Extraordinary

Extraordinary... When she heard that name, whose meaning was perfectly clear, what rose in Xialuote's mind was not surprise or doubt, but a kind of relief. It was the relief of someone who had transmigrated to another world, seen a red moon, and been battered by one shock after another through the whole night, and who had at last found a thread that could explain everything. So that was it. My last memory was only of staying up all night and then dropping straight into sleep. I was not hit by a car, not struck by lightning. How could I have transmigrated for no reason at all? This was a world where Extraordinary power existed... If I came to understand that power, even became an Extraordinary, might I find a way back? Xialuote's thoughts raced. She itched to seize Hengli by the shoulders and make her spill every scrap of knowledge she had. But remembering how the other woman could conceal her form at will and move without a sound, she only squeezed out a thread of an amiable smile and probed from the side. "The means you showed just now were indeed astonishing. But Aidian did not seem any different from an ordinary person." At most, he was stabbed in the chest and still forced himself not to fall. With a little practice, perhaps anyone could manage that... she added in her heart. To her surprise, Hengli'aite did not contradict her. She nodded in agreement. "Quite so. At low sequence, Extraordinaries of most pathways show nothing that sets them apart from ordinary people. Some have astonishing memories. Some need only two hours of sleep a day. Some are adept at reading others. Some can persuade people with ease..." As she spoke, she strolled over to the dressing mirror, sat down on the round stool, and half leaned against the edge of the table, as if leaving Xialuote free to ask whatever she wished. Seeing this, Xialuote no longer held her curiosity back. "What do you mean by pathway and low sequence?" "They are both ways of dividing Extraordinary power. A pathway is the road you choose, and sequence is how far you have walked along it. Low sequence, for example, means Sequence 9 and Sequence 8. As a rule, only after advancing to Sequence 7 and entering the middle sequence do Extraordinaries gain abilities that are truly beyond the ordinary, as I did just now." So a pathway was like an Extraordinary's profession, and sequence was a rank... Nine was the starting point, and the lowest level. Hengli had said she was middle sequence, which meant Sequence 7, perhaps a little higher. Then would the highest sequence be 1, or 0? Xialuote, with a modern mind and no small experience of games, summed it up at once. Then she recalled how Aidian had behaved earlier, and frowned. "Aidian persuaded Baron Gusitafu in a few words. Even I, who had been hostile to him all along, nearly believed those claims... Is that how his Extraordinary power shows itself?" "You are sharp. Aidian Ma'ersuo can use language to guide, even twist, another person's thoughts, and strike precisely at the weak place in a target's heart. But none of that makes him look any different from an ordinary person. "Of course, if he had already advanced to Sequence 8, everything would be different. By the time those two servants brought out the muskets, Aidian would likely have dealt with everyone present and left with you, and you would have had no chance to wound him." So Aidian was only Sequence 9, the lowest grade among Extraordinaries... Xialuote felt a quiet trace of relief, and at the same time longed all the more for the world of mysticism. She asked at once: "What pathway is he on? The same as yours?" Hengli smiled, paying no mind to the faint probe in Xialuote's words. "Aidian's pathway begins with 'Lawyer.' As a rule, we simply use the Sequence 9 name to refer to an entire pathway." Lawyer? That matched the identity Aidian showed on the surface. Was it coincidence, or had Extraordinary power tilted him toward that profession? Eloquence and the ability to twist another's thoughts would both be a great help in his work... Hengli had not revealed her own pathway. It seemed the sources of their power were not the same... Xialuote thought it over. She did not dwell on information about a man already dead. After laying the groundwork with a few questions, she raised the one she cared about most. "How does one become an Extraordinary?" She did not believe Extraordinary power came from birth or accident, because Hengli'aite had said earlier that a pathway could be "chosen." Fortunately, this lady, quite at ease in Xialuote's bedroom and showing a certain goodwill, did not conceal it. An "as expected" look came over her face as she answered. "All Extraordinaries, aside from the very few born with abilities or those who gain power by accident, advance by taking the corresponding potion." There really were Extraordinaries born that way, and lucky ones who gained power by accident... And what was advancement? Xialuote went blank for an instant, then asked in delighted surprise: "Can everyone take a potion?" "Of course," Hengli said, with a slight nod. "A few unfortunates lose control, or even die. But most people, if they are physically healthy and mentally stable when they take a Sequence 9 potion, succeed in gaining Extraordinary power." Seeing Xialuote's expression grow ever more eager, Hengli threw cold water on it. "But the greatest difficulty on the Extraordinary path is not talent or luck. It is how to obtain a potion. A correct formula and suitable Extraordinary materials are both indispensable, and both are held by the Church, the military, and the royal family. Ordinary people cannot come near them. "Of course, the royal family, that is, the Suolun family, selects certain gifted members, provides them with potions, and cultivates Extraordinaries of its own. The Church and the military, to strengthen themselves, contend with other Churches and countries, and maintain order in the world of mysticism, likewise keep their own Extraordinary forces. "Outside these systems, there also circulate potion formulas, some true and some false, and Extraordinaries who have