-
Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.
"This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.
[LP CYOA] 傳
- Thread starter treave
- Start date
But still I'd rather we had Yunzi in this duel...Zero Credibility
Arcane
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2007
- Messages
- 2,951
But this is fucking ridiculous. Instead of all those useless techniques we have been teaching them, we should have been teaching them one simple thing - when we fight, we fight. We don't stand around thinking "oh, I'll just get in their way" or "I'm just going to let them have fun" or "I'm not sure I want to fight them". Killing intent with credible force has been declared on one of us, doesn't matter which - time for discuss or goofing off is over and done. Find something you can do and do it, Cao'er has the right idea and so does miss gung ho. They should have all been in full combat mode the very instant and if they don't realise that than they are worse than useless - they are a liability for us and themselves now that we are actively hunted.
I'm fucking serious about this - if we get out of this alive this is what we should be teaching them or cutting them loose to hide somewhere away from us because just being with us makes them targets. We can't hide because of them and it is only a matter of time before some assassin with a little more brains than these two (I mean, declaring themselves like that, what would happen if our party wasn't completely useless?) and a little less scruples uses them against us. What will we do when the next one doesn't introduce himself but does grab one of our girls, holds a knife at her throat and tells us to go quietly or else? A shamefur dispray all around!
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Don't worry, Zero Credibility, I'm sure they're more than capable of fighting at full capacity when they are the ones being threatened.
Last edited:
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
Clearly we must disband them immediately if they won't fight our fights for us. What a disappointment. Especially that Xuezi - she could have worked off her food as a meatshield, if nothing else!
Zero Credibility
Arcane
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2007
- Messages
- 2,951
Well at least she has an excuse, she's an untrained kid. Now what about the rest? And will it be our fight the next time someone goes after one of them? They want to travel with us? Fine, ladies get of your asses and do something when you need to. Our margin for error has dropped really low now that we are hunted and we have them to look after. If they don't realise that they shouldn't be in our party at this moment. Cut them loose, for our and their safety.
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Jester
Arbiter
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2013
- Messages
- 1,493
She did give us +1 int or lup in op skill, so she is actually one of more helpful ones. Our wife nr 1 isnt fighter material and 2nd one is prepared to help or heal according to our wish.
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
The rest will fight if you tell them to, and if there is a need.
The girls aren't exactly our muscle.
There is a hint in there somewhere. Out of all the girls, only one would fight for the fun of it. The rest would prefer not to intervene if the ones we fight aren't particularly infamous and if we can hold our own pretty well, which I think we would.
The girls aren't exactly our muscle.
Last edited:
Zero Credibility
Arcane
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2007
- Messages
- 2,951
Against a bunch of nobodies that didn't even deserve an update. But when a real threat presents itself, suddenly they are standing around stunned. Because one of the forgets she can throw things, the other would thought it just funny the way two of her superiors are fighting for their lives and the last two would be debating whether defending against someone that demands the head of your friend is a good thing or not. Are we a fucking party or not? Are they of any actual use in a real fight against opponents that would kill us if they get half a chance (apart from Cao'er and the firecracker)? Or are they just going to stand around doing nothing? We should either prepare them to act when danger comes or get them out of harms way, because these two are just the first that will come after us. Throw something if you have the skill. Use your weapons, you don't have to kill. Support the person you are sworn to protect. I'm starting to regret Jing isn't gay at this point. Maybe then we would get some companions that wouldn't just stand around when shit hits the fan. Bah.
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
Jaesun was right all along!
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Dreaming Butterfly
You lead Zuo Qingfeng and You Lanhai to a clearing some distance away from the inn, where you can engage in battle without involving any innocents.
“I must confess my surprise, Young Master Xu,” says Zuo. “I had expected you to begin a fight in the inn itself, disregarding innocent lives.”
“Come now, do I really have that bad a reputation?” you laugh.
“You do.”
“How unfortunate. Master Zuo and Madam You must be great pugilists indeed to bravely approach someone with such a terrible reputation.”
“We have no choice,” says You Lanhai, but she does not elaborate on it further.
“By the way, qianbei, I am just curious; are the two of you not married? You have not adopted Master Zuo’s surname, madam.”
“There are… circumstances. We are husband and wife in heart and spirit, if not in name,” answers Zuo Qingfeng politely. “I find it a pleasant surprise that you have been so civil thus far, Young Master Xu, but I am afraid our fight is inevitable.”
“Hold on! Before we begin, I hope that you will grant me a slight favour.”
