Second Round of the Family Hierarch Evaluation/Floor 2
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Story: Entry
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
 |
Host |
Okay~ The end of the game is nigh! |
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|
Host |
The stage shrinks once again! Looks like today's cardio day for everyone, huh? |
 | ||
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|
Host |
It shrinks and shrinks… and now it has corralled the contestants a floor below, to the basements! |
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|
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… |
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|
ISHMAEL |
I wonder what they did down here? |
 |
MEURSAULT |
A notable difference is that there is nothing left in here. |
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FAUST |
That is a correct observation. This is where it must have begun. |
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|
FAUST |
Everything that was connected to the Taboo. |
 |
OUTIS |
The number of remaining candidates is still shrinking. |
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|
OUTIS |
We need only collect the coins. Do not lose sight of our mission, no matter what. |
Floor Map
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Story Episodes
Into the Earth of Sin
Pre-battle
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
 | ||
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Prisoner of Hongyuan |
Forgive us… Forgive us… Forgive us… Forgive us… |
 |
HEATHCLIFF |
……. |
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|
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. |
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|
YI SANG |
… Yet these terrible markings on the wall… |
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|
YI SANG |
… tell a tragic tale of those who desperately desired to escape here. |
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HEATHCLIFF |
Putting prisoners who've been experimented on like some pawns in a game—no, even experimenting on humans at all, it's— |
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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. |
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HEATHCLIFF |
……. |
 |
DON QUIXOTE |
I… detest that we are behooved to purloin the coins by bringing them harm. |
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|
DON QUIXOTE |
They harbor us no ill will when they attack us, they are all merely… |
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|
DON QUIXOTE |
……. |
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Prisoner of Hongyuan |
Forgive us… forgive us… |
Post-battle
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
 | ||
 |
Prisoner of Hongyuan |
Forgive us… forgive us…! |
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|
Prisoner of Hongyuan |
I am… I'm scared, please… |
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|
Prisoner of Hongyuan |
I am begging you, please… stop… no more… |
 |
Jia Baoyu |
……. |
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|
Jia Baoyu |
G-grandma… |
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|
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. |
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|
Jia Mu |
Many years ago, the Shi family used to reign over all of this land. |
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|
Jia Mu |
Other families could hardly hold a candle to us, let alone meet us eye to eye. |
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|
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. |
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|
Jia Mu |
His words were absolute. He shaped the very landscape of Hongyuan with his every command. |
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Jia Mu |
What a travesty it is that they dare to presume what they have afforded me is generosity and compassion. |
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|
Jia Baoyu |
……. |
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|
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. |
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|
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. |
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|
Jia Mu |
Do not forget to shuffle the ingredient labels randomly before numbering them. |
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|
H Corp. Researcher |
Understood, venerable Jia Mu. |
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|
H Corp. Researcher |
An experiment to create the thirteenth branch of Heishou… |
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|
H Corp. Researcher |
I can hardly wait to see the results. |
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|
Jia Mu |
Now close the lids on all reagents. |
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|
Jia Mu |
I will now undo the blindfolds. |
 |
Jia Mu |
Open your eyes, little Baoyu. |
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Jia Baoyu |
But… |
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Jia Baoyu |
But they're crying, like they're in so much pain… |
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|
Jia Mu |
Yes, they are. Which is why you must open your eyes. |
 |
Jia Baoyu |
……. |
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|
Jia Baoyu |
…! |
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Prisoner of Hongyuan |
Forgive us…! Forgive us…! |
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|
Jia Baoyu |
G-grandma, I'm scared… |
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Jia Baoyu |
I don't wanna see this… You're… you're hurting them… |
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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. |
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|
Jia Mu |
So, you must continue to witness them, child. Be sure to get a good look at them all. |
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Jia Baoyu |
But… I don't want to. |
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Jia Baoyu |
I wanna go out to Daiyu… to Huan… and play. |
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|
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. |
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|
Jia Mu |
We will be visiting here more often from now on, so familiarize yourself. |
 | ||
 |
Xiren |
[The unmutated Xiren of long past.] Young master, did something happen? You look so pale! |
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|
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? |
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Jia Baoyu |
Xiren… |
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Jia Baoyu |
I… I saw something so… horrible there. |
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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… |
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Xiren |
What are you talking about, young master? What people, where? |
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Jia Baoyu |
At the lab where… grandma brings me… |
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Xiren |
I thought she was there to assist the Kong family with the creation of a new Bolus? Why would— |
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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… |
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Xiren |
… How could they. |
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Xiren |
Young master, have you shared this with anyone else? |
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Jia Baoyu |
Just you, Xiren… why? |
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Xiren |
… Then you mustn't speak about this with anyone else. Do you understand? |
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Jia Baoyu |
Why? But I'm so scared… |
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Jia Baoyu |
I don't wanna go there anymore… |
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Xiren |
Young master, I will see if there's anything I can do to help. Anything… |
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|
Xiren |
So please, hold on just a little longer… |
 |
HONG LU |
Thinking back to it now… |
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|
HONG LU |
I think Xiren was just as scared and lost as I was. |
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|
HONG LU |
I should have known then that telling her wouldn't have changed anything. Too bad I didn't. |
 |
RODION |
But Xiren now… |
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|
HONG LU |
Xiren always worried so much about me. More than I did for myself. |
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|
HONG LU |
And when all the worry and anxiety became too much… I guess she decided to not feel anything at all. |
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|
HONG LU |
Because she would fit in much better in Daguanyuan as she is now. |
 |
Lin Daiyu |
……. |
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|
Lin Daiyu |
I… miss the old Xiren. |
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|
Lin Daiyu |
Though it seems that I am alone in that sentiment. |
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|
OUTIS |
So the thirteenth Heishou… |
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|
OUTIS |
… must have been Jia Mu's real experiment. |
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|
HONG LU |
… Yes. |
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|
HONG LU |
She told me that the other experiment was the part of her 'sleight of hand'. |
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GREGOR |
So she was crafting two different Boluses at once, huh… |
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|
HONG LU |
No one in Daguanyuan's as well-versed in crafting Boluses as grandmother is. |
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|
Lin 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. |
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|
Lin 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. |
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|
Lin Daiyu |
This brings us to question whether… it really was a thirteenth branch of the Heishou Pack she wanted to create. |
Eroded Mountain of the Heart
Pre-battle
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
 | ||
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RODION |
Hey, I hear coins jangling… Guess we're about to run into another candidate. |
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GREGOR |
What's that fella so livid about…? I can tell that his face is bright red all the way from over here. |
 |
??? |
Useless fool, cowardly dullard. |
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|
??? |
I could have gained more coins had you managed to last three more miserable seconds in that pot. |
 |
??? |
I… I… |
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|
??? |
I don't need to grab anymore… what use are my hands? |
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|
??? |
My head still sits above my shoulders, but why is it there? |
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|
??? |
He's gone completely mad. We're leaving him. |
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|
