shoot us up to the top of the leaderboard, right...?
Ishmael	B-but why...? Why'd he dump all these coins on us?
Heathcliff	Lass, you know this is the fifth time you've asked that exact same question, yeah?
Hong Lu	Hm... I don't have a clue, either. Brother Jia Qiu really is hard to read...
Yi Sang	I see that your expression has grown a touch brighter, Hong Lu.
Hong Lu	... Has it?
Yi Sang	Mm. Perhaps something has been unshackled from within.
Hong Lu	I just didn't think I'd ever say anything like that.
Location: Final Room of the Evaluation, Recent Past
Hong Lu	... is kindness.
Hong Lu	To be kind is to care about one another, to embrace those who suffer.
Hong Lu	It is to cry alongside a grieving friend. It is to join in laughter when they are elated with joy.
Hong Lu	It needs the warmth of kindness and gentleness.
Jia Qiu	…….
Jia Qiu	Your words...
Jia Qiu	... flow like a vast, winding river that wishes to bring all of existence into its gentle embrace.
Hong Lu	I thought...
Hong Lu	I thought I'd already let all of it flow past me a long, long time ago.
Hong Lu's expression had changed, just as Yi Sang observed. There was a degree of surprise shown toward something new, but... it was also the smile of someone whose burden had suddenly been lifted.
Gregor	Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that we'd find ourselves enough coins to come in second place, let alone first.
Sinclair	... Hey, that reminds me.
At that moment, I'm pretty sure we were all thinking of the same person.
Sinclair	Wait, there's someone out there who's still trying her damnedest to become the Family Hierarch.
Sinclair	And she still hasn't given up.
Location: Evaluation Arena B2, Recent Past
Jia Xichun	Gyah...! Huff, huff... Holy crap, I almost got pancaked...
Wei	Are you alright, my lady?
Jia Xichun	... The heck are you guys doing here?
Dante	<Hi, we've been looking for you.>
Jia Xichun	What... what? Somebody translate, please?
Jia Xichun	Why's everyone giving me that funny look?!
Some time later...
Jia Xichun	You're... just giving me all these coins?
Rodion	Totes~ We're cool now, right? No hard feelings?
Xichun and Wei couldn't appear more serious if they tried, despite Rodya's chummy attempts at breaking the ice.
Wei	…….
Jia Xichun	What… what the hell is this? Is this your way of showing pity? What kind of—
Hong Lu	Here’s what I think happened, Xichun.
Hong Lu	Brother Qiu isn't trying to seat me as the next Hierarch by giving me all these coins.
Hong Lu	I believe he gave them to me because he's anticipating that I'd put them to good use.
Hong Lu	So no, this isn't pity.
Hong Lu	I just feel like they'd find more use in your hands than in mine.
Jia Xichun	…….
Jia Xichun	Don’t... don’t you dare presume this’ll suddenly make us even.
Jia Xichun	You... owe me much, much more than this, brother. You owe me time.
Wei	... My lady expresses her nigh-unutterably fathomless gratitude.
Normally, Xichun would get irritated whenever Wei butted in, but she appeared to have grown calmer. Much calmer.
Jia Xichun	…….
Instead of lashing out with her usual exasperation, she only stared at the tall pile of coins with a quiet but conflicted look.
Jia Xichun	Funny.
Jia Xichun	Now that I’m looking at these piles of coins, it feels like…
Jia Xichun	It feels like I’m looking at all the rooms of Daguanyuan. I used to hate that sight so much as a kid…
Jia Xichun	... but I eventually grew out of that feeling. Stopped minding that scenery.
Jia Xichun	I guess that's when... I guess that's when I decided to leave Daguanyuan, too.
Jia Xichun	The Family Hierarch, huh...
Jia Xichun	Can I... can I really be a good Hierarch to Hongyuan?
Hong Lu	Yes, you can.
Jia Xichun	...There you go again. For once, think before you speak.
Hong Lu	Time to get up, Xichun.
Hong Lu	The Family Hierarch Evaluation will end soon.
Ishmael	… What are you doing, Heathcliff?
Heathcliff	Givin’ that camera the finger. What are they gonna do, disqualify me? Game’s over, you twits.
Don Quixote	Alas! With eyes shut, with my mind's focus sharply upon that image, the vision cometh to me! Oh, there cometh the roaring applause...!
There was no audience, no applause, nor dramatic stage lights to celebrate our success, but...
... we still managed to neatly and comfortably secure both first and second place nonetheless.
Which means that we managed to successfully complete our objective here at the Family Hierarch war.
Location: Daguanyuan - Aojingguan Banquet Hall
Gregor	... Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.
Gregor, who took the reins of Don Quixote’s epic retelling after she left mid-explanation to share her adventurous tales with the servants, finished the story.
Lin Daiyu	... I see. So it was Jia Qiu...
Sinclair	I'm still having some trouble understanding the choice he made. Why'd he just give it all away?
Lin Daiyu	Perhaps the part of Jia Qiu's past we witnessed...
Lin Daiyu	... and the life he lived beyond the hedges of Daguanyuan, of which we do not know...
Lin Daiyu	... have created this schism of understanding between us. The same kind of separation responsible for my misunderstanding.
Ishmael	I initially thought he was just some dangerous guy with a lot of hatred in him, but...
Ishmael	... there's definitely something else going on under the surface. It doesn't seem like he's here only to take revenge against Daguanyuan, either...
Sinclair	But... I doubt he never considered vengeance. I'm sure he's killed those who took his family away from him again and again in his head.
Sinclair	Maybe... maybe he still hasn't let go of it completely.
Sinclair	It must take a lot of effort to keep all of that simmering resentment under the surface.
Sinclair muttered in a placid, yet almost imperceptibly trembling voice.
Heathcliff	Yeah, I've got no clue what's goin' on in that bloke's mind, but...
Heathcliff	He didn't seem like the type to give up so easily.
Outis	I agree. We should continue to stay vigilant of his presence.
Rodion	Well, anyhoo!
Rodion	What really matters is that Xichun's gonna be the next Hierarch!
Rodion	And not only that, we came in second in the contest! Mission accomplished, huh?
It appeared to me that Rodya was already in a post-mission mode as though the Golden Bough was already in our hands.
Gregor	Ahem, so... I'm just saying, just in case you think we're already out of the woods...
Gregor	We should... probably cool it with these early celebrations until we actually accomplished the mission...
Rodion	Nah, no way... They wouldn’t boldly lie to our faces like that, would they?
Rodion	... I feel like I just jinxed it.
Sinclair	We were really down to the wire this time, to be fair.
Sinclair	And I'm not talking about just us—Xichun, too.
Heathcliff	Hah. That's why they say it ain't over 'til it's over, lad.
Heathcliff	Oi, I think this is a prime opportunity for you to head over to those pompous sods from earlier. Now's your chance to really take the piss out of 'em.
Hong Lu	Fuhu, I don't think that's necessary.
Not every candidate we ran into during the Hierarch war was here.
And those who were present were either quietly glaring down at their tables or pulling their hair out and muttering to themselves.
Rodion	Anyways~ Xichun! Congrats, you big shot Family Hierarch, you!
Rodion	How's it feel to achieve your lifelong dream? Ooh, what's the first thing ya wanna do, hm?
Gregor	I immediately clocked you as a special one when I saw you back at La Manchaland. We weren't half bad as partners, huh?
Yi Sang	Let Wei not be excluded from this round of acknowledgements, as he has contributed much in the service of Miss Xichun as well. Your unwavering determination was most inspiring.
Sinclair	Yeah, right? Never give up, always see things through to the end!
Don Quixote	Verily, verily!!! Thy sentiment rings most true! Thus share the tale of young Xichun and Limbus Company with the rest of the City shall I, so that every soul may one day learn of our adventure most stupendous! I shall personally see to it that every single Citizen hears of it!
Heathcliff	Doesn't have to be every soul, you know...
Ishmael	Well... I can't help but feel a smidge of pride after all that we've been through together.
Ishmael	So... um, well... congrats.
Even Ishmael joined in to impart a sheepish 'congrats'.
But...
Dante	<Guys... uh... >
Dante	<Xichun's not here... >
Sinners	…….
... it seemed that, in their excitement, they all failed to realize that Xichun herself was nowhere to be seen.
Hong Lu	Ah, Xichun’s left for the Iron Threshold Tiekan Temple(鐵檻寺) to have her ascension to the Hierarchdom confirmed by the elders.
Dante	<I see, thanks... Also, would you mind telling us stuff like that sooner...?>
Heathcliff	... Huh, hold on. I know that bloke...
Heathcliff rolled up his sleeves before striding full-speed toward someone.
Heathcliff	Oi, you there. Got anythin' clever to say to our faces now, smartarse?
Sinclair	Yeah, smart... guy?
Wang Zhao	…….
Wang Zhao	Nice to meet you again, and kudos for getting what you came here for. Is that what you wanted to hear?
Heathcliff	Heh, for all your boastin' about knowing who deserves how many coins and whatnot... look at us now. Guess who came first?
Wang Zhao	Well, my coins have circulated from hand to hand and landed in the hands of the one who truly deserved them.
Wang Zhao	Which clearly wasn't you guys, given that your team's just a runner-up.
Heathcliff	You little—
Wang Zhao	Let me tell you something as my final token of appreciation.
Wang Zhao	Stormclouds are gathering. And it'll be making landfall soon enough.
Ishmael	... Huh? What's that supposed to mean?
Wang Zhao	Try to enjoy the party while you can. In no time, you'll find out what everyone's been hiding in their hands.
His concerning reply put a pause on our celebrations. We then slowly observed and took in our surroundings.
People were talking, negotiating in serious, hushed voices. Some were constantly and anxiously running their hands through their hair...
We also noticed some servants running to whisper certain messages to their masters, who in turn jumped to their feet before hurriedly leaving the banquet.
... Looks like we're the only group of people who are even remotely enjoying anything.
Rodion	Sure, it's a banquet, but...
Rodion	Xichun, our Hierarch girl, isn't even here... everyone's acting all shifty and suspicious...
Rodion	This party sucks!
Rodya whined loudly...
... as she chewed on a shrimp with just as much gusto.
Lin Daiyu	I… I must express my regrets for this state of affairs.
Daiyu apologized as though she somehow felt responsible for this.
Lin Daiyu	Well, I... I do have some minor tricks of my own that could entertain you...
Lin Daiyu	I learned a lot of things as a child, blade dance being one of them...
Rodion	Ooh, for real? Let's see, let's see.
Ishmael	Hey, what the hell! We're here as guests, remember? Don't be a jerk...
???	Hey... Baoyu...

Episode: 46
Location: Daguanyuan - Aojingguan Banquet Hall
It was Xue Baochai who approached us so carefully.
Xue Baochai	I'm really glad you're safe. And... congrats on making it as the runner-up.
Her demeanor had completely shifted, her chipper attitude nowhere to be seen. Now, she was more anxious than anything as her eyes darted around nervously.
Xue Baochai	But I...
I hadn't known her for too long, but I knew that this wasn't like her.
Xue Baochai	... I know I'm not supposed to tell you this. Mother really pressured me to keep these things a secret. But...
Xue Baochai	But I couldn't just keep quiet about this, not with you.
Hong Lu	Okay, big sis Baochai. What is it?
Xue Baochai	It's, uh...
Her eyes glanced down to her restlessly fidgeting feet, then to Daiyu, then back to her feet.
It was a while before she could look at Hong Lu in his eyes again.
Xue Baochai	Baoyu...
Xue Baochai	Are you... You know, like mother and Jia Mu said... really going to come back to Daguanyuan and... become engaged to me?
Her eyes dart away as hastily as she wraps up her sentence.
Something tells me that this wasn't what she was really trying to tell Hong Lu. There was something that was left unsaid, like... she made a last-second swerve from what she was really about to say.
Lin Daiyu	…….
Hong Lu	Yes. If that's what everyone wants.
But there's no hesitation or fear of regret in Hong Lu's reply.
Xue Baochai	…….
Xue Baochai	…….
Xue Baochai	To be with you... It's... almost like you're back here for good.
Xue Baochai	... It's so pretty, isn't it?
Hong Lu	Yes, it is.
Xue Baochai	Remember...
Xue Baochai	Remember when you told me that I smelled fragrant, Baoyu?
Xue Baochai	You know, I couldn't stop repeating that to myself once I returned to my room.
Xue Baochai	Back then, I always made sure to shower myself with the most expensive perfumes and fragrances of Hongyuan...
Xue Baochai	... except that day, I didn't have the time to put on any of it.
Xue Baochai	So, I was in a hurry to return to my chamber. To the place where hundreds of bottles of rare, luxurious perfumes were waiting to shower me with their fragrances.
Xue Baochai	And that's when I ran into you.
Xue Baochai	…….
Xue Baochai	My mother... she sent assassins to kill you, didn't she?
Xue Baochai	Why didn't you say anything when you saw me?
Hong Lu	Big sis Baochai... many people have tried to hurt me, tried to lure me into a trap.
Hong Lu	I could've asked them why they'd say or do something like that. Or why they'd hurt me so.
Hong Lu	But even if I did, they wouldn't have told me why, and they wouldn't have treated me any differently had I asked.
Hong Lu	So I don't bother asking.
Xue Baochai	So I'm... just another one of them... to you.
Xue Baochai	No, actually. This isn't what I'm here to talk about.
Baochai smiled again. It was a forced, awkward smile.
Xue Baochai	Baoyu... you're the runner-up, right? The results are now locked in.
Xue Baochai	So...
Xue Baochai	... now might be a good time for you to leave Daguanyuan. No—you have to leave, right now.
Xue Baochai	I don't know what it is that you're looking to find in Daguanyuan's treasury, but you can just send someone from your clan to pick that up later, right?
Lin Daiyu	... Miss Baochai, what is the meaning of this?
Lin Daiyu	What is— Is something about to happen here?
Xue Baochai	I-I... I've got to go now.
Xue Baochai	Mother will realize what I'm doing if I'm gone for too long.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	There's a conspiracy to commit treason against Daguanyuan, isn't there?
Baochai was trying her damnedest to find an excuse to retreat from the conversation... until Hong Lu asked her this simple, yet piercing question.
She froze in place, her eyes widened—perhaps out of horror, perhaps out of panic.
Xue Baochai	I... I don't know all the details.
Xue Baochai	I just overheard mother and the other relatives talking.
Xue Baochai	Baoyu, if you stay here, you'll get caught in the crossfire.
Xue Baochai	So, so many forces are...
Her eyes restlessly darted left and right through the entire exchange, searching for any listening ears.
... Just what could have made her so afraid?
Hong Lu	I can tell you're terribly scared, big sister.
Hong Lu	But you've come to warn me anyway?
Xue Baochai	…….
Xue Baochai	I won't lie, your departure from Daguanyuan is so, so painful.
Xue Baochai	But the sheer thought that I could lose you forever is like being stabbed through the heart.
Ishmael	Xue... Baochai. I do appreciate that you thought to warn us ahead of time, but...
Ishmael	... you didn't actually tell us anything about how, when, or what the danger is.
Ishmael prodded with a grim voice.
Ishmael	You need to tell us what exactly this 'treason' entails.
Ishmael	Is someone planning to challenge the results of the Family Hierarch Evaluation? Is it a conspiracy to overturn or nullify the results?
Lin Daiyu	Well... excuse my intrusion in this discussion, but...
Lin Daiyu	... I believe that this is as much as Miss Baochai can realistically divulge regarding this matter.
Lin Daiyu	Leaking such family intelligence is already an act of treason against her own house. Outsiders may find this difficult to understand, but...
Lin Daiyu	... given the gravity of what she has already shared, you must understand that she has...
Lin Daiyu	... already told you more than she safely could.
Outis	Jia Huan... I don't see him here.
Gregor	That Jia Qiu guy's not here, either. Fellas, I'm getting a real bad feeling about this...
Faust	Given that you have specifically mentioned 'so many forces'...
Faust	... one could come to suspect that you are referring to the presence of forces foreign to Daguanyuan as well.
Faust asked in a low voice.
Xue Baochai	That's...
Jia Qiu	Yes.
Jia Qiu	This is now beyond what Daguanyuan alone can handle.
Lin Daiyu	...! When did he—!
Xue Baochai	... B...big brother Qiu...?
Baochai looked at us, then at Jia Qiu and his faction, then took a few stumbling steps backward.
Xue Baochai	I... I really have to leave now, Baoyu. I shouldn't be here anymore.
Lin Daiyu	Then... I must excuse myself as well alongside Miss Baochai.
Xue Baochai	Please... you have to stay safe.
Jia Qiu	Did she advise you to leave Daguanyuan with haste?
He did not look away from Hong Lu even as Baochai hurriedly walked away.
