As Guo disappears into the side passage, the pressure in the room loosens by a breath. From behind the inner doors, an elderly man in tattered robes steps out, staff in hand, as if he has been there all along.
He fixes Chen Kang with a long, tired stare, disappointment and recognition mingling in his eyes. The young courtesan freezes beside the screen, hand at her chest.
The Elderly Man
So it is you. Chen Kang, still guarding doors that do not belong to you.
Chen Kang
That staff is worn smooth from use.
The Elderly Man
You draw steel with your posture, boy, but you do not yet know who you have sheltered.
The courtesan looks between them, startled silent, while the brothel workers hover in the background, wary but breathing again.
✓ Quest Accepted
Understand the old master's role in the pavilion
“So you clearly know me, whats your role?”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled +1)
The old man lets the silence stretch, then tips his staff toward the inner doors. His voice stays even, but it carries the weight of a verdict. He is the former master of this pavilion, and the one who hid the prince here when the search began.
The Elderly Man
My role is simple, Chen Kang. I keep this house's secret, and I judge who is fit to know it.
Chen Kang
Then say it plainly. What am I guarding?
The Elderly Man
Not a courtesan's trinket, not a petty scandal. A man whose life is leverage, and whose presence ties this pavilion to a wider game.
The young courtesan exhales in one sharp, stunned breath. Behind the screen, one of the brothel workers lowers their shoulders, as if a hidden knot has finally been named.
The Elderly Man
You were never hired to stand watch over a door, boy. You were placed where your temper and your honor would make you useful.
He meets Chen Kang's eyes without flinching, the old disappointment now edged with something colder, almost pity. The mystery from behind the inner doors seems less like a secret now, and more like a trap someone expected Chen Kang to spring.
Quest Complete
Understand the old master's role in the pavilion