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Baltika9

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Because drama sells, and word of us beating down the top students of every school in grudge matches will sell like cold beer after a hard day at the construction site. Zhang wants China to acknowledge us as the best, pulling a stunt like that will definitely give us maximum publicity and get us closer to our goal.
 

kazgar

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C

Its a time/land of honour and respect for people in power, you don't just pass that shit up and would have repercussions, and some loredump/bigger picture if useful.

Remember the other masked fighters would've had to have gotten crests/invites from somewhere, and these people helped give them out, they may already know where they're from (and may know where we're from, but that's all ok)
 

Esquilax

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Something that was forgotten in all the DISCUSS!!!

“Whoa. Wow,” exclaims Qilin. “Wait a minute. You’re a noble?”

Your back is tense and straight as you stare ahead of you. What is Lady Jing playing at by saying this in front of others? For that matter, how does she know of your background?

“In a way, yes. You can call Xu Jing a noble. He has had a noble’s education.
...
“Look at ‘em scars, boss. Thought he was a brat of good breeding,” whispers one of the bandits loudly.

“Could be an accident,” chimes another.

“Nah.” The bandit leader shakes his jowls. “Nah. They’re from a beating. Sticks, I expect. This boy is not high-born. They wouldn’t scar one of them nobles, not like that. Found anything?”
...
“Did you get it while training with Zhang Jue?”

“…no, it was already like that when I first met Jing…” says Cao’er. You certainly can’t reply anymore.

“Interesting,” muses Qilin. She flicks your back hard. “Now, Cao’er, shall we begin?”

Chi Qilin now has gotten a better glimpse into our past, no thanks to Cao'er. She probably assumed all this time that we were some sort of exiled noble, but just as the bandit at the beginning of Chapter 1 noticed, the lashes across our back indicate that we aren't high-born. Out of all the people that we know, Qilin and the Wudu Cult are the most likely to see some future profit in making some moves against the Prince if the country becomes unstable (though of course that's not the case at the moment), so the less that she knows of our loyalties, the better.

Unmasking Nameless will allow us to continue establishing some trust between us, in addition to learning about the style that the Persian fighter has. Whether that's worth ignoring the summons is debatable, but I think that they have enough info on their hands to start investigating things on their own. They definitely have information that we might not be privy to, but I would much rather try approaching the Abbess in private instead of going to a summons where the others might piece together that we're Zhang's apprentice and our unique qi. I think that we can ignore this one and hopefully discuss things with the Abbess in private: remember that she swore to keep our secret.

That being said, treave, did Yifang tell the three sect heads just what we told her last night, or did she also mention that we're Zhang's apprentice?

No, I want to show it so that we can find a way to do more stuff with it and get +1 to Neigong.

Well, as much as I love these powergaming fantasies, I don't see this series of events happening at all. Why would they teach us more about our qi so that we can harness our neigong further? They know the sort of man that our Master is, and there is no way that they'd provide us with information that might lead to us getting more powerful. We might be working together, but if I were in their shoes, then I'd be sizing up Xu Jing to see just how powerful he is and what sort of person he is.

By "specific events that improve our ability to harness our inner strength" I assume that it would either involve learning more about our condition (which is what you'd hope to get with C, but I don't see happening. Maybe in the future if we establish a good relationship with Wang Zhengchong like we have with Abbess Miecao, though) or through putting ourselves in an extremely dangerous situation that forces us to push ourselves to our limits. Given that we have a time frame of a year and a lot of fighting to do, I see the latter scenario being the most likely way that we're going to improve our neigong.
 
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Nevill

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Esquilax said:
At this point, the Abbot and Grand Taoist know that we're Zhang's apprentice, there's no doubt about it. Why would they teach us more about our qi so that we can harness our neigongfurther?
Because we are an oddity that Wang Zhengchong might want to research. He will either shun us, or be intrigued by us.
Esquilax said:
They know the sort of man that our Master is, and there is no way that they'd provide us with information that might lead to us getting more powerful. We might be working together, but if I were in their shoes, then I'd be sizing up Xu Jing to see just how powerful he is and what sort of person he is.
They do know to differentiate between us and our master. They would have never called for Zhang Jue.