Gaze unshaken, interested in observing no one, nothing else but Hong Lu and his actions.
Dante	<…….>
I thought I had a lot of questions to ask Jia Qiu if we were to ever meet again.
But now that he's actually right here, I couldn't recall a single word of it.
Hong Lu	Do you... know something, brother?
Zigong	My lord—
Zigong tried to butt in, clearly perturbed, but Jia Qiu raised his hand and stopped her.
Jia Qiu	You must already be aware that this banquet is but a distraction from the fact that the currents have begun to shift.
Jia Qiu	Her advice is sound. It is also true that now is the only time you could escape this place ere the storm arrives, should you wish to save your lives.
Outis	... But I doubt you've come here just to confirm that for us.
Jia Qiu	Correct.
Zigong lets out a deep sigh before explaining with a defeated expression.
Zigong	Once a Family Hierarch properly ascends to the throne, it becomes a hopeless endeavor to measure when the next great shift in power shall come.
Zigong	One must remember that the prospect of a long wait for the next Evaluation, the end of which has not been and will not be in sight, ofttimes stains men's patience with lingering avarice and causes it to fester into possessiveness.
Zigong	Is it not the most predictable thing that these rotten, grasping hands are loath to lay down their arms and accept the results with grace? Would those hands not deem it much more favorable to seize and change the results by force?
Rodion	Yeah, we all know you read the thesaurus... So, basically, there's a truckload of dumbasses out there who're bent outta shape with how the Family Hierarch war turned out, right? And they wanna change the outcome by force?
Rodion	But our one and only Xichun's already been chosen as the Family Hierarch. Like, it's final.
Rodion	What happened to the Family Hierarch being the seat of absolute power here? What kinda treason can they even hope to commit if they aren't even willing to flip this old and tired system upside-down?
Zigong	…….
Zigong	The only things that have been determined are the rankings of the candidates; strictly speaking, we are still waiting for her appointment to be completed.
Rodion	... I'm not too fond of your word games, lady.
Ryoshu	Hah.
Ryoshu	So that's why I couldn't smell those beasts anymore.
Outis	... I see. I understand now.
Rodion	Outi—?
Outis	I don't even see a trace of them, even in a place as crowded as this.
Outis	The Heishou are gone.
Outis	Even the ones that have been following you like shadows.
Zigong	... The measure of might in Hongyuan lies in the number of Heishou Pack branches one wields.
Zigong	The Family Hierarch maintains control over at least three of those branches.
Zigong	Yet, who holds their leash when the throne of the Hierarch is vacant?
Rodion	So, like I said, Xichun's the—
Zigong	The gears of your mind are ponderous, slow things to turn, aren't they? Have I not already given you the answer, that her appointment is still underway?
Rodion	Huh...? But... Wait, then... who's the Family Hierarch now—
Outis	In the brief window between the former Hierarch's abdication and the new Hierarch's ascension... Hongyuan has no lord. Is that correct?
That's when I suddenly recalled what Jia Yuanchun said as she announced the results of the Family Hierarch war.
Location: Daguanyuan - Aojingguan Banquet Hall, Recent Past
Jia Yuanchun	The victor will first descend to the Tiekan Temple and pay their respects to our revered elders. Then, upon returning to the surface, they will march to the first floor of Daguanyuan, and assume the seat of the Family Hierarch of Hongyuan.
Location: Daguanyuan - Aojingguan Banquet Hall
Outis	Then... what of these masterless Heishou? What are they doing now?
Zigong	Nothing.
Zigong	And that is precisely what the present predicament revolves around.
Zigong	Look around you—do you see how the shadows have descended on every corner of this place? They're the beasts that have melded into the dark for their hushed respites.
Outis	So all Heishou branches are currently... neutral.
Rodion	Wait, wait. Then...
Rodion	... does that mean Daguanyuan becomes completely vulnerable every time this happens?
Zigong	... No. This would not have come to pass had a different individual been made to ascend.
Zigong	Jia Xichun, that girl has... no substantial foundation, a base, to call her own. What clan she did have prior to the Evaluation, scattered to nothingness like grains of sand in a gust.
Zigong	It is entirely reasonable to assume that, as long as the Hierarch-to-be is yet to gain control of her Heishou Pack branches, they have a good chance of overthrowing her.
Dante	<…!>
Zilu	My lord.
Zilu	The Whisper Office has arrived as well.
Jia Qiu	... I see.
Dante	<Things were way more dire than I'd thought...>
But what's Jia Qiu doing here chatting us up now, of all times?
Jia Qiu	Pay attention.
Jia Qiu	There are those who seek to enter here, and those who seek to stop them.
Location: -1
Jia Qiu	R Corp.'s 2nd Pack,
Jia Qiu	X Corp.'s Expedition Order of Excavators,
Jia Qiu	The Thumb's underboss, the accompanying Capo, his Soldatos, and their various subsidiaries.
Jia Qiu	Then there are the Jialan Guards(賈藍隊), the indigo guardians of the Jia family,
Jia Qiu	K Corp.'s Special Excision Unit,
Jia Qiu	N Corp.'s New League of Nine Littérateurs...
Jia Qiu	... and numerous other Fixers and clans.
Jia Qiu	And those are just the ones that I have been informed of.
Jia Qiu	Most of them are waiting, biding their time outside the walls of Daguanyuan, or are soon to arrive...
Jia Qiu	... but the Thumb's forces are already engaged in melee with my army.
Location: Daguanyuan - Aojingguan Banquet Hall
Jia Qiu	Some factions of the Wang family have joined the defenders, but it is uncertain how much longer they can hold out.
Zigong	And should the de facto leaders of each of the major families say the word, it is likely that R Corp., K Corp., and X Corp. may soon choose their own sides in this war.
Gregor	… What?
Outis	... Is that reliable intel? Why would they—
Jia Qiu	Many here believe that the title of the Family Hierarch is simply a different name for the lord of Hongyuan.
Jia Qiu	It is a belief that many forces beyond Hongyuan's walls share.
Ishmael	In other words...
Ishmael	This isn't just about Daguanyuan. There are forces from the other Nests and Districts seeking to sponsor a different, prospective Hierarch, to expand their sphere of influence here.
Zigong	... Correct.
...The cigarette slipped from Gregor’s fingers. Outis’s face darkened with a grimness I’d never seen in her before.
Don Quixote	Eight... nine... I-I have thus counted over nine different powerful factions among the ones thou hast mentioned...
This is... too much.
Zigong	As fortune would have it, only the Thumb has deemed it appropriate to act.
Zigong	But Lei Heng, the Capo of the Thumb, poses the greatest threat. He is one of the Ten Blades of the East, and... his might is formidable to any foe.
Ryoshu	Haah...
Jia Qiu	I shall meet him in battle, as planned.
Jia Qiu	He must be the one leading the charge against the gates.
Outis	If what you say here is true, then this is no mere treason within a Wing.
Outis hissed in a low, menacing voice.
Outis	Which family spearheads this treachery? How many Wings are backing them?
Jia Qiu	Nothing is certain at present. The tangle of allegiances and bloodlines is a knot that cannot be undone until the dust has settled.
Jia Qiu	It will only take a single, whistling arrow for chaos to engulf Hongyuan. The forces that have gathered here have drawn their bows, and the moment one of them lets loose... it will only be a matter of time before it becomes a full-scale war.
Jia Qiu	And when it does, the crack that has formed in the walls of Hongyuan will widen; vultures of the City will smell the rot and tear into the wound to pilfer the Boluses and their recipes.
Jia Qiu	The Smiling Faces, The Corpse Corps, the Yakshas...
Jia Qiu	I must also emphasize that the Ring will never let such an opportunity slip.
Yi Sang	This conflict will utterly lay waste to the lives of the common folk in Hongyuan... The fire has already conflagrated beyond a competition amongst candidates.
Jia Qiu	That is why this fissure must be mended ere it spreads. Should the throne of the Hierarch remain vacant, should this instability be prolonged, then...
Outis	... the Wings will march to war.
Gregor	... No, no way. I don't believe this, tsk.
Outis	The consequences will be about as far-reaching, at the very least.
Jia Qiu	... Such is the weight of Hongyuan's Family Hierarch.
Jia Qiu	It holds as much power to save countless lives as it does to take them.
...The banquet hall was quickly starting to become barren as people began to hurry away.
I don't have any direct memories of a Wing War, but... even I could feel the prickly goosebumps rising from my skin. The air in the hall was quickly turning razor sharp.
Hong Lu	Then... brother, what is it that you expect us to do?
Jia Qiu	I am of the belief that all of you are, collectively, the key to overcoming this tribulation.
Hong Lu	... The key?
Jia Qiu	Hurry her ascension to the throne.
Jia Qiu	Jia Xichun should still be at the Tiekan Temple where the Xianren reside, preparing for the ritual of ascension.
Jia Qiu	Given that the "Xianren" must be utterly oblivious to the circumstances outside their chamber, there is no way of knowing the time it might take for them to officially name her the next Hierarch.
Zigong	And they will not be swift, as entry to their chamber is permitted only to the Family Hierarch. There is no one to relay this message to them.
Jia Qiu	But there is another.
Jia Qiu	There is another who is permitted to enter the Temple.
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Qiu	Jia Baoyu.
Jia Qiu	When the Hierarch takes the throne, and seizes the leash of her rightful Heishou Packs...
Jia Qiu	... she should have more than enough might to ward Daguanyuan against the invaders.
Jia Qiu	And when the invading forces realize that the Family Hierarch has returned, they will retreat; the spark of war should shrink enough to be snuffed out with a stomp.
Zigong	My lord...
Zigong	I must beg your forgiveness, for there is still doubt in my heart.
Zigong	How can he... be the key?
Zigong	My lord, I know you not to be one to engage in such gambles...
Jia Qiu	It is better to gamble than to allow this opportunity to slip away in vain.
Zigong	Yet I must beg your forgiveness once again, for I insist that your mere presence here is a waste of time.
Zigong	You mustn't tarry downstream—we must rise to the fountainhead and cut off the stream from its origin...
Zigong looked at us and Jia Qiu anxiously.
Jia Qiu	You needn't consider this a waste.
Jia Qiu	For it is a worthy task in my eyes.
Zigong	... Had you followed the blueprint of the painting I had initially drawn for the Family Hierarch war...
Zigong	... we would have already arrived at Tiekan Temple via... 'alternative methods'.
Ishmael	Alternative... methods?
Jia Qiu	... Zigong. That would not have resolved anything; it would have only caused further loss, no more.
Jia Qiu	And I wish to make one thing clear.
Jia Qiu	That this is but an offer; a plea, not a command.
Jia Qiu	For one mustn't do what does not move their heart.
Jia Qiu	However, Jia Baoyu...
Jia Qiu	You may not have realized this, but...
Jia Qiu	... I have already gambled once with you as my hand during the Family Hierarch war.
Jia Qiu	I sought to draw your true humanity forth, to have you wear it on the outside.
Jia Qiu	And the reply you gave me then, the one that emerged from behind the obscuring veil of clouds, was proof enough that it was certainly no waste of my time.
Hong Lu	... Why do you seek to involve yourself in the politics of Hongyuan, brother?
Hong Lu	Neither Hongyuan nor Daguanyuan bind you any longer, not by cause or force.
Jia Qiu	... It was a long undertaking for me to uncover the truth of the ruin that came to the Kong family.
Jia Qiu	At first, my heart was engulfed in fiery wrath.
Jia Qiu	Daguanyuan had to be uprooted from the ground. For that, every single person of power or influence in Daguanyuan had to be killed, their throats slit in vengeance...
Jia Qiu	... Or so I thought, once.
Jia Qiu	But I learned, from a worthy teacher.
Jia Qiu	That is when... I realized this wrath was burning my body to ash.
Hong Lu	Then... did your fiery wrath... extinguish?
Jia Qiu	Had I truly attained enlightenment, found all there was to understand of the nature of this world, Jia Baoyu...
Jia Qiu	... then I would not have given you the power to elect the Hierarch.
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Qiu	I am still but a student, a seeker of the answer.
Jia Qiu	Yet... I do not wish to let chaos devour this land when I have the means to save it.
Jia Qiu	Thus, once again I ask you.
Jia Qiu	When you decided to relinquish the coins to Jia Xichun...
Jia Qiu	... what was it that moved your heart?
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Qiu	Certainly, your heart had changed enough then not to simply hand them over for the simple reason that she desired them.
Hong Lu	You must know this already, brother, but...
Hong Lu	The children of Daguanyuan have no such thing as birthdays, save for myself.
Hong Lu	When a child is born, they aren't celebrated—they are hidden, concealed for years in the dark, so that the competition wouldn't take notice of a new rival...
Hong Lu	Xichun was one of those children who had never experienced a birthday before. She didn't even know what it meant.
Hong Lu	So, when we were young... whenever grandmother would hold a banquet to celebrate the day of my birth...
Hong Lu	I dedicated that day to Xichun.
Hong Lu	Because it's nice to have your existence celebrated once every year, for no other reason than the fact that you exist.
Hong Lu	But when I stopped leaving my room... when Xichun and I grew distant... the secret birthday parties we shared also came to an end.
Hong Lu	She probably doesn't remember any of it now. She was too young then.
Hong Lu	But if I could gift this to her, to make up for all those lost years...
Hong Lu	... then I thought... maybe she would be happy again, just as she was then.
Location: Evaluation Arena B2, Recent Past
Jia Xichun	Now that I’m looking at these piles of coins, it feels like…
Jia Xichun	It feels like I’m looking at all the rooms of Daguanyuan. I used to hate that sight so much as a kid…
Jia Xichun	Can I... can I really be a good Hierarch to Hongyuan?
Location: -1
Did Xichun like the gift, as Hong Lu wanted her to?
... We had no way of knowing.
Location: Daguanyuan - Aojingguan Banquet Hall
Hong Lu	Does that answer satisfy you, brother?
Jia Qiu	It was not your answer that I had sought.
Jia Qiu	It was to see the way your heart stirs—and that was proof enough.
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Qiu	I had never met these 'Xianren', the self-proclaimed 'Enlightened Ones', before, as I was not permitted entry into Tiekan Temple. But I know of their existence.
Jia Qiu	And what I have come to learn in my observation of Hongyuan, and then the City itself, gave me certain ideas of what form the Hierarch ascension ritual might take.
Jia Qiu	... Had you not surrendered yourself, you could have deduced what the ritual entails.
Hong Lu	Are you saying that... something bad may happen to Xichun?
Jia Qiu	This may be a hasty speculation. From a certain perspective, this may simply constitute a rightful ascension of the new Hierarch.
Jia Qiu	But I want you to be there, to behold with your own eyes what it entails.
Jia Qiu	My wager in this gamble was that you indeed had the potential to achieve that purpose...
Jia Qiu	... and that the faint warmth in your heart I had once seen still gently burned.
Hong Lu	You... want me to achieve your purpose, brother?
Jia Qiu	No, your own purpose would not be the same as my own. Such a pursuit would be devoid of meaning.
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Qiu	The decision is yours.
Jia Qiu	So decide.

Episode: 47
Location: Daguanyuan - Aojingguan Banquet Hall
Jia Qiu and his forces left the banquet hall to assess the situation, leaving only me and the Sinners there.
Outis	Our only remaining task is to receive the Golden Bough that we are owed. That much is a given.
Outis	Retrieve it, and our mission here is done. We only need to wait for the LCA for extraction.
Outis	... None of you know, let alone understand what a war of the Wings is like. To rush out into these unknown waters is nothing short of imprudence. We must not entertain this idea.
Don Quixote	Alas, if our meager strength may be sufficient to prevent this war and save the lives of many innocents...
Don Quixote	... then... I wish to do as that man hath said.
Outis	No, it is in our best interest that we do not get involved.
Outis	Don Quixote, I will speak to you plainly, as I trust that you have regained some sense as to how this world works. War is not just another incident or a quest to be resolved. Your sense of justice may shine like a beacon in times of unrest, but...
Outis	... war... will crush and grind it into the dirt indiscriminately as it does any life caught under its bootheels.
Don Quixote	Lady Outis. I have also lived through my share of wars. Even still, Jia Qiu's path is that of justice—thus, he shall have my support.
Outis	How are you still so—!
Don Quixote	To fight for the pursuit of justice deserveth not thy scorn nor ridicule!
Don Quixote	'Tis no short-sighted tantrum—'tis but mine adherence to, and pursuit of, a certain responsibility of those who can!
Outis	…….
Gregor	Outis. I've also had my share of the war. So hopefully you'll let me put my two Ahns in.
Gregor	Battles and wars aren't the same thing, either... You can't see the crashing waves of intense emotions in battles when looking at it as a great flow of war.
Gregor	But all that built-up heat is what becomes a flow, not the other way around. It never is.
Outis	…….
