Tigress remains still for a few more seconds before turing her back to you fully. "It's Lord Hien. Address your ruler properly." She says before leaving. Minutes later several guards appear to take her place which you take as a sign of her believing your story but it's not until moonlight that you see her again. "The cart is ready. Let's go." She says curtly. Without exchanging words, the two of you swiftly make your way to the entrance of the compound where a large cart laden with several barrels, crates, bags and several other containers. Part of you is impressed how quickly Hien had amassed supplies for you and part of you worried that perhaps it might be just enough to cause the cart to fail under the weight. Still, you did not have the time to think about such things. Right now you needed a plan of travel. Though your strength was mighty, you could only carry so much and the sheer volume of items would make it difficult to travel quickly.

>What do you do?
>Carry the cart yourself. It already has everything on it, all you need to do is pick it up. Running might be a bit awkward as you try and keep things from falling off or breaking.
>Have Tigress carry the cart. No doubt she wouldn't trust leaving you to handle your food and drink alone. Best you take advantage of her suspicion and make her handle the supplies.
>Carry the cart in tandem. Both of you can easily handle the weight and holding the cart between the two of you would make moving quickly and keeping your supplies safe easier, however the size and width of having the cart between the two of you would make it harder to take a route through trees and wild terrain. You'll be wasting some time keeping on the main roads but its still faster than pulling the cart behind you and moving normally.
>Write in.

>>5421167
>Carry the cart yourself. It already has everything on it, all you need to do is pick it up. Running might be a bit awkward as you try and keep things from falling off or breaking.

>>5421167
>Tie absolutely everthing down, make use of our shipknots and prepare for a rolling storm.
>Carry the cart ourselves

We gotta move fast fast fast!

Also Luo, I saved the last thread, so it's all fine. Hope I got the tags right.

>>5421339
Normally I'm the anon that archives the thread, I was surprised when I found out it was already done, good job
All the tags are right, except they are out of order compared to the other threads. There's no technical problem other than just looking different.

>>5421339
>support

>>5421293
>>5421339
>>5421881
We need. SPEED! Writing. (Mental note, next quest must be in modern times so I can bust out the initial D music...and mario kart.)

>>5421339
Thanks for that man. Appreciate the help.

"What are you doing?!" Tigress demands as you quickly dig around the cart and begin moving barrels and crates around.

"Looking for ropes." You say as you dig around the cart and being opening crates and barrels. "Worked on a ship for a month or so and first thing every new shipmate needs to learn is how to tie a knot. Saves lives. Conincidentally, it might do the same here." You explain and throw several of them over the cart and it's contents. "The second thing any shipmate learns is how to organize the cargo. Glass is heavy, it's expensive, and takes up too much room because of the padding it's boxes needed. Best to keep all that on the bottom where it's weight will keep it somewhat in place and it won't tumble off some pile to break." The ropes strain slightly as you pull they taut but given your experience on a ship, you know they won't be giving out anytime soon. You move under the cart, only barely fitting your large frame underneathe it and work on getting everything together. Once you were certain that everything was as tied down as it could be you simply stand up with the cart in your hands. "Now let's go. We don't have anytime to waste if we want to make it Quinhangdao on time to save some lives." You add as you slip your arms into some makeshift straps you made. The weight takes you a few moments to get used to as you take a few steps forward to test which way the poor cart leans and favors. Soon enough however, you bend your knee and tense up your muscles before running forward with an explosive force. The rush of wind that you leave behind rattles loose windows and doors as well as sends clothing that was left to dry flying.

Tigress has no problem keeping up with you but part of you selfishly didn't care whether or not she could. To what was the foremost priority was Xin Lan and you were going to get them back regardless if the martial arts master could keep up with your speed or not. There is shouting and screaming all around you as people run to try and get out of the way of what, to them, looked like a run away cart. You weren't even sure you were going slow enough for them to notice that there was a large snow leopard carrying everything ontop of them. Nonetheless, you make sure to make a wide berth of people who didn't seem like they could get away in time. It takes a surprising bit of time to finally leave the city and you only note your exit when you leap through the large gates and over several merchant carts each equally stuffed as yours.

There's some shouting that you presume to be the guards on watch but you ignore them only feeling a small twinge of regret that you'll need to be in some form of disguise when you decide to bring your family over to explore the capital. You don't think they'd let you live it down that you visited the biggest city in China and didn't buy them presents let alone bring them along. It's not until nightfall, and only then a few hours before dawn broke, that you finally slow down enough to make sure that your supposed escort was still behind you. As a matter of fact, you had to wait a moment or so before Tigress appeared next to you. The two of you stare at one another for a moment in silence but once it seemed like neither of you were going to be social enough to break the quiet, you simply set the cart down and take a quick break to get a drink of water from a nearby stream. The moon was still bright tonight which illuminated everything clearly. Turning around, you see Tigress simply waiting, arms crossed and watching you intently. It wasn't until know that you noticed her eyes were golden with a hint of orange, just like yours...

>What do you do?
>Get some sleep. You can go on like this for days, but you're not sure about Tigress. Even so, best to be well rested at all times incase something occurs.
>Simply sit down and rest. You don't need to sleep but taking a small break to cool down would be good.
>Press onward. You don't have the time to spend around doing nothing or attempting to make small talk with someone who clearly isn't interested in doing so.
>Write in.

>>5424536
>Do you need a rest?
If yes, take 20 and cool off.
If no, Press onwards.

We can last a day and a half without sleep, so we can sleep properly tomorrow night.
Ideally with our fluffy bunny.

>>5424572
Support, bit add a
>This is no boasting or challenge, I legitamely need to know if you can keep pushing yourself and still be ready to fight when we arrive

>>5424536
>Simply sit down and rest. You don't need to sleep but taking a small break to cool down would be good.

>>5424536
>Press onward. You don't have the time to spend around doing nothing or attempting to make small talk with someone who clearly isn't interested in doing so.

>>5424572
>>5424620
Asking a simple question. Writing.

"Do you need to take a break?"

"No."

"I'm not making a challenge or demeaning your skill. We need to be at our best if we want to make sure no one gets hurt. This city will be under siege soon and it'll be up to use to save everyone. If you need to take a few minutes to catch your breath or get some sleep then do so."

"I said I didn't need to." Tigress snaps. "You're the one wasting time."

"Very well then. Let's get a move on." You say, standing up and getting the cart ready. Strapping it back on to your arms once more, you leap into action and continue running towards the city. Travel felt empty and hollow at best. At times it seemed like you were simply spacing out and relying on sheer instinct to keep you on track. Even with the pressure of time, there was none of the frantic planning or excitment that seemed to build up as you approached your destination. There simply was no sense of camaraderie between you and Tigress. No feeling of shared fear or pressure. So all you could really do was shut off and press onwards like some kind of chore. Something to simply get over with.

Tigress for her part kept to herself and said very little if anything at all. She was far quicker than Hien was and travel went just as quick. Even so, you had to hold back a bit so that she could keep up. Nonetheless, you could constantly feel her gaze upon you, judging and studying. In hindsight, you wonder if Xin Lan ever studied you like this as they were slowly growing to feel. Just how much of their current self was based on what they saw from you? Renshu often said that a large portion of their public persona was based off the young brash murderer that raised them. But as many things were, it was only one part of the whole picture. You hope that the real Xin Lan was based on the better parts of yourself, if not then more based off of Ming who was far more altruistic. This was the first time they were on their own since the two of you met and started traveling together. Given the situation they were in right now, you worry they had taken your lessons to heart in all the wrong ways. You were less afraid of confronting your failings as a role model then the disappointment Ming and Renshu would feel in you.

---

Quinhangdao was a city overcome with a sense of dread. Even in the outskirts you could feel it heavy in the air. The people here were skittish and what few dared leave their homes did so with their heads low. Shops, though left seemingly intact, had their doors perpetually closed and their interiors as empty as possible. The guards that you could see patroling held their weapons tightly and looked around with tired and weary eyes. They walked around as if treading on broken glass, worried about setting something off. Those that were responsible were obvious. They walked with their heads held high and without fear. They hung around street corners and in alleys but did nothing more than simply act menacing though their eyes spoke volumes. They were eager and on edge as if waiting for something. Something that would come right around the corner.

You had arrived with just a day to spare. It took some convincing but you managed to get Tigress to agree to leave the cart of suppiles hidden about half a days walk away from the city in a cave though you had to compromise with leaving several boulders to block the entrance so no one could steal it. "It seems whatever gives you your information was correct. This place is infested." Tigress says.

"These are just grunts. Whoever is behind all of this is well hidden and guarded."

"I know how the criminal element works." Tigress interrupts. "I happen to deal with them for a living, unlike you."

"Then you know we need information. We can't just go in this blind."

>What do you do?
>Approach the nearest thugs. Rough them up a bit and make them tell you how things are going to go down. A bit of fear never hurt...you at least.
>Head to the guard's headquarters. It'd be best to organize with the local law enforcement if there's a chance of things spilling out into the city streets.
>Wait until nightfall. Something this big can't be done without some organization. Stalk some of the thugs and eventually they might lead you to someone who is in charge.
>Write in.

>>5425992
>Approach the nearest thugs, rough em up.
>After roughing up, leave them capable of movement to run back to their friends, we can follow them there stealthily.

>In the meantime, try and sense the bun's presence.

>>5425992
>Head to the guard's headquarters. It'd be best to organize with the local law enforcement if there's a chance of things spilling out into the city streets.
>Send Tigress there with the supplies to organize, they probably haven't heard of our "pardon" yet
>Meanwhile try to find Xin ourselves.

>>5426093
She isn't going to let us split off. We are her prisoner and ward, so she is going to stick with us like glue.

Consider her an extension of ourself, unless visible innocents are in danger and we need to split to save them.

>>5425992
>Wait until nightfall. Something this big can't be done without some organization. Stalk some of the thugs and eventually they might lead you to someone who is in charge.
We could probably use the rest.

>>5426157
We only have 1 day before shit goes down. We need to be proactive about this.

Hope Luo is alright

If he's just waiting on cohesion, I'll change from my vote here >>5426019 to >>5426157

>>5429056
I'll change mine too
>>5426093
>Wait until nightfall. Something this big can't be done without some organization. Stalk some of the thugs and eventually they might lead you to someone who is in charge.

File: 20221009_223141.jpg (45 KB, 1221x955)

45 KB JPG

>>5429056
Luo is dead. Long live Luo.

>>5430050
I've been summoned by cute buns. Looks like the choice has been made though not gonna lie, a few things were keeping me away from being able to post as well. But now I can continue again. So I'll get to writing. We're gonna be stalking some people. I'll even throw in trying to sense Xin for free as it's something TL would do when he had the spare time.

You resist the urge to make a joke about breaking a few bones to get answers. Xin Lan would have found the humor in it but it's clear that Tigress would not. Even so, the rabbits would be very disappointed in you if you choose to give up the element of surprise when you had it. Scaring a few grunts for information would certainly help put some chaos into the ranks but it might also risk whatever is plan to occur earlier than intended and you couldn't afford to give up what little prep time you had.

"This is all going to come to a head in a day. No doubt that orders will be given soon enough or a gathering to prepare will happen." You say. "We wait until nightfall and tail some of these lower ranking grunts. Eventually they'll have to find one of their higher ups to report in for orders."

"So that's your plan? Simply hide?" Tigress asks.

"We'll need to lay low. We're both public figures and if word gets out that either of us are here, we risk whoever is behind this pushing their plans forward early if not going into hiding. You're going to need a disguise." You reply.

----


"This will never work." Tigress grunts as she adjusts the brim of her straw hat to cover her face some more. "Even Po wouldn't suggest something this foolish."

