Momentary Power Vacuum (before battle)

It was Xue Baochai who approached us so carefully.

I'm really glad you're safe. And... congrats on making it as the runner-up.

Her demeanor had completely shifted, her chipper attitude nowhere to be seen. Now, she was more anxious than anything as her eyes darted around nervously.

But I...

I hadn't known her for too long, but I knew that this wasn't like her.

... I know I'm not supposed to tell you this. Mother really pressured me to keep these things a secret. But...

But I couldn't just keep quiet about this, not with you.

Okay, big sis Baochai. What is it?

It's, uh...

Her eyes glanced down to her restlessly fidgeting feet, then to Daiyu, then back to her feet.

It was a while before she could look at Hong Lu in his eyes again.

Baoyu...

Are you... You know, like mother and Jia Mu said... really going to come back to Daguanyuan and... become engaged to me?

Her eyes dart away as hastily as she wraps up her sentence.

Something tells me that this wasn't what she was really trying to tell Hong Lu. There was something that was left unsaid, like... she made a last-second swerve from what she was really about to say.

…….

Yes. If that's what everyone wants.

But there's no hesitation or fear of regret in Hong Lu's reply.

…….

…….

To be with you... It's... almost like you're back here for good.

... It's so pretty, isn't it?

Yes, it is.

Remember...

Remember when you told me that I smelled fragrant, Baoyu?

You know, I couldn't stop repeating that to myself once I returned to my room.

Back then, I always made sure to shower myself with the most expensive perfumes and fragrances of Hongyuan...

... except that day, I didn't have the time to put on any of it.

So, I was in a hurry to return to my chamber. To the place where hundreds of bottles of rare, luxurious perfumes were waiting to shower me with their fragrances.

And that's when I ran into you.

…….

My mother... she sent assassins to kill you, didn't she?

Why didn't you say anything when you saw me?

Big sis Baochai... many people have tried to hurt me, tried to lure me into a trap.

I could've asked them why they'd say or do something like that. Or why they'd hurt me so.

But even if I did, they wouldn't have told me why, and they wouldn't have treated me any differently had I asked.

So I don't bother asking.

So I'm... just another one of them... to you.

No, actually. This isn't what I'm here to talk about.

Baochai smiled again. It was a forced, awkward smile.

Baoyu... you're the runner-up, right? The results are now locked in.

So...

... now might be a good time for you to leave Daguanyuan. No - you have to leave, right now.

I don't know what it is that you're looking to find in Daguanyuan's treasury, but you can just send someone from your clan to pick that up later, right?

... Miss Baochai, what is the meaning of this?

What is - Is something about to happen here?

I-I... I've got to go now.

Mother will realize what I'm doing if I'm gone for too long.

…….

There's a conspiracy to commit treason against Daguanyuan, isn't there?

Baochai was trying her damnedest to find an excuse to retreat from the conversation... until Hong Lu asked her this simple, yet piercing question.

She froze in place, her eyes widened - perhaps out of horror, perhaps out of panic.

I... I don't know all the details.

I just overheard mother and the other relatives talking.

Baoyu, if you stay here, you'll get caught in the crossfire.

So, so many forces are...

Her eyes restlessly darted left and right through the entire exchange, searching for any listening ears.

... Just what could have made her so afraid?

I can tell you're terribly scared, big sister.

But you've come to warn me anyway?

…….

I won't lie, your departure from Daguanyuan is so, so painful.

But the sheer thought that I could lose you forever is like being stabbed through the heart.

Xue... Baochai. I do appreciate that you thought to warn us ahead of time, but...

... you didn't actually tell us anything about how, when, or what the danger is.

Ishmael prodded with a grim voice.

You need to tell us what exactly this 'treason' entails.

Is someone planning to challenge the results of the Family Hierarch Evaluation? Is it a conspiracy to overturn or nullify the results?

Well... excuse my intrusion in this discussion, but...

... I believe that this is as much as Miss Baochai can realistically divulge regarding this matter.

Leaking such family intelligence is already an act of treason against her own house. Outsiders may find this difficult to understand, but...

... given the gravity of what she has already shared, you must understand that she has...

... already told you more than she safely could.

Jia Huan... I don't see him here.

That Jia Qiu guy's not here, either. Fellas, I'm getting a real bad feeling about this...

Given that you have specifically mentioned 'so many forces'...