Yi Sang	Jia Qiu wished to convey to us that the levees are beginning to crack; that the fractures must be filled forthwith afore they rupture.
Yi Sang	While the words you speak may contrast one another...
Yi Sang	... the intent that pushed the both of you to speak is shared; that the war mustn't conflagrate beyond what has already occurred.
Outis	... It is.
Gregor	Yeah, exactly. Thanks for summing it up, Yi Sang.
Meursault	Outis's assessment would have been correct had the discussion concerning our participation been about a war that has already progressed beyond a certain degree.
Meursault	However, accepting Jia Qiu's suggestion and preventing the war from expanding beyond localized skirmishes could bring greater benefits than avoiding it altogether.
Rodion	Yeah. This could also give them the opportunity to destroy and uproot all the...
Rodion	... inequities of Hongyuan.
Rodion	Wellll~ I dunno if that's what Hong Lu wants, though.
Sinclair	B-but... even if Jia Qiu and his people are strong... there's just too many of them. Do we really have a chance against all of them?
Ishmael	If I'm being honest... we simply can't know. We don't have the time to meticulously analyze every facet of this situation.
Yi Sang	…….
Yi Sang	Manager of ours, if I may...
Yi Sang carefully began as the Sinners' opinions began to clash and fracture.
Yi Sang	As you must have observed, the Sinners fail to find a common ground.
Yi Sang	However, though narrow my vision may be, it appears to me that there is not a single Sinner whose insight is born solely from their emotions.
Yi Sang	There is sound reason behind every suggestion that has heretofore been presented; thus, it is difficult to gauge the validity of each of them. This must not be an easy decision for you.
Yi Sang	Thus...
Yi Sang paused, taking his time to carefully select his next words.
Then, after a subtle nod, he continued.
Yi Sang	Dante, perhaps... this judgment belongs to Hong Lu.
Dante	<…….>
Yi Sang	Perhaps I speak at the risk of not knowing my own station. However...
Yi Sang	... should we allow this opportunity to slip away, Hong Lu may never leave that smile of his behind.
Dante	<…!>
Yi Sang	You must see it as well.
Yi Sang	That Hong Lu's smile is but a different shape of sorrow for those who have no tears left to shed.
What Yi Sang was trying to tell me was clear as day.
So what I must do, must consider, as the manager...
... isn't a discussion of wars and battles. It's not pragmatism or the measurement of the pros and cons.
... A manager has to support their team.
Dante	<Faust.>
Faust	... Once again, I have nothing to offer but objective information and suggestions strictly from the corporate perspective.
Faust	Dante, given your position as the manager of the LCB team, it is recommended that you continue to follow the plan outlined by the LCCB, retrieve the Golden Bough, and quickly arrange a safe extraction for you and your team without unnecessarily involving your team in a high-risk operation.
Dante	<That’s…>
Faust	However.
Dante	<…?>
Faust continues... slowly.
Faust	But if you...
Faust	... believe that you possess enough persistence to endure all that it entails, and if you believe that your role is to lead them, and us... to the right path, then...
Faust	... I will follow your lead.
Dante	<... Thank you.>
Now the answer must come from Hong Lu's own mouth.
Hong Lu	Looks like things really got out of control.
Hong Lu	Sorry, Dante.
Dante	<Hey, earlier... during your dialogue with Jia Qiu...>
Dante	<... The conclusion you arrived at didn't come out of nowhere, did it? There must've been something that brought you there.>
In that long, long conversation, Hong Lu was finally able to give an answer of his own.
And the biggest reason he could was...
Hong Lu	At first...
Hong Lu	I didn't think that I'd be able to give a real answer to brother Qiu's questions.
Hong Lu	But suddenly, like a thick fog clearing...
Hong Lu	... something emerged from the haze of forgotten memories past.
Hong Lu	What I gave as an answer was that something, and... I realized what it was only after it had left my mouth.
Hong Lu	That word must've been burrowed deep within me for a long, long time.
Kindness.
Because I wanted to believe that kindness was enough. That it could truly bring change to Hongyuan.
Dante	<... This is not about us. It's about you and Hongyuan's future.>
Dante	<So I think I'll leave the decision up to you.>
Hong Lu was never the type to clearly state his beliefs.
He usually did as I asked without question, without even the smallest complaint.
He did not speak of pain when he suffered, nor did he cry to us from agony.
His eyes remained unshaken even as he witnessed the countless deaths and injustices committed before him.
The eye that lets everything float away.
The accepting eye of someone who has resigned himself to the reality that everything that exists has an end.
Hong Lu	…….
I wait patiently for him to speak.
Hong Lu	Dante, I...
Hong Lu, who only ever quietly accepted whatever life threw at him...
Hong Lu	... I want to go to Tiekan Temple.
Hong Lu	Where Xichun and the elders... where the Xianren are.
Hong Lu	I think Xichun might be in danger.
Dante	<Danger, as in... her life might be at risk?>
Hong Lu	No, I think... I think her life might be the only thing that's not in danger.
Hong Lu	Thinking back to what brother Qiu told me...
Hong Lu	I'm... afraid. That I might lose the Xichun I know forever.
For the first time, he speaks of the path he wishes to walk.
Hong Lu's jade eye gazes beyond the walls of Daguanyuan.
Hong Lu	Like brother Qiu said, at this moment, I'm the only one who can freely open the gates of the Tiekan Temple.
Hong Lu	I want to be there to watch Xichun become the Hierarch, so that, if something dangerous were to happen... I can put a stop to it.
Dante	<Okay, sounds like a plan.>
Outis	... I had a feeling that this would be your decision, Executive Manager.
Outis	Our judgments are shaped by our upbringings and environments...
Outis	...so, for you, Executive Manager, who has only the time spent with the rest of us to reflect on, it is understandable how you could come to this conclusion.
Dante	<I... keep disappointing you, don't I?>
Outis	You haven't. ... Not yet.
Outis replies sternly.
Heathcliff	Well... it ain't much our style to just sod off after pickin' up the Golden Bough, innit?
Ishmael	That's... yeah, you're right...
Ishmael agrees with Heathcliff for the first time since forever.
Gregor	Well, I know I might've come across as kinda harsh or snappy earlier, but... hey, there weren't any hard feelings, Outis.
Outis	... I would have kicked you in the shin had I considered your entire speech to be senseless drivel.
Gregor	Heh.
Outis and Gregor, whose stances were always diametrically opposed, have stopped shooting bitter remarks at each other.
... We're all growing more familiar with each other.
Dante	<... Perfect. Then let's do this.>
And in that strange air, we found our purpose.
Jia Qiu	I will send out my best blade, Zilu, in the same direction.
Jia Qiu	She will not accompany you, but she will rendezvous at your destination nonetheless.
Heathcliff	Didn't you say earlier that the Heishou's all become masterless or somethin'?
Jia Qiu	... It is a long story. Let me just say that Zilu is an exception.
Ishmael	Hold on, what about you...?
Jia Qiu	At the moment, stopping the underboss and his primary officer, Lei Heng, is the most pressing concern. Zigong and I will take to the main battlefield at the gates of Daguanyuan and stall them.
The plan was now in motion; there was nothing more to discuss.
And we both walk away, to our destinations in opposite directions.
Zigong	... My lord, I have seen that smile many times in the past.
Zigong	That is the smile of a hollow shell.
Zigong	Do you truly believe that a man such as him is capable of moving in genuine dedication to the cause?
Jia Qiu	Each heart has a different cause that moves them.
Jia Qiu	How can one speak of the fathoms of a lake when all they have seen is the water's surface?
Zigong	…….

Episode: 48
Location: Way Down to Tiekan Temple
Hong Lu	We have to go through here if we want to take the fastest path to Tiekan Temple.
Dante	<Looks like it leads underground... >
Gregor	Oh man... are you sure this is the fastest path? The heck are they doing over there?
Heathcliff	Well, seems to me that's exactly why they're here, blocking our way.
Well, I never thought it was going to be easy...
Looks like I was right.
Generous Clan Member	Stop right there. Turn around and leave, now.
Generous Clan Member	You won't get a more generous offer than that. You'd do well to do as I say.
Ishmael	... The Family Hierarch war is over. They announced the results for all to hear.
Ishmael	So on whose orders are you attacking us?
Generous Clan Member	Naive girl.
Generous Clan Member	Do you not know that powerful forces are already gathering here at Daguanyuan?
Generous Clan Member	I doubt that little pipsqueak even got to meet the Xianren. She's probably bleeding out somewhere along the path by now.
Sinclair	…!
Generous Clan Member	Looks like a bunch of third-raters decided to work together, huh...
Generous Clan Member	Do you really believe that you could retake the Hierarch with your puny forces?
Ishmael	You're the ones who are committing this tantrum of a treason because you just can't accept that you lost.
Ishmael	Besides, what do you mean 'retake the Hierarch'? It's not like you ever took her from us.
Outis	You can't even proudly speak the name of your master.
Outis	It would have been the first thing you announced if you believed your cause to be just. Your very actions are those of a thief.
Generous Clan Member	... Hah, and why would we need to announce our cause for a ragtag band like yours?
Generous Clan Member	Destroy them all!

Episode: 49
Location: Way Down to Tiekan Temple
Outis	Whoever your poor master is...
Outis	... I can tell by the way their minions behave that they have no hope of ever taking that throne.
Outis	You'd be surprised by how much the lack of a just cause harms morale, fool!
Generous Clan Member	You're the one to talk! What just cause do you have?
Generous Clan Member	Just how high-and-mighty is your—
Heathcliff	Oi, shut it and listen. At least...
Heathcliff	... we actually want to change something about this place.
Heathcliff	I'd say we've a more just cause than you bastards whose only thought upon hearing that awful bell is 'how can I expand my real estate this time?'
Generous Clan Member	…….
Hong Lu	Both of you always speak with such conviction, Outis, Heathcliff.
Outis	Hmph, gathering an army is the easy part.
Outis	A leader's true qualities are revealed only when the time comes to actually lead their men!
Hong Lu	I see.
Hong Lu	So it's your long experience with war that shaped your confidence, Outis.
Outis	…….
Hong Lu	Because my life couldn't be any further from any battlefield of war.
Hong Lu	Or maybe I was always surrounded by wars, both large and small, in the Backstreets... and I was just sheltered from them.
Hong Lu	I've done nothing but watch from a distance, so I don't suppose I have any right to speak.
Hong Lu	I wouldn't even know where I'd begin.
Outis	…….
This seemed like the perfect moment for Outis to brag about her experience, but she fell silent at that remark.
Heathcliff	There ain't anything too complicated about it, mate. If it's shite, it's shite. Don't think twice about it.
Heathcliff	Like the lad does.
Sinclair	... Like me?
For a while, Sinclair continued to ask Heathcliff if he really was talking about him.
Hong Lu	I haven't ever walked down this hallway accompanied by so many other people...
Hong Lu	I usually walked alone.
Rodion	Why? Didn'tcha take your servants with you?
Hong Lu	Sometimes, I did. Because I was scared to go there alone. But...
Hong Lu	... I learned something as I grew older.
Hong Lu	It's that my heart is most at ease when walking down this road alone.
Dante	<... Why?>
I imagined Hong Lu, slowly walking down this hallway alone with a dark expression.
... It wasn't a pleasant sight.
Hong Lu	Tiekan Temple...
Hong Lu	I was the only one who was allowed to freely enter and exit. The Family Hierarch can technically be let inside, but...
Hong Lu	... even grandmother couldn't enter without their summon.
Gregor	W-wait, Jia Qiu wasn't being metaphorical?
Heathcliff	So... why are they called the Xianren...? Are they actually some supernaturally enlightened blokes or something?
Hong Lu	Yes. They endured the time of suffering, opened their eyes to the secret to freedom from aging and death, and eventually attained Enlightenment, earning themselves the exalted title of 'the Xianren'.
Rodion	But is that even... possible? What happened to them still searching for the answer to 'true immortality'?
Hong Lu	…….
Heathcliff	Mate, you're bottlin' up again, and that makes me nervous... What the hell're we walkin' into?
Sinclair	At least this place... feels much more tranquil than the world outside. It's quiet. And it smells nice, too.
Sinclair	I could almost forget that there's a war about to break out beyond the premises...
Hong Lu	We're lucky.
Hong Lu	Not many people know the actual path to reach Tiekan Temple.
Hong Lu	But at least there's less chance of us running into any outside forces here.
Rodion	... Can we not with the foreshadowing?

Episode: 50
Location: Passageway to Tiekan Temple
Unfortunately, it was indeed a foreshadowing.
... It didn't take very long before another faction appeared before us.
Xue Family Captain	Stop. Who is your master?
Xue Family Captain	What are you doing here?
Hong Lu	Because we have a place to be.
Hong Lu	What are you doing here?
Xue Family Captain	... You're working for Jia Qiu, aren't you?
Xue Family Captain	Trying to visit the revered Xianren? You're trying to speed up the Hierarch ascension ritual, aren't you?
Outis	Nice try. Ask the right questions, and we'll just tell you all about our plans, won't we? Greenhorn...
Outis	I know you're all lost. You've probably been going in circles for hours by now.
Xue Family Captain	... Yeah, this place is irritatingly large.
Xue Family Captain	Just point us in the right direction and go back the way you came, and I won't give chase.
Xue Family Captain	Give up on your ridiculous idea of ushering in that hopelessly inadequate girl as the Family Hierarch.
Ishmael	We already heard that one before.
Ishmael	Might wanna get some new material.

Episode: 51
Location: Passageway to Tiekan Temple
Outis	So tell me. Who's your master?
Xue Family Captain	…….
Xue Family Captain	You two... you've been in a war, haven't you?
Outis	... No need to deny that, I suppose.
Gregor	You can still tell, huh...?
Outis	And I learned many, many things in my war.
Outis	A few hundred ways to convince a grunt to talk, for example.
Xue Family Captain	... Too bad.
Xue Family Captain	Because unlike you, I have but one way to keep my mouth shut.
The man who appeared to be leading the soldiers stabbed himself in the chest without hesitation.
Outis	…….
Outis	So he'd kill himself without even a moment's hesitation to protect his master's name...
Outis	... His master must be a formidable individual.
Hong Lu	Or... it could also be that he was under the influence of a suicide Worm—an Anamnaworm that activates on an information trigger to manipulate the host's psyche to take their own life.
Noticing that there was a previously unseen, serious look in Hong Lu's eyes, we forged onward.

Episode: 52
Location: Passageway to Tiekan Temple
Gregor	…!
The Thumb Henchman	Aw, shit.
The Thumb Henchman	... That was a warning shot, sir.
The Thumb Henchman	... I heard you curse under your breath.
Outis	…….
Outis	They're...
The Thumb Henchman	How disrespectful of you to tell such a bald-faced lie to your senior.
The Thumb Henchman	Apologies. ... Please, I humbly beg for your assistance in my absolution.
The Thumb Henchman	Of course. Present your tongue.
The Thumb Henchman	... Gah!
... That incomprehensible exchange between the pair was soon followed by the sight of a severed tongue rolling in the dirt.
Rodion	Ew...
Outis	... The Thumb.
The Thumb Henchman	Please allow me to speak, as my partner no longer has the means to do so.
The Thumb Henchman	Your present company, including manager Dante, their companions, and master Jia Baoyu, may not pass beyond this area.
Sinclair	Uh... what did he just call Hong Lu...?
Outis	Given the present circumstances, they're treating Hong Lu as Baoyu of the Jia family and not a Sinner of the LCB.
Outis	It's logical to assume that the young master of a prestigious house ranks higher than a Soldato, who are just grunts of the Thumb.
Sinclair	W-well, can Hong Lu just ask him to move, then...?
Heathcliff	... Them showin' us respect now don't mean shite. They won't let us through.
Ishmael	I've heard stories, but... I didn't think they'd be this fixated with the ranks and hierarchies. It's almost...
Ishmael	... to the point where it's just plain weird.
The Thumb Henchman	Please understand that the underboss has ordered us to treat anyone passing this area as our enemy.
The Thumb Henchman	Our orders were to execute all individuals attempting to do so anyway, including our former allies. So I implore you to please turn around and leave this place.
The Thumb Henchman	We would greatly appreciate your cooperation.
Hong Lu	Um... sorry, we can't do that.
The Thumb Henchman	Then... I'm sorry to say that we have no choice but to stop you by any means.
Ryoshu	Lei Heng... he must've set up this ambush.
Ryoshu	They were prepared... They weren't going to accept any other result than what they had in mind anyway.
The Thumb Henchman	... Taking into account Limbus Company's standing, and LCB's position within their organization... you, a mere Sinner, mentioning master Lei Heng's name is a crime punishable by the removal of your tongue—
The Thumb Henchman	... No. Your punishment will begin with crushing your lower jaw.
