Chapter Summaries

At the Hundred Fruit Garden, Xia Fan intervened when Gao'er’s overseers whipped starving workers and beat a Cat Yao who tried to protect them. After paying for the workers’ release, Xia Fan left the factory with Li and Olina, but the Cat Girl appeared before them again as they crossed the shantytown.

• Li rushed toward the factory buildings after hearing screams and insults, and Xia Fan followed her with Olina.
• Xia Fan found Gao'er’s overseers whipping workers who had stolen fruit and beating a Cat Yao for trying to stop them.
• Xia Fan offered to pay for the stolen fruit, and Philip accepted nine silver coins and ordered the workers and Cat Yao released.
• Xia Fan continued the factory tour with Philip, then left the Hundred Fruit Garden with Li and Olina.
• Li suggested returning, and the group encountered the Cat Girl again while crossing the shantytown.

Xia Fan and Olina met Momola, a Cat Yao who had opposed workers’ mistreatment, and offered her money and a way to contact him. Afterward, Xia Fan and Olina went to meet the lord of Azure Fort, who had summoned the Ambassador.

• Momola thanked Xia Fan for intervening and promised to repay the nine Silver Selas, while Li challenged her for speaking harshly to her rescuer.
• Xia Fan learned that Momola had defended injured workers because their mistreatment was wrong and could threaten everyone’s wages.
• Xia Fan gave Momola another silver coin for the workers and an address where she could repay him or seek help.
• The reception staff informed the group that the lord of Azure Fort wanted to meet the Ambassador the next morning, so Xia Fan canceled their evening plans.
• The next day, Xia Fan and Olina traveled by carriage to the lord’s fortress, where a steward welcomed them and said His Lordship had been waiting.

Xia Fan and Olina learned that two Sons of the Holy Spirit had disappeared after a Church patrol was attacked near Azure Fort, disrupting their plans to reach the royal capital. As the Inquisition prepared to investigate, Xia Fan decided to track down the attackers and find the missing Sons first.

• Count Cleveland refused to let Xia Fan and Olina travel to Hila City by ship, citing a recent attack on a Church patrol and the dangers of passage without envoy status.
• Cleveland told them that the patrol’s escorts had been killed and two Sons of the Holy Spirit had gone missing three days earlier.
• Olina explained that the Inquisition’s investigation could threaten Azure Fort’s autonomy and disrupt its trade and production.
• Xia Fan told Olina she could travel to the royal capital without him while he investigated the attack.
• Xia Fan decided to hunt for the culprit and find the missing Sons of the Holy Spirit before the Church did.

Xia Fan and Olina agreed to investigate the attack on a Church convoy, with Olina keeping him under her watch and Xia Fan agreeing to accompany her to the royal capital later. They learned that the case was difficult and that a costly Prophecy Scroll had failed to reveal the culprit, while Olina was stunned by its price.

• Olina agreed to stay with Xia Fan for seven days and help investigate the Church convoy attack, provided he remained under her watch.
• Olina asked Xia Fan to accompany her to the royal capital, and he agreed.
• Xia Fan suggested they seek information from the Seaport Pier defense officer, Lasein.
• Olina and Xia Fan visited Lasein and offered to help solve the attack on the Church convoy.
• Lasein warned that the culprit had evaded magical tracking and seemed well prepared, noting that a thousand-Golden-Kern Prophecy Scroll had revealed nothing.
• Olina was shocked by the scroll's price, while Xia Fan realized Lasein had misunderstood her reaction.

Xia Fan and Olina asked Baron Lieya to share Azure Fort’s investigation into the missing Holy Son, offering to cooperate before the Inquisition arrived. Lieya demanded proof of Xia Fan’s strength, and Xia Fan’s lightning magic left a hole through the wall behind him, convincing Lieya to take him seriously.

• Lasein told Xia Fan and Olina that the Church’s impending arrival mattered more than the lost scroll and warned them to avoid trouble.
• Xia Fan asked for accurate information about the case, and Olina argued that sharing progress would help Lieya avoid the Inquisition’s blame.
• Lasein agreed to consider cooperating but demanded that Xia Fan prove he could protect himself.
• Xia Fan used lightning to send a golden pen flying past Lasein and through the brick wall, startling him and shattering the room’s window.
• Lasein ordered his guards out and stared at the hole left in the wall.

Xia Fan demonstrated the power of Eastern Sorcery Arts to Lasein, then joined Olina, Li, and Qian Yan to investigate the missing Holy Son’s convoy near Azure Fort. As they examined the attack site, Olina began questioning her faith in Hera and The Church.

• Xia Fan used the Zhen Technique to pierce Lasein’s stone wall with the Harbor Defense Officer’s Golden Pen, convincing Lasein to let him investigate the case.
• After Xia Fan and Olina left, Lasein realized that his Golden Pen had been used to make the hole and heard what sounded like a suppressed dragon’s roar.
• Xia Fan, Li, Qian Yan, and Olina inspected the place where the Holy Son’s convoy had vanished outside Azure Fort.
• Olina explained that the convoy had taken a country road to avoid entering Azure Fort, and that The Church valued the Holy Son’s public image more than his individual safety.
• Olina recalled that Hera had not saved her from prison, while Xia Fan had, and remembered the teaching that ordinary people were the creators of the world.

Xia Fan and the others searched the forest for evidence of the caravan massacre, using Gungun and nearby animals to collect discarded objects. A gray wolf brought them a fragment of an ancient Silence Talisman, suggesting the killers had used Eastern Continent Sorcery Arts to hide the attack from Azure Fort.

• Xia Fan questioned Li about the scents at the crime scene, and Qian Yan concluded that Qi Sense Users had attacked the caravan from the woods with long-range Sorcery Arts.
• Li sent Gungun to gather nearby wild animals and search for unusual objects, while Xia Fan helped sort through what they brought back.
• Gungun persuaded the animals to search for newer items in exchange for more food, and they began returning with objects such as cloth bags and books.
• A huge gray wolf approached Xia Fan and Li, dropped a tattered roll of paper, and begged Li for dried fish.
• Xia Fan recognized the paper as a Talisman, and Qian Yan identified it as an ancient Silence Talisman that could have concealed the attackers' sounds from Azure Fort.

Xia Fan and his companions found a discarded Silence Talisman and deduced that the attackers likely obtained Eastern talismans through maritime trade. Lasein agreed to investigate ships and merchants that had crossed the Endless Sea, but estimated the search would take five days.

• Qian Yan and Xia Fan considered possible sources of the talismans and concluded that a merchant might have bought them before they reached the attackers.
• Xia Fan realized the Silence Talisman had been ruined by water during transport and abandoned after the attackers switched to another talisman.
• Xia Fan proposed that Lasein investigate ships returning from the Eastern Continent and the merchants who owned them.
• Olina showed Lasein the discarded talisman and explained why Far East traders were suspects.
• Lasein agreed to investigate the ships and their merchants, telling Olina that the inquiry would take five days.

Xia Fan and his companions watched the Church’s Inquisition arrive in Azure Fort, then learned that Lasein had given them the clues about Eastern Talismans and sea merchants. After Olina obtained the ship list, a Demi-human appeared at the residence asking for Xia Fan.

• Gungun began conquering the docklands while a struggle for the Cat King’s throne sent rats flooