Did my eyes deceive me?
Xialuote blinked on instinct and found that the man had already turned his head back, looking toward the round table in the center of the room. The white glow radiating from his whole body was not obviously different from anyone else's.
She moved her gaze off him. A few seconds later she looked back, as if by chance. This time the man did not turn around again because of her scrutiny, yet under spirit vision, his straightening of his face cloth and collar still showed a clear lag.
She reached up, touched her earlobe, and shut off her spirit vision. Squinting, Xialuote fixed her eyes on him and soon noticed that, under ordinary sight, those puppet-like stiff movements had all vanished again. The rise and fall of his shoulders, the sway of his legs—none of it differed from a normal person's.
But in mysticism the non-physical parts were divided, from the inside outward, into Spirit Body, Astral Body, Body of Heart and Mind, and Ether Body. Spirit vision observed a person's outermost Ether Body. Its outline coincided completely with the surface of the flesh. It was impossible for the body's movements to be normal while the Ether Body lagged half a beat behind, unless that person's spirit and flesh had already separated completely and he had become a dead man.
How could a dead man attend an underground gathering, and nod at me besides...? There might be something wrong with him. Perhaps his spirit body differed from a normal person's, or else he carried a Sealed Artifact capable of affecting his own spirit body... In any case, that he could sense me the instant I peered at him, and find me, meant he was very likely an Extraordinary... Xialuote realized she could not keep observing him so rudely. She looked away again and waited for the exchange to formally begin.
Of course, she was not expecting too much. From what she had just observed, although everyone here concealed their identity and put on an air of profundity, true Extraordinary were probably few. Otherwise, once a potion had heightened their spirituality, they ought to have reacted to her prying the way that man had. But aside from this oddity whose spirit body chased after his flesh, not a single participant had noticed.
Still, the organizer of the gathering was very likely an Extraordinary, and might even have some connection to Machinery Heart... No wonder Hengli had introduced this place to her. With the tacit consent of official Extraordinary, wild Extraordinary were few, the danger was manageable, and the oversight was loose—suitable for a newcomer like her who had only just entered the world of mysticism... While she was thinking, the hooded man beside the round table had already signaled the first person on his left to begin quoting a price.
The middle-aged woman, both hands hidden in her sleeves, glanced left and right and spoke:
"Selling two bottles of stimulant with a special power. It can keep a person in high spirits for a whole day, full of energy and never tiring. One hundred feierjin a bottle."
As she spoke, her hands came out of her sleeves. In each she held a small glass bottle sealed with a cork. The deep yellow liquid inside glinted in the dim candlelight.
She had barely finished speaking when several men around her laughed under their breath.
Never tiring... Was this the otherworld version of Red Bull? Wait—then what were they laughing at... Xialuote was half a beat slow to realize the true use of the two bottles, and at once felt a little awkward.
The woman did not look as if this were her first time selling medicine at a gathering. No one doubted the effect. The two bottles of "stimulant" were quickly bought, and the hooded man organizing the gathering took ten feierjin.
With the first successful deal done, the other participants soon brought out what they had prepared to sell as well. Someone peddled bones wrapped in black cloth, claiming they were the remains of a slain monster. Someone was seeking a ritual that could turn a person's luck, willing to pay a high price for the related steps or an incantation... The dealings ran from folk remedies to all manner of strange objects, and nothing was overly dangerous.
No wonder Machinery Heart had not shut this place down... Xialuote thought. When the hooded man pointed to her, she shook her head to show she had nothing she wished to sell.
But the next participant's words made her spirits lift:
"Selling a formula. With it, one can concoct a 'potion' possessed of wondrous power."
A potion formula? Was this something that could be bought and sold so casually? Xialuote looked toward the man on her left, draped in a brown cloak, his voice somewhat shrill. The others looked over as well. Clearly, even someone who was not an Extraordinary could understand the weight of a "potion," so long as they had attended a few gatherings.
The brown-cloaked man was very pleased with this effect. He lowered his voice and went on:
"It is called 'Knight.' Drink it, and you immediately gain the ability to tame and ride any animal, along with greater strength and stamina, so that you become a true knight whom no one can withstand—or the focus of every gaze in the hunting ground.
"The price is one thousand feierjin."
Knight... Named the same way as "Warrior" and "Assassin"? If this really was a potion formula, wasn't one thousand feierjin too cheap... Xialuote instinctively compared it with the other potions she knew of, but, bearing Weiyefu's warning firmly in mind, she did not open her mouth to ask for details.
The man peddling the formula waited a few seconds. His gaze swept, faint and barely there, toward where she was, then moved away again, as if judging whether this newly arrived young lady would be drawn in by the wondrous potion.
Heh. So I was the target... Xialuote laughed inwardly and pretended she had not understood what the formula meant.
