Purity Reveals the Stubborn Stone

Wait... These people...

Gotta stay slow...

Those who ... wanna join, stand with us. There's no future ... hiding in this place.

I DARE YOU! No true Stockader will ever join the blighted scum! We're an honorable lot!

"Blighted scum"...? *Mumble*. Don't forget ... Ruan Yi himself ... *mumble* ... invited us here.

Ruan Yi ... *mumble* ... himself had to come to us for vengeance. Do his minions think they're any better?

WHY YOU —!

Yeah... Big Bro's dead. Uncle Shang's no match for Wuling on his own.

I don't give a damn. I'll join anyone who'll help me make Wuling bleed.

You spineless turncoats...

What should we do, Rinser? They just walked away with another bunch of our people.

Hrrmph. Uncle Shang and I disagreed with Big Bro when he wanted to meet them... The Stockade don't need no blighted outsiders! Our biz with Wuling is personal!

...Darkmask, did you know...

...the thing I hate most about my Bro is that he tore our Stockade apart! Our home! And he did that because of hate!

And then he told me to take his horn to Wuling ... and beg Zhuang Fangyi to take me in...

Did he think I'm a joke? That I'd abandon our Stockade, our home, and our Fam?

Did he believe that being a Chief is just a fun little game to me?

He's friggin wrong! I'll fix everything he broke... I'll bring every last piece back together!

To hell with these breakers...

How the hell did you slip into our place?

Thought you wanted to repay our kindness for sparing you. That's why you led us here, right?

Hmph. You might as well forget about leaving. I'll let Uncle Shang know. He'll set up a proper "feast" for you.

Dammit. He went deeper into the place...

What's the rush, Younger Dame? Come on. Let our weapons do the talking.

Hmph. Big Bro actually has another "crib". This explains why he hardly kept anything at the Stockade.

Yeah. It's the smell. That stubborn and Forte-headed stink of his.

Erm ... Darkmask? Can you ... wait for a bit?

Tight-lipped people got a lot of stuff in their chest. But no one can hold everything in. Some secrets are bound to spill.

I wanna take a closer look ... see what he kept at this place.

Are these ... dad's stuff?

Oh. My dad probably picked it up from a Tianshi. We were fighting Wulingers almost every day. Got ourselves a load of loot.

That's definitely not the type of Chief I wanna be.

Never.

Did it come from somewhere else...? But my old man never left this region.

What do you mean...? Is this actually ... his?

Impossible. My dad is a Tianshi...? No way.

...That's enough, Darkmask. I know what you're gonna say. I'm not stupid.

Sure, our Stockade got a super complex, rough, angry, and crazy relationship with Wuling. It's a real big mess that no one could really figure out.

But I also know that we share the same lingo and traditions... Maybe we were all part of a bigger Fam before.

I kept thinking about it, but I don't think I'm wise enough to figure it out.

I got only one question in mind. If we were part of a bigger Fam, what was our Supreme Chief doing back then?

How could the Chief let their Fam split in two?

Uncle Shang, that little snot is here...

Of course she is. The girl's no coward. Ruan Yi raised her himself.

It's been quite a while, Uncle Shang. I hope you're doing alright.

Thank you, Younger Dame. I'm getting old ... and doing worse.

Then let's return to the Stockade, Uncle Shang. My brother might be gone, but I'm still around.

We found the bomb. Disarmed it. I also smashed the things outside. It's time to end this.

We're still fam —

Of course. I knew you since you were a baby. But you didn't stand with your Fam. You took their side and stood against us.

You murdered Ruan Yi. And now you've come to end me too. Couldn't ask for more!

You don't get to speak about the Stockade!

Darkmask is a Stockader 'cos your Chief said so!

Ruan Yi was the selfish one! He dragged the Stockade into his war of vengeance!

You said I betrayed my Bro. But did he do the Stockade justice? Or the Fam? Or...

...me.

Then why are you here, Younger Dame?

I just wanna try ... bring things back to the way they were...

