Chapter 419: Welcome
Hurried footsteps broke the tranquility of the Mansion No. 72 in the Central District.
A maid headed up the stairs and gently pushed open the master room.
The master hadn"t left the house in three days and would probably starve to death if this continued.
"Miss Maria?"
The maid saw a figure curled up on the bed. Ever since her master, Chairman Maria, had returned from the Upper District, she had rushed back home in tears as if she had seen a ghost. Since then, she had locked herself in the house and hadn"t come out for three days.
As a descendant of a family of renown academics, Maria had inherited her parents’ interest in the sciences and also worked hard to become the Chairman of the Truth Union. This was the first time the maid, who had watched Maria as a child grow into the woman she was today, saw her master so frightened.
The maid picked up her courage and walked to the bed, only to see that the person under the blanket was trembling uncontrollably.
The maid lifted the blanket, and Maria screamed like a frightened bird. Her face was pale, her eyes swollen, and her hands and feet were cold. In just three days, she seemed to have lost so much weight.
"Miss… Maria?" The maid was shocked by her master"s condition.
Maria was shivering, her eyes empty and her mind lost. Although she still retained some sense of herself, she had lost her sense of reason forever.
"Miss, what"s wrong with you?" The maid asked anxiously.
"L-Life has been killed. The G.o.ddess who protects human life has completely disappeared..." she choked out.
The Witch of Life had saved her in the Lower District multiple times, and Maria had nearly become her vessel for her arrival. Now that Life had fallen, Maria could sense it ever so clearly.
As the embodiment of rules for human life on the entire continent of Azir, the fall of the Witch of Life meant that humankind could be punctured like a thin piece of paper at any moment.
Maria, who fully accepted this fact, had thus lost her sense of reason forever.
——
Blythe Sisley took out a delicately crafted pocket watch from his custom-made suit and gazed at it till the hands pointed to 10 o"clock. He then put away the pocket watch and gazed out the window.
The car he was in swayed gently like it was floating in water, and the surrounding streets were well-groomed with high-end shops on both sides, where business had been conducted for many generations.
"Under the governance of the central administration, Norzin is truly great..." Blythe lamented, his head turning toward the neatly dressed driver seated in the front.
"That"s right, sir," replied the driver at once.
"Yes, not even a poor person can be seen in Norzin," Blythe continued, "I feel that my hard work and efforts haven"t been in vain just by looking at Norzin"s prosperity and happiness."
"You are truly kind, sir."
Haa, of course... This is the Central District, how could there be any poor folk here.
The driver ridiculed in silence, but he didn"t dare say it aloud. This old man wasn"t just any simple person.
"Indeed, I am too soft-hearted and can"t bear to see poor people." Blythe sighed.
He was actually one of the heads of the adjudication bureau, which controlled the whole of Norzin, as well as one of the most esteemed people in the city.
The adjudication bureau was the top hierarchy of Norzin"s central administration, and those helming it had inherited their positions generation after generation. Their ancestors were the twelve great men who created Norzin.
As a descendant of one of those great men, Blythe Sisley became a member of the adjudication bureau by virtue of his excellence, though his status within it wasn"t that high. Otherwise, he wouldn"t have been the one sent to investigate the bookstore owner"s new branch.
Half a month ago, the adjudication bureau gathered under the inverse tree thousands of meters beneath the Central District"s central park for a meeting. Eventually, they came to two conclusions—first, to wait for the Path of the Flaming Sword to take action against Lin Jie, and second, to investigate the objective of Lin Jie"s branch store.
As the youngest member among those old men and women, Blythe confidently accepted the task of investigating the bookstore owner"s branch.
Unfortunately, Blythe didn"t reckon that the bookstore was very strong.
Blythe learned that the bookstore owner had been on his own from the beginning, and his only companion was the a.s.sistant that had come to help open the new branch. While the bookstore owner had demonstrated extraordinary strength several times, Blythe still remained skeptical.
With Lin Jie"s unpredictable behavior, it was difficult to guess his true intentions.
If he didn"t have any objective, then why would he be doing all of this? But if he did have an objective, then given the strength he had displayed so far, destroying Norzin wouldn"t be out of the question for him, yet he didn"t do so. Instead, he kept distributing his power, opening a branch store, and expanding his influence.
Those that were truly powerful would disdain working with insignificant insects. Had Lin Jie surpa.s.sed the Witch of Trees’ might, he would have acted already.
Thus, Blythe had purposely taken the initiative to propose the task of investigating Lin Jie"s branch store.
If this task were successful, he would undoubtedly become a central figure in the adjudication bureau.
"Sir, we have arrived." The driver stopped the car at area A, No. 48. The original Fred family mansion had been completely renovated, and it was now an overly extravagant bookstore.
Blythe got out of the car and saw only one delicate-looking girl in the huge bookstore.
Blythe recalled that this girl used to be a homunculus created by the Truth Union, but now she had since been transformed into a real girl by Lin Jie, and her power level was difficult to ascertain.
"Welcome." Mu"en robotically bowed to Blythe before the latter had even fully entered.
The branch store had just opened recently, and Blythe was the first customer. In a certain sense, he was the first to accept Boss Lin"s test.
Blythe leaned on his cane and walked to the counter of the bookstore, revealing a smile.
"h.e.l.lo, miss. Your bookstore is really luxurious," Blythe said with a smile. "This sort of dignified bookstore is really suited to the Central District’s vibe."
Mu"en didn"t answer and instead gazed at him as if he were an insignificant insect. Blythe had never been treated like this before and wanted to say something, but he found it hard to breathe in the face of Mu"en"s oppressive gaze.
Mu"en"s branch didn"t have an endless supply of books like Lin Jie"s bookstore. Instead, the books here were personally selected by Boss Lin.
Mu"en and Vincent agreed that this was Boss Lin"s trust in them, so they had roughly versed themself about the contents of each book but didn"t read them. After all, even Mu"en and Vincent would lose their sanity if they were allowed to read all these books freely.
"Since you have entered this bookstore, then does it mean you are prepared for the trial?" A glint appeared in Mu"en"s pitch-black pupils as if it were a bright star in the night sky.
"What?! Trial?" Blythe stared at Mu"en inexplicably. This was completely different from what he had envisaged.
According to central administration’s intelligence, the bookstore owner would first put on a display before selling books, then play the role of a bookstore owner. He didn"t act out toward ordinary people, disliked others mentioning his powerful ident.i.ty, and wouldn"t show off his divine powers casually.
Blythe had wanted to use this conversation to probe the ident.i.ty of the bookstore owner.
However, this young girl had actually used her status as a powerful transcendent being to firmly suppress him the moment he had walked in.
The young girl in white had already turned away and walked toward a black bookshelf. She picked out a book from within and held it up to Blythe as if it were a treasure.
Mu"en lightly stroked her hair and tucked it behind her ear, appearing rather graceful if the book in her hand was ignored.
The book had a smooth, l.u.s.trous cover...
Like a... like a human-skin-bound book?! Blythe"s eyes widened to their limit.
"Perhaps letting you truly appreciate Boss Lin"s work might change you a bit." Mu"en slightly tilted her head, the corners of her mouth curving slightly upward at her heartfelt reverence for Boss Lin"s book.