Ryoshu	I.F. Shouldn't have expected a trivial little thing like a Soldato to know his place. You don't have enough tongues to lose for this disrespect.
Outis	... We're not getting anything out of them.
Outis	These idiots'll jump off a cliff if their superior told them to.
Ishmael	But aren't they usually your favorite kind of people, Outis?
Outis	There once was a time when I used to think highly of their strategic decision to maintain such a rigidly stratified hierarchy system.
Outis	But now I know that it was never a strategic 'decision' at all, but a brainless obsession of idiots who refuse to decide for themselves.
The Thumb Henchman	... Let's see if you can keep babbling like that when we cut off your tongue.

Episode: 53
Location: Bridge to Tiekan Temple
Rodion	We're still... underground, right? This place sure as heck looks like the outside.
Yi Sang	An artificed light... yet one may easily mistake this to be a land under a real sun.
Dante	<We should be getting pretty close... but...>
Faust	... Yes. Someone has beaten us to it.
There was a small hill in front of the bridge leading into Tiekan Temple.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	They're Xichun's mercenaries.
... There was a small hill of bodies, all of them mangled and broken to the point we couldn't even tell how many of them there were.
On top of the hill sat Lei Heng.
And the heavily wounded figure in front of him was...
Sinclair	Wei...!
Wei	... We don't... ever seem to meet in fine circumstances, do we...?
Ishmael	What happened—?
Lei Heng	Hot damn, y'all are slower than molasses in winter... I was just havin' some fun before y'all decided to show up.
Lei Heng	Looks to me this boy was just gonna park his ass right here 'til the ascension hullabaloo wrapped up.
Lei Heng	Ya know, I was kinda excited 'bout this showdown, given that he's supposed to be this... Adept of the Heishou - pony branch or whatever. He ain't hot shit without that poison in 'im, huh?
Ryoshu	…….
Ishmael	What's he doing here...?
Meursault	Our plan was to leave the matter of Lei Heng for Jia Qiu to deal with at the battlefield by the front gate of Daguanyuan.
Faust	They saw through the strategy.
Outis	And it seems that Jia Qiu sending Zilu alongside us was an insurance for this exact scenario.
Zilu	…….
And as if on cue, Zilu arrived.
She was covered from head to toe in blood, but I could easily guess that the blood wasn't hers.
Lei Heng	I'll be damned...
Lei Heng	Y'all are tellin' me now that there's two ways to get in here? One's a secret entrance, sure, but... hmmm? That rabbit hole she crawled through seems mighty narrow to me.
Lei Heng	Aw shoot, had I known there was a direct passageway, I woulda taken that instead of goin' all the way 'round this goshdarn maze of a palace! Ain't you got no map lyin' around in here? Woulda been darn embarrassing to get lost at my age...
Lei Heng	Hwell... didy'all say hello to the boys out there?
Outis	... We sent them on their merry way to the afterlife. So, it really was you who set up that ambush.
Lei Heng	Listen'ere. Y'all gotta understand they're still greenhorns, huh? Still got much to learn and all that. I'll give 'em a stern talkin' to.
Ishmael	I assume... you're also here at someone else's behest, right?
Ishmael	Either to prevent the Hierarch ascension... or to delay it for as long as possible.
Lei Heng	Hwell, was gonna catch that Jia Xichun girl 'fore she went in, but I missed my window.
Lei Heng	Ain’t nothin’ more to it. Y'all are talkin’ like I showed up to make some big statement or some shit.
Ishmael	Then doesn't that mean your mission's already failed?
Lei Heng	Naw, girl’s gotta head back to the main house and park herself on that throne to wrap up her ascension. Me? I just gotta catch 'er before that.
Ishmael	... So the Heishou won't be mobilized until she physically sits down on the throne.
Lei Heng	Say, uh.
Lei Heng	The concept of manners alien to y'all?
Ishmael	... Shit, right. The Thumb.
Lei Heng	Real disrespectful of ya'll to sit there jawin', shootin’ the breeze with me like I’m one o’ yer buddies.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	Excuse me, I've got something to ask.
Lei Heng	... Hwell, alrighty. Young master Baoyu of the mighty Jia family's got 'nuff clout to talk to my face without makin' things awkward.
Lei Heng	Well? Yammer on, then.
Hong Lu	Is there a reason you haven't killed Mister Wei just yet?
Hong Lu	This setup you have here makes me think that... you'd like for us to negotiate.
Lei Heng	Negoti-ate... Hot damn.
Lei Heng	Negotiation's usually done on equal ground, ain't it? Kinda funny of y'all from Limbus Company to call it that.
Lei Heng	Aw, heck. I guess you ain't wrong.
Lei Heng	But here's the thing—I just ain't got a clue as to how important this sonofagun is to y'all.
Lei Heng	He's still breathin', that's for sure, but I dunno if he'll be any good for a negotiation... tsk. Bein' a Heishou Adept don't mean much if he can't do shit, don't it? Got some kinda weird curse on ya or something?
Zilu	Speak.
Zilu, who's been standing beside us in silence this whole time, suddenly spoke up.
Zilu	What do you want?
Her voice was so deep, cavernous, and sincere, that...
... it almost made me think that she really was going to give him whatever he wanted in return for Wei.
Lei Heng	Ya got a real convincing voice, don'tcha? That gets me in the mood, I'll tell ya hwat.
Lei Heng	Yeah, well... what I want...
Lei Heng	I want you, ya pesky rabbit.
Zilu	…….
Ishmael	Don't tell me you want Zilu to die for—
Lei Heng	Aw, 'course not. I ain't that shameless.
Outis	Then...?
Lei Heng	Lemme cut ya up. Just one slice.
Lei Heng	Don't matter what comes next—bite it, don't bite it, fight me... don't matter. Take a single cut from my blade and I'll hand over the feller.
Lei Heng	Aw, c'mon, girl. Don'tcha look at me like that! You know how this is! I've been in this business long enough to know, huh?
Lei Heng	Fair fight! Duels! Love 'em! Would love nothing more than to do 'em! But the things bein' what they are... it's a no-can-do kinda situation.
Lei Heng	We're both hired guns, ain't we? Yanno we gotta do what we gotta do.
Lei Heng	Y'see, honey bunny, I ain’t so sure I like my odds goin’ up against a direct counter.
Ryoshu	Shithead. You haven't changed.
Lei Heng	That so? Heh heh.
Ryoshu	He'll cut you in half. Guaranteed.
Ryoshu	Just admit you want to kill her... hah. Doesn't your tongue ever get tired of being a part of you?
Lei Heng	Ain’t ya one of them students learnin' stuff from Jia Qiu? Heard tell y’all been usin’ some kinda strange technique from out yonder.
Lei Heng	'Shin(心)', wassit? Usin' some energy protection technique, right? 'Parently you'll become tough as augmentations they say.
Lei Heng	And ya convert that 'Shin' or whatever into strength to make light rings 'round your body parts or weapons, and that's 'sposed to be 'Mang(望)', am I right?
Lei Heng	I've been tryna learn how that thing works... 'been waiting for an opportunity to test it out. Purdy sure I can make one Mang by now.
Lei Heng	I wanna see ya try your own against mine, see.
Lei Heng looked at Zilu with a shit-eating grin.
Zilu	…….
We don't know Zilu. We're barely even acquaintances. There's no way she'd risk her life for people who are essentially strangers.
And what about Wei? Do they even know each other? I seriously doubt he's as close to her as he is to us.
... And it might sound cold, but even we're not really that close to Wei, either...
Dante	<…….>
I can't bring myself to ask her to risk her life like that.
He's probably not kidding, either.
Lei Heng's surrounded by at least a few dozen bodies... but there's not even a scratch on him.
Wei	…….
Wei struggles to speak through labored breaths.
... But his eyes tell me that he's already accepted his fate.
Wei	I only need...
Wei	... I only need my lady to be safe. This... catastrophe was entirely my fault... if I'd paid more attention to our surroundings...
Wei	She won't have anyone when I'm gone... Please, keep her safe...
Instead of begging for his life, Wei asks us to look after Jia Xichun instead.
As he's always done...
Zilu	Is Wei...
Zilu looks at Hong Lu.
Zilu	... important to you?
Hong Lu	…….
Truth be told, Wei probably isn’t all that important to Hong Lu.
Wei was Jia Xichun's loyal follower, and that was pretty much it. Hong Lu said he hadn't interacted much with him back in Daguanyuan, either.
But... I imagine that Hong Lu...
... would probably rather not see the people he cares about shed any more tears. He'd seen more than enough of that since the annihilation of the Kong family.
And that goes for us, too. Can we really cut him off, just like that?
We hadn't talked to him very much, but we'd spent a pretty significant amount of time together. And quietly, we've grown to care more about him.
We learned more about who he was. About the kind of person his master, Jia Xichun, was.
Whenever we ran into them in all kinds of odd places, we were happy to meet them. And we really wanted them to do well.
We... didn't want either of them to die.
And they were the first allies we'd ever made of our own volition, no matter how short-lived that alliance was.
... If we let him kill Wei here, we'd...
... we'd be adding another regret to our pasts, knowing that we'd let someone down again...
... As we are reminded every time we meet Saude and see her subtle yet noticeable sadness.
We'll blame ourselves, we'll resent our weakness, we won't stop thinking about how we could've prevented this if we were stronger.
We've died and killed countless times on our journey here, but death is the kind of force that swoops in our moments of dejection to remind us that we can never get used to it.
Zilu	Speak.
I know. I know we can't save everyone.
I've seen enough deaths of our friends, allies, and those who could've been friends to know that.
There wasn't any reason Wei should be special. I wasn't making some promise with myself to never let anyone even remotely close to us die again, either.
But...
But Hong Lu...
Hong Lu	I...
Hong Lu	... I want Mister Wei to live.
Hong Lu	And I don't want Xichun... to be sad when we meet again.
Zilu	…….
Hong Lu	I know you don't have any reason to listen to me, Zilu, but—
Zilu	Okay.
Zilu didn't even let Hong Lu finish. She strode up to Lei Heng.
Zilu	Cut me down, Tiantui Star, the Winged Tiger Chachihu.
Lei Heng	... Huh!
Lei Heng	Very well, Tianjiu Star, the Unrestrained Meizhelan.
Ishmael	Wait, what are you—
Flame bursts forth, wreathing Lei Heng's intimidating podao, then rises into a raging pillar of fire before a single ring of light materializes around it.
On the other hand, a warm, comforting light, presumably the same light Lei Heng mentioned earlier, began to radiate and shimmer from Zilu's body.
Lei Heng	I am Lei Heng. Capo of the Thumb, one of the Ten Blades of the East. I will now cut you down with all my might.
Zilu	Do you intend to cut me with your tongue?
And as though on cue, Lei Heng slashed at Zilu's unmoving body with a diagonal cut.
Dante	<…!>
The sheer wind pressure and the heat from the slash... it was powerful enough to push some of us back.
But...
Zilu was still standing, silently as she had been.
Lei Heng	Hot diggity... Know I wasn't goin' for the head, but it's some miracle ya managed to survive that hit.
Lei Heng	That 'Shin' thingamajig's one mighty sturdy thing, ain't it? My hand's all tingly.
Lei Heng	Hwell... it still ain't quite invincibility, is it?
Lei Heng	Yer barely hangin' on... ain't ya?
Blood burst from Zilu the moment Lei Heng asked, and...
Hong Lu	Miss Zilu...!
Hong Lu ran up to Zilu to stop her fall.
Hong Lu	Miss Zilu...
Hong Lu	Why did you...?
Zilu	Because it sufficed.
Zilu	The reply that you did not wish to see the one you care dearly for, sad.
Zilu continues resolutely, despite the gushing blood.
Zilu	And that is the 'true humanity' that I have learned... my path of justice, my humanity.
Zilu	I'll leave the rest to you, clock.
Dante	<…….>
This woman, whom I'd not even exchanged a single word with, calls me a friendly nickname.
When her own life's on the line.
Lei Heng	Hoo-ie! Finally got that annoyin' bunny outta the way.
Lei Heng	Awrighty, I'm a man o' my word, and she knows it. That's why she let me cut 'er up so good.
With that, Lei Heng kicked Wei in our direction.
Lei Heng	Take 'im. Three, four months of recovery and he should be back on his feet.
Lei Heng	Well... if ya survive me today, that is.
Lei Heng	Yer gonna take the young master and get that door open, ain't ya?
Lei Heng	Hwell, then...
Lei Heng begins walking in our direction, cracking his neck.
Lei Heng	... y'all ready to go a round?
Lei Heng	Should be able to wrap this up by the time they're done with the ritual thing.
Lei Heng	C'mon... Let's dance.
Location: Bridge to Tiekan Temple
Lei Heng	Shoot, ya sure this is everything y'all got?
He's overwhelmingly powerful.
So this is a Capo of the Thumb... and one of the Ten Blades of the East.
I had to admit it. We simply don't have enough power to defeat him yet... especially with him coming at us with the intent to kill.
Ryoshu	That sword... Just as enticing as always.
I think back to one of our previous battles... Don Quixote of La Manchaland. He was undeniably a more powerful foe than Lei Heng.
There's a significant gulf of power between them two, I can sense it.
But we're struggling against him so much more...
... because unlike Don Quixote, this guy's actually trying to kill us.
His jocular demeanor seems to imply that to him, this was just another day at work, but...
... he's got no intentions of toying with us... he's going for the kill.
Didn't know that could make this much of a difference.
There was so much that separated him from the rest of us—his sheer physical strength, experience and skill, not to mention the powerful armor and the apparently famous weapon...
All of that combined into one became a wall that stood between us and our goal.
At least...
If we can somehow fight on equal ground...
Hong Lu	Dante... What... should we try next?
Hong Lu asks with a slightly exhausted voice, but...
... he is smiling still.
That's strange.
Hong Lu's never been the first one to ask the questions or share his opinions with the rest of us.
He'd reply to others' questions, or share a few detached observations when we were at an impasse, but...
Dante	<Hong Lu.>
This is probably a bad time to ask him this, but...
I had a burning question that needed to be answered.
Dante	<Why... did you ask that?>
Dante	<I mean, what I'm asking is— hm.>
Dante	<Whatever I'm throwing at him doesn't seem to be working, and while I can keep bringing you guys back...>
Hong Lu	I think... I think I know what you mean.
Hong Lu	But... I don't really know why I asked.
That was an odd thing to say, but Hong Lu's expression did not seem confused or complicated at all.
His eyes carried that sense of freedom of someone looking far off into the distant horizon.
Hong Lu	I felt the window open slightly ajar in a dark, stuffy room.
Hong Lu	Muffled noises have finally found a place to go, and a pleasant breeze has drifted through my room...
Hong Lu	... and it carried me away to someplace else, little by little.
His eyes focus on me.
Hong Lu	Maybe that wind is why I became curious of your thoughts... and why I asked you about them, Dante.
Dante	<... But...>
Dante	<I don't know what to do anymore. I don't know what more I can do to get past this monster...>
Hong Lu	Dante.
Hong Lu	When you said you wanted me to make the decision...
Hong Lu	... did you expect that it would be this difficult?
Dante	<... No. I didn't. Not like this.>
Hong Lu	Then, did you think that this task would be nothing more than a breeze?
Dante	<... Of course not.>
Hong Lu	But you gave me a chance to choose for myself anyway.
Dante	<That's...>
Dante	<That’s because I had faith that it was the right thing to do.>
Dante	<…!>
Hong Lu	Hehe.
Hong Lu	You already know, don't you?
I didn't have a clue as to what Hong Lu was going to do, but...
... I believed that his choice would be correct.
That's why he...
Hong Lu	Even if you feel lost, even if you're not sure of our options now, Dante...
Hong Lu	... I have faith that you will be able to find a different path.
Hong Lu	That's what the gentle breeze whispered to me as it tickled my back.
... That's why Hong Lu trusted me.
Very well... then.
Dante	<Under mercy, all shall be made equal...>
Lei Heng	Huhh...? Hwat in tarnation...?
Dante	<By entering a contract with me, the Sinners' strengths were all raised up or dragged down to a similar level... despite the disparity before that.>
Dante	<If we're in an unfair fight... all we need to do is level the playing field.>
Lei Heng	Hah! No darn clue just what happened, but ya sure are keepin' this interesting.
Lei Heng	Some kinda trick to bring me down to y'all's level, huh?
Lei Heng	Now that's mighty unfair. Though, when the goin' gets tough, I get ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Lei Heng	Awrighty then. Let's keep this rollin'.
Hong Lu	... So, have you decided what you want to do, Dante?
Dante	<Yeah. >
Dante	<Time for round two.>

Episode: 54
Location: Bridge to Tiekan Temple
Lei Heng	More of a sprinter than a marathoner, eh...
