Second Round of the Family Hierarch Evaluation, part 8 (after battle)

With a simultaneous click, the coins hanging from the condemned's necks clattered to the ground.

As many candidates must have realized by now...

This game provides its contestants many, many ways to obtain those precious coins!

You could gain them by completing battles in some special rooms, or - Aha! Another candidate has obtained some coins!

Despite the host's energetic voice, we couldn't help but be disturbed by what Hong Lu said.

The condemned of Hongyuan...? What is the implication of that particular choice of denomination, Hong Lu?

Years ago, the elders have told me of many, many old fables and legends.

'Then... a rooster's crest is grafted over the visage, a goat's hooves move beneath the legs, and an eldtree's branches extend from the arms - thus closer Daguanyuan grows to boundless eternity.'

…….

... Experiments regarding expansion of the Bolus technology, is it?

I haven't seen it myself, but I once heard that there is a laboratory beneath even the basements of Daguanyuan... built to research secretive and valuable Boluses.

And they... experimented on these prisoners.

It's not exactly a unique practice among Wings.

I believe that the smallest speck of greed lies at the origin of all misfortune.

I do not believe that the definition of immortality that Hongyuan originally sought is the same as the one they seek now.

…….

What took you so long, big bro Baoyu?

Sorry... Jia Mu's experiments went on for longer than planned.

That's so cool. I wanna see what they do in there, too.

No fair! Why are you the only who gets to go in there, bro? I'm a fast learner, too.

I'm not... going in there to learn anything.

Then how come?

I dunno. I'm...

I'm just there to watch.

That's weird. It's not like you have to work for anything like we do to live a nice life, bro.

Maybe it's because you're the precious jade of our family?

Hey, Jia Huan! I told you to not say stuff like that, didn't I?! Wanna see what new moves I learned yesterday?!

Wah, sorry... I won't do that again...

Anyways... Today, we're going to play a ball game!

Here's how it works. We're gonna start by kicking this ball at each other, and the one who lasts the longest without dropping the ball wins!

What's the point of... playing a game like that...?

...? Because it's fun, duh.

I wanna play a Bolus making game!

Gather a bunch of sand, and pebbles, and leaves, and seed to make a Bolus, and the best Bolus wins!

No can do~

Remember, I'm from the Lin family, and you guys are from the Jia family. Children of these noble families shouldn't play a nerdy game like that.

Big bro! Bro, wanna come play with us?

Oh, little Huan. I'm sorry. As much as I would like to join you in that very serious game of yours, I don't think she'll let me play.

Daiyu's going to give both you and me an earful about the rules if you drag me into the game. Isn't that right?

Jia Huan, you're trying to pull outta the game, aren't you?

Fine, fine. Let's play that Bolus-making game once we're done with the ball game.

And tomorrow, we'll play whatever big bro Baoyu's favorite game is. How's that for a plan, huh?

I...

I'm good with anything, really...

But what do you want? Here's some homework for you - when we meet tomorrow, you better have come up with something you like, okay?

I understand that I may be letting the impatience get the better of me, but...

How... certain are you about the plan regarding the... thirteenth branch of the Heishou Pack?

Have I ever let you down?

Ultimately, a family's power comes from the Heishou they wield. Yet, ever since the olden days, there have been but twelve branches of them - which is what maintains this stalemate between the great families.

Yes, the Heishou are the shadow of Daguanyuan, its most dexterous and capable limbs, yet... they have their failings. An immense physical cost follows their explosive strength.

Even if you wield a Heishou Pack, it is difficult to expand their numbers, as their population is strictly controlled by the Heishou-Xianren of each branch.

Indeed... no one could even attempt to create a new branch, for the Heishou-Xianren have concealed their unique Bolus recipes.

Yet I am wise in the ways of Bolus-making, and armed with the Xianren's insight. With help from the Kong family, this is certainly a viable endeavor.

The Kong family once led the forefront of the City's medical sciences with your bioengineering achievements, yet now... You must know that your family's place in the City is quite precarious.

There have been developments for easier treatments, better modifications... superior Singularities are rising from all corners of the City; at first, they were only subjects of study and research, but through various applications, many of them are now entering the stages of mass commercialization.

H Corp. will fall by the wayside if the current trend continues... and one day, it may even decline so far as to fall prey to a war of the Wings.

