The girl rode away in the taxi, but her final expression and words hit Karon squarely in the head, overlapping with the memory of the last time, right before the tram explosion.

***

“Big brother, do you want a chip?”

“Oh, I just left Mom’s place. I’m going back to Dad’s place.”

“Because you’re so handsome, big brother. You can easily make money without doing bad things.”

***

A coincidence? It could not possibly be a coincidence. Had someone who knew of that little girl’s experience seen Karon and deliberately fed the young woman those lines?

But at the same time, it really did seem like it was the same person.

If it was her, it had only been a few days; How could the little girl have suddenly grown so big?

After the tram explosion, Karon had left the little girl crying while he had gone to find Alfred. After that, he had gone to the hospital and had never gone back to look for the girl again.

He did not feel any guilt about that. They had met for the first time on the tram, and yet he had pulled her into his arms right before the explosion, saving her life and not even allowing her to be injured. That was already plenty.

Karon did not have the time or the interest to turn around and play the good man to the end, escorting the girl home, or even going so far as to deliver psychological counseling right at her door.

The taxi was already out of sight, and Karon chose not to chase it. The young woman seemed to have purposely approached him, greeted him, and then left. He had no intention of going any deeper.

Even so, he did not feel afraid. His identity related to the Church of Order could not be exposed only to the Church of Order. Strictly speaking, his identity could not be exposed to upper echelons of the Church of Order. To outsiders, the name of the Church of Order was still an incredible deterrent.

He rubbed the space between his brows, and when the next taxi stopped in front of him, Karon got in. “Bluebridge Community, Allen Apartments.”

“Yes, sir.”

***

The taxi stopped in front of a pottery studio. The girl with the chips got out, pushed open the door, and walked in.

The studio’s storefront was not large, but its interior extended very deep. A bearded middle aged man was sitting there painting color onto a clay jar. He did not even lift his head when the door opened, but simply said, “You’re back.”

“Mhmm, I’m back. Brother, do you know who I ran into while shopping just now?”

“Who did you run into?”

“The one who protected me in the explosion.”

“Oh?” The bearded man stopped his work and looked up at the girl. “You saw him?”

“Yes. By chance.”

“By chance? You know which platform he boarded from, so you’ve been hanging around there lately. And you call that by chance?”

“It was by chance! By chance!” the girl shouted at the bearded man.

“Alright, alright, it was by chance.” The bearded man picked up a glass of wine beside him and took a sip. “Then what? Did you tell him you were the little girl he saved that day?”

“No.”

“No?” The bearded man laughed. “I thought you’d tell him, ‘handsome big brother, to repay you for saving my life, I chose to grow up right away so I can be with you.’”

“Brother, is that how you tease your own little sister?”

“You didn’t run into him, so you kept trying to ‘accidentally’ run into him. Now you have, and you still won’t reveal your identity.”

“When I left in the taxi, I called out to him. I think he should be able to guess.”

“Guess that you’re like a balloon? That after a few days of air you grew up?”

“I just feel that he knows.”

“Alright, alright. Actually, if you like him, you can just go pursue him. Even if he’s married, being a lover isn’t a big deal. It’s repayment, after all. You can always find a reason to convince yourself, right?”

“But he’s from the Church of Order, and you, Brother...”

The bearded man looked at his sister and said earnestly, “The Church of Order is the Church of Order, and people of the Church of Order are people of the Church of Order. They’re not the same. I really am at odds with the Church of Order, but that doesn’t mean I have to go somewhere and hunt down every person of the local church and kill them. In short, I don’t mind you finding a boyfriend from the Church of Order.”

“Brother, you should have told me that before!”

“I didn’t think you’d really run into him. Fine. Go find time to shop again.”

“But he’s already got an impression of this body. It’ll be hard to manufacture a casual encounter to approach and get to know him, so...”

“I remember the man is very young?”

“Mhmm, about the same age as this body looks.”

“Don’t use the third body. She’s too mature, unless he has a thing for polished corporate types.”

“But who would refuse?” the girl asked.

“You can’t pull off someone of that age. Stick with this body. This one is the real, unvarnished you.”

The bearded man lowered his head and went back to work. “And mind your boundaries. Next time you run into him, don’t hover. I’m worried he’ll mistake it for harassment or surveillance and report it straight to his superiors in the Church of Order. If that happens, it won’t be a small misunderstanding.”

“He’s just a Divine Servant; Who can he report to?” the girl said dismissively.

