Justice of Others (before battle)
Jia Qiu and his forces left the banquet hall to assess the situation, leaving only me and the Sinners there.
Our only remaining task is to receive the Golden Bough that we are owed. That much is a given.
Retrieve it, and our mission here is done. We only need to wait for the LCA for extraction.
... None of you know, let alone understand what a war of the Wings is like. To rush out into these unknown waters is nothing short of imprudence. We must not entertain this idea.
Alas, if our meager strength may be sufficient to prevent this war and save the lives of many innocents...
... then... I wish to do as that man hath said.
No, it is in our best interest that we do not get involved.
Don Quixote, I will speak to you plainly, as I trust that you have regained some sense as to how this world works. War is not just another incident or a quest to be resolved. Your sense of justice may shine like a beacon in times of unrest, but...
... war... will crush and grind it into the dirt indiscriminately as it does any life caught under its bootheels.
Lady Outis. I have also lived through my share of wars. Even still, Jia Qiu's path is that of justice - thus, he shall have my support.
How are you still so - !
To fight for the pursuit of justice deserveth not thy scorn nor ridicule!
'Tis no short-sighted tantrum - 'tis but mine adherence to, and pursuit of, a certain responsibility of those who can!
…….
Outis. I've also had my share of the war. So hopefully you'll let me put my two Ahns in.
Battles and wars aren't the same thing, either... You can't see the crashing waves of intense emotions in battles when looking at it as a great flow of war.
But all that built-up heat is what becomes a flow, not the other way around. It never is.
…….
Jia Qiu wished to convey to us that the levees are beginning to crack; that the fractures must be filled forthwith afore they rupture.
While the words you speak may contrast one another...
... the intent that pushed the both of you to speak is shared; that the war mustn't conflagrate beyond what has already occurred.
... It is.
Yeah, exactly. Thanks for summing it up, Yi Sang.
Outis's assessment would have been correct had the discussion concerning our participation been about a war that has already progressed beyond a certain degree.
However, accepting Jia Qiu's suggestion and preventing the war from expanding beyond localized skirmishes could bring greater benefits than avoiding it altogether.
Yeah. This could also give them the opportunity to destroy and uproot all the...
... inequities of Hongyuan.
Wellll~ I dunno if that's what Hong Lu wants, though.
B-but... even if Jia Qiu and his people are strong... there's just too many of them. Do we really have a chance against all of them?
If I'm being honest... we simply can't know. We don't have the time to meticulously analyze every facet of this situation.
…….
Manager of ours, if I may...
Yi Sang carefully began as the Sinners' opinions began to clash and fracture.
As you must have observed, the Sinners fail to find a common ground.
However, though narrow my vision may be, it appears to me that there is not a single Sinner whose insight is born solely from their emotions.
There is sound reason behind every suggestion that has heretofore been presented; thus, it is difficult to gauge the validity of each of them. This must not be an easy decision for you.
Thus...
Yi Sang paused, taking his time to carefully select his next words.
Then, after a subtle nod, he continued.
Dante, perhaps... this judgment belongs to Hong Lu.
<…….>
Perhaps I speak at the risk of not knowing my own station. However...
... should we allow this opportunity to slip away, Hong Lu may never leave that smile of his behind.
<…!>
You must see it as well.
That Hong Lu's smile is but a different shape of sorrow for those who have no tears left to shed.
What Yi Sang was trying to tell me was clear as day.
So what I must do, must consider, as the manager...
... isn't a discussion of wars and battles. It's not pragmatism or the measurement of the pros and cons.
... A manager has to support their team.
<Faust.>
... Once again, I have nothing to offer but objective information and suggestions strictly from the corporate perspective.
Dante, given your position as the manager of the LCB team, it is recommended that you continue to follow the plan outlined by the LCCB, retrieve the Golden Bough, and quickly arrange a safe extraction for you and your team without unnecessarily involving your team in a high-risk operation.
<That's…>
However.
<…?>
Faust continues... slowly.
But if you...