"Trust me. It will. I know from experience." You assure her as the two of you loitered at the corner of the one of the shops. You and Tigress had retreated momentarily back to your supplies to prepare a disguise which really just ammounted to you wearing Renshu's cloak and Tigress borrowing your straw hat...which you had borrowed from Po so in a way you were returning it. "Not to mention the effect it will have on them later. If anyone asks, just say you're a merchant. That seems to excuse more excentricities." Tigress gives what you assume to be a grunt and a huff at the same time. The two of you continue to wait for the sun to go down on the street corner. The few who cast glances at your direction neither seem to care or are too busy trying to get to their destination safely than to pay you much mind. Even so, such glances are few and far between as you see very little people out on the streets. The lack of vibrancy or movement gave the town an eerie dead feeling akin to one of the ruined villages that you had come across in your travels. Hours go by and nothing changes. You half expected more shady looking people to begin appearing but either you're in the wrong side of town or they too were waiting for the darkness to obsucre their dealings. Tigress, as always, seemed to be in no mood to talk but at the very least she was self controlled enough to keep still and hide any restlessness she may have.

You feel the slow creep of boredom begin to tug at your attention and urging you to do something, anything. You didn't want to leave your post and didn't want to risk drawing attention to yourself. In the end you did the one thing that you could not cosider a hobby. Spy on your friends via meditation. You pull into yourself and feel around with your sixth sense. Opening yourself allows a wave of dispair wash over you as the ambient atmosphere of the city is amplified and flows through you, something you've never experienced before. Your mind struggles to come to terms with this development before it's drawn to something far stronger than that. Anger and frustration come at you in waves and for a moment you think you've found your rabbit but the emotions were too close for it to be possible, not unless they were standing right next to you... You come back to the material world and look at Tigress, who was as still as a statue just as you had left her. Gingerly, you reach out to her with your mind and...sense her. As clear as Ming, Xin Lan, and Renshu you can sense her and her feelings. Confusion clouds your mind, you couldn't even sense Hien like this and yet the two of you were closer than you were with Tigress...

>What do you do?
>Go back to searching for Xin.
>Tell Tigress that the two of you should change location. It seems like this area is deviod of activity.
>Stop searching and get back to waiting. You have more important things to do.
>Try and talk to Tigress.
>Write in.

>>5430175
>Try and talk to Tigress.
>We have a problem, I think Xin is emptying themselves of emotions, and whatever I back on our fight entangled ours chi somewhat, I can see your emotion way clearer than I should have and it's being too much of a beacon for me to see someone cloaking themselves.
>New plan, I hide in the cart and you make yourself look like you are searching for an inn on another part of town. Try to look lost or weak so they think you are an easy mark.

>>5430175
>Try and talk to Tigress.

>Go back to searching for Xin.

>>5430175
>Search for Xin, try and ignore the radiating seething of Tigress

>Talk to Tigress after our search is concluded.
>"Are you frustrated with the criminals, or with your task?"

>>5430179
I don't think it's that Xin is cloaking themselves, it's just that we are too close to tigress and she is a conflagration of emotion.

Just use our compass with Xin's thread to get a direction, then use our meditive sense to investigate in that direction.

>>5430648
I don't mean they are clocking themselves, I mean that after the attack on the library and they having to kill again, they are back to trying to not feel emotions again, since in their letter they said something like were ashamed and betrayed our trust or something.
I wrote it like that to not reveal something personal about Xin to Tigress

Do you want to tell Tigress, you can sense her or keep that to yourself for now?

>>5431057
keep to ourselves.

"You're frustrated." You comment to no one in particular as you avoid Tigress's gaze. Tigress looks away from you and crosses her arms, something about the way she did it was vaguely familiar to you.

"There's nothing wrong." She lies. "Stick to the task at hand."

"I will. Luckily for you I happen to be able to multitask. Well enough that my friends and others say it's almost supernatural." You reply with slight amusement. Tigress frowns under the brim of her hat.

"If you have time to joke then you have time to be vigilant." Tigress grunts.

"Like I said, multitasking." You repeat. "It would help to talk about it. Holding it all in won't do you any good."

"Like I said, I'm fine and even if something wasn't it's nobody's buisness. Least of all you." She insists.

"We'll be traveling together for a long time..." You say but concede the point for now. You were just as stubborn but you like to imagine that you were stubborn in the healthy, correct ways. Either way there would be plenty of time to tackle that issue later. You got back to watching your surrounding but there was still very little movement. There did seem to be more of the gangsters hanging about now. Perhaps things were slowly coming to motion as the day was inching towards the end. You do your best to ignore all these new feelings around you as you search out for Xin Lan. The town is muddled in depression and unease that you're forced to swim through. Much more difficult was that your unfamiliarity made it that you could not project yourself and thus you had to feel around the void of the unknown.

Off in the distance, you feel it. The faint twinkling of something familiar that cut through the fog of the city's emotions. Your heart races as you hone in on this. Somewhere on the edge of the city you feel the familiar presence of Xin Lan. You feel anxiety and fear but you can't pinpoint exactly where it is without knowing the city, at least relative to the buildings surrounding you. Before you can do anything else however, you feel a rough shake on your shoulder. "Get yourself together!" Tigress hisses into your ear. "They're moving."

Looking around you see that there is a bigger increase in thugs around in the streets. Any city folk that you had previously seen were long gone and the streets were barren save for your marks as they begin to to part ways in smaller groups.

>What do you do?
>Pick a group of thugs and tail them from the rooftops. See where they go.
>Ignore them. You know where Xin is, vaugely, it's better to go find them.
>Try and convince Tigress to split up. Though you think it'd be easier to pick a fight with the Empress than it would be to convince her.
>Write in

>>5431748
>Follow a group, Ideally pick one that had someone who the others seemed to instinctively defer too, they would probably be the mid-tier officers.

Once we get some info, we can follow through to Xin. It's no great issue.

>>5431847
Support
And Xin is likely to move towards us once we start dealing with them

>>5431748
>Ignore them. You know where Xin is, vaugely, it's better to go find them.

>>5431748
>>Pick a group of thugs and tail them from the rooftops. See where they go.

>>5432425
>>5431847
>>5431869
doing some good ol fashioned stalking. Writing.

"Let's get to the rooftops." You say, motioning to the nearest building. The two of you leap straight up from where you were standing and deftly land without a sound on the nearby roof. You opt to follow one of the larger groups. The bigger the group the safer they would feel and the more willing they would be to be relaxed about their surroundings. After all, who would be foolish enough to try and face such a large group. They had numbers on their side.

"I'm telling you. Just grab any girl off the streets. Not like the guards are gonna do anything about it. Last I hear they only have like 10 left." One of the men chuckles.

"You idiot. Only 10 in an entire city. You'd be stupid to believe something like that. Then again, it's you we're talking about. The boss said we do nothin' stupid. Wanna give the whole plan away?" Another snaps as he looks around nervously.

"Why'd we go so many guys anyways?" A third speaks up. "Those guys...I don't trust em. Can't be that hard to string a rabbit."

"You ain't never heard the stories have ya? This guy...he ain't real. I've heard somethings. Guy's more of a wild animal than man. Cept even wild animals aren't as smart as to not get caught. This guy's been hitting all our operations. Big ones, small ones. Ones we ain't supposed to know about. Boss says if we don't do it like this, he's gonna take us all out one by one. It's a strength in numbers thing." The second one explains.

"You sure we don't got a mole or something? No way it can be one guy."

"A mole don't leave guys strung up and cut like some butcher. No way some patsy for the guard did this. I hear some of the boys ain't even gonna walk no more. Others...might as well be dead from what I heard. Would be if it weren't for the guards. They're not behind this. No way, no how. They're just the clean up crew and even they can't do anything about it."

"Wait...so how do we know the guy's here if no one can catch him?"

"Heh...cuz he's a cocky bastard. Though he could take our turf head on and take the boss out. Course, no one can just kill the boss. We got him good and he's in no shape to up and leave the city. I hear we've finally tracked whatever hole he's hiding in. Then we're all going to take our time cutting him open."

"I dunno. This all sounds too good to be true. How come I never heard of this before?"

"Because your ass is too busy chasing whatever tail catches your eye! Now keep your mouth shut or we might get stuck on lookout duty if all this goes down soon. If that happens, I'm going show you exactly what I was gonna do to the guy." The group had led you down a winding path through back alleys and streets, doubling back here and there in an attempt to throw off any who would be following. Every so often you could see another group of people doing similar tactics in other streets as they were careful to try and not cross one another's paths. However, these groups slowly faded away doubtless entering whatever secret meeting location that had been set up and spreading their numbers.

Your tailing leads you to a small and seemingly abandoned building on the edge of the city near the docks. Over the horizon of a few rooftops you can see faint lights of torches and lanterns as you suspect that docked ships had increase the number of their sailors on watch while they resupplied as quickly as possible rather than attempt to find more work here. If anything, such a measure made the docks the most inhabited part of the city now though you could not hear any merry making or drinking as you were accusomted to hearing so close to the ocean. The group stops by the old but sturdy metal door and knocks to no apperant pattern or tune. The door opens slightly and the group turns their backs to you as they hide whatever they were doing. Evidentally it was enough as the door opens slightly more and a beefy arm usher the group in quickly.

"They must be showing some kind of membership symbol." Tigress mutters almost causing you to jump in surprise. You had half expected her to be completely silent on this rather than work with you.

"Or they're showing some kind of handsign. Either way, they didn't say anything so it's obvious they don't want anyone hearing a password." You agree.

"Somebody or 'Someone'?" Tigress corrects. "In either case, we'll gain nothing by simply sitting up here. On that you could agree.

>What do you do?
>Break down the door and apprehend everyone inside. One of them will be willing to talk after some "convincing".
>Try and sneak in somehow. You and Tigress are quite tall however which puts into perspective how Xin might have been able to get such sensitive information.
>Try and pretend that you're new members of the gang and join this meeting. Hopefully, the gods of acting will bless you in your mission because it will take nothing short of a miracle for this to work.
>Write in

>>5433157
>Can you see some kind of window or alternate entrance? We could do a two pronged attack if there is one
>Break down the door and apprehend everyone inside. One of them will be willing to talk after some "convincing".

>>5433157
>Do the knock again. When the door opens, Chi strike the mo-fucker on the inside. Do it quickly enough and maybe they won't notice our entry.

Failing that, lets rip and tear.

>>5433157
>Try and sneak in somehow. You and Tigress are quite tall however which puts into perspective how Xin might have been able to get such sensitive information.

>>5433239
>>5433291
>>5433700
Three different suggestions but think the vibe is to try and inflitrate. Either by knocking out the doorman or finding an alternate route. All else fails, we break things.

Anyone want to roll for doorman or sneaking in?

>>5433944
How about we look alternate entrances first, if we do, we send Tigress to sneak in while we do the door trick.
If we don't we we skip to step two

>>5433944
I agree with joe here >>5433956 , look for the alternative areas for a two pronged attack, but if there isn't one then lets just KO the doorman.

>>5433994
>>5433956
agreed.

"Let's find a way in. We'll work two angles, make sure no one can slip away. Unless you think you can become China's greatest actor in the next few mintues." You say as you wait a few moments before leaping across the street onto the roof of the building. The place seemed to be an abandoned storehouse of some kind which made sense given it's proximity to the docks. It's windows were boarded up and sealed making you wonder if they group simply broke the lock to the door and let themselves in. On the roof, your keen senses can easily make out the faint whisperings floating through the wind.

"You sure you weren't followed?"

"I swear we weren't. We followed your route exactly as you put on the map. IF we were followed, which we weren't, then it's your own damn fault. You planned this location, not me."

"Come on, there's no way the guy is going to be here. He can't be at all places at once and from what I heard, the guy is going to need to lick his wounds for a while before he tries anything stupid again."

"The boss doesn't want anything to mess up his plans! So if he says we do this then we do it. That's why he's the boss and your not."

You and Tigress comb the rooftop for any other entry way. Unfortunately the building was made with it being large in terms of square feet rather than height so there was no chance of a second floor to slip in through but that was also your advantage. There we plenty of rooms that were sectioned off and given the size of the group you followed there was no way they would be inhabited. Even though it was abandoned it was well maintained or at the very least well built with no real holes or fallen walls that you can slip through. Even so, you could see several spots on the roof that were worn away by storms and the sun. Not true holes but it was possible for one to easily break through and slip by unnoticed. "Go in through here. I'm going through the front door." Tigress opens her mouth to protest but you backflip off the roof before she can whisper a rebuttal. Anything louder than that and she would risk alerting the whole building.