“Heh heh. Do you think that someone who can use several Divine Servant Arts in one breath is really just a simple Divine Servant?” The bearded man waved a hand, as if shooing away his sister for being a nuisance. “Just do your best. Try to seduce him and bring him back so your brother can meet him. I want to see just how handsome he is, to have my sister so bewitched.”

“It’s life saving grace, life saving grace!”

“Then why don’t you use your childhood body to create a meeting?”

“Because this body has long legs! Long legs!”

“Enough, enough. I’m your brother; Do you think I don’t understand you?” The bearded man rotated the clay jar in front of him and smiled. “Life saving grace, heh heh. If the benefactor who had saved your life was ugly, you’d repay him in your next life, but since he’s handsome, you grew up right away.”

***

The taxi stopped in front of Allen Apartments. Karon paid his fare and got out. He first crossed the street to enter Alaia’s agency. The door was open, and Zenn was inside.

Karon had intended to knock, but after a moment’s hesitation, he simply pushed the door open and walked in.

Zenn seemed to sense something, turned her head, saw it was Karon, and immediately smiled. Karon communicated with her using sign language. “Where is Alaia?”

“He said he was going to buy a car for you. He hasn’t returned yet, but he should be back soon.”

“Alright. I’m really causing him a lot of trouble.”

“No, this is what he should do.”

Since Alaia had not returned, Karon intended to go home, but as he turned, he saw Hend sitting behind the counter. The boy had been sitting there since Karon had walked through the door, yet had not shown any reaction at all. Normally, he was sensible and polite. This behavior was unusual.

Karon walked over and leaned close in front of Hend. The boy looked up, but did not react.

Zenn was angry. She walked behind her son, pulled him up, and signed for him to greet Karon.

Even after being pulled from his chair, Hend still did not say anything. His gaze was not blank; His eyes were clear, just numb.

This was the first time Karon had seen Hend since Alaia had taken his wife and child to the hospital in Mulberry Port for treatment. The child seemed like a completely different person.

Karon signed to him, “Are you feeling unwell?”

Hend saw the sign language and replied, “No, I’m fine.”

“If you feel unwell anywhere, you can tell me.”

Hend shook his head and replied, “No, I’m fine.”

After a pause, Hend continued signing. “If I’m unwell, I’ll be...”

All ten of Hend’s fingers shook rapidly. Karon did not know what that gesture meant.

Zenn signed to Karon, “I’m very sorry, sir. Our child has been in a bad mood lately.”

Karon shook his head. He gently pushed Zenn aside, and moved in front of Hend. “Did something happen to you?”

Hend shook his head.

“If you don’t tell me, in a few days you’ll be...” Karon repeated the gesture Hend had made earlier, with all ten fingers shaking.

A look of terror instantly appeared on Hend’s face. He clutched his head with both hands, opened his mouth, and screamed, “Ah! Ah! Ah!”

Zenn ran right over to cradle her son’s head, and then cried along with him.

Karon was not able to proceed to the next stage of communication with this mother and son who were both deaf and mute, but his professional instincts told him that Hend had suffered some sort of major psychological trauma.

Deaf and mute people already had much greater difficulty in perceiving and communicating with the world than ordinary people. Their inner worlds were also often more prone to shutting down. If they then suffered some sort of psychological trauma that was not dealt with, or one that continued to worsen, the consequences would be more severe as well.

Hend was a good child. Karon still remembered how the first time Hend had used chopsticks, he had done very well.

In the end, Karon left the agency and returned to his home in the apartment complex. He opened the door to find Kevin holding a broom between his front paws to sweep. On the floor was a pile of fragments from a shattered plate.

Pu’er was squatting beside the dog, using a paw to nudge the larger shards into the dustpan. “Oh my god! Karon, why are you back so early!”

“I came back when my work was done. What happened here?”

“That- this- I just wanted to wash a plate!”

Karon reached down and picked Pu’er up to put her on the sofa. He then took the broom from Kevin’s paws and used the dustpan to clean everything up. “Right. How did your inspection go?”

“Mm, we didn’t find anything,” Pu’er said.

“Woof!” Kevin nodded in agreement.

“We suspect that the previous owner left behind something intangible. Then, for some special reason, it resonated with you. Last night, while you slept, you used a defensive Art. I think it might have been because of that.”

“Something intangible? Divinity?”

“Woof!” Kevin shook his head. “Woof!”

“Not that advanced. It might be... something born of thought.”

“Born of thought?” Karon chewed on the answer. “I think I understand something.”

“Oh? You understand?” Pu’er was curious.

