Lin Daiyu (before battle)
We have arrived at the venue for the second round of the Evaluation!
We found ourselves at some kind of deep subterranean area with multiple lifts installed inside it.
Some contestants were already rising on those lifts, but most of them had elected to remain down here to quietly and furtively discuss their strategies.
As for us, we were slowly getting used to our presence drawing the attention of every single person in the room the moment we entered.
Contestants must now each board their lifts and ascend.
Well, then... should we get going, too?
I feel like we're drawing way too much attention, so let's -
But we were stopped by a voice calling us.
... Big brother Baoyu.
Ah, Daiyu.
Have you been well?
I'd seen a child who looked just like her a few times in Hong Lu's memories. I remember her beaming at Hong Lu as she made a mound of petals with one hand -
... But now, she looked on at him without a discernible emotion, a spear in the very same hand.
…….
Daiyu. I didn't think you'd be participating in the Family Hierarch war.
Have you forgotten that my family cannot exist unless we are in service of greater houses?
I am but a blade serving a clan from the Xue family.
I see, for big sis Baochai's family...
Yes. I will be fighting in the service of others to the last of my days.
... Daiyu.
Hong Lu took a step toward her, but she raised her hand and pushed him away.
It was not a threat, but her gesture carried such implicit resoluteness that it brought Hong Lu to a stop.
Daiyu. I'll be departing Daguanyuan soon. The elders have commanded me to leave here and experience more of the world.
You're leaving Daguanyuan?
So you leave me now, still refusing to illuminate me the truths about that day.
…….
Why...
Why won't you stop smiling like that?
Then... I hope you'll never come back here again.
We shared an intimate bond once, yet all is for naught.
Now I am unbound by the heavens, unbound by the dirt.
Still lies this heart of mine now, with emptiness wrought.
A blossom may be lovely now, but its wilting sharpens the blade of woe, the blade of hurt...
Our meeting never should have come to pass.
... You always say things that are so difficult and saddening to hear.
My own funeral was held long ago. And now, having met you for the final time...
… when we meet our ends here…
… may we each become a lone thread of formless smoke, to be scattered to the winds.
With that, Daiyu walked away from us.
…….
Ah, looks like I forgot to introduce her to everyone.
She's someone with whom I had had a brief connection in my childhood. Though, I guess our reunion was made under pretty unfavorable circumstances.
That she has come here in service of another candidate...
... Means that we'll be enemies the next time we meet.
Yi Sang trailed off without vocalizing that sentiment, and sighed.
Connections are such fickle things, after all.
Hong Lu muttered with a faint hint of loneliness as we entered the grand lift, enclosed by four pillars.
The lift rises ploddingly.
When I looked down, I could see the other candidates, still waiting for their lifts, looking up at us. The candidates whose fates may or may not intermingle with our own in this battle.
Jia Baoyu!
You will never leave this place alive!
No matter what it takes, we will cut off your head! No matter what it takes!
Someone screams bitterly from beneath us, but the lift does not stop.
Young Hong Lu...
... are we to be battle villains henceforth in this quest?
Mm... but to them, we are the villains.
Then are they to be evil in our eyes? Hehe, it's a distinction without a difference.
Well, whichever is the case, I'm pretty sure that...
... trying to draw a clear line between enemies and allies won't mean much.
It seemed that we finally arrived at our destination as the lift slowed down.
We were greeted by a sight that, at first glance, appeared as though it belonged outside. But we were still clearly within the confines of Hongyuan.
Underneath the blue sky were two metal gates leading into a massive, looming structure. Red lights flickered ominously around the building.
Looks like they decorated this huge space to look like the outside... I can't even fathom how much money they must've poured into this project.
Family Hierarch Evaluations round 2.
A disembodied voice echoed from the speakers with a buzz.
... Begins now.
The door to the lift that carried us up here closed shut.
Ohh... I finally recognize where we are.
You've been here before?
... This place is~
~ the site of the former H Corp. that was once headed by the Kong family.
This place still bleeds from the wounds made then. I wonder if we will be spilling fresh blood over them today.
We are surrounded by the loud and crowded bustle of the teeming audience.
Is Hong Lu smiling still, as he always has since our first meeting?
I turn around to face him...
... only to see a much younger Hong Lu.
The deep sorrow in the child's eyes was about to overflow, as if he were ready to burst into tears.