Blightery! Why did Ruan Yi ever name you the Stockade Chief? Foolish girl, you make me laugh!

Haven't you figured it out yet?

There's no going back now, Younger Dame!

Impressive! My boy taught you well.

Get it over with, Younger Dame... Just send me off... Hopefully I'll catch up with my boy on the path to the afterlife.

I'm not here to do that, Uncle Shang.

My brother gave me his horn before he passed away. He wanted me to bring it to Wuling and find a way to make a living.

Yeah. He was like that at the beginning. He always treated me as a kid.

...Blasted shit... We're all ready for war but he became the first to throw in the towel. Turned us all into laughingstocks. Pathetic! This is so pathetic!

Just come back to us, Uncle Shang.

Give up and let the waters flow their own courses... Yet Qingbo and Wuling are trapped in feuds both old and new. One must fall for this to end.

But our greatest enemy is not in Wuling. They're right in our Stockade.

Uncle Shang, we must work together and run those breakers out of our home. Every last one of them.

Wise words, but I wonder if our Younger Dame considered this. We might revolt again once the breakers are gone.

I'm not worried about that!

Hmph. Childish talk.

It is childish talk but I keep my words! And if anyone tries to be a clown, they're in for a beating!

If one beating won't work, I'll give him another.

We got ... plenty of time. I can do this all day till you're convinced.

As long as I'm here, and as long as I'm your Chief, no one's breaking my Stockade!

If it's about the Landbreakers in our Stockade, I'll follow your orders.

But once that's done... I hope you remember the words you said today, no matter what happens.

My Younger Dame, are those really ... Ruan Yi's final words?

Maybe everyone thinks I'm a joke at being a Chief, but I'm not quitting this easily.

I got no use for this horn. And seeing it makes me miss him.

I know you and your people really look up to him, Uncle Shang. So his ... horn ... you can have it.

Uncle Shang...?

I won't take this horn. Have it back.

No matter what happens... This settles our biz for now.

Let's go.

You were the second-in-command of our Stockade, yet you broke our Fam apart. If we stuck to the rules ... you don't deserve to rest next to the Ancestral Spring.

But I bent the rules and secretly buried you here ... only 'cos I'm your baby sis.

Take it as payment for being concerned about my future ... even in your final moments. You let a lot of people down ... except me.

And that's why I'll still call you ... my brother.

Darkmask, was that his reply?

Yes.

So did you hear ... what he said?

Big Bro, I don't hate you anymore... But ... I won't miss you either.

This must be the place... This is why nobody found their hidey-hole.

This fog is way too thick. We'll definitely lose our way if we go in blind.

To think that Big Bro kept warning me for "safety" reasons. Turns out to be his little secret.

Darkmask, figured out a way to get in?

Great. Time to start our chase!

Stop being so wishy-washy. You scared?

I can't ignore my Chief-ly duties. Got a Fam to look out for. So newp. Gotta stick around.

Plus, I was Stockade-born and raised. I don't think I'd make it at other places.

Friends usually meet up and visit each other often.

Ffft. The Chief is not your bestie! Try to behave!

Oh. I thought we were cool.

I'm your Supreme Chief!

Ahem. Now that we know where they're hiding, let's prepare and go after them!

Are you done yet? It's time to go.

There are explosives everywhere. They only reveal the deep-seated hatred that the Qingbo Stockaders have against Wuling.

Can you stay a bit ... and help me with something?

Sure. What is it?

I want to bury my brother's horn near the Ancestral Spring. Could you keep me company while I do that?

Of course.

*Sigh*...

I think there's a thick fog between me and my Big Bro too.

He kept secrets and never told me anything... I was being nice, so I never asked.

Darkmask, once the fog lifts... Blight it. Whatever. I'm still his baby sis. I gotta live with it.

Don't worry, Chief. I'll be with you, no matter what we find.

The carvings of Qingbo Stockade on this Tianshi apparatus seem to be added later. Closer inspections of the minute inscriptions reveal these words: "Manufacturer: Tianshi Bureau of Shangshu, Great Yan".