Operation story: WB-6

Operation

Story

Previous WB-5	Next WB-7
Characters
Chongyue Jieyun Lin Yühsia Waai Fu Du Yaoye Grand Tutor Meng Tieyi Shanhaizhong Boss Wei Yenwu Fierce Animal Shanhaizhong Member Young Bodyguard
Backgrounds
1 2 3 4

After operation

“

Meng Tieyi tells Lin Yühsia his true intentions, and the events that have transpired in Yumen over the past several decades. The Shanhaizhong show up again, intending to steal the Catastrophe data.

”

<Background 1>
[Waai Fu fends off the Shanhaizhong acolytes trying to take the stolen sword from Jieyun.]
Waai Fu	(They work well together... how many of them are there?)
[A growl is heard...]
Fierce Animal	(Growls)
Shanhaizhong Member	......
[...and the acolytes run away.]
Waai Fu	Hey, why did they stop?
[Waai Fu walks toward Jieyun.]
Waai Fu	Why are they looking for you?
Jieyun	What's your name?
Waai Fu	I'm Waai Fu. Even if they read my name like Huai Hu around here.
Jieyun	Waai Fu, Huai Hu... I'll remember. I'm Jieyun. I'll come back and find you.
[Jieyun runs off.]
Waai Fu	Wait– Strange girl... ...... Let's catch some bad people first.
<Background 2>
The old man gazes over the map, drawing a course. His gaze moves slowly. He knows how vast a distance every inch on the paper represents. The tea on the table has long grown cold.
[Chongyue walks toward the Grand Tutor.]
Chongyue	I didn't think you would enjoy our provincial Yumen tea, Grand Tutor.
Grand Tutor	Everyone here drinks the same tea. So can I.
Chongyue	This tea is Yin in nature. It's not ideal while the weather is cold. Your knowledge is vast, but you don't pay enough attention to your health. The others would be anxious if you fell ill.
Grand Tutor	Someone better will take my place, if I fall ill. Each generation is better than the one that came before. There is no single person whom Yan cannot do without. What is important is not one person, one generation, but the legacy. Such has always been the way.
Chongyue	Legacy. A difficult concept for us to understand.
Grand Tutor	You've taught countless people who've contributed to Great Yan. The army still uses the martial records left behind by the Record Keepers for training. I myself have received military instruction from you.
Chongyue	At the end of the day, I, we, our expertise, it was all learned from others.
Chongyue dumps the cold tea and pours a new cup of hot tea.
Grand Tutor	Thank you.
Chongyue	Since when have we become strangers?
Grand Tutor	I've never forgotten the times when we discussed matters of state over candlelight, and drew swords alongside one another. But where we stand has changed.
Chongyue	Excuse my impudence.
Grand Tutor	You didn't come just to talk about old times, did you?
Chongyue	You're right. I came to say goodbye.
<Background 3>
[Yühsia enters the warehouse...]
Lin Yühsia	Here I am.
[...with Meng greeting her.]
Meng Tieyi	Hello, Envoy Lin.
Lin Yühsia	Wasn't it two days ago that we last saw each other?
Meng Tieyi	More has happened in two days than in the twenty years prior.
Lin Yühsia	Now that I think about it, you did what you did that day not to help me, but to stop me from investigating.
Meng Tieyi	I still helped you.
Lin Yühsia	......
Meng Tieyi	I had heard that the L.G.D. sent an acting inspector to oversee matters of public security when the two cities were docked. I could not associate the commotion you caused at the market and the Sword Forge with the young girl who stands before me now. Did you set your sights on me from the beginning?
Lin Yühsia	No, only just now. I wasn't sure that all this was your doing, until you showed up.
Meng Tieyi	You only suspected?
Lin Yühsia	That was enough.
Meng Tieyi	Your style is... unique.
Lin Yühsia	I've always been like this. Did you want to say "unscrupulous?"
Meng Tieyi	......
Lin Yühsia	Could you really call all that you have done scrupulous?
Meng Tieyi	Fair enough. But what specifically did you mean by "all that?"
Lin Yühsia	Working with the Shanhaizhong, faking the bandit attack on the Messenger, then setting up an attack on me, making the fake Catastrophe data "real." Then you had someone else steal the Grandmaster's sword to muddy the waters.