... believe that you possess enough persistence to endure all that it entails, and if you believe that your role is to lead them, and us... to the right path, then...
... I will follow your lead.
<... Thank you.>
Now the answer must come from Hong Lu's own mouth.
Looks like things really got out of control.
Sorry, Dante.
<Hey, earlier... during your dialogue with Jia Qiu...>
<... The conclusion you arrived at didn't come out of nowhere, did it? There must've been something that brought you there.>
In that long, long conversation, Hong Lu was finally able to give an answer of his own.
And the biggest reason he could was...
At first...
I didn't think that I'd be able to give a real answer to brother Qiu's questions.
But suddenly, like a thick fog clearing...
... something emerged from the haze of forgotten memories past.
What I gave as an answer was that something, and... I realized what it was only after it had left my mouth.
That word must've been burrowed deep within me for a long, long time.
Kindness.
Because I wanted to believe that kindness was enough. That it could truly bring change to Hongyuan.
<... This is not about us. It's about you and Hongyuan's future.>
<So I think I'll leave the decision up to you.>
Hong Lu was never the type to clearly state his beliefs.
He usually did as I asked without question, without even the smallest complaint.
He did not speak of pain when he suffered, nor did he cry to us from agony.
His eyes remained unshaken even as he witnessed the countless deaths and injustices committed before him.
The eye that lets everything float away.
The accepting eye of someone who has resigned himself to the reality that everything that exists has an end.
…….
I wait patiently for him to speak.
Dante, I...
Hong Lu, who only ever quietly accepted whatever life threw at him...
... I want to go to Tiekan Temple.
Where Xichun and the elders... where the Xianren are.
I think Xichun might be in danger.
<Danger, as in... her life might be at risk?>
No, I think... I think her life might be the only thing that's not in danger.
Thinking back to what brother Qiu told me...
I'm... afraid. That I might lose the Xichun I know forever.
For the first time, he speaks of the path he wishes to walk.
Hong Lu's jade eye gazes beyond the walls of Daguanyuan.
Like brother Qiu said, at this moment, I'm the only one who can freely open the gates of the Tiekan Temple.
I want to be there to watch Xichun become the Hierarch, so that, if something dangerous were to happen... I can put a stop to it.
<Okay, sounds like a plan.>
... I had a feeling that this would be your decision, Executive Manager.
Our judgments are shaped by our upbringings and environments...
...so, for you, Executive Manager, who has only the time spent with the rest of us to reflect on, it is understandable how you could come to this conclusion.
<I... keep disappointing you, don't I?>
You haven't. ... Not yet.
Outis replies sternly.
Well... it ain't much our style to just sod off after pickin' up the Golden Bough, innit?
That's... yeah, you're right...
Ishmael agrees with Heathcliff for the first time since forever.
Well, I know I might've come across as kinda harsh or snappy earlier, but... hey, there weren't any hard feelings, Outis.
... I would have kicked you in the shin had I considered your entire speech to be senseless drivel.
Heh.
Outis and Gregor, whose stances were always diametrically opposed, have stopped shooting bitter remarks at each other.
... We're all growing more familiar with each other.
<... Perfect. Then let's do this.>
And in that strange air, we found our purpose.
I will send out my best blade, Zilu, in the same direction.
She will not accompany you, but she will rendezvous at your destination nonetheless.
Didn't you say earlier that the Heishou's all become masterless or somethin'?
... It is a long story. Let me just say that Zilu is an exception.
Hold on, what about you...?
At the moment, stopping the underboss and his primary officer, Lei Heng, is the most pressing concern. Zigong and I will take to the main battlefield at the gates of Daguanyuan and stall them.
The plan was now in motion; there was nothing more to discuss.
And we both walk away, to our destinations in opposite directions.
... My lord, I have seen that smile many times in the past.
That is the smile of a hollow shell.
Do you truly believe that a man such as him is capable of moving in genuine dedication to the cause?
Each heart has a different cause that moves them.
How can one speak of the fathoms of a lake when all they have seen is the water's surface?
…….