If they are sizing us up, it is all the more reason not to be a duche just for the hell of it.

Esquilax said:
Chi Qilin now has gotten a better glimpse into our past, no thanks to Cao'er. She probably assumed all this time that we were some sort of exiled noble, but just as the bandit at the beginning of Chapter 1 noticed, the lashes across our back indicate that we aren't high-born.
We might as well still be an exiled noble. We could have gotten the scars after our exile. It is just a glimpse it isn't enough information for her to go by.

And by the time she would piece it all together, I intend to have her fully on our side.
 

Baltika9

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Esquilax said:
At this point, the Abbot and Grand Taoist know that we're Zhang's apprentice, there's no doubt about it. Why would they teach us more about our qi so that we can harness our neigongfurther?
Because we are an oddity that Wang Zhengchong might want to research. He will either shun us, or be intrigued by us.
I'm not too keen on spending the next couple of years in his super sekkrit lab, thank you very much. We have shit to do.
 

Nevill

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I'm not too keen on spending the next couple of years in his super sekkrit lab, thank you very much. We have shit to do.
Because Zhang had spent two years solving our qi problem.

Oh wait, he did it in a week.

Why do you suppose we need to be put in a test tube for Wang Zhengchong's purposes?
 

Esquilax

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Remember the other masked fighters would've had to have gotten crests/invites from somewhere, and these people helped give them out, they may already know where they're from (and may know where we're from, but that's all ok)

I thought part of the appeal of being unorthodox is that you didn't have to give a shit about following rules like that. As for the crests, while we don't have definitive proof, it's a near-certainty that they didn't get it from the committee. There are a few things pointing to that: (1) only orthodox sect members have made it to the finals in the past three years, (2) the registration itself is pretty lax and relies a lot on the "honor system" of fighters declaring their school openly, which most do, (3) the Beggars sell invitations, so they're actually not too hard to acquire. Still might be someone from the committee, but I'm leaning toward all of this being caused by a third party. Of course, it could also be an inside man with loyalties to the group that is trying to use us as a scapegoat as well.

We might as well still be an exiled noble. We could have gotten the scars after our exile. It is just a glimpse it isn't enough information for her to go by.

And by the time she would piece it all together, I intend to have her fully on our side.

No, that can't be it. We've known Chi Qilin for a couple of years now, so if she knows that we had the scars since before Cao'er found us injured, then that narrows things down significantly. That bandit who barely looked at us for a minute could figure out who we were. If she knows that we have a noble's education, but suffered a peasant's punishment, well, then that probably means that we serve the Imperial Family in some way, but we were punished or exiled. Really, there's good things about C (being able to see what the sect heads know about the impostors), but if you want Qilin on your side, A is the best choice.

Also, there's no doubt that an intelligent, perceptive person like Qilin could put all of this together. She has a fairly good idea of our upbringing based on the scars.

Because Zhang had spent two years solving our qi problem.

Oh wait, he did it in a week.

Why do you suppose we need to be put in a test tube for Wang Zhengchong's purposes?

This is all baseless speculation, but I'm pretty sure that Wang Zhengchong's methods for fixing our qi issues are a bit more methodical, long-term and thorough than "This is your nature, Xu Jing. Embrace it, even as it kills you!" We haven't met the man, but I think it's safe to say that his methods for solving our qi problem are quite different than Zhang's. :lol:
 

kazgar

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Remember the other masked fighters would've had to have gotten crests/invites from somewhere, and these people helped give them out, they may already know where they're from (and may know where we're from, but that's all ok)

I thought part of the appeal of being unorthodox is that you didn't have to give a shit about following rules like that. As for the crests, while we don't have definitive proof, it's a near-certainty that they didn't get it from the committee. There are a few things pointing to that: (1) only orthodox sect members have made it to the finals in the past three years, (2) the registration itself is pretty lax and relies a lot on the "honor system" of fighters declaring their school openly, which most do, (3) the Beggars sell invitations, so they're actually not too hard to acquire. Still might be someone from the committee, but I'm leaning toward all of this being caused by a third party.

