[LP CYOA] 傳

[Rex Feral]

C seems too perfect to me. We win the fight without actually compromising our techniques. Seems too convenient and knowing treave it wil come back to bite us in the ass, maybe sooner, maybe later.

However it seems fun, C

 

[Nevill]

Seems to convenient and knowing treave it wil come back to bite us in the ass, maybe sooner, maybe later.

Bai Jiutian will be out for our blood. Is it enough of a drawback to you?

For me it's a bonus.

 

[Jester]

What I meant is, she won't be happy that her granddaughters have been put into our harem with twenty other hussies from around the world and take them to a tribe of stinking savages in the north.

I'd be more concerned with my girls being happy than my in-laws. Ashina tribe is a long way from Mount Emei, they won't visit us all that often.

C, though I like A even though nobody seems to want it (I don't mind losing the match).

Fuck no, we'll become a champion and challenge Bai Jiutian. And open a bookmaker office.

Actually that bookmaker office sounds quite classy in this setting hope that we can get that.

Seems to convenient and knowing treave it wil come back to bite us in the ass, maybe sooner, maybe later.

Bai Jiutian will be out for our blood. Is it enough of a drawback to you?

For me it's a bonus.

And her sister to still i assume 19-20 on speech check and we will charm her i hope.

 

[Baltika9]

All they need is one castration squad, and there goes our empire. A khan without testicles is not a khan at all.

The solution is obvious. We must recruit the entire Emei sect into our harem army.

So be it.
However, first we must marry Yunzi and prove ourselves as a fit leader and warrior to the tribe. Our display three years ago won us a lot of credit, but it's not bombastic enough. I propose:
Step 1. We find Lantu and find out where the Ashina are chilling right now.
Step 2. We win the tournament and challenge them to an all-on-one in the steppes. While they're preparing for the things we displayed in the tournament, we are learning new shit from Huluzi and co. and practicing in the steppes.
Step 3. We kick their asses in front of the entire tribe.
Step 4: PROFIT!

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Gotta do something about horses though...

 

[Nevill]

To hell with the horses, we'll get ourselves a personal riding tiger. It is going to be Awesome!

 

[Grimgravy]

C>A

 

[Baltika9]

Ashina are big on the whole "children of the Wolf" thing, though. We'll either need a big wolf, or a wolf-tiger crossbreed.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Bro, we ARE the tiger and the wolf. Let's just train to outrun tigers, wolves, and horses.

 

[Stygian Lurker]

C

 

[Baltika9]

I suspect our bad luck with horses had something to do with our qi being so messed up. We should try to ride one now and see what happens, maybe "fixing" our coils solved it.

 

[Tigranes]

Esquilax has summarised well. I think if we want to win, C is the way to go to not reveal our qingong to Bal Jiutian. If we don't want to win so bad, we can go with A. So the question is, at this point, have we got enough from the tournament? If we were to keep going, what are we looking for?

Certainly we'll be able to fight one or two more fellows and learn from the experience. I suppose some people still have a desire to win then say ZHANG JUEEEEEEEE BABY COME AND GET ME, though why that's a good idea I will never know. In return, we might alienate sections of the crowd (pig ear flapping MTP is loveable, will they like show the world your pussy MTP?), we certainly will draw a lot more attention through our stunt and by virtue of beating 2 strong fighters, and as Bal Jiutian has already demonstrated, it doesn't matter if we don't use any of our techniques - win here, and a lot of very keen, intelligent eyes are going to be on MTP wherever he goes (and MTP = Guan Shide is already known to Bal at least).

The point is this - I believe even with C, winning here means we're going to find it very very difficult to shake off a lot of scrutiny both publicly and privately. I'm not so certain this is worth it. One thing that would have changed my mind is if we were able to fight against one of the -less to learn more about their fighting style and their identity. But the way the brackets are set up we would only be able to do that in the final. Moreover, the next fight may well be Murong Yandi; given we've already seen him in action, the returns from fighting him is still there, but smaller.

The last thing I'm torn over, though, is this: if we win with A, wouldn't it actually draw more attention to us than with C, given we won with skill and not a stunt? And if we lost with C, it will be embarrassing, but there won't be much of a consequence, I'd think. C may even be less risky on that point.

