13 Mink Street

Using the excuse that something urgent had suddenly come up, Karon took his leave from the Gorman family. Ms. Tansley stood by the wooden fence in the garden, watching Karon get into his car. He smiled and waved to the old lady a second time, yet when starting the car, Karon paused. He then touched the folded piece of black paper in his pocket.

Moving as fast as possible, Karon soon arrived at Lemar’s studio. He got out, pushed the door open, and went in. A corpse lay on the table. Its abdomen had already been opened, and its neck was twisted to the right. Such a scene looked somewhat out of place in broad daylight, especially given that the shop even had a glass door. However, after stepping closer, it was clear that what was inside the corpse’s abdomen was not flesh and organs, but dense clusters of gears.

At that moment, Lemar happened to emerge from the back holding some “dissection” tools. When he saw Karon, he immediately said, “Mr. Karon, Mr. Memphis went after someone.”

Karon pointed at the puppet on the table.

“There were two people. This one was silenced, but it’s just a puppet.”

“How did Memphis chase after the other one?”

“Oh, he asked me to give this to you.” Lemar handed a ruler to Karon. “He’s been a little bored while staying in my shop the last few days, so he set up tracking arrays both inside my shop and on the road outside.”

“All right, I understand.” Karon accepted the ruler and infused it with a slight bit of spiritual power. The ruler gave off an amplitude that provided a sense of direction. This ruler was probably not tracking the fleeing target, but targeting Memphis himself. “I understand. Stay in the shop.”

“All right, I understand.”

Karon took the ruler back to the car and placed it beneath the windshield. As the car drove, the ruler would shift directions on its own.

***

In a field in the southern part of York City, Philomena was moving quickly. Her eyes were closed, and her body swayed from side to side, yet her speed remained astonishing. Behind her, runes kept appearing beneath Memphis’s feet. While each step he took was not fast, the distance he covered was astonishing. He continued following his target at his own rhythm.

Finally, his target stopped. Philomena covered her face, concealing her appearance. She then flipped her left hand over, and a mass of threads appeared at her wrist. They condensed into a very short silver sickle. Memphis stopped and began setting up defensive arrays beneath his feet and all around him. He knew that he was not a skilled combatant, so as soon as the other party showed intention to attack, he immediately made defensive preparations to receive the attacks.

Seeing this, Philomena truly did not know what to do for a moment. She put away her sickle, turned to the side, and began fleeing again. Memphis immediately canceled the array he had just set up and used the same method as before to continue his pursuit. Just like that, the two of them continued a long game of tag. Along the way, both parties stopped several more times, but every time, the same situation played out. Memphis had absolutely no intention of taking the initiative to attack, not even the slightest bit. And seeing the defensive arrays he prepared, Philomena understood full well that it would be difficult for her to break them, so she could only move again, and the chase continued.

As time passed, they actually ended up circling a specific area. Finally, someone appeared and broke the amiable balance. A cloud of black mist blocked Philomena’s path forward, and Karon’s figure emerged from it. She stopped and stared at him.

“You know me?” Karon noticed the change in the masked person’s eyes.

Philomena removed her face covering, revealing her face.

Karon frowned slightly. “It’s you?”

She put away her sickle and raised both hands slightly and her palms facing Karon, indicating that she did not want to fight.

Karon also pinched the small bead he had planned to use to teleport the Aelius Sword over, but did not rush to crush it.

Philomena said, “I do want to fight you, but not over this.”

“That pottery studio is run by my friend.” Karon made his stance clear.

“Someone is able to help me make puppets. He needed me to help him with a favor, so I helped him. It’s that simple. Do you believe me?”

“I can believe you, but you need to turn that person over to me.”

Philomena shook her head. “I cannot.”

“No room for discussion?”

“Do you have any?”

“No,” Karon stated firmly. “I must catch that person. It’s what I promised.”

“I cannot tell you where he is. Although I never gave any promises, that is the rule. You should understand.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Karon held the small bead between his fingers, and Philomena sensed the change in his aura. “You want to fight?”

“What do you think?”

“Attacking someone from the same church?” Philomena flipped her palm, and the sickle she had dismissed earlier reappeared. “I thought you would be like me and think that fighting over this sort of matter would be a very boring thing.”

“Tell me that person’s location.”

“Do you do this sort of thing often?” Philomena slowly bent down, preparing to charge. “You are very decisive. It doesn’t feel like this is your first time. If you defeat me, will you silence me?”

“You violated the Code of Order.”

“I think the people in that pottery studio should not be ordinary people, so I did not violate the Code of Order.”

“You’ve read the Code of Order?”

“Dreams are boring, so I have.”

“The version you read is different from mine.”

“Your version? Which edition is it?”

