As soon as the sky darkened, Xialuote made sure the gardeners and servants in the garden had all left. She quietly pushed open the floor-to-ceiling window, stepped out onto the second-floor balcony, then climbed down by way of the stone railing and the decorations on the wall. Her feet met solid ground. She quickly vaulted the courtyard wall and dropped onto the secluded path outside.
Today was Thursday. Her destination was the underground exchange in the Dock District named on Hengli's note. From Saint Luoke District to that place meant crossing nearly the whole city, and she had to set out as early as she could if she was to arrive in time.
Fortunately, her obedient conduct these past few days had led her father, Lawuer Suolun, and the maid Laila to lower their guard toward Xialuote. After dinner she made the excuse that she wanted to sleep early, smoothly gained time to herself, and slipped out of the mansion without delaying a moment.
She wore a dress that did not stand out, with a dark cloak over it, and the brim of her lady's hat pulled low, so that she looked like a maid hurrying on her way.
But even after becoming an "Arbiter," with stamina far beyond an ordinary person's, the road still felt long. By the time she left Saint Luoke District and stepped onto King's Road, which crossed the peninsula, night had already fallen. Most of the shops were closed, and there were clearly fewer people in the street. Only oil lamps, set far apart, dotted the road.
It gave Xialuote the feeling of facing the unknown alone in the dark.
Of course, this undertaking was not something she had decided on by herself. That afternoon, when she went to Saint Luoke Cathedral, Xialuote had already reported the underground exchange to Madam Weiyefu, the "Purifier" who happened to be on duty. Hearing of it, the other woman was not surprised. She only reminded Xialuote that the Dock District fell within the charge of the Church of the God of Craftsmen, and that Machinery Heart had most likely already learned the exchange was being held, judged the danger slight, and was mainly observing.
Weiyefu had also specifically cautioned her not to casually buy Extraordinary materials, mystical items, or potion formulas of unknown origin. Gatherings like this were full of fakes, and genuine goods were often even more dangerous. Unless the organizers of the trade could verify what was real and what was not, it was best only to look and not to buy.
Only look, and not buy—wouldn't that make the trip a waste...? Xialuote muttered inwardly. Lifting her hem, she strode on between lamplight and shadow, wishing desperately that she had a bicycle just then to ride.
Which potion pathway could move quickly, and at what sequence did an ability like that appear? What was Sequence 8 of the Arbiter? And why was the "Assassin" pathway called the "Witch"? What if a male Assassin kept advancing all the way up? Thoughts rose one after another in her mind, and with them she whiled away the dull time, which offered no mobile phone, neon lights, or billboards to relieve the tedium.
Only when the last trace of sunset at the sky's edge had given way to night did Xialuote reach Severed Finger Bridge, spanning the Laien River. It was also called King's Road Bridge, because the boundary between Bo'ersi District and the Old City was precisely King's Road, which ran the length of the peninsula, and this bridge stood at the end of the street. Every day silk from Xiakelusi District was carried across here, loaded onto ships by way of the Dock District, and sent to other cities, even traveling the waterways all the way into Telier.
Unlike Exchange Bridge on the Suona River, which linked Saint Luoke District and Bo'ersi District, Severed Finger Bridge had quite a few crude houses built along both sides, and the edges of the deck were crowded with sheds that vendors and porters had put up for the time being. After nightfall, the place was livelier than the city districts.
Xialuote lowered her hat brim, crossed the bridge, and had just started along a row of warehouses toward the address on the note when she sensed footsteps following behind her, neither near nor far. The sound sometimes slowed and sometimes quickened, but it never disappeared.
A woman out alone really was easy to target... Xialuote was not surprised. As she passed the mouth of a narrower alley, she stopped suddenly and turned to look back.
The one who had followed was a tramp in shabby clothes, his hair a tangled mess, greed and hesitation mixed on his face. Seeing her stop, he froze as well, as if he had not expected his target to turn around of her own accord.
"Get lost."
Xialuote gave the order in a low voice. The Majesty that belonged to an "Arbiter" spread from her together with the words.
The tramp's face went pale at once. It was as if the frail woman before him had, in the space of a glance, become a burly man with a weapon in his hand. A muddled sound came from his throat. He never got out a complete sentence. He staggered back, turned, and ran toward another alley.
Xialuote watched him flee in a stumbling panic until he vanished into the gloom, and only then let out a soft breath.
If he had truly had a weapon, or if he himself were an Extraordinary, an intimidation like this might not have worked so well. But against an ordinary tramp, the power of Sequence 9 was already strong enough.
By the crimson moonlight she checked the address on the note again, and soon came to a narrow alley between two rows of warehouses.
There were no streetlights here. The walls were damp, and straw rope, wood shavings, and mud lay scattered over the ground. Two people already stood beside a side door at the end of the alley. One wore a loose old cloak that covered his whole head, and was walking in through the door with his head lowered. The other looked like an ordinary dockworker. He leaned against the doorframe with an unlit pipe in his hand, his gaze moving back and forth.