“It’s like visiting a famous person’s former residence. What you visit is only a house and the furnishings inside. There’s actually nothing to see. The main thing is relying on tourists to imagine the celebrity’s deeds and the celebrity’s spirit.”

“When you put it that way, I think I understand too.”

“I think the Church of Light is better at this kind of thing that is born of thought.” Karon looked at Pu’er with curiosity. “By rights, you should have been more likely to resonate with him.”

That was because Pu’er’s tail hid a finger of the God of Light.

Still on the sofa, the cat grabbed her tail with a paw. “It’s precisely because I don’t believe in the Church of Light that I dared to use this method to seal it. If I ever had even a hint of belonging to or identifying with the Church of Light and its doctrine, my end would have been miserable.”

“You’d completely become a holy relic?”

“You can interpret it like that.”

“Alright. Then watch yourself.”

“Relax, relax. I’ve gotten this old. I’m not so easy to fool.”

“I’m going to shower and change. It’s still early, so this afternoon I’ll visit Pavaro Funeral Home. Oh right, when I left the hospital after visiting Alfred today, I ran into their hearse and those two attendants again. The one named Dinkom grew suspicious of my identity because he remembered that the first time we met, Alfred called me ‘Young Master.’”

“And then?” Pu’er asked.

“In front of him, I praised Order’s Whip.”

“Oh, what a genius response, Karon! The ‘praise’ routine has already been completely profaned by our young master.”

“It’s really quite useful,” Karon said with a smile.

“Only because you don’t have any reverence for the gods! Other people, especially priests, would never dare to play around like you do.”

“Praise...” was somewhat equivalent to the “I swear... or may I be struck by lightning” Karon had been familiar with in his previous life. A normal priest, rising step by step from Divine Servant to Divine Seeker and Divine Shepherd, would regard their god as the supreme existence deep in their heart. Who would dare casually profane that?

After all, in this world, the gods were real.

Karon was different. He had never had any reverence for the gods. Once the layer of mysterious religious awe was gone, all those “praise...” lines were as effortless as saying the moon looked round, with absolutely no psychological burden.

Besides, he had proven through action that criticizing the gods, verifying the gods, and even arguing with the gods could still lead to successfully becoming a Divine Seeker.

After showering and changing, Karon pointed at the dirty clothes and told Pu’er and Kevin, “You don’t need to wash those. I’ll wash them myself when I get back.”

Pu’er nodded, and so did the dog.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

“It should be Alaia,” Karon said. He picked up his briefcase before walking over and opening the door. Outside stood Alaia.

“Young Master, I bought a car back. Come take a look.”

“Alright.” Karon and Alaia went down to the parking garage, where a second-hand black Pons was parked.

“Young Master, I checked its performance and test drove it. There’s no problem at all. Get in and feel it.” Alaia proactively opened the driver’s side door.

“Mhmm.” Karon sat in. It felt quite good. He asked, “How much?” 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

“Young Master, here’s the receipt.” Alaia handed Karon a receipt. The amount on it was twelve thousand rels, which was quite reasonable.

The interior was fully equipped, and there was even a pack of cigarettes and a new lighter in the recess beside the handbrake. Karon took out the envelope and handed it directly to Alaia. “Make it fifteen thousand for your pay.”

Alaia counted quickly. He pulled out twelve thousand, putting the rest back into the envelope and returning it to Karon. “It was twelve thousand.”

“There are also fees, as well as compensation for your running around,” Karon replied.

“Just like you said last time, Young Master. If I help you to do things and still charge you a fee, then later I’ll be too embarrassed to help you with anything.”

Seeing that Alaia insisted that he not take more, Karon did not force the matter. Instead, he asked, “Which hospital in Mulberry Port did you take Hend to last time?”

“Young Master, what’s wrong?”

“When I returned from work, I went to your office to look for you. Hend’s current condition is very bad. What kind of treatment did you take him for?”

“I- that- It’s a private hospital. They said they can stimulate human potential and treat stubborn illnesses. They used... electroshock.”

Karon turned around to stare at Alaia. The man did not dare meet Karon’s gaze. “I understand your desire for your child to be able to hear and speak, but I must caution you. While it’s true is currently a child with a handicap, he at least has a sunny personality and is happy. Do you want to take that away from him as well?”

“No... of course not...”

Karon took out one of his business cards from his briefcase. The clinic had printed some for him. He handed the card to Alaia. “I’m a psychiatrist. Your son already has severe psychological trauma. If you don’t take this seriously, it will only grow more serious in the future. You and Zenn should pay closer attention. Check his body, and watch for signs of self harm.”

