Taken into Custody!

"Mother, I bought what you asked for." Kaixi opened the car door and handed a bottle of liquor and a pouch of black gravel to her mother-in-law, Madame Tangli. Today, Madame Tangli was not wearing her usual traditional Wien matron attire. Instead, a dark red robe enveloped her whole body, concealing even her face beneath a deep cowl. Madame Tangli reached out and took the bottle from her daughter-in-law. The bottle had a peculiar shape—narrow at the base and broad at the top. The liquor inside was red, but when gently swirled, wisps of teal drifted along the inner glass, settling back into red once still. "Let me see the receipt." "Right here, Mother." Dutifully, Kaixi handed over the receipt from the point coupon shop. "To think that after so many years, not only hasn't the price gone up, but it's actually cheaper than I remember." "Order coupons have appreciated considerably against other coupons lately," Kaixi explained. "So that's how it is." Madame Tangli pulled the stopper and opened her palm. Kaixi emptied the pouch of gravel into her hand, and Madame Tangli tipped all the pebbles into the bottle. The gravel quickly filled the base. With a gentle swirl, a fizzing sizzle rose from the bottom, and dense swarms of bubbles began floating upward. Soon, the red liquor turned blue, burning like a flame sealed inside the glass, while a sharp, dizzying, pungent aroma wafted through the air. Madame Tangli brought the bottle to her lips, took a sip, and closed her eyes, her face reflecting a mix of nostalgia and savoring enjoyment. After a long while, she looked at her daughter-in-law and asked, "Never tried drinking it like this, have you?" Kaixi shook her head. "No." "Actually, back when I was young, I didn't drink it often either. There were never many point coupons left in my purse, so a few friends and I would pool our money together to buy one, or shout for whoever had just collected a mission reward to treat us. "Usually it was one bottle shared among everyone, passed around in turns. No one got very much, but back then, every sip was eagerly anticipated, and every sip tasted so good. "Later on, when life got better and coupons were plentiful, I tried buying it to drink on my own. But as I drank, I found it didn't taste like it used to. For a time, I suspected the point coupon shop had watered down the liquor or adulterated the pebbles. "Yet I never thought of buying it from another point coupon shop. Down in my heart, I knew very well that the liquor and the pebbles hadn't changed. What had changed was that the circle of friends who drank with me was no longer at my side." "Mother, may I try a sip?" Madame Tangli chuckled, took another sip herself, and shook her head. "Where is the rule that allows you and me to share a drink?" "Yes, Mother." "Where's your man?" "He... went missing again." "I felt his condition had improved considerably." "Yes, I think so too." "Yet once he got better, he took a liking to running away from home from time to time. And his absences are getting longer and more frequent. Tell me, does that count as a good thing?" "I think so. At least it's much better than before." "As long as you're satisfied." Madame Tangli rubbed her neck with mild helplessness. "The men of the Guman family—each stranger than the last. It's all my fault." "How could that be your fault, Mother?" "Of course it's my fault. Blame me for choosing your father-in-law, and blame him for choosing me. All these years, I've poured my heart and soul into managing our family's life, but I found that the harder I try, the worse I do. "Well, perhaps not worse, but just when everything is about to become complete and happy, something turns around and takes a bite out of it. "It's like dangling a piece of meat from a bamboo pole, baiting you forward so you can't help limping along after it. "Time and again I was so furious I wanted to throw everything away and conclude that my original choice was a mistake. Yet the moment I caught the scent of that meat, I couldn't stop my mouth from watering. "This is the life I chose. It's truly not as wonderful as I imagined, but... it's not so terrible that I could ever bring myself to abandon it." "Mother..." "I'm talking too much today. Don't mind me." "Not at all, Mother." After another sip, Madame Tangli replaced the stopper, left the bottle on the car seat, and stepped out. "Today, this wine finally had a bit of its old flavor back." "Mother..." Kaixi reached out to support her mother-in-law, but Madame Tangli gently pushed her hand away. "You're wearing your Jurist robes. Walk in front, and I'll follow behind. It's been many years since I last set foot in the Church of Order's Church Affairs Building. Ah, no, I almost forgot—this is a new one. The original one collapsed." "Yes, Mother." Kaixi walked ahead, with Madame Tangli following behind. "Strictly speaking, this matter wasn't anything major. Isn't brawling completely normal for young people? The fault lies in..." Kaixi chimed in, "Yes, Mother, the fault lies in the other party's extraordinary