[LP CYOA] 傳

[Kashmir Slippers]

I think finding him and killing him will be much harder when he has a school full of disciples at his back. As much as I hate our odds right now, I think that killing him now will be our best chance that we will ever get.

 

[Esquilax]

Not that I'm complaining, but how do we keep getting ourselves into this shit?
Not just in this LP, either.

We love high-risk, insane decisions without paying attention to the consequences. In this case though, it makes sense. However, I am coming around a lot to B1. Accusing Rong of murder is the sort of tactless and brutal thing that a crazy fuck like Master Yao would do. Jing is a lot more savvy than that with people.

“...not cured yet. I’m not as good as my Master,” croaks Cao’er in response. “I need one more session with him tomorrow to remove the p… illness…” It looks like she’s a bit more tactful than her master in this regard. Cao’er then shakes her head, continuing, “Also, no killing either. We’ll be paid normally...”

You haven’t said anything about the price for saving a life on the way here, thinking that you would raise it when the treatment is complete - she’s decided on this herself.

The look on Madam Rong’s face is one of utter surprise and joy, as if Buddha himself had come down to bless her. She embraces Cao’er in a hug so tight that you can hear her breath squeaking out. “Thank you! Thank you! I won’t forget this. You can be sure that I will let everyone know that Master Yao has some very fine apprentices to follow in his footsteps. The both of you will always be welcome here at Songfeng!”
...
I understand that the common price for the Killer Physician is the life of another, and I am very grateful that it has not been requested.

treave, what would Jing say to Master Rong with B1? I mean, going back on what we initially said here will absolutely crush them. On the flipside, A1 might ruin their family's reputation forever and it seems like an incredibly tactless thing to do that doesn't make any sense in the context of an honor-driven society where appearance and reputation are so important. It would probably destroy the school too. I can't help but feel that we're being biased about the situation by looking at it as people mostly from the West living in the 21st century.

Perhaps it's better if Rong Jr dies a hero...

Edit: Actually, Jing has a way with words, so he'd probably say something like "I'm sorry, I've never killed anyone, and I wasn't prepared to do it when I saw Madame Rong outside, but the balance of life and death must be restored. I will challenge Rong Zhiyu in fair combat to extract the Killing Physician's Price."

Bros, I think that B1 is much better than A1 after reconsidering. The murderer is gone, and the son dies in honorable combat, rather than with the stain of patricide. The sword academy maintains its honor, and we get rid of our enemy. Flopped to B1.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Ain't no choice a good one.
And hell, I'm done fence-dancing.

A1.

Ain't no Rong gonna wrong a Rong.

 

[Baltika9]

I don't really care about being seen as the hero, I want Muben to not get killed when we leave. If we salvage the situation and get an honorable rep, great. If not, whatever.
Junior, as the updates repeatedly stated, is rotten to the core. Look at this scene from when we fully cured Muben:

Rong Zhiyu is already there, looking uncomfortable. When he sees you, however, he smiles gracefully and bows. His eyes, however, are full of venom. You have made an enemy here.

Keep in mind, this is a fully-formed adult here that carried out a very meticulous operation, conciously making every last decision. There's a certain age the "You've been a bad boy, I'll give you one last chance to correct yourself" works for, and I'm pretty sure it ends at around fifteen, now try poisoning your parents in Ancient China. The parents fucked up and one can't develop if he doesn't realize his mistakes and grow from them.

What I'm getting at here is this: he's not going to correct himself without a world-shattering revelation, the guy's a committed scumbag. Getting told off by a brat five years his junior is not it. Besides, Madam Rong may be carrying another child now, and I'd rather they recognize their mistakes in parentage so that they don't raise another Junior.

 

[Nevill]

Second right choice in MY definition of right is to take his life WITHOUT telling his parents why. Think about it like that they, did everything they could to be good parents and we will tell them that their only son had tried to kill one of them.

- Hey, do you mind if I murder your son in front of you?
- By the merciful Gods, what made you ask such a question?
- ...No reason.

