Origami, Who Drew Lewd Pictures for a Living

"Ah!!"

Phrolova's scream rang out through the prison!

"What are they doing? What are they doing?!" With her eyes covered, Jinhsi couldn't see the screen and kept asking.

Sanhua was silent for a moment, her hand still over the Magistrate's eyes. Her expression was a little peculiar. "They're probably... having some... friendly exchanges."

"What kind of friendly exchange makes someone scream like that?!"

"Magistrate, you'd better not ask."

A moment later.

"You heartless bastard!"

Phrolova's eyes were red. That guy had bullied her terribly again!

"I'll remember this! One day..."

"Hmm?" Rover raised the Blood Oath Covenant.

Phrolova immediately backed down. She buried her face in the pillow and gave a muffled huff, not daring to say another word.

"That sword should split things equally with me..."

Phrolova stared at the Blood Oath Covenant and spoke through gritted teeth.

"Don't say any more. That's too damn cursed." Rover put the sword away and prepared to leave.

The prison door was a joke to him. He scanned his face, opened the door, went out, and closed it in one smooth motion, as if this were his own home.

The guard stood at the door, looked at Rover, then at Phrolova lying in the cell, and opened his mouth. In the end, he said nothing.

"Reform yourself and turn over a new leaf!" Rover made an encouraging gesture at Phrolova.

She immediately flew into a rage.

"You..."

She was just about to get angry when she seemed to remember something, and her expression immediately grew much more serious.

She pushed herself up, the blush on her face not yet fully gone, but the look in her eyes had completely changed. Something heavy churned in those turquoise eyes.

"If I told you that meteorite wasn't a natural disaster, but a man-made one, would you believe me?"

"What did you say?"

Rover froze and saw hatred rising in Phrolova's eyes.

That hatred lay deep in her bloodshot eyes, carrying a determination to fight until one side was dead.

If his guess was true, then she was truly pitiable. It hadn't been fate manipulating her all along, but human hands. She really did have the right to hate this world.

"Do you have a suspect? For example... the president of the Fractsidus? Did he plot the whole thing to force you to join the Fractsidus?"

"Not necessarily him, though it could be..." Phrolova shook her head. "During my nightmare, I heard some words. Stars, moon and sun, ring, scepter and crown. Knock upon the door with blood thirty-six times, and only then will you see Truth!"

The moment the word "Truth" left her lips, Rover's pupils contracted sharply.

It was far too distinctive. Could an Alchemist be behind it?

"I'll remember that. I'll keep an eye out for you from now on. If someone really has been committing evil and bringing misery to the people, I won't let them off either!"

Hearing that, Phrolova shot him a sidelong glance, puffed out her cheeks slightly, and gave a displeased "Hmph!"

"What is it now?"

"It's for everyone under heaven again. Can't you say you're doing it for me?!"

"Heh heh heh... I'm off!" Rover waved and vanished from her sight.

Phrolova stared in the direction he had disappeared for quite a while. Her lips moved, and finally she buried her face in the pillow again and muttered, "Idiot!"

The Magistrate's office.

"Sanhua, you went too far!"

The Magistrate was furious. She had missed such precious combat footage for nothing. This guard who had defied her superior had to be punished!

"Don't be angry, Magistrate. Here, this is for you."

Sanhua took out a doll and reluctantly gave it to Jinhsi. It was her favorite collectible.

The doll was exquisitely made, its features lifelike and even the strands of hair arranged with painstaking care. It was just like a real person standing before her.

"That's more like it..." The Magistrate's anger vanished at once. She took the doll and turned it over in her hands twice, her smile growing wider. "I've decided! I'm going to make this Jinzhou's mascot and mass-produce it! We have to make Phrolova work overtime and produce ten thousand of them first!"

"That many? Shouldn't we start with fewer for the first batch?"

"It's fine. We'll sell the rest to the Black Shores!"

Over the following days, Rover visited his friends in Jinzhou. It wasn't often he managed to come back, and he didn't know when he would see them again.

First, he went to see Lingyang's lion dance. Gongs and drums thundered as the lion head whirled through the air. Lingyang leaped nimbly across the plum blossom poles, the lion's tail whipping about with vigor, while a circle of townspeople cheered below.

Rover watched from the crowd for a while. Lingyang poked his head out from under the lion head and waved at him, nearly falling off a pole before the old master beside him grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"Steady!" the old master scolded.

"Master! Rover's here!" Lingyang shouted excitedly.

Rover smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. Lingyang immediately seemed fired up, performing his next set of moves with both ferocity and grace. Even the old master gave him a few extra glances.

The next day, he sparred with Yuanwu in a bout of boxing. Yuanwu's punches were powerful and solid, and the two traded blows in the training ground for nearly half an hour. In the end, Rover turned sideways to deflect a crushing fist from Yuanwu, then struck his shoulder with a backhanded palm. Yuanwu staggered back three steps, cupped his fist, and admitted defeat.

"That was satisfying!" Yuanwu shook out his numb arm and grinned. "One fight with you does me more good than ten days of training on my own."

"You're impressive too!" Rover handed him a towel.

"Come off it. You were just playing around with me!" Yuanwu took the towel and wiped his face, a hint of seriousness in his eyes. "Next time you come back, I'll fight you again."

"Sure."

During that time, he also happened to run into the mysterious female agent. Amid the crowd, they met each other's gaze without a word, nodded in greeting, and quietly passed each other by.

Unfortunately, Yangyang and Chixia were away on a mission, so he probably wouldn't see them this time. Rover stood for a while outside the teahouse they often visited, asked the owner for a bowl of tea, and sat for a quarter of an hour before leaving.

That evening, he arranged to play a board game with Changli. Her style of play was much like the woman herself: her strategy was meticulous, her pieces placed without a sound. A moment's inattention was all it took for her to surround a large group of his pieces.

"I lost..."

Rover resigned.

"As a reward for the winner, join me for dinner..."

Changli rested her chin on one hand, her eyes sultry, her gaze full of charm.

The restaurant was tucked deep in an alley, its storefront small. The owner was a plump middle-aged man who cooked personally when he saw Changli arrive. The spicy meat came out in a pot, bright red all over. Changli ate with gusto, taking one bite after another, until Rover stared at her in surprise.

"Slow down."

"But it's delicious..." Changli mumbled through a mouthful of meat. She loved that spicy sensation more than anything.

As a result, Changli's voice was hoarse the next day. When Rover saw her again, she spoke with a thick accent.

"Too much heat, huh?"

"Don't say it..." Changli covered her throat, looking uncharacteristically embarrassed.

On the third day, Rover was wandering around Jinzhou when he passed an alley and saw a penniless young artist hunched over an easel, painting intently.

The artist's clothes had been washed until they faded, and only a few dried-up blocks of color remained in the paint box, but the brush in his hand never stopped.

Rover quietly approached from behind and took a closer look. He froze.

The young artist was painting him, and, well, it didn't seem to be a particularly proper picture.