background." "Heh, where did your mind wander off to? I mean the fault lies in beating him half to death instead of finishing him off. Wouldn't it have been better to destroy the corpse and wipe out all traces?" Kaixi: "..." "Our Richard has been serving in a Whip of Order squad for quite a while now. He's traveled to many places and faced plenty of dangers, yet he's still so naive and immature. "He knew that Vicolai, didn't he?" "Yes, he did." "Then he should have killed him, and asked his friends from the squad to help clean up the aftermath. Someone in his squad is bound to be good at that sort of thing. What's the point of leaving the boy with a breath left? Isn't that just waiting to be bitten back?" "Richard probably didn't think that far ahead at the time." "Useless boy." "Mother, if some things are carried through to the absolute extreme, there's no room left to turn back." "Room? You have to see who you're dealing with first! In my eyes, the Nadon family is a bunch of lunatics. From top to bottom, every last one of them has something wrong with their head. "I even wonder how on earth Dolph ever managed to climb into the bishop's seat. He's practically a raging, idiotic wild boar." "Father went to negotiate; there should be a result." "I told your father-in-law to mobilize his department overnight, reach out to his students, contact his current and past colleagues, pull all those connections together, and have them speak up in unison so we'd have more leverage when cleaning up the mess today. "Do you know what he told me? "He actually had the nerve to say that those people control the ritual hubs of several core areas in this region, and if something went wrong, the damage and fallout for the region would be immense, and the loss to the Church catastrophic—so how could he possibly do such a thing? "Do you know how I felt when I heard that? "Kaixi, "I wanted to grab him by the throat and plunge his face straight into the toilet!" "Mother, Father was thinking of the bigger picture. His reluctance is understandable. After all, Father's department and the projects he's involved in are of great significance to the Church." "When you heard Richard's account of the incident last night, do you think Richard would lie?" "No..." "Then do you think your son did anything wrong? He saved those young ladies from the pastry shop. He saved their lives. Do you think he was in the wrong?" "No..." "Precisely! So if Richard were in the wrong, that old fossil could sacrifice whatever he wanted for the 'bigger picture' and I wouldn't say a word. If you have no moral ground, you don't throw tantrums—I can accept that. "But the issue is, our grandson did nothing wrong! And now, the mad dogs of the Nadon family are certainly going to clamp their jaws onto Richard and tear into him! "Why should the person who did nothing wrong have to 'consider the bigger picture' and swallow humiliation? "The great God of Order you people worship— "flip through our own Church's scriptures, flip through the mythologies of other churches, is there a single record of the God of Order ever swallowing a grievance for the sake of the 'bigger picture'? "Do you know why the stray curs of the Nadon family are so insolent? They're spoiled rotten by people like that old fossil who love to 'consider the big picture,' endure indignities, and swallow their pride!" "Mother..." "Kaixi, Richard is your son. Back then, because of what happened to Aisen, you left home for so many years and barely looked after your boy. I don't blame you for that; I have no standing to blame you. "But if you still remember that you are Richard's mother, stop making excuses for that old fossil in front of me." Madame Tangli placed her hand on Kaixi's shoulder. "If that old fossil negotiates a decent outcome, we'll swallow a bit of pride, turn a blind eye, and let it pass. But if the old fossil botches the talk and truly lets my grandson—your son—suffer harm... "I'll slaughter as many dogs from the Nadon family as I can. Even if Yorktown becomes uninhabitable for me, even if I end up wanted by the Church of Order, I couldn't care less! If the men in this family can't hold up the sky, they can't blame us women for flying into a rage!" Kaixi nodded heavily. She then led Madame Tangli to the third floor, where the crowd was sparser. There was a lounge with tea tables for conversations and rest, though the tea fees were somewhat steep—mainly to keep loiterers from taking up seats. The two women had just sat down when Kaixi noticed the stir in the ground-floor lobby. "Mother, look—it's Richard..." Madame Tangli stood up and looked down. Moments later, she saw Bishop Dolph standing on the second floor, flanked and crowded by his entourage. A razor-sharp glint flashed in the old lady's eyes before quickly receding. She wouldn't give her prospective prey any inkling that he was being targeted. As Richard dropped to his knees, that area instantly drew the attention of the entire hall. Vicolai was carried out and set upright before him. Kneeling on the floor, Richard began loudly recounting