... one could come to suspect that you are referring to the presence of forces foreign to Daguanyuan as well.

Faust asked in a low voice.

That's...

Yes.

This is now beyond what Daguanyuan alone can handle.

...! When did he - !

... B...big brother Qiu...?

Baochai looked at us, then at Jia Qiu and his faction, then took a few stumbling steps backward.

I... I really have to leave now, Baoyu. I shouldn't be here anymore.

Then... I must excuse myself as well alongside Miss Baochai.

Please... you have to stay safe.

Did she advise you to leave Daguanyuan with haste?

He did not look away from Hong Lu even as Baochai hurriedly walked away.

Gaze unshaken, interested in observing no one, nothing else but Hong Lu and his actions.

<…….>

I thought I had a lot of questions to ask Jia Qiu if we were to ever meet again.

But now that he's actually right here, I couldn't recall a single word of it.

Do you... know something, brother?

My lord -

Zigong tried to butt in, clearly perturbed, but Jia Qiu raised his hand and stopped her.

You must already be aware that this banquet is but a distraction from the fact that the currents have begun to shift.

Her advice is sound. It is also true that now is the only time you could escape this place ere the storm arrives, should you wish to save your lives.

... But I doubt you've come here just to confirm that for us.

Correct.

Zigong lets out a deep sigh before explaining with a defeated expression.

Once a Family Hierarch properly ascends to the throne, it becomes a hopeless endeavor to measure when the next great shift in power shall come.

One must remember that the prospect of a long wait for the next Evaluation, the end of which has not been and will not be in sight, ofttimes stains men's patience with lingering avarice and causes it to fester into possessiveness.

Is it not the most predictable thing that these rotten, grasping hands are loath to lay down their arms and accept the results with grace? Would those hands not deem it much more favorable to seize and change the results by force?

Yeah, we all know you read the thesaurus... So, basically, there's a truckload of dumbasses out there who're bent outta shape with how the Family Hierarch war turned out, right? And they wanna change the outcome by force?

But our one and only Xichun's already been chosen as the Family Hierarch. Like, it's final.

What happened to the Family Hierarch being the seat of absolute power here? What kinda treason can they even hope to commit if they aren't even willing to flip this old and tired system upside-down?

…….

The only things that have been determined are the rankings of the candidates; strictly speaking, we are still waiting for her appointment to be completed.

... I'm not too fond of your word games, lady.

Hah.

So that's why I couldn't smell those beasts anymore.

... I see. I understand now.

Outi - ?

I don't even see a trace of them, even in a place as crowded as this.

The Heishou are gone.

Even the ones that have been following you like shadows.

... The measure of might in Hongyuan lies in the number of Heishou Pack branches one wields.

The Family Hierarch maintains control over at least three of those branches.

Yet, who holds their leash when the throne of the Hierarch is vacant?

So, like I said, Xichun's the -

The gears of your mind are ponderous, slow things to turn, aren't they? Have I not already given you the answer, that her appointment is still underway?

Huh...? But... Wait, then... who's the Family Hierarch now -

In the brief window between the former Hierarch's abdication and the new Hierarch's ascension... Hongyuan has no lord. Is that correct?

That's when I suddenly recalled what Jia Yuanchun said as she announced the results of the Family Hierarch war.

The victor will first descend to the Tiekan Temple and pay their respects to our revered elders. Then, upon returning to the surface, they will march to the first floor of Daguanyuan, and assume the seat of the Family Hierarch of Hongyuan.

Then... what of these masterless Heishou? What are they doing now?

Nothing.

And that is precisely what the present predicament revolves around.

Look around you - do you see how the shadows have descended on every corner of this place? They're the beasts that have melded into the dark for their hushed respites.

So all Heishou branches are currently... neutral.

Wait, wait. Then...

... does that mean Daguanyuan becomes completely vulnerable every time this happens?

... No. This would not have come to pass had a different individual been made to ascend.

Jia Xichun, that girl has... no substantial foundation, a base, to call her own. What clan she did have prior to the Evaluation, scattered to nothingness like grains of sand in a gust.

It is entirely reasonable to assume that, as long as the Hierarch-to-be is yet to gain control of her Heishou Pack branches, they have a good chance of overthrowing her.

<…!>

My lord.

The Whisper Office has arrived as well.

... I see.