Meng Tieyi	The theft of the sword was unexpected. Otherwise, last night would never have happened... But it is impressive that you've deduced the switching of the data.
Lin Yühsia	Good thing you had enough decency to not actually kill the Messenger.
Meng Tieyi	......
Lin Yühsia	I have a question myself. Why?
Meng Tieyi	I'm sure you already know the answer.
Lin Yühsia	You wanted to cause a Catastrophe and destroy Yumen just because you had a grudge against the Lord Exorcist?
Meng Tieyi	Zuo Xuanliao and us have been through more than hell and high water together. The word "grudge" is far too light. And Zuo Xuanliao has taken us too lightly.
Meng Tieyi	You are from Lungmen.
Lin Yühsia	I am.
Meng Tieyi	I've heard it's a good place. A prosperous one. I never had a chance to visit. You've seen how things are at Yumen. Traveling through the desert all year long, risking Catastrophe to deliver important reports, trekking through nothing but sand for days in search of water... you've never experienced that. Someone has to protect the borders, protect the nation. Soldier or civilian, most Yumenites are not local. We left our homes to settle here, without a word of complaint. Zuo Xuanliao should not forget that there are others who had a hand in Yumen becoming Yan's bulwark! Who does he think he is? Driving away those who have bled for Yumen?!
Lin Yühsia	You misunderstood the Lord Exorcist.
Meng Tieyi	Then why is the Grandmaster leaving Yumen?
Lin Yühsia	...I don't know. What I can't understand is why you want to destroy the city that you've protected for so many years.
Meng Tieyi	How many Catastrophes do you think Yumen has encountered in its history? A single Catastrophe won't destroy Yumen. It will only unite its people!
Lin Yühsia	...... ...Madman.
Two young people cower in a corner of a warehouse, looking rather haggard.
[Yaoye rushes toward the captives...]
Du Yaoye	The Qis... Where are the others? What about the soldiers and the Messenger?
[...and frees one of them.]
Young Bodyguard	Old Meng from the Sword Forge let them go just now.
Du Yaoye	Thank goodness they're alright.
Young Bodyguard	M-Miss Du... I'm sorry, we didn't get the job done. The guys from the Sword Forge knocked us out before we even knew what was going on. We found ourselves in the warehouse by the time we came to. Why did they do that?
Du Yaoye	It's a long story. ...... Come on, stop with the long face!
Young Bodyguard	B-But it's Xingyu Logistics's first job...
Du Yaoye	We ran into something this big on our first job! That means we're meant for big things! Now put yourself together and follow me!
<Background 2>
Chongyue	I have an idea of where the sword is.
Grand Tutor	You had an idea from the beginning.
Chongyue	Just a little private interest. I guess I couldn't keep it from you.
Grand Tutor	Everyone has private interests. That's fine, as long as it doesn't interfere with duty.
Chongyue	I have an idea whom to entrust the sword to. I just want to see the last trial through. With your permission, of course.
Grand Tutor	The goodbye you mentioned, it's more than just this.
Chongyue	The path ahead is unknown. Who knows if we'll meet again? A proper farewell is in order. Yumen is headed for the capital. It is about to wake.
The old man turns around and once again casts his eyes towards the map. He sees and thinks about much on it. He suddenly has a question, one that the "Grand Tutor" would not have asked.
Grand Tutor	Do you have regrets?
Chongyue	Parting is a fact of life. Seeking perfection doesn't mean there won't be regrets. But sometimes I feel that there just isn't much I can do.
Grand Tutor	Yumen started out as a fortress built for that hunt. The hero of Yumen could have humble beginnings, or he could belong to one of the long-lived races, but the one thing he cannot be is the incarnation of a Feranmut. This is a secret that the Sui Regulator must protect at all costs.
Chongyue	One cannot expect to be understood and accepted no matter where one goes...
The man walks slowly to the old man's side, and the two of them gaze silently at the depiction of mountains and rivers.
Chongyue	Yumen will approach the capital in six months, barring any unexpected events. The markings on the map are locations where civilians are expected to be evacuated prior to Yumen's arrival at the capital.