“It is in my head and has not yet been circulated.”

Karon crushed the bead, and a miniature teleportation array appeared. Immediately afterward, he grabbed the sword hilt and drew out the Aelius Sword. Pu’er’s was only an illusory projection summoned with Arts, while what Karon summoned was a genuine greatsword. The cold glint of the sickle and the solemn killing intent of the greatsword had already begun twining between the two of them.

But at this moment, an eagle flew down from the sky. After circling several times above, it flew away again.

Philomena straightened up and dismissed the sickle once more. She said, “Fine. Come with me. I will take you to catch him.”

“Hmm?”

This sudden change caught Karon somewhat off guard, because earlier, he had clearly seen the fighting intent in the girl’s eyes.

“You don’t believe me?” Philomena asked. “I do not like lying in my dreams.”

“I believe you, but next time, say it sooner.”

Karon lowered his head and looked at the Aelius Sword in his hand. Sigh, three thousand Order credits wasted just like that.

***

“Does your house not have any tea leaves?” Ms. Tansley looked at the cup of plain water in her hand and took a small sip. “Well water?”

“I do not drink tea.”

“You should always have some prepared for guests.”

“You are the first guest in nearly ten years.”

“Some teas are suitable for aging.”

Mrs. Felsch smiled, then picked up her needles and continued knitting. “You are the same as before. You have always been very particular about life, as if nothing has changed, apart from growing a little older.”

“You could have left out that last half.”

Mrs. Felsch replied, “Sigh, old is old. What is there that cannot be said, and what is there that cannot be heard?”

“All right, all right.” Ms. Tansley put her teacup down again. “Actually, I did not want to come here. My visit today is only a small accident.”

“I know, because you did not bring a gift.”

“Do you know, when I saw that girl drowsily dozing off, I was immediately reminded of you in the past? I immediately guessed that she has something to do with you.”

“She is my granddaughter. Her name is Philomena.”

At this point, Mrs. Felsch stretched her foot under the table and kicked. The man beneath the table made two gurgling sounds, crawled out, poked his head out, then moved over to Ms. Tansley’s feet, sticking out his tongue and raising his neck. “She is its child.”

“Why torture yourself like this?” Ms. Tansley asked. “Torturing yourself is one thing, but you even torture your own family.”

“Because... pain.” Mrs. Felsch finally put down the knitting in her hands and widened her eyes. “Have you ever experienced this?”

“I think I have. My eldest daughter left me forever, and yet I am not able to even dare to think of her. Hehehe...”

“Tell me, what is your purpose in coming here?”

“To resolve a misunderstanding. It has to do with that granddaughter of yours.”

“The affairs of juniors involved you?”

“Mhmm, yes. They involved my son.”

“Fine.” Mrs. Felsch pushed a wrapped black ball of yarn beside her. The ball of yarn fell to the floor and scattered, condensing into the figure of an eagle, which flew out the window.

“Do you need me to sit a while longer?” Ms. Tansley asked.

“You have not come here in so many years, and now that you have, you are in such a hurry to leave?”

“I thought you would take the opening I gave you and let me go. Tell me, what do you need my help with?”

“I had Philomena look for a few of my old subordinates some time ago to investigate a name, the name of an Inquisitor family of the Church of Order, but the results of that search were that the surname seems to have never existed at all. Heh, if not for the fact that so many people in my family died, I would have believed it.”

“Not being able to find a name is not normal?”

“Normal?”

“Think about it. Within the Church of Order, what sort of person would have the qualifications to make a surname completely classified as an absolute secret?”

“You mean...”

“Tiz has already entered the Temple of Order and become a supreme Temple Elder.”

Mrs. Felsch fell silent. Ms. Tansley lowered her head and looked at the other woman, comforting her. “You understand his talent better than I do. He was already that powerful back then. It could be said that the doors of the Temple of Order have been long since opened for him. You have no chance of revenge anymore. Ever.”

Ms. Tansley stood and walked to the door. There, she stopped. With her back still to Mrs. Felsch, she said, “Your granddaughter really is very much like you when you were young. Treat her better.”

“Hehehe...” Mrs. Felsch’s face immediately filled with venomous resentment, and she gnashed her teeth as she said, “No, he did not enter the Temple of Order! He did not, absolutely not!”

Ms. Tansley’s expression remained calm as she said, “You are so certain?”

“Have you forgotten what he once said? He said that the Temple of Order is a place for retirement.”

“I am old. You are old. He must certainly be old as well, so he went there to retire.”

The venomous resentment on Mrs. Felsch’s face rapidly faded away, and a trace of reminiscence and infatuation appeared in her eyes. Her voice also became gentle. “No. In my heart, he will always be young.”