You Lanhai looks at you quizzically. “What is it, Young Master Xu?”
“Ah, I would not like everyone to say that the famous twin swords of love, Zuo Qingfeng and You Lanhai, bullied someone junior and inferior to them by ganging up on him. Could I ask for one of my friends to fight by my side?”
Zuo Qingfeng frowns slightly. “To be honest, Young Master Xu… I do not gauge you as inferior, but your request is fair enough. We do not want to involve others in this dispute, but if they are willing, we cannot complain. I must warn you, however – we will not hold back.”
“Of course. Of course you won’t,” you grin. Turning to the girls, you cast your eyes over them. Yunzi looks particularly excited.
“Yifang, I choose you.”
She yells in surprise. “M-me?” She still steps forward, however, clutching her sword tightly. It looks like she is nervous about facing these two – no wonder, given that they are respected orthodox pugilists, unlike the riffraff she has been dealing with thus far. Yunzi's face, on the other hand, is akin to a dark, cloudy storm; she seems rather disappointed.
“If you travel with me, this is the sort of situation you have to face,” you whisper. “Fight as you see fit. I will try to match your movements.”
Yifang nods. “I… I understand.”
“Is this really alright, Young Master Xu?” You Lanhai seems concerned that you have picked this timid-looking waif of a girl to be your partner.
It’s already working.
“Don’t worry. She is a better swordswoman than I. Come, if you need my head that much, please try your best, qianbei.” Grinning, you put one hand on your wodao and beckon with the other.
Zuo Qingfeng gives you a serious nod and draws his sword, as does his wife. “Very well. No hard feelings, Young Master Xu.” Their twin swords, Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, were forged as a pair according to the principles of yin and yang – Gan Jiang embodies yang, and is a heavier, longer sword made out of pale metal, while Mo Ye embodies yin, being a thin, flexible blade constructed from darker material. Even from afar, you can tell that they are magnificently made, and a match for your Yuchang Sword in quality.
The couple make the first move; Zuo taking the lead while You falls behind, advancing in his shadow. As you predicted, they come for you, ignoring Yifang. Gan Jiang cuts through the air, whistling loudly. You grasp the wodao’s hilt and draw so quickly that your own blade is but a blur – it knocks Zuo’s blade away before returning to its sheath. He regains his balance quickly enough: his sword is heavy enough that even with your superior strength, a parry is unable to throw him off for any significant amount of time. At the same time, You darts out from behind him, her Mo Ye sword snaking up in a hard to follow movement that is deceptively slow.
Yifang intercepts You Lanhai’s thrust with a jab of her own, pushing Mo Ye away from your shoulder. Her sword darts gracefully through the air as she presses on against You, preventing her from assisting her husband. “This is… Emei swordplay!” exclaims You. It looks like she recognizes Yifang’s techniques. In the meantime, Zuo continues to battle you, swinging his sword with enough power to generate sword qi. He is strong… but he is not as fast as Bai Jiutian. Creating gaps in his swordplay with well-timed quick draws of your wodao to parry or block, you advance. Even though you are faster, he is a good enough swordsman that you are unable to press your advantage with just the wodao. Every strike you make against his blade rattles your own, and you know you cannot continue this for long before the wodao breaks against Gan Jiang.
The blade of your sword slides against the pale Gan Jiang again, and you deflect it with a twist of your wrist and an exertion of qi. Now you are in range. Snapping the sword back into its sheath with one hand, you strike at Zuo’s head with an open claw, aiming for his temple. With a surprised look on his face, he barely manages to block your blow in time, drawing his sword back so that your fingers scrape the metal’s surface instead of his flesh and bone. Grinning, you continue your assault, forcing Zuo to retreat under the relentless flurries of your Shouwang Claws. Zuo is out of his element at such a close range, and though he is no slouch at unarmed combat, you manage to break past his defense with pure speed and power.
Zuo attempts an awkward slash from the poor position that you have forced him into, attempting to beat you back. You dart in even closer, within the reach of his arm and change your techniques suddenly; with your left palm you strike upwards and push his sword-arm away with a strong rush of qi, while your right palm unleashes the Fledgling Dragon’s Sudden Advent, snapping forward and catching him right in the chest. The force of your strike lifts him off his feet. Zuo floats backwards and manages to land upright by using his qinggong. He clutches his chest, letting out a deep breath.
“Qingfeng!” You Lanhai lets loose with several strong piercing thrusts of sword qi, forcing you to disengage from Zuo Qingfeng. The two of them regroup as Yifang rushes to your side apologetically.
