Until the afternoon of the next day, even while taking part in the Purifiers' operation, Xialuote was still turning the meaning of "acting" over and over in her mind.
The carriage rolled along the broad street, paved entirely in stone slabs, toward the Municipal Hall. Its steady rocking lifted and lowered the cushion beneath her, and Xialuote's head, already a little adrift from thinking, grew ever more heavy and dull.
If the key to mastering a potion's power was to make one's words and deeds gradually fit the potion's name, then how was an "Arbiter" supposed to act? Settle disputes? Uphold order? Judge right and wrong? Or, as when she had frightened off the vagrant and Brown Cloak, use Majesty to make others obey? She could hardly go looking for people to try cases on the street every day. Wouldn't that mean she ought to be called a "judge"...? Xialuote muttered to herself, then realized she was in the middle of an operation. She drew her thoughts back in and turned her gaze to Weiyefu, seated across from her.
This "Purifier" was not wearing that conspicuous white nun's habit today. A plain gray linen robe was draped over her, the collar a little high, the Sun Holy Emblem at her chest fastened inside the collar so that only a thin edge of gold showed. Her smooth blond hair was wrapped in a plain silk scarf, and both cheeks, along with her ears, were hidden in shadow. She looked like a taciturn lady's maid.
Xialuote noticed that what lay beneath the robe was not layer upon layer of skirts, but a pair of dark trousers suited to movement. Even though women's lower garments made for ease of action had begun to come into fashion in recent years, an ordinary woman would never dress that way in public. Weiyefu had clearly covered herself from head to foot with the linen robe in order to hide this; yet when the carriage swayed, the hem occasionally lifted a little and still revealed the taut lines of her long, slender calves.
Lady Weiyefu really did look lovely no matter what she wore... Mm. I could consider wearing trousers too, when I go out at night. After all, no one can tell who I am... The thought had barely risen when Xialuote realized that what she had noticed more this time was not Weiyefu herself, but that outfit so convenient for moving about. A belated fear came over her.
I'm actually admiring her clothes, and not admiring her? After becoming a woman, is my mind changing little by little as well...? This isn't the time to look into that... She forced her gaze back, straightened her back, and pretended she had only been thinking over the plan.
Weiyefu seemed not to have noticed her brief lapse. She only lifted her eyes, glanced at her, and reminded her:
"Once we're inside the Municipal Hall, do as we agreed. You knock and state your identity, but don't show him any hostility."
Xialuote nodded and pressed on:
"What if he recognizes me?"
"Then remember his reaction. It might help you recall what happened that night."
Before they set out, Xialuote had already learned her task in this operation. Using the identity of a noble young lady, she would knock and have the door of the target's office opened, put him off his guard at the first moment, and at the same time watch whether that official of the Municipal Hall recognized her, and whether the sight of her brought fear, surprise, or some other reaction.
More important still, the Purifiers hoped this meeting could stir her into remembering the important memories forgotten from that night. If she could recall the faces of the other members of the evil cult who had taken part in the sacrificial ritual, so much the better.
As for actually making the arrest, that would fall to the three Purifiers whose captain was Weiyefu.
At this thought, Xialuote could not help glancing at the hands Weiyefu kept hidden beneath her robe.
Only today had she truly learned this young nun's sequence and the general shape of her abilities. She was Sequence 7 of the Chanter pathway, a Sun Priest. She could create holy water out of nothing, and she could summon holy light just as she had when she burned to death that Mystery Pryer who had lost control. She could recite a sacred oath and attach the power of the Blazing Sun to a weapon or a limb. Beyond that, through praise and blessing she could briefly strengthen her companions' condition, keeping them lucid in the face of fear, exhaustion, and corruption.
In the other carriage sat the other two members of Weiyefu Squad.
Yelun Bo'ensi, who had once spread his arms before Xialuote and spoken Praise the Sun, was a Sequence 8 Light Suppliant of the same pathway. He could pray for light to descend beside him, summon sunlight that was somewhat weaker yet still able to kill or wound ghosts and corpses, and provide blessings and a certain degree of purification. It was said that if he prepared ritual magic, he could also accomplish some of the things only the Sun Priest Weiyefu could do, such as making holy water.
As for Qiao'er Wo'en, he was Sequence 8 of the Lawyer pathway, a Barbarian. The name sounded as if it had nothing to do with a lawyer, and even stood opposite law and order; yet he had inherited the Lawyer's gifts for words, for using rules, and for striking at weaknesses, and on top of that possessed fearsome strength, a powerful physique, and outstanding mental resistance.
The one who had intercepted, outside the printing plant last time, the gray-clad member of the evil cult fleeing through a window was this barbarian lawyer who used fists in place of words.
Only now did Xialuote understand why Hengli had said that if Aidian had been Sequence 8, she would not even have had a chance to run.