You land behind the building and quickly make your way to the door. A quick knock against the frame and the whispering within the building comes to a sudden halt. Everything comes to a halt and you wait patiently for some kind of movement. Eventually you hear footsteps appraoch the door and the subtle noise of a blade scraping against it's scabbard. The doorknob wiggles a bit and with a loud creak, the door slowly opens leaving you face to face with a surprised gang member.

>What do you do?
>Chi strike the man and slip inside before he can alert anyone.
>Try and subdue the man and pull him away to interrogate.
>Break on through and attack. You can ask questions once everyone is taken down.
>Write in.

>>5436964
>Chi strike the man and slip inside before he can alert anyone.

>>5436964
>Chi strike the man and slip inside before he can alert anyone.

Yo did someone forget the archive link?

>>5437124
I don't remember Luo normally linking to the old threads, but here it is anyway
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2022/5376684/
The last one
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Tai%20lung%20Quest
All of them

>>5436964
>Chi strike the man.

The men are being quiet and listening to us.
When they don't get a reply, they are going to go on the run. Hence.

>Slip into cover and ambush them ASAP

Once you are face to face with the man it dawns on you that you are staring into the eyes of a man who was plotting to kill Xin Lan, your bunny. A rage wells up inside you. You could easily crush this man's skull with a single hand for the audacity but you keep it down. Your hand vanishes as it strikes the doorman in the chest's vital pressure points. His shouts of surprise die in his throat as his body seizes and falls to the ground now that his legs can no longer maintain their balance. You catch him and slip into the building making sure to set him aside like some kind of ornament besides the door. It would have been comical if it weren't for the fact that these men were plotting what could be a city wide riot.

The man eye's follow you with a mixture of rage and fear as he is unable to stop you from continuing onwards or being able to defend himself should the massive beast before him decides to finish the job but you ignore him. The faint flickering of candle light leads you directly to where the rest of the group was hiding and you pause for a moment to listen in on their conversation.

"I don't like this. We gotta trust the other gangs? The Silent Lotus? The Jade Dragons? Hell, we even have the likes of the Four Seas Gang! They're basically pirates! And all for just a single bunny. I hope the boss knows what he's doing." One of the men says quietly.

"Shut your mouth. What don't you get about being quiet? Of course the boss knows what he's doing. Wouldn't invite them to our city if he didn't." Another snaps before a third speaks up.

"I think it makes us look desperate. I bet they're planning something. Probably gonna try and stab us in the back."

"They're stupid to think if they can try anything on our turf. Who do you think even managed to cripple that bastard? We have the power here and those other guys are dead men walking. If anything we should be moving to take them out along with the Ghost." A fourth says. You place your back to the wall and lean over slightly to take a peek. The room was large, perhaps the main storage area of the building, with a single table in the center with a lit candle sitting next to some kind of scroll. 6 men were standing around the remains of what looked like crates and barrels which were long eaten away at by sea salt and time. Each was clearly armed with various weapons such as knives, spiked maces, swords, and even some cleavers. They wore loosely hidden armor under their clothing and all wore hardened looks on their faces. As you scan the room for more details you see Tigress poised in the rafters, her golden eyes glowing in the darkness as you assume yours do. The slow realization of how similar the two of you are makes you wonder how things would have been had you not made that terrible mistake all those years back. You wonder if the others saw it too and part of you wishes you had Renshu to talk about it.

Such thoughts would have to wait until later as you hear the second man speak up. "Something's wrong. Guo ain't back yet." The others seem to stand a bit straighter at this revelation.

"You think one of the other guys got him?" The first asks as he readies his mace.

"We should leave. Report this to the boss." Another says, also drawing his weapon and the rest follow suit as each prepares to leave or engage whatever they felt had invaded their hide out.

>What do you do?
>Wait in hiding and ambush them. With the element of surprise, they don't stand a chance.
>Signal Tigress to coordinate an attack with you. Alone you can handle them easily but with her on your side, victory assured and any means of escape is impossible.
>Signal Tigress to grab the scroll while you confront them. The plans are likely on that. You don't care if they escape or not after that and perhaps putting fear into the enemy ranks could be advantageous.
>Write in.

>>5437924
>Signal to attack
>"You won't be reporting to anyone, least of all your friends."

Intimidate them, and leave the opening for tigress to pounce.
While tempting to let them run to their boss, we can beat the information out of them.

>>5437924
>Signal Tigress to coordinate an attack with you. Alone you can handle them easily but with her on your side, victory assured and any means of escape is impossible.

>>5437924
>Signal Tigress to grab the scroll while you confront them. The plans are likely on that. You don't care if they escape or not after that and perhaps putting fear into the enemy ranks could be advantageous.

>>5437924
There's only one entrance/exit right? Other than the windows?

We can totally funnel them to the door where tigress can easily handle them.

Plus they don't know we want Xin alive. They also know who WE are... probably...
They also don't know we have temporary amnesty yet.

we could bluff them as a "villain" saying Xin owes us something and we're looking for him. That we'll be taking lives until we get what we want.

captcha: 0000H0

>>5438218
The old pretend we're still evil trick. Been a while since we used it. But yes, there is one entrance that is available barring breaking down the boards agaisnt the windows and other doors.

>>5438218
Given who we are, they probably can figure out the only snow leopard in china's identity

>>5438795
It should be straight forward enough to say we want to deal with Xin "personally" and that anyone who gets in the way will be dealt with us personally.

And not telling us where they are is personal.


And then before KOing them all, telling them it's not personal, we just don't want them telling anyone. Can have tigress at the entrance ready for the slew of people coming through then.

Gave it some time but it seems like simply signalling tigress to coordinate you and attack is the winning option. Unless I missed some agreement on the pretend evil plan?

>>5441124
It is the Signal to attack.

The pretend to be evil plan has a basis in outline, but no real persuasive power.

>>5439059
Attack! Attack!

>>5441124
We're still coordinating Tigress to attack. We're just
1: buying time
2: ideally getting more specific information
3: getting ourselves in an ideal position before we start striking and funneling them to Tigress

"I'd very much like to hear what your report would be." You say as you step out of the shadows to confront the men. The group freezes momentarily before immediately going for their weapons but you make no moves to stop them. Their weapons were merely comfort items, useless and nothing more. "It's a pretty big operation you have going here and all this scurrying around the city and trying to keep secret just makes me even more curious. Funny that. You guys are supposed to be in charge of this city and yet you cower like children."

"Shut up! Just who the hell are you?! Think you can just walk right in here and talk to us like that?" One of the men shouts.

"Yes. Yes, I can. I dare say there isn't a man alive that can tell Tai Lung what to do." You say as you step through the threshold. "Depending on what you do next will determine how you get to see the sun come up tomorrow." The men around quake in fear, faces contorted in shock and fear.

"T-that's...impossible."

"The stories were true? He's real?"

"Do what he says! He's going to kill us all!"

"What exactly are you people planning?" You ask casually as you point to one of them. "I'll warn you though, I don't have much patience for liars but I'll leave your fates in your own hands."

"W-wait! We just came here because we were asked to! We don't know what's going on!" One of them lies. "B-but we know who does! There was another man here. He went to check on the door! He knows what you want!" You sigh and shake your head.

"I should have figured. Cowards to the very core. Only willing to hide behind larger numbers. I hate liars but people who cannot even stand with their own strength disgust me!" You shout as you drive your fist into the stomach of the liar. The room seems to freeze for a second and you signal Tigress to attack. The sound of the man smashing into the wall seems to bring everyone to their senses and in a state of panic they charge at you.

You duck under a mace and one of your attackers screams as Tigress leaps from the ceiling to kick them across the chin causeing them to spin in mid air and come crashing back down into the dirt floor. The group's already weak formation is shattered as the chaos of having two attackers splits the group's attention even more. and another is felled as you pick him up and slam him straight down through the table. Tigress pounces on the fourth man, headbutting him, and the two roll on the floor for a moment before she tosses him aside. The last man's attempts to flee are in vain as you strike him in the back of the head with a peice of broken table. There's a yelp and he crumples to the ground. "This all would have gone a lot more smoothly if they had just cooperated." You mutter.

"You goaded them." Tigress says. "They never stood a chance and you knew they would try to attack. We could have simply stolen the plans from them."

"I gave them a choice." You say coldly as you walk over to retrieve the paper that was on the table. "And that was more than they deserve." Grabbing the fallen candle, you relight it and hold it over the paper. It was a map of the city at least a partial one. You could make out the nearby surroundings of the docks on it and clearly marked was a single building.

"This must be where Xin is at." You say.

"He must have them sacred if they're resorting to word of mouth and minimal writing to plan their attack." Tigress concludes. "As expected from someone who butchers people like animals. Just the kind of company I expected you'd keep."

Ignoring her remarks, you say, "Seems too easy. For someone like Xin to be cornered like this. Look, the building is at the edge of the docks and half of it has it's back to the ocean. The only way to get in or out would be through the front. Even if this was planned there's no way to escape."

"Ego?" Tigress surmises. "He seemed to have no short of it last we met and given that they share a complete disregard of any sense of law they share with you, it'd be no surprise if they think they can win this."

"That would be a fair assessment given that you only seem to see what's on the surface." You point out. "But Xin Lan isn't stupid and they wouldn't make these kinds of mistakes."

"I see what is shown to me and what I saw is a butcher." Tigress counters. "One who was happy to do it I might add."

"Whatever. We have more important things to do." You say. "There's still plenty of people meeting up around the city."

>What do you do?
>Head straight to where the map shows. you might finally meet Xin again.
>Interrogate the door man. He's the only one still concious and he more than likely heard what you said about liars and cowards as well as the concequences of said actions.
>Go back to looking for more of the gang members. Someone will eventually have more information.
>Write in.

>>5442781
>Interrogate the door man.

in the words of another great menace; SWEAR TO ME!

>>5442781
>Interrogate the door man. He's the only one still concious and he more than likely heard what you said about liars and cowards as well as the concequences of said actions.
>Xin wears many faces Tigress, it's an old habit of theirs due to their history.

>>5442781
>Interrogate the door man. He's the only one still concious and he more than likely heard what you said about liars and cowards as well as the concequences of said actions.

>>5442895
+1

>>5442839
>>5442895
>>5443012
>>5444172
You're lucky on many fronts anons. Lucky that Tigress has no intention of playing along with your rediculous idea of good guard bad guard and because of this lucky that Xin will never hear of it. If the small bun ever heard you did do the cop routine without them, they'd be liable to murder you.

Tigress gives you a look but doesn't press the issue. Instead you simply walk out of the room. The others may not have talked but there was still one of them that was concious enough to speak. The doorman's flicked from you to anywhere else as you approached unable to do anything but accept his fate. You carry the man back to the room full of bodies and grab a rusty piece of junk metal to drive straight into the stone wall. Hanging the man by the shirt on the makeshift coat hanger, you roughly strike his pressure points to release him from his paralysis.

"You know what I want. Get your mouth moving before I decide you should join the others." You snap and step aside to give the doorman a full view of you and Tigress's handiwork. "What do you guys have planned? What could you possibly need so many gangs for?" The man shudders as he's released and glances at you and Tigress. His eyes widen and he struggles to get off of the wall.

"H-hey! You're that hero aren't you?! One of The Five?! You're not gonna let him do anything to me, right?! That's not what you guys do. Don't like this monster near me. Please! I'll do anything!" He shouts. Your hand snaps forward and grabs his jaw. The man gurgles as he attempts to shout for help but your grip is too strong to allow it even move.

"You're not talking to her! As far as you're concerned I'm the only who decides whether you make it out of here in one peice!" You growl as you force his head to face you. The man, unable to move his head, instead averts his eyes and continues to glance at Tigress as he gurgles and whimpers pleadingly. Tigress simply turns her back to you and walks outs of the room. "Look! At! Me!" You roar and roughly shake the man's head. Tears run down the doorman's cheeks as he clearly forces himself to stare into your eyes. "What do you want with the rabbit?" You repeat as you squeeze the man's jaw slightly, a small reminder of the ammount of power you were holding back. Although you had allowed him to speak, it was a small comfort given the fact your hand had found a new perch on the neck of the man's shirt mere inches away from his exposed neck.