“I’m sorry,” she begins, her eyes downcast, “that lady knew how to counter all of my Emei techniques. I switched to other styles, but although I gained the upper hand I couldn’t disarm her quickly enough.”
You clap her on the shoulder encouragingly. “That’s not a problem. The real fight begins from here on in.”
“I knew you were not inferior, Young Master Xu,” says Zuo with a smile. “That speed… that strength… you are every bit as terrifying as your master was in his youth. No, perhaps even more. And I am sure that you are holding back on me.”
In truth you had not held back that much; you did refrain from striking any lethal blows, but Zuo Qingfeng was good enough to sense the lack of killing intent, and would have been a lot more cautious from the start had you tried to do so, making the fight a whole lot harder. Still, you say, “If you think I’m still holding back, then doesn’t that make it a very dangerous proposition for you to continue hunting my head?”
“I agree, but we have no choice.”
“There is always a choice, qianbei. What drove you to hunt me down? From what I have heard of your reputation, you are not the sort to seek trouble like this. I have not offended you personally either, as far as I know. Is there some undesirable circumstance that forces your hand?”
“Young Master Xu…” Zuo seems conflicted, but You answers on his behalf. “Our children are being held hostage by the Zhang family of Chang’an. That is all there is to it, Xu Jing.”
“That is horrible!” gasps Yifang.
Indeed, given what happened with Fu Xia in Youxia City, it seems like just what the Zhang clan would do.
“We are sorry to have to do this, but we cannot risk our twins for anything at all. You are a powerful pugilist, Xu Jing… I am ashamed to admit that we might even have underestimated you a little. We will have to face you with our best technique, the Yuanyang Hudie Dream (鴛鴦蝴蝶夢, Mandarin Ducks’ Butterfly Dream).” Zuo Qingfeng and You Lanhai take up their stances, back to back.
This technique of theirs is bad news. You focus, concentrating on their bodies and the flow of their qi… but at the instant that they move, they slip out of your sight. It is not any form of overwhelming speed – in fact, their qi almost seems to have dipped into levels so low that you can barely perceive them. Zuo and You fade in and out of your perception almost like the transient dream of a butterfly, difficult to comprehend and impossible to catch. Only your instincts save you at the last moment, as you swiftly raise your scabbard to block a sudden slash from your side. Before you can retaliate, Zuo has floated away, back into the dreamlike dance that he is performing with his wife.
“Waiting here is just going to get ourselves defeated. Let’s go!” you shout, dashing towards the couple – this is the sort of technique where waiting for a chance to counterattack is futile… you would have to pry it open yourself.
“R-right!” Yifang follows suit, building up her will to fight.
As the two of you attack Zuo and You, they put up a perfect defense, covering each other’s blind spots and weaknesses in beautiful synchronicity. Gan Jiang’s powerful, heavy slashes and Mo Ye’s swift, light jabs combine to keep you from breaking past it. The revelation about their children being taken hostages also appears to be weighing on Yifang – she seems to be turning more conflicted the longer she battles – and as a result, the two of you are not teaming up as well as you could be at the moment.
“It’s no use, Young Master Xu!” shouts Zuo Qingfeng, as he turns aside your latest attack, forcing you to leap away before You Lanhai’s blade skewers you, “You will not beat this technique without a love greater than ours!”
“L-l-love?” stutters Yifang, as her concentration stirs slightly. Her movement dulls for just a bit. As the couple twirl around, You Lanhai sweeps her sword in an arc, but upon seeing Yifang being left open she hesitates. Her sword becomes slow enough for you to intercept; you dart forward.
This is the chance you have been waiting for.
Unfortunately, you misjudge the distance thanks to the phantom-like nature of their technique and the flexibility of the Mo Ye sword. Instead of drawing her blade aside for you to launch a counterattack, you instead appear to take it in the shoulder on Yifang’s behalf. Gritting your teeth, you launch a powerful slash from your wodao in retaliation, perhaps a bit stronger than you meant it to be.
“Lanhai!” Shouting out in a panic, Zuo Qingfeng moves to intercept the attack meant for his wife. Gripping Gan Jiang with two hands, he swings down hard.
There is a loud clang as metal breaks.
Your wodao snaps in half, the rigours of constant battle over the past week finally proving too much for even such a fine blade to handle.