Though we were planning on being unorthodox in the martial arts world, not in all of society aka a outcast. I'm pretty sure even Zhang would be respectful around 3 of the sect heads, he might push the boundaries a little, and complain loudly to everyone afterwards, but at time he'd follow the letter of the rules (if not the spirit). We're only a disciple at this stage and only a teenager.
 

Baltika9

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Because Zhang had spent two years solving our qi problem.

Oh wait, he did it in a week.

Why do you suppose we need to be put in a test tube for Wang Zhengchong's purposes?

This is all baseless speculation, but I'm pretty sure that Wang Zhengchong's methods for fixing our qi issues are a bit more methodical, long-term and thorough than "This is your nature, Xu Jing. Embrace it, even as it kills you!" We haven't met the man, but I think it's safe to say that his methods for solving our qi problem are quite different than Zhang's. :lol:
This so much, Zhang used the method he knows best, "do or die," and screwed the consequences. This man doesn't like delicate approaches. Grand Tao would have taken much longer to fix our pathways, as treave said earlier, and now that we present him with a completely unique specimen filled with chaotic, untamed qi, something no one has ever seen before, it will take him even longer to produce any sort of results. I would be a total liar if I said that the idea of collaborating with him to shape our primordial qi into doing what we want it to do doesn't appeal to me, but that would take so long that it's really besides the point right now.
By the way, Zhang did it in less than one minute, the week was for recovery.
Remember the other masked fighters would've had to have gotten crests/invites from somewhere, and these people helped give them out, they may already know where they're from (and may know where we're from, but that's all ok)

I thought part of the appeal of being unorthodox is that you didn't have to give a shit about following rules like that. As for the crests, while we don't have definitive proof, it's a near-certainty that they didn't get it from the committee. There are a few things pointing to that: (1) only orthodox sect members have made it to the finals in the past three years, (2) the registration itself is pretty lax and relies a lot on the "honor system" of fighters declaring their school openly, which most do, (3) the Beggars sell invitations, so they're actually not too hard to acquire. Still might be someone from the committee, but I'm leaning toward all of this being caused by a third party.

Though we were planning on being unorthodox in the martial arts world, not in all of society aka a outcast.
But the Masters aren't society, if we piss them off, China in general won't really care. The only place where they really hold authority is the Orthodox World, and that's pretty much it, a world that we don't really care all that much about. I don't see why we feel so compelled to go for C just because it's the Masters that have summoned us. So what? We're unorthodox, we don't care for their rules at all.

I get the nasty feeling that many of you bros still hope that the Orthodox sects are going to take us back to Mount Wudang and make us a respectable orthodox martial artist, which doesn't seem likely between our apprenticeship with Zhang, the WiBs and Shun's mission. Not to mention all the stigmas we collected in the orthodox world (just look at our reputation sheet, we're in the negatives with half of them, and the other half will soon follow after we beat their students into the ground :lol: ).
 

kazgar

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Are you implying that the Grand Taoist ZhengChong, the Abbess of Emei and the Head Abbot of Shaolin have no impact on China in general?

+M
 

Baltika9

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Dude, the Martial Arts world and Impreial China are completely separate entities at this point. Monasteries have absolutely no impact on everyday life at this point except for pilgrims and the small services they provide, like healing and prayers. As far as the average citizen is concerned, the pugilists are just professional entertainment right now. That may change in the future, but right now they're their own little separate world.
Ergo, why do we care what they think?

Edit: and the whole point of Shun's mission is to see that the pugilistic world doesn't interfere with everyday life and government of the Empire.
 