Seeing this, Xialuote took out the veil she had prepared beforehand, hung it from her hat brim to hide her face, and came up to the door.
The man dressed as a dockworker glanced at her and asked quietly,
"What are you here for?"
"To see what there is to buy."
Xialuote answered, and handed over the note Hengli had given her. He looked down to confirm it, stared at her for a few seconds more, then shifted his body aside and let her through.
Run this loosely? It seemed official Extraordinary really had tacitly allowed this place to exist; otherwise a gathering like this would have been raided and shut down long ago... Xialuote relaxed a little, and followed the cloaked man, who was clearly a participant as well, in through the door.
Beyond the door was a narrow passage. The floor sloped downward, and an oil lamp hung at every interval. The light was only just enough to make out the ground underfoot. Xialuote walked along the passage for about half a minute, passed through a heavier wooden door, and came into an underground room lit by many candles.
The room was not large. Wooden crates and old sacks were piled in the corners, and a round table stood in the middle. Seven or eight people were already seated around it. The candle flames were dim. She could only tell that there were men and women among them, of various identities, but all were hidden in the shadows between flickers of candlelight, and looked furtive.
Seeing Xialuote come in, several people turned their heads briefly, then quickly looked away.
But she could feel that, a moment later, a few gazes quietly returned and settled on her cloak and veil. Xialuote did not know whether they were curious about her sex and build, or had sensed something from her manner. She could only pretend not to notice, find a chair in a corner, and sit down.
A short while later, seeing that the wooden door did not open again, a hooded man in a gray cloak beside the round table raised his head and said in a low, heavy voice,
"Since nearly everyone is here, tonight's trade will begin. I'll go over the rules once more."
No one in the room spoke. Only the candles now and then gave a faint pop.
"First, tell true from false for yourselves. If you need something appraised, you may pay me to do it, but I answer only for my own judgment and make no guarantee. Second, no fighting here, and no arguing. If you have a matter to settle, take it outside. Third, five percent is charged on every transaction, as the fee for maintaining the gathering and changing its location."
Five percent... Xialuote felt the rate was within what could be accepted, not enough to make people go around the organizer and trade in private. And a gathering with a fixed organizer was safer than dealing directly in an alley with others of unknown identity.
Seeing that no one objected, the hooded man went on,
"The procedure is the same as always. First comes the group trade. Each person in turn says what they are selling, or what they need. Anyone interested names a price, and the highest bidder gets it. After that you may talk freely. You can exchange information, or arrange the next deal. Before we finish, I will announce the time and place of the next gathering.
"If there are no objections, we begin."
The other participants were disguised, just as Xialuote was. Some wore masks. Some covered half their faces with scarves. One participant who looked like a middle-aged woman kept both hands hidden in her sleeves the whole time, and showed no particular reaction to the hooded man's words. Clearly, this was not her first time attending.
Xialuote noticed that the slender, graceful figure of Hengli'aite, who had guided her here, was not among them.
Given her temperament, she might be using Invisibility to stand in some corner and quietly watch the gathering, or she might not have come at all, having no interest in dealings at this level... Xialuote thought it over, and drew her gaze back from the other participants.
She had not brought much money, and she did not mean to buy anything tonight. She was only here to observe how the exchange went, and to see whether there was any abnormality worth reporting to the Church.
At that thought, she lowered her eyes toward her feet. Under the cover of adjusting her veil, she deftly pinched her earlobe with her right hand and, using that switching gesture to cue herself, opened her spirit vision.
The booklet Weiyefu had given her warned again and again that this method of observing one's surroundings by means of spirituality must not be used casually in an unknown place. Otherwise one might see things one ought not to see, bringing on mental confusion and corruption, or even becoming a trigger for loss of control. So Xialuote did not immediately sweep the whole room. She looked first at the wooden crates in the corner, then slowly moved her gaze, letting the outlines of the other participants enter her sight a little at a time.
In spirit vision, everyone in the room showed a faint white sheen, differing only slightly in brightness. At Xialuote's present level of spirituality, that was all she could manage. It was said that a sequence with stronger spirituality, such as a "Mystery Pryer," could judge another's state of health and emotions from the different colors of an aura, and even discover a mystical item hidden on the body—but, correspondingly, was also more likely to see what ought not to be seen.
Once I advance another sequence and strengthen my spirituality, perhaps I'll be able to do that too... She thought it with a touch of anticipation. Just as she was about to close her spirit vision, her gaze stopped suddenly on a figure on the other side of the round table.
The young man had black hair and was dressed rather formally, like someone with a respectable post, though a cloth covered his face, and the way he sat was ordinary.
His aura showed nothing obviously amiss, yet Xialuote's instinct as an "Arbiter" vaguely felt that something about him was not right.
As if he had sensed her prying, the man turned his head slightly and looked this way. A hint of inquiry showed in his deep-blue eyes. Then he nodded and looked away.
But in Xialuote's eyes, that human figure covered by the glow of spirituality moved as mechanically and stiffly as a puppet.
Chapter 33