Still, I'll vote A for now. I believe we should not get carried away for diminishing returns from the tournament, and quit while we're ahead; we can then focus on watching more matches and identifying which ones we want to challenge first (possibly before they return to their sect), and we can also try and find out more about whatever shit the -less will pull before the tournament is over - because they are here for something, and it's not just to win.

 

[Esquilax]

treave, we know that Nie Mudan is somewhat out of breath, but does Jing feel tired? If he still feels fresh, we should probably go with A.

Esquilax has summarised well. I think if we want to win, C is the way to go to not reveal our qingong to Bal Jiutian. If we don't want to win so bad, we can go with A. So the question is, at this point, have we got enough from the tournament? If we were to keep going, what are we looking for?

Well, at this point, we've become well-acquainted with two schools and we have Eight Schools to schools to fight, so I'd definitely like to improve that. Personally, I'm hoping that whichever Shaolin monk progresses to the quarter-finals ends up beating Yifang, so that if we can see how we stack up against the Shaolin. First-hand experience against three schools, and watching a few more fights would make this overall a success, IMO, though.

Certainly we'll be able to fight one or two more fellows and learn from the experience. I suppose some people still have a desire to win then say ZHANG JUEEEEEEEE BABY COME AND GET ME, though why that's a good idea I will never know. In return, we might alienate sections of the crowd (pig ear flapping MTP is loveable, will they like show the world your pussy MTP?)

The whole point of winning the tournament would be to use it as a platform to issue our challenges of the orthodox sects. If we knock on their door claiming to be Zhang Jue's apprentice, they'll want us to prove it, so they'll throw their weaker studens at us first to get a sense of how skilled we are and a preview of our techniques:

You do not get to usually challenge the best disciples without first proving yourself. They won't let any nameless kook come and fight their prized students, even if he is ranting about being the Southern Maniac's disciple. They'll just send out weaker ones until they get a good measure of your level (and your techniques).

The tournament, however, is a different matter - here they must fight.

However, if a masked fighter has beaten the best young pugilists around, especially without using any techniques, they'll definitely be willing to believe that we're Zhang's apprentice. We're in a unique position here in that we'd be able to call the orthodox sects out with the Grand Taoist of Wudang, Abbess Miecao, Abbot Fangzhang of Shaolin, Taoist Cuishan of Kunlun, and Song Lingshu of Qingcheng in attendance. We have the heads of five sects in attendance, and if we win their tournament under their rules, they have no choice but to respect our challenge or lose face. There is a lot going for the gradual approach too, but we're never going to have an audience like this again.

The point is this - I believe even with C, winning here means we're going to find it very very difficult to shake off a lot of scrutiny both publicly and privately. I'm not so certain this is worth it. One thing that would have changed my mind is if we were able to fight against one of the -less to learn more about their fighting style and their identity. But the way the brackets are set up we would only be able to do that in the final. Moreover, the next fight may well be Murong Yandi; given we've already seen him in action, the returns from fighting him is still there, but smaller.

The last thing I'm torn over, though, is this: if we win with A, wouldn't it actually draw more attention to us than with C, given we won with skill and not a stunt? And if we lost with C, it will be embarrassing, but there won't be much of a consequence, I'd think. C may even be less risky on that point.

This is fair, however, this scrutiny would occur no matter in which way we win. The only way to avoid more of the spotlight at this point, with fewer and fewer matches taking place, is simply to lose. That being said, I wouldn't mind losing at this point. As I said earlier, the biggest downsides to C would probably be some moderate reputation hits with the Huashan, and likely with other orthodox sects for pulling such a devious move. That doesn't bother me too much though - if they don't like us now, they'll like us even less when we're kicking the shit out of their students.

Oh, and I think that C will piss off the crowd too. This doesn't bother me either, some of the greatest fighters of all time capitalized on being hated. Maybe we should change our alias to "Floyd Mayweather" to really capitalize on all the hate.

 

[treave]

treave, is it possible to execute C, uh, all accidentally-like?

Possibly. It wouldn't make too much difference in terms of outcome, however.

treave, we know that Nie Mudan is somewhat out of breath, but does Jing feel tired? If he still feels fresh, we should probably go with A.