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treave

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Very first lines of the LP:

The land is in turmoil. Petty bureaucrats hold sway over the cities, while banditry is rife outside of it. The pugilistic sects of the country have become the only institutions that establish a semblance of order where the reach of the Imperial Court is weak.

No impact. Separate little world. Sure. :lol:
 

Esquilax

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To be honest, I do like the idea of learning a bit about qi from a Wudang Master, especially a guy like Wang Zhengchong. The dividends that would come from harnessing both the chaotic side of our qi and the order and harmony taught by the Wudang would be amazing, but it's definitely a long-term sort of thing. That being said, if you gave me the choice of one technique, qinggong or neigong that I'd like to learn from any orthodox school, it would be a Wudang neigong technique, hands-down. It would probably fit Jing like a glove.

But the Masters aren't society, if we piss them off, China in general won't really care. The only place where they really hold authority is the Orthodox World, and that's pretty much it, a world that we don't really care all that much about. I don't see why we feel so compelled to go for C just because it's the Masters that have summoned us. So what? We're unorthodox, we don't care for their rules at all.

I get the nasty feeling that many of you bros still hope that the Orthodox sects are going to take us back to Mount Wudang and make us a respectable orthodox martial artist, which doesn't seem likely between our apprenticeship with Zhang, the WiBs and Shun's mission. Not to mention all the stigmas we collected in the orthodox world (just look at our reputation sheet, we're in the negatives with half of them, and the other half will soon follow after we beat their students into the ground :lol: ).

As kazgar said, the Masters carry a lot of weight. They might not dictate policy or govern, but you are wrong on their impact in daily life. Regular people respect the orthodox sects so much because they manage to keep law and order in places where the government is weak:

The classics had taught you that order was established by mandate from Heaven, and that the Emperor of the day was the only figure in the entire world that has received that mandate. Although the Eight Sects paid homage to His Imperial Majesty’s rule, you get the feeling that it may not be more than lip service. You begin to understand why Shun had been concerned about the pugilists. Though, to be fair, from your observations thus far the government has been rather ineffectual in establishing any semblance of order far from the cities – the central officials only cared if taxes were paid and grain was collected. At least the orthodox sects protected the communities close to them from bandits and other miscreants.

We wouldn't have been sent to investigate the pugilistic sects by Shun if they weren't a powerful force that could pose a credible threat to the army, so you're definitely underestimating the level of influence and power that they yield. A guy like Wang Zhengchong or Abbot Fangzhang might not hold an Imperial office or be a noble, but they are very important people.

After having reviewed things further, I think that I'll flop my original vote to C. Investigating the mysterious Persian fighter is important, but I suppose that we must collaborate on this one - the stakes are too high. We don't necessarily have to unmask her in order to defeat her.
 

kazgar

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Eventually, Shun's 'mission' may not mean much, we haven't talked to the dude in years beyond a few tree messages, our few years outside of the court has taken us further and further away from imperial life, our experiences may show us that the imperial system as it currently exists is corrupt and the viewpoint we had is no longer valid, what then? Perhaps Jing's life is his own, and his fate is yet to be determined.
 

Baltika9

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Eventually, Shun's 'mission' may not mean much, we haven't talked to the dude in years beyond a few tree messages, our few years outside of the court has taken us further and further away from imperial life, our experiences may show us that the imperial system as it currently exists is corrupt and the viewpoint we had is no longer valid, what then? Perhaps Jing's life is his own, and his fate is yet to be determined.
I'm viewing things from Jing's current standpoint, and right now he's still fanatically loyal to Shun. If he had to choose between the pugilists or Shun right now, he would be very inclined to choose Shun. But I'm really hoping that what you said is going to happen eventually, I really do. I know I fuck around and joke a lot here, but getting Jing's mindset to independence is a goal I want to achieve in the long run. And not just from the Imperial system, but from any system, period. Have him make his own life and shit.
 

Esquilax

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Eventually, Shun's 'mission' may not mean much, we haven't talked to the dude in years beyond a few tree messages, our few years outside of the court has taken us further and further away from imperial life, our experiences may show us that the imperial system as it currently exists is corrupt and the viewpoint we had is no longer valid, what then? Perhaps Jing's life is his own, and his fate is yet to be determined.

