[LP CYOA] 傳

[Nevill]

Oh, and +1 SPEECH!

That settles it. VOTE B FOR +1 SPEECH!

We also take over Youxia City after adding Du Yao's daughter to the harem.

Don't want to think too hard about how we'll add the Bandit Kingdom to our roster of powers, but I am sure you'll think of something!

 

[Nevill]

treave, do they allow us to see chief Zheng before we pass our verdict?

What does the old man himself think about our options? Does he think his life is worth the trouble in B? Does he think that attempting to shift the blame on Fu Xia is an acceptable course of action with what we have?

Also, when do the votes close?

 

[Kz3r0]

Kz3r0, could you flop back to C now that we know that a successful persuasion means Tang and the Bandit Kingdom go to war?

This is an argument in favor of B for me. Fuck vice city.

 

[treave]

Jiang's right there in the center of the hall. With the evidence you have, he can only suspect Xiaofang, Fu Xia or a third party, but what he is more concerned with is pursuing the truth of the matter and having it come to light. He can sacrifice anything, even himself, if that is what it takes.

I'll close the votes when I have time to do the update, which might be a couple of days from now or more.

 

[Rex Feral]

B, goddammit, I'm not about to let the chief die, he's cool.

 

[archaen]

sCapegoat

 

[Grimgravy]

Man. Why didn't people want to question Fu Xia earlier? Of course, I don't even remember if I voted to question him or not. Clearly he needs to be questioned. Sadly, the open forum of the trial seems like a poor time and place to break him down, Beretta style. So, the least distasteful option is B.

 

[Fangshi]

B, I suppose. None of the options are ideal but I do not want to turn over someone potentially innocent to be tortured and killed even if he is suspicious. Hopefully things don't get too bad.

 

[LWC1996]

C.

 

[Absinthe]

I'd like to bring to attention the reputation shifts our choices can have for the Imperial Constables (who currently enjoy a solid reputation as fair and swift enforcers of the law) in the eyes of the public.

• A: Imperial Constable leader is found guilty. Big blow to the reputation of the Imperial Constables.
• B: If we fail, see A.
• B: If we succeed, massive, huge blow to the reputation of the constables. Jiang Zheng is found at the crime scene with a bloody sword. Constables say "the assassin must've run!" as the reason their leader couldn't've done it. Tang garrison says "fuck the trial!" and drags Jiang Zheng out by force. Not only does the reputation of constables as impartial and as enforcers of the law go down the toilet, but the reputation of the Tang court and Shun (who created the constables) as a wise and just ruler takes a huge beating too.
• C: Smaller blow to Imperial Constables reputation as we find the killer to have been a rank-and-file constable.

C is really our only chance to solve the case, and with the least rep loss to boot. Worst case scenario, they'd pin it on Fu Xia without proper proof of guilt anyway just because they need a scapegoat and the evidence fits him better anyhow. Best case scenario, we get the evidence that he did it and information on who he works for.

Also, his dislike of eunuchs is hardly incriminating - nobody seems to like eunuchs. If our personal experiences are anything to go by, they're mostly a bunch of cunts.

It's not simply his dislike of eunuchs. That's not what's incriminating. It's that Fu Xia, who appears to be the straightforward, emotions-written-on-his-face, acts-how-he-feels sort of guy, has been having an animated ("Xiaofang and Fu Xia are talking animatedly") and friendly conversation with Xiaofang despite secretly disliking him ("Something about the look in his eyes tells you that he is not too fond of Xiaofang despite the friendly way they were talking to each other before dinner"). The problem here isn't that he dislikes the eunuch, but that Fu Xia, who we have come to expect to be so extremely straightforward about his opinions and feelings, would fake being friends with Xiaofang. The sticking point is the out of character, two-faced behavior from a guy we expect to be direct with his feelings. Why would Fu Xia decide to fake being pals with Xiaofang?