??? |
Actually, let's kill him before we move on. We can't risk this idiot blabbering all over the place about us… |
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|
OUTIS |
You've let your guard down, whelp. |
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|
??? |
…! |
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|
??? |
Ha… And here I was, wondering who it could possibly be… It's you, Jia Baoyu. |
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|
HONG LU |
Been a while, Sijing. |
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|
Shi Sijing |
It seems that your clan is entirely intact. No casualties yet, hmm? |
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|
Shi Sijing |
That tells me that you still haven't cracked the code to gaining the most coins in this game. |
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HONG LU |
Hm, and what might that be? |
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|
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… |
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|
Shi Sijing |
Now that's how you use your human resources. Haven't you read any books on the art of war? |
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|
HONG LU |
Oh, I see. |
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|
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. |
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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. |
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Shi Sijing |
… You're just as much of an asshole as you were then. |
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Shi Sijing |
Let's see if you'll still be spouting off that bullshit after I take all of your coins away. |
Post-battle
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
|
|
RODION |
Dang~ Now that's a big fish! |
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|
RODION |
Thanks for the coins, my guy~ |
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|
Shi Sijing |
[Covered in blood.] I… I refuse to let that bastard take my coins… |
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Shi Sijing |
I… I forfeit! I'm gonna forfeit! |
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|
Host |
Aha~ A candidate from the Shi family has just announced that he will forfeit from the game! |
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|
Host |
Oh, by the way—the number of coins he had at the time of his forfeiture will be reflected in his final ranking! |
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RODION |
What? What the heck, that wasn't a rule! You just made that up! |
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|
ISHMAEL |
Looks like they're taking measures just in case the number of contestants drops under ten. |
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|
OUTIS |
We should've knocked him out. Sly bastard. |
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|
Shi Sijing |
Father… Please forgive me… I should've done better than this… |
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|
OUTIS |
Stop crying, you embarrassing milksop! |
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|
HONG LU |
……. |
 | ||
 |
Lin Daiyu |
Ugh, you're embarrassing me, big brother! |
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|
Lin Daiyu |
Did you know that you've gone from sulking all day to looking like you're about to cry all the time?! |
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|
Lin Daiyu |
Just what happened to you? |
 |
Jia Huan |
I know why he's like that. |
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Jia Baoyu |
…! |
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Jia Baoyu |
How… do you know? |
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Jia Huan |
That's 'cuz big sis Daiyu kicked his butt in the archery game yesterday~ |
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Jia Huan |
So go easy on him today, big sis! |
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Lin Daiyu |
Nope~ Game's gotta be fair and square! |
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Jia Baoyu |
I… I think I'm gonna go now. Grandma'll look for me. |
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Jia Huan |
……. |
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Jia Huan |
Must be nice. |
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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. |
| ||
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Jia Baoyu |
Grandma… |
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Jia Baoyu |
This experiment… is it really an experiment to create a new Heishou branch…? |
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Jia Mu |
You're asking me a meaningful question for once. |
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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. |
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Jia Mu |
Your suspicions are correct. Making a thirteenth branch of Heishou was… always a foregone failure. |
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Jia Mu |
They could have figured that out themselves merely by patiently ruminating upon it for but a moment. |
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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. |
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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? |
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Jia Baoyu |
If it's all impossible, then… why…? What are you even… doing down here…? |
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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. |
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Jia Mu |
Hongyuan used to be… different. Not a place for those ilks to wield and shape as they see fit. |
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Jia Mu |
If they refuse to relinquish it to its rightful lord, then I have no choice but to pry it from their hands. |
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Jia Baoyu |
Grandma… |
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Jia Baoyu |
I'm… scared. I can't… I don't want to watch anymore. Someone help, help me, anyone… |
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Jia Mu |
Little Baoyu, you are a precious, peerless treasure, a necessary element of this sacred plan. |
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Jia Mu |
Thus, it is imperative that you do not speak so lightly around the foolish masses of the secular world. |
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Jia Baoyu |
……. |
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Jia Mu |
That girl, Xiren, was always a smart one. |
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|
Jia Mu |
But it seems that she was quite naive to the way this world works. |
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Jia Baoyu |
Wha… what are you… what… |
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Jia Mu |
Know that this was all for your own good. |
 | ||
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Xiren |
Welcome back, young master. |
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Jia Baoyu |
Xiren…! |
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Jia Baoyu |
Oh, thank goodness. Grandma really worried me, she said… |
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Jia Baoyu |
She said… |
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Xiren |
Young master. |
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Jia Baoyu |
… Xiren? |
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Jia Baoyu |
Did something… happen to you? |
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Xiren |
A Heishou visited me. |
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Xiren |
I was beaten, for I did not know my place. My head was removed, for I did not know my place. |
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Jia Baoyu |
What…? What are you saying? |
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Xiren |
But with venerable Jia Mu's mercy, I was rebuilt. It is of no concern to you anymore. |
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Xiren |
You are trembling. Would you like a cup of tea? |
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Jia Baoyu |
Xiren… I'm… I'm… I'm scared… so scared… It never ends… it never ends… |
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Xiren |
It cannot be helped, young master. |
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Jia Baoyu |
Then… what should I do? |
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Xiren |
Young master… |
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|
Xiren |
The prudent option would be to witness it all in silence. |
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Jia Baoyu |
……. |
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|
Xiren |
Young master, it is time for you to visit the revered Xianren. |
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Xiren |
Neatly comb your hair, and dress yourself in the most elegant outfit. Do not forget to carry yourself in a reverent manner. |
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Jia Baoyu |
… Okay. |
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Prisoner of Hongyuan |
Forgive us, forgive us… |
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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. |
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Lin Daiyu |
How many times are you going to make me ask you?! What! Happened?! |
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Lin Daiyu |
… Tell me. |
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Lin Daiyu |
If it's some sort of secret, then whisper it in my ear. |
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Jia Baoyu |
… It's… |
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Jia Baoyu |
It's… nothing. Dai…yu. |
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Jia Baoyu |
The people, I… |
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Jia Baoyu |
… I can still hear them fall… |
From the Sunken Hope
Pre-battle
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
| ||
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
But… |
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|
Lin Daiyu |
But you still… should have told me… |
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HONG LU |
It wasn't just Xiren. People around me, they… |
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|
HONG LU |
… they all began to change. |
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HONG LU |
On the other hand, I found myself relieved that Xiren… |
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HONG LU |
… no longer worried about me. |
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HONG LU |
Sharing this with you would not have changed a thing. |
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HONG LU |
It would only have drawn grandmother's unseen shadows to you. |
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HONG LU |
They would have drawn the light from your eyes and smile from your lips… |
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HONG LU |
… and you would never have sparred with me again. |
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Lin Daiyu |
I… |
 |
Xue Pan |