There's been indication that the Imperial system is corrupt, incestuous and full of favour-currying based on our brief time in the palace and what we've seen so far in Luoyang, but it's hard to see an alternative. Also, though the Emperor may be very superstitious and still in power, the evidence seems to show that Prince Shun is going to be a brilliant leader who will understand how to properly guide China. The pugilistic sects might be pretty good at maintaining order on a local scale in a lot of rural areas that are plagued by bandits, but that doesn't mean that they can run a country, not while there's a lot of internal instability and an aggressive Khagan intent on invasion:

“Yes, Prince Shun. The Ashina will be a voice of moderation in the upcoming kurultai. We will tell them that the Tang are full of young tigers,” -he gestures at both you and the prince when he says that, “-and will not be easy prey. However, the current Khagan is a man who takes advantage where he sees it. Despite what we may say, he knows that your borders are weak, and porous to his raids. Our words will only buy you time. The Pugu and Bayegu tribes are pressing for full invasion, and their influence grows by the day.”

At the moment, even if our character was neutral and not loyal to the Prince, I would still favour supporting Shun over the pugilists.
 

Tigranes

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Let's focus. We don't need to talk about Baltika9's call out plan, because he's mentioned it 30 times but nobody else as far as I can tell has agreed. We can cross that bridge when/if we win the tournament. And as right as kazgar is about the long term view, we don't really need to go into that right now, either.

A or C. There's little doubt that Qilin knows what she's doing and we can help her out. THere's little doubt that she knows or is very close to knowing our past. I also think there's little chance we'd be killed or kidnapped or something nuts by the Heads, that we'd come to immediate physical harm. So let's get the hyperbole out of the way.

It boils down to this: do you think the Grand Taoist, having grasped that we have a fucked up qi - and he will grasp it - do you think he will want to help us, give us advice? Or just observe, and to monitor? Or to think that, now or later, this kid needs to be seized, confined, studied, perhaps 'cured' even if it means the loss of life or combat ability or whatever? Do you think that this man will observe a strange boy with a totally unorthodox style and a healthy dose of irreverence and a totally fucked up qi heretical to the Wudang belief, someone who he may or may not know already is ZJ's apprentice - do you think he will want to help this kid out and cure him when he wants to, give him the Hippocratic treatment, or do you think he's going to want to take control of that situation sooner or later? I don't trust the Grand Taoist. If we're going to be 'cured' (and why do we, again, given ZJ took care of the balance problem?) or restrained in some way, we want to do that when we have the power to negotiate with the GT.

Look. We came into this tournament with a voted consensus to reveal as little as possible about ourselves. Plans can change. So sure, we can try and win the tournament. We've opted to tell some 'friends' about the situation. Well, that's very different from telling GT and other heads the most important things about who we are and what we are. And for what benefit? Unknown! Do we know what they're offering? Can they help us win the tournament? With Zhang's mission? With Shun's mission? To stop the WiB in whatever? They got the info from us, not the other way round!

We have been given no information to promise that what they have to say will be useful or informative. We have no information to believe that contrary to the fact (that our very existence is an aberration to Wudang belief), the GT will be a nice dude. These key points rule out C emphatically.
 

kazgar

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At the moment, even if our character was neutral and not loyal to the Prince, I would still favour supporting Shun over the pugilists.
Why not both?

Maybe the real threat will be external ? Maybe we should be the unifying force between the court world and the Pugilistic world against that, maybe there's no balance to be achieved? But this weird connotation that people have is that everything we're doing now is a weird double agent play and once we've 'levelled up' we'll go back to Shun and he'll welcome us with open arms and it'll go back to how it was in the first five updates and maybe we'll fight back to back together against the 8 sects is bizarre.