Then we can add to that that Fu Xia also delayed us from investigating Xiaofang's absence for the night and has been unhelpful with investigation. And, when the Hanbing Needles were first found, he immediately tried to feed us an innocent explanation to throw us off the trail (“He could have been undergoing acupuncture,” offers Fu Xia excitedly. “Perhaps he was stressed out over something important!”). That explanation is extra suspicious as Fu Xia is a detective, so he should want to investigate a potential lead, not dismiss these suspicious marks immediately.

Really, the possibility does remain that he's just an idiot who is a terrible detective.

No, that possibility is really low. Fu Xia has been an idiot and terrible detective for us, but if his skills are usually this bad, Jiang Zheng would not have brought him along on this investigation in the first place.

Besides, we still don't have any good explanation for what he was up to while he was out of sight. He couldn't've been brawling the whole time because those monks apparently had him on the defensive and if he was brawling for a whole hour he should've come back with more than some light cuts and bruises.

 

[Baltika9]

Dude, I kinda see the rationale behind the other arguments, but I think this is you totally overthinking this. Seriously, wut?

 

[Nevill]

Fu Xia is everywhere. He is the one leaking the information, he is the one killing people. I bet he is the one holding the manual as well.

Fu Xia is new Shulgi.

Also, at a possibility of massive rep loss for not allowing the torture of a top state figure without conclusive evidence.

 

[Absinthe]

So, no counter-arguments to my points - instead, you two just decide to belittle my points?

 

[Nevill]

How do you even counter 'this two-faced scum dared to strike a friendly conversation with the colleague he does not really like'?

It is infallible.

 

[Absinthe]

I'm not saying it's serious evidence that he's guilty. I'm just saying it makes him suspicious because the behavior is out of character for him.

As for "How do you counter it?" You follow the chain of logic and point out the holes you think are there.

 

[Nevill]

Everyone agrees that he is suspicious. You are the one who keep insisting that he is actually 'definitely guilty'.

We know that chief is innocent, and that is the only thing we know for sure. If we need to make a verdict about a man's life, I am sticking to the facts.

 

[Baltika9]

So, no counter-arguments to my points - instead, you two just decide to belittle my points?

Well shit, you make wide assumptions about the actions of people we know absolutely nothing about, snowball their reactions to an unpredictable situation and try to sell it as a work of infallible logic. 'K.
Because I can say "A and C are totes going to make the Empire look bad because rither way we implicate a Constable. No doubt about it. PICK B TO AVOID REP LOSS!"

 

[Absinthe]

And I am saying the facts of the case fit Fu Xia perfectly (he could've been at every crime scene, he had the right weapon for Du Yao, and it would make sense for Xiaofang to try to talk with him). We also have more circumstancial shit about Fu Xia being dodgy. We just don't have a smoking gun to definitively pin him. But we have to make do with what we've got, so I say naming him is our best option.

Well shit, you make wide assumptions about the actions of people we know absolutely nothing about, snowball their reactions to an unpredictable situation and try to sell it as a work of infallible logic. 'K.

We know this:

in B you're attempting to persuade the garrison commander specifically to go 'fuck the trial, I'm taking the chief home' so it doesn't matter what the other two think there.

So yes, I think that is what would happen if B succeeds.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Absinthe, can I convince you to vote to convinct the duck and whoever's responsible for ensuring it's cooked and served?

I mean, think about it, it's supposed to be a speciality dish, yet it just so happens to be rarely available.

Further, every time we try to eat it, it is somehow, /conveniently/ slipping from our grasp.

Think about it, maybe it's flavoured with a subtle flavour of herbs, which may be innocuous in small quantities, but a pinch more and it's poison?

THAT, is why it never reaches us, Qilin or Cao'er. At least one of us can detect the existing of such... exotic components, and that would make us suspicious of the guy who makes it, right?