his transgressions, offering an open apology. The commotion attracted more and more eyes. Not only was the first-floor lobby packed to bursting, but people lined the railings on the second and third floors as well, while numerous staff members who had been working took the elevators or ran down the stairs to watch the spectacle. At this moment, this was the epicenter of the entire Church Affairs Building. Seeing her son kneeling there to apologize, Kaixi covered her face with both hands and began to weep. "What are you crying for?" Madame Tangli chided under her breath. "Don't act like that old fossil." Madame Tangli's gaze caught Delon standing all alone in a corner at the edge of the first-floor lobby. The old fossil had his eyes closed, his mouth slightly open, his hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly. Between husband and wife, comparisons were the greatest taboo. Comparison bred resentment, resentment spawned emotional outbursts, and emotional outbursts ignited conflict. Yet seeking a sense of happiness through comparison was also an instinctive human trait. At this moment, Madame Tangli couldn't help thinking of that man. Half a year ago, that man had also made his choice for the sake of his grandson. If this were his grandson, would he ever allow his grandson to kneel here and apologize in front of so many people? You old fossil, Richard doesn't share my surname. His surname isn't Alter—it's Guman! Right now, it's your Guman family's face being dragged through the dirt! Beneath Madame Tangli's lids, a veil of dark crimson gathered. Rage completely filled her chest. Right at that moment, she suddenly saw someone striding toward the center of the hall. The instant that figure appeared, an overwhelming sense of familiarity and fondness washed over her. "Karen..." When Karen helped Richard to his feet; when she saw Richard laughing and saying something to Karen; when she saw the two men beside Karen shove aside Vicolai's attendants; when she saw Vicolai slapped in handcuffs; when she saw Karen hold up the investigation warrant and proclaim to the entire hall that Vicolai was suspected of serious disciplinary violations and was being taken back to the regional Whip of Order headquarters for investigation— Madame Tangli's eyes went wide. Kaixi stopped weeping, staring blankly at the scene. Old Master Delon snapped his eyes open, disbelief written across his face. The entire hall, which had been buzzing with hushed whispers, plunged into dead silence in an instant. Never since the day this Church Affairs Building was commissioned had it seemed so quiet. Everyone realized clearly that this public kneeling apology had been a staged setup. Otherwise, there was no way to explain the investigation warrant that followed in seamless succession—called an investigation warrant, but in truth an arrest warrant. No one would mock the kneeling young man anymore. All the prior forbearance and concessions of the winning side would only be glorified with a heroic halo. People would only remember that the Adjudicator who had just received a kneeling apology was under arrest. Kaixi asked in bewilderment, "Was this all... planned in advance?" A smile spread across Madame Tangli's face. She murmured with deep feeling: "Our grandson has grown up." *** "Anyone who obstructs will be deemed an apostate!" After Karen shouted those words, he didn't rush to "flee" with his arrestee and transfer him immediately back to headquarters. Instead, he chose to do nothing, standing right where he was. Because no matter how warped the mid-to-lower tiers of the Whip of Order had become or how subservient they were to the regional administrative offices, no regional administrative office dared to publicly declare that the Whip of Order was merely a pet dog kept in their backyard—even if it truly was little different from a domestic dog at present. Indisputably, the Whip of Order system had been an utterly transcendent entity since the founding of the Church of Order. When Lord Tyrannus, one of the Four Retainers beneath the God of Order, founded the Church of Order, he treated the Whip of Order as a vital pillar in expounding the doctrines of Order. Only the existence of the Whip of Order could establish the rigor of the rules of Order, not just toward the outside world, but internally as well; it was indivisible and indispensable. Therefore, openly opposing the Whip of Order was equivalent to defying and desecrating doctrine. Neo's original plan had been simpler: a forged official letter summoning Vicolai to the Church Affairs Building this morning, where Karen would wait in the lobby with his men and arrest Vicolai in front of the crowd. Choosing to strike in the Church Affairs Building was precisely for the sake of an audience—not to show off, but because without an audience... things might not go smoothly. When challenging upward from below, the dominant party on high could naturally draw upon vast resources to secure every advantage. Only under the glare of public exposure could the strong party's available maneuvers