He's in better condition for now, but not entirely fresh. Compared to Nie Mudan he had a harder first fight today, and evading attacks without using qinggong takes a rather steady toll on his stamina.

 

[Kipeci]

the r00fles are too powerful

C

 

[Nevill]

treave, are we continuing to bet on ourselves, or was it a one-time thing?

 

[Nevill]

Certainly we'll be able to fight one or two more fellows and learn from the experience. I suppose some people still have a desire to win then say ZHANG JUEEEEEEEE BABY COME AND GET ME, though why that's a good idea I will never know. In return, we might alienate sections of the crowd (pig ear flapping MTP is loveable, will they like show the world your pussy MTP?), we certainly will draw a lot more attention through our stunt and by virtue of beating 2 strong fighters, and as Bal Jiutian has already demonstrated, it doesn't matter if we don't use any of our techniques - win here, and a lot of very keen, intelligent eyes are going to be on MTP wherever he goes (and MTP = Guan Shide is already known to Bal at least).

We want to make them enraged enough so that they won't even entertain refusing our challenge, but not go off the deep end so they wouldn't want to do anything with us. Why would anyone want to have a duel with a disciple of Zhang Jue otherwise? They have nothing to gain from it - we are not even famous (yet), and they stand much to lose just by associating their name with ours in any way. But this can change during the tournament.

We have already made fun of their values when we chose to participate in a Pig mask, and then proceeded to kick the ass of their second-to-best champion. This match would be another slap to their faces. Subtle touches like these are very much needed to put their honor at stake, because declining our offer then just wouldn't be an option, and it is much more likely to get us where we want to be than slighting them in a more direct manner. Of course, winning the tournament on their home turf would be a fine culmination to such a plan, an excellent final touch - then nobody, not even the the restrained Wudang, could allow themselves to ignore us anymore.

Winning the tournament will also improve the opinion of a general populace about us (they will no longer have only the rumors of our master to judge us by, and any reputation is better than his), provide us with a scroll that contains a grappling technique (we have exceptional STR and AGI, it will be extremely useful), and has a potential benefit of making unorthodox sects notice us. Let's face it, we won't find allies in the orthodox world for some time to come.

I have made a list of goals a while ago, and winning was among them. I have suggested for everyone to clarify theirs, to get a better picture of what are we trying to do here, but apparently everyone agreed that it can be decided at a later date. What are your goals, Tigranes, and how do you plan to achieve them? It is easy to make fun of others, but I am yet to hear a better plan.

We have already attracted enough attention to unleash Bal Jiutian upon us. He does have an inkling as to who our master is. Our victory over this season's favorite is just too sound to dismiss. We already command much more attention than we are comfortable with. But why should we care at this point? If you wanted to remain inconspicuous, you should never have participated, or made it to the semi-finals in the first place.

As for displeasing the crowd, they're plebs, all they want is bread and circuses. They are here for entertainment, and that we will provide. The orthodox sects can put up a good fight, but they deem it beneath them to make a show out of it. We are different from everything these people have seen so far. Of course they will love us.

And if a WiB plot results in a murder or some other hideous crime, and the names of Zhang Jue and his disciple will end up vilified (even more than they are now), then it would be in our best interest to build up some public weight to be able to refute such claims. The crowd will believe the one they love, not the one that is right.

 

[Baltika9]

Winning the tournament will also improve the opinion of a general populace about us (they will no longer have only the rumors of our master to judge us by, and any reputation is better than his)

Really now?
"Zhang Jue, The Southern Maniac" vs. "Xu Jing, The Molestng Tiger." Which is better and why, DISCUSS!

 

[Nevill]

For reals.

If you know that a guy will kill you for as much as glancing the wrong way at him, you will never know better, because you won't care enough to approach him.

If everything you risk is a slap on the ass - and only if you are a pretty girl, at that - it makes communication so much easier.

We need to make a reputation of our own ASAP.

 

[Baltika9]

If everything you risk is a slap on the ass - and only if you are a pretty girl, at that - it makes communication so much easier.