The man gags as he attempts to keep from throwing up out of fear. He swallows and chokes while trying to force out the words. "We're gonna kill him. The boss wants him dead for ruining our profits and buisness across the city. We just figured out where he was hiding and we were going to surround the building and force him out. The boss knows he's strong but he can't handle an army. Odds are we were gonna keep him alive so we can get more information out of him before we finally offed him. Everyone knows that the boss is the one who wants to do it."

"What about the other gangs?! Why would they ever work with you!?"

"I don't know." The man begins but you slowly tighten your grip. "I don't! I just know the basic plan!" He screams. "I-I....W-we're supposed to stab the other groups in the back! They were hit the hardest by the guy. They're in a weak position right now and if we can destroy them then we can take over their rackets! We'd get at least several cities worth of turf! I heard rumors that the boss promised they'd each get a turn with the guy. Maybe even offered something else but that's all I know! I swear on my family's name!"

"Your family name means nothing from scum like you. SWEAR TO ME!" You yell. "Swear knowing that if anything happens to that rabbit, I will find you. There's no place in this country or in any that you can go to to hide from me and you haven't seen me with a vendetta yet."

"I SWEAR! I SWEAR! You'll never see me again! I won't ever give you a reason to come look for me. Oh Gods please don't kill me!" The man sobs. "...I'm sorry." He whispers.

>What do do?
>Ask about something else. (What do you ask about?)
>Knock the man out and go find Xin.
>Leave the man hanging and go search for other groups. It's possible they might have more details given that the groups are trying to minimize information being spread or found.
>Write in.

>>5444546
>How many gangs?
>Rough count of how many in his gang

>"Don't be in the city come tomorrow morning."
>Knock him out and find Xin.

We said it, we said the thing!

>>5444546
>Knock the man out and go find Xin.

>>5444546
>Knock the man out and go find Xin.

Sorry got caught up with things the last few days. Should be free tomorrow so we finally collect our bun.

"Do you really think it'll be enough? How many of you are there?" You ask. "You're starting a war, you better be damn sure you think you're ready for what you're unleashing."

"I-I don't know. There's like 100 of us and theres the others. I don't know how many they got. Maybe like half of that each? So with 3 others...we have 250 total?" The doorman stammers. "That guy won't be able to fight off that many people. No one can!"

"So you're saying it's impossible? Good."

"Wha-" The doorman's question is cut off with a loud crack as you strike the man's face with an open palm, knocking him out.

"I've done the impossible before." You mutter as you leave him hanging on the wall and walk out to meet Tigress. You find her looking out through a gap in the window boards nearby.

"I'm guessing that you've finished indulging yourself?" She asks without looking at you.

"Fear is a useful tool." You say as you close the door behind you. "Especially against those who've come to think themselves above it. I'll do what needs to be done and you'll do what can be done. There is balance in this, as there should be. More importantly, we know where Xin is and we have an idea of what we're up against. It's best we collect them now and figure out what our next course of action will be."

"That will have to wait." Tigress counters and places her hand against the boards. They creak and grown but ultimately give away as Tigress pushes them off their nails. The newly open window reveals dozens and dozens of lights dancing in the darkness as they move towards the docks. "It seems that whatever plans were made they are being pushed into motion. Judging by the silence, the gangs are relocating and getting prepared to the next phase." You slip through the open window and flip onto the rooftop for a better vantage point. All throughout the city, you can see the light of torches moving through the streets and towards the docks. Other lights catch your eyes as you seem some, few and far between, moving quickly away from the ocean and towards the center of the city. Guards you would guess as they attempt to report what was happening to the outpost.

Huh, did we arrive too late, or something made then act faster? I don't think it's because of our arrival or what we done, since we it's still the same day and we haven't left much of a trail.
Anyway, time to use what we learned on the streets of Xiqi and Zhengyi, and channel the spirit of Kyriu to defeat hundreds of gangsters.

I might be splitting the update in half, but I'm too excited to wait.

"We better get moving then. We can take the time to scout out the location when we arrive there." You say and without another word, behind racing over to the building marked on the map. As you travel, the many torchlights fade away and go dark. Group by group, the lights are extinguished and darkness claims the city once more. "They're turning off their torches, no doubt trying to stay hidden after signaling they're approach to the others." You say. You and Tigress come to a halt on the roof of the last building before the expanse of the docks. The sounds of the ocean lapping against the stone and wood of the ships and docks fills your ears and you see the lone building at the edge of the ocean. Even from this distance, the abandoned looking warehouse towered above the others. Unlike a normal store house, this one was built in several floors rather than a large wide area.

It was 3 floors high and bore no indication that anyone lived there other than a lone candle light could be seen on the third floor and through all the windows of which the boards were removed. You pull the compass from your pocket. Focusing on Xin Lan, the arrow spun for a moment before snapping towards the direction of the building. They were there as the gangs thought but this was wrong. Why would Xin Lan make such a critical mistake? If they were severly injured, why would they make it so obvious that they were there? You strain your eyes as you look for some sign of Xin Lan.

You found one and couldn't see any clues as to their condition. Something was certainly wasn't right.

>What do you do?
>Enter the building and see if you can find Xin. They might be too injured to be able to move.
>Wait in the dark for the gangs to arrive. Perhaps there's a plan in place and you intervening might put it at risk.
> Stand out in the open. Place yourself between the gangs and the building. Xin might be hurt and if they wanted to get to them, the gangs would have to get through you. Perhaps you can scare them into fleeing or to buy enough time.
>Write in.

>>5446495
>Enter the building and see if you can find Xin. They might be too injured to be able to move.
Whatever plan Xin had to stop the gangs, wouldn't be one that would sit well with us.

>>5446495
>Enter the building and see if we can find Xin

it's not that we have no faith, it's that we're desperate to find you little sister.

>>5446498
>>5446529
Let me just make some lunch and I'll get to writing. We're going to go see our husbun waifu (or so Xin claims)

You leap down from your perch and quickly make your way to the door of the building. You couldn't help but look around the docks. It didn't really matter if anyone saw you enter. Xin Lan's hunters knew the location of their hiding place and yet you couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. A sense that only grew more as you tried the door knob and found it unlocked. As you enter the building waves of anxiety hit your body like a storm. It was as if every dangersense you possesed was sending warnings of imminent threats that were not there as the oppressive atmosphere bore down upon you like a heavy weight. You turn to Tigress, half to confirm if you were in actual danger and half to try and reassure yourself that you were not alone, only to see her glancing around as well and trying to collect yourself.

"Best we continue onward before the others arrive. We'll need all the time we can get to prepare." You say. Tigress nods and the two of you tentatively make your way through the main hall. It was a strange building even without the raging fear threatening to bare down upon you. The main entrace had led you to a kind of waiting room. The kind you recall seeing in many a fancy resteraunts. There was even a small lectern for taking names and checking reservations though it had accumulated many years worth of dust. Looking around you, you can't see anything that had disturbed the dust in this room at all. It was your curiosity that nearly cost you and had saved you. In the process of attempting to reach the set of stairs on the far end of the room and attempting to take in as much detail as possible, you only barely noticed when your foor sank along side a floor board. What you had initially assumed to be a rotted board sank further and you heard the faintest twang of wire snapping. Your instincts, now honed to supernatural heights thanks to your training in the library, kicked in and before your mind can realize what had occured your body had flung itself atop of Tigress. The two of you go down just in time to hear the sound of metal cutting through air, the familiar breeze of something speeding by overhead, and the dull thuds of objects embedding themselves in wood.

Looking up, you see cutlery of various designs and quality stuck in the wall behind you and vibrating from the remaining force of the impact. Forks, knives and even spoons had been sharpened crudely but to a dangerously fine point. You face the direction from where they came and see a juryrigged catapult of sorts portruding from the wall. At the height it was, anyone in the cross fire would have gotten a bellyfull of metal and the width of the spray was certainly not intended for a single person. Tigress shoves you off of her. Upon seeing the trap she can only glare at you.

"It was self defense." You point out. "You too would make traps to prevent invaders from getting to you."

"I'd at the very least keep it from murdering my so called friends or innocent civilians." Tigress snaps. "It's clear that he's gone mad. Either by your doing or something else. We best alert the the guards. Now that they have a madman setting traps in empty buildings or worse, the rest of the city."

"What could I have done? We haven't seen each other in months." You counter and dusting yourself off. "And I won't abandon them. They might be frightened but they would never put innocent people at risk."

"Regardless of what you think, this man is being reckless and is a threat. If they intend to recreate what we did back in the ruins, then it's safe to assume they have made traps beyond this building and I allow them to harm innocent lives in whatever mad crusade to kill themselves they have." Tigress says standing up and heading to the exit. "We're here to gather your so called friends to help us prevent a war but I will not allow you to recruit someone like this. We go to the guard and we find another way to keep this city from buring to the ground."

>What do you say?
>Write in.

>>5446761
>Xin story is way more complicated than you know Tigress. I don't have the time to explain it, nor I'll break their trust
>Everything that they knew about the world has been changed. And the burning of the sacred library made them regress. I know well about self improvement and doubt, and so do you. It's written in your chi, every waking though you have.
>So I'm going to cut to the chase: I'm getting Xin back, I'm showing them they are not a failure, and we are saving this city, whether you uphold your promise to father or not.

>>5446766
This may be too confrontational though, but it's better than my original idea that I'm doing it and you won't stop me, 1v1 me bitch.

>>5446761
>Tigress, by the love of Shenlong, listen to me. Everything that I say.
>I don't know what Xin is doing, and I agree it's madness and it needs to be stopped, but they need help. They are doing it exactly because they think they deserve to be abandoned, because they believe they are a failure. Your plan is just going to make them become even nore erratic, when they notice I'm here and NOT searching for them.
>I wanted to not reveal much about them, but since you are more stubborn them I am, I think it's warranted. There is a reason way the way they fight is so brutal, they have been trained to kill since birth, it's everything they had ever know, before I gave them a chance, they have slowing holding back, becoming better. And when they were finally making progress, the sacred library burned.
>I won't break my promise to my friends and family, oaths made in blood before the dragons.
>I know how hard and confusing trying to improve is, and if I didn't had other that gave me support I probably would have failed too.
And this one is optional
>And if the emotions I felt when trying to search for Xin's chi means anything, you understand it too.
We should have tried to connect with imouto on the way.

>>5446814
I accidently deleted the part where I said I had a new idea while rewriting.
Someone please come up with something less autistic than either of them.

>>5446761
>If this was one of the five would your answer be the same. I will not abandon my friends.

>you can go to the guards if you want. I will continue my search. you will just have to let me out of your sight for a significant amount of time.

>>5446761
>If this was Monkey, or Crane or Viper or Mantis, would you say the same? They are hurt and confused and by the dragons, they are being fools. But they need our help to stop this.
>I won't leave my family to die. But if you want to keep the gangster alive, they can't come into this building.

I don't actually think this will stop or change her, she knows about our philosophy and our means of talking. So, I propose a simpler plan after this fails.

>"XIN LAND! I'M ALIVE AND DAMN WORRIED ABOUT YOU! COME ON DOWN HERE OR I'M GOING TO DISMANTLE THOSE GANGS BY HAND!"
Scream louder than lightning, and force them to come down. If they don't think they deserve to be forgiven, they might run. but if we promise suicide via army, their love for us will force their hand.

>>5447366
Maybe we don't draw a horde on us that way.

Ideally a disguised threat that's also a message would work. Telling them that their husband is waiting for them or mentioning the library in some way should signal them without drawing the horde at the same moment.

>>5448439
Being loud is the point.
They have to hear us, and ideally, the sound should keep the gangsters out of the house for a bit.

The shouting might, on the contrary, draw them in faster, but that's where Tigress should really be doing her best to keep that door shut.