You do not stop, however. Making the most of this opportunity, you toss the blade at him and step forward before letting loose with a powerful cross with your Raging Claws of the Mad Lion. Caught off guard, the Yuanyang Hudie Dream technique no longer in play thanks to the successive distractions, the blow lands on Zuo before he can defend himself. He is thrown back, his robes tearing and the skin of his chest splitting open in bright red lines.
He staggers away from you, his wife rushing to his side as she screams his name.
“I… We cannot defeat you at this time, it seems,” he coughs. Though you have caused him injury, there is no hatred or anger in his gaze, only a subdued acceptance.
You think that he might be slightly too pessimistic: though he is rather seriously wounded, he should still be able to perform the Yuanyang Hudie Dream – you are not confident of your chances in defeating that technique alone or with Yifang. Of course, on the other hand, if you called for help from the other girls, they would eventually be distracted and overpowered. You rub the shallow wound on your shoulder, blood trickling down your arm. Still, your intent at the moment is not to crush them, and you say, “What next? I would prefer to be left alone, Master Zuo.”
“I cannot do that. I must kill you, or die trying… but more and more I think it an impossible hurdle. That last exchange has shown me that you have an edge as a fighter that I do not, even when fighting to protect my children,” he says despondently. “You could have killed me with that last blow, couldn’t you?”
You could have, though you stayed your hand. You still had the Wuxiang Qiankun technique up your sleeve too, though how well it would perform against the mysterious Butterfly Dream might be a real question.
“Dear, stay strong,” cries You Lanhai as she holds him up. “We cannot give up here! Let us flee and try again another time!”
“My love, do you actually think we have any hope of defeating Zhang Jue’s disciple? Even our most powerful technique… the symbol of our love…” The stress of the events he is under seems to be taking its toll; being unable to soundly defeat you even after using his best technique appears to be a shock that is driving Zuo Qingfeng into depression.
“Even so, we must keep trying until our death,” states You Lanhai calmly. “Or our children will never be free.”
“Do you really trust the Zhang family to keep their promises?” you ask.
“What other option do we have? They are ruthless… ruthless enough to kill our children in cold blood should we – or anyone – make a move against them,” sighs You.
“If you let us go here to recover, we will return to fight you again, Young Master Xu,” says Zuo. “Perhaps you might want to settle matters more conclusively right now. This is all of the courtesy that is in my power to offer you.”
***
A. You decide to fight to the death with Zuo Qingfeng and You Lanhai, using whatever you deem necessary. At this point, it is not a fight you think you would lose, though you wouldn’t escape unscathed either. You will just have to hold out hope for rescuing their children after their death.
B. You let them go, and tell them that you are looking into ways of taking down the Zhang family. You request that they stall for time as safely as they can for their children’s sake while you do so. Perhaps Chief Jiang might be able to pull off something here.
***
“I’ve been thinking,” Qilin mutters later that night. “Perhaps I should go to my mother.”
“Why? What’s this, all of a sudden?”
“Things are getting more dangerous, and my mother seems to have a hand in all of this. If I return to her side… pretend to be a filial daughter… maybe I can be of better help to you.”
You shake your head. “Would she even believe you? I did not see her face, but I heard her talk to Bai Jiutian. She sounds like a formidable woman.”
“She is,” Qilin laughs. “Which is why she has a formidable daughter that managed to snag a pretty good catch. I’ll just say that all of your philandering ways have made me terribly jealous.” With a tiny smile, she adds in a small voice, “That’s a joke.”
Somehow, you feel that it’s not entirely one.
***
A. You let her go. If Qilin makes a successful infiltration, this could place her in good position to feed you even more useful information than Bai Jiutian, who you don’t fully trust yet.
B. You do not let her go. It is too dangerous; even more dangerous than staying with you. Her place is here, by your side.
You lead Zuo Qingfeng and You Lanhai to a clearing some distance away from the inn, where you can engage in battle without involving any innocents.
“I must confess my surprise, Young Master Xu,” says Zuo. “I had expected you to begin a fight in the inn itself, disregarding innocent lives.”
“Come now, do I really have that bad a reputation?” you laugh.
“You do.”
“How unfortunate. Master Zuo and Madam You must be great pugilists indeed to bravely approach someone with such a terrible reputation.”
“We have no choice,” says You Lanhai, but she does not elaborate on it further.
“By the way, qianbei, I am just curious; are the two of you not married? You have not adopted Master Zuo’s surname, madam.”