Lei Heng	Ya power don't hold up too well when the fight drags on. Time's up.
Lei Heng	Y'all had heart, I'll give ya that... Shame this is where it ends.
Dante	<But... this should've brought him down to our level...>
Faust	This may be... attributed to the gap in our combat experience.
Sinclair	I can... barely stand...
Heathcliff	Oi... no more whingin', lad.
Heathcliff	It ain't over 'till it's over, yeah? We'll... we'll get him eventually.
Heathcliff encouraged us with his usual bluntness, but... it was true that determination was the only thing keeping some Sinners on their feet.
The Tiekan Temple is right there, right in front of us... but we simply can't get past this final threshold.
Jia Qiu said that we were the key to stopping this war's powder keg from blowing, but...
... we're stopped by this one man on a bridge between us and the Temple.
I thought I'd finally found a way to even things out by resonating with the Golden Bough, but...
... I just don't see how we can get past this wall.
Jia Qiu	Do not kneel.
A low, deep voice boomed from behind us.
Lei Heng	Well I'll be— Ya sure got here fast.
Lei Heng	You coulda just taken yer sweet darn time, but you just had to get here now right as I was 'bout to finish 'em off, eh?
Lei Heng	Ohhh~! I see now. Honey bunny didn't dig that hole for no reason, huh.
Lei Heng	I'm mighty honored you came all the way down here to see me, but I reckon things'll go south real quick without ya bustin' heads out there.
Jia Qiu	My presence here took precedence.
Jia Qiu	For they are not the kind of people who must stagnate here.
Lei Heng	That so?
Lei Heng	Hwell, lessee, then.
Lei Heng	Let's see who'll greet them fellers when they're done with their business...
Lei Heng	Let's see which of us'll get to roll out the red carpet.
Jia Qiu	…….
Lei Heng	Always wanted to kick yer behind. Ain't this a mighty fine place to do it?
Lei Heng	Hot dang, I'm burnin' up...!
Despite Lei Heng's gung-ho provocations, Jia Qiu paid him no mind. He looked to Zilu, who was barely breathing. She was slumped against the wall.
Jia Qiu	How long will you remain in slumber, Zilu?
Lei Heng	She ain't gonna wake up anytime soon, friendo. I really cut 'er up good this time.
Lei Heng	Why don't I put ya to rest right next to 'er?
Lei Heng's blade flashed with fire once again, and he charged like a lightning strike toward Jia Qiu.
But...
Jia Qiu's staff brought Lei Heng's blade to a screeching halt.
Hong Lu	Brother...
Jia Qiu	Go.
Jia Qiu	Lei Heng's forces have already been alerted to the fact that Jia Xichun has already entered the Tiekan Temple.
Jia Qiu	Thus... in that brief moment where Jia Xichun completes her ascension and exits the Tiekan Temple...
Jia Qiu	... they will attempt to cut off her head before she gains full control of the Hierarch's Heishou Pack.
Jia Qiu	They will use the loophole that the ritual to become the Family Hierarch isn't truly over until she rises to the surface.
Jia Qiu	Jia Xichun does not have any substantial foundation nor sponsor who protects her—no family will come to her aid; it is most likely that they are simply waiting for someone to kill her in their stead.
Jia Qiu	However...
Jia Qiu	One thing I can give you is that, once you enter, and until you exit the temple alongside Jia Xichun...
Jia Qiu	... not a single foe shall cross this bridge as long as I stand. Jia Xichun will survive this day.
Hong Lu	And we will bring Xichun safely back to the surface and escort her to the seat of the Family Hierarch.
Jia Qiu	Indeed. It will be a considerable undertaking for any family to strike down a Family Hierarch, even one without a foundation like Xichun.
Lin Daiyu	... If that is your will, then I will help as well.
Hong Lu	Daiyu...? How did you...
Lei Heng	What in the goshdarn... I thought the Xue family'd turned against Daguanyuan already.
Lin Daiyu	... Not all Xue has.
Lin Daiyu	Miss Baochai has sent me in secret to assist you.
Hong Lu	…….
Lin Daiyu	I have not come to discuss or pursue a lofty goal like... the future of Daguanyuan.
Lin Daiyu	I only wish that— ... Neither I nor Miss Baochai wish to see you fall here.
Lin Daiyu	... That is all.
Jia Qiu	... Then stand with me.
Jia Qiu	Stand with me against the tide and defeat any foe that has made it through.
Lin Daiyu	Gladly.
Hong Lu	... Thank you, Daiyu.
Outis	…!
Outis	Over there, soldiers...! A different force is marching toward the temple.
Lei Heng	You knew darn well that this was only a matter of time.
Lei Heng	If y'all think ya got what it takes, just try 'n stop us. Lessee if y'all can live up to your boasts.
Jia Qiu	Go forth, Jia Baoyu.
Jia Qiu	I have faith that your heart is true.

Episode: 55
Location: Tiekan Temple Entrance
With them defending the bridge, we managed to reach Tiekan Temple's entrance...
... only to find the last people we ever wanted to see waiting at its gates.
Dante	<N Corp.... And their troops, all of them wearing E.G.O Gear...>
It almost looks like they came here ready for a war.
Jia Huan	It has happened exactly as the Director said so herself, Gubo.
Yi Sang	… Goodness.
Gubo	What brings you such distress, my wilted and fallen, old fellow?
Gubo	It would have been no trouble for someone of your intelligence to surmise that we would be waiting where your journey ends.
Gubo	Or... has your love for the company of these new fellows slowed your mind?
Yi Sang	The path I walk is a busy one.
Yi Sang	... And I have no words or sentiments to impart to someone such as yourself, when a dear fellow of mine requires my support and haste.
Gubo	... Huh.
Gubo opened his mouth to say something in response, but Yi Sang swiftly brushed past him without hesitation.
And...
Jia Huan	You certainly took your time, little brother.
Gregor	What's he...?
Jia Huan	Just waiting out here to greet you and your friends.
Jia Huan	Do not glare at me so—you need only accept our offer, and we shan't have to fight.
Jia Huan	A... temporary truce, if you will.
Ishmael	... Seriously, a truce? Here and now?
Jia Huan	It so happens that we have business to see to in there.
Jia Huan	... And Jia Baoyu... you're our only key.
Jia Huan	You must've come here in search of the Golden Bough, as you always are.
Jia Huan	But that is not what we've come here for.
Gubo	We intend to leave here as soon as we earn the 'sample', something far more important to us than the Golden Bough itself.
Gubo	Let us not engage in a skirmish that, after all, shall be in vain.
Sinclair	And you just expect us to believe—
Jia Huan	Think about it for a second. Would we have forfeited with so little hesitation, had our purpose been to claim the Golden Bough?
Jia Huan	We thought coming in third would be more than enough to procure what we came for.
Ishmael	I see... So you weren't acting on behalf of the Jia family at all... but for N Corp. all along.
Jia Huan	... Are you all really that stupid? You must be.
Jia Huan	I don't recall ever hiding my allegiance to N Corp. the last time we met... or did all of you collectively choose to forget that?
Jia Huan	Besides... I wouldn't lower myself to participate in this messy little game of Family Hierarch war for something so worthless as the honor of the Jia family.
Jia Huan	I have not once lived for this family since the day I changed my name.
Hong Lu	…….
Jia Huan	... The Shi family hired us, the N Corp. New League of Nine Littérateurs.
Jia Huan	Our job was to void the results of the Evaluation if a Shi family candidate fails to win the contest.
Jia Huan	They never change, do they? Mediocre qualifications, yet... always coveting something far beyond their reach.
Jia Huan	And as you might expect, N Corp. does not give up so easily.
Jia Huan	If you would not accept my truce, we can simply... sit here and wait for you to do something in this standoff. We're not the ones pressed for time.
Outis	... I hope we're not taking his words at face value.
Gregor	We're not, but... do we have any alternatives? He's already stalled us enough.
Sinclair	He's right, we're the ones running out of time...
Sinclair	Jia Qiu is strong, really strong, but... not even he can stop all those soldiers on his own forever.
I'm growing anxious.
He says he's willing to leave us alone once he gets what he wants, but... there's no way for us to be sure of that.
But it's hardly a good idea to fight them now or remain locked in this standoff for who knows how long.
Dante	<If this fight is inevitable... it's better to enter a truce with them for now, find Xichun, and then fight them if we must.>
Besides, Hong Lu said Xichun might be in danger. I had to prioritize that, no matter what.
Dante	<... It can't be helped. Let's head inside.>
So I made the call.
Hong Lu	Okay, let's try your idea.
Jia Huan	So you've decided to open the door? Hmph, at least your leader has some semblance of intelligence.
Jia Huan	Here's to our fruitful yet brief cooperation.
Jia Huan	Lead the way, we'll be right behind you.
And we...
... finally made it to the great gates of Tiekan Temple.
Dante	<Hong Lu...?>
Hong Lu approached the gate handles.
Then, with one hand over his other eye, he brings his jade eye close to an engraved hole in the gates.
Hong Lu	My eye is the only key... to opening these gates from the outside.
Hong Lu	It's so that I can visit the elders whenever they want me there.

Episode: 56
Location: Tiekan Temple Entrance, Past
Jia Baoyu	I don't wanna go inside... I'm scared...
Lady Wang	Baoyu, our little Baoyu, the gem of our family...
Lady Wang	How many times must I tell you that you mustn't fear? It was always your destiny to be the precious jade of our family and the elders. That was decided the moment you were born...
Jia Zheng	The revered Xianren await your arrival. Y-you mustn't make them wait...
Jia Mu	Silence. Your craven behavior is unbecoming before the presence of a precious object.
Jia Zheng	... My humble apologies.
Jia Mu	Little Baoyu, you are not like the others.
Jia Baoyu	I'm... not?
Jia Mu	Only those who are blinded to the true forms find themselves delighted or repulsed by material beauty and malformation.
Jia Mu	They are the past and the future of Daguanyuan.
Jia Mu	It is only thanks to their deeds and good karma that such luxuries of Daguanyuan are permitted to us; you must always maintain a most grateful heart. Am I understood?
Jia Baoyu	But... but...
Jia Baoyu	They're... so scary.
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior, Past
Jia Baoyu	... I'm here.
Elder 1	Welcome, little Baoyu.
Elder 2	We have waited long for your arrival.
Elder 3	Gwehh... Keh... Gunngh...
Jia Baoyu	Oh, today must be your molting day.
Suffering Attendant	Young master... please... save me...
Suffering Attendant	If... if I'd known... I'd never have... volunteered...
Elder 3	Gwuh... Gnh...
Elder 2	Ha ha, I see that you're enjoying it down to the spinal marrows.
Elder 1	I must remind you to hand its flesh over to me, once you have drunk it in full.
Elder 1	Your greed in claiming extra chunks of its flesh almost harmed the integrity of my body.
Elder 2	Baoyu, oh Baoyu... we cannot await the day you are fully grown...
Elder 2	We cannot await the day until you are to depart this Daguanyuan, to see far and beyond, to witness and hear things of great worth.
Jia Baoyu	... Okay. Thank you.
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior
Jia Mu	Welcome, little Baoyu.
Jia Mu	Is it not too early an hour for you to greet the elders?
Jia Mu	The ascension of the new Family Hierarch is yet to be completed.
Rodion	Gah... Xi-Xichun!
Before Jia Mu was Xichun, lying unconscious on what looked like an altar.
And...
Elder	Hmmmh... They are...
Despite what was supposed to be a surprise arrival, they all turned to us at once without any hint of surprise.
Ishmael	…….
Ishmael	They're.... the 'revered' Xianren that all of Daguanyuan venerate and worship so profusely...?
Jia Mu	... Indeed. I knew this would happen.
Elder	Ooh, come hither! Come hither!
Elder	Ahh, it is them. We have been looking forward to meeting you all.
Sinclair	You... recognize us?
Elder	I must say, the blood-crafted rides at the amusement park made for quite the interesting show.
Don Quixote	…!
Elder	I was aware that the Bloodfiends are imbued with rather unique powers... yet it was most enticing to witness the manifestations of their might myself.
Elder	Even I did not know that a higher Kindred commands such overwhelming might. His abilities were quite distinguished from that of the Bloodfiend Elder of Hongyuan.
Elder	We'd be remiss to not mention the laboratory at the basement of that manor.
Elder	Hoho, it truly was a most wonderful sight.
Elder	We were most delighted to watch that man melt into nothingness... only to be remolded and reborn as something new. You should have been here to hear our thunderous applause!
Elder	And I would like to commend you all.
Elder	For the sheer hatred and ferocity you have demonstrated when you rowed so valiantly into the Pallid Whale's belly.
Elder	Truly a most dramatic moment. We could almost feel the heat of your determination to take a life from here—the fire of hatred and vengeance.
Don Quixote	... Thou hast been watching us all along, then.
Elder	Indeed, through Baoyu's jade...
Elder	... we have witnessed this journey of yours from beginning to now.
Elder	What a priceless offering you have all been!
Elder	It was a wise decision to make Baoyu depart from this place.
Elder	We did not have a moment to feel even an inkling of tedium.
Elder	I find it quite exciting to see you all, those we had only peered through the jade... so up close and in person.
Elder	It is said that in recent years in the City, some subset of the population would see the present circumstance as an occasion to receive their 'signatures' to a mysterious end.
Elder	Mm... it seemed that 'subset of the population' are referred to as 'fans'.
Yi Sang	What manner of insanity is this?
Yi Sang	You have sought immortality so diligently, only to encase yourselves in this theater of fools where one does naught but watch plays made up of the lives of others?
Yi Sang	Eons of emptiness, filled with naught but struggle against tedium...
Elder	I have found true enlightenment in this life of eons. That the most important part of life...
Elder	... has been pleasure, all along!
Elder	Every other emotion is fleeting and meaningless—none can reach us anymore.
Elder	Death is finite, yet boredom is infinite.
Jia Xichun	Big... big bro...?
Jia Xichun seemed to have regained consciousness. She calls out to Hong Lu in a faint, fading voice.
Jia Mu	I see that you have come to.
Jia Xichun	Where am... I? W-where is thi— Ah, venerable Jia Mu...
Jia Mu	The noblest land in Daguanyuan, where the revered Xianren reside.
Jia Mu	You have but one more ritual to complete to become the Family Hierarch.
Jia Xichun	I... I...
Jia Xichun's face was contorted with sheer, unadulterated fear.
Jia Mu	Now, present yourself with the utmost respect for our ancestor, our steadfast root, the one who has become an Anamnaworm for the sake of Hongyuan, the great families, and their descendants.
The Elders	Ah, blessed be the Xianhuang Worm, the Anamnaworm of the Immortal Emperor!
Dante	<…!>
The trembling voices begin to swell with emotion as they begin to harmonize as one...
… Something squirms beneath the skin of Jia Mu’s neck. It continues to quiver, slowly taking shape… sculpting into a face, then to a head protruding from her flesh.
Rodion	Ahhh... Nope, no thank you, I'm not gonna look.
The face holds an expression so benevolent that it appears almost... eerie.
Ishmael	That thing... is that...
Ishmael	... is that the Anamnaworm?
Jia Mu	Only by accepting his eminence into your body shall you have the honor of becoming one with the revered Xianren in both psyche and soma.
Jia Mu	The unparalleled honor of receiving generations of knowledge, wisdom... all of which has been accumulated through our venerated elders.
Jia Mu	Be honored to be in audience of such a great man.
Jia Mu	The first to be metamorphosized into the form of an Anamnaworm—the founding Hierarch of Daguanyuan.
Jia Mu	One could spend their entire lifetime venerating and exalting his greatness—and they would still fall short of all the blessings he has bestowed upon us.
Jia Xichun	…….
Jia Mu	He has never graced your presence until now, little Baoyu.
Elder	He is the one who has amassed the greatest quantity of deeds among us; know that his wisdom is without equal.
Elder	The plan to manifest the precious jade of Daguanyuan was formulated by magnificence.
Elder	Many, many years passed until the Family Hierarchs... both those who came before and after my reign... came to realize that what we needed was amusement.
Elder	Oh, the commiserator of our pain! Our suffering from tedium and meaninglessness, this all-consuming emptiness!
Elder	He has bestowed this royal palace with a peerless gem for us!
Elder	That is the day Tiekan Temple became complete. A land of endless amusement and pleasure... a land where we needn't empty our thoughts any longer.
Elder	Paradise on earth, is it not?
Ryoshu	Revolting.
Ryoshu	Revolting insects, scouring for morsels of satisfaction from peeping.
Yi Sang	To sacrifice so many innocent lives for so little... All for these deficient forms of immortality...
Gregor	So much for 'the Enlightened Ones', you vile ghouls... Hah, man.
Hong Lu	….