advanced through them." The Suolun family actually possessed potions, and offered its own members the chance to become Extraordinaries? Yet the original body's memories held nothing of the sort. She and her father, Lawuer Suolun, were probably not the sort worth cultivating... Xialuote was somewhat disheartened for a moment. She was about to go on and ask about the Church and the military, and about how Hengli'aite had obtained potions, when she suddenly realized she had already asked too many questions. I'm too anxious. Is it because the wish to touch Extraordinary power, to return to Earth, has overwhelmed everything else? This is not how a girl ought to react when strange things keep happening around her and she panics enough to turn to her cousin for help... Hengli'aite may not know that I lost my memory, and she certainly cannot know that I am no longer the original Xialuote. If I show any more abnormality, it will be easy to rouse her suspicion... Forcing down her curiosity, Xialuote turned the matter over and changed the subject with a natural air. "So the two great Churches not only know that the world of mysticism exists, but have Extraordinaries of their own? Their involvement tonight in the Old City murder case—could it be because Extraordinary power is involved?" She still remembered Aidian's wariness of the Church, even ranking it ahead of the military. Her father had shown a similar unease when the carriage passed Saint Luoke Cathedral. He clearly knew something of the inside story. Unfortunately, Hengli'aite only shook her head. "I hurried to Suxite, divined your whereabouts, and went to find you at once. Of the disturbance in the Old City, I only heard some rumors. I do not know what actually happened." True enough. Even I, the person it happened to, was kept in the dark. Hengli, who only found me partway through, could hardly know what happened... But if that is so, she seems far too indifferent to why I left home, and why I appeared in the Old City. Is that simply her nature, or is she pretending, waiting for me to show a flaw... The more Xialuote thought, the colder her heart grew. She did not dare ask again about potions and Extraordinary power, lest the secret that mattered most to her, that "Xialuote was no longer Xialuote," slip out by accident. She thought a moment, decided to settle the most pressing matter first, and drew the conversation back onto its original track. "You said you came at my cousin's request. How had you originally meant to help me?" Seeing Xialuote change the subject of her own accord, Hengli'aite rose from the round stool and turned to face the dressing mirror. One hand passed over the cold surface of the glass as she spoke. "Luoshali originally thought that you had come into contact with some object bearing Extraordinary power, or been entangled by the will of a vengeful spirit, and that this was why ill fortune kept following you. No one was more suited than I to deal with such things. But after I reached Suxite I divined several times, and just now I watched you from hiding for a while. I found no such problem on you. "Either the matter already ended tonight, Aidian's attack was the end of your ill fortune, and you were lucky enough to live; or the whole affair has already gone beyond what I can handle, the divination was interfered with, and what it showed was a false appearance that all was well." At the thought that the ill fortune might already be over, Xialuote had only just begun to relax when the second half of Hengli's words sent her heart into her throat again. The method Hengli used to find me must have been "divination." And a means like that can actually be interfered with? Aidian's purpose in kidnapping me was very likely tied to tonight's murder case in the Old City. If even an unfathomable Extraordinary like Hengli cannot see the problem, then am I not doomed? No. There might be another possibility. The original Xialuote died tonight under that unbroken ill fortune, and after I transmigrated and took possession of this body, I had already lost contact with the power aimed at her... Is that possible? Thoughts rose and burst in Xialuote's mind like bubbles. She asked in a low voice: "Then what should I do?" Hengli'aite tilted her head toward the mirror, as if she might have been admiring her own looks. Only after a moment did she answer. "Two plans. "One: you come with me, leave Suxite, cut off all your original ties, and then, with the help of anti-divination power, keep most means of mysticism from affecting you again. The problem might be solved. "Two: turn yourself in to the Church." What? Xialuote's mouth opened. She did not know whether she had misheard. ———— The clamor outside the window gradually died away. The courtyard gate opened and closed again. The servants' low talk slowly dispersed. When the last footsteps faded, the Gusitafu residence sank once more into quiet. Only an occasional bark came from far off, and the faint sound of wind through the crack of the window. Luosaier Gusitafu bolted up from the bed. He first groped his way to the door and made sure it was locked from the inside. Only then did he go to the oil lamp and prepare to light it. On second thought, he returned to the bedside, pushed the window open, and by the bright moonlight looked toward the desk. An ink bottle, a quill, and an open notebook lay there. The owner of the notebook clearly did not often use it for writing. The thick sheepskin cover and the neatly bound pages within both looked as good as newly bought. Only the first few pages bore a script that held no familiarity for Luosaier, and yet which he could read with ease. He sat down at the desk, turned the notebook to a fresh page, and by muscle memory took up the quill with ease. He dipped it in the ink and let the nib hover over the paper, which was covered in a crimson light. After a moment's hesitation, Luosaier wrote the first line. "The fourteenth day of the second month, 1143..." Scratch, scratch. He struck out those last words and wrote anew above them: "...the fifteenth." They were Chinese characters, strokes level and upright.