Grand Tutor	If things get to that point, Yumen must be prepared to sacrifice itself to kill the bestial Sui. This is a price that Yan must pay.
Chongyue	The Shanhaizhong struck twenty years ago. Lord Exorcist came to me after things calmed down, before the Sui Regulator arrived. He realized then that the bestial Sui were a great potential threat to Yan. Yumen will someday return to its original battlefield. When it comes to that, Yumen cannot rely on me or the jianghu fighters. Everyone must go. This place that many people have called home will return to dust. People on the outside call the Lord Exorcist heartless, but there's so much that he cannot tell anyone. We had a group of common friends...
Grand Tutor	Those who carry heavy responsibilities cannot be trapped by private sentiment.
Chongyue	Twenty years of conflict. There were misunderstandings, and there were grudges, but there must be closure. This is something that I need to do myself. This is a private request. I dare not ask for your understanding.
Grand Tutor	Yet in some cases, an allowance can be made. Shuo is part of that atrocity, but the people of Yan owe Chongyue a great debt.
Chongyue	So what you mean is...
Grand Tutor	The Lord Exorcist has tasked you to ensure my safety. What danger is there to me, if you can protect Yumen?
Chongyue	Thank you.
The man turns and leaves the tent. The old man nods slightly in his direction.
<Background 4>
[Wei Yenwu walks toward Chongyue.]
Chongyue	Lord Wei...
Wei Yenwu	I can be of help in the hunt for the criminals. I will see you off.
<Background 3>
The air feels dead, silent. The only sound is that of gravel as it falls on the roof. The warehouse has no windows. Lin Yühsia listens intently for any sounds outside. Minute after minute passes. Have the Catastrophe clouds drawn closer? The night winds blow stronger.
Lin Yühsia	......
Meng Tieyi	You look impatient, Miss Lin. Thank you for chatting with this old man. Perhaps it's because you thought I may still have the real data collected by the Catastrophe Messenger. Take it.
[Meng throws the true Catastrophe data towards Yühsia.]
Lin Yühsia	Why would you give it away for nothing?
Meng Tieyi	It's too late for Yumen to avoid the Catastrophe now, even if the correct data reached the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.
Lin Yühsia	......
Meng Tieyi	I would like to make it clear that this plan was entirely my own. The folks who were taken into custody are innocent.
Lin Yühsia	Good to see you still know what "innocent" is, after putting an entire city's worth of people in danger.
Meng Tieyi	There is act of nature, and there is act of man. They should not be confused.
Lin Yühsia	You must have other reasons for delaying me.
Meng Tieyi	Of course. I would not simply waste time on a day like today. I had promised to help an acquaintance leave the city, but I have no choice but to go back on that promise after what happened at the Sword Forge last night. I can only hope to draw more attention and make it easier for her to get out.
Lin Yühsia	The sword thief? Didn't you say the theft was unexpected?
Meng Tieyi	Astute as ever. But this is a rather silly matter. Too silly to talk about. Let those who should leave, leave. Let the debts that should be settled, be settled.
Lin Yühsia	......
Meng Tieyi	You got what you came for, Miss Lin. You should leave. There was one thing you didn't catch. It's not just Zuo Xuanliao I hold a grudge against. I picked this time and place to settle another debt.
[Shanhaizhong acolytes appear and have the warehouse surrounded...]
Lin Yühsia	......
[...with their boss joining in.]
Shanhaizhong Boss	You hide well. You made us work to find you. You turned your back on our partnership.
Meng Tieyi	Weren't you trying to silence me when you went to the Sword Forge last night?
Shanhaizhong Boss	...... Get the data from the girl. Leave this one to me.
Shanhaizhong Member	Aye.
Meng Tieyi	Maybe you misunderstood.
The old man opens a bag on his belt and takes out an unremarkable black iron hammer. He glares at the Shanhaizhong and speaks through clenched teeth.
Meng Tieyi	Hide? I've been waiting for a chance to finish all of you off!