So, what's a suspicious hotelier to do? Ensure that a large scale brawl always breaks out when someone who can get suspicious is about to get their hands on the duck. After all, no one would be that st00pid, right?

Gentlemen, I submit that the cook is Shulgi and he did it.

 

[Baltika9]

treave, can we name Person X in B as Shulgi/ Shul Gi?

 

[Nevill]

And I am saying the facts of the case fit Fu Xia perfectly (he could've been at every crime scene, he had the right weapon for Du Yao, and it would make sense for Xiaofang to try to talk with him).

That is exactly the case where you pick the theory and start fitting the facts in. If you pick certain facts and discard the others, of course they fit.

If Fu Xia is working for someone else and is the mole among the constables, it is entirely implausible and stupid for him to commit an actual murder. These two jobs and the talents required do not intersect in any way, and if he does both, it only serves to implicate him. There is a reason why moles do not involve themselves with field work.

If Fu Xia is actually a secret super-killer-agent in disguise that knows both Jinkong sect and Xueguzi techniques and hides his True Power (TM), then I see no reason not to assume that he was behind the hit on the constables as well. He had the information (the mole!), he had the means (the killer!), he is totally the one who stole the manual.

 

[Absinthe]

That is exactly the case where you pick the theory and start fitting the facts in. If you pick certain facts and discard the others, of course they fit.

Okay Nevill, what facts am I discarding?

If Fu Xia is working for someone else and is the mole among the constables, it is entirely implausible and stupid for him to commit an actual murder. These two jobs and the talents required do not intersect in any way, and if he does both, it only serves to implicate him. There is a reason why moles do not involve themselves with field work.

That's your theory, not a fact. Also, it's possible that Fu Xia (as the mole&killer) doesn't have fellow agents at Youxia City. Heck, this is likely considering we found Xiaofang; if there is another killer up to this in Youxia City, they would've had enough time to dispose of Xiaofang thoroughly. If it was Fu Xia, he would definitely have been rushed.

If Fu Xia is actually a secret super-killer-agent in disguise that knows both Jinkong sect and Xueguzi techniques and hides his True Power (TM), then I see no reason not to assume that he was behind the hit on the constables as well. He had the information (the mole!), he had the means (the killer!), he is totally the one who stole the manual.

I'm not saying he's a super-killer in disguise. I'm saying he's a better fighter than he lets on. He's still shit compared to Jing. If we look at how the killer took on Du Yao and Xiaofang, he needed the Hanbing Needles technique with the stupidly lethal poison to take them out. That's not the sign of a great fighter.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

WHY AREN'T YOU SUSPICIOUS OF THE DUCK, Absinthe?

 

[Nevill]

Okay Nevill, what facts am I discarding?

Major ones.

First, the killer implicated the constables without knowing that chief Zheng will conveniently return to stay there with the bloodied sword over the corpse when the guards arrive. If Fu Xia did it, then he cast suspicion on himself without an alibi and without a prior knowledge that there would be a better suspect.

Second, the killer knows Xueguzi technique, and they are very secretive and seclusive people. If we think the idea of chief Zheng being an assassin that secretly knows such a tech is ridiculous, then we might as well extend this line of reasoning to Fu Xia.

Third, he was acting in a way that attracts way too much attention to the point we all agreed to watch him closely. If he is some kind of a super-agent, and not a one-time hire, attracting attention of that sort is something you absolutely would not do.

Fourth, if we want to, we can guard Xiaofang until the consciousness returns to him. At that point, he can point to Fu Xia. So why all this bluff? He should have fled the moment we discovered Xiaofang and he realised his plan failed - if this was his plan. But he is still here.

That, coupled with you blowing several other, much more minor facts out of proportions is why I don't bother with disproving your theory. It is founded on a few suspicions and a lot of paranoia.

For the record, I don't think Fu Xia is a murderer. He can be a mole, a distraction, an idiot - this would be consistent with his behavior so far - but it is not consistent with him being an assassin. And if he is not one, then trying to force him to confess his crimes is not going to do much to prove chief Zheng's innocence or to spare him, which is my main goal.