Not if we'er negotiating with merchants, farmers, noblemen and officers that have attractive daughters (by the way, we should totally seduce a female general into our harem once we become Khan. Will make wars with the Chinese so much easier). Or Emei nuns. Or any female pugilists for that matter.
I'm down with Esquilax's plan, the one that has us building a reputation as one hard motherfucker, but those close to us know that we're just one soft, cuddly plushie. With a raging libido. On other wrods, the tsundrabbittigerwolf.

 

[Tigranes]

Fair enough, and I think C has already landslided the bandwagon.

I don't think though that anyone refusing our challenge is ever a problem; perhaps treave will say otherwise, but all pop culture representations of such sects say that refusing a proper challenge is itself shameful. What they would do is, yes, throw a couple of weaklings at us until we make them realise we're here for business. I can see how that's a hassle, but I don't think that's a huge factor.

 

[Nevill]

Not if we'er negotiating with merchants, farmers, noblemen and officers that have attractive daughters (by the way, we should totally seduce a female general into our harem once we become Khan. Will make wars with the Chinese so much easier). Or Emei nuns. Or any female pugilists for that matter.
I'm down with Esquilax's plan, the one that has us building a reputation as one hard motherfucker, but those close to us know that we're just one soft, cuddly plushie.

You know, they can keep their daughters tightly guarded in the very next room and continue to negotiate.
There are far worse things than a slap on the ass for a female pugilists to consider talking with us. On the other hand, death is pretty much the end of the road. No one will ask Zhang Jue for help, ever. Unless they want him to help them die in an artistically pleasing way.

And the males just won't care. Sorry, I don't see your point. At all.

'Hard motherfucker' doesn't have to mean 'batshit insane sadist'.

I don't think though that anyone refusing our challenge is ever a problem; perhaps treave will say otherwise, but all pop culture representations of such sects say that refusing a proper challenge is itself shameful.

There is another thing to consider here for those that wish to remain incognito. If WiB succeed in pinning the blame for their misdeeds onto us, we will have a hard time doing our mission with a bounty put on our head. I can see it clearly now: "Hi, I am Zhang Jue's disciple, and I came to challenge- what are you d- where are you taking m- No! Not the pigsty again!! Make it a tigsty at least!"

We might need to take off our mask right at the tournament and say that no, we are the disciple of Zhang Jue, and we didn't do this shit, and whomever claims otherwise is just sour that we kicked their ass in the competition. But we need to score enough brownie points with the crowd, and progress far enough in the finals, for this to be effective.

 

[treave]

Second Night of the Tournament

As you slowly back away from Nie Mudan, her confidence grows. Seeing weakness, she eagerly springs at you. You duck under her attack and retaliate with a strike of your palm. She dodges to one side, her sash trailing…

Your fingers close around the silken fabric.

Then, you tug at it.

It comes undone easily enough. As Nie Mudan raises her sword to slash at you, her robes fall open, no longer held together by the scarlet sash that is now in your hand. Her eyes widen as you are afforded a glimpse of her undergarments. With a shrill, girlish shriek, she drops her sword to pull her robes together, hiding her pale, soft skin from your view. Nie Mudan crouches down, her face flush with embarrassment and anger.

You hold the sash up, looking at it and back at her, before giving her a mock bow of apology. Much of the crowd is laughing and whistling, but there are also shouts of outrage and indignation from the Huashan disciples. Standing a safe distance away from Nie Mudan, you relax into a casual stance. “I can’t fight like this, you scoundrel!” she mutters, her eyes brimming with tears as she clutches her clothes even more tightly. She knows your intentions. “Fine, I surrender! I give up!” shouts Nie Mudan indignantly.

The gong is sounded – it looks like the judges have decided to award you with the win despite your rather unorthodox way of claiming victory. You walk over to Nie Mudan, preparing to hand her the sash.

Suddenly, a hand snatches it from your grasp.

Bai Jiutian plucks the sash from you with ease as he glides towards his upset junior, having leapt towards the stage with his qinggong. The very picture of elegance and gentility, he gives her the sash before draping his outer robes over her to cover her shame. The crowd breaks out into loud cheers for him as he does so. There are screams of delight from many of the female audience members. His name is being chanted repeatedly, and there are occasional shouts for him to kick your ass. In an instant, he’s gained their adulation, reminding them that he is their former champion.