“Young Master... can there really be such terrifying consequences?”

“Would I deliberately scare you just to make you pay me to see your son?”

“No, no. Young Master would never do that.”

“Then take this seriously now. There’s no time today. Tomorrow, check the time. While I’m at home, you can bring Hend over. I’ll do some counseling for him.

“Electroshock... what were you thinking?”

“I only want Hend to have a chance of living like a normal child. Do you know how hard it is in this society for a disabled person to live, to live with dignity?

“No, I’m sorry. Sorry, Young Master. I’m not questioning you.”

“I can understand your feelings, but I also have to remind you of something.”

“Young Master, please say it.”

“You should ask yourself properly: do you love Hend, or do you love the version of yourself that hopes to be the father of an able bodied son?”

At those words, Alaia opened his mouth. For a moment, he did not know how to answer.

“Is there fuel in the car?” Karon asked.

“Oh, yes. The tank is full. Filled to the top.” Alaia finally came back to himself.

“Alright. Tomorrow night, bring Hend over. Right now, I need to go somewhere.”

“Oh, yes, yes.” Alaia immediately got out of the car. After closing the door, he kept bowing to Karon. “Thank you, Young Master. Thank you, Young Master.”

Karon started the car. He pulled out and drove out of the complex. Halfway to his destination, he stopped at a shop and bought some gifts.

When he reached Pavaro Funeral Home, he found a funeral in progress inside. However, given the hour, the funeral was nearing its end. Mrs. Pavaro was accompanying the deceased’s relatives as they saw off the friends and family who had come to mourn.

Karon parked behind a business sedan and saw Mr. Pavaro walking in his direction. Did he see me?

That should not be the case. Karon was driving a used car he had only just bought. It was the first time he had driven it, so Mr. Pavaro could not possibly recognize Karon’s car.

Both of the business sedan’s front doors opened in front of Karon, and two men in black robes got out. Mr. Pavaro stood in front of them.

Karon silently rolled his window down.

“Inquisitor Pavaro, we have already obtained evidence of your dereliction of duty and crimes. Now, in accordance with the Code of Order, Ordinance of the Whip of Order, we formally are placing you in custody. This is the warrant. Will you comply?”

“Can you let me smoke one more cigarette?” Pavaro asked. “Once I’m in custody, I won’t be free, and smoking won’t taste the same.”

The two black robed men exchanged a look. “Yes.”

“Alright.” Mr. Pavaro took out his cigarettes from his pocket, but could not find a lighter. He looked at the two men in black robes. Neither of them said anything.

“I’m going to go borrow a lighter.” Mr. Pavaro pointed to the car behind the sedan. The two men turned and walked over with him.

“Hello, sir. Can I borrow your lighter?” Mr. Pavaro gestured at the cigarette in his mouth. He saw Karon, but pretended not to recognize him.

Karon turned and handed over the new lighter that had been beside the handbrake.

“Oh, thank you. I’m lucky you’re someone who smokes.” Mr. Pavaro accepted the lighter, but did not immediately light his cigarette. Instead, he drew another one from his pack and handed it to Karon with a smile. “Cigarettes are best when shared between two people. If there are too many people, it’s not suitable to hand them out, as it hurts the heart.”

Karon reached over and took the cigarette. Pavaro lit his own, and then Karon’s. “Thank you for your lighter. Here, take it back. Thank you, sir.”

Pavaro returned the lighter, then turned and took a deep drag. He slowly exhaled through his nose.

Karon saw that despite Pavaro’s face remaining calm, his hand that held his cigarette was trembling slightly. At the same time, his eyes remained focused on his funeral home in the distance, where his wife was still receiving guests.

The two Divine Servant attendants, Pick and Dinkom, seemed to have sensed something happening and started to walk over, only to stop some distance away. They did not dare get any closer.

Dinkom was especially hesitant, as he saw the two men in black robes and his boss standing by a black sedan. Dinkom also saw Karon inside that car, casually smoking.

Finally, Pavaro flicked half of his cigarette to the ground, spat on it, and then viciously ground it out with his foot twice. When he looked back at the two black robed men, he raised his hands toward them. One of the men took out a pair of black handcuffs and cuffed Mr. Pavaro.

The instant the shackles closed, a current of black electricity shot into Mr. Pavaro’s body, sealing him. He spasmed and convulsed. After a long while, he said, “Praise Order!”