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- Jul 6, 2008
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Man in Black in the Library
“Xu Jing.”
“Xu Jing… You wouldn’t be… No, it doesn’t matter now, does it?” She shakes her head, a slightly melancholic look on her face.
“You are rather strange, aren’t you?” you ask with a laugh. “First you ask my name, then you say it doesn’t matter? Make up your mind.”
“No, I didn’t mean that-”
You interrupt her. “So, now that you know my name, am I expected to keep calling you Holy Maiden in return?”
“…very well,” she replies reluctantly. “Yunzi… that name should do, for you.”
“Yunzi, huh? I have no problems calling you that – it’s less of a sting to my pride than praising the oh-so-Holy Maiden at any rate. It is my unfortunate pleasure to meet you, Miss Yunzi. Shall we be off?” You give her a mocking bow, eliciting a rather nasty glare from the girl. You wonder if it wouldn’t be easier on you to just ditch her somewhere.
After some more walking, you spot something moving in the gloom ahead, near the library entrance. Stopping in your tracks, you reach for another talisman – there are about eight left. “W-what is it?” asks Yunzi nervously. As your eyes focus, you see that it is a man clothed all in black, fiddling with the door. His movements seem unsteady and fatigued. “Do you see? That man?” you whisper. She squints, peering down the dimly lit corridor. “I can barely make him out… wait. That silhouette looks familiar. I think he is one of the leaders that attacked us at Wufushan.”
“Are you certain? I wouldn’t be so sure about recognizing someone from just a silhouette.”
“Shut up. I’ll be certain after I’ve brought him down and taken a good look at him.”
The man opens the door and enters the room. The both of you creep forward quietly. By the time you reach the door, you hear a girl giggling inside. “Well, that can’t be good,” you sigh. “We should go check out the other places, right?” asks Yunzi hopefully. You shake your head. “Of course not. This is perfect. Hold this.” Passing the candle to her, you pull out a talisman. Then, you draw your sword and kick down the door, leaping inside with a shout.
You see the man in the embrace of a pale, half-dressed girl, their lips locked together. Yunzi stifles a gasp behind you. As the ethereal girl draws back, you can see wispy tendrils of fog being drawn into her mouth from the man’s gaping jaws. His eyes have rolled up into his head and his features seem shrivelled. The girl turns her attention to you, her eyes flat and dead. She seems rather solid for a ghost, but there is no fooling your eyes. She is not of the living, not anymore.
The ghostly girl’s nose wrinkles as she sniffs the air in your direction. “The poisonous, foul-tasting boy? It looks like our illusions didn’t cage you as well as we’d hoped. What business do you have with me? You are interrupting my pleasure.”
“Now isn’t that funny?” you say, “I don’t recall asking to be knocked out and put into some lousy room. That should be my line. What business do you have with us?”
The ghost sighs, cradling her meal gently. “I suppose the priest you came with didn’t explain it to you. Why should-“ You dart forward and wave a talisman in her face. With an ugly shriek, she drops the man and shrinks back, backing away from the piece of paper. “I would appreciate some answers,” you ask sweetly. “Fine! Fine!” moans the ghost in a panic. She explains with a hurried shout, “We abduct or seduce young men so that we can partake of their yang energy and transfer it to our mistress, Lady Mi!” Suddenly, your talisman burns up, turning into ashes. It looks like they do not have a long shelf-life. Before you can draw another, the ghost turns incorporeal, fading away with a frightened look on her face and escaping your questioning.
With some disappointment, you turn your attention to the man on the ground. He is breathing, but barely. A glint of metal catches your attention; reaching into his robes, you pull out a silver crest with the Imperial symbol. A high-ranking palace operative? With a start, you peer at his face again. Though the feeding has aged and shrunken him, his face still remains slightly familiar. You are unable to put a name to the face, but you think he might have been a lackey of Grand Eunuch Li. His eyes open, darting wildly around the room. Then, they focus on you.
“Xu Jing, is the coast clear?” asks Yunzi, as if expecting you to clear the room before her royal entry. “C-can I come in?” She seems about to panic. “In a moment,” you call back. “There’s something fishy about the room.”
“Ah…” exhales the man on the floor. His shriveled arm grabs yours – in the dim light you can make out a circular tattoo of a black dragon on his wrist. Could he have some sort of connection with the Black Dragon Society? Even in his weakened state his grip is strong enough that you cannot break it easily. The man’s gaze wanders all over your face, and a sudden light of recognition dawns in his glazed eyes. “You… are you…” he groans.
You look at him impassively. “Xu Jing! H-hurry up! I think there’s a strange wind blowing outside here!” It’s probably just her imagination, but you should decide what to do quickly.
***
A. You can end his life quickly and bloodlessly – Yunzi would likely be too nervous of her surroundings to check the corpse properly, and you can blame it on the ghost. An agent of the secret police and possible member of the Black Dragon Society that has recognized you and is likely working for Eunuch Li is a person you cannot allow to live.
B. There are too many questions you need to ask him. You keep him alive for now so that you and Yunzi can interrogate him – if he was truly part of the swordsmen that attacked her, this means things are a lot more complicated than you had been led to believe. You can always try to silence him later, though you are not certain you will get a better chance.
