The silence didn't last long this ti, because the battered Shi Lolin soon regained consciousness.
The first thing she did upon waking wasn't scream or cry for help — it was to clench her teeth against the excruciating pain wracking her body, eyes wide and calculating as she continuously assessed the three powerful outsiders before her.
There was no anger in her gaze, no fear, not even panic — only calm appraisal.
She never once considered fighting back. The gap in power was too vast. She knew she had no chance. Judging by the devastating blow she'd just taken, even if you combined the entire Extre Desire Brotherhood's forces within Falling Gate, they probably couldn't handle a single one of these three — let alone the other two standing off to the side, playing good cop. And those two didn't look like pushovers either.
But Shi Lolin wasn't worried either. With such an overwhelming power disparity, they clearly could have killed her instantly yet chose to save her instead. That ant they had sothing to "ask." She could see the playful glint in the trio's eyes and was certain they hadn't co for revenge — they'd co for information.
And as it happened, here in Falling Gate, she was confident she possessed enough information to buy her survival.
So shortly after regaining consciousness, she seized the initiative to bargain for her life.
"It seems I offended you. We could have had a far more pleasant exchange, but as things stand — you call the shots."
She stretched her lips into a grimace, sucking the blood from her mouth. Seeing both severed arms lying far from her body, she let out a bitter, miserable laugh:
"Whatever you want to know — go ahead and ask. I'll answer like a good girl."
"..."
Despite the Shanty Area leader's pragmatism in reading the situation, her tone and expression still gave Cheng Shi the distinct impression that she was the one controlling the room.
He raised an eyebrow. To discourage this sharp and capable woman from getting too clever during the interrogation, he chuckled, stepped around Qin Xin, went outside the shanty to retrieve one of the severed arms, then casually rinsed it with liquor from the table. He produced a needle and thread set from his personal space and held it up against the arm's stump, looking as if he intended to stitch it back on.
But that single gesture was enough to drain the color from the previously unshaken Shi Lolin's face.
Cheng Shi noticed her expression and gave a friendly smile:
"Why the look? Scared?
Relax. I'm a doctor — an excellent doctor. Well, more accurately, I'm an excellent Fate Weaver. My specialty is stitching together other people's destinies. A limb is a vessel of destiny, which naturally falls under fate's domain, so I'm equally skilled at this.
Don't worry — you'll be good as new in no ti."
Shi Lolin bit her teeth and nodded, not daring to refuse. Her face was ashen, cold sweat streaming down, and at the sight of the knitting needle and ball of colorful yarn in Cheng Shi's hands, her entire body began to tremble.
The two Torchbearers could hardly bear to watch Cheng Shi's brand of "friendliness." Qin Xin cleared his throat twice and fell silent. The Blind One simply found a stool, sat down, and listened placidly to the Fate Weaver's performance.
Cheng Shi really was masterful at interrogation — oh no, at "conversation." He threaded the knitting needle — only slightly thicker than a scalpel point — through a strand of yarn, held it beside Shi Lolin's severed limb, and asked with a smile:
"Know her?"
Shi Lolin blinked, following the direction the needle pointed, and finally spotted Alo Manni, whom Qin Xin had tossed outside the shanty. A flash of shock crossed her eyes, quickly followed by sothing sorrowful.
"Is she dead?"
"So you do know her. But sorry — wrong answer."
With that, Cheng Shi drove the needle into Shi Lolin's shoulder. The resilient Siren couldn't hold back any longer, collapsing to the ground in a wail of agony.
But Qin Xin had long since blocked all sound from escaping. No one cared about her cries. He had no sympathy for Corruption followers — the mont she'd "poisoned" him with her powers, she should have anticipated this outco.
"I... know her!" Shi Lolin ground her teeth and gave a proper answer.
"Good. Second question — has she behaved unusually lately?"
Unusually?
An ordinary follower of the Extre Desire Brotherhood. A woman whose looks and figure weren't even outstanding by Shanty Area standards. What could possibly be unusual about her? Why would anyone bother paying attention to Alo Manni's behavior?
Shi Lolin stared wide-eyed, a flicker of confusion passing through her gaze. But she didn't dare disobey. She frantically rummaged through her muddled mories, but the pain was too intense — she could barely keep going.
Just then, a genuine healing spell settled over her, dramatically easing the agony. Feeling the healing energy wash through her, she looked at the "doctor" in disbelief, stunned to discover he was actually, truly healing her.
But that yarn...