be restricted—preventing them, at least for that critical moment, from putting their resources into motion. The sensation reminded Karen of his past life's live-streamed drunk driving checkpoints. Facing the live camera, when a drunk driver tried to make phone calls to pull strings, the traffic cops would sternly forbid it and inform them that calling anyone was useless. Although an unexpected incident had occurred—Richard beating Vicolai onto a stretcher—Neo's adjustments, Richard's cooperation, and Karen's on-the-spot improvisation had brought events back onto their intended track. In fact, Richard's kneel had garnered even greater attention than originally anticipated, yielding an even stronger restraining effect. Earlier in the office, had Karen pulled out the investigation warrant, he most likely wouldn't have been able to take Vicolai away. Head Bishop Wolflen would likely have tapped his connections directly, contacting the regional Whip of Order headquarters to demand the revocation of the warrant, while Dolph and other bishops would have reached upward through their channels to quash the matter before it started. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that this was a power-reclamation operation launched by the regional Whip of Order. Taking Vicolai wasn't merely arresting an individual; it was the bugle call charging into a struggle for authority. Yet who could blame Karen when the personalities of "Lunatic Dolph" and Vicolai were so easy to read? When Karen proposed having Richard apologize by kneeling in public, the grandfather and grandson saw it as a fine step to save face and gladly took the bait. Had the pair possessed an ounce of shrewdness, a shred of subtlety, or the slightest care for decorum... Richard wouldn't have been able to kneel even if he wanted to. Were it Karen, if he or his grandson had been beaten into such a sorry state by a mere Whip of Order squad member, how could he have the gall to publicly accept an apology—especially while lying strapped to a stretcher? Wouldn't that be making a complete laughingstock of himself? Yet this grandfather and grandson truly lacked any such awareness. *** "Head Bishop, this is bad! Very bad!" The aide pushed open the office door. Resting with his eyes closed, Head Bishop Wolflen opened them. "Are they bickering down there again?" "No! Karen produced an investigation warrant from the Disciplinary Inspection Committee, handcuffed Vicolai, and announced he's taking him away to assist in an investigation!" "What?!" Wolflen sprang to his feet, grabbing his identity token. With it, he could bypass every defensive and restricting formation in the building. An instant later, Wolflen appeared on the third floor, materializing beside his grandson, Leon. He looked down and saw Karen holding up the investigation warrant. "Head Bishop..." In official areas, Leon always addressed his grandfather by title. Wolflen sighed, reaching out to pat his grandson's head. "Leon, you truly cannot compare to him." "Grandfather..." Leon switched roles to match his grandfather's tone, unable to resist reminding him, "Grandfather, will Bishop Dolph step in to take the boy back? Do you need to warn him?" "He may be an obnoxious mad dog everyone detests, but he isn't an idiot. If he dared step in to obstruct right now, he would be leading his Nadon family into direct opposition against the Whip of Order. "'Anyone who obstructs will be deemed an apostate'—that isn't an empty slogan. At least right now, under the watchful eyes of so many people, even a mad dog knows to tread carefully." "Then Vicolai will definitely be taken away by Karen?" Leon paused, then added, "Actually, Karen was aiming for Vicolai from the very start. He told me." "Yet you didn't tell me." "I thought he was trying to mediate..." "Never mind. Young people's business should be handled by young people. You don't need to report back to me anymore, if you want to run with their crowd." "Grandfather, you mean..." "Isn't my meaning obvious enough? What I must do, I have to do—that is dictated by my position. But it has nothing to do with you." "Yes, Grandfather, I understand." Wolflen chuckled softly. "Even I was hoodwinked by that kid. He played all of us old fogies for fools. How old is he anyway, to handle these tactics with such finesse?" "Still, even if they take Vicolai away today, once today passes, Bishop Dolph's side, and your side, Grandfather, could still..." "For him to come make an arrest with such clear purpose means he possesses full preparation and confidence. It's likely not about the brawl, but something far more serious. I'm rather curious myself: the Guman family excels in ritual formations, not combat. How did a young man like Richard beat an Adjudicator to such an extent? What exactly did those mad dogs of the Nadon family do? "I even suspect... that this newly reactivated Disciplinary Office has its sights on more than just Vicolai." "Grandfather..." "Enough. From here on out, we have quite a show to watch." *** "Father, this..." The Deputy Director of the Law