IW-6 Legend

Well, here's the place.

......

What? That depressed about meeting her?

She gets on my nerves.

She's not gonna bug you.

That's why she gets on my nerves.

...*Sigh*.

She's our big sister either way. Let's straighten up.

She's not even here.

Nope, she isn't. Why not?

With all the fuss down below... taking cover up here in the ranges does kind of smell like her style.

How come when I hide you call me a recluse, but when she does it you're like this?!

Hey... it's not like she's always trying to hide.

She's just tipsy and worn out, looking for a nice crag splitting the drifting clouds to lie down on, knocking out for a moment. That's not so bad.

Grr. This is discrimination.

Pull the other one.

I just hope she doesn't cause any trouble for us.

She's always half-drunk, half-asleep, half-awake. It's those people who'll come give us trouble.

Yeah, real nice how she can sleep through this. Is she even able to?

Say, what'cha think she dreams of?

I don't know. Don't ask me.

......

Heaven knows where her mind wanders. She'll come back on her own once she's bored, in any case.

I hear this peak's apparently meant to be wrecked.

Wonder how hard Kroos and the Nothing guy'll have to work finding this summit at all.

*Sigh*...

Sir, what do you have there?

What comes will come, trouble and all.

You bumped into Shang?

Yes. He stole the cup.

That bastard! How does one man be so single-minded—!

Leave it. This whole thing is a mess.

Heh, good swords always keep the rust away.

Been years since I saw you draw it, sir.

Blades are ruthless things. Best put to use slicing melons and chopping greens.

But if I want my business handed smoothly over to my darling Ye, then I have to settle things with Shang Zhong eventually.

Old Shang might be muddled in the head, but he's not the good-for-nothing who'd harass the Miss about paying her father's debts.

Sir, you still won't step over that final line, will you?

What kind of person could?

One storm, two lives. It was my mistake that let his son die. He has a grudge against me I can't argue with.

I know more than anyone how he's felt all these years.

Sir...

Relax. I'll get the cup back, at the very least.

If I don't, I won't have anything to report.

Master Shen—isn't there any way to get up the mountains a little quicker?

In a sense, but for people who've never taken the mountain passes before, it might be...

You're fine, I'm used to this.

Alright, then. This way.

Ao—!

Gah. What's the deal with these things?

......

Hey! Lee!

I'm fighting for you here! Is this any place to space out?

...I'm fine.

But...

Pull it together. I don't know why these things keep mobbing us, and we've lost the Blacknight lady and the pole-carrier by now.

Why aren't you, I don't know, hurrying it up?

No rush, now, no rush.

When I accept a friend's request, I see it through. It's just...

We need to find a favorable pavilion near very favorable water for it.

Huff...

(At such a young age, her agility is nearly unimaginable...)

Such a steep pass, and you're not even gasping for air yet.

Have you been crossing mountains all your life?

Only got into the habit the last couple of years...

And I'm Rim Billiton-born. Might not be quite the Yan style, but it's a life on the wilder side anyhow.

I see.

The passes around these summits are all hard to traverse. They always said in olden times that Shu's paths tried you. People argue which ones that meant, but it's all of them, in truth.

Master Shen, you think there's a reason Mr. Lee told us to find him at Qujiang Peak?

When he was looking into the goblet's origins for Mr. Liang, the first place he said he'd head for was Qujiang Peak.

And he asked for 'Zuanjiang Peak.' Only a few locals know that old name; the authorities changed it however many years ago. I was baffled how he even knew it.

Maybe Mr. Lee found some kind of lead on it...

He did have a lead. He said, he dreamt of it.

I assumed he was hiding something, using that reason to parry me, so I didn't follow up... If he really did see it in his dreams, then that's all more curious.

Hmm... Qujiang Peak is a high and treacherous one. It gets the least tourists. It's all the more peaceful here, compared to the well-inhabited Nini Peak with its gentle flat paths, or Shuzhou Peak covered with old theater byways.

You've seen... the few small villages, buildings left, are all left over from long, long ago.

Though...

Is there some other hint?

Though... when Qujiang Peak was still called Zuanjiang Peak, atop this region of mountain, there was actually another peak.

It and Zuanjiang together were called the 'Twin Peaks High as the Sun,' the two most majestic prominences of the Three Mounts and Eighteen Peaks.