She glanced at her arm and saw that a strand of yarn had already joined the severed limb to her shoulder. Under the healing spell's influence, the bleeding had visibly stopped.
'Madman.'
The word leapt unbidden into Shi Lolin's mind. But soon she cald herself and began recalling everything she knew about Alo Manni.
She wasn't cooperating out of gratitude — she was cooperating because she was too terrified to resist.
"Nothing. Everything was perfectly normal."
"You're sure?" Cheng Shi frowned, threading another stitch through the Siren's shoulder. "I heard that one evening, she was beaten by a miner?"
"?" Shi Lolin gritted her teeth again, shuddering as she wheezed through the pain: "Getting beaten is the most normal thing in the world for people who live in these shanties. I get beaten often myself. That doesn't count as unusual.
If a day went by without anyone getting beaten — now that would truly be unusual."
"???"
Cheng Shi blinked, montarily stunned. He even forgot what he was doing with his hands.
"Interesting. So... the desire you embrace is the desire for suffering?"
"No, it has nothing to do with our desire — it has to do with the desires of the clients who co here.
Since you've found , I assu you know about our Extre Desire Brotherhood. Don't worry — I won't threaten you with the Brotherhood. Distant water can't quench a nearby fire.
What I want to say is this: for the Brotherhood to expand, we must guide people to acknowledge desire and let it run free.
Therefore, being beaten isn't misfortune — it's glory. The scars on our bodies have never been suffering — they're dals earned from devoutly spreading His will, and they represent the desire that those who've seen the light and cast off their confusion will ultimately embrace!"
"..."
Good grief. This Extre Desire Brotherhood really was sothing else. Even in this state, she could still proselytize?
Cheng Shi was speechless. He thought back to Alo Manni's words at the inn. These two shanty won were remarkably similar in their devotion to their Benefactor.
Most Corruption followers loved wrapping their desires in a veneer of piety. But this one before him... she seed genuinely devout. If that was the case, then the Brotherhood's spiritual core and cohesion were indeed worthy of "admiration."
He shook his head with a wry smile and asked several more questions about matters Alo Manni had ntioned. Shi Lolin's answers contained no lies — other than unintentional lapses in mory, there were essentially no discrepancies.
Hearing all this, all three furrowed their brows. So the one with the problem wasn't Alo Manni — it was Ad Ric?
Cheng Shi's gaze drifted toward the mine in the distance. Sothing told him things weren't going as smoothly as he'd anticipated.
Seeing that one-sided questioning wasn't yielding any leads, Qin Xin brought Alo Manni back inside the shanty. He woke the woman, and then — amid Alo Manni's terror and Shi Lolin's sighs — cross-referenced their accounts of the past one more ti.
Yet aside from a few minor details still requiring verification, nothing substantial erged.
This ant the "discrepancy" between the two was indeed Ad Ric. Alo Manni appeared to have no connection to the trial whatsoever.
In that case... had Destiny's guidance run dry?
Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow and looked past his shoulder at the Blind One — only to see her suddenly stand, placing a die flat and steady on the table. It was a seventeen-sided die, showing seventeen.
"I was worried my divination was too broad, so I narrowed the location specifically to the Shanty Area. Even though the desire here obscures my vision, it can't obstruct His guidance. He tells
we've found the right place.
That being the case, the other 'discrepancy' must be sowhere in this Shanty Area right now.
Three of us moving together is too slow. To improve efficiency, I think we should split up.
Qin Xin and I will canvas the rest of the Shanty Area. As for you, Cheng Shi — please stay here and keep an eye on this Siren. I have a feeling she'll be useful for the next phase of our trial."
Cheng Shi heard the plan and instantly grinned:
"You? Canvassing the shanties?
What happened to 'I can't read destiny here — all I see is surging desire'?
Changed your mind about taking a dip in the river of desire?"
The Blind One seed accustod to Cheng Shi's teasing by now. She shook her head with a light laugh:
"I know my efficiency may not be the highest, but this is still the optimal solution.
With Shi Lolin subdued, the desire outside has cald significantly. On the other hand, staying here to watch over her would actually be the hardest task for .
But she's important. Until we find a lead, we need to keep her alive. So..."
"Hiss—"
THUD!
"?"
Before the Blind One could finish, Cheng Shi moved. He drove the long needle straight through Shi Lolin's neck. Then, as her expression contorted in horror, he tossed the Shanty Area boss's corpse to the equally dumbfounded Qin Xin.
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