Yo, Baoyu!!! |
 |
DANTE |
<…!> |
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Xue Pan |
You're pretty good at hide-and-seek, huh? |
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HONG LU |
It's you, big brother Xue Pan. Have you been looking for me? |
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Xue Pan |
Yep. And I'm gonna kill you before Baochai finds you! |
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RODION |
Hong Lu… you really know how to make friends, huh… ha ha… |
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HONG LU |
But why were you looking for me? I don't even have that many coins on me. |
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Xue Pan |
… Because it's you. |
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Xue Pan |
Because you exist, Baoyu. |
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Xue Pan |
Do you know how many brushes with death, some of them fatal, we had to suffer?! While you… |
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|
Xue Pan |
… enjoyed a peaceful life with the favor of the elders? Just because you were born lucky? |
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|
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… |
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|
Xue Pan |
… because you wanted a front-row seat to our struggles? Is that it? |
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HONG LU |
……. |
 | ||
 |
Xue Pan |
Baoyu, please. Please just ask the venerable Jia Mu if it's possible. |
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Xue Pan |
Please… I’m your friend. We used to play together. Me, you, and Baochai. Don’t you remember? |
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|
Xue Pan |
Or, or if that won't do, then ask your revered Xianren. Can't you ask them for just a little favor…? |
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Jia Baoyu |
……. |
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Xue Pan |
Please, I'm begging you. I don't want to fight anyone. |
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Xue Pan |
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… |
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Jia Baoyu |
There… isn't anything I can do for you. |
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Xue Pan |
I'm pleading here, Baoyu… |
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Jia Baoyu |
Go away, big brother. |
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Jia Baoyu |
You know how this place gets… dangerous when the shadows take over. |
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Xue Pan |
Feel free to keep up that nice guy charade. Pretend to be a good person all you want. |
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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. |
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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… |
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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— |
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HONG LU |
Say, big brother Xue Pan. |
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HONG LU |
If having their favor could be considered 'lucky'… and if it was something I could have just given away… |
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HONG LU |
… then I wouldn't have hesitated to give it to you. |
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HONG LU |
It's just too bad that that's not possible. |
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Xue Pan |
… What? |
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Xue Pan |
I've gotten this close to death… no, I've already been decapitated three, four more times… I've lost count… |
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Xue Pan |
You have no idea what I had to crawl through to even live. You think you can just— |
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Lin Daiyu |
……. |
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Xue Pan |
… Lin Daiyu. |
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Xue Pan |
Ha ha, what a fool you are, Jia Baoyu. Do you not know that her family is in service to ours? |
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Xue Pan |
Baochai, that girl will lose all sense upon seeing Baoyu, so it falls to me to use you right. |
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Xue Pan |
My mother saved you from the terrible fate of being thrown to the streets—it's about time you repaid that favor. |
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Xue Pan |
You haven't even done much ever since our family picked you up, have you? Your standing's on thin ice here. |
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Xue Pan |
Perform well in this Family Hierarch war, and I promise you fame and fortune for you and your family. |
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Lin Daiyu |
……. |
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Lin Daiyu |
What cannot be mine must remain out of my sight… |
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|
Lin Daiyu |
The people of Xue family have said as such many, many times. |
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Lin Daiyu |
But you must let go of what cannot be yours. |
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Lin Daiyu |
That is the only way to preserve your heart and endure Daguanyuan. |
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Xue Pan |
You're absolutely ridiculous. |
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Xue Pan |
A mere bodyguard in service of our family dares to lecture me about the nature of Daguanyuan? |
|
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Lin Daiyu |
No, I… know Daguanyuan better than you do. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
So… let it be known that my advice comes from my heart. |
Post-battle
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Xue Pan |
Shit… shit… |
|
|
Xue Pan |
It… doesn't matter… |
|
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Xue Pan |
Jia Qiu, that bastard… |
|
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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… |
 |
RYŌSHŪ |
You talk too much. |
|
|
RYŌSHŪ |
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? |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Because lady Baochai is my mistress, not young master Pan. Besides… |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
I wanted to prove to him that he was wrong. |
|
|
HONG LU |
……. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Big brother Baoyu… |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
The Heishou are indeed hiding in every corner of Daguanyuan, but… |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
… not even they are omnipresent enough to know your every single word, your every action. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
So how did Jia Mu come to know them with such detail? |
|
|
HONG LU |
……. |
 | ||
|
|
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 |
[Visibly pregnant.] 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 |
……. |
| [The crying of a child can be heard, as...] | ||
 | ||
|
|
Jia Baoyu |
……. |
|
??? |
||
|
??? |
||
|
??? |
||
| ||
|
|
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. |
| ||
|
|
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… |
Lingering Breeze at the Fingertips
Pre-battle
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
|
|
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. |
| ||
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Jia Mu… |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
… summoned the Head here? |
|
|
Lin 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! |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
……. |
|
|
Lin 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 |
… what's Daiyu doing there with you? |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
… Please, miss Baochai. This is a misunderstanding. |
|
|
Lin 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? |
|
|
Lin 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? |
|
|
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? |
 | ||
 |
Refined Servant |
Miss… please. |
|
|
Refined 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 |
……. |
|
|
Refined 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. |
|
|
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? |
 |
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! |
|
|
HONG LU |
Oops… |
|
|
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… |
|
|
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! |
Post-battle
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
|
|
OUTIS |
Take cover, Executive Manager! |
|
|
Wang Dawei |
Guh…! |
|
|
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! |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
… Miss Baochai. |
Thunderous Cry
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
 | ||
|
|
ISHMAEL |
We… lost so many coins… All those coins we collected… |
|
|
RODION |
Saude's gonna kill us when she finds out about this… |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
When the Family Hierarch war is complete… |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
I suppose you shall return to Daguanyuan. |
|
|
HONG LU |
Yes, I will. Once everything ends… I suppose that is what will happen. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Big brother Baoyu. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Do you… not want to return to Daguanyuan? |
|
|
HONG LU |
Well… I've never given it much thought. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Did you not give it much thought when you left this place, too? |
|
|
Lin 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. |
| ||
 |
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 |
[Very distressed.] 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. |
|
|
Lin 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— |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Eh, it's okay. They'll starve me a few days, big deal. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Listen, Baoyu. I won't go, okay? So… |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Stop sulking and smile. |
 |
Indifferent Servant |
Young master Baoyu, venerable Jia Mu summons you. |
 | ||
 |
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. |
|
Announcement |
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 ■■ ■■■■■■■. | |
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Announcement |
One individual has consumed the Bolus produced with the above procedure. |
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Announcement |
Repeating broadcast soon. |
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Curious Resident |
Is this…? This sounds like a recipe for a Bolus, doesn't it? |
|
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Curious Resident |
But why would they just randomly list off a recipe…? |
| [Background to white. High-pitched ringing.] | ||
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Jia Baoyu |
…! |
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Kong Sihui |
Agh…! |
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Kong Sihui |
My… my baby…! |
 | ||
 |
??? |
……. |
