After playing Shenmue 3 I think its clear that Iwao did not kill Zhao but the Chi You Men framed him for his death and lied to Lan Di. I think in all likelihood the Chi You Men killed Zhao to get the mirrors he was entrusted with. But what exactly happened in Meng Cun?
What happened to Zhao Sun Ming?
- Thread starter SMDzero
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That could only have happened if the mirrors turned Zhao evil and Iwao was forced to kill him.
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Perhaps. Or maybe it was Iwao who was corrupted by the mirrors? Either way, I’d like for Ryo to realize that the path that he’s currently walking is no different to the one that led to Lan Di killing Iwao. I guess that would kind of still work if Lan Di had been lied to, but I don’t think it hits nearly as hard as Ryo having to accept that the man he idolized may not have been as squeaky clean as he grew up believing.
spud1897
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I've always had this 'what if' idea in my head. What if Iwao was left with no choice but to kill Zhao.
Was it the lesser of two evils? Did Lan Di witness it?
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This seems the most likely outcome. Depending on how they handle the reveal, they could still explore Ryo having to come to terms with the fact that his father killed somebody too before eventually revealing that he had no choice.
spud1897
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That could quite nicely tie in with the Anime line of finding out about his fathers past and maybe all isn't as it seems. Lan Di makes reference to that in the flash-back in Episode 2.
Would be a good way for Ryo's character to develop and how he handles that shock alongside the death of his father.
How would Iwao have no choice but to kill Zhao? It was confirmed in S3 that Zhao was trying to protect the mirrors from being used for evil by the CYM. Did the power of the mirrors corrupt Zhao and make him try to use the mirrors himself forcing Iwao to kill him? If so, why wasn’t Iwao corrupted by the mirrors?
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spud1897
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That's what we are 'told' it doesn't mean it transpired that way. What if that's the story that was told to keep the peace but the Chi You Men found out otherwise?
He could have been turned by the mirros for sure.
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What I find interesting is that while Iwao anticipated the CYM coming for him, he was actually surprised to see Zhao's son be the man tasked with killing him.
I also find it odd that Iwao didn't rebuke Lan Di's claims that he killed his father in Meng Cun. This, however, could be for a number of reasons. One reason is that we wouldn't have any mystery surrounding Zhao's death but another possible reason (without Iwao outright killing Zhao) could be that Iwao was a witness to Zhao's death and felt some responsibility for it. Maybe Zhao created an opportunity for Iwao to escape the CYM (at the expense of giving up his own life) so the mirrors couldn't fall into their hands.
I personally would like Iwao to be Zhao's killer. The idea of a big bad pulling all the strings, making Lan Di their puppet, is cliché. The possibility of another cliché ending (Ryo ending the cycle of hatred by refusing to kill Lan Di) is doubtful because Shenhua's poem seems to strongly hint that Ryo gets his revenge.
I also find it odd that Iwao didn't rebuke Lan Di's claims that he killed his father in Meng Cun. This, however, could be for a number of reasons. One reason is that we wouldn't have any mystery surrounding Zhao's death but another possible reason (without Iwao outright killing Zhao) could be that Iwao was a witness to Zhao's death and felt some responsibility for it. Maybe Zhao created an opportunity for Iwao to escape the CYM (at the expense of giving up his own life) so the mirrors couldn't fall into their hands.
I personally would like Iwao to be Zhao's killer. The idea of a big bad pulling all the strings, making Lan Di their puppet, is cliché. The possibility of another cliché ending (Ryo ending the cycle of hatred by refusing to kill Lan Di) is doubtful because Shenhua's poem seems to strongly hint that Ryo gets his revenge.
But if Zhao was turned evil by the mirrors why wasn't Iwao?
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A mysterious death suggest he was poisoned. It's possible Iwao found him dead and then took the mirrors for safekeeping through Yuanda Zhu. Iwao's presence isn't really expected in Meng Cun as he is a tag along from Sunming's trip around China so it might explain why he's been able to hide under the radar for so long. He knew that the CYM were coming but I think that was Yuanda Zhu's fault.
There's no conceivable way that Iwao killed Zhao unless Zhao turned evil because of the mirrors corrupting influence. And we know that didn't happen because holding both mirrors had no effect on Iwao.
There's no plot twist coming where Iwao is suddenly revealed to be evil and had killed Zhao in malice.
I think it's clear that S3 heavily implies that Iwao did not kill Zhao and the CYM used him as a scapegoat and a convenient lie to brainwash a child Lan Di into their organization.
The big twist will occur if/when Lan Di discovers that Iwao did not kill his father but rather the CYM did.
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This is the part of Shenmue 4 that intrigues me the most, the backstory of Lan Di. Yu Suzuki has went on record to say that Lan Di is the most misunderstood character in the series. Given how Shenmue 3 ended, I really believe the next game's main story points will be centered around Lan Di.
I'm curious which segment in the VFRPG story cards is supposed to be Meng Cun. I hope we get to this location in Shenmue 4. I personally believe that Lan Di will realize that Iwao did not kill his father and then sacrifice his life to save Ryo.
I'm curious which segment in the VFRPG story cards is supposed to be Meng Cun. I hope we get to this location in Shenmue 4. I personally believe that Lan Di will realize that Iwao did not kill his father and then sacrifice his life to save Ryo.