And this peak had countless cliffs, the steepest parts almost vertical, like a stone sword against the heavens when you looked from afar. It was a magnificent sight.

If you watched from any other peak at sunset, it was as if the sun fell straight on it, as if someone ran it through by their blade.

Sadly, later there was a massive Catastrophe, like fire and storm linking hands, and the terrain around here was scarred well. Most of that swordlike peak collapsed and crumbled. That was thirty years ago, now.

You can pull aside any Shangshuite on the street of at least some age, and they could all tell you clear and cleanly of the marvel of those black clouds weighing on the city.

I regret I wasn't eking my living on this river yet then. I never got to see it with my own eyes.

A Catastrophe... And Shangshuites'd call it a marvel?

It's a strange thing. It came without the slightest warning. By the time the Imperial Astronomers got the warning out telling the villages nearby to evacuate, it was already barely manageable. There should've been no escape from it...

But ultimately, thunder clapped and the storm faded, and apart from a few lightly battered houses, all the residences in the mountains suffered not a single bit of damage, and not one person was afflicted. That was the first wonder.

Afterwards, the Tumu tianshi came to inspect the altered mountain terrain. Normally, with a wondrous peak collapsing like that, there should be visible traces left.

But apart from half of the rocky 'hilt' left next to Qujiang Peak, not a single chunk of boulder or sign of the landslide was found. That was the second wonder.

What caused any of that, nobody knows. There's just some wild rumors, barely worth trusting.

Never thought something like that happened in Shangshu before...

Yan's history and its legends have always blended together.

Like how some rumors say Shangshu's birth was to do with the lands in ancient people's dreams. The factual matter of things is beyond anyone's research powers, now.

The peak that disappeared—what was its name?

The sunseeker. Xunri Peak.

But Yan's development has flown by. I fear to the younger generation, things that happened thirty years ago wouldn't be worth the time, being so far in the past.

Stay still—!

—Who's that?

(Rim Billitonian) Stone the flamin' fowlbeasts!- Light, keep it from buggering off!

Wrrrr—! Aoww—!

(Rim Billitonian) You just—settle down, love—!

—Wwrr!

Is she... trying to catch that thing?

Seems like it...

(Rim Billitonian) Crikey, just like that, keep it bound tight, eyes glued to it!

(Rim Billitonian) You a Rim Billy, then?

......!

......

(Rim Billitonian) Now, quit muckin' about... we're only...

(Rim Billitonian) Ya wouldn't be Yanese just lookin' at ya.

Aoww—!

(Rim Billitonian) —Oi help us out. Hrgh! Hey take a squiz at this and lemme know what kinda animal this is?

(Rim Billitonian) It's... some Originium Arts creation-type.

(Rim Billitonian) Originium Arts? Like those stunts the Leithanian lord boys pull? You revvin my cylinder? Had me thinkin' it was some Yan critter I could tame...

(Rim Billitonian) Which galah went and made these things up...?! Light! Just let it go, it's as useful as an ashtray on a bike!

......

(Rim Billitonian) We're looking for their owner, too. Whadyareckon?

(Rim Billitonian) I...

(Rim Billitonian) You a Messenger's guard? Bounty hunter?

(Rim Billitonian) No sense in shootin' a hound if it's gone into the neighbors paddock, wanna work together on this?

(Rim Billitonian) I don't know you from Bruce, mate, so don't think I'm gonna trust ya

(Rim Billitonian) A Billy, though.

(Rim Billitonian) Not every one of them's so nice.

(Rim Billitonian) That's a dead shame, then...

(Rim Billitonian) But getting to meet a Billitonian out here's still got me gobsmacked

(Rim Billitonian) Hooroo. See you round like a boomerang, Cautus.

......

Your countryman?

Suppose so... can't shake this dodgy feeling...

Ah, whatever. How far left to the summit, Master Shen?

A road this wide, and you two can't move aside?

Tough.

What does a mandarin want with me?

Master Shang. Do you have any idea what that thing on your belt is?

Is it yours?

Yes and no, but we hope you'll hand it to us.

How do you know me?

We've heard some rumors.

Hoh. What did Zheng Qingyue tell you?