“There are… circumstances. We are husband and wife in heart and spirit, if not in name,” answers Zuo Qingfeng politely. “I find it a pleasant surprise that you have been so civil thus far, Young Master Xu, but I am afraid our fight is inevitable.”
“Hold on! Before we begin, I hope that you will grant me a slight favour.”
You Lanhai looks at you quizzically. “What is it, Young Master Xu?”
“Ah, I would not like everyone to say that the famous twin swords of love, Zuo Qingfeng and You Lanhai, bullied someone junior and inferior to them by ganging up on him. Could I ask for one of my friends to fight by my side?”
Zuo Qingfeng frowns slightly. “To be honest, Young Master Xu… I do not gauge you as inferior, but your request is fair enough. We do not want to involve others in this dispute, but if they are willing, we cannot complain. I must warn you, however – we will not hold back.”
“Of course. Of course you won’t,” you grin. Turning to the girls, you cast your eyes over them. Yunzi looks particularly excited.
“Yifang, I choose you.”
She yells in surprise. “M-me?” She still steps forward, however, clutching her sword tightly. It looks like she is nervous about facing these two – no wonder, given that they are respected orthodox pugilists, unlike the riffraff she has been dealing with thus far. Yunzi's face, on the other hand, is akin to a dark, cloudy storm; she seems rather disappointed.
“If you travel with me, this is the sort of situation you have to face,” you whisper. “Fight as you see fit. I will try to match your movements.”
Yifang nods. “I… I understand.”
“Is this really alright, Young Master Xu?” You Lanhai seems concerned that you have picked this timid-looking waif of a girl to be your partner.
It’s already working.
“Don’t worry. She is a better swordswoman than I. Come, if you need my head that much, please try your best, qianbei.” Grinning, you put one hand on your wodao and beckon with the other.
Zuo Qingfeng gives you a serious nod and draws his sword, as does his wife. “Very well. No hard feelings, Young Master Xu.” Their twin swords, Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, were forged as a pair according to the principles of yin and yang – Gan Jiang embodies yang, and is a heavier, longer sword made out of pale metal, while Mo Ye embodies yin, being a thin, flexible blade constructed from darker material. Even from afar, you can tell that they are magnificently made, and a match for your Yuchang Sword in quality.
The couple make the first move; Zuo taking the lead while You falls behind, advancing in his shadow. As you predicted, they come for you, ignoring Yifang. Gan Jiang cuts through the air, whistling loudly. You grasp the wodao’s hilt and draw so quickly that your own blade is but a blur – it knocks Zuo’s blade away before returning to its sheath. He regains his balance quickly enough: his sword is heavy enough that even with your superior strength, a parry is unable to throw him off for any significant amount of time. At the same time, You darts out from behind him, her Mo Ye sword snaking up in a hard to follow movement that is deceptively slow.
Yifang intercepts You Lanhai’s thrust with a jab of her own, pushing Mo Ye away from your shoulder. Her sword darts gracefully through the air as she presses on against You, preventing her from assisting her husband. “This is… Emei swordplay!” exclaims You. It looks like she recognizes Yifang’s techniques. In the meantime, Zuo continues to battle you, swinging his sword with enough power to generate sword qi. He is strong… but he is not as fast as Bai Jiutian. Creating gaps in his swordplay with well-timed quick draws of your wodao to parry or block, you advance. Even though you are faster, he is a good enough swordsman that you are unable to press your advantage with just the wodao. Every strike you make against his blade rattles your own, and you know you cannot continue this for long before the wodao breaks against Gan Jiang.
The blade of your sword slides against the pale Gan Jiang again, and you deflect it with a twist of your wrist and an exertion of qi. Now you are in range. Snapping the sword back into its sheath with one hand, you strike at Zuo’s head with an open claw, aiming for his temple. With a surprised look on his face, he barely manages to block your blow in time, drawing his sword back so that your fingers scrape the metal’s surface instead of his flesh and bone. Grinning, you continue your assault, forcing Zuo to retreat under the relentless flurries of your Shouwang Claws. Zuo is out of his element at such a close range, and though he is no slouch at unarmed combat, you manage to break past his defense with pure speed and power.
Zuo attempts an awkward slash from the poor position that you have forced him into, attempting to beat you back. You dart in even closer, within the reach of his arm and change your techniques suddenly; with your left palm you strike upwards and push his sword-arm away with a strong rush of qi, while your right palm unleashes the Fledgling Dragon’s Sudden Advent, snapping forward and catching him right in the chest. The force of your strike lifts him off his feet. Zuo floats backwards and manages to land upright by using his qinggong. He clutches his chest, letting out a deep breath.