He does look the part of a dashing hero far more than you ever will, you must admit.

As the Huashan disciple turns towards you, you see that he appears to be upset.

“Perverted Man Tiger Pig,” he calls out. “The committee has deemed your method to be permissible, but in my personal standing as a senior disciple of Huashan and former champion of the tournament, I must register my disapproval with your tactics. I would have you apologize to my junior for your rudeness, but this tournament is greater than any personal grudge. I merely hope that in the future, if you still have any enmity towards Huashan, you do not take it out on my innocent juniors in such perverted ways.” With that, he scoops up the blushing Nie Mudan in his arms and exits the stage to the cheers of the crowd.

***

“So, remind me again… what is this all about?” you sigh. You had spent some time wandering about the city after the match to seek news of the people-in-black. Though you had not been able to meet them again, you have heard that they were continuing to attack people under the name of Zhang Jue’s disciple. When you returned to your room you had found a small banquet going on without you.

“I’m renting it out to you. I can do whatever I want,” grins Qilin. She had invited Cao’er, Yifang, Murong Yandi, Guo Fu and his wife to come over under her real identity, claiming to be a friend of Guan Shide’s. The tricky Miao girl has continued to keep her disguise as Xiaoxiang secret while progressing in the competition – you have heard that her Wudang opponent bowed out due to a touch of mild sickness that seems to have started spreading amongst some of the pugilists.

“Impure… you are impure…” mutters Yifang as she begins praying upon seeing your face. Cao’er, on the other hand, is looking at you like a snake would a rat. Her fingers float up to her waist sash, toying with the knot.

“Young Master Guan, we do not mean to intrude,” says Murong Yandi, “but my master came to me after the competition and had harsh words for me. He suggested that if I had made more friends, I would not have looked like such a fool out there. Coincidentally, Miss Chi came along afterwards, though when she made her invitation I was under the impression that it was your idea.”

You glare at Qilin, who sticks out her tongue at you. Giving in, you sigh loudly and take your seat. Guo Fu greets you heartily, happy to see you. His wife, Pu’er, bows politely, as she hands you a bowl of rice. You look at the rice suspiciously, wondering if Qilin had added anything to it.

Interestingly, Guo Fu had beat Murong Yandi. The swordsman had broken his sword against Guo Fu’s body, and in the end had tired himself out in a long match in which he could not find a way to knock out the big man. Guo Fu was not shy about revealing his technique – it was the famous Jinzhongzhao (金钟罩, Golden Bell Vest), a Shaolin neigong that could grant its user near invulnerability. He had learnt it from a mysterious wandering monk who had helped him save Pu’er from the clutches of a corrupt official collaborating with bandits.

Thus, instead of fighting Murong Yandi tomorrow, as you had expected, you would be facing Guo Fu.

For his part, Murong Yandi did not seem too upset about his loss, only that his teacher had berated him for his one-man performance against Taishan.

Qilin suddenly gets up. Walking behind you, she places her fingers gently under your chin. “What are you doing?” you growl.

“Were you hit by something poisonous?” she asks, frowning. “There’s something off about your complexion.”

“Well…” You had been hit by the Yuhua Duqing Palm, but you are not sure if you should tell her. You had originally planned to head out again at night to track down the people-in-black, but this could be difficult with a bunch of acquaintances in the way. You would have to wait until they were gone, or…

***

A. You share your knowledge with them and attempt to discuss the current situation with them to see if they have any insight.

B. You do not say anything. You will head out alone to seek out more information about the people-in-black after they have left the room.

C. You do not say anything. After they have left, you take the time to recuperate and instead prepare for tomorrow’s battles.

D. You do not say anything for now. You will approach Qilin later and consult her about this situation you find yourself in.

 

[Azira]

Friends are important. Time to come clean. And we want this poison purged, possibly Qilin can help, this is her area of expertise after all.

If we manage to buddy up sufficiently with Guo Fu, maybe he will be willing to share some insights into this Shaolin neigong. His intelligence probably means he's not much of a teacher, but any knowledge he could share would naturally be appreciated.

A

 

[handup]

A they're smart enough that they'd probably figure out what going on, even without our saying so. Might as well respect our bros and be honest.