Overview
This entry follows the events of the previous installment.
While the above is a short story collection, the previous full-length narrative is:
This one is monumental. It spans four volumes, each around 400 pages, making a total of 1,200 pages. I'll summarize the story and share my impressions.
Summary
The story takes place in Tai (戴, Taikoku). In the previous installment, a rebellion occurred in the province of Bun during the second year of the Koshin era. As a result, Taiki (泰麒, Taiki) and King Tai, Gyoso (驍宗, Gyoso), were attacked and went missing. Eventually, Taiki returned to Tai.
This time…
- In the eighth year of the Koshin era, Taiki and Risai (李斎, Risai) set out to find like-minded allies while searching for Gyoso.
- Taiki, accompanied by Koryo (項梁, Koryo), returns to the royal palace to confront the corrupt Asen (阿選, Asen) and the Chief Minister Choun (張運, Choun). Despite their harsh treatment, he strives to alleviate the suffering of the people.
- Risai gathers allies across the land. Among them are Kyoshi (去思, Kyoshi), Hoto (酆都, Hoto), the bandit Kyusan (朽桟, Kyusan), and Hoyou (葆葉, Hoyou). These diverse individuals unite to form the Bokushi (墨幟, Bokushi) army after enduring many challenges together.
- Gyoso, who had been missing, was revealed to have been imprisoned in a pit on Kanyozan (函養山, Kanyozan) by forces under Asen's command, led by Uko (烏衡, Uko). He survived on scraps of food that drifted down with the water for six years before escaping on his own, only to be recaptured by Asen.
- Asen planned to publicly execute Gyoso as a usurper, but Taiki transformed (転変, Tenpen; when a Kirin shifts from human to beast form) to save him. With Gyoso’s survival, and the promise of aid from King En established in the previous volume, victory seemed assured.
- Three months later, Gyoso’s forces succeeded in defeating Asen.
Impressions
As mentioned previously, the rebellion in Bun left several mysteries, including:
- Why did Asen, who had been considered an upstanding figure, behave so abnormally?
- Though outwardly admired, Asen harbored deep jealousy toward Gyoso. His apparent apathy was a symptom of burnout.
- What was the cause of the mind control sweeping through Tai?
- It was the work of Jihou (次蟾, Jihou), a type of demon capable of extracting souls. Asen used it under the guidance of Rosan (琅燦, Rosan).
- Why did Gyoso remain missing for six years?
- Gravely injured and trapped in a cave-in at Kanyozan caused by Ririki (貍力, Ririki; demons capable of creating explosions), another of Asen's tools enabled by Rosan.
- What are the true nature of manifest sins and the heavenly system of Tenkan?
- This issue was left entirely unaddressed.
Honestly… it’s just so underwhelming. (quietly)
I don’t mind the deus ex machina brought about by demons with special abilities. What bothers me is that after the previous volume elevated the narrative to celestial heights, this one brought it back down to earth—and used 1,200 pages to do so.
It felt like a lesser version of Rokka no Yuusha (Brave of the Six Flowers), a series Midori-san is a big fan of.
In Rokka no Yuusha, the special abilities of the monsters felt justified, the inner lives of the characters were skillfully depicted, and each volume raised the stakes, culminating in a sense of transcendence. That made it deeply satisfying.
That said, there was one passage I appreciated:
- “One must not seek results in training; such desires dull the blade of practice,” said Kyoshi.
This is advice for practitioners: the desire for results distances one from them. It’s a perspective that might be helpful for hobbies or activities that require patience and consistent effort.