Court politics is crazy, maybe he'll be on the outer, maybe he'll no longer trust us anymore, maybe we're just a lackey dog to go on a suicide mission or provide a distraction. Shun doesn't seem to rate many mentions in the official updates besides the tree interlude, maybe he's not high on Jing's agenda right now? Maybe our issue with the Yuhua is personal now, maybe the issues with the random attacks is due to his name being used and being targeted.

Edit: almost all of our choices have taken us away from that original mission, we keep throwing in a "oh that'll help with the mission as a side" but it rarely does and that's ok, we've learnt more about ourselves and the world, but less about that, maybe it doesn't matter anymore, maybe we'll come back to it, maybe another thing we'll run into will help solve both, maybe its all interlinked, but we haven't worried about that original plan for about 3 or 4 years of world time.
 
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Baltika9

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not while there's a lot of internal instability and an aggressive Khagan intent on invasion:

“Yes, Prince Shun. The Ashina will be a voice of moderation in the upcoming kurultai. We will tell them that the Tang are full of young tigers,” -he gestures at both you and the prince when he says that, “-and will not be easy prey. However, the current Khagan is a man who takes advantage where he sees it. Despite what we may say, he knows that your borders are weak, and porous to his raids. Our words will only buy you time. The Pugu and Bayegu tribes are pressing for full invasion, and their influence grows by the day.”
Not for long. :smug:
I'm pretty damn serious when I say we should become the Ashina Khan, and this is one of the reasons why.
And, yeah, Shun was shaping up to be a brilliant leader when we last saw him, but that may have changed. He's one idealistic bastard,
“Well, no. I mean, I do believe in gods, and ghosts. But I don’t believe that fate controls us. We are what we make of ourselves,” mutters Shun. “I would rather work the fields than pray to the Jade Emperor for good fortune. Anyway, we are meandering from the point. Shut up and listen for a bit, Jing.”
Power and idealism can make a great ruler, but they can also make a tyrant. We'll see how it goes. Time changes people, even if we were best friends in the past. We'll see how it goes.
 

treave

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Codex 2012
One thing to bear in mind is that China at this time is still very much an agrarian society. Close to 80% of the population can be found in the countryside, and thus that remains the main tax-base for the Imperial Court. In helping to maintain order out there, the Eight Sects are actually in a way perpetuating dynastic rule by ensuring taxes continue to reach the central bureaucracy despite the corruption and weakness. If they want power, they can seize it at any time by choking the Imperial Court to death economically. When you can't pay your soldiers...

Of course, this doesn't mean that the Tang aren't powerful - they still command a million-man army with well-trained generals and officers. It's just that the dynasty is in a rather fragile state at the moment.

Shun doesn't seem to rate many mentions in the official updates besides the tree interlude, maybe he's not high on Jing's agenda right now?

Probably because the updates get tiring if I have the character mooning over the prince every five lines or so. :lol:
 

kazgar

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One thing to bear in mind is that China at this time is still very much an agrarian society. Close to 80% of the population can be found in the countryside, and thus that remains the main tax-base for the Imperial Court. In helping to maintain order out there, the Eight Sects are actually in a way perpetuating dynastic rule by ensuring taxes continue to reach the central bureaucracy despite the corruption and weakness. If they want power, they can seize it at any time by choking the Imperial Court to death economically. When you can't pay your soldiers...

Shun doesn't seem to rate many mentions in the official updates besides the tree interlude, maybe he's not high on Jing's agenda right now?

Probably because the updates get tiring if I have the character mooning over the prince every five lines or so. :lol:

C'mon just throw in the occasional moonlit rocky outcrop, Jing in repose, a bamboo flute playing, the scene slowly shifts to Shun, sitting at the imperial palace, looking at the same moon, wistfully sighing. It'll be grand! :)
 

a cut of domestic sheep prime

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Something that was forgotten in all the DISCUSS!!!
...
Chi Qilin now has gotten a better glimpse into our past, no thanks to Cao'er. She probably assumed all this time that we were some sort of exiled noble, but just as the bandit at the beginning of Chapter 1 noticed, the lashes across our back indicate that we aren't high-born. Out of all the people that we know, Qilin and the Wudu Cult are the most likely to see some future profit in making some moves against the Prince if the country becomes unstable (though of course that's not the case at the moment), so the less that she knows of our loyalties, the better.
Ding, ding ding - we have a winner! In fact, Qilin said as much in a previous update. Also, don't forget that the Wudu Cult were the ones behind the assassination attempt on Rong Sr. They have no problem going after anyone, if they can profit by it.