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??? |
… … ….. … … |
 | ||
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Obstinate Resident |
[Incoherent screaming.] …! …!!! …… ……! |
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Curious Resident |
… …! ……? ………! |
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Kong Youjin |
……. |
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Kong Youjin |
…? |
|
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Jia Mu |
Little Baoyu. |
| [A pleasant breeze, carrying pink petals on the air. Slow, relaxing music.] | ||
 | ||
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Jia Mu |
The City is a land of humans, and only humans; but do you know aught of the world beyond its hedges? |
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Jia Mu |
I know not the recipe for this Bolus, but… |
|
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Jia Mu |
I know those creatures. |
|
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Jia Mu |
The Outskirts and the Ruins are populated by sapient, sentient beings. Those with intellect and emotions. |
|
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Jia Mu |
And among them are the |
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Jia Mu |
Besides, the Heishou are… |
 | ||
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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. |
|
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Jia Mu |
Even if you were wiser, what can you do? |
|
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Jia Mu |
You, a thing that need only glimmer on like a precious jade. |
 | ||
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Jia Mu |
Thirteen minutes have passed. |
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Jia Mu |
Let us leave now, little Baoyu. |
 | ||
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Jia Baoyu |
[Eyes tight shut.] ……. |
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Jia Mu |
Thus the Kong family falls. |
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Jia Mu |
My work here is complete—the rest is yours. |
 | ||
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Jia Huan |
[Bloodied all over.] … Help… |
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Jia Huan |
Bro…ther… I'm… sorry… I should've listened… to you… |
|
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Jia Huan |
But I was just so… envious… I just wanted to know… what they were gonna show here… |
|
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Jia Huan |
Am I… Am I gonna… am I gonna die? |
|
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Jia Huan |
[Screams as a Cuckoospawn's hand bursts from his stomach.] … … …… …..!!! |
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Jia Mu |
So the bastard son of the Jia family has also crawled in here, I see. |
|
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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. |
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Jia Baoyu |
……. |
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Jia Mu |
I'm impressed that you managed to survive. |
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Obstinate Resident |
Help… help me… |
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Jia Mu |
Now that the cause is firmly established, the effect cannot be altered. |
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Jia Mu |
Listen closely. Do you not hear the applause? It started soon after the presentation was complete. |
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Obstinate Resident |
… Oh… I see… |
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Obstinate Resident |
They're not just any monsters… they're not even humans, are they…? That Bolus creates… nonhumans… |
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Obstinate Resident |
Then… they'll be here… |
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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. |
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Obstinate Resident |
Ha… Ha ha…! |
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Jia Mu |
Your defiance is meaningless. |
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Obstinate Resident |
No, venerable Jia Mu. That's not what this is for… |
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Obstinate Resident |
This… is the end…! |
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Jia Mu |
At least her final act was wise. |
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Jia Baoyu |
……. |
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Jia Mu |
You needn't care for the remnants. |
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Jia Mu |
For it shall all begin anew from a clean slate. |
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H Corp. Researcher |
P-Please, spare me… I did everything you told me to… |
 |
Garion |
Why are you trembling so much? Where’d the guts to betray your very own Nest go? |
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Garion |
The Sweepers will arrive soon. |
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Garion |
Wherever there is trash, they’ll always be on time to gather it up. |
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H Corp. Researcher |
…! N… No… Please… |
| [Flash.] | ||
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Garion |
Ah, you have given me a most wonderful face, so listen well. |
|
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Garion |
It is arrogance to believe that your mere words were what summoned the Head. |
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Garion |
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. |
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Garion |
It has been many years since Hongyuan tasted the fresh birth of the beastmen from the Outskirts… |
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Garion |
Your 'Heishou' borrows the biological qualities of the beastmen that live in the Outskirts. |
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Garion |
In the olden cases, they were accidental; mistakes born out of ignorance. |
|
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Garion |
But things were different today. The hands that conceived it were guided by a purpose. |
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Garion |
She walked a very thin and translucent line for this scheme… She certainly knows how to use her head, doesn't she? |
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Garion |
Indeed, it is… admirable in its own way, and… very human. |
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Garion |
Human wailings, and inhuman wailings. |
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Garion |
This discordance too… shall soon come to an end. |
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Garion |
… Won't it? Yes, you. I know you're listening. |
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Jia Mu |
……. |
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Garion |
You needn't busy your feet to hasten from this place; I haven't the cause to cleanse either of you away. |
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Garion |
Well… if you would rather hold your silence, then so be it. |
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Garion |
Ah. My two best companions, silence and the metallic scent of black tea. |
|
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Jia Mu |
……. |
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Jia Mu |
That chair… |
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Jia Mu |
It would be best left untouched for posterity to know what happened here today. |
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Jia Mu |
As a remembrance to the Kongs' folly, their humiliation, and a warning against those who would hold the same covetousness. |
| ||
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Jia Xichun |
Big bro, what happened? |
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Jia Xichun |
Why're you ignoring me today? |
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Jia Baoyu |
……. |
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Jia Xichun |
C'mon, what happened? |
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Jia Xichun |
Big sis Daiyu was crying all day outside. |
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Jia Xichun |
And she's been looking for you the whole time. |
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Jia Xichun |
Xichun wanted to play with you and big sis Daiyu, but there wasn't anyone here, sooo… I missed you. |
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Jia Baoyu |
……. |
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FAUST |
… This seems to be the first identified case of using the Head to annihilate a family. |
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HONG LU |
……. |
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HONG LU |
I pleaded to every single person I could. That they should stay as far away as they could from this place. |
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HONG LU |
Some of them laughed it off, most of them got angry at me… |
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HONG LU |
But as you can see, nothing came of what I did then. My actions changed precisely nothing. |
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Lin Daiyu |
Something did change. |
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Lin Daiyu |
I survived, didn't I? |
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HONG LU |
But Daiyu, you hated yourself for being the only survivor. |
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HONG LU |
And you soon aimed that resentment, coiled so deeply and painfully, against me, didn't you? |
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Lin Daiyu |
……. |
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HONG LU |
It's not your fault. The flow of one's heart isn't something that can be stemmed. |
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Lin 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. |
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Lin 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. |
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HONG LU |
You needn't cry. |
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HONG LU |
This story was never meant for you to know. So please, once you leave this place, let time wash this memory away. |
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Lin Daiyu |
But you… could have at least told me… a small fragment, the smallest hint, of what really happened. |
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Lin Daiyu |
This festering hatred, this sorrow I held against you for all those years were… were… |
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HONG LU |
It's okay, Daiyu. |
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HONG LU |
An errant gale came and blew our kites away, ending our game. That's all. |
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HONG LU |
Do not let the wandering winds pave these streams on your cheeks. |
Stagnant and Festering
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
 | ||
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Jia Xichun |
[Evidently been through her share of battles.] Oh… |