“Xu Jing.”
“Xu Jing… You wouldn’t be… No, it doesn’t matter now, does it?” She shakes her head, a slightly melancholic look on her face.
“You are rather strange, aren’t you?” you ask with a laugh. “First you ask my name, then you say it doesn’t matter? Make up your mind.”
“No, I didn’t mean that-”
You interrupt her. “So, now that you know my name, am I expected to keep calling you Holy Maiden in return?”
“…very well,” she replies reluctantly. “Yunzi… that name should do, for you.”
“Yunzi, huh? I have no problems calling you that – it’s less of a sting to my pride than praising the oh-so-Holy Maiden at any rate. It is my unfortunate pleasure to meet you, Miss Yunzi. Shall we be off?” You give her a mocking bow, eliciting a rather nasty glare from the girl. You wonder if it wouldn’t be easier on you to just ditch her somewhere.
After some more walking, you spot something moving in the gloom ahead, near the library entrance. Stopping in your tracks, you reach for another talisman – there are about eight left. “W-what is it?” asks Yunzi nervously. As your eyes focus, you see that it is a man clothed all in black, fiddling with the door. His movements seem unsteady and fatigued. “Do you see? That man?” you whisper. She squints, peering down the dimly lit corridor. “I can barely make him out… wait. That silhouette looks familiar. I think he is one of the leaders that attacked us at Wufushan.”
“Are you certain? I wouldn’t be so sure about recognizing someone from just a silhouette.”
“Shut up. I’ll be certain after I’ve brought him down and taken a good look at him.”
The man opens the door and enters the room. The both of you creep forward quietly. By the time you reach the door, you hear a girl giggling inside. “Well, that can’t be good,” you sigh. “We should go check out the other places, right?” asks Yunzi hopefully. You shake your head. “Of course not. This is perfect. Hold this.” Passing the candle to her, you pull out a talisman. Then, you draw your sword and kick down the door, leaping inside with a shout.
You see the man in the embrace of a pale, half-dressed girl, their lips locked together. Yunzi stifles a gasp behind you. As the ethereal girl draws back, you can see wispy tendrils of fog being drawn into her mouth from the man’s gaping jaws. His eyes have rolled up into his head and his features seem shrivelled. The girl turns her attention to you, her eyes flat and dead. She seems rather solid for a ghost, but there is no fooling your eyes. She is not of the living, not anymore.
The ghostly girl’s nose wrinkles as she sniffs the air in your direction. “The poisonous, foul-tasting boy? It looks like our illusions didn’t cage you as well as we’d hoped. What business do you have with me? You are interrupting my pleasure.”
“Now isn’t that funny?” you say, “I don’t recall asking to be knocked out and put into some lousy room. That should be my line. What business do you have with us?”
The ghost sighs, cradling her meal gently. “I suppose the priest you came with didn’t explain it to you. Why should-“ You dart forward and wave a talisman in her face. With an ugly shriek, she drops the man and shrinks back, backing away from the piece of paper. “I would appreciate some answers,” you ask sweetly. “Fine! Fine!” moans the ghost in a panic. She explains with a hurried shout, “We abduct or seduce young men so that we can partake of their yang energy and transfer it to our mistress, Lady Mi!” Suddenly, your talisman burns up, turning into ashes. It looks like they do not have a long shelf-life. Before you can draw another, the ghost turns incorporeal, fading away with a frightened look on her face and escaping your questioning.
With some disappointment, you turn your attention to the man on the ground. He is breathing, but barely. A glint of metal catches your attention; reaching into his robes, you pull out a silver crest with the Imperial symbol. A high-ranking palace operative? With a start, you peer at his face again. Though the feeding has aged and shrunken him, his face still remains slightly familiar. You are unable to put a name to the face, but you think he might have been a lackey of Grand Eunuch Li. His eyes open, darting wildly around the room. Then, they focus on you.
“Xu Jing, is the coast clear?” asks Yunzi, as if expecting you to clear the room before her royal entry. “C-can I come in?” She seems about to panic. “In a moment,” you call back. “There’s something fishy about the room.”
“Ah…” exhales the man on the floor. His shriveled arm grabs yours – in the dim light you can make out a circular tattoo of a black dragon on his wrist. Could he have some sort of connection with the Black Dragon Society? Even in his weakened state his grip is strong enough that you cannot break it easily. The man’s gaze wanders all over your face, and a sudden light of recognition dawns in his glazed eyes. “You… are you…” he groans.
You look at him impassively. “Xu Jing! H-hurry up! I think there’s a strange wind blowing outside here!” It’s probably just her imagination, but you should decide what to do quickly.
***
A. You can end his life quickly and bloodlessly – Yunzi would likely be too nervous of her surroundings to check the corpse properly, and you can blame it on the ghost. An agent of the secret police and possible member of the Black Dragon Society that has recognized you and is likely working for Eunuch Li is a person you cannot allow to live.
B. There are too many questions you need to ask him. You keep him alive for now so that you and Yunzi can interrogate him – if he was truly part of the swordsmen that attacked her, this means things are a lot more complicated than you had been led to believe. You can always try to silence him later, though you are not certain you will get a better chance.
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