“Wuxian Canshui Poison, (五仙殘水毒 Five Immortals Crippling Water Poison)” blurts out Cao’er quickly as she interrupts you. You look at her in surprise as she tries to cobble together a proper sentence. “... it’s used by the Wudu… the Five Poisons Cult. It’s one of their five main poisons. I mean, they use it a lot… the effect is, it’s theirs…” Cao’er tries bravely but runs out of steam and words as she shrinks under the attention of the Rong family. You place a hand on her shoulder, holding it firmly.

“Wuxian Canshui?” laughs Rong Muben fearfully. “I don’t think I have crossed the Wudu Cult in any way in my entire life as a pugilist. And sadly I admit my school is too insignificant to attract their attention. This is… well, this is a bit unbelievable.”

His nervous dismissal is understandable. The Wudu Cult, the cult of the Five Poisons, are acknowledged as the masters of poisons in the pugilistic world. Based in Guizhou, their Tufan leader, Tulu Huodu, is powerful enough in conventional martial arts that he has gained recognition as the feared Western Snake.

And seriously, bros, that Taoist will have ZERO interest in helping us - especially if Yifang has already told him we are the Maniac's disciple. And I'd say that's pretty damn likely given what a stool pigeon she's turned out to be. It's time to harden up and pull our heads out of power gaming fantasies that won't happen and will only make things tougher down the line. Long-term, bros. Long-term.
 

treave

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Jul 6, 2008
Messages
11,370
Codex 2012
Zero Credibility - C
XenomorphII - C
Esquilax - A
Baltika9 - A
ERYFKRAD - B>C
Azira - C
Kashmir Slippers - C
asxetos - C
Kipeci - C
Nevill - C
Jester - C
Stygian Lurker - A
Ifeex - A>C
Tigranes - A
Smashing Axe - C>B
Lambchop19 - A>B
Absinthe - C
ScubaV - C
kazgar - C

***

Current tally:

A - 6
B - 1
C - 12

***

Esquilax said:
treave, after facing Nie Mudan in the previous match, do we know the names of a few Huashan techniques or qinggong as well as what they do?

Not yet, no. You'll need to talk to some people who know what the techniques are called and get a brief description.

treave, did Yifang tell the three sect heads just what we told her last night, or did she also mention that we're Zhang's apprentice?

You don't know.

***

Arguments against meeting with the old fogeys:
- They are not trustworthy and may seek to negotiate a lop-sided deal
- They might meddle with your qi, seeing it as an abomination
- No need to meet with them at all to accomplish your goals, if they already know they don't need to meet with you
- Continue to keep your identity secret
- Establishing contact with Nameless and her gang could be useful

Arguments for meeting with them:
- They are powerful and influential people
- They probably know more about the situation at hand
- They can vouch for your identity and innocence if people try to frame Zhang Jue's disciple
- They will be able to give you more pointers about your qi
- They have the ability to help you with your real mission

Oh, and technically Zhang didn't fix you. He merely smashed all your meridians, and allowed you to fix yourself. :lol:
 
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Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
I dunno about that, they hate Zhang Jue, yes, but in the end we're not him. I could see us working with the heads of schools down the road in a "better the devil you know" arrangement, with them out in the open and us in the dark side of the pugilistic world. Of course, Master Zhang may not take kindly to us cooperating with the heads of schools and his arch rival. :lol: Until we kill him, of course, and take the title of the Southern Great for ourselves. "Xu Jing, The Southern Tigerwolf" sounds good to me.
 
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