Chapter 563
"By the way," Xia Er said, looking at Tara in front of him, "do you know where I can find books about Gu Ansu? Preferably something related to the extraordinary."
Previously, Xia Er had obtained a batch of Gu Ansu language books from Aivina's teacher, but those were mostly research documents on cultural and religious history, with very little on the extraordinary. He could only make inferences from some descriptions.
Although he wasn't sure how the Old Ones were connected to Gu Ansu, Xia Er still wanted to learn more, just to be prepared.
"I'm sorry... Lord Xia Er," Tara said, her voice tinged with a hint of guilt. "Most of the literature on Gu Ansu is housed in the Church of the Savior Goddess. The Holy Ascendancy has only a small portion of the manuscripts."
"Oh..." Xia Er nodded slightly.
It seemed there was yet another reason for the church's unification.
And then there was the matter of the knight's manifestation ritual...
It wasn't difficult for the Pure White Knight to provide his own items; the first-tier "Knight" had several ways to be perfectly manifested.
"Honor," "Atonement," "Duel"—any of these three paths could achieve a perfect manifestation of the first-tier "Knight."
However, they all shared a commonality: they were related to "knightly virtues." Assassinating a corrupt judge who exploited the people could be considered "honor," while a wicked person who suddenly repents and kills a similarly wicked colleague could be seen as "atonement."
Dueling was even simpler—just initiate a one-on-one life-and-death duel with a first-tier or lower "Evil-doer" and kill them to complete the manifestation ritual.
If it involved killing a first-tier, that would be a perfect manifestation... but Xia Er didn't need to achieve perfection; he just needed to preserve it.
In other words... Xia Er could find an ordinary person for a "just" one-on-one duel, and that would count as completing the manifestation ritual.
This was too easy; he just needed to stroll around the gang-infested areas of the Holy Cathedral District, and he would surely complete the ritual.
Another thing Xia Er needed to do was gather the potion materials for the "Knight" elixir and hand them over to Adele for crafting.
Returning to his desk, Xia Er took out two sheets of stationery and began to write.
One was a brief note to Aivina, letting her know he would be visiting her home tonight.
The other was addressed to Adele, detailing the potion materials he needed and the crafting method. He also slipped in his Dedton employee card, which had over three thousand pounds for Adele to use as she saw fit. If any materials were lacking, she could just send him a letter.
At this point, Xia Er preferred to avoid too much contact with Lucy, as Keles would definitely be keeping a close eye on her.
After sending the two letters with a maid, Xia Er called for Tara and Perci, ready to head out.
"What are we doing now, Lord Xia Er?" Tara asked, her tone neutral, but Perci directly inquired about Xia Er's plans.
She wanted to confirm whether Xia Er's actions would pose any danger.
"Completing the first-tier manifestation ritual." There was no need to hide this; Xia Er replied straightforwardly.
"What path will you take?" Perci pressed, "I can arrange it for you."
"‘Knight’," Xia Er shook his head and said, "this has to be done on my own."
"‘Knight’..."
Perci repeated the word softly, instinctively glancing at Tara, who also wore a look of confusion.
Just to be polite, was there even a "Knight" path among the sixteen?
Of course, Perci didn't voice this question; she merely held onto her curiosity.
If pressed, Xia Er would certainly provide an answer, as he considered Tara one of his own, and Perci was practically one of his as well. She had protected him in several future simulations, so there was no need for secrecy.
Keeping too many things hidden could create cracks in their trust.
However, Perci didn't pursue the matter further, and Xia Er wouldn't volunteer any explanations.
She took Perci and Tara, who was dressed in a maid outfit, to a clothing store in the East District to change into a more ordinary coarse cloth dress.
To enhance the authenticity, Xia Er even used her sewing skills to deliberately add a few patches to the dress, making them appear more understated.
Yet... due to her inherent charm, no matter how low-key the clothes were, they would still attract attention, especially from her "kryptonite."