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Jia Xichun |
Dammit… |
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Jia Xichun |
It had to be you, huh. I really hoped we'd never have to meet… |
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RODION |
Xichun…! Ya doing okay?! |
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Jia Xichun |
Well, I'm… not dead. |
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Jia Xichun |
But I'm almost out of coins, as you can see. |
 |
Wei |
[In a state similar to his lady.] We were attacked by Jia Huan, who wiped out our clan's remaining forces. |
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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. |
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Jia Xichun |
Good enough to pick up some trinket from a random corner in the treasury. Isn't that right, brother? |
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Jia Xichun |
So what's happening here? You guys look rough. And… what's big sis Daiyu doing here…? |
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HONG LU |
Oh. You don't need to mind that, Xichun. |
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HONG LU |
But if you want to come with, you could— |
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Jia Xichun |
No. |
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Jia Xichun |
Just leave me. If I'm to be eliminated, I'll at least face it head-on and accept it. |
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Wei |
My lady… |
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Jia Xichun |
Wei, the Family Hierarch war was a place to demonstrate what I have prepared so far. |
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Jia Xichun |
This just means that I haven't prepared well enough. |
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Jia Xichun |
It sucks, and it's frustrating, but… I have to accept the results. |
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HONG LU |
… I see. The game should end soon, since they said there aren't that many candidates left in the game. |
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HONG LU |
I'll see you outside. Stay safe. |
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Jia Xichun |
……. |
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Jia Xichun |
… Really? You're… just gonna let me go? Aren't you gonna take my coins? |
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Jia Xichun |
You don't have nearly enough coins to— |
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HONG LU |
I'm in the same place as you are. It sucks, but we're going to try our best to the end. |
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HONG LU |
But I don't want to take what is yours. |
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Jia Xichun |
……. |
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Jia Xichun |
I don't know when it happened, but… I knew that you'd suddenly… changed. |
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Jia Xichun |
[Slightly younger than she is now, with two braids instead of four.] What… did you say? |
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Jia Baoyu |
Yes, Xichun. If that is what you want… |
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Jia Baoyu |
… feel free to hurt me, kill me just like our own siblings and children from other families have tried. |
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Jia Baoyu |
I'm bound to leave Daguanyuan in a few years' time, so… |
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Jia Baoyu |
… before that happens, maybe you can— |
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Jia Xichun |
How… could you say something like that to me? |
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Jia Baoyu |
I… Well, you know. |
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Jia Baoyu |
I don't want to care about matters of life and death anymore. |
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Jia Xichun |
You… never should have said that. To me. |
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Jia Xichun |
… I won't be visiting you ever, ever again. |
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Jia Xichun |
And I hope our paths never cross even after you depart Daguanyuan. |
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Jia Xichun |
Those words haunted me every time I saw your face, brother. |
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Jia Xichun |
You were smiling… like someone who'd already given up on everything. |
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Jia Xichun |
But I guess I have no room to talk. I didn't even bother asking you what happened, I just… |
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Jia Xichun |
… completely ignored and avoided you. |
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Jia Xichun |
……. |
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Jia Xichun |
I ran into big brother Qiu earlier. |
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Jia Xichun |
I thought he was going to kill me, or take away what few coins I had, but… |
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Jia Xichun |
… he just glanced at me before walking away. |
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Jia Xichun |
Weird, right? |
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Jia Xichun |
You… big brother Qiu… I have no idea what either of you want. |
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Wei |
… You should keep moving. |
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Wei |
Rest assured, I will protect my lady to my last dying breath. |
|
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Wei |
I wish you good tidings until the end of the games. |
One Destined for Heavenward Ascension
Pre-battle
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
|
|
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! |
| ||
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Cool-headed Clan Member |
There he is! Get 'im! |
 |
Anxious Clan Member |
W-who's that? Isn't he from the Jia family…? |
|
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Cool-headed Clan Member |
We'll never defeat Jia Qiu anyway. Let's at least take Jia Baoyu out! |
Post-battle
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
 | ||
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GREGOR |
Looks like everyone's getting more desperate. They're all cornered, just like us. |
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ISHMAEL |
Dammit, it's not like they're gonna win a ton of coins by coming after us! |
|
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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. |
|
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Lin Daiyu |
…! |
|
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DANTE |
<…!> |
|
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Lin Daiyu |
Agh…! |
 |
Gubo |
[Fell Bullet raised.] Oh… |
|
|
Gubo |
She was certainly not my intended target; forgive me. I am still acclimatizing to the use of this 'E.G.O'. |
|
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Gubo |
It's never easy to aim right. |
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RODION |
Daiyu, are ya… are ya alright? That's a pretty big wound… |
|
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Lin Daiyu |
I'm… alright… |
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HONG LU |
Daiyu… why? |
|
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Lin Daiyu |
Don't give me that look. It was just a force of habit. |
|
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Lin Daiyu |
Or have you already forgotten? I am from the Lin family, the family of bodyguards. |
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HONG LU |
My wounds can be rewound, Daiyu. |
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HONG LU |
Unlike yours… You knew this. |
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Lin Daiyu |
I can use Hongyuan's Life Insurance anyway if that's what you are concerned about. |
|
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HONG LU |
It won't work on someone who's been dead for too long. |
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HONG LU |
And I don't— |
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Lin Daiyu |
… Perhaps I thought I could make amends for even a small fraction of the years of resentment I harbored for you. |
|
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Lin Daiyu |
Besides, I don't want to see you in pain. |
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Gubo |
This is quite strange. |
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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? |
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Gubo |
Allow me to impart a word of advice. Do not be so hasty in forging fellowships. |
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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. |
|
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YI SANG |
You will not speak with such impudence, Gubo. |
|
|
YI SANG |
Our shared past is not to be a subject of your ridicule…! |
|
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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. |
|
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HONG LU |
……. |
|
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Jia Huan |
You dishonor the Jia family with your pathetic performance. We Jia deserve to be the very best of the four houses. |
|
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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— |
|
|
RYŌSHŪ |
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. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
So, miss Baochai has been eliminated. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
… It seems that this is as far as I go. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Brief though this journey may have been, I am glad that we were able to resolve many misunderstandings. |
|
|
HONG LU |
Daiyu… |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
I will… wish you safe passage. |
|
|
Lin 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… |
|
|
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. |
What Hongyuan Needs
Pre-battle
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
 | ||
 |
Jia Qiu |
……. |
|
|
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? |
|
|
ISHMAEL |
Look, there's… something written up there. |
|
|
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! |
|
|
DANTE |
<What now…?> |
|
|
HONG LU |
What now, brothers? |
|
|
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. |
|
|
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 |
<…!> |
|
|
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 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. |
|
|
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. |
|
|
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? |
| [Somewhere, sometime…] | ||
 | ||
|
|
Jia Baoyu |
……. |
 |
Jia Qiu |
……. |
|
|
HONG LU |
I… |
|
|
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 summons forth the Heishou - Mao.] | ||
|
|
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. |
Mid-battle
Played after Jia Qiu reaches ~60% HP.