>>5448587
loud is perfect
I'm talking content of the message

>>5448714
I mean. . I don't see how any change to the message will avoid the criminals coming in.
Especially speaking in code about the library.

They know our voice, and they know what we are trying to tell them.
The difference is that in my instance the gang members hear us calling out to [if we assume they are deductive] their target to come to us.
The other is that they are hearing. . someone call out about a libarary. Maybe assuming it is their target.

I don't see the benefit to changing, I'll be honest. I was going more for a raw call to emotion.

Will we be shouting or just going up the stairs? I know we're going to tell Tigress to stuff it.

>>5450147
Shout first.

It avoids the risk of springing more traps, possibly wards away the gang members and is quicker.
Content of the message, left to the dealers choice.

>>5450147
Shout before going up the stairs, but after we tell tigress we are doing it anyway.

Writing time. Lets get to yelling

"XIN! I'M COMING UP THERE! WE HAVE BUISNESS TO SETTLE! NO MORE OF THIS RUNNING AWAY! COME DOWN HERE OR I'M COMING UP THERE!" You scream before turning to face Tigress. "I'm not leaving them to fester here. They're confused and scared. Gods willing, I'm going to set this straight and end this madness. If this was anyone else, any one of the Five, you'd be doing the same. So I'm gonna give you the illusion of choice. You can go and tell the guards or you can come with me. The first one means you'll be letting me out of your sight for who knows how long. The second one means you're going to do what I say to the letter. Either way, I get what I want. Come Hell or high water, I'm getting what I want...and they've both already failed to stop me before." You turn back to the hall and grab the lecturn you had passed by. You wait a moment longer but you hear no sign of Xin Lan coming down or see Tigress moving.

"Keep your head down." You grunt.

You toss the furniture and leap through the air. Just before the lecturn hits the ground, you land on it and leap off of it as if you were weightless. It crashes into the ground and sets off several more traps. More sharp cutlury is thrown about, bright explosives go off and deafen you somewhat even as you were halfway up the steps to the next floor. You hope that Tigress had made her mind and left seeing as she was not behind you. At the very least, you hope she had enough sense to take cover after the first trap.

Warily, you climb the stair case and hop from wall to wall in hopes of not setting off anymore tripwire traps or similar things set on the steps. You finish your climb and perch yourself on a banister on the side of the stairs as you scan the room. The oppresive feeling of being watched only grew stronger and bared down upon you forcing yourself to steel your resolve and redouble your efforts. The second floor was completely save for a lone set of chairs scattered about, broken and unused for years. A table was pushed agaisnt the wall now useless with two of it's legs broken away. All the windows were still boarded up but you can see a some boards on the floor bellow them giving the windows just enough clearance to see through them but still looking like they were inaccessable from the outside.

Given what happened before you, you have no doubt that this room was not as baren as it was made out to be. As if to taunt you, the stairs to the third were on the far end of the hall.

>How do you traverse the room?
>Write in.

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>>5451468
Throw things to everywhere to activate the traps.
Pick up things from the lower floor if necessary.

>>5451468
>Shuttleboard something along the floor to trigger the traps.
or
>Leap up, punch through the roof.

You made this with these morons below us in mind. You never anticipated TL, THE INDOMINABLE BIG BROTHER!

also "I'll offer you the illusion of choice. . . I still get what I want" Calm down Renshu.

>>5451505
>also "I'll offer you the illusion of choice. . . I still get what I want" Calm down Renshu.

Gotta admit, it crossed my mind when one of the write ins was telling Tigress that she could either leave to let you do what you want or stay and let you do what you want. Gave me a bit of a chuckle. Even TL has his limits with patience though so he was pretty blunt about it.

The buns are a bad influence on our favorite older brother. Also going through the roof? Excellent use of our immense strength. I can imagine the guards a few years back mockingly asking what TL would do if he was allowed to see the sun once more.

"I'd break into a building to save a small bunny I'm very fond of."

>>5451525
We are incredibly patient.

But as the patron saint of the nuclear family, Dominic Toreto says, "You don't fuck with family"

>>5451505
>Leap up, punch through the roof.

>>5452318
>>5451505
We're punching through the roof! Breaking down the walls between us and our loved ones. Both physical and metaphorical.

>>5453043
it's thematic.

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You knew that much like Xin Lan, judging this room by it's face value would be very dangerous indeed. There was obviously some kind of trap or traps here. The only question was what kind. You look around, perhaps there was something within reach that you could use to set them off as you did on the floor below. The broken furniture was too far away to reach by here and going back down ran the risk of setting off more traps. You weren't sure how well the house was trapped but you wouldn't put it past Xin Lan to somehow rig a trap for anyone who attempted to retreat. Anyone who somehow made it this far was trapped. Of course, you weren't just a mere punk attempting to cause trouble. If you couldn't find a way through then you'd make your own. You always did.

You tense your legs and take a deep breath to center yourself and your chi. The world around you comes to a standstill and everything seems to freeze in place before crashing back together in one explosive second. The railing beneath you shatters and punches holes into the floor as you kick off from the frail wooden frame. You rocket straight upwards and swing your fist at the ceiling. Like brittle glass, the solid wood roof shatters and you fly straight through the ground. Defying all law of physics, you come to a smooth but immediate halt with a gently front flip and an even softer landing on the third floor.

The lone candle still flickered in the wind coming from the open windows completely unperturbed by the chaos that had ensued in the floors bellow it. You find yourself standing in an attic, completely barren and devoid of any life. Every instinct within you screams to flee and to hide. To get away by any means nessecary. You force yourself to look around and inur yourself with your chi. The darkness seems to want to envelope but you continue onwards towards the small candle.

Each step causes the floor to creak and you resist the urge to jump at possible traps. You keep an eye out for them nonetheless as you inch your way towards the candle. "Xin, I'm here. You know what I'm like, you know that I'm not gonna give this up until we talk. I know you're scared but it's me. You can talk to me. We've been through too much to just not throw this all away." You call you as you stand next to the small crate and continue to look around. Your eyes sweep across the room finding nothing. Once, twice, three times but nothing.

"Go away." A voice says and your eyes snap to the source. Right next to the box, was the shape of a small face. Xin's face. It was tired and hardened but it was theirs nontheless. You could have sworn you looked there before.

>What do you say?
>Write in.

>>5453214
>I'm not going anywhere, you know how stubborn I am.
>I've ready the letter you left to me, because of you, I could warn the Empress and have China move to protect their borders. You have saved lives Xin. Whatever fear you have over what you done during the attack is wrong, and I'm not going to break our promise as family and abandon you to your suffering.
>Now come on Xin, let's talk about this plan of yours and how to stop these gangs. Because if you don't I'm just going down there and fistfight them all by myself.
>We have a lot do do after this afterall, to go help Ming and the refugees, and then off to Mongolia to stop this war, lie what I know Renshu is doing.
Pet the bun while at it.

>>5453214
>No, I don't think I will and I don't think you want me to either. Why else would you have left me the coin if not to find you and the others.

>>5453229
I'll also add
>you know how stubborn I am. Won't stop until I get what I want so your stuck with me.

>>5453214
>I'm not going anywhere, you know how stubborn I am.
>I'm sorry for leaving you alone, for everything you've had to suffer over these past months. But whatever fear and misgivings you have over the attak don't have to be your burden alone, I refuse to break our promise as family and abandon you again.
>It'll all be alright, and we'll get Ming and Renshu again.

Don't pet them, you need to let Xin accept this themselves. Open your arms wide or something, so they can choose to accept a return.

>>5453242
>>5453230
>>5453229
>>5453227
Time to punch down another wall!...with our emotions.

"I'm not going anywhere, you already know how I get." You say. "And I know why you're here. I've read your letter, I've read Ming's. Because of you both I was able to warn the Empress. You saved lives Xin. I'm sorry for leaving you alone, for everything you've had to suffer over these past months. But whatever fear and misgivings you have over the attak don't have to be your burden alone, I refuse to break our promise as family and abandon you again. It'll all be alright, and we'll get Ming and Renshu again."

Xin Lan says nothing and steps out of the shadows. They were shirtless, with large bandages wrapped around their chest though the large red blotch indicates that it's not for their modesty. Similar bandages could be found on their arm and you spy one more wrapped around their thigh underneathe a makeshift skirt. You watch them make their way towards an open window and peer through it. "Xin...you can talk to me. You know you can and I know you don't want to be alone either. Why else would you have left that coin to me?"

"You were supposed to go find Ming. I told you. We can't be friends anymore. I'm killer, a murderer. You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be out there, with her, saving the world. I can't be like you guys. I tried. It's just too ingrained in me. I'll make sure no one causes trouble while you and the others find out who's behind all this. Whatever it takes, just like we always do... In any event, it's best we no longer see each other. It's much safer for you and Ming to live without me." They say flatly, rehersed. More to convince themselves than you. Even if they were convincing liars, you could cheat and know how they really felt. However, the issue was that you couldn't tell what they truly believed or what they were lying to themselves about. Only that they were conflicted.

"And how do you plan to do that? Look at you. You're falling apart. You don't need to do this alone. That's why I'm here to help you." You counter, as you point to their wounds regardless if they were looking at you or not.

"These aren't anything." Xin Lan replies and tears the bandages off. "Just superficial cuts and wounds. Something to make them think they actually made any progress. Something to draw them to me. It's easy enough to bleed and not be hampered." They add as they remove the rest of their bandages. "In the end, they played right into my hand like I planned." Xin Lan turns around to face you, their face still hard. "You can't help me. Their blood will be on my hands alone and no one elses."

"What do you have planned exactly?" You ask, wary.

"What I was bred to do. I'm going to break them. Butcher them across the street like the animals they are. Then once they lay broken and bleeding I'm going to their bosses and kill them. I'm going to make an example of them to everyone. I'm going to show them what is going to happen if anyone thinks they can simply take their spot. And I'll do it again and again until the message gets across that there isn't anything or anyone that can hide from me. There isn't anyone who can find me unless I want them to and there is no where I can't be." They explain simply. "I'm a killer Tai Lung. I was made to be one and it seems like no matter what I try I'll always come back to it. At the very least, I can do it to people who deserve it."

"Xin listen to yourself. This isn't you. This is the exact same thing we fought against your brother for all those years ago. This is the same thing we've proved over and over that you don't need to be. How many enemies have we fought, how many obstacles did we overcome without having to resort to killing? Violence yes, but only as a last resort and only as much as we had to use to stop the problem. We're not butchers Xin. We don't have to be, even if the whole world thinks we are. We choose who we want to be, not them."

"And what if it's not enough? There's some people who can't be just be beaten and left alone. Sometimes, someone deserves to die. The Library showed me that."

>What do you say?
>Write in.

>>5455576
>Xin, you know very well that this violence will not solve anything, anyone that is truly vile will not be stopped by fear of death, they will even revel in the chaos and suffering. Because that's what I saw that when I explored the library, two crow necromancers, exalting exactly that. And there will always be more of their kind in the world. By doing this, you are playing their game, doing what they want. Because they might die, but their mark was left behind in the blood of the innocent.
>We are not the five. We will not beat and leave them alone. We break them, their plans, their strength, their morale. There are few true villains in the world, we should save our wrath for those, not the paws that they use. And when we do get our hands on them, we make sure that they are undone by their own sins, that they can not escape their reckoning.
>You know why I'm certain that you are a good person? That this excuse of yours that's too ingrained in your mind is just that, an excuse? Because you are trying to justify yourself. By saying that these are people that deserve it. That this is the only way but at the same time that you are unworthy.
>You care Xin, you truly care about others, others that are more than just me, Ming and Renshu. Just look how far you've come, all the while saying it was impossible every step of the way. I'm not going to let you give up after going so far, just because things outside our control made the next one harder than the rest. We'll just have to jump higher. Together. Because we are family.
>Put the medallion in her hands
The tiger we fought died in the fire he himself started right? That's some Disney villain fate right there. And the Kexin patriarch will definitely be executed, and the cultist are probably going to meet the justice of the spirits once we get our hands on them.
Also, I remember in the library she said she only really saw us as people worth talking with, and now she's out here trying to do vigilante things away from us. it's proof that she is indeed getting better. That even this relapse hasn't undone the progress she made.

