Dear Friend
"Dear Friend" is the fourteenth chapter of the manga Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun written by Minoji Kurata.
Summary
Mari calls Kiyoshi Takakura and tells him that Kō Risa is continuing her treatment for her own interest in Shao Jun's box. Kiyoshi understands and assures Mari that they will stop the Templars and Doctor Kaori Kagami before any more harm happens to Risa. Meanwhile, Risa enters Dr. Kagami's room and continues her session in the Animus.
Shao Jun makes her way towards the Inner Palace Flower Garden Villa to meet with Empress Zhang Qijie, who Shao Jun knows as "Qixie", after receiving her letter. Inside, she finds her old friend but also sees Qiu Ju standing behind her.
Qiu Ju reveals his knowledge of Shao Jun and Qixie's friendship and tries to infer that the Empress helped him lure Shao Jun into a trap, but the Assassin sees through his charade. She knows her childhood friend and claims that Qixie would never betray her willingly; instead, it is clear to her that the Empress was forced to cooperate with the Templars due to them threatening her life.
Immediately, Qiu Ju pushes the Empress aside and attacks Shao Jun. Thrown harshly, the Assassin finds herself at Qiu Ju's mercy until Qixie breaks a vase atop his head. After the Empress is back-handed, Shao Jun tries to strangle Qiu Ju with her rope dart until he throws her over his head. Before he can inflict any more harm upon her, Shao Jun throws a lantern onto Qiu Ju and sets him aflame. Shao Jun goes to Qixie and wakes her up before the villa catches on fire. As they prepare to leave, however, they notice a half-burnt Qiu Ju coming at them while the fire begins to engulf their surroundings.
Characters in order of appearance
- Mari
- Kiyoshi Takakura
- Kaori Kagami
- Kō Risa
- Shao Jun
- Zhang Qijie
- Qiu Ju
Behind the scenes
The chapter adapts the end of the memory "An Old Friend" and the beginning of "Demon Fire" from the 2015 video game Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China.