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"Homecoming" is the first chapter of the manga Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun written by Minoji Kurata.
Summary[]
- China, 1524
A fire erupts through a temple. The Assassin Shao Jun runs towards a wounded Wang Yangming, shouting to him. He in turn shouts back that he no longer is in possession of an item, and that she should head west to the Mentor of Florence. Shao Jun vows to return and to revive the Chinese Brotherhood.
- Maijishan Grottoes, Gansu Province, North West China, 1526
The Grottoes were formerly the a base of operations for the Chinese Brotherhood. They are visited by Gao Feng, a Templar and one of the "Eight Tigers"—powerful eunuchs of the Imperial Court. Inside a cave chamber hangs a large wooden cage, with a captured Shao Jun contained within. Gao Feng expresses his shock that she would return after two years, but notes that the Assassins are a difficult group to eradicate entirely. She swears that she will never forget those killed, and that she will inflict the same pain upon him. Gao Feng holds up a Precursor box to Shao Jun, explaining that he knows she was entrusted with the box in Florence. He demands to know exactly what is so special about the box to dedicate her life to its protection and whether it is a Precursor relic. Shao Jun remains silent and offers no answer, frustrating Gao Feng to declare that she has no blade to escape with and that the Assassins have lost the war with the great Templar Order. As he leaves the room, Shao Jun raises her hood over her head and comments to herself that they did not take all of her blades. With a flick of her boot, a Hidden Blade extends from its sole.
Outside the chamber, Gao Feng greets the arriving Qiu Ju, another member of the Eight Tigers. Qiu Ju is interested to learn if it is true that an Assassin survivor had been captured. Gao Feng explains as to who Shao Jun is, and how she had originally been a concubine in the court of the Zhengde Emperor. He dismisses her as being no major threat to them, and that there is no way that she can escape her cage. Back inside the cave, two guards bemoan that they are not even sure if it is day or night given how long they have remained in the chamber. As they walk with torches to see in the darkness, they are distracted by a noise and move towards the disturbance. Above them, Shao Jun hides by remaining atop a wooden beam and stays out of sight whilst the guards pass by before she herself moves on by.
Gao Feng and Qiu Ju continue to discuss the Precursor box, the former suggesting that its contents were hidden by Shao Jun. Qiu Ju expresses that if she has a tongue, then there are ways of making her talk, and that it will ultimately lead to the end of the Assassins, especially if they can recover the missing "treasure" and bring the Templar dream to realization.
Shao Jun manages to locate a room with a storage box, within which she recovers her personal jian and equipment. The guards enter the room, but before they can rush towards her, she unleashes a smoke bomb and vanishes from sight. Moments later, both of the men are slain by Jun's rope dart. Within the same room, a voice calls out from a jail cell. It is that of Hong Liwei, a former teacher to Shao Jun who helped her to learn calligraphy years before, and eventually escape her life as a concubine. At that moment, guards rush the room and Shao Jun's rope dart once more comes into play before then engaging them with her sword.
Jun recalls the words of Ezio
Qiu Ju elects to leave for Beijing, leaving the situation in Gao Feng's hands. The latter returns to the cave, and shouts to a guard to lower the cage. He immediately notices that some of the watchmen have vanished, and a moment later his guards lay slain around him. A blade finds his throat, as Shao Jun clutches him from behind. She remarks that it was her plan all along to get captured, in order to try and find information about the Precursor box. Gao Feng offers no new information, though, and Shao Jun is merely left with the recollection of the instructions given to her by Ezio Auditore to keep the box safe and to always follow the Creed.
Gao Feng questions how she will find the box if he is killed, to which Shao Jun states that one of the other Tigers will surely have it and that she will kill each in turn until it is found. She knocks him to the ground, and kills him with a swift stab of her sword through the heart. Guards suddenly rush into the cavern, yelling at Shao Jun. She leaps to one of the cages, swinging her way to safety. Finally, she finds an alcove and opening that leads to the outside cliff face. Clambering to the edge, she spies an eagle flying high above her, before jumping out with a Leap of Faith to the land below.
Within an Abstergo lab, Kō Risa lays upon an Animus. She is startled and brought out of her Animus session by Doctor Kaori Kagami. Kaori reminds Risa that the simulation is not real, and that even if she jumped from that height, it would not have harmed her in any way. Having moved to Kaori's office, she explains that the Animus allows Risa to experience the genetic memories of her ancestor Shao Jun. Risa remains unconvinced, and suggests that is only possible in science fiction.
Kaori reads off of a computer file, which reveals that Risa is 18 years of age, from Chinese parents, and that she has repeatedly gotten in trouble at school for starting fights with teachers and in some cases even injuring them. Now expelled and stuck at home, she has come to Dr. Kagami for help with her aggressive tendencies. Kaori explains that one potential cure is for Risa to explore her genetic memories to try and uncover the cause of these violent impulses in her DNA. She implores Risa to explore the memories together as a team.
Risa leaving the clinic
Risa's appointment comes to a finish, and she sets out into the city whilst giving her mother a call on her mobile phone. She states that Dr. Kagami was really nice and that she has decided to continue the therapy.
Meanwhile, back in her office, Kaori is on a wireless headset call. She informs the caller that she has located the artifact, and is surprised at the synchronization levels shown by Lisa. She vows to continue the research as it will provide a chance to get close to "the treasure", and reveals herself to be a Templar by ending the call with the line, "May the Father of Understanding guide us".
As rain hammers down over the night skyline of Yokohama, Risa pulls up her hood over her head and walks outside to head home.
Characters in order of appearance[]
- Shao Jun
- Wang Yangming
- Hongwu Emperor (mentioned only)
- Dayan Khan (mentioned only)
- Yongle Emperor (mentioned only)
- Jiajing Emperor (mentioned only)
- Gao Feng
- Qiu Ju
- Hong Liwei
- Ezio Auditore (flashback only)
- Kō Risa
- Kaori Kagami
Behind the scenes[]
The chapter adapts the missions "The Escape" and "The Return" from the 2015 spin-off title Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China.