Man Tiger Pig
The official in charge of the registration stares at you as you walk up to him. “Not another one…” he mutters under his breath. Despite his misgivings, the process goes off without a hitch. You put down your name as Man Tiger Pig, and hand over the crest to complete your registration. As you walk away from the table, the Shaolin monk Xuzhan spots you. He looks at you with a slightly curious expression and comes over.
“Sir, might you be-“
You nod quickly and gesture at him to follow you to a more secluded area. Once the two of you are there, he scratches his bald head.
“Might you be Young Master Guan?” he asks in a whisper. You see no need to keep up the pretense, and nod.
“My father let me come, but he doesn’t want me shaming the family name, you see. My merchant family isn't too fond of martial arts,” you explain quickly. “He would only let me participate on the condition that I appear masked. I’m sorry to ask this of you, sir monk, but could you help me keep this secret?”
“Sure,” he says without hesitation. “I mean, it’s the Young Tigers tournament! I wouldn’t want you to miss the chance to compete! Don’t worry, we’ll understand why you have the mask on, and we’ll make sure no one else knows it’s actually you underneath. For a minute there I thought talking to the boy who seems to be the Southern Maniac’s apprentice had scared you out of your wits!” You had expected a monk to be more conflicted about lying, but in this case it seems that Xuzhan is more excited about the tournament than about his vows. You thank him profusely. When you return to his group of friends, he gives them a quick, quiet summary of what has just happened, and they give you knowing nods and encouraging smiles. Now that all of you are registered, you begin discussing the tournament in further detail.
According to them, the Eight Sects’ favoured format is the team competition, where most of their disciples would be participating. Their teamwork and discipline gives them the advantage for that format, compared to impromptu teams cobbled together from lesser schools. It is also not uncommon for Eight Sects’ teams to consist of the better members from different sects as they attempt to get their superior disciples into the finals. The Eight Sects’ disciples usually work together to eliminate as many of the riff-raff as possible, whether in the team matches or in the battle royales. In the last three competitions, all of the thirty two participants in the finals were from the Eight Sects.
The preliminary matches would be conducted tomorrow. Participants who were interested in forming a team could do so today. Those who did not would automatically be enrolled into the battle royale. The young Shaolin monks and their friends had already come here with their teams assigned; you would not be able to join them even if you wanted to. If you wanted to make a team, you would have to search on your own. Bidding goodbye to them, you begin wandering about the great hall. The number of people seems to have lessened, as the participants begin leaving the place after completing their registration.
A plain girl steps in front of you, giving you a challenging look. You look back at her from behind the mask.
“Xu Jing,” she whispers softly enough that only you can hear. “That is a very stupid disguise. Who do you think you’re fooling?”
You fight back the sudden panic and stare at her face. It is very plain and average. Forgettable – no one you’ve seen before. You have not met this girl before, you’re sure. On the other hand, there is really only one person in this city who knows your true identity and would speak to you like that.
“Is this how you really look, Qilin? No wonder you only appear before me with your face made up,” you whisper back.
“Now, that’s rude! It’s an acupuncture technique, of course I don't look like this!” she hisses vainly. “Anyway, out here I’m called Xiaoxiang. Are you using Guan Shide, or…”
“Man Tiger Pig.”
She spends the next minute laughing, unable to form any coherent words.
“Oh, alright,” she says, after she recovers, “anyway, have you heard about the preliminary matches?”
You nod. “Battle royale or team, right? Which are you going for?”
“I had thought about going for the battle royale, but someone unexpected approached me to team up. Murong Yandi, the Sword Saint’s disciple.” Her eyes are gleaming with sly interest. “He’s looking for anyone he can get. Something about his master advising him to learn cooperation, I think. It works out for me if I can piggy-back on the stronger fighters of the competition, so I'm not complaining.”
“Shouldn’t he have no problem finding teammates? I don’t see why he’d pick a plain girl like you.”
“I may be plain but I have my charms,” she says, sticking her tongue out at you. “To be precise, when he approached me his words were, ‘Join my team and help me recruit two other people’. I get the feeling he might have been too lazy to look for teammates and decided to ask the first person he saw for help. Lucky me! So, what are you going for?”
“I haven’t made a decision,” you admit.
“Why don’t you join my team? Then I can have you do all the work.”
“You really are shameless, aren’t you?”
“An adult knows no shame.”
“I’m not sure that’s an actual saying.”
“Who cares? I won't be lectured by some boy in a pig's mask. I still need to find one more person if you join, anyway, so decide quickly.”
You consider her offer. If you join the team matches, you would be facing the better orthodox students, and would likely face at least one of the Eight Sects’ elites before even meeting in the finals. The battle royale would offer you better odds of sneaking through without too much of a fight. You would be able to keep your prowess relatively concealed in the melee. On the other hand, it may be a good opportunity for you to get to know the Sword Saint’s disciple. His master is one of the wielders of the Ten Great Swords – this may prove to be a useful contact in the future. Besides that, you are certain that the farmer boy would not be fighting in a team. You could do him a favour by putting him in the team, helping him advance as far as possible.
***
A. You join Qilin’s team and leave it up to her to recruit the last member.
B. You join Qilin’s team and recruit Guo Fu as the last member of your team.
C. You do not join the team, and attempt to form your own team instead, seeking out whoever you can get.
D. You do not join the team, preferring to participate in the battle royale and win qualification that way.