The extraordinary beings in the West District had mostly been dealt with by the "kryptonite," and the East District's commoners were no exception; hardly anyone had escaped, with some even having faced it two or three times.
To make things easier, Xia Er simply tied a piece of gray cloth over her face, covering her eyes, and used her "Precognitive Sight" to observe, avoiding any panic that the "kryptonite" might cause in the East District.
Of course, the most important thing was to prevent the "Evil-doers" from being deterred from engaging her in a one-on-one duel.
Thus, Tara and Perci walked cautiously in the shadows, while Xia Er stepped into the den of iniquity—the Holy Cathedral District.
"The Holy Cathedral is the organ forgotten by God; every dark alley seeps with the moral decay of corruption." — This was the Canal Report's assessment of the Holy Cathedral District.
"Here, babies learn to steal before they learn to cry; a woman's virtue is cheaper than rat meat, and a man's fist holds more authority than the law." — This was the literary critique of the Holy Cathedral District.
Xia Er had been here many times before, which was why he chose to conduct the "Knight" manifestation ritual here; there was no shortage of "Evil-doers."
Just as he entered a dark alley, Xia Er felt several prying eyes upon him.
After turning a couple of corners, he heard a scream echoing from deep within the alley.
Why were there so many extraordinary beings like "Detectives"? Whether in Boren City or Ansu City, crime at the grassroots level continued to fester without anyone to stop it.
If the extraordinary beings wanted, they could easily establish ironclad laws against crime, and they had enough power to enforce them.
Now, after hearing that scream, Xia Er began to understand.
Aside from those paths that inherently required chaos and murder, the "Order" paths themselves also needed the existence of evil.
If this were truly a world of genuine goodness and beauty, like a paradise, then paths like "Knight," "Detective," and "Ascetic" would be the first to decline.
Of course, the real reasons were undoubtedly more complex and multifaceted; Xia Er was merely touching on one aspect.
Xia Er stepped forward, casually tearing off an iron frame from a nearby window. The rusted metal bent easily under her grip, and she dragged the makeshift weapon, resembling a knight's sword, toward the source of the scream.
...
"Ha..."
In the dark alley, Xia Er slowly exhaled.
Not far ahead, a rusted iron rod had pierced the eye of a bald man, blood and brain matter oozing from the back of his head, soaking into the cracked stone pavement.
The man bore gang tattoos on his arms, with multiple bruises on his body, his form severely contorted—evidence of what he had endured before his death.
The warm-up had loosened the gray cloth binding her eyes, and as she turned her face slightly, the cloth slipped away, revealing her dark red pupils.
"You're safe now." A faint smile appeared on Xia Er's bloodied face as she gently extended her right hand toward the ragged girl pressed against the wall.
However, this gesture made the girl scream and scramble away from the alley.
Xia Er watched the girl flee, slowly pulling the gray cloth back up and retying it.
For some reason, killing the scum before her had alleviated some of the pent-up emotions within Xia Er, bringing her mind to a state of calm, her spirit quickly recovering.
Doing good deeds truly brought happiness.
Xia Er pulled the slender, rusted iron rod from the corpse and was about to continue when a "click" sounded from behind her.
Turning around, she saw a terrified young man, also marked with gang tattoos, raising a revolver with trembling hands, shouting as he pulled the trigger directly at Xia Er.
Bang—
The bullet whizzed through the air, aimed at Xia Er's head.
But Xia Er merely tilted her head slightly to the side, and the bullet zipped past her cheek. In the next moment, the iron rod in her hand was hurled, piercing through the young man's chest.
Perhaps due to her previous experiences, Xia Er felt no pity for the gang members.
Hearing the distant cries and the sound of hurried footsteps, she knew more gang members would be coming.
Originally, Xia Er had only intended to engage in a one-on-one duel, but the influx of gang members forced her to rethink her approach.
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