You are just much more likely to be thrown out of the door, with the same consequenses as in B2. And if you don't, you've just killed ther son for the evulz over a theft accusation, rubbed their nose in it, and walked away without facing justice. I've put this as 'twisted' in my analysis.

 

[Esquilax]

What I'm getting at here is this: he's not going to correct himself without a world-shattering revelation, the guy's a committed scumbag. Getting told off by a brat five years his junior is not it. Besides, Madam Rong may be carrying another child now, and I'd rather they recognize their mistakes in parentage so that they don't raise another Junior.

There are plenty of people with great parents who are pieces of shit too. In any case, we're not here to teach a course on parenting, we're here to resolve this case to the best of our abilities.

A2 seems to be a very ignorant way of handling things. Why does the father need to know his son tried to kill him? What good does it do for their family? Jing is thinking about the right thing to do here:

If you do not, you would be leaving Master and Madam Rong to the whims of their son, and possibly their deaths. Is that how you should conclude this case? You feel that it leaves things unfinished, that you have only helped them insofar as it is convenient for you to do so, that you have no need to worry about anything besides the scope of your job and the magnitude of your rewards. But perhaps it is the wiser choice to take.

Nevill, with B1 wouldn't be killing him for no reason, it would be killing them to extract the Killing Physician's toll. Jing is competent enough at speech that I think he can convince these people that he was just unwilling to kill someone and didn't want to go through with it, but now realizes that he has to according to the philosophy of Master Yao. As recompense, he'll allow Rong Zhiyu a fair chance at defending himself in a duel. In any case, a life must be paid; either ours, or Rong Zhiyu's.

Edit: Look bros, when it comes down to it, we are making a terrible accusation against Master Rong's son in front of him, in his home... with no evidence. It doesn't matter that we're right, this is not how you go about doing things. We're an unorthodox martial artist accusing an orthodox martial artist of doing something terrible, so the deck is already stacked against us.

If you say that a life must be offered up to restore balance and offer up the chance of a duel, that is something that they can swallow far easier than their son being a sociopath who tried to kill his father. Remember, when we arrived, Madame Rong was already willing to pay the Killing Physician's price, but she was unable to accept her son being anything but perfect. Believe me, B1 is much better than A1. Cao'er is surprisingly tactful, and even she saw the wisdom in not mentioning that Master Rong had been poisoned.

 

[Jester]

I think finding him and killing him will be much harder when he has a school full of disciples at his back. As much as I hate our odds right now, I think that killing him now will be our best chance that we will ever get.

Why? It will be known where head of Son Sword is and it will be easy to find out opportunity when he is out of school. We got now high sneak level and if his father will take our advice we should have time to improve if necessary. I don't see anything honourable in his deed so i don't plan to assure his death is honourable.

We love high-risk, insane decisions without paying attention to the consequences. In this case though, it makes sense. However, I am coming around a lot to B1. Accusing Rong of murder is the sort of tactless and brutal thing that a crazy fuck like Master Yao would do. Jing is a lot more savvy than that with people.

The look on Madam Rong’s face is one of utter surprise and joy, as if Buddha himself had come down to bless her. She embraces Cao’er in a hug so tight that you can hear her breath squeaking out. “Thank you! Thank you! I won’t forget this. You can be sure that I will let everyone know that Master Yao has some very fine apprentices to follow in his footsteps. The both of you will always be welcome here at Songfeng!”
...
I understand that the common price for the Killer Physician is the life of another, and I am very grateful that it has not been requested.

I mean, going back on what we initially said here will absolutely crush them. On the flipside, A1 might ruin their family's reputation forever and it seems like an incredibly tactless thing to do that doesn't make any sense in the context of an honor-driven society where appearance and reputation are so important. It would probably destroy the school too. I can't help but feel that we're being biased about the situation by looking at it as people mostly from the West living in the 21st century.

Perhaps it's better if Rong Jr dies a hero...

Edit: Actually, Jing has a way with words, so he'd probably say something like "I'm sorry, I've never killed anyone, and I wasn't prepared to do it when I saw Madame Rong outside, but the balance of life and death must be restored. I will challenge Rong Zhiyu in fair combat to extract the Killing Physician's Price."