Enforcement Department stood beside Bishop Dolph, at a loss for words. He knew full well that going down to interfere or seize the prisoner was impossible right now. For local regions to band together and form regional factions was an unspoken rule laid practically out in the open. That was why restoring the mid-to-lower tiers of the Whip of Order was so arduous: it was tantamount to wrestling power directly from the regional administrations. Yet the Church of Order was not like the Church of Samsara, where family factions held total sway. The fact that numerous consecutive High Priests had not hailed from noble houses was the clearest proof. Furthermore, the Holy See had always commanded the knight order. Thus, while the Holy See had to engage in protracted tugs-of-war over specific matters with the local regions, in terms of absolute strength, the Holy See held crushing superiority over the subordinate regions. Consequently, this game of struggle and balance could only be played in the shadows, a tacit understanding between both sides. If any regional faction had the temerity to drop all pretense and stand in direct opposition to sacred doctrine, actively handing over a vulnerability ripe for a frontal assault, the folks at the Holy See would probably wake up laughing in their sleep. Dolph's chest heaved violently, veins bulging across his face. Yet he dared not utter a sound, let alone leap down to kick the fellow who dared handcuff his grandson across the room. He knew that if he dared take such action today, then tomorrow, the Whip-Wielder would dispatch a special investigative task force straight into the York City Region to carry out an all-encompassing reckoning against his Nadon family. In political struggles, an outlier in a disadvantaged position was guaranteed to be abandoned by their own faction... to say nothing of how well Dolph knew his own abysmal reputation among the regional bishops. Dolph closed his eyes. "Let them take Vicolai today. But in a few days, I will make them bring my grandson back with their own hands—respectfully and humbly." *** Karen waited for a good while. Once he felt the moment was ripe, he signaled Vic and Muri to lift Vicolai's stretcher. Vicolai was still shouting "Grandfather! Grandfather!", but clearly, his mad-dog grandfather dared not protect his pup today. Richard walked in front to clear the way. Though covered in injuries, he now wore a reserved, composed smile, imitating Karen. Inside, however, joy bubbled and surged uncontrollably. He had read many stories of heroes who suffered humiliation in their youth before turning the tables in triumphant victory. Richard felt as though he were the protagonist of such a tale; well, no—the true protagonist was probably Karen walking behind him, but he was at least the leading supporting role! The crowd parted, clearing a path. For how many years had the Whip of Order been active, yet always receiving assignments from or taking direct deployments under the regional administrative office? For the vast majority present, this was the very first time they had witnessed the Whip of Order conducting an investigation and arrest under its own independent authority. Among the onlookers were members of the Whip of Order, as well as squads that had come to pick up missions. Seeing this scene, their expressions grew remarkably stirred. A sense of belonging within a collective required pride as an adhesive; in simpler terms, everyone longed for a powerful organization they could lean on. Karen believed that after this formal debut, provided the subsequent proceedings unfolded smoothly, coordinating with the region's Whip of Order squads in the future would become far easier. Even those reluctant to comply would no longer dare refuse outright, but would instead come bearing gifts, trembling as they offered explanations. Stepping out of the Church Affairs Building into the near-midday sun, Karen felt a fleeting sense of unreality. He couldn't help pausing in his tracks. Seeing him pause, Muri and Vic stopped carrying the stretcher, and Richard halted as well. Karen stood for a moment, saying nothing and making no gesture, before resuming his stride down the steps. The others followed in his footsteps. Vicolai was loaded into the VIP car. As one could foresee, the journey from here to the headquarters building would be utterly safe... no one in the regional administrative office would dare intercept them. In fact, the Nadon family might even send escorts to guard against rivals framing them by causing an accident. Karen got into the car. Vicolai was still slurring unintelligible shouts. *Smack!* Vic had zero tolerance for him, slapping Vicolai across the face without hesitation. "Shut your trap!" Richard sat down next to Karen, his body still squirming with excitement until he accidentally jostled a wound, hissing sharply through his teeth. Karen looked at him and asked, "I'm curious: did Neo add a few extra touches to those injuries of yours?" Richard immediately shook his head. "The director told me to keep that a secret from you."