Of course, she was an Extraordinary now, an Arbiter, with excellent skill in a fight. She would not be knocked flat, stunned, and carried off by a single Barbarian's pounce. But this operation was very likely to face members of the evil cult who likewise possessed Extraordinary power, and who had even received a "Bestowal" from an evil existence. Set against Purifiers rich in combat experience, she was at most a frail woman with a little ability to protect herself.
Fortunately, the Purifiers had given her one extra safeguard for the time being.
Xialuote's right hand lightly touched the inside of her left cuff. A sheath was fixed there, hiding the Grade 3 Sealed Artifact dagger that had not yet received an official number.
In the hands of an Arbiter skilled at close combat, it could do the most. Testing a Sealed Artifact's effects in real combat and writing a detailed report was also one of the tasks of the local official Extraordinaries.
She only had to be careful not to grip it too long in a fight, or she would become like Aidian, overlooking danger out of arrogance... She was still thinking when the carriage suddenly slowed, and the roof of the compartment was knocked from outside.
The Municipal Hall was here.
——
This was the heart of Suxite, not far from Wanglu Avenue, and also the place she had originally meant to seek help on the first night after her transmigration. Looking back now, if she had truly run to the doors of the Municipal Hall in the night that day, she would probably have faced only gates shut tight, the watchmen on night duty, and no end of trouble she could not explain. By comparison, Baron Gusitafu's "warm hospitality" at the time, though it had kept her tense for a long while, already counted as very fortunate.
The Municipal Hall stood in the core of Bo'ersi District, its back against Wanglu Avenue, which cut across the city. It occupied one whole side of Municipal Square, known as Sun Square: a long three-story building, its outer walls laid in pale gray stone. Four huge stone columns stood on each side of the central doors, holding up a triangular pediment. Within the pediment were carved the orris iris that represented the royal family, and the holy emblems of two deities.
At the center of the square facing the main entrance stood a bronze statue, a young man in a cloak with one hand resting on his sword. He was said to be a prince who had rendered outstanding service to Suxite. Xialuote did not remember what he was called, only that his surname was certainly Suolun.
The carriage slowly rounded the Suolun prince, both of whose leather shoes had been rubbed bright by the hands of passersby, and stopped before the main doors of the Municipal Hall. The carriage carrying the other two Purifiers went on, circling around to the rear of the building.
It was already near the hour when the Municipal Hall ended a day's work. Clerks, servants, and citizens there on business kept coming and going near the main entrance. Once the vehicle had stopped, Weiyefu got down a step ahead and waited beside the door. She reached out and naturally took Xialuote's arm, letting her alight steadily.
The latter was wearing, today, a light-colored gown that was not elaborate, yet still showed the fineness of its cloth. She glanced up at the sky, which was about to darken, and walked in through the doors, where staff kept leaving as the day ended.
The dutiful doorkeeper had been about to step forward and ask, but after taking in her dress and the maid attending behind her, he hesitated.
"I've come to see the gentleman in charge of public security for the Old City," Xialuote said, speaking first and drawing on an Arbiter's power to make others believe her. "He knows I am coming today."
The doorkeeper clearly did not know whether "that gentleman" truly knew, but he was even less willing to offend a noble young lady, and so, after a slight hesitation, he stepped aside.
This was the benefit of status, and one of the reasons the Church had her take part in the operation.
The two soon followed the stairs to the east side of the second floor. It was quieter here than the hall below. The corridor carpet absorbed most of the sound of footsteps. On one side were windows facing the square, from which the prince's statue could be seen; on the other, one closed door after another. Several paintings hung on the wall, depicting Suxite Harbor and the windmills of Kelusi Mountain.
Even though no one was in the corridor, Weiyefu kept up the appearance of a "maid," and only reminded her in a low voice:
"Third from the last."
Xialuote did not turn her head. She only gave a slight nod and went on to the door of the room where the target was. A brass plate hung there, bearing the title of the post responsible for security and public order in the Old City, and the official's name.
Zhuli'an Laite... On the day of the sacrificial ritual he had, under a suitable pretext, moved the Old City's forces on alert, and as if by chance turned certain areas into blind spots. Though it had been done very cleverly, the Church had discovered it all the same... Xialuote silently read the name on the plate, glanced back at Weiyefu, and, seeing that the other did not stop her, drew a deep breath and knocked.
"Excuse me, is Mr. Laite in? I am Madi'erda, of Viscount Abei'er's household."
She had borrowed the name of a local noble young lady of her own age, so the other party would not hear the surname "Suolun"—already plainly standing with the official Extraordinaries—and startle into flight.
Of course, what Xialuote feared more was that he had already gotten word and fled, because that would mean the news might have leaked. Not many inside the Church knew of the operation, and even fewer outside the Church knew of it. Among them was her father, Lawuer.
At that thought, she held her breath.
After a brief silence, the somewhat weary voice of a middle-aged man came from inside the door:
"I'm here. Please come in."
Chapter 37