If your first reaction is to think of Sir Zheng, then presumably you know where we came from?

The Sui Regulator's Candleholders.

But you're so young... You're one I've never met before.

If you're aware of our rank, why don't you give up the cup?

Me and Zheng Qingyue need to settle things.

But it seems like those things and the item at your waist are unrelated.

My son died for this goblet. How could I be unrelated?

Wrwwrr...

Fine ability, for one so young. These animals almost seem to fear you.

We ask only your cooperation.

What if I say no? Will you rob me in the open?

I imagine you'll find absolutely no purpose in this cup.

But to we of the Sui Regulator, the cup has tremendous use.

What use?

Bait.

For what?

Those who bring ruin to the nation and its people.

Yan has known peace for centuries. Where did criminals like those come from?

That's need-to-know.

However, we ask you to believe us. Entrust the goblet to us, and you'll have done a justice great as the heavens.

Hah! A justice... For someone of my sort, it'd mean too little, and be more than I deserve.

Move aside.

I fear that's not for you to decide, Master Shang.

This goblet is to be buried with my son. Zheng Qingyue must come in person...

Otherwise, keep shut!

I'll wait for him, at the Field of Forgotten Water on Qujiang Peak!

Ingrate!

—A staff fighter?

Oh—good, strong might. You have some force, old bull.

Lord Zuo, this man hides his talents. No good lies in him.

Get the goods before anything! Don't let him keep you!

Did you ever hear from Zheng Qingyue the words I hate most?

Don't fool with us!

—They're 'save the goods, then the men.'

You haven't seen the innkeep anywhere?

No.

Weird. He's not at any other of the places, too. Did he finally figure to retire and kick back at home?

If only.

What's up, Liu, bud? Something got you down?

I-I'm totally fine.

Why do you ask?

—Your ability's—soil and stone Arts?

Precisely.

For all your martial talent, you're a shameful fool to not apply it for good.

Tying my hands with your sand, cracking my pole—what freak fighting style is that?

Your pole only lightly splitting against me makes it the strange one here. From whence did it come?

I only use ordinary young bamboo poles.

Then my style of engagement must completely lack rigor.

What's your name?

Taihe.

Fine name. Incredible.

It's lucky I could do battle with someone like you at the very end.

You're a mandarin, aren't you? Tell me, what are you planning, here, with the goblet?

Peace and prosperity in the realm for the ages to come.

Hahah, that's a grand statement!

But sadly, I still can't give this to you.

You've got nowhere to run.

So you say.

—You dare flee?!

Hmm. A hidden technique?

You won't catch me in the mountains.

Taihe, tell that boy. The Field of Forgotten Water, at the crest of Qujiang Peak.

Don't forget.

......

Uncle Taihe...!

You couldn't catch him?

It would be simple if I chased him with full vigor. But...

He's using the goblet as a threat, forcing Innkeeper Zheng to meet with him.

In the Field of Forgotten Water at the crest, the two will meet, and one must die.

Is there no leeway?

I learned its root in our fight just now. There is none whatsoever.

The Field of Forgotten Water, was it?

We need to seize the opportunity.

We're lucky we didn't clash with that pole-carrier any. Seeing his moves reminds me of the last I ever saw Huai Tianpei ten whole years ago.

......

I assume you recognize those two there?

I told you how my dad's on secret orders from the royal court. Those two are their officials.

Do you know who they are, exactly?

The giant lunk in the front's a bigshot from the Department of Discipline and Supervision, that's all I know.

I see the picture, then.

I'm not keen on troubling Rhodes Island any... but it looks like we'll need to borrow their power, after all...

*Sigh* This does put a knot in things, though.

What?

I didn't hear what they were saying, but judging by the direction they hurried away, they're off to the summit.

And I'm appointed to meet Rhodes Island at that very summit. Who ever knew the venue'd turn out quite like this.

So do we ambush them at the summit first?

Let's not. They're all fine fighters. We'd be asking for trouble.

Well, what do we do, then—

—Wait! Quick, hide in here! Don't poke your head out!

Oh.

The innkeeper?

What's dad doing here...? And...

You look ghastly pale.

Is... Is he carrying his blade there?

No, it's been so many years... he's never taken it out... he's...

He's a swordfighter, is he?

He used to be.