>>5455576
Right, too empty head to write properly now but important notes.

>Their insistence upon being a killer
They broke their promise to themselves, and are allowing this set back to invalidate their growth. This isn't true, It is something to be remorseful about and regret but not something that's intrinsic to your nature.

We need to know what happened before we make any comments on if the killing was justified. A lawyer never asks a question they don't know the answer too, lets follow that.

>I'm a killer, and I always seem to come back to it.
Nature and Nurture are important to development, but each one can be overcome with sufficient effort. It requires that we don't give up in it's pursuit, as parthurnaax said "is it nobler to be pure hearted from birth or to struggle over your own nature every day?"
If Xin is no longer willing to believe in herself, she can believe in the US which believes in HER. Change is much easier with a support network and much harder without.

>What if it's not enough?
We know death isn't the only way to stop someone, but we now need to go with a seperate lesson. That the reason we don't kill is because the ends do not justify the means. We do what has to be done, and killing doesn't have to be done, ever. [Assuming we don't kill other animals to feed]. It's harder, it's more difficult, but ALL things can be done without crossing our moral lines. It's what makes her, as well as us, a hero. Doing the hard thing, despite it being easier to not. Fuck, just get evidence and string the guys outside a reliable martial's office.
Then it's no blood on our hands anyway.

>>5455607
I disagree with shit like "the paws" and "undone by their own sins" because the paws still need smashing for carrying out the acts knowingly, while being undone by their own evilness is just an indulgence.
The rest is fine though. Especially the point that they care, because they do.

>They care
If you were what they bred you to be, a remorseless and emotionless assassin, You wouldn't care anymore. Good and bad pale in face of coin and your playful greedy would be decidedly more serious about how much coin is worth one life.
Here you are, goading 5 gangs into a trap to wipe them from the face of china, why? Where's the selfishness at the heart of all this?

these are the points to be made, sorry Luo, gonna have no easy write ins for you

>>5456267
The pawns was not that we wouldn't beat the shit out of them, but that they didn't need to get as strong beating as the mastermind.
It's a counterpoint to Xin thinking that the world sucks because all of these thugs are demons incarnate, like the people who attacked the library, when in truth most are just sadistic brutes

Hell, even the raider leader showed she was some autistic soldier following orders to the letters instead of some sadistic monster.
An absolute cunt sure, but not a reason to lose hope in animality

>>5456267
But your point that the end doesn't justifies the means is a good one, and getting all of the evindence, and bringing them to a non-corrupt officer is what I intended by the whole let theis sins undo them.
I also wanted to bring up how the Yamas can see the heart of people, but then I remembered we gave up that memory. So I just went for the spirits will have their revenge instead.

>>5456267
Fair enough but even bullet points give me enough to give me some ideas on what to write so thanks for those.

>>5455607
>>5456267
Thinking up a write in. Gonna try to work in maybe a bit of Xin's point of view from what occured in the last moments at the library. Might be a big write in so I'll get to that in the morning. Still time to discuss or add other write ins as well.

"Xin, you know very well that this kind of violence won't solve anything. Anyone that is truly vile will not be stopped by fear of death, they may even revel in the chaos and suffering. Because that's what I saw that when I explored the library, two crow necromancers, exalting exactly that. And there will always be more of their kind in the world. By doing this, you are playing their game, doing what they want. Because they might die, but their mark was left behind in the blood of the innocent. We're not The Five. We will not just beat and simply leave them alone. We break them, their plans, their strength, their morale. We don't kill because the ends don't justify the means. We know where that kind of life leads. Miserable, lonely, and pointless. How are we different from those than we try to stop if we resort to the same methods? If we pick and choose who we want to kill then why stop at those who are evil? Why not just anyone who irritates us?"

"Because they deserve it! If their mark is going to be all the harm they did then why not make it the last mark they ever make? Why give them the chance to do it again? You managed to escape! Who's to say others won't too?"

"So should I be killed? If we're going to assume a person will continue to do harm, should I kill you. Should I kill Ren?"

Xin Lan glares at you, their scarlet eyes brimming with anger and confusion. "Maybe you should." They say as if challenging you.

"Then who would kill me? I have your blood on my hands. Should I let Tigress do it? Who will kill her? She killed me. Who then for them? We don't kill because it never needs to be done. There's always a way out. Always some other method to stop someone. Gather evidence, thrust them into the guard's hands, maybe even show them that being a good person isn't so impossible after all. That's what makes us, even you, a hero."

"No. You're wrong! Some people just can't be let live! You said we'd do what needed to be done! This is me doing it!" They shout, their small hands curled into fists. You sit down and cross your legs, completely passive.

"What happened Xin? What really happened at the library in those last few days?" You ask.

"It doesn't matter." Xin Lan says turning their back to you and looking out the window. "Just go away."

"Xin, you're a good bun. A very good one. You may not have had the opportunities I wish you could have, hell the life I wish you could have, as a child but you're doing so well right now. I won't let you throw away all the progess you've made. Philosphers have argued over which is more noble, one who was committed no sin since birth or the one who triumphs over their nature every day? I'm here to tell you that it's a futile argument. You are no less noble or good than Ming who has never harmed a soul. All that matters is what a person does in the face of adversity. A criminal, a saint, a child, or an adult shows their true worth when they must make a difficult choice. I'm not going to allow you to throw away all the work you've done up until now. What happened in the library Xin? At least let me decide for myself if you've truly fallen."

Xin Lan flattens their ears and for a while they say nothing before...

---

Months earlier...

"MING! MIIIIIIIIIIING!"

You had never screamed so loudly in your life as you rush towards the dark figure, drawing your weapons. Ming let's out a sharp inhale followed by a quiet "Oh..." as she looks at the blade portruding from her chest before it's pulled free and she collapses in a heap. The old man rushes towards her side as if to shield her further from harm. Your eyes sting, tears welling up and making things blurry, as you spin one of your knives on it's wire so fast that it becomes a solid ring and hurling it towards the black cat. The cat snaps one of it's arms up and parries the blade before giggling and slipping into the shadows.

"Oopsies. I was aiming for the old man...oh wait. No I wasn't. Not when you arrived." You hear the voice echo throughout the large room. Your opponent was throwing out their voice, attempting to ofuscate their position but you were well trained against this kind of tactic. Their voice might be projected but their footsteps could not be. You pivot and twist your ears to catch as much noise as you can before flinging one of your throwing knives into the darkness above you.

Your knife flies high before it collides with a second knife and both come crashing back to the ground. Both of them yours. "You really shouldn't be leaving them laying around all over the place. After all, someone with the wrong intentions might find them~." The voice sings out as you hear the sounds of two more knives coming towards you. No, not towards you. Towards Sangpo and Ming! You leap forwards, deflecting one to the side and catching the other in the arm. You crash into the ground and roll as you tear the knife out of your arm. It was shallow thankfully and a quick squeeze of your hand proved you hadn't lost any motor function.

You were about to toss the blade aside when you remember the voice's mocking tone and you stow the knife away. Just in time, however, to raise your main weapon up to deflect one of the cat's bladed tonfa, the other still configured as a sword and a look of manic glee in their eyes. For a precious few seconds, the two of you stand at a stalemate and struggle for an upper hand. Your opponent brings their off hand sword down upon your head with unnatural speed. You only just manage to raise your own off hand to block it but you feel the impact run down your arm and it trembles from your injury before giving away. Your dagger's edge guides the sword away from you and you manage to barely roll out of the way. The ground cracks as the sword smashes into it but you're opponent manages to fade back into the shadows.

"No no. Holding back won't do you any good!" The voice chides. "I know you were trained better than that. Unless someone is getting rusty~"

You throw yourself behind some rubble and begin drawing out as much wire as you can as you plan your next move.

>What do you do?
>Use your wire to try and entangle the cat.
>Try and lay the wire out. Set up some kind of tripwire trap.
>Hide in the shadows and try to draw them out somehow.
>Write in.

>>5457929
>Hide in the shadows and try to draw them out somehow.
Meta

>>5457941
Meant to write Metal Gear, put the post cut me off

>>5457943
Metal Gear can get very meta sometimes to be fair.

>>5457929
>Try and lay the wire out. Set up some kind of tripwire trap.

>>5457929
>Hide in the shadows and try to draw them out

They are going to go for Sangpo and Ming to force us to move. But if we anticipate that, and follow their awareness, we can strike before they do.

>>5458381
>>5457941
We're gonna be sneaky. Writing.

Anger. You never felt something so pure and unadulterated like the molten hate that threatened to burn you from the inside. Even at your worst, you never wanted to break someone so utterly like you did now. Every instinct within you simply wanted to grab that cat by the neck and squeeze until you hear something break. Part of you wondered if this was normal, part of you wondered if this was what Tai Lung felt all the time when he fought, and another part, a frightening part of you, didn't care. Didn't care if you stayed like this so long as you can make the people responsible hurt as much as you did.

No, no this wasn't you. You didn't have to succumb to those ideas. You could be, would be, better than this. Right now you had to focus on surviving and escaping. The people of the library would need you. Only then could give yourself enough time to grieve...and to think of a way of telling Tai Lung that Ming didn't make it.

You slip into the shadows, avoiding the light of the torches around the chamber. There were several bookshelves nearby that made it easy for you but it was only until you were out of view that something else came into conflict within you. Your heart wrenches in pain as you concious thought comes to realize that you'd be using the old man and Ming as bait in hopes of drawing out your opponent. This was wrong. You should be out there protecting them. The cat's voice rings out once more, mocking you.

"Hiding? Playing to your strengths? Good idea. I bet you're trying to wait for me to do something to expose myself. Such a good idea to use others as bait! But come now, how long do you think I've been watching you? A few days? Maybe a few weeks? Silly bun. I've been watching you since you've stepped foot on this mountain. Oh...the amount of times I could have killed you and your friends. You all sleep so soundly, eat so freely. Just a nice snip accross the neck while you dreamt, or a pinch of powder while your brother cooked. So many dead~ but no, I did as I was told. Oh but I just couldn't keep still. We all have our breaking points. I just couldn't help myself. A bit of wine stolen, a few fake rumors here, then a murder or two to scare the populace. Slowly and inexorably worming my fun into your boring little lives while I waited for that brute outside to finally show up. I bet he was so surprised too. What with all that useless talk of doing things peacefully and letting you go. Just a few explosives and poof! No more peace. But that's just the tip of the fun~" She sings. You grip your daggers tightly and clench your teeth. You weren't sure how much of what she was saying was true or if it was just an attempt to get a rise out of you but it was all too detailed to be some kind of a farce.

Either way, her chattering would be her undoing. Even if she could throw her voice to make it seem to come from somewhere else, it had to have a source and you were the best equiped to find it. All sound rode the wind, it made it vibrate, and a someone talented in deception could change the way it flowed but no one could ever change the fact that the vibrations were the strongest at the source. It just so happened that one of your best features, your ears, were well adapted to picking that out. You worm your way around the chamber, resisting every urge to simply leap out and confront your tormenter in an attempt to hurt them. As you do, you put your life's training to it's limit. Drawing upon years and years of life and death training, you flick your wrist and toss a dagger into the dark. It pings off a wall and ricochets into the open at full force, obfuscating it's original direction. As expected, you see another one of your daggers fly out of the dark and crash into it. "Are we getting desperate? Come on Xin, that is what you call yourself now isn't it, I expected better from you. I was told you were much more talented than this. Were all those years of learning from the best just a waste? I was looking forward to this so much. I guess I'll just have to bring you in as a disappointment or... Maybe I just haven't given you enough motivation! I suppose all those months of me just fooling around would give you the wrong impression. Well, it's going to cost you~ I know you were taught better than to underestimate anyone."