Hong Lu	Grandmother, I would like to ask you something.
Hong Lu	What happens when the new Hierarch...
Hong Lu	... accepts the Anamnaworm of the great ancestor?
Jia Mu	She will be gifted with the accumulated wisdom of all Xianren here.
Jia Mu	Then, she will be freed from this pathetic, disconnected body of an individual... Freed to share both her emotions and reason with all of us...
Jia Mu	... and eventually, evolve into a transcendent being that exists solely to dedicate herself for the prosperity of Daguanyuan.
Hong Lu	A being that exists solely for the prosperity of Daguanyuan....
Hong Lu	Do all who accept the Xianhuang Worm... end up desiring immortality?
Jia Mu	All those who have accomplished a certain degree of deeds naturally carry the desire for immortality. It is simply human.
Jia Mu	Every Family Hierarch must find their own secret to immortality over the course of their reign to the day they abdicate the responsibility, as all Xianren have thus far.
Rodion	... What's up with this weird obsession, huh?
Rodion	You've all carried the mantle of Hierarch. Each of you was the top dog of a whole Wing. You must’ve all lived lives with all the bells and whistles it has to offer, so how come you all ended up living hidden away like this in some dank basement?
Elder	Insignificant worms destined to crawl their entire, miserable lives under our feet to their dying days, to depart this world having accomplished precisely nothing, shall not understand.
Elder	That we refuse to return to the void of nonexistence, leaving behind all of our labors and accomplishments that has brought Hongyuan to its present glory!
Elder	Were we to fall, so too shall Daguanyuan...
Elder	... and so too shall Hongyuan.
Elder	How are we to leave Hongyuan behind, our own creation?!
Elder	The life of a mere Hierarch, destined to peter out before it even reaches a century, is hardly enough time to truly lead.
Elder	We existed at Hongyuan's incipience.
Elder	Thus exist we shall, at the end of Hongyuan.
Heathcliff	Blimey, ask one question and you get the whole bloody chorus.
Jia Mu	We have tarried overlong.
Jia Mu	To accept the Anamnaworm of the ancestor is very much like the experience of being reborn.
Jia Mu	Is it not what you have sought so desperately, to stand before the masses in their undivided attention and awe?
Jia Xichun	Am I... am I going to be like them, too?
Jia Xichun	I remember him... He... he's my great-great-grandfather. I thought he'd left to meditate a long, long time ago.
Jia Xichun	He used to sneak me snacks... and told me so many old fables and stories...
Jia Mu	Fear is fleeting next to the eternity of euphoria that awaits you, girl. I have experienced the very same myself.
Jia Mu slowly approaches Xichun.
... And...
Hong Lu	... Xichun.
... Hong Lu takes a step toward her, too.
Hong Lu	Remember what you... asked me earlier?
Location: Backstreets of District 8, Recent Past
Jia Xichun	Is this even your call, brother?
Jia Xichun	Or are you just following their orders?
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior
Hong Lu	Back then, I didn't really understand why you asked me that question.
Hong Lu	But now...
Hong Lu	... I'd like to ask you the same thing.
Jia Xichun	…….
Hong Lu	Xichun, do you really want to become the Family Hierarch?
Jia Xichun	I...
Location: Somewhere in Daguanyuan, Past
Jia Xichun	Wooo! Today's been so much fun, big bro.
Jia Xichun	Xichun gets to play with big bro aaaall day and get a present too, and she didn't even have to do anything!
Jia Xichun	I think it'd be so cool if we could play together just like this forever and ever and ever!
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior
Jia Xichun	…….
Jia Xichun	No... no, no, I don't.
Jia Xichun	I don't... Not like this.
Jia Huan	... Ridiculous.
Gubo	Tsk.
Jia Mu	What this child desires is of no relevance.
Jia Mu	Tradition wills this sacred ritual, and tradition cannot be defied.
Jia Mu	As our forefathers have... as we have...
Jia Mu	... you need only do as you are told.
Jia Mu	For that is the Hierarch’s destiny.
Ishmael	Destiny? Sacred ritual? All I see here are a bunch of beyond geriatric bastards looking to turn her into just another tool in their hands to prop up their opulence.
Ishmael	You can’t… force her into doing something she doesn’t want.
Gubo	My, my. Ha Yung, your friends certainly talk as though they're living in some dreamland. No wonder they are fellows of yours! Ha ha.
Jia Mu	Foolish girl. The will of an individual is trivial in Daguanyuan.
Jia Mu	Only by the acceptance of that truth shall you preserve your life. How dare you allow such insolence to guide your tongue?!
Elder	Hoho, be not agitated. That child, Ishmael, is a rebel by nature. Such recalcitrance is best allowed to slide as a puerile resistance of an immature thing.
Elder	What do children who have experienced less than half a century know to speak of wisdom?
Elder	We have watched your journey from its incipience to now; thus we know you better than anyone.
Elder	Their lives have been shaped by nothing but foolhardy, young, witless, and flawed choices.
Elder	Yet from their foolish choices, we have found amusement... And by their foolish choices, was this journey they call 'adventure' made possible.
Elder	Adventures are indeed luxuries of imbeciles; it was quite enthralling to watch as you made choices that we never would have made.
Elder	We have watched as you battled your way here; thus, we know what you have come here for.
Elder	Yet the answer is simple; you need only allow the Anamnaworm to enter Jia Xichun, help her assume the responsibility of the Hierarch, and all of this chaos, this adventure, shall be resolved! And we need only await our next amusement to begin!
Elder	Jia Mu, it would be thoughtless of us to not bring up the day of the Kong family massacre when discussing our finest amusements.
Jia Mu	You honor me, revered Xianren.
Elder	Non-human beings of intelligence, birthed within the boundaries of the City... breeding... again and again...
Elder	The newborns, torn and ripped to shreds by the Head, before being swept away.
Elder	And the crème de la crème—our little witness, Baoyu's tears blurring his vision... and his most fascinating transformation from the day onward... we all experienced the heights of stimulation that day.
Elder	You have done well, Jia Mu. What an effort that must have been.
Elder	Now you may join us here in Tiekan Temple, join us in this eternal witnessing, to the last of your endless days!
Elder	And do look forward to the new amusement that Jia Xichun shall bring us...
Jia Xichun	…….
Elder	Young and foolish adventurers, dearest companions of little Baoyu!
Elder	Fulfill your purpose for having come here. Daguanyuan's survival hinges on the completion of the next Family Hierarch’s ascension.
They weren't wrong. Our purpose for coming here...
... was to quickly certify the next Family Hierarch, have her remove the outside forces that have invaded Daguanyuan, and prevent the conflagration of war.
But...
Elder	Their other purpose for visiting Hongyuan was to obtain an artifact called the Golden Bough.
Elder	Aha! That nearly slipped my mind.
Elder	They have gathered under one banner to find the artifacts known as the Golden Boughs, and are motivated solely to acquire them.
Elder	Thus, show it to them. Show them the gift we have prepared.
Jia Mu	Your wish is my command, venerable Xianren.
Dante	<…!>
What Jia Mu showed us was... the Golden Bough, shimmering in its familiar incandescence.
Jia Mu	Baoyu, do as you have always done.
Jia Mu	Accept this Golden Bough, and embark on your next ‘adventure’ for us.
The Elders	This is our gift, our token of appreciation to you for the amusement you have and will continue to provide us.
Hong Lu	…….
Sinclair	Hong Lu...
Sinclair looked at Hong Lu with a sad expression. I couldn't quite tell if he was worried about what choice Hong Lu would make, or if he was feeling a sort of sympathy for him.
Dante	<Sinclair.>
Sinclair	... Yeah?
Dante	<He's got it.>
But I think I already knew what Hong Lu's choice was going to be.
Jia Mu	... Little Baoyu?
There is a light smile on his lips.
He stands still.
Jia Huan	…….
Jia Huan	Little brother, do not let me down another time.
Jia Huan	Jia Mu has so generously presented this opportunity before you—seize it.
Hong Lu	Grandmother.
Hong Lu	What... will you do, if Xichun refuses to accept the Anamnaworm to the end?
Jia Mu	The exalted Xianhuang Anamnaworm is too frail to have his form manifested outside a body for overlong.
Jia Mu	Not to mention how the sacred ritual to accept him into one's body is a very precise procedure; continued resistance could pose a significant risk to her life.
Jia Mu	And you would both do well to recall that there are many in Daguanyuan who desire the responsibility of the Family Hierarch.
Jia Mu	The very same rabble who are willing to abandon their own flesh and blood if it meant that they could seize power.
Gregor	So...
Gregor	If Miss Xichun refuses to the end...
Gregor	You're just gonna shove that worm into her ear, damned be the risk to her life...
Gregor	... and if she dies in the process, you'll just swap her out with someone else?
Elder	That is why she must accept our exalted ancestor into herself with deferential welcome.
Sinclair	This whole… Family Hierarch war… the whole thing's a sham. It's all just a meaningless charade.
Sinclair	Like the contrived condition that you have to find the answer to immortality and kick all of your siblings off some stupid competition to become the Family Hierarch.
Sinclair	All of it is just for their filthy greed and this disgusting amusement…
Elder	Allow us to impart a counsel for you, O orphaned child of tragic stupidity.
Elder	What other method would there be, if not the Family Hierarch Evaluation, to determine if a prospective candidate is someone with enough wit to provide us amusement like this Jia Mu's destruction of the Kong family?
Elder	Thus the Evaluation is no meaningless charade!
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	I'm sorry, grandmother.
Hong Lu	I can't take that Golden Bough.
Jia Mu	…….
Jia Mu	Why do you choose this path, Baoyu?
Jia Mu	The company that has taken you desires for nothing more than this Golden Bough.
Hong Lu	Yeah, maybe. But...
Location: Front Gates of Daguanyuan, Past
Jia Baoyu	Um... I don't have a wish or anything like that.
Jia Baoyu	So as long as you help me continue to float away, I'll do whatever you ask of me.
Faust	…….
Faust	It is troublesome for us to employ you with an incomplete wish.
Faust	Then allow us to propose something. We promise to give you something to desire.
Faust	In other words, we will give you... something to want.
Jia Baoyu	But what does it mean to... want?
Faust	It is a sensation that moves your heart...
Faust	A sort of hunger, or a yearning.
Faust	Once you have that, you will no longer simply float downstream, surrendered to the ebb and flow of the water currents.
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior
Hong Lu	I see. Now might be the time.
Hong Lu	Even if it means that I must push against the currents... even if it means that I'll be abandoned...
Hong Lu	I don't think I can sit here and watch as you force her to become a Hierarch she doesn't want to be.
Jia Huan	You would rather walk away from this comfortable, treaded path and venture a thorny one?
Jia Huan	You would rather have even more blood on your hands?
Jia Huan	All you had to do was to let it happen. And we could have both gained what we came here for and left, ending this excruciating experience of having to look at your face.
Outis	What... what is your organization even after?
Jia Huan	I also have a question for all of you.
Jia Huan	Have you really walked a pristine path of no bloodshed? Can you really say that you've not caused anyone to suffer in your pursuit of Golden Boughs?
Jia Huan	You have left behind countless deaths and sacrifices for that sole purpose. You've turned a blind eye to every single suffering in your wake.
Jia Huan	So what's another death, another sacrifice? Is your little sister, whom you haven't even spoken with in a long time, mind, suddenly more important than the bough? Now that's some rich hypocrisy.
Jia Huan	Pursue your interests, pursue the reward that lies right before your eyes. Why must you make things so difficult?
Hong Lu	I wonder the same, brother. All this time, I had no qualms about simply watching things float away... so why is it so hard to let go all of a sudden?
Gubo	Then... it would be reasonable to assume that this truce is no more.
Gubo	... That insignificant girl has to accept the Anamnaworm before we are to acquire what we came here for.
Jia Huan	... Hah. Disgusting as always.
As if on cue, Gubo, Jia Huan, and their subordinates began to assume a battle stance.

Episode: 57
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior
Gregor	Now that's an annoying trick...
Heathcliff	Tsk, everything's just bouncing off that sod...
Faust	The fact that N Corp. has already found a way to successfully extract E.G.O has already been identified.
Faust	... However, it is at a more advanced stage than we had imagined.
Faust	But they... physically could not have had enough time to reach this level of completion.
Jia Huan	You're not the most pleasant bastard to be around, but... I must admit, you are certainly capable.
Gubo	Hmph. It is no surprise that a layperson such as yourself fails to see through the vast mind of a scientist.
Gubo	It really happened as my research deemed it would, did it not? The defensive field generated by this E.G.O is invincible.
Elder	The lineage of Hierarchs must continue. The bequeathment of immortality must continue. The amusements of life must continue.
Elder	This momentary lapse in judgment mustn't be allowed to shake Daguanyuan's status quo.
Elder	You need only remain a gem, nothing more. Your only responsibility was to keep that jade clean, free of marring, to bring further glory to Daguanyuan...
Elder	Jia Mu! Correct the foolishly lost child's wanderings! Return him to the rightful road!
Elder	Why does the gem, the child who must witness nothing but the greatest luxuries at the apex of the world, endeavor to become a worthless stone again?
Elder	Now ensure that the child, the beneficiary of our love and care, may fulfill his duty and purpose for existence.
Jia Mu	What a tragic turn of events.
Jia Mu	I meant to bestow you the Golden Bough, forsaking one of the paths to immortality that I had acquired...
Jia Mu	... yet you would rather pursue the pointless, fleeting charade? Against your own grandmother?
Hong Lu	Yes. Grandmother, elders... you have all loved and cared for me more than anyone else in Daguanyuan has.
Hong Lu	And that's why, while my own brothers and sisters were doomed to spend the rest of their lives killing each other...
Hong Lu	I could simply witness the lives plummet to the cold earth, all from the comfort of my room.
Hong Lu	My parents also told me that I should be thankful for being born as a gem. That I should feel lucky that all I have to do is just keep an eye open.
Hong Lu	But... grandmother...
Hong Lu	... What if I told you I'm exhausted... tired of just glimmering on?
Jia Mu	A precious jade has no such thing as wants or desires.
Dante	<…!>
Dante	<The Golden Bough...?>
The Golden Bough slides into Jia Mu's body and begins to flicker, its power spiraling into her body.
Jia Mu	The rewinding process you have shown us in the first round was most fascinating.
Jia Mu	And it has unlocked a new level of understanding in me—the true worth of this artifact, previously unnoticed and allowed to remain untouched within the depths of our treasury.
Jia Mu	Once we leave this little... ruckus behind, I will be sure to put that Golden Bough within the 'rewinding thing' to good use as well.
Hong Lu	I've witnessed so many lights...
Hong Lu	So many colors...
Hong Lu	And so many emotions.
Hong Lu	Everything that I had to witness drew my gaze away from the rest of the world.
Hong Lu	So, my world is nothing but a meaningless mess of confusing, patternless, and incongruent colors.
Hong Lu	Sometimes I'd wonder...
Hong Lu	... what kind world reflects in the eyes of others.
Hong Lu	Just what kind of world do they live in, that they become so attached to these silly little splotches in a myriad of colors?
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior
Jia Mu	Why concern yourself with the way mayflies live?
Jia Mu	Their concern is only for what lies immediately before them; they are myopic, unable to see far enough to achieve anything of significance.
Jia Mu	Do you believe that Hongyuan could have risen to its present reputation and prosperity had it not been for the revered Xianren?
Jia Mu	The other Nests would have destroyed and devoured us whole.
Sinclair	Hong Lu...
Sinclair	I know that not everything in your world was colorful. But...
Sinclair	You must've felt something.
Sinclair	Something that made you feel, like... a heart.
Hong Lu	Do you believe so?
Hong Lu	But it slipped away from me so, so long ago.
Hong Lu	And this place is too vast to find anything once lost.
Dante	<That's not true.>
Dante	<I'm sure you'll find it again. As long you put your mind to it.>
Dante	<As long as your heart is truly in it.>
Jia Mu	Little Baoyu. Do not let these empty words stir you.
Jia Mu	What could a frivolous thing like your puerile heart possibly do... before the great will of Hongyuan...?
Jia Mu	Oh... Oh, revered Xianren of my heart... do you also believe that to be true...?
Jia Mu	You understand...! You acknowledge and appreciate my life, all that time I've sacrificed for Hongyuan...!
Jia Mu	Hahahahahaha! The revered Xianren of my heart speaks!
Jia Mu	That I, following in the great will of Daguanyuan... shall be reborn...!
Jia Mu	... Reborn as a mighty, noble, and... immortal being!
Lin Daiyu	And tomorrow, we'll play whatever big bro Baoyu's favorite game is. How's that for a plan, huh?
Lin Daiyu	But what do you want? Here's some homework for you—when we meet tomorrow, you better have come up with something you like, okay?