One thousand feierjin sounded like a great deal. Converted into gold louis, it came to more than forty coins. Yet if it really was a Sequence 9 potion formula, the price was instead absurdly cheap.
Even among official Extraordinary, one had to make sufficient contributions before gaining the chance to consume a potion. Could it be bought at an underground gathering in the Dock District for one silk worker's income in a year?
If there really were so cheap a chance to become an Extraordinary, Machinery Heart would probably have come knocking long ago, and among the Sequence 9 potions Luosaier could choose, there might well be one more, called "Knight."
It seemed she had to confirm the names of the twenty-two pathways as soon as she could, or she would not even be able to tell whether a potion formula was real or fake... Thinking this, Xialuote watched coldly as the brown-cloaked man, somewhat unwilling, repeated the effects and price of the "Knight" potion once more. In the end no one answered, and he sat down in sullen disappointment.
After him came the black-haired man who had struck Xialuote as abnormal.
He picked up a long object wrapped in dark cloth from beside his feet, opened it, and set it on the round table.
It was a brass stand whose surface was covered in a rusty color. By its shape alone it looked very much like a candlestick with three branches, but when Xialuote measured it in her mind she found it ill-suited whether set on a table or mounted on a wall. If one had to find a place for it, perhaps hanging it upside down from the ceiling, so the candles burned pointing downward, was the correct way to use it.
"An antique from the time of the Tuduo Dynasty. Only five hundred feierjin. Perhaps someone can use it to uncover certain secrets of the Fourth Epoch."
The man made the introduction in a voice surprisingly gentle, as if he stood at a lectern explaining history to a group of students.
At the other end of the round table someone let out a scornful laugh.
"This is a gathering for the study of mysticism and Extraordinary things. What everyone needs is knowledge, concoctions, and things that truly have power. You ought to go to a museum in Bo'ersi District and see whether anyone is willing to buy it."
"Quiet, unless you mean to talk price."
The organizer of the gathering gave the reminder.
Seeing that no one would buy, the black-haired man shook his head, wrapped the candlestick again, and set it beside his feet.
The next few rounds of trading soon ended, and the exchange entered free conversation. The somewhat oppressive air in the room eased at once. A few people who clearly knew one another leaned together and spoke in low voices. Someone rose and went to a corner to look over materials that had failed to sell. Others simply stayed where they were, as if eavesdropping.
Xialuote had meant to take the chance to draw near the black-haired man whose spirit body was somewhat amiss, but she had only just stood when the brown cloak peddling the "Knight" potion formula came over a step ahead of her.
"My lady, you seemed quite interested in that formula just now." His voice was pressed very low, and carried an urgency she could not account for. "This is the last chance. I may not come here again next time. If the price worries you, nine hundred feierjin will do."
Did you memorize these lines beforehand? I haven't said a word, and you've already cut your own price... Xialuote was nearly amused into a laugh. She was just about to expose his clumsy lie when the black-haired, blue-eyed man had already come up beside the two of them, the antique candlestick from the Tuduo Dynasty still in his hand.
"I've attended several gatherings like this. A real Sequence 9 potion formula costs at least four thousand feierjin, and if the materials come with it, the price doubles again." He spoke in that gentle voice. "If you mean to cheat someone, remember to name a higher price next time."
"You..."
The brown cloak was clearly angered. His shoulders shifted, and his right hand rose in a fist—but he shot a glance toward the organizer seated at the table in the center of the room, remembered the rules the man had stated, and in the end did not strike. With a cold snort he turned and left.
Xialuote looked at the man whose expression was hidden beneath his face cloth, held back the impulse to pinch her earlobe and open spirit vision, and inclined her head slightly.
"I was just about to expose him. Still, thank you for the reminder."
"I can tell you are not like those people so eager to buy a potion." The man accepted this less-than-sincere thanks, then unwrapped the oddly shaped candlestick. "Since you don't seem the sort to be cheated of your money by a fake formula, would you consider buying it? This really is a relic of the Fourth Epoch. Its worth goes far beyond anything you imagine."
Do I look like someone eager to study the history of the Fourth Epoch... Xialuote grumbled to herself. She was about to shake her head and refuse when she suddenly remembered the history books in the workroom of Moerwan Dulang, the lawyer who had only just become her partner, and the several times he had watched her in secret. Something stirred, and she said:
"I'm willing to believe you, but five hundred feierjin is still too dear."
The black-haired man answered at once, as if he had known she would haggle:
"Two hundred and forty feierjin, and I'll pay the transaction fee as well."
Xialuote went still. Her gaze moved from the candlestick to his face, wrapped in the face cloth so that only a pair of deep blue eyes showed.
The money in her pocket was neither more nor less than that. Exactly two hundred and forty feierjin.
Chapter 34