“Qingfeng!” You Lanhai lets loose with several strong piercing thrusts of sword qi, forcing you to disengage from Zuo Qingfeng. The two of them regroup as Yifang rushes to your side apologetically.
“I’m sorry,” she begins, her eyes downcast, “that lady knew how to counter all of my Emei techniques. I switched to other styles, but although I gained the upper hand I couldn’t disarm her quickly enough.”
You clap her on the shoulder encouragingly. “That’s not a problem. The real fight begins from here on in.”
“I knew you were not inferior, Young Master Xu,” says Zuo with a smile. “That speed… that strength… you are every bit as terrifying as your master was in his youth. No, perhaps even more. And I am sure that you are holding back on me.”
In truth you had not held back that much; you did refrain from striking any lethal blows, but Zuo Qingfeng was good enough to sense the lack of killing intent, and would have been a lot more cautious from the start had you tried to do so, making the fight a whole lot harder. Still, you say, “If you think I’m still holding back, then doesn’t that make it a very dangerous proposition for you to continue hunting my head?”
“I agree, but we have no choice.”
“There is always a choice, qianbei. What drove you to hunt me down? From what I have heard of your reputation, you are not the sort to seek trouble like this. I have not offended you personally either, as far as I know. Is there some undesirable circumstance that forces your hand?”
“Young Master Xu…” Zuo seems conflicted, but You answers on his behalf. “Our children are being held hostage by the Zhang family of Chang’an. That is all there is to it, Xu Jing.”
“That is horrible!” gasps Yifang.
Indeed, given what happened with Fu Xia in Youxia City, it seems like just what the Zhang clan would do.
“We are sorry to have to do this, but we cannot risk our twins for anything at all. You are a powerful pugilist, Xu Jing… I am ashamed to admit that we might even have underestimated you a little. We will have to face you with our best technique, the Yuanyang Hudie Dream (鴛鴦蝴蝶夢, Mandarin Ducks’ Butterfly Dream).” Zuo Qingfeng and You Lanhai take up their stances, back to back.
This technique of theirs is bad news. You focus, concentrating on their bodies and the flow of their qi… but at the instant that they move, they slip out of your sight. It is not any form of overwhelming speed – in fact, their qi almost seems to have dipped into levels so low that you can barely perceive them. Zuo and You fade in and out of your perception almost like the transient dream of a butterfly, difficult to comprehend and impossible to catch. Only your instincts save you at the last moment, as you swiftly raise your scabbard to block a sudden slash from your side. Before you can retaliate, Zuo has floated away, back into the dreamlike dance that he is performing with his wife.
“Waiting here is just going to get ourselves defeated. Let’s go!” you shout, dashing towards the couple – this is the sort of technique where waiting for a chance to counterattack is futile… you would have to pry it open yourself.
“R-right!” Yifang follows suit, building up her will to fight.
As the two of you attack Zuo and You, they put up a perfect defense, covering each other’s blind spots and weaknesses in beautiful synchronicity. Gan Jiang’s powerful, heavy slashes and Mo Ye’s swift, light jabs combine to keep you from breaking past it. The revelation about their children being taken hostages also appears to be weighing on Yifang – she seems to be turning more conflicted the longer she battles – and as a result, the two of you are not teaming up as well as you could be at the moment.
“It’s no use, Young Master Xu!” shouts Zuo Qingfeng, as he turns aside your latest attack, forcing you to leap away before You Lanhai’s blade skewers you, “You will not beat this technique without a love greater than ours!”
“L-l-love?” stutters Yifang, as her concentration stirs slightly. Her movement dulls for just a bit. As the couple twirl around, You Lanhai sweeps her sword in an arc, but upon seeing Yifang being left open she hesitates. Her sword becomes slow enough for you to intercept; you dart forward.
This is the chance you have been waiting for.
Unfortunately, you misjudge the distance thanks to the phantom-like nature of their technique and the flexibility of the Mo Ye sword. Instead of drawing her blade aside for you to launch a counterattack, you instead appear to take it in the shoulder on Yifang’s behalf. Gritting your teeth, you launch a powerful slash from your wodao in retaliation, perhaps a bit stronger than you meant it to be.
“Lanhai!” Shouting out in a panic, Zuo Qingfeng moves to intercept the attack meant for his wife. Gripping Gan Jiang with two hands, he swings down hard.
There is a loud clang as metal breaks.