You continue to follow her taunts slowly, methodically, you got closer. Her voice grew louder before it dispersed and each second between orgin and dispersal growing longer. The more she talked the closer she got and the stronger your hate grew. You find yourself slipping in and out of feeling and unfeeling as you feel yourself becoming unstable. The woman leaps out of the shadows, twin blades pointed at the old monkey but you were in position long before that. You shoot out of the darkness as well and catch her mid flight. There is a brief moment of satisfaction as you see her eyes widen in shock but it's torn away as the shock gives away to manic glee.

You wanted to say something clever, to counter her taunts with your own but the bleeding body of Ming wouldn't allow it. Instead you let out a roar, a scream of rage that drowns the sound of bone shattering as you drive the knuckle portion of your daggers right into her jaw. Using your momentum you flip forward and drive the heel of your foot into her shoulder and feel that shatter as well. The woman corkscrews in midair and crashes into the ground as one of her blades clatter to the ground now free from her dead arm. You land into a roll and sprint head on towards her. Your blades ring out in a symphony of clashes as the two of you swing at one another. You manage to catch her remaining sword between both your daggers and something finally bursts free from your lips. "WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?!" You scream. You wanted names, faces, anything that you could direct your anger towards.

Your blood runs cold as as she complies with your demands. "Didn't I tell you? I'm such a bad girl. Mother says hello."

Your focus slips and all you can manage to get out is "Wha-" before a kick sends you rocketing into the shelves behind you and through them. You can only vaguely process a crunching noise that sounded like someone popping their shoulder into place or maybe it was something tesing a broken should for it's limits and breaking it even more. You were too busy reeling from the hit and the words to really know. You mother had other kids but they were dead or rebelled and none of them were her. You didn't have any feline siblings. In fact, she was never part of the order. You knew each and ever one from the Brotherhood in perfect memory. This was obviously another one of her tricks. A way to get into your head just like attacking Ming and her constant taunting. There hundreds of ways she'd know about that. Listening in to conversations with Tai Lung or Renshu. Renshu even had that stupid journal of his, she could have snuck in and read it from there as well.

You try and get your weapons as you attempt to get up but feel a set of fingers wrap around your neck before you can do so.They squeeze the air out of you as you're pulled from the rubble. "You broke my arm." The cat says in a bored sigh, her voice monotone. You try to pry yourself free but her grip is ironclad. "Still, I have my orders. I'm almost upset you manged to do this while still holding back. Even more than the fact I have to. I wanted a real fight." She pouts. "Wanted you to try and kill me. Otherwise this is no fun."

You feel your vision blur and your head swim. It wasn't the lack of air that was doing it you know realize but the fact she was slowly cutting off the flow of blood to your head. All she needed was a solid moment and you'd be out.

>What do you do?
>Use your claws to tear at her tendons. It should weaken her grip enough to let you break free.
>Try and get her to talk more. Use that distraction to palm one of your throwing knives and use it to stab her hand open.
>Use you wire and slice her hand off at the wrist. Even if she tries to slam you around, she can't dodge it without letting go of you.
>Write in.

>>5460330
>Use the wire to slice the hand off
>When we are released, Drop kick as we fall and use that get our weapons up.

>"Why would I waste my time killing a neophyte?"
Lets get her angry.

>>5460550
Support

Also, i knew that the assassins from Xin's and Renshu's backstory would show up

>>5460550
>support

>>5461133
>>5460607
>>5460550
Sever the hand and the body will die. Pretty sure that's how the kung fu saying goes. Writing.

As the darkness begins to eat away at the corners of your vision you begin to desperately search for something to help you. You try and focus on something to keep you going. In the end, all you can find is your anger. Smoldering and burning inside you, it burns more than the pain of being unable to breathe. You look at Ming's body and you feel it well up inside you. Your brother was always an angry man, Tai Lung could be too. Neither of them would fail to protect those they chose too. So why couldn't you be mad?

Fury explodes within you and you pull at the wire at your side. The small spool whines and the wire vanishes for a moment in the dark as your wrap it around the cat's wrist. With an explosive force you pull on both ends and hear a loud wet crunch. The woman's screams only last for a moment as you thrust both your heels into her face. Vindication flows through you as sweet as the fresh air that fills your lungs. Gasping and wheezing, you growl, "Why would I waste my time killing a neophyte?"

The cat wheezes and growls in pain as she bleeds down her chin. Her face is controted in rage as she struggles with her injury. Her breathing slows and her growls fade as they slowly morph into a soft giggle before breaking out into full blown laughter. "Yes! Yes just like that!" She shouts. "I was getting worried you had lost the stomach to actually fight. Now things are going to get fun." She breathes. Even in her madness, you can see her struggling to maintain concious as blood pours from the stump of her hand. Even with her injury she leaps at you, claws on her feet you and attempting to slice at your face. You roll to make some space and buy some more time to gather yourself. The woman leans down and twists her face in pain as she moves her broken arm to grab her severed hand. Your eyes widen as she places the severed hand back on it's arm and ties it in place. After a few moments, her face relaxes somewhat and she flexes her reattached hand once more.

"You're supposed to be the best." She says as she grabs her blades with both her ruined limbs. "Better than your failure of a brother. Thankfully it looks like he's gone soft as well. By now he'd probably already been taken care of. It's only a shame that I didn't get to kill him infront of you too. All that's left to do is find the snow leopard and off him as well. Can't have any of those pesky attachments slowing you down again."

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!" You scream and throw yourself at the woman. Both daggers bite deep into her thigh as you bury them in her leg to stop your momentum. You still manage to spin around, making deep gouges around her thigh, and swing both blades again to slice her tendons. The cat collapses as her legs could no longer bear her weight. The sudden shift in weight throws you off and you crash into a pillar. "You're done. It's over." You say as you get up.

"What you going to do?" The cat asks as she struggles to get herself up but her legs simply don't have the strength to hold her weight but even then you're not sure how long that will last. "Just leave me here? Do you honestly think I'll stop? Will you trap me? Lock me up? You should know better than no jail can hold me. Are you going to turn me over to some authority? I'll just kill them. Just like I killed your friends. Even then, there's more of us. We'll hunt you down. Anyone who you get close to will simply die. There's no one who can help you. And it all starts with me because I know where you are and it'll make that much easier to find you again. I hear there's a couple in a small town a few days travel from here." She grins. "I'm sure the boar will tell me anything if he thinks it'll help that little fox of hers. I'll be sure to let the others know where they live."

You scream, rage blinding you to everything but the cat. You don't remember how you managed it but you find yourself raining blow after blow upon the cat's head. Your daggers become slick with blood and it becomes harder to hold on to them but the sheer strength of your grip keeps them in place. "No more." You pant. "NO! MORE!" You bring both blades to bear before thrusting each into the cat's temples and wrenching them to the side. There's sickening crack as the spine and vertebrea snap, tearing the muscle and throat as you force them aside.

You pant and scream into the air before you force yourself to look down. The cat's face is twisted into a sick grin and her eyes slowly shift to look at you. "You...really are...like mother. A ruthless killer..." She chokes out before gasping one last time and laying still. You remain tense as you stay there and continue to watch her, unsure if she was going to get up again but she never does. You check for a pulse, nothing. Adrenaline slowly fades and the reality sinks in. She was dead and you did it.

You gasp and scramble backwards. You didn't- you did mean to. You wanted her dead. There was no lying to yourself about this. You wanted her dead and did it. There was nothing self righteous about it either. You wanted her to hurt as much as she made your friends hurt. You wanted her to suffer. More importantly, you did this as a form of revenge. Her threatening your friends was just an excuse.

You stomach churns and you look away. Flashes of a small rabbit child bleeding to death at your feet, their eyes wide in surprise and perhaps the realization of betrayal, fill your mind. Fear and dread wrack your mind. You had never killed like this before, being fully cognizant of right and wrong as you did it. Your legs tremble and you struggle to stand as the sounds of combat can be heard clearly above you. You want to run but the thought of leaving Ming here in this horrible place prevent you from doing so.

You hurry over to her and Sangpo. "Ming? I'm sorry." You whisper while you walk through the large pool of blood. "I'm so sorry." You sob.

"It's alright child." Sangpo struggles to say as he rolls over. "She will live. Do you think your friend is the only one who knows how to heal? You must flee from here." He says as he clutches his bleeding chest.

"No...you didn't...not like this." You say. Sangpo coughs, spraying more blood.

"It's alright child...I've lived too long as it is. It's...better this way. She still has a life to live." More coughing, each one becoming weaker. "I've put off seeing the big lizard for so long...I think...I think I'll see him one last time before I visit my ancestors."

"No. You can't! The library needs you too! All of this is useless if you die right now!" You shout.

"Child...the library will be fine without me. It will live on in them. Books, scrolls...useless if no one can read them. More useless if that information isn't spread. Another library can be built...but you cannot rebuild a family...so I chose to make sure the family before me isn't broken...go child...go...and...be with yours...I will see...mine soon..." The old man smiles, perhaps the first geniune smile you've ever seen him give, before sighing one last time and closing his eyes for good.

"I'm sorry..." You cry as you pick up Ming, each beat of her heart a reminder of your failure. "I couldn't save anyone."


----


"It took me a while to come to terms with murder." Xin Lan say. "And I left Ming as soon as I was sure she was able to continue without me. I don't deserve to be with her and I'm already a liabilty. I'm being hunted. Just being near people means they'll become targets. They're not like the people we've fought before. Every moment you're not awake, every moment your focus slips or your guard is down is enough for them to kill you. So I'll be alone so that nothing like what happened at the library will ever happen again. You showed me how low people can become. If I need to go lower to prevent anything like that happening again then so be it."

>What do you say?
>Write in.

>>5463773
>Give this Bun a hug.
>"You shouldn't have done that Xin. But that was their goal, that was their plan, and they executed it flawlessly playing off your newest vulnerabilities."

>"But living in fear of bringing doom down upon our heads isn't acceptable. They are like nobody we have faced before? Then we will rise to the occasion.They were an unknown before and now they are not.
I'm not going to let MY SISTER sacrifice herself in some misguided attempt to spare us from pain by unwittingly leaving us open and alone. They were coming for your attatchments and we're not going anywhere, even if you run to the other end of Mongolia we will be there with you, and that makes us targets anyway.

Sinking lower won't prevent that. fighting more bloody and lethally won't help that. Shutting us out and trying your best to regress won't do anything.
How many more, since the assassin?"

if it's none, then hey, we still have a great chance, wth a line like "Then it's time to stop Xin, before you do something you'll truly regret"

if a number greater than 0, time for disappointed elder brother.

>>5463925
I can't think of anything right now so I'll just support this anon.
Besides, the assassins are probably working with the Kexin, so we will have to face them anyway. And if anything happens to her, Renshu would die too.
Running away will not keep her fanily safe, but staying together atleast give us a fighting chance.
And tell her that we know that Ming is being hunted too. Web told us that.

>>5464054
Oh, and we are pretty sure Renshu is alive. They lied to her, are trying to play on her vulnerabilities to spearate the group.
It's exactly what we told her, killing is what they want, it's part of their plan.

>>5464056
The same methods we used to locate her let us know where the others generally are.

At the very least that truth is important

"Oh Xin...how much I wish that you could have a normal life where the one thing the rest of would ever have to worry is who chose to court you." You say quietly. "What you did is regrettable and I only wish that things did not come to pass as they. Your enemy exploited your vulnerabilities, your attachments. The things that prove that you're not just a killer. You care, that's why you ran away. You want to help and do good. That's why you're here in this mad quest to fend off an army. But I won't let MY SISTER sacrifice herself in some misguided attempt at penance or to spare us some kind of pain. Maybe this group is unlike any we've ever faced but then we've faced many situations that we would never have thought to be in. Even if you were to continue to flee, we'd end up facing these assassins anyways. They do seem to be in league with the mongolians. So I would much rather face them with you."

"You don't understand. These guys aren't just some martial arts master bent on destruction. They're killers and they were once the best. Why do you think China knew nothing about them beyond those we contacted to offer our services? How long did we live in the library and not notice we were being watched? She was right. At any point all it would take would be a simple cut or a bit of poison and you'd all be gone. There is no challenging them or facing them. If they choose to then they will wait until your vulnerable. We were lucky that the one we fought was insane. Anyone else half as competent would have simply finished you off in your sleep. I...I can't live with myself knowing it was my fault Ming nearly died and now you just want me around despite knowing you'd be a target too?"