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
|
|
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. |
|
|
Jia Qiu |
… You have no answers, still? |
|
|
HONG LU |
I… |
|
|
HONG LU |
What Hongyuan needs… |
|
|
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? |
| ||
 |
??? |
… 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. |
|
|
??? |
……. |
|
|
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 |
<……. > |
|
|
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… |
| ||
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
You're leaving Daguanyuan? |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
After all those years… you keep your silence to the final moments of your departure. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Not even… a hint of an answer about that day. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
……. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Why… |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Why won't you stop smiling like that? |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Oh… I see. You… |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
… buried it all. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Then I hope you'll never come back here again. |
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
Because you have abandoned me. You've abandoned Daguanyuan and Hongyuan both. |
|
|
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 readies his staff.] | ||
|
|
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! |
Post-battle
| Speaker | Dialogue | |
|---|---|---|
| ||
|
|
Jia Huan |
Haah… |
|
|
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. |
|
|
DON QUIXOTE |
……. |
|
|
YI SANG |
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. |
| [Background to black.] | ||
|
|
Jia Baoyu |
……. |
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
|
Jia Mu |
Enter now, little Baoyu. |
|
|
Jia Mu |
The revered Xianren await. |
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
| [Somewhere has been arrived at - the background lightens.] | ||
|
|
Jia Baoyu |
……. |
|
|
The Elders |
[A chorus of voices, blurred and twisted.] 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 that 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. |
 | ||
| [Thunderous applause.] | ||
|
|
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. |
 | ||
|
|
Jia Baoyu |
……. |
 | ||
|
|
Lin Daiyu |
What are you doing, big brother? |
|
|
Lin 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 |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
HONG LU |
||
 | ||
|
HONG LU |
||
 | ||
|
HONG LU |
||
|
|
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… |
| ||
|
|
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… |
|
|
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. |
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HONG LU |
If people can see, feel, and share the same sorrow and joy they see in others… |
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HONG LU |
And if that moves them to hold one another, even if it's just one other person… |
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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. |
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Jia Qiu |
……. |
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Jia Qiu |
That was quite the lacking answer, given all the time I have granted you. |
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Jia Qiu |
But… |
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Jia Qiu |
It suffices. |
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Jia Qiu |
In nihility, everything becomes consumed by the monotonous, gray meaninglessness; but an empty canvas can be painted anew. |
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Jia Huan |
Jia Qiu, you've been waiting and prodding this whole time for these… wishy-washy platitudes? |
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Jia Huan |
I just don't understand. |
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Jia Huan |
That idiot's drivel could not be further from what it means to rule. |
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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. |
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Jia Huan |
You can't change Hongyuan with such foolish flights of fancy. |
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Jia Qiu |
Jia Huan, you need only walk the path of your own choosing. |
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Jia Qiu |
But in this room, I shall pursue my own idea of true humanity with clarity, without a moment's hesitation. |
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Jia Huan |
… What are you doing? |
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Jia Qiu |
It means that I… |
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Jia Qiu |
… will forfeit the Family Hierarch Evaluation. |
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Host |
…! |
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DANTE |
<Wha-what?!> |
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Jia Huan |
……. |
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Jia Qiu |
Now, only Jia Baoyu and his clan must remain. |
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Jia Qiu |
Should you choose to forgo the same choice that I am about to make, then prepare to spill much blood. |
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Jia Qiu |
But it is not the throne of the Family Hierarch you have come here to seek, is it? |
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Jia Huan |
… Hah! |
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Jia Huan |
You know me well. My goal lies far beyond this insignificant squabble surrounding who becomes the next Hierarch of Hongyuan. |
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Jia Huan |
But I don't appreciate being told what to do by someone who presumes he has some sort of control over me. |
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Jia Qiu |
Beneath your mask of unscrupulousness and temperamentality, you are someone who pursues nothing but the extremes of reason and logic. |
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Jia Qiu |
… And I believe your reason would lead you to forfeit here as well. |
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Jia Huan |
You know something…? |
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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. |
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Jia Huan |
… Gubo, we are leaving. |
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Jia Huan |
I will forfeit the game as well. |
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Jia Huan |
I've already collected more than enough of these stupid coins. |
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HONG LU |
… Brother Qiu? |
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Jia Qiu |
You are like a tuft of cloud, floating high up in the heavens. |
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Jia Qiu |
Yes, clouds do not bring suffering to trees, to earth, or to anything—it is not a force that tramples. |
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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. |
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Jia Qiu |
Mind this as you open your own path. |
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ISHMAEL |
Wai-wait…! But why…? |
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HONG LU |
……. |
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Host |
……. |
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Host |
Jia Qiu and Jia Huan of the Jia family have both been simultaneously eliminated from the game via forfeiture! |
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RODION |
… H-hold on, doesn't that put us in first place…? |
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HEATHCLIFF |
What's wrong with that? I'd much rather come in first than second. |
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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…! |
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SINCLAIR |
Wait, there's someone out there who's still trying her damnedest to become the Family Hierarch. |
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SINCLAIR |
And she still hasn't given up. |
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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! |
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DANTE |
<…….> |
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DANTE |
<Hey, guys…> |
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DANTE |
<… Are you thinking what I'm thinking?> |
| Some time later… | ||
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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. |
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Jia Xichun |
So… uhm… this is actually happening, right? Someone, tell me how this is actually happening. |
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Jia Yuanchun |
I implore upon all those present to accept this sacred outcome with grace. |
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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. |
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RODION |
I'll be honest, we're all still trying to understand how we actually got here… |
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Jia Yuanchun |
The following are the final results of this Family Hierarch Evaluation. |
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Jia Yuanchun |
Third place: Huan of the Jia family. |
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Wei |
My lady, please compose yourself… there are many eyes… you have a certain dignity to uphold— |
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Jia Yuanchun |
Second place: Baoyu of the Jia family. |
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YI SANG |
… Have you an inkling of why he has done such a thing… Hong Lu? |
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HONG LU |
Um… no. |
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HONG LU |
I don't know. |
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Jia Xichun |
What the hell are you guys all talking about…? |
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GREGOR |
Well… All's well that ends well, right…? |
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Jia Xichun |
No, that's not… I don't… But why me—why would I…? |
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Jia Yuanchun |
And first place, our next venerable Hierarch, and the final victor of the Family Hierarch Evaluation… |
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Jia Xichun |
I'm… |
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Jia Yuanchun |
Xichun of the Jia family. |
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Jia Xichun |
I'm really the… next Hierarch? |
Story Dungeon Events
All of the following Dungeon Event names are translated from the raw Korean in the files.
Cliff Challenge
Cliff Challenge
No wisdom nor virtue can change the past and the future,
and human connections and fate make strangers of neighbors.
'Welcome, candidates! Congratulations on making it to the basement!'
'Did you know that there are far more opportunities down here to collect those coins that you all want?'
'In fact, there are so many opportunities that… there's one right under your feet, in that hole!'
'Who will dare make the dark descent to claim the coins?!'
The hole leads into the pitch-black darkness of the building ruins. We don't need to go down there to know that it's probably a pretty risky trek.
We do need the coins, but… this might be too big a risk to take. What if we get injured or, even worse, killed?
What should we do?
Jump in. Run a Lust, Gluttony, and Envy Advantage check. Pass to gain coin(s). We need every single coin we can get to come in second place. It looks dangerous, but… we have to take the risk.
Who can we trust to descend and return safely?
 Check Passed[Sinner] runs past the other clans and begins to rapidly descend. Coin: 6 obtained! The Selected Identity healed back to Full SP.  Check Failed[Sinner] runs past the other clans and begins to rapidly descend. The Selected Identity took 100% HP damage. |
Don't jump in. Collecting coins is important, but I don't want to potentially throw the Sinners' lives away for nothing this early in the game. There are just too many variables. We decide to move on without delving into the hole. Nothing happened. |
Lust Advantage: Punish the Condemned
Punish the Condemned
We enter the room to find a condemned of Hongyuan bound to a wall.
In front of him are several punitive weapons like whips and batons.
'The man who sits before you is a prisoner of H Corp. He is a condemned who has committed a grave crime.'
'Punish the condemned, candidates, and you'll be rewarded with coins!'
What should we do?
Punish the condemned. Run a Gluttony and Pride Advantage check. Pass to gain coin(s). We need to collect as many coins as we can, no matter what it takes. I feel sorry for the prisoner, but… … I ask the Sinners to punish him anyway.
Who will punish the condemned?