Your wodao snaps in half, the rigours of constant battle over the past week finally proving too much for even such a fine blade to handle.
You do not stop, however. Making the most of this opportunity, you toss the blade at him and step forward before letting loose with a powerful cross with your Raging Claws of the Mad Lion. Caught off guard, the Yuanyang Hudie Dream technique no longer in play thanks to the successive distractions, the blow lands on Zuo before he can defend himself. He is thrown back, his robes tearing and the skin of his chest splitting open in bright red lines.
He staggers away from you, his wife rushing to his side as she screams his name.
“I… We cannot defeat you at this time, it seems,” he coughs. Though you have caused him injury, there is no hatred or anger in his gaze, only a subdued acceptance.
You think that he might be slightly too pessimistic: though he is rather seriously wounded, he should still be able to perform the Yuanyang Hudie Dream – you are not confident of your chances in defeating that technique alone or with Yifang. Of course, on the other hand, if you called for help from the other girls, they would eventually be distracted and overpowered. You rub the shallow wound on your shoulder, blood trickling down your arm. Still, your intent at the moment is not to crush them, and you say, “What next? I would prefer to be left alone, Master Zuo.”
“I cannot do that. I must kill you, or die trying… but more and more I think it an impossible hurdle. That last exchange has shown me that you have an edge as a fighter that I do not, even when fighting to protect my children,” he says despondently. “You could have killed me with that last blow, couldn’t you?”
You could have, though you stayed your hand. You still had the Wuxiang Qiankun technique up your sleeve too, though how well it would perform against the mysterious Butterfly Dream might be a real question.
“Dear, stay strong,” cries You Lanhai as she holds him up. “We cannot give up here! Let us flee and try again another time!”
“My love, do you actually think we have any hope of defeating Zhang Jue’s disciple? Even our most powerful technique… the symbol of our love…” The stress of the events he is under seems to be taking its toll; being unable to soundly defeat you even after using his best technique appears to be a shock that is driving Zuo Qingfeng into depression.
“Even so, we must keep trying until our death,” states You Lanhai calmly. “Or our children will never be free.”
“Do you really trust the Zhang family to keep their promises?” you ask.
“What other option do we have? They are ruthless… ruthless enough to kill our children in cold blood should we – or anyone – make a move against them,” sighs You.
“If you let us go here to recover, we will return to fight you again, Young Master Xu,” says Zuo. “Perhaps you might want to settle matters more conclusively right now. This is all of the courtesy that is in my power to offer you.”
***
A. You decide to fight to the death with Zuo Qingfeng and You Lanhai, using whatever you deem necessary. At this point, it is not a fight you think you would lose, though you wouldn’t escape unscathed either. You will just have to hold out hope for rescuing their children after their death.
B. You let them go, and tell them that you are looking into ways of taking down the Zhang family. You request that they stall for time as safely as they can for their children’s sake while you do so. Perhaps Chief Jiang might be able to pull off something here.
***
“I’ve been thinking,” Qilin mutters later that night. “Perhaps I should go to my mother.”
“Why? What’s this, all of a sudden?”
“Things are getting more dangerous, and my mother seems to have a hand in all of this. If I return to her side… pretend to be a filial daughter… maybe I can be of better help to you.”
You shake your head. “Would she even believe you? I did not see her face, but I heard her talk to Bai Jiutian. She sounds like a formidable woman.”
“She is,” Qilin laughs. “Which is why she has a formidable daughter that managed to snag a pretty good catch. I’ll just say that all of your philandering ways have made me terribly jealous.” With a tiny smile, she adds in a small voice, “That’s a joke.”
Somehow, you feel that it’s not entirely one.
***
A. You let her go. If Qilin makes a successful infiltration, this could place her in good position to feed you even more useful information than Bai Jiutian, who you don’t fully trust yet.
B. You do not let her go. It is too dangerous; even more dangerous than staying with you. Her place is here, by your side.
Last edited:
Baltika9
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Messages
- 9,611
For some reason I'm getting a "things fall apart" vibe here. And yeah, Yifang was a horrible choice, that much is clear. I'm rather upset about this.
BB, no way am I letting #1 go off in such a foul mood to a master brainwasher like her mother.
BB, no way am I letting #1 go off in such a foul mood to a master brainwasher like her mother.
XenomorphII
Prophet
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2011
- Messages
- 1,198
BB
Akkudakku
Arbiter
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2014
- Messages
- 1,125
Im voting BB. Cant just kill them even if they will come back time and time again. Gotta destroy the Zhangs. Also Qilin might get into some serious shit if we let her go, it might be her mother but this is politics. And you know politics...
