As they set off, Riven finally remembered a question she had previously overlooked: "The Shadow Order is hunting you, so why are you coming to a Kinkou Order temple?"
"Because the Shadow Order was once part of the Kinkou Order." Dean stroked his chin. "The Kinkou Order believes that all things exist in balance, but after the war began, many people felt that balance couldn't solve problems, and that fighting fire with fire was the right way."
"So they started their own thing?"
"Perhaps it was a betrayal?" Dean shook his head. "The two sides are adversaries, yet they have a certain unspoken understanding that even people within the Kinkou Order can't quite explain. But what's certain is that they are definitely still entangled and involved."
"Are you looking for the Kinkou Order's temple hoping they'll act as a broker or a mediator?"
"Either is fine, as long as they get rid of the annoying flies." Dean nodded. "Those lunatics from the Shadow Order are like mops covered in faeces – not very lethal, but disgusting enough. If the Kinkou Order can solve the problem, that would be ideal."
Making such a joke in front of a lady was a bit crude, but Riven looked like she understood perfectly: "What if the Kinkou Order can't handle it?"
"Then we'll just have to use more aggressive methods." Dean narrowed his eyes. "As far as I know, in Ionia, the Shadow Order has offended quite a few factions."
Hearing Dean say this, it was clear he had a plan and was confident.
Riven then nodded and followed Dean's footsteps, no longer asking questions.
....................
Although nestled among mountains, the Equilibrium Temple was still quite impressive in scale, with courtyards, pavilions, and terraces all in place.
When he saw the continuous stream of buildings with his own eyes, Dean couldn't help but wonder if the news he'd heard – that the Kinkou Order had suffered a betrayal and was newly rebuilt – was actually true.
Could a rebuilt order really establish such a massive complex, probably hundreds of acres in size, in just a few short years?
Dean had some doubts in his heart, but he didn't show them on his face.
When they arrived at the entrance of the Equilibrium Temple, he quickly stepped forward and proactively stated his purpose to the guards: "I am Dean, here to visit Mr. Chengze."
"You're a little late." The masked Kinkou guard looked puzzled and shook his head at Dean. "His funeral has already concluded."
Funeral?
This news made Dean's eyes widen in surprise: "Wait, are you saying Mr. Chengze has passed away?"
"You're not here for the funeral?" Seeing Dean's surprised look, the guard was also a little surprised. "Mr. Chengze sacrificed himself in a battle to maintain balance ten days ago, and the funeral was held six days ago."
"How could this be?" Dean shook his head, muttering in disbelief, "Chengze was so skilled..."
"My condolences." The guard sighed. "Although I don't know your relationship with Mr. Chengze – if you're willing, you can attend his Spirit Willow ceremony, which is tomorrow night."
Dean hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, then finally nodded softly: "Thank you for the information."
The plan had hit an unexpected snag.
Dean had never expected that his acquaintance in the Kinkou Order would have passed away just like that.
"What happened?" Seeing Dean's expression was clearly not right, Riven whispered in his ear, "Your friend within the Kinkou Order, he's gone?"
"Yes, he sacrificed himself." Dean nodded. "The Kinkou Order connection is broken. I suppose we'll have to go directly to Puboe – but before that, I want to attend his Spirit Willow ceremony."
"Spirit Willow ceremony?"
"An Ionian custom... it's part of the funeral, I suppose." Dean explained. "On the seventh day after the funeral, you see the soul of the deceased one last time, severing attachments and expressing grief."
Riven nodded gently and fell silent – clearly, she was thinking of her fallen brothers and sisters.
"Let's wait a day at the Equilibrium Temple." Dean sighed. "Chengze was the first friend I made in Ionia, and he even helped me escape the pursuit of Noxus assassins. For all intents and purposes, I owe it to him to stay."
Led by a guard, the two arrived at a guest room and settled in temporarily. During this time, Dean handwritten an elegy and, according to Kinkou Order custom, hung it on a Spirit Willow in the courtyard, where it fluttered in the wind above Chengze's portrait.
In the portrait, a gentle man had one hand on the short sword at his waist and the other forming a hand seal. Although his face was masked, his eyes seemed to be touched by overflowing sunlight.
After standing silently before the portrait for a long time, Dean finally composed himself and began to inquire among the Kinkou Order members about the cause of Chengze's death.
As far as he knew, the Kinkou Order was a very restrained organization – meaning they might not even seek revenge for Chengze. So, if possible, Dean wanted to do something.
Chengze's cause of death was no secret.
Like most members of the Kinkou Order, he was dedicated to maintaining the balance between Runeterra's physical and spirit realms. Half a month ago, in Navori's Three Peaks Village, he discovered a group of Noxians who were severely disrupting the local balance between the two realms. They used a very malicious gas to indiscriminately attack the local resistance fighters, and dug three feet deep to plunder all wealth and magical items, not even sparing the graves of the dead.
The Kinkou Order does not interfere in wars between nations, but the actions of these Noxians clearly exceeded the scope of national warfare, causing severe instability between the two realms. Therefore, Chengze immediately joined with the local Navori Brotherhood to launch a surprise attack on these Noxians.
The raid started very smoothly; Chengze and the Navori Brotherhood destroyed many gas containers. However, after the Noxians reacted, they decisively detonated all remaining gas, burying the attacking Navori Brotherhood members along with the camp's defenders in the gas.
In that critical moment, Chengze could have entered the spirit realm and escaped, but he worried that if he transitioned from the physical realm to the spirit realm, the gas would also seep in, making the already unstable spirit realm even more corrupted. He ultimately chose to remain in the physical realm and bravely accept death.
To Dean, this story sounded somewhat familiar, so he asked the Kinkou guard if they knew the identity of the Noxians who used the gas.
"We heard their leader was named Aimi Sitan, but beyond that... we know nothing about her."
Aimi Sitan?
Coincidentally, if Dean remembered correctly, when Riven's incident occurred, the name of the 'friendly' battle group commander who acted with her battle group and directly detonated the gas at the critical moment... was also Aimi Sitan.