Check Passed[Sinner] swings their weapon with all their might. Coin: 2 obtained! The Selected Identity lost 5 SP. Don Quixote lost 10 SP. Heathcliff lost 10 SP. Check Failed[Sinner] swings their weapon, but they can't seem to put much force behind it. Coin: 1 obtained! The Selected Identity lost 10 SP. Don Quixote lost 10 SP. Heathcliff lost 10 SP. 'Oho, but we're not stopping here!' 'This prisoner has committed a very, very serious crime! He deserves more punishment, more!' 'Are ya ready?!'
Who will punish the condemned?
Check Passed[Sinner] swings their weapon with all their might. Coin: 2 obtained! The Selected Identity lost 5 SP. Don Quixote lost 10 SP. Heathcliff lost 10 SP. Check Failed[Sinner] swings their weapon, but they can't seem to put much force behind it. Coin: 1 obtained! The Selected Identity lost 10 SP. Don Quixote lost 10 SP. Heathcliff lost 10 SP. |
We won't punish them. Refuse to play by their rules. Begin a combat encounter. Win to gain coin(s). The prisoner already seems to be in a great deal of pain, a side effect of some experiment. Sure, he's supposed to be one of the condemned, but… I don't think we have either the reason or the right to punish him… After a brief discussion with the Sinners, I decide to end his suffering instead. Combat Encounter! Win the next battle to gain Coin: 3! |
Inspect or Break the Jar
Inspect or Break the Jar
We enter a new room with a collection of jars at its center.
I wonder if they're Xue Pan's jars he didn't get to use?
I notice that one of the jars is cracked open.
There's a sound coming from within…
Maybe someone's trapped in there, but…
… I don't know if it's a good idea to fiddle with these things.
What should we do?
Peer into the jar. Run a Gloom Advantage check. Pass to gain an Artifact. We carefully approach the jar to inspect what's inside… A potent, ominous energy is seeping from the opening. The closer we get, the louder becomes the eldritch noise crawling out of the depths of the jar.
Who will peer into the jar?
Check Passed[Sinner] looks into the jar. Accursed Codex Artifact obtained! The Selected Identity healed back to Full SP. Check Failed[Sinner] looks into the jar. Madness-inscribed Codex Artifact obtained! Reduce SP to minimum value for The Selected Identity. |
Destroy the jar. Begin a combat encounter. Win to gain coin(s). We'll be taking an undue risk by opening and peering into these suspicious jars. Leaving them here'll pose a danger not only to us but… also to everyone coming in contact with them. After some contemplation, we decide to break every jar in this room. Combat Encounter! Win the battle to gain Coin: 1! |
Gloom Advantage: 
Artifacts
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Accursed Codex  Gluttony Power Up Gluttony Power UpGluttony Skill Final Power +X for this turn and 1  Gluttony DMG Up Gluttony DMG UpDeal +(X*10)% damage with Gluttony skills this turn. (Max 100%) for 3 turns.
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Madness-inscribed Codex Gluttony Power Up Gluttony Power UpGluttony Skill Final Power +X for this turn and 1 Gluttony DMG Up Gluttony DMG UpDeal +(X*10)% damage with Gluttony skills this turn. (Max 100%) for this Encounter.On Clash Lose, lose 5 SP; convert the Skill's final Coin to  Unbreakable Coin Unbreakable Coin- This Coin does not break upon Clash Lose. - If an Attack Skill has this Coin, attack with this Coin after getting hit. - Upon Clash Lose, fix the Coin Power of the unbroken Coin to 1. (except E.G.O Skills; once per turn per Identity) |
Time Attack - Dummy Battle
Time Attack - Dummy Battle
Resentment is an avenging cycle of infinite weight,
every meeting and reunion an immutable destiny;
thus, karma of one’s previous life measures their worldly stay before the final flight.
Wealth in the twilight of life is a fortune most rare;
those who understand this leave their home for temples,
and those who are seduced by it fill their time with empty air.
Birds, their bellies full with feed, flutter away to the forest;
the field of white snow remains pristine, nary a footstep marring its immaculacy.
'I see a candidate who just lost a bunch of coins!'
'Someone among the audience wishes to grant an opportunity to rebound!'
'Well, seems like… we'll have to send you some wooden dummies to recoup your lost coins!'
Challenge the battle. Begin a combat encounter. Win to gain coin(s). We need to recoup the coins we've lost. Let's challenge the wooden dummies. The Sinners and I are in agreement. Combat Encounter! Reinforcements: Win the battle to gain Coin: 2! |
Don't challenge the battle. At this moment, we need rest more than we do coins. Nothing happened. |
Fear Endurance Wager
Fear Endurance Wager
Streams turn crimson with fallen petals,
and unspeakable sorrow becomes a vast, innumerable system of roots;
thus, the unresolved resentment blames naught but the springtime breeze.
There are two large jars in the room, with two mysterious devices hanging from above them.
The host's voice booms from the speakers the moment we approach the jars.
'Another chance to earn yourself some coin!'
'The conditions are simple: remain as long as you can inside those jars.'
'Try sending in a clan member who's not so easily rattled, and pick up your coins! Easy, right?'
Select a Sinner.
Who has the highest resistance to fear?
Check Passed[Sinner] and some other candidates' clan members crawl into the jars. Coin: 2 obtained! The Selected Identity took 15 SP damage. Check Failed
The Selected Identity took 30 SP damage. |
Sloth / 
Use the Red Pass
Use the Red Pass
Springtime’s dream scatters like clouds in the wind,
and falling petals float away on the stream;
thus, to every son and daughter, we pose this question:
why seek and wander for such vain suffering?
There's another candidate in this room.
The moment we enter the threshold, the door shuts behind us, and the host's voice booms from the speakers once again.
'Defeat the opposing candidate, and be granted the opportunity to find yourself a new path with even better opportunities!'
'But… we don't want to make this fight too boring, do we? Let's add some variables.'
With a heavy thunking noise, suspicious plumes of smoke begin to seep from the ground. The Sinners who inhaled it begin to cough violently.
… That can't be good.
Challenge the battle. Begin a combat encounter. Win to gain coin(s) and open a new path on the map. Let's quickly defeat the enemies before the Sinners take too much damage. Combat Encounter! Reinforcements: (All units gain 3  Poison PoisonTurn End: Take X fixed damage, then halve the Count. on every Turn Start)Win the battle to gain Coin: 2! A new path opened up on the map! |
Use the Entry Card to unlock the door and leave. Choice unlocked with the 'Red Entry Card' A new path opens up on the map This is not a good time to fight another candidate. As we are wondering if there was any way out of this, we notice a locking mechanism with a card reader on it. Hey, maybe we can use the entry card that the candidate we met earlier gave us. I tap the card against the reader, just in case it works. Entry authorized. The door unlocks with a beep. We slip out of the room as soon as the door opens… … and we leave before the other candidate notices. A new path opens up on the map! |
Acquisition of Family Artifacts
Acquisition of Family Artifacts
'Well, whichever method you used to arrive in this room… congratulations are in order!'
'As a reward for finding this secret room… feel free to take a helpful artifact! Just one, though.`
`Also… some of these artifacts might be off-limits to those who don't have enough coins!'