Happiness.
Hong Lu
Hong Lu	It cannot have been much fun to be around me, but Daiyu always invited me to play with her.
Hong Lu	She was always the first to sense how I was feeling, always the one to be there for me...
Hong Lu	Always the one to be sad for me, to be angry in my place...
Hong Lu	... It almost deluded me into believing that I was no longer just a gem stuffed in a treasury.
Jia Huan	I wanna play a Bolus making game!
Jia Huan	Gather a bunch of sand, and pebbles, and leaves, and seed to make a Bolus, and the best Bolus wins!
Joy.
Hong Lu
Hong Lu	Huan always liked to follow me around. He probably wanted grandmother to recognize him.
Hong Lu	Huan always had this... dream, even as a little boy.
Hong Lu	He wanted to be one of the top Bolus makers in the City.
Jia Huan	Bro...ther... I'm... sorry... I should've listened... to you...
Jia Huan	But I was just so… envious… I just wanted to know… what they were gonna show here...
…….
Hong Lu	Maybe he really could have achieved that.
Jia Mu	Come, little Baoyu. It is time for you to visit the elders.
Sorrow.
Hong Lu
Hong Lu	They were always so kind to me, the elders. But I wanted to play with Daiyu instead.
Hong Lu	With time, I stopped being so afraid of them. But...
Hong Lu	... they always speak as though they know every little thing about me.
Hong Lu	My only use is to be a window, an amusement for the elders in their long, tedious lives.
Hong Lu	I don't need to talk much. I only need to see as many interesting things as possible and wear a pleasant smile for them.
Xiren	It cannot be helped, young master.
Xiren	The prudent option would be to witness it all in silence.
…….
Hong Lu	I wish Xiren could be back to her old self again.
Hong Lu	But I know that can't happen. So I smiled.
Jia Xichun	Play with me, big bro.
Jia Xichun	This room's tooooo big for just Xichun.
Jia Xichun	You... never should have said that. To me.
Jia Xichun	... I won't be visiting you ever, ever again.
Wrath.
Hong Lu
Hong Lu	Xichun was once a child who found happiness in the smallest things. A child who used to like playing with me.
Hong Lu	But once she gets older, she'll be like every other child in Daguanyuan.
Hong Lu	She will resent me, envy me, and try to kill anyone else who's shooting for the seat of the Family Hierarch.
Hong Lu	But... I hoped that she wouldn't come to hate me. So once again, I smiled.
Xue Pan	I... I didn't have to die yesterday... I didn't have to die yesterday if you'd just helped me.
Xue Pan	Do you have any idea how much it hurts when they chop off your neck? It hurts. It really, really hurts, but you can't even scream.
Xue Pan	... I wish for nothing but the worst sufferings in what's left of your miserable life.
…….
Hong Lu	Xue Pan never wanted to fight. He was a pacifist with a soft heart that could easily be brought to tears.
Hong Lu	But after a few deaths, his every word became a stabbing thorn.
Hong Lu	And he gladly impales me with them as he curses me. And I end up hoping that everything that he curses me with comes true.
Hong Lu	So I smiled again.
Xue Baochai	Baoyu, Grandma and Mother tell me that there are no other women in Daguanyuan who can possibly hope to match up to you... other than me.
Xue Baochai	Let's live the happiest life we can together, okay? We'll see only the pleasant sights, eat only the best food out there, and enjoy the beautiful luxuries life has to offer. Aren't you excited?
…….
Hong Lu	Baochai loved me, but what she loved was not a person—only the light that I radiate.
Hong Lu	Just as I loved her fragrance.
Hong Lu	Letting the will of Daguanyuan carry me away would have had me wed big sis Baochai.
Hong Lu	But this feeling she spoke of, this excitement, was nothing more than a heavy, cumbersome accessory.
Hong Lu	It was unwieldly, and it was much more than what I deserved. So I smiled.
Lin Daiyu	So now you'd rather isolate yourself in this room?
Lin Daiyu	I don't know what to do anymore. Whenever I see your smile, I...
Lin Daiyu	I find myself drawn to it… before I become so hateful of it that I never want to see it again.
…….
Hong Lu	Daiyu will now hate me for the rest of her life, just as everyone else in Daguanyuan does.
Hong Lu	So it's better that I shut myself off in my room.
Hong Lu	She could have left me then, but she chose to remain by my side.
Hong Lu	Maybe it wasn't a choice at all. Maybe she was bound to me.
Hong Lu	It's my fault that she has nowhere else to go.
Hong Lu	So the only thing I could show her in response was...
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior
Jia Mu	Your only duty is to witness.
Jia Mu	That is all you are, that is all you will ever be capable of. You know this better than anyone else.
Yi Sang	... Hong Lu, your smile has changed not once. Then or now.
Yi Sang	But we have come to know that your smile is more than a shell.
Yi Sang	I know that it is the same smile that brought me to the past, the same smile that I thought resembled Brother Young-ji's.
Yi Sang	Thus... I know your distant yet true heart, Hong Lu.
Yi Sang	There was aught you had felt from us, was there not?
Location: -1
Hong Lu	Solitude. Steadfast. Lingering. So bitter, yet... so intolerably exhausted...
Hong Lu	Loneliness. Regret. Anticipation. The castle of ice was so lonely and cold, despite your smile...
Hong Lu	Conflict. Anguish. Courage. But there was a desperate resolve to overcome it all nonetheless...
Hong Lu	Longing. Melancholy. Warmth. The wings unfurled were so blinding, so brilliant...
Hong Lu	Passion. Adventure. Ferocity. The journey, finally in search of a destination, found liberation...
Hong Lu	Futility. Determination. Love. The declaration was beautiful, though to whom I could not know...
Hong Lu	Exhilaration. Tragedy. Excitement. I learned how beautiful and incandescent the light of a continuing dream could be.
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior
Hong Lu	But I also know that they're just fleeting things, destined to be lost to time.
Hong Lu	As all things return to dust, so will these emotions, no matter how hotly they once burned.
Hong Lu	I'm not like the rest of you.
Hong Lu	I don't want to change anything. I don't want to achieve anything, either.
Hong Lu	So I just watch... with a smile, a perpetual smile.
Dante	<You don't have to want to achieve anything.>
Dante	<But as long as you're on this bus with the rest of us, things will keep happening, both good and bad.>
Dante	<Something's probably going to blow Heathcliff's fuse again.>
Dante	<You'll see the Sinners, your friends, get killed again.>
Dante	<We'll fail again, too. The kind of failure that leaves us with nothing. The kind of failure that leaves us stagnant.>
Dante	<But...>
Dante	<Among those inevitabilities, think about the other things that are sure to happen.>
Location: -1
Dante	<You're going to miss the days you went out kiting.
Dante	And when Don Quixote starts to regale us with yet another one of her tales of adventure, you're going to join in to indulge her.>
Dante	<You know for sure that you'll be listening to Rodya heap praises about her favorite food whenever we get the chance to try them.>
Dante	<You're going to suddenly realize that the scenery past the bus windows have changed, and that they've become beautiful for once.>
Dante	<You're going to feel your heart swell for no reason, when you listen to the Sinners laugh and giggle behind you.>
Dante	<You know how I know this?>
Dante	<Because I'm talking about myself here.>
Dante	<These moments in time… they’re what I use to fill the void my memories left behind.>
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior
Hong Lu	... How can you... and everyone... bring yourselves to care about anything, knowing that it always has an end?
Dante	<One end... or, at least what we thought would be the end...>
Dante	<... was always just the starting line for something new.>
Dante	<Each finish line was just another arbitrary mark, another step in our journey, right?>
Dante	<And it's those little steps that... keep us going.>
Dante	<And hey, Hong Lu... you're not stagnating. You're changing, too.>
Dante	<Tell me. Why did you decide to go with Jia Qiu's plan?>
Hong Lu	It wasn't about the war, the Golden Bough, or... Daguanyuan.
Hong Lu	The first thing that came to mind was...
Hong Lu	was...
Hong Lu	... that I wanted Xichun to genuinely smile again.
Dante	<Yeah, and that's... how your heart's been changing.>
Dante	<In ways you hadn’t seen.>
Hong Lu	I thought I’d already let these fragments of my heart float away from me.
Hong Lu	After all, all of existence is but a passing dream, destined to return to emptiness…
Location: Front Gates of Daguanyuan, Past
Faust	Before your onboarding, you may present a name or an alias of your choosing that others should address you by.
Faust	Will you use your name, Jia Baoyu?
Jia Baoyu	Um...
Jia Baoyu	No.
Hong Lu	Hong Lu. I want to be Hong Lu.
Location: -1
Hong Lu	But now, I realize that they’ve been buried here all along.
Hong Lu	They weren’t lost... I'd only forgotten about them. That’s why I felt like my heart was trapped.
Dante	<I can keep turning the clock for you, I can keep walking side-by-side with you to the end of the line...>
Dante	<But at the end of the day... only you can save yourself.>
Hong Lu	Oh, I thought the kite had floated away, never to be found again.
Hong Lu	But it was still here.
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior
Hong Lu	Every meeting is a promise of a goodbye…
Hong Lu	And the loveliness of fresh blossoms only sharpens the pain of wilting.
Hong Lu	But...
Dante	<But the world you witness will always be beautiful.>
Dante	<Because you are a kind person, Hong Lu. Kinder than anyone else.>
Dante	<So, your world must be painted in the fairest color of jade.>
Hong Lu	... if those petals refuse to surrender and live on in the brief moments they are given,
Hong Lu	despite knowing that they will eventually scatter to the winds…
Dante	<Then, show them the petals you’ve gathered.>
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior
Hong Lu	You, grandmother, and the elders have always been caged by your desperate search for immortality.
Hong Lu	Searching for ways to perpetuate your existence, searching day and night for new ways to be freed from death.
Hong Lu	But grandmother, have you ever freed yourself from that very suffering, even for a moment?
Jia Mu	... I cannot allow myself to be attached to such moments of insignificance.
Jia Mu	They are but foolish human afflictions, a waste of intellect.
Hong Lu	Every emotion is such a fleeting thing, mere sparks in moments that will be lost in time.
Hong Lu	Maybe it really is foolish to be so attached to them.
Hong Lu	But an eternity of existence without them is... an eternity of emptiness.
Hong Lu	To exist is to live in the culmination of moments, after all.
Hong Lu	Happiness, pain... they all scatter away as fast as they arrive, but I would rather be honest to those feelings.
Hong Lu	I will do more than just witness them. I want to reach out and let my swelling emotions run wild.
Hong Lu	In happiness, in wrath, in sorrow, and in joy... I would still cast my life into the vast world.
Hong Lu	And that... is how I will find an eternity in a glimpse.
Jia Mu	But there is so much left for us to accomplish…
Jia Mu	Without us, Daguanyuan will… Hongyuan will…
Hong Lu	No, Hongyuan will be okay.
Hong Lu	Because it'll be its people that bring change to Hongyuan, not the Family Hierarch.
Jia Mu	Such... such insolence...! Stupid, thankless child...! You... you will do no such... no such thing...!
Hong Lu	Maybe I can't. It's just my opinion, after all.
Hong Lu	So... with that, I leave you here to enjoy the immortality you so desired, grandmother. Dear elders.
Hong Lu	You’ll have all the time in the world to watch as I live my tomorrows.
Location: -1
Hong Lu	May the rest of your lives be long and unending.

Episode: 58
Location: Tiekan Temple Interior, Recent Past
We quickly made our way outside as the flooding Tiekan Temple turned into a lake.
Jia Huan	Dammit, it must've been swept away by the cascade! It must be here somewhere, find it!
Gubo	... Here! Drat, the precious specimen...!
... I briefly turn to see Gubo wading through the cascading flood, searching frantically amid the rising waters. Jia Huan, meanwhile, stands gazing toward the hall… before quietly making his way to the center of the Tiekan Temple.
Jia Huan	…….
Then, all of a sudden, Jia Huan raises his blade... then stabs it into the center of the Tiekan Temple...
... and the sceneries that the Xianren have been peeping at begin to grow delayed, fuzzy, and warped.
Jia Huan	... Hah.
Jia Huan	Let's get out of here for now...
The "Xianren", swept off their pedestals by the powerful flow of water, crawl pathetically toward the door as Jia Huan shoots them a contemptuous glare and escapes the chamber. Gubo follows, not far behind him.
Location: Tiekan Temple Entrance
... But we still didn't have anything to break through the defensive field put up by their E.G.O gear.
Jia Huan	Tsk... you never have anything more than empty platitudes to convey...
Gubo	So this is the true form of the Xianhuang Worm... We were supposed to capture it alive.
Gubo	Well... it can't be helped. Even half dead, it is extremely close to the form of the pure human she seeks. This specimen will still be of use to us.
Jia Huan	Don't be too vexed, old-timers. At least it's the rightful heir of the family that's taking the Xianhuang Worm.
Location: Way Down to Tiekan Temple
Jia Huan	Hold on, Gubo. Was that also an ability of that E.G.O?
Gubo	... This is technically not my area of expertise. I had only made an educated guess from context clues that this E.G.O would allow for such a usage... and my guess simply happened to be true.
Gubo	I thought we were the ones who had a direct hand in choosing these E.G.O, but... perhaps we were actually guided to 'choose' the appropriate ones for ourselves.
Gubo	Mm. It seems that the other team has secured our escape route.
Jia Huan	... The newcomer's team? One led by the former Chief Butler? Hmph, she's competent, I'll give her that.
Location: -1
A ripple radiates from the clear, jade-blue lake...
Location: Tiekan Temple Exterior
... until stillness comes.
Tiekan Temple reflects clearly on its surface.
The initial sense of oppressiveness was replaced by... peace.
Ishmael	... Looks like Tiekan Temple's been completely cut off from the rest of the world.
Dante	<... I guess no one's ever getting in or out of there again.>
Hong Lu	The people in there... they won't hold any sway on Xichun or any subsequent Family Hierarchs to come.
Hong Lu	So... now they have an opportunity to really bring about change to Hongyuan. If they can utilize it.
Ishmael	No one'll ever know what... happens in there. No one'll be able to help them if something were to happen, either.
Meursault	It is likely that the sole nutrient supplier for them was the Family Hierarch. Their deaths will be very slow.
Ryoshu	Puff... just like a gu poison jar. Ultimate solitude.
Besides, all they'll ever get to witness in their last moments is the blurred, barely-recognizable, and heavily delayed display. It's gotta be pretty infuriating.
Jia Xichun	Big bro...
Jia Xichun	What'll happen to me once we leave here?
Jia Xichun	I couldn't do anything in there but shudder with fear. Do I... even deserve to rule over Hongyuan and its families?
Hong Lu	Here's what I think, Xichun.
Hong Lu	I think the people who most deserve to be the Family Hierarch...
Hong Lu	... are the people who are afraid of becoming one.
Jia Xichun	... You think so?
Jia Xichun	Well... if you say so, I'll try to convince myself of that, too.
Hong Lu	Let's leave this place, now.
... Unlike the lake overlooking Tiekan Temple, however, what greeted us outside was far from peaceful.
Location: Bridge to Tiekan Temple
The view outside had become even more gruesome.
Jia Qiu	The promised Chen hour is come.
In midst of striking up a storm with his staff, Jia Qiu notices us—and gives us a barely perceivable look of relief.
Jia Qiu	You've done it, little brother.
Surrounding him were piles of dead and heavily wounded bodies...
He was covered in so many cuts, bruises, and bloodstains that I couldn't even tell if all that blood came from him, or from those around him, or how many people bled on him.
Lin Daiyu	Bao...yu...
Lin Daiyu	I'm... so glad...
Behind him stood Daiyu, looking terribly exhausted.
They've been guarding this entrance against this endless stream of enemies this whole time, to keep their word.
Lei Heng	... Hah.
The only ones still engaged in battle were Jia Qiu and Lei Heng.
Lei Heng	Dangit. Shit's fucked, ain't it?
Lei Heng	I'm all outta gas... my boys are dead as shit... and now that y'alls got yourselves twelve fresh fellers... I reckon I don't got that many options left...
Lei Heng	And when y'all get the girl to the seat... them yaller dogs out there'll pack up 'n go home 'n pretend none 'o this ever happened.
Lei Heng looks at us despondently, panting with fatigue.
Lei Heng	Awright, lemme be straight with y'all. Any way I get to walk outta here alive?
He begs for his life in an impressively self-assured manner.
Jia Qiu	…….
Of course, Jia Qiu had no reason to accept this request.
But...
Instead of rebuking Lei Heng, he slams the ground with his staff with a heavy boom before addressing him.
Jia Qiu	... Very well, Tiantui Star, the Winged Tiger Chachihu. Then I will make you the same offer you gave Tianjiu Star, the Unrestrained Meizhelan. Take a singular hit.