<Things were way more dire than I'd thought...>

But what's Jia Qiu doing here chatting us up now, of all times?

Pay attention.

There are those who seek to enter here, and those who seek to stop them.

R Corp.'s 2nd Pack,

X Corp.'s Expedition Order of Excavators,

The Thumb's underboss, the accompanying Capo, his Soldatos, and their various subsidiaries.

Then there are the Jialan Guards(賈藍隊), the indigo guardians of the Jia family,

K Corp.'s Special Excision Unit,

N Corp.'s New League of Nine Littérateurs...

... and numerous other Fixers and clans.

And those are just the ones that I have been informed of.

Most of them are waiting, biding their time outside the walls of Daguanyuan, or are soon to arrive...

... but the Thumb's forces are already engaged in melee with my army.

Some factions of the Wang family have joined the defenders, but it is uncertain how much longer they can hold out.

And should the de facto leaders of each of the major families say the word, it is likely that R Corp., K Corp., and X Corp. may soon choose their own sides in this war.

… What?

... Is that reliable intel? Why would they -

Many here believe that the title of the Family Hierarch is simply a different name for the lord of Hongyuan.

It is a belief that many forces beyond Hongyuan's walls share.

In other words...

This isn't just about Daguanyuan. There are forces from the other Nests and Districts seeking to sponsor a different, prospective Hierarch, to expand their sphere of influence here.

... Correct.

...The cigarette slipped from Gregor's fingers. Outis's face darkened with a grimness I'd never seen in her before.

Eight... nine... I-I have thus counted over nine different powerful factions among the ones thou hast mentioned...

This is... too much.

As fortune would have it, only the Thumb has deemed it appropriate to act.

But Lei Heng, the Capo of the Thumb, poses the greatest threat. He is one of the Ten Blades of the East, and... his might is formidable to any foe.

Haah...

I shall meet him in battle, as planned.

He must be the one leading the charge against the gates.

If what you say here is true, then this is no mere treason within a Wing.

Outis hissed in a low, menacing voice.

Which family spearheads this treachery? How many Wings are backing them?

Nothing is certain at present. The tangle of allegiances and bloodlines is a knot that cannot be undone until the dust has settled.

It will only take a single, whistling arrow for chaos to engulf Hongyuan. The forces that have gathered here have drawn their bows, and the moment one of them lets loose... it will only be a matter of time before it becomes a full-scale war.

And when it does, the crack that has formed in the walls of Hongyuan will widen; vultures of the City will smell the rot and tear into the wound to pilfer the Boluses and their recipes.

The Smiling Faces, The Corpse Corps, the Yakshas...

I must also emphasize that the Ring will never let such an opportunity slip.

This conflict will utterly lay waste to the lives of the common folk in Hongyuan... The fire has already conflagrated beyond a competition amongst candidates.

That is why this fissure must be mended ere it spreads. Should the throne of the Hierarch remain vacant, should this instability be prolonged, then...

... the Wings will march to war.

... No, no way. I don't believe this, tsk.

The consequences will be about as far-reaching, at the very least.

... Such is the weight of Hongyuan's Family Hierarch.

It holds as much power to save countless lives as it does to take them.

...The banquet hall was quickly starting to become barren as people began to hurry away.

I don't have any direct memories of a Wing War, but... even I could feel the prickly goosebumps rising from my skin. The air in the hall was quickly turning razor sharp.

Then... brother, what is it that you expect us to do?

I am of the belief that all of you are, collectively, the key to overcoming this tribulation.

... The key?

Hurry her ascension to the throne.

Jia Xichun should still be at the Tiekan Temple where the Xianren reside, preparing for the ritual of ascension.

Given that the "Xianren" must be utterly oblivious to the circumstances outside their chamber, there is no way of knowing the time it might take for them to officially name her the next Hierarch.

And they will not be swift, as entry to their chamber is permitted only to the Family Hierarch. There is no one to relay this message to them.

But there is another.

There is another who is permitted to enter the Temple.

…….

Jia Baoyu.

When the Hierarch takes the throne, and seizes the leash of her rightful Heishou Packs...

... she should have more than enough might to ward Daguanyuan against the invaders.

And when the invading forces realize that the Family Hierarch has returned, they will retreat; the spark of war should shrink enough to be snuffed out with a stomp.

My lord...

I must beg your forgiveness, for there is still doubt in my heart.