Bros, I think that B1 is much better than A1 after reconsidering. The murderer is gone, and the son dies in honorable combat, rather than with the stain of patricide. The sword academy maintains its honor, and we get rid of our enemy. Flopped to B1.

Yes i think all here don't usually think about reality we are in either when thinking about fantasy or history in general, thought that only i see that problem. Can flip to B1 if it will have more votes than A1 but see no other way. A1 will severely hit master Rong honor he was accumulating his whole life and that in honor driven society is worse than death and I think that telling his mother about that would be thing only total ass would do.
Not all love high risk, insane decisions without good reason. Those options are good from time to time.

 

[Nevill]

Nevill, with B1 wouldn't be killing him for no reason, it would be killing them to extract the Killing Physician's toll. Jing is competent enough at speech that I think he can convince these people that he was just unwilling to kill someone and didn't want to go through with it, but now realizes that he has to according to the philosophy of Master Yao. As recompense, he'll allow Rong Zhiyu a fair chance at defending himself in a duel. In any case, a life must be paid; either ours, or Rong Zhiyu's.

I kind of understand where you are coming from. I was the one who wrote we need to be subtle about handling the whole situation earlier, and A1 is anything but.

I just don't know whether they will allow for the duel if we don't raise a storm beforehand. That, and I do value bystanders' opinions, selfish though it may be. I would not like to be pegged as a murderous thief at the beginning of my career.

Not liking it.

 

[Baltika9]

If you say that a life must be offered up to restore balance and offer up the chance of a duel, that is something that they can swallow far easier than their son being a sociopath who tried to kill his father. Remember, when we arrived, Madame Rong was already willing to pay the Killing Physician's price, but she was unable to accept her son being anything but perfect. Believe me, B1 is much better than A1. Cao'er is surprisingly tactful, and even she saw the wisdom in not mentioning that Master Rong had been poisoned.

I could go for a B1 like this. Yeah, it makes us an ass, but I don't really care for that. Question is, will Jing word it as such, treave?

 

[XenomorphII]

We already said we would forfeit the killing price so I am against going for the little bastards head, but we should still bluntly tell them the cause of Rong Sr's "sickness" and our version of last nights events as evidence to support it. If they decide to ignore our warning fine, but we did our duty as physicians. If they refuse to pay us for our services after that, then we should change our price to Jr's head.

They're not going to believe us over their own son. Look, if you want to fight, you must refuse the reward, because doing so makes this a matter of honor and gives us credibility. If we believe that their son is a murderer to the extent that we're willing to forfeit any reward or payment by making this accusation, Master Rong, being a man of honor, must respect and accept that.

Probably right. They won't believe us, and will do nothing, then dad will be killed in a few weeks/months by the son anyway, not our problem. I don't particularly want to fight, demanding the Killing Physicians price is only a last ditch effort (they don't want to pay us normally then we take that price if they prefer, we will be payed one way or another).

Here's an even worse alternative for A2: Master Rong is offended by us besmirching the honor of his son by accusing him of patricide and challenges us to a duel. Really, it's a half-measure and it won't work. Likewise, we can't pick B1 because we just told these people that we wouldn't ask for the Killer Physician's price. You either kill this motherfucker yourself, or you leave without rocking the boat. There's no in-between.

That is possible, but in A1 you make the same insult. So you are really saying A might mean he wants to kill us. I will say that I seriously doubt that he will actually challenge us. We just saved his life, he may be insulted by it, but he won't do anything like that. There is an in between tell them their son is a snake and then leave. Sure, it will piss everyone off, but so what. And when the Master dies in short order, people will remember what we said, or the son will be forced to back off (because if daddy dies now it will look very bad for him).

 

[Jester]

What I'm getting at here is this: he's not going to correct himself without a world-shattering revelation, the guy's a committed scumbag. Getting told off by a brat five years his junior is not it. Besides, Madam Rong may be carrying another child now, and I'd rather they recognize their mistakes in parentage so that they don't raise another Junior.