Hongyuan hides many valuable secrets, as they are often passed down from generation to generation; certain areas within the territory even lead into the Ruins as well. Many Wings even consider us a treasure chest to be cracked open.

For the City to fear Hongyuan, to fear the Kong family, you must wield absolute power. A power that... perhaps, a new branch of Heishou with mass-production capabilities could provide.

Would you... keep this a secret from my wife?

I would like for this experiment's success to be a happy surprise for her.

In truth, we received news from the doctors that we have managed to conceive a child...

Thus, if we were to coincide that event with our discovery of this new, auspicious path toward what was once considered an impossibility...

... would it not be a happy cause for all of Daguanyuan - no, Hongyuan to rejoice?

If you require any assistance, materials or people, simply say the word, and us Kong family shall provide.

So, shall we let this be a secret between you and me?

Duly noted. I will prepare a special Bolus to celebrate the birth of a new life.

…….

This seems to be a good time to return home for the day, little Baoyu.

Grandma... why do you look so happy today?

The doltish fish has snagged the bait I have been preparing for a long time.

My offer must have been far too tantalizing for them to simply let it pass.

The Kong family's pretentious overconfidence remains a marker of their bloodline; they have done well hiding it underneath the veil of generosity. But one's nature cannot be overcome.

…….

Now, let us hurry.

The revered Xianren await us.

…….

... Lin Daiyu had peered into the memory as well with the rest of us.

The ball game...

She fell into a brief, contemplative silence as she seemed to recall a long-forgotten memory.

I remember. You...

You won that game.

I remember it because it was the first time you ever beat me in a game of physicality.

I remember... being covered head to toe in sand...

I remember Jia Huan... whining about that little scratch on his hand...

…….

So we did.

Hong Lu muttered as though he was talking about something that happened an eternity ago.

Daiyu shook her head, shaking herself from the reminiscence.

The thirteenth Heishou branch... what is it? This has to do with a Taboo, doesn't it?

Daiyu. Much time has passed since then, but...

... no matter what question you ask me, no matter what reply I give... it will not be the answer you want.

That... is not up for you to decide.

You will never find what you seek. So why even try to gain it, and for what?

That is why I always replied that your questions were such meaningless inquiries. That is why I do no more than observe.

…….

<Hong Lu... are you okay with seeing all these memories?>

Hong Lu tilted his head to the side curiously, as though he couldn't understand why I'd ask such a question.

Mm... I don't think it's a matter of whether I am okay with it or not. It just feels unfamiliar... it wasn't a memory I wanted to forget, nor was it a memory I wanted to recall, anyway.

... The emotions I felt then feel so, so distant from me now.

I feel like I'm looking down at them from somewhere so high up.

So I don't know what to say to a question like 'are you okay'.

Because I have nothing more to change.

<…….>

It may be gathered that, from Hong Lu's memories...

... it was Jia Mu who first made the suggestion of researching the thirteenth Heishou branch.

However, it also appeared that the desire was mutually shared by the Kong family as well.

... Yeah, but it didn't seem like they were driven mad with greed like the plaque suggested. They certainly had ambition, I won't deny that, but still...

R-right? I know I only have this vague feeling to go on, but... it seemed that they really wished the best for Hongyuan.

What I have come to realize in my almost-thirty years of life in here is...

... that it is exceedingly rare to find a leader who is generous in both character and temper.

Most refuse to give anyone other than themselves a chance. Everyone's so blinded to everything but their immediate profit and interests.

But the people of the Kong family, at least the ones I remember... sought to give others a chance, at the very least.

It was only by their support that our Lin family, formerly so insignificant, could become a family of guards because they prioritized selection by merit, not by the nobility of their births.

But once the Kong family was eradicated, every family other than the four pillars lost any means of upward mobility.

So when I heard that they were... simply gone, all because they were blinded by greed, it felt as though...

... I was just a child then, but I vividly remember that crushing feeling.

It was devastation.

Because I no longer had any place to return to.

Man... You've been dealt a heavy hand, huh. It must've been hard out here.

Regardless of these revelations, however, the Family Hierarch war was still ongoing.

So with Gregor's succinct words of consolation, we moved on from the area, away from the rising walls.