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
But the numbers say she has more skill! It was clearly a superior choice.
BB here. And try to reassure Qilin that she is the first and foremost in our heart. Because she really is. Can't let her go when she is like that.
Esquilax
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2010
- Messages
- 4,833
We must heed Master Zhang's words of wisdom:
But seriously, when it comes down to it, I just can't justify killing these people given their circumstances. Oh, and killing two opponents that we've just bested right in front of Yifang like that would make her hate us pretty much instantly. If we let them live, I don't think that the Zhang family will kill their children just yet, because once they do, they lose their power over Zuo Qingfeng and You Lanhai.
As for Qilin's idea, her mother would figure out that she was up to something very quickly. The man that she's been with for a few years is chased by the Zhang Clan, and now Qilin wants to play the part of the filial daughter? A slick manipulator like Madame Nie would figure this out in about five minutes.
BB it is
But seriously, when it comes down to it, I just can't justify killing these people given their circumstances. Oh, and killing two opponents that we've just bested right in front of Yifang like that would make her hate us pretty much instantly. If we let them live, I don't think that the Zhang family will kill their children just yet, because once they do, they lose their power over Zuo Qingfeng and You Lanhai.
As for Qilin's idea, her mother would figure out that she was up to something very quickly. The man that she's been with for a few years is chased by the Zhang Clan, and now Qilin wants to play the part of the filial daughter? A slick manipulator like Madame Nie would figure this out in about five minutes.
BB it is
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2008
- Messages
- 11,370
Uh, honestly, guys?
If you have a problem with the setting's honor system, where some of the more straight-forward characters may frown on piling up on people who asked for a proper duel especially if they don't think it's necessary, fair enough. It's not like more retarded honor bullshit has ever happened in real life anyway.
If you think the characters are retarded for not responding to every single threat by reacting instantly with overwhelming force instead of taking a wait-and-see approach to gauge whether their participation is needed (rather than relying solely on you to make all the threat assessments for them), fair enough.
Unfortunately, that's how the setting is, that's how the characters are, and I really can't help it if you're cleverer and wiser than them since the author can never write a character smarter than he or she.
Sorry, but the limited choices within the framework of the LP will be all that I can offer, and that's all I'm going to say about this matter.
If you have a problem with the setting's honor system, where some of the more straight-forward characters may frown on piling up on people who asked for a proper duel especially if they don't think it's necessary, fair enough. It's not like more retarded honor bullshit has ever happened in real life anyway.
If you think the characters are retarded for not responding to every single threat by reacting instantly with overwhelming force instead of taking a wait-and-see approach to gauge whether their participation is needed (rather than relying solely on you to make all the threat assessments for them), fair enough.
Unfortunately, that's how the setting is, that's how the characters are, and I really can't help it if you're cleverer and wiser than them since the author can never write a character smarter than he or she.
Sorry, but the limited choices within the framework of the LP will be all that I can offer, and that's all I'm going to say about this matter.
Esquilax
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2010
- Messages
- 4,833
For the record, it made perfect sense to me and I don't quite understand the fuss that Zero Credibility was making about it. It's not like Zuo Qingfeng and his wife blindsided us and attacked us out of nowhere; they first started a dialogue and gave us a chance to respond because that's what honorable, upstanding pugilists like them do. They weren't being violent right off the bat, so of course the girls weren't going to swarm them.
Nevill
Arcane
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2009
- Messages
- 11,211
Yunzi is a psycho for fighting every chance she gets, and the rest are worthless for not fighting every chance they get. And we aren't gay.
Zero Credibility
Arcane
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2007
- Messages
- 2,951
For the record, that's exactly what shocked me. In a situation where everyone saw it coming, the response from our team would be meh, he can handle it, I don't want to bother. This does not give me high hopes for our team when we won't see it coming.
Also, voting BB just like everyone else will.
Also, voting BB just like everyone else will.
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2011
- Messages
- 2,835
BB - If the Zhang Clan is really going to such extremes to get to us, letting Qillin leave our side is a very, very bad idea.
Esquilax
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2010
- Messages
- 4,833
At least, that's what we tell ourselves when we lie in bed with Qilin and Cao'er and unbidden thoughts of Master Zhang's scarred, ripped physique intrude our thoughts. Jing is more repressed than humanity has risen.
As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.