We got no base to say that madam Rong have or will have another child. "world-shattering revelation" if his father will go with our advice and give chance to show his worth is quite shaking in my book and if he will still try to betray them... not all poisions are quick and nice, he used something untraceable we can use something much more painful or damaging and would say he deserve that.

Second right choice in MY definition of right is to take his life WITHOUT telling his parents why. Think about it like that they, did everything they could to be good parents and we will tell them that their only son had tried to kill one of them.

- Hey, do you mind if I murder your son in front of you?
- By the merciful Gods, what made you ask such a question?
- ...No reason.

You are just much more likely to be thrown out of the door, with the same consequenses as in B2. And if you don't, you've just killed ther son for the evulz over a theft accusation, rubbed their nose in it, and walked away without facing justice. I've put this as 'twisted' in my analysis.

We can say that unfortunately such price must be paid or ghost/force/ancestors will be pissed of, spiritual things were important back then hell that didn't changed even in middle ages. As for being kicked out their are bounded to pay us and i beieve they will honor their word, they didn't do anything for me to think differently.

 

[Nevill]

Current tally (last edited 13 sept 13, 05:40 GMT):

ERYFKRAD A1
LWC1996 A1
Azira B2
Ifeex A (no clarification given)
Jester B2>B1 (counted as B2)
Esquilax B1>A1 (counted as A1)
Storyfag B2
Zero Credibility A1
Kipeci B1
TOME B2
Bloodshifter A1
Smashing Axe A1
Baltika9 B1>A1 (counted as A1)
XenomorphII A2
Nevill B1>A1 (counted as A1)
Stygian Lurker B2
Tigranes B1>A1 (counted as A1)
Lambchop19 A1
ScubaV A1
Kashmir Slippers B2

A1 - 10
A2 - 1
B1 - 2
B2 - 6

Guys, if you flop to B1, set up conditional votes, or we spread ourselves too thin. Then B2 wins.

 

[Esquilax]

I kind of understand where you are coming from. I was the one who wrote we need to be subtle about handling the whole situation earlier, and A1 is anything but.

I just don't know whether they will allow for the duel if we don't raise a storm beforehand. That, and I do value bystanders' opinions, selfish though it may be. I would not like to be pegged as a murderous thief at the beginning of my career.

Not liking it.

The bystanders don't matter. Remember, the students here are either loyal to Master Rong, and by extension his family, or they are Zhiyu's co-conspirators, in which case, they are going to be on Rong Jr's side because they don't want the plot to be revealed. The students that support Master Rong, even if they know how slimy his son is are not going to appreciate the fact that we've torn apart his family's honor in such an incredibly thoughtless manner; in this society, children reflect on their parents. To make matters worse, Zhiyu trained with reputable Huashan Masters, while our guy is some crazy guy who lives in the woods, so who are they going to believe? We aren't going to be getting any love from the public here.

Accusing a guy with the Zhiyu's reputation of murder in the place where he's respected will not go over well, no matter how slimy we realize he actually is. Kill him in honorable combat and it comes off much better. I found it interesting that Cao'er, as shy and nervous around strangers as she is, had the foresight to not mention the poisoning at all. She's very clever, and I think we should take that as a cue to follow her lead.

That is possible, but in A1 you make the same insult. So you are really saying A might mean he wants to kill us. I will say that I seriously doubt that he will actually challenge us. We just saved his life, he may be insulted by it, but he won't do anything like that. There is an in between tell them their son is a snake and then leave. Sure, it will piss everyone off, but so what. And when the Master dies in short order, people will remember what we said, or the son will be forced to back off (because if daddy dies now it will look very bad for him).

This is true, and that's why I've flopped to B1. He might not actually challenge us, but A2 solves absolutely nothing - it doesn't open Master Rong's eyes because we are an unorthodox martial artist without any evidence, while at the same time Rong Zhiyu will still be able to kill him quite easily anyways due to his father's trusting nature. Once he's in power at the school, he can kick out anybody he thinks might be a threat to him or suspicious of him. Nope, if you want to deal with him, you have to do it permanently.