The only real argument you have against him is that Xiaofang knew the assailant, and that could have been another one of the eunuchs for all we know.

Also, it's possible that Fu Xia (as the mole&killer) doesn't have fellow agents at Youxia City. Heck, this is likely considering we found Xiaofang; if there's another killer up to this in Youxia City, they would've had enough time to dispose of Xiaofang thoroughly.

That would point to Fu Xia working alone. If he wasn't, his employer would have learned about this expedition from him and send the assassins there. In fact, whoever massacred the constables lead us here, so there is plenty of reasons to assume that if they had people to spare, this is the place where they would station them.

But if this isn't the case, then Fu Xia is a one-man faction, and that means he was the one behind the attack on the constables. So he must have the manual. Q.E.D.

 

[Absinthe]

First, the killer implicated the constables without knowing that chief Zheng will conveniently return to stay there with the bloodied sword over the corpse when the guards arrive.

That's a theory, not a fact. It was my theory that the killer did know Jiang Zheng was there and tried to frame him. He probably didn't expect Jiang Zheng to run in during the act, but it was definitely done while Jiang Zheng was in the direct vicinity.

Second, the killer knows Xueguzi technique, while they are very secretice and seclusive people. If we think the idea of chief Zheng being an assassin that secretly knows such a tech is ridiculous, then we might as well extend this line of reasoning to Fu Xia.

No, we shouldn't. If Fu Xia is the killer/mole, then we can safely say he's in league with different people than Jiang Zheng. Also, this is still not a fact, just your theory.

Third, he was acting in a way that attracts way too much attention to the point we all agreed to watch him closely. If he is some kind of a super-agent, and not a one-time hire, attracting attention of that sort is something you absolutely would not do.

What the hell? "Fu Xia is not suspicious because we all found him to be suspicious?" That's your logic? Furthermore, the obvious suspects were Xiaofang and Jinkong. Also, still not a fact, just your own theory.

Fourth, if we want to, we can guard Xiaofang until the consciousness returns to him. At that point, he can point to Fu Xia. So why all this bluff? He should have fled the moment we discovered Xiaofang and he realised his plan failed - if this was his plan. But he is still here.

Fu Xia doesn't even know we suspect him. Even if he knows Xiaofang will be up in a week, that gives him a whole week to disappear. If he tries to vanish before the trial, he instantly makes himself suspicious and he wants Jiang Zheng or Jinkong to be found guilty. He can vanish afterwards.

That, coupled with you blowing several other, much more minor facts out of proportions is why I don't bother with disproving theory. It is founded on a few suspicions and a lot of paranoia.

My theory is founded on the basic fact that Fu Xia matches every crime scene and that there is a plausible narrative for all of this. What you are presenting as your "facts to the contrary" are not even facts to begin with.

The only real argument you have against him is that Xiaofang knew the assailant, and that could have been another of the eunuchs for all we know.

That and the argument that the killer was rushed when he tried to dispose of Xiaofang; anyone other than Fu Xia would've had enough free time to kill him proper and get rid of the body. These are the ones that finger him.

The fact that he happens to have absolutely no alibi while all this happened is also very interesting.

That would point to Fu Xia working alone. If he wasn't, his employer would have learned about this expedition from him and send the assassins there. In fact, whoever did this lead us here, so there is plenty of reasons to assume that if they have people to spare, this is the place where they would station them

That doesn't explain how we were able to find Xiaofang. We also have reason to believe Xiaofang and Du Yao were killed by the same person. That discredits the notion of multiple assassins.

But if this isn't the case, then Fu Xia is a one-man faction, and that means he was the one behind the attack on the constables. So he must have the manual. Q.E.D.

That's a false dichotomy, idiot. He can be doing the assassination work alone here while he still works for others on the whole.