Then it seems he's revived the trend.

That's not encouraging.

......

Go.

The closer to the peak, the narrower the road.

Nearly there now.

Is this the final path?

The very last one.

Beyond this village, a small ways west, you'll see a long, long stone stairway.

Past its top is the Field of Forgotten Water.

Hm?

Hm.

......

Well, there's a fine coincidence, meeting you all here.

Very much a happenstance.

What are you two after?

The goblet.

At the summit?

There's no point in hiding it now. Yes.

And someone unaccounted for has it.

Just what in the world is that cup?

If I told you, would you assist us in taking it back, Ms. Kroos?

There's a lot more to your goals than just 'taking it back.' You obviously want to use it for something.

And my guess is your goal happens to be the same as Mr. Lee's. You're all wanting to find its master.

......

So why go to all the trouble?

Are you asking us, Ms. Kroos, or... interrogating us?

I'm no interrogator, here.

This goblet was made by the hands of a great offender.

Offender?

The offense wide as the heavens.

Court classified. Don't look into it.

But you want to use this heaven-wide sinner's work to do something that involves Rhodes Island operators.

How am I meant to help out if you don't tell me?

My benefactor is quite right.

Though we may be of different standings, there's never any sense in withholding the details when you entrust affairs to people. The proverb puts it well; another's heart is hard to know. Treat each other with candor to get the matter resolved.

Here I was worried you'd gotten lost.

Ahahah. An informed concern, benefactor.

You treat them as your 'operators.'

We do.

......

A fearsome beast dwells in this goblet. It's only a portion of his consciousness, of course.

Lord Zuo.

I'm within my rights. If any ensuing liability falls on the Sui Regulator, you needn't have mercy, Uncle Taihe. Apply the legal proceedings.

......

Dwells?

Contemporary feranmutologists are in consensus that, aside from some form of corporealized body, walking in land beyond land, this ancient colossus also has means to dwell within certain objects.

The ancient literary saying, 'the beast walks with the generous earth,' actually gives some pointer as to these creatures' characteristics.

Er, does any old object work?

Weapons are fairly common. Whether it's ancient Sarkaz swords or modern, mass-produced staves, we have precedent.

But as for the concrete principle, we're still not sure.

Same goes for that goblet, then?

Wherever it goes, Waregeists spring up. We can't say we're certain yet, but we have grounds to suspect it.

The cup is alive, yet it hasn't come to life. The objects around it are all dead, yet live because of it.

It's been adrift for a long time. It's by a random chance we were able to determine its location.

So now you're out looking for that offender.

No.

I said, just now, its maker was guilty. But its present master is someone else entirely.

And just who is it?

A poet.

...My Lord.

Miss Ning.

The wind is high today. The sun is setting early.

Early, but not so. The time came before I could notice.

How long has it been since last you climbed a mountain?

......

In antique times, the mountain chains of Shangshu were above human might.

Shu's paths try, as climbing atop the heavens.

It's different nowadays.

Yet for what difference tolls, some matters shall remain constant.

Nowhere in the Three Mounts and Seventeen Peaks may it be found. Will you still search, my Lord?

I need to.

You would balk at nothing, deceive me, deceive us all for this need?

I need to find it.

Why?

Surely you are aware that e'en justified thousandfold, to impinge is still to impinge, and to contravene is still to contravene?

Surely you know that should you err once, not only do you forfeit the future, but you bear the brunt of the guilt?

......

Surely you understand... I am willing to hear what you say?

I understand that.

It's all the more reason I cannot tell you.

Why?

Because as I serve as a city magistrate, I account for that single city's safety and life. Be it brick or tile or stove or kitchen, so long as the slightest harm comes to it, it is my failure in duty.

As those that tower above me disagree, all I may do... is try my hardest.

When first we met in Shangshu, in my early years, I saw that past your occasional obstinacy, you were principled and upright, of vitality whole. I have been staunch in my trust, that should we work as one, 'twould be no trouble we could not surmount.

Yet in this moment...

...I cannot help but be somewhat disappointed.

These words...

Are they words of warning, from my friend, Miss Ning, to me...

Or a supervisory pressuring, from the Imperial Envoy of Vice-Second Rank, the Assistant Minister of Rites, Ning Ciqiu, upon me?