'Please choose carefully. They're precious artifacts from the great houses.'
Which one should we choose?
Shi Family's Artifact I open the leftmost box. In it is an axe, the same one that the Shi family members use. If I'm remembering correctly, this axe should be able to charge up to create powerful ripples… This'll be useful for the Sinners. We take the artifact and leave the room. Lightning Axe Artifact obtained! Moon in the Water Artifact obtained! If Artifact 'Flower in the Mirror' owned: Flower Mound Artifact obtained! |
Wang Family's Artifact Choice unlocked when carrying 10 or more coin(s) I open the second box from the left. In it is a talisman, the same one that the Wang family members use. These talismans each seemed to possess a special power… they should come in pretty handy. This'll be useful for the Sinners. We take the artifact and leave the room. Heartrender Talisman Artifact obtained! Moon in the Water Artifact obtained! If Artifact 'Flower in the Mirror' owned: Flower Mound Artifact obtained! |
Xue Family's Artifact Choice unlocked when carrying 20 or more coin(s) I open the second box from the right. In it is a podao, the same one that the Xue family's vagabond warriors use. This sword was huge, but… they swung it around like it weighed only as much as a feather. This'll be useful for the Sinners. We take the artifact and leave the room. Bloodsevering Blade Artifact obtained! Moon in the Water Artifact obtained! If Artifact 'Flower in the Mirror' owned: Flower Mound Artifact obtained! |
Jia Family's Artifact Choice unlocked when carrying 25 or more coin(s) I open the rightmost box. In it is an auspiciously colored Bolus from the Jia family. It should have some impressive qualities, given that it is one of H Corp.'s Singularities. This'll be useful for the Sinners. We take the artifact and leave the room. Jin Gang Bolus Artifact obtained! Moon in the Water Artifact obtained! If Artifact 'Flower in the Mirror' owned: Flower Mound Artifact obtained! |
Artifacts
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Moon in the Water  Rupture RuptureThe next Y time(s) the unit is hit, take X fixed damage. Potency: gain 1  Poise PoiseBoost critical hit chance by X*5% for the next Y hit(s). Potency and +1 Poise PoiseBoost critical hit chance by X*5% for the next Y hit(s). Count (3 times per Skill)How heartless they are—the flowing stream and the wilting blossom both. |
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Flower Mound Rupture RuptureThe next Y time(s) the unit is hit, take X fixed damage.: Clash Power +1, deal +10% damageIf targets with 15+ Rupture RuptureThe next Y time(s) the unit is hit, take X fixed damage. Potency is defeated After Attack, the Identity that defeated that unit gains 2  Offense Level Up Offense Level UpOffense Level +X for this turn. next turn (3 times per Skill)Beneath the glacial moon I lay the blossom's soul to rest |
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Lightning Axe  Charge ChargeResource used by certain skills for additional effects. Its Count can go up to 20. Count lowers by 1 at the end of each turn. every time this unit consumes 10 cumulative Charge ChargeResource used by certain skills for additional effects. Its Count can go up to 20. Count lowers by 1 at the end of each turn. Count in this EncounterTurn End: At 2+ Charge ChargeResource used by certain skills for additional effects. Its Count can go up to 20. Count lowers by 1 at the end of each turn., gain 1  Clash Power Up Clash Power UpClash Power +X for this turn. next turnOn Hit with a Skill that consumed 5+ Charge ChargeResource used by certain skills for additional effects. Its Count can go up to 20. Count lowers by 1 at the end of each turn.: inflict 1 Rupture RuptureThe next Y time(s) the unit is hit, take X fixed damage. Potency (3 times per Skill)
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Heartrender Talisman For Identities at -15 or less SP at Combat Start: convert the final Coin for their Skills into Unbreakable Coin Unbreakable Coin- This Coin does not break upon Clash Lose. - If an Attack Skill has this Coin, attack with this Coin after getting hit. - Upon Clash Lose, fix the Coin Power of the unbroken Coin to 1 (once per turn per Identity; prioritizes the Skill in the leftmost Skill Slot; except E.G.O Skills) |
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Bloodsevering Blade When an affected unit hits, deal +1% damage for every (  Bleed BleedThe next Y time(s) this unit tosses an attack skill Coin, take X fixed damage. Potency on target + Bleed BleedThe next Y time(s) this unit tosses an attack skill Coin, take X fixed damage. Count on target) (max 20%)
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Jin Gang Bolus When taking damage that brings a unit's HP down to 1, heal 50% HP, and the affected unit gains 2  Attack Power Up Attack Power UpAttack Skill Final Power +X for this turn. at Turn Start for the duration of that Encounter (once per Encounter)
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Last-Minute Bonus
Last-Minute Bonus
Happiness and laughter are but illusions.
Sorrow and grief are but illusions also.
Avarice, yearning, and longing are but manifestations of one's vacuity.
We run into a different candidate's clan in a narrow hallway.
'Feel free to duke it out, but… with the candidates' mutual agreement…'
'I think we can turn this battle into a more interesting game.'
'It's up to the both of you, though!'
Fight them. Begin a combat encounter. Win to gain coin(s). No need to gamble when we most likely have the upper hand anyway. We decide to fight them as we always do. Combat Encounter! Win the battle to gain Coin: 5! |
Make a wager. Choice unlocked when carrying 5 or more coin(s) Run a Lust and Gluttony Advantage check. Pass to gain coin(s), fail to lose coin(s). 'Ah, so there's a mutual agreement between the two candidates! The wager it is, then!' 'Very well! Place five of your coins in front of you, and…' '… send out a member of your clan, and have them give a presentation on why their 'candidate' is more deserving of the Family Hierarch seat!' 'Refute your opponent's argument while reinforcing your own, and… our dear audience will choose the winner.' 'Alright, then! Send out your most articulate and persuasive representatives!'
Which one of us is the best debater?
Check Passed[Sinner] crushes the opponent's argument with ease. Coin: 5 obtained! The Selected Identity healed 15 SP. Check FailedThe opposing representative crushes [Sinner]'s argument with ease… The Selected Identity took 15 SP damage. I mean, do we have to hand over our coins? Why don't we just beat them up and take our coins back? Actually… hey, nothing's stopping us from beating them up and taking their coins, too! The question is… should we? Fight them. - Begin a combat encounter. Win to gain coin(s). 'Another day, another excellent display of a highly discerning judgement call, Executive Manager!' 'Sob… Manager Esquire… wherefore dost thou commit such villainy…?' The Sinners comment on my decision before rushing at the opposing candidate. Outis healed 10 SP. Combat Encounter! Win the battle to gain Coin: 5! Back off. They won the game fair and square. Let's accept our defeat with grace and move on. We leave the coins and move on, albeit reluctantly. Coin: 5 lost! |
Other E.G.O Gifts
Deep Claw Marks
Obtained after defeating Into the Earth of Sin.
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Deep Claw Marks Clash Power Up Clash Power UpClash Power +X for this turn. for 3 turns after Substituting in.
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Bosses
Shi Sijing
 Shi Sijing
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Xue Pan
 Xue Pan
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Shi Yihua
 Shi Yihua
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Jia Qiu
Phase 1
 Jia Qiu
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Phase 2
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