 

[Baltika9]

We got no base to say that madam Rong have or will have another child. "world-shattering revelation" if his father will go with our advice and give chance to show his worth is quite shaking in my book and if he will still try to betray them... not all poisions are quick and nice, he used something untraceable we can use something much more painful or damaging and would say he deserve that.

We're going for a no-poison character, though.
And Junior doesn't respect his father at all. I just don't think he'll change.

 

[Azira]

No matter what we do, we'll end up on the Rong side..

No wonder Yao snickered when we chose this mission. Guys. Should've chosen the Beggars. Should also have chosen the nausea-finger, but what can I do now?

 

[XenomorphII]

No matter what we do, we'll end up on the Rong side..

No wonder Yao snickered when we chose this mission. Guys. Should've chosen the Beggars. Should also have chosen the nausea-finger, but what can I do now?

Continue with mild butthurt?

This is true, and that's why I've flopped to B1. He might not actually challenge us, but A2 solves absolutely nothing - it doesn't open Master Rong's eyes because we are an unorthodox martial artist without any evidence, while at the same time Rong Zhiyu will still be able to kill him quite easily anyways due to his father's trusting nature. Once he's in power at the school, he can kick out anybody he thinks might be a threat to him or suspicious of him. Nope, if you want to deal with him, you have to do it permanently.

We don't need to solve this. It isn't our school, and these people aren't our friends. We are here as a physician, and as such we should just tell them what is going on, get paid, then leave. The kid is a little shit, but he is not our problem to deal with.

 

[Nevill]

Ah, to hell with it.
I hate flopping and hate conditional voting, because I am usually pretty sure of what I try to accomplish.
Just this once.

Flopped to B1>A1 (if B1 does not get the votes).

 

[Baltika9]

B1>A1.

 

[Esquilax]

B1 is the right call, bros.

I honestly can't imagine how badly an accusation against Rong Jr is going to come out if we do it in front of his father. "Hey, so your son's a murderer. I can't prove it, but TRUST ME, bro!" We'll come off as a complete asshole and many in the school will believe that we are a bloodthirsty unorthodox type looking for an excuse to kill off the heir to the academy. Remember, we're always going to be fighting an uphill battle due to our unorthodox style (good thing we're charismatic). Believe me, this will actually hurt our reputation less than A1 will.

B1 is the price that this family had already bargained for here. They were prepared to pay it. What they weren't prepared for is having their son being accused of murder and having their family name pissed on in their own academy. We can't do this.

No matter what we do, we'll end up on the Rong side..

No wonder Yao snickered when we chose this mission. Guys. Should've chosen the Beggars. Should also have chosen the nausea-finger, but what can I do now?

Ugh, are you on this shit again? This doesn't have a fucking thing to do with our current circumstance - perhaps we could have given Rong Zhiyu mild nausea while he sliced our stomach open with his sword. The reason Yao chuckled when we told him we were heading to Songfeng is because he suspected we wanted to go there to prevent him from extracting his toll.

We don't need to solve this. It isn't our school, and these people aren't our friends. We are here as a physician, and as such we should just tell them what is going on, get paid, then leave. The kid is a little shit, but he is not our problem to deal with.

He isn't our problem to deal with? Perhaps you'll eat your words many years down the road when he's a greatly revered and influential swordmaster who's aware of this one little thorn on his side who knows all about his dirty little secret. It's absolutely our problem.

 

[Jester]

That, and I do value bystanders' opinions, selfish though it may be. I would not like to be pegged as a murderous thief at the beginning of my career.
Not liking it.

No said about liking getting bad oppinion.

I have to say, I have a whole new respect for our character now. To maintain one's composure and calm while being falsely accused of theft in public is a feat that not many adults can boast of.

...

Walk away. No way we can salvage this satisfactorily. Good thing the Songfeng is only a small school of little repute.