How can he... be the key?

My lord, I know you not to be one to engage in such gambles...

It is better to gamble than to allow this opportunity to slip away in vain.

Yet I must beg your forgiveness once again, for I insist that your mere presence here is a waste of time.

You mustn't tarry downstream - we must rise to the fountainhead and cut off the stream from its origin...

Zigong looked at us and Jia Qiu anxiously.

You needn't consider this a waste.

For it is a worthy task in my eyes.

... Had you followed the blueprint of the painting I had initially drawn for the Family Hierarch war...

... we would have already arrived at Tiekan Temple via... 'alternative methods'.

Alternative... methods?

... Zigong. That would not have resolved anything; it would have only caused further loss, no more.

And I wish to make one thing clear.

That this is but an offer; a plea, not a command.

For one mustn't do what does not move their heart.

However, Jia Baoyu...

You may not have realized this, but...

... I have already gambled once with you as my hand during the Family Hierarch war.

I sought to draw your true humanity forth, to have you wear it on the outside.

And the reply you gave me then, the one that emerged from behind the obscuring veil of clouds, was proof enough that it was certainly no waste of my time.

... Why do you seek to involve yourself in the politics of Hongyuan, brother?

Neither Hongyuan nor Daguanyuan bind you any longer, not by cause or force.

... It was a long undertaking for me to uncover the truth of the ruin that came to the Kong family.

At first, my heart was engulfed in fiery wrath.

Daguanyuan had to be uprooted from the ground. For that, every single person of power or influence in Daguanyuan had to be killed, their throats slit in vengeance...

... Or so I thought, once.

But I learned, from a worthy teacher.

That is when... I realized this wrath was burning my body to ash.

Then... did your fiery wrath... extinguish?

Had I truly attained enlightenment, found all there was to understand of the nature of this world, Jia Baoyu...

... then I would not have given you the power to elect the Hierarch.

…….

I am still but a student, a seeker of the answer.

Yet... I do not wish to let chaos devour this land when I have the means to save it.

Thus, once again I ask you.

When you decided to relinquish the coins to Jia Xichun...

... what was it that moved your heart?

…….

Certainly, your heart had changed enough then not to simply hand them over for the simple reason that she desired them.

You must know this already, brother, but...

The children of Daguanyuan have no such thing as birthdays, save for myself.

When a child is born, they aren't celebrated - they are hidden, concealed for years in the dark, so that the competition wouldn't take notice of a new rival...

Xichun was one of those children who had never experienced a birthday before. She didn't even know what it meant.

So, when we were young... whenever grandmother would hold a banquet to celebrate the day of my birth...

I dedicated that day to Xichun.

Because it's nice to have your existence celebrated once every year, for no other reason than the fact that you exist.

But when I stopped leaving my room... when Xichun and I grew distant... the secret birthday parties we shared also came to an end.

She probably doesn't remember any of it now. She was too young then.

But if I could gift this to her, to make up for all those lost years...

... then I thought... maybe she would be happy again, just as she was then.

Now that I'm looking at these piles of coins, it feels like…

It feels like I'm looking at all the rooms of Daguanyuan. I used to hate that sight so much as a kid…

Can I... can I really be a good Hierarch to Hongyuan?

Did Xichun like the gift, as Hong Lu wanted her to?

... We had no way of knowing.

Does that answer satisfy you, brother?

It was not your answer that I had sought.

It was to see the way your heart stirs - and that was proof enough.

…….

I had never met these 'Xianren', the self-proclaimed 'Enlightened Ones', before, as I was not permitted entry into Tiekan Temple. But I know of their existence.

And what I have come to learn in my observation of Hongyuan, and then the City itself, gave me certain ideas of what form the Hierarch ascension ritual might take.

... Had you not surrendered yourself, you could have deduced what the ritual entails.

Are you saying that... something bad may happen to Xichun?

This may be a hasty speculation. From a certain perspective, this may simply constitute a rightful ascension of the new Hierarch.

But I want you to be there, to behold with your own eyes what it entails.

My wager in this gamble was that you indeed had the potential to achieve that purpose...

... and that the faint warmth in your heart I had once seen still gently burned.

You... want me to achieve your purpose, brother?

No, your own purpose would not be the same as my own. Such a pursuit would be devoid of meaning.

…….

The decision is yours.

So decide.