Lei Heng	I ain't even worth unwrappin' that staff of yours, am I?
Lei Heng let out a hollow laugh, then produced a cigar from his pocket.
Lei Heng	Hold your horses, be done in a jiffy.
He bit one end of it off, then...
Slowly, carefully lit the cigar in an almost ritualistic reverence.
Lei Heng	... Hit me.
Jia Qiu lifted the staff and placed it lightly on Lei Heng's right shoulder.
Jia Qiu	…….
Warm rings of light materialize around the staff...
... until there were five of them.
Dante	<…….>
Lei Heng	I see... Five Mangs(五望) of the Tiangang Star...
Lei Heng	Puff... Ain't that a real motherfu—
The staff gently slid across Lei Heng's shoulder even before he got to finish his sentence...
... and his head exploded into chunks of meat, then rained down in tatters like fireworks.
Kong Qiu	... He would rather call me by the star's name, hm. Yet my name is Kong Qiu.
Ryoshu	Puff... the Pinky.
Ryoshu	Omnipresent yet unknown to each other...
... Everyone fell silent for a moment.
Kong Qiu	... We have no time to waste on ruminations.
Kong Qiu	Our task is not over until she ascends to the seat of the Family Hierarch and seizes the Heishou Packs' leash.
Jia Qiu's resolute voice woke us from that stunned silence, and...
... with him at the vanguard, one by one, we routed the forces that still sought to stop the new Hierarch from assuming the responsibility.
It was no easy task, but...
Hong Lu	…….
... Hong Lu appeared more unburdened than ever, so...
... I was pretty happy.
... A few days later...
Location: Daguanyuan Front Gates
Jia Xichun	…….
Hong Lu	Here to see us go, Xichun?
... She doesn't seem too happy for this to be just a friendly gesture.
Sinclair	Hey... we'll stop by from time to time.
Jia Xichun	Hmph, sure. But don't expect me to make the time to greet you guys.
Jia Xichun	I'm about to be busier than I've ever been in my entire life.
Wei	My lady expresses that you will always be welcomed with the greatest honors here.
Sinclair	Huh... I don't really know you well, Mister Wei, but... I feel a strange sense that we might be kindred spirits...
Rodion	Looks like you'll have your hands full too, Wei.
Wei	Indeed I will. There is much work to be done.
Wei	So much of the information has been esoterically handed down via the Anamnaworm... it'll take years for us to put it all to paper. We're having difficulty even getting an idea of how long it might take.
Wei	But you have broken one of many cycles here; I am certain that Hongyuan will become a better place to live under my ladyship's rule.
A lot of things did not go according to plan, but... in the end, Xichun did become the next Hierarch.
A Family Hierarch without the Imperial Worm.
Jia Xichun	Everyone here at Daguanyuan, they... they all seem to have a lot of questions for me, but...
Jia Xichun	Heh, what are they gonna do? Directly challenge the Family Hierarch?
Rodion	Gotta say, ya were real charismatic out there from your first command as the Hierarch~ "Turmoil has come to Daguanyuan. Release the Heishou Pack - Chou, Chen, and Shen branches and quell the chaos!" Right?
Jia Xichun	... Don't ever do an impression of me acting like that again.
Yi Sang	Many must be looking forward to your governance, given your initial charismatic demonstration.
Yi Sang	You are, in essence, a new kind of leader that this land hasn't seen in many years... Much they must have to ask for your judgment in terms of rules and laws.
Jia Xichun	Yeah, what about it? Rules are there to be rewritten.
Jia Xichun	... The whole... damn thing, I guess...
Jia Xichun sighed lightly and looked around Daguanyuan.
Jia Xichun	Ugh... I feel like I've aged ten years all at once.
Zigong	I thought I'd be the artist behind the brush for this painting, yet...
Zigong	... I did not expect us to allow a brush held by another to guide us, my lord.
Kong Qiu	…….
Zigong	It is fortunate that our brushstrokes shared the general direction.
Zigong	A Family Hierarch who does not seek to be free from aging and death... I wonder what winds of change that will bring to Hongyuan?
Kong Qiu	It was a far more peaceful resolution than the one your guidance would have provided. "Gouge out your little brother's eye and use it to enter the temple", was it?
Rodion	Whaaat?!
Ryoshu	Efficiency in the veil of cruelty. Minimalistic... puff.
Zigong	It was a mere jest, my lord. Though... I suppose I did add "If things do not go according to plan...".
Zigong	Ah, whichever was the case... What will you do next, my lord?
Kong Qiu	... Today, I observed that the Pinky has strayed from the path of humanity. Thus, I will now join Yan Hui, journey to Mount Liang, and come to a few agreements with the Mohists.
Zilu	We must also discuss the matter of the Tiantui Star, whose seat has just become vacant.
Kong Qiu	Indeed we must. Then we shall journey to Q Corp. next.
Dante	<The Pinky?>
Faust	Yes. ... It seems that Kong Qiu's allegiance lies with the Pinky.
Kong Qiu	Indeed. As one of the Pinky, I intend to change the world with the Way of true humanity.
Sinclair	Given what Ryōshū said...
Sinclair	Lei Heng and Zilu are both from the Pinky, right...? So how come they were trying to kill each other?
Faust	Members of the Pinky gather and scatter when certain conditions are met. However, when there is no call...
Ryoshu	... they just live their lives without knowing which is which. No call, no solidarity.
Ryoshu	P.O.S.
Sinclair	Playing on Solo-mode... right?
Faust	It seemed that Zilu and Lei Heng were aware of each other's identities, but did not know about Kong Qiu.
Zigong	You know this well. I hear that you are the primary purveyor of esoteric knowledge in your group?
Faust	…….
Zigong	Then, you must also be aware of the weight of information regarding our, and our lord's allegiance to the Pinky is rather heavy.
Zigong	I trust that you will maintain your silence regarding the matter, as it is right to do so.
Kong Qiu	I have aught to ask you.
Kong Qiu approached me as the other people were starting to scatter.
At first, I looked away because I couldn't imagine that he could possibly be talking to me.
Kong Qiu	Dante, the manager.
Kong Qiu	Will you continue to push to open their paths...
Kong Qiu	... for every Sinner under your management, no matter which road they walk?
Kong Qiu	As you have done for my brother?
I nodded.
Kong Qiu	Even if one of them seeks to walk the path of Asura?
Kong Qiu's gaze briefly lingered on one of the Sinners before moving on.
The Sinner takes a long draw from the cigarette and releases the smoke with a large sigh, which then turns into a scattering plume. Her hand rests, out of habit, on her never-drawn sword.
I'm going to keep helping them as long as they have the will to move forward, no matter what. My thoughts on that matter haven't changed at all. They never will.
I nodded once again.
Kong Qiu	... I see.
Zigong	... Ah. My lord, I have another subject to discuss. While this is but a conjecture at the moment... evidence seems to point to Jia Yuanchun being among the treasonous forces of Hongyuan, in cahoots with the Xue and the Shi families.
Kong Qiu	While this suspicion is yet to be developed beyond supposition, it seemed likely that Jia Yuanchun had aligned herself with the treasonous forces of Hongyuan.
Kong Qiu	She made herself scarce as soon as the troubles were quelled, which could mean... yes.
Zigong	The first thread to find is the influential individual within the Shi family who ordered Shi Yihua's execution. Once their identity is determined, it should be no trouble making the connection to the masterminds behind this incident.
Hong Lu	Will you continue to roam the lands, brother?
Kong Qiu	Indeed I will.
Kong Qiu	I will walk the City, converse with the lords of each Nest.
He gives a muted reply to Hong Lu before turning around to look at Jia Xichun.
Kong Qiu	... None may say for certain if Jia Xichun, over her long tenure to come, shall not be tempted by promises of immortality.
Jia Xichun	Ugh... seriously?! I'm—
Kong Qiu	Yet, if one's heart truly lies steady upon the path of humanity, they will not be swayed to commit evil...
Kong Qiu	... thus, I believe that you are worth watching.
Kong Qiu	Upon our next meeting...
Kong Qiu	Hm, though I cannot say for certain whether our goals shall be aligned then as they were today, but...
Kong Qiu	... I suppose we shall have much to take in from each other.
Kong Qiu	What are your thoughts, Zigong?
Kong Qiu	Did you enjoy this lesson as well?
Zigong	Yes... I was... foolish, my lord. Once again.
Kong Qiu	It is all right.
Kong Qiu	Learning and understanding must go hand-in-hand, as I always say.
Kong Qiu	You are a student worthy of discourse still.
Zigong	... I have much to learn.
Zigong	It seems that you weren't repeatedly recounting that story over and over at me again for nothing.
Zigong	You were trying to insinuate that he was the only one in Hongyuan who was worthy of faith...
Kong Qiu	... Zigong, Zilu, let us converse in private for a moment, for I have an important task for you...
Location: Daguanyuan Gardens
Xiren	…….
Xiren's expression that regarded us was the same as it always was.
Hong Lu	Your nu'er tea is always so delicious.
Hong Lu	Thanks, Xiren.
Xiren	Yes, young master.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	I will be departing again soon. I don't know when I should return.
Xiren	Understood.
Hong Lu	... Stay safe until then.
Hong Lu	A-actually, no.
Hong Lu	What do you think, Xiren? About the fact that I'll be leaving soon.
Xiren	…….
Xiren	Walk the path of your choosing, young master. Whichever that may be.
Her reply sounded as cold as ever, to the point that the now lukewarm, clacking tea cups on her clean-up tray sounded warmer...
Hong Lu	Alright.
... but Hong Lu smiled as though something had been lifted from his heart, as though he found something he'd been looking for.
Location: Daguanyuan Pavilion
Lin Daiyu	Even the opulence of Daguanyuan fades.
Lin Daiyu	The trees are wilting... as the once beautiful pavilions and towers now lay in ruins and abandonment.
Lin Daiyu	It seems that all of existence is, indeed, but a great cycle of rises and falls.
Hong Lu	It is.
Hong Lu	But isn't that...
Hong Lu	... exactly why every moment in life is so beautiful?
Lin Daiyu	... Yes, yes it is.
Lin Daiyu	…….
Lin Daiyu	I will no longer wait for you.
Lin Daiyu	And I might one day disappear from Daguanyuan myself, now that I know that idle waiting is not the sole answer.
Hong Lu	…….
Hong Lu	Daiyu, I loved that day when we went out kiting together.
Hong Lu	That was my favorite game.
Lin Daiyu	... And mine as well.
Location: -1
Hong Lu leaves Daguanyuan as the happiest descendant it has ever produced.
Finding meaning in every moment of his life...
No longer a passive witness to tragedy, as he once was to the deaths and suffering of his siblings,
Hong Lu will walk tall with his friends.
Yet even that will one day fade. For in the end, we have but one chance at life, and to live at all is to exist in futility.
His home, too, shall one day be taken by loneliness and solitude, gradually eroding away with time...
and we will all one day go our separate ways.
But every wilting fertilizes the next blossom, every fallen home may become a place for new beginnings, and every goodbye is a promise of new meetings.
Thus Jia Baoyu, once the peerless treasure of Daguanyuan...
... boards the bus once again as Hong Lu.
The clouds I once saw in his jade-eye had all but withdrawn.
I only see an incandescent, radiant smile.
Location: Daguanyuan Pavilion
Jia Xichun	Well...
Jia Xichun	I guess it's a bit of a shame to just let you guys go like this.
Jia Xichun	But I tried to make our farewell a memorable one. Made sure you got the best of the best food we had to offer, to commemorate the day I took office...
Rodion	Mffh, I mew Xichewwn's ze bescht~!
Ishmael	Just how are you still finding all that leftover food? Everyone's already left the banquet.
Rodion	Cam't washte gooh fooh~!
Gregor	'Course... Uh, hey... is the bus not starting or something?
Sinclair	Yeah... wait, where are we headed to, anyway?
Heathcliff	How should we know, lad? Guide's gonna tell us soon anyway.
Heathcliff	Uh... hang on, where'd that bloke go?
Saude	Hi, I'm subbing in for him today~
Rodion	Huh? We could've switched out our guide all along? Well, why didn't we get Saude to—
Saude	No, that's not— that's not how it works... ha ha.
Saude	It's just that you have some unfinished business here.
Saude	For your information, the Red Gaze is currently away because he's accompanying Pilot on a mission elsewhere. More urgent LCCB business~
Yi Sang	What misery it is to be him...
Yi Sang	...? Ah, I did not mean to insinuate that Pilot would be the source of his misery.
Jia Xichun	You have more business here at Daguanyuan...?
Saude	Oh yes, we do.
Saude	Very, very important business, in fact.
Jia Xichun	... Why are you looking at me like that? What is it this time?
Saude	So, you know how Miss Jia Xichun, a very important and friendly ally of ours, has become the de facto leader of a Wing?
Outis	... Oho?
Outis	You're a crafty one, aren't you?
Saude	Oh, of course~ Veterans like me tend to pick up a thing or two after some experience in the field.
Outis	Ha ha! Very well, this more than makes up for your subordinate's blunder from last time!
Saude	Aww~ I knew you'd be the first to pick up what I'm putting down! We both know what's the best for our company~
Jia Xichun	Okay, now I'm starting to get really creeped out... why are you both looking at me like that...?
Ishmael	... Oh.
Ishmael	I see how it is. Even the biggest catch of the day'll just rot in the shed if you don't bother to fillet it, right?
Saude	Alright, I'd like to have everyone's attention for the LCB's next mission.
Jia Xichun	... Wait, just wait a damn second. Do you need me here for this?
Saude	Miss Jia Xichun, as you've quickly become one of our most precious human resources, as the Family Hierarch...
Saude	... we're going to give you a total makeover training!
Jia Xichun	…? ?? ?!?
Saude	Ah, we can't spend too much time on the training, though. So we're gonna have to fast-track this.
Jia Xichun	Y-you dare?! I'll have you know, I'm still the—
Wei	I am very much in agreement that there is much you must learn to be an effective Family Hierarch of Hongyuan.
Wei	To further solidify your base within Daguanyuan... Ahem, ahem.
Outis	Then we should get right to it.
Outis	Meursault! You seem to be well-versed in the art of physical fitness.
Meursault	Your intent has been understood, but it is up to the manager to command me.
Dante	<... Well. I don't see why not.>
Meursault	Then it will be done.
Jia Xichun	Huh?! Hey, put me down!
Outis	The first order of business is to improve your fitness level! Now, on my count—
Jia Xichun	Y-y-yo-you bastards...! Would it kill you to go a single second without ruining my day?!!!
Jia Xichun	You're all like a family of bedbugs I can't get rid of, you know that?!!! I'm gonna make you throw up everything you ate today, you assholes!!!
Location: -1
- FIN -
Location: ???
Xue Baochai	I-it's so dark...
???	We have brought her here, my lord.
Jia Yuanchun	I wish to be left alone with her. Leave us.
???	Your wish is my command.
Xue Baochai	S-so, big sister Yuanchun...? Why did you...?
Jia Yuanchun	You appear troubled.
Jia Yuanchun	It is no wonder to me that you are, for you have betrayed your own Xue family.
Xue Baochai	H-how did you...?!
Xue Baochai	I... didn't think anyone would notice in all that chaos...
Jia Yuanchun	Ha ha ha ha!
Jia Yuanchun	Baochai, oh dear Baochai, my poor child.
Jia Yuanchun	Can you hide from a black kite by blocking out the sky with your palms? Can tiptoeing hide your footsteps from earthwyrms?
Xue Baochai	... N-no, big sis Yuanchun... If my parents were to find out...
Xue Baochai	Wait, do they... do they already know?
Jia Yuanchun	Wouldn't you like to know?
Xue Baochai	…….
Jia Yuanchun	If not, I have ways to make sure that they don't know.
Jia Yuanchun	Not even your parents... hm, no. I can make this story...
Jia Yuanchun	... stay between just you and I in this vast Daguanyuan.
Xue Baochai	W-what do you want from me...?
Jia Yuanchun	Fuhu... that is the wrong line of thinking, little Baochai.
Jia Yuanchun	I only... wish to help you achieve your desires.
Jia Yuanchun	Your betrayal wasn't to make an enemy of your own Xue family, I understand.
Jia Yuanchun	It was for Baoyu. Someone you were afraid would never return.
Xue Baochai	... Your gaze is so penetrating, so piercing that... I feel so naked, even in the dark.
Xue Baochai	Will... Baoyu never come back to me?
Jia Yuanchun	Baochai, it is pointless to ask whether he will or will not return.
Jia Yuanchun	Why seek the sway of currents, when you can simply make him return?
Xue Baochai	B-but how...?
Jia Yuanchun	Come closer to me.
Jia Yuanchun	The night is long, and we have much to confer.
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