"So then you'd prefer we face them alone then in Mongolia rather than be there with us? Regardless if you travel with us or not if they chose to then they could kill us simply to get at you. Could you live knowing that you could have done something if you had been with us? In the end, what you want doesn't matter to them. We're no safer away from you than we are with you if what you say it true. I won't allow fear to keep my from the people I love and I trust that you don't want it to keep you from doing so either. Lowering yourself, demeaning all the progress you've made won't keep me from you. I'm already traveling to the end of the world for your brother. I'll do the same for you." You say quietly. "It's ok to be afraid Xin. You made a terrible mistake but I did too once. Together we can make sure it doesn't happen again. Just like family should. A real family. One that doesn't see you as some kind of weapon but actually cares for you." You hold out your large hand for them and offer a rare smile. "I always did say that rabbit's feet were lucky, no? I could use some of that good luck right now."

Xin Lan looks at your hand for a moment, their tired and stern expression twisted in anxiety and conflict. They looked as if they were afraid that merely touching you would cause you to somehow shatter or vanish. "I'm a bad bunny though..." They whisper looking into your eyes as they fidget.

"I know." You say gently. "You and your brother can be quite the handful but I think Ming will be the first to tell you that it's part of the charm of keeping a pair of idiots like us alive."

Xin Lan sniffles and rubs their eyes before they leap into your chest and crash into you. You try to hug them but they quickly dive into your shirt and crawl around you. You feel their tiny arms squeezing and fingers clenching as they try to hold as much of as possible. Even their toes seem to try and grab at you before they pop out of your collar and hug you tightly. "I love you." They say quietly. "You and Ming."

"I know." You say gently as you wrap your arms around them. "Otherwise you wouldn't be doing something this foolish." Xin Lan lets out a few squeaks into your chest as they bury their face in your fur and you feel the dampness welling from their eyes. You spend a few moments in complete silence unsure of how long to give them. Even now, you had not lost sight of the fact that the building was surrounded. "Sorry but we have pressing matters right now." You say. "And time is not on our side. We can discuss what our next move is after we deal with our current problem, without killing." You stand to peer out the window but find yourself thrown to the ground.

Not moments before you had heard a sound in the distance like a muffled explosion followed by the sound of something screeching through the air before crashing into the floors below and rocking the whole building. Another series of similar sounds repeat as the whole place is assaulted. Getting to your feet, the two of you rush to a nearby window and spy a large ship in the ocean. Even in the dark, you can make out the shapes of shipmates running around as they loading somekind of weapon. Vague recollections of Po telling you a story of such a weapon flood your mind as you see a flash burst from the weapon and a split second later a metal ball crashes through the roof of the floor you were on smashing it to bits and exposing the night sky. You roll away to the second floor and find it in similar shambles and riddles with torn walls.

"GHOST! IF YOU'RE STILL ALIVE IN THERE THEN COME OUT QUIETLY AND I PROMISE THAT WE'LL CONSIDER GIVING YOU A QUICK CLEAN DEATH!" A voice calls out before erupting into laughter. An alligator followed by his crew emerge from the shadows, torches in hand and flaming bombs in the other. "OF COURSE WE CAN ALWAYS JUST COOK YOU ALIVE!"

"I thought we had more time." You say as you slip behind the remains of a wall. "Madam Web said we'd have at least one more day."

"Looks like Four Seas Gang decided to take matters into their own hands." Xin Lan says. "This was definitely not part of the alliance's plan." The sounds of glass shattering and flames crackling are soon heard and you know it'll only be a few moments before the first floor is engulfed in flames.

>What do you do?
>Leap into the crowd of pirates and start fighting. Show them what happens when someone tries to take your sister away.
>Jump into the ocean and try a surprise attack. The water will help keep you safe from any flames.
>Leap into the ocean and try to regroup with Tigress. Hopefully she manged to rally the guards. You'll need their help to contain this.
>Head to the ship. You've run on worse water before. You need to disable those weapons.
>Write in.

>>5466035
>Jump into the ocean and try a surprise attack. The water will help keep you safe from any flames.
Sorry Xin, but we have to do what we have to do.
I hope these are just normal pirates, and not ones inspired by that pirate queen we talked about some threads ago, otherwise this got even more difficult

>>5466035
>Jump into the sea and surprise attack

I gotta be honest, the mental image of us popping up behind them and running across the ship like a typhoon is only completed with a quote from our favorite little bun.
"You will remember this as the day you ALMOST caught, The vigilante GHOST!

But yeah, deep breath, dive in, swim up, disable that device. We can't allow it to fire again.

>>5466035
>Jump into the ocean and try a surprise attack. The water will help keep you safe from any flames.

>>5466035
There's nobody else in this building. We could probably just escape the town for now. Solve the gang issue later.

Ming, Renshu and the rest of China are a bit of a problem right now. This can be a problem forwarded to the 5 right?

>>5467844
You can go back to let the Five know. However you've seen that this so called alliance of gangs has had a group splinter off. One who is willing to fire cannon balls into a building and towards the main city itself as well as fire bombing it to get at Xin.

The question becomes how will the other gangs react to this and what will become of the city during your time away? Tigress is still here, you can try to convince her to handle the situation while you're gone but the two of you are far from being on the best of terms right now.

>Ming, Renshu and the rest of China are a bit of a problem right now.

Not sure what you mean by this by the way. Are you trying to get the Five to look for Ming and Renshu while you go off to Mongolia?

>>5466050
>>5466092
>>5466163
If nothing else comes up, I'll be taking these as a write up in the morning.

>>5467844
We absolutely cannot.
They have gathered and are poised to bring ruin and terror further upon the town. Xin did this to draw them into a single place to be crushed, and leaving them alone now is going to spark a solid week of war and murder, if it doesn't get worse.

We can't leave without fixing it.

Computer crashed. MY WRITE UP!

>>5468502
:(

The aligator's laughter ring out over the sounds of glass breaking in the building. "Don't be shy boys! Bring on the rest!" He shouts and you hear the sound of more glass clinking together as the pirate crew more bombs. Fires begin to break out underneath you in the second floor now that the pirates began to throw bombs through the open holes left by the ship's barrage. With the flames now licking the floor beneathe you, you have no other option but to leap out of the building. You stuff the rabbit down your shirt, run towards the back window, and dive gracefully into the ocean. As you fall, you feel Xin Lan scurry around in your shirt and pop out their head behind you to wrap their thin arms around your neck.

The flaming building masks the sound of you crashing into the ocean but as you come up for air it does not keep the constant hissing your ear at bay. Xin Lan seems to momentarily come back to their ussual self as they growl at you while you tread the water. "I hate you. I hate you forever." They whisper as they shiver from the ice cold water and fuitlely attempt to use your soaked fur for warmth by pressing up against you. Much to their dismay, you take the long way to get to shore by swimming parallel to the docks in an attempt to make some space and circle around the pirates. The two of you sneak up on the group and hide behind some crates.

"You think we got him?" A pirate near the back asks one of his crewmates.

"There's no way the guy go away this time. If the cannon balls didn't kill him the fire will." The crewmate replies. "Besides, this sure beats all this playing nice garbage we've been doing. Think the captain would mind if we 'missed' our target and hit a few other buildings?"

"And call the guard on us? What are you nuts?" The pirate asks before his companion bursts out laughing.

"And they're just gonna let us do this? The guard is dead in the water. Anyone left is just a bunch of cowards who don't want to lose their jobs. They can't stand against us. This is our city now." The man says before the aligator speaks up.

"Shut it back there! If you got time to yap then you have time to keep watch! I don't want anyone coming or leaving until you bring me that rabbit's corpse! Captain wants it to send a message and if anyone of you want to volunteer to take his place then feel free to step up! No? Then get back to work!" You see one other member grab a lantern and walk over to the edge of the docks. They lift it up and begin to open and close the shutter on the it making it easy to assume that they were signaling the ship that had shot at you but what for you didn't know.

>What do you do?
>Write in.

>>5468523
Swim to the boat.
Time to kick the captain's ass.

>>5468523
>Wait for the Signalling to be done, then take them out.
>Then swim for the boat.

>>5468754
>supporting

>+ come up with a plan to sink the ship. maybe use the canon or try and find the powder the weapon use's to fire.

>>5468554
>>5468754
>>5470309
Going to the ship. Writing.

The pirate continues to flash his lantern for a minute longer but you're unaware as to what he is signaling the ship to do next. You attempt to discern their intentions by studying the ship but at this distance and the cover of darkness prevents you from seeing anything other than what you can imagine to be movement. Nonetheless, your best bet would be to silence any communication between the ship and shore parties so you quickly sneak to the edge of the docks once more and slip into the water once more. You do your best to keep the sounds of swimming in line with the motion of the waves against the shore and make your way to where the signaling pirate was.

They stand dangerously close to the edge and you wait for a lapse of attention. Grabbing their leg, Xin Lan leaps out of your shirt and kicks them across the face, sending teeth flying out and rendering them unconcious. The pirate goes limp and falls forward into your arms while Xin Lan lands on your shoulder and dives back into your shirt. You tread through the waters, hanging by one hand on the docks and holding the unconcious man in the other. Once you were far enough away you drop the man on the shore and let the darkness keep him hidden. You doubt that there would be anyone coming this way with all the fire going on in the building.

With communications cut off, you kick off once more and begin swimming earnestly towards the attacking vessel. The waves themselves would cover the sounds of movement and it would be impossible for anyone to see you even in fully exposed like this. It was simply too dark. You begin to hear the sounds of footsteps and chains moving as you approach the ship and you deduce that they were raising anchor. A quick swim around the ship proves your theory correct and you simply grab on to the large chain and being to climb. You leap off of it and grab at the windowsill of one of the many openings that the weapons were pertruding from to listen in on the state of the ship.

"Hurry up and get that anchor up, you slobs! My city awaits! Any one of you see so much as a hair from one of the others or the guards open fire! Nobody makes the Four Seas Gang beg! Nobody!" You hear cheers and shouts ring out and soon after hear footsteps all over the ship. It seems like they were going to regroup with the offshore party. Maybe they thought that a smaller group would go unnoticed until it was too late for their target. A foolish notion.

As you hang from the window, one by one, the cannons were being pulled back to be prepared. Fortunately for you, no one dared to take a look outside of the windows or else they might have seen you. Granted, it would simply make the inevitable happen so much quicker but you didn't really want to fight a whole ship full of pirates just yet. Your last foray into the ocean proved how much of a mistake that could be. Even so, you and Xin Lan had to formulate a plan. Once the ship reached shore, you weren't sure how much damage a full crew of priates with such devestating weapons could to to the city.

>What do you do?
>Find the captain and take him out. Perhaps these pirates were cowardly enough to break rank once their leader was down.
>Leap into the ship and begin taking people down from within. You're going to have to fight the entire ship anyways, might as well get a jump on it.
>Attempt to use the cannons against them. They contain a very explosive force so it's natural that an equally explosive material must be used. You could certainly sink the ship with ease.
>Write in

>>5471883
>Find the captain and take him out. Perhaps these pirates were cowardly enough to break rank once their leader was down.

>>5471883
>Attempt to use the cannons against them. They contain a very explosive force so it's natural that an equally explosive material must be used. You could certainly sink the ship with ease.

>>5471883
>Take out the captain

We can bluff them after. Toss the beaten captain onto the deck and say something along the lines of "We've bested your captain and set fuse to the powder of your giant weapons, I would run if I were you!" and leap off the side.

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you all had a safe day today. Game will resume on monday with a new thread. We'll be fighting the captain of the ship. Do you want to attempt to take him down steathily or fight him out in the open in a public display of strength?

>>5475232
Fuck it, go public.
But put Xin on stealth overwatch in case someone tries to do something funny

>>5475232
You just know we need to make a dramatic entrance.

Tai Lung's entrance to anywhere should garner the same fear and respect as the undertaker, and that only happens with DRAMATIC ENTRANCES!