We came here all the way, avoided the trap of being sent away and killed (or worse), won in a face off match with an armed guy that had a small army at his beck and call, protected our patient on a deciding night with a clever suggestion, all the while managing to keep Cao'er out of trouble and NOW we back off?

And NOW we back off?

The hell?!

In the previous choice we had unanimously decided to save a life, we just didn't know which way to go about it. Now that the poison had been cured, you suggest to turn tail and run, stripping our actions up to this point of any meaning they might have had? You are ready to throw away a life you just saved once it is no longer your responsibility as a doctor to earn some coin and a sword? You are ready to swallow your pride and carry the stain of a thief? You are ready to see the villain triumph just because don't feel comfortable involving yourself further?

We are ready to swallow our pride and see people suffer more because we don't wish to be seen as murdered at beginning of your career. Because we don't feel comfortable involving yourself further?

This is the kind of "see no evil, hear no evil" bullshit that I hoped our character would never, ever, succumb to, or even condone. Looking the other way is a nice survival skill, but they don't tell stories of this kind of people, not the ones that are worth hearing anyway.

But they do say stories of people not telling all, but without crucial part ! So lets choose easy way lets " "see no evil, hear no evil" bullshit that I hoped our character would never, ever, succumb to, or even condone" bro.

Fuck this!
This leaves only A1. It is dangerous, reckless and unrewarding, but it is the only thing that makes sense for our character. Anything else would be half-hearted, twisted or downright infamous.

I want to tell them, everybody, the whole truth. How the son tried to buy us into leaving the job unfinished, how he tried to scare us off, how the sword came into our posession - everything. Then, like Zero Credibility suggested, I will state the reason for demanding my fee. The sheer fact that I have no other reason to do so should lend credibility to my claims.

This leaves only B1. It is dangerous, reckless and unrewarding, but it is the only thing that makes sense for our character. Anything else would be half-hearted, twisted or self-centred.

 

[XenomorphII]

We don't need to solve this. It isn't our school, and these people aren't our friends. We are here as a physician, and as such we should just tell them what is going on, get paid, then leave. The kid is a little shit, but he is not our problem to deal with.

He isn't our problem to deal with? Perhaps you'll eat your words many years down the road when he's a greatly revered and influential swordmaster who's aware of this one little thorn on his side who knows all about his dirty little secret. It's absolutely our problem.

You are assuming an awful lot. He is arrogant and not terribly cunning. That is a very bad combination for the "Master" of a school to have, and will almost certainly lead him to an early death.

 

[Baltika9]

We don't need to solve this. It isn't our school, and these people aren't our friends. We are here as a physician, and as such we should just tell them what is going on, get paid, then leave. The kid is a little shit, but he is not our problem to deal with.

 

[Nevill]

Jester, I have troubles following your reasoning. Not sure what to make out of it.

 

[XenomorphII]

We don't need to solve this. It isn't our school, and these people aren't our friends. We are here as a physician, and as such we should just tell them what is going on, get paid, then leave. The kid is a little shit, but he is not our problem to deal with.

Tigerbro doesn't strike me as the type.

The type to follow through on his duty? If anything that is something I think our character does feel strongly about even if he sometimes slips up. Though I suppose since you are a supporter of B1 that still sort of fulfills his duty as the man's physician (just dealing with the likely cause, but without explaining it).

 

[Esquilax]

I'd have a lot less trouble following Jester if he decided to write in legible sentences.

You are assuming an awful lot. He is arrogant and not terribly cunning. That is a very bad combination for the "Master" of a school to have, and will almost certainly lead him to an early death.

Now who's assuming things? Clearly Master Rong's lackadaisical approach to his school has begun to run it into the ground. On the other hand, his son is full of ambition - he might not be particularly cunning, but he'll definitely make the school flourish a lot more than his father did. This place is stagnating, and he seems like the sort of person who would be very good at attracting a lot of new blood with his father's signature technique. Not to mention, he has contacts among the Huashan already, as well as a good reputation in the orthodox pugilistic world. If we don't kill him, this guy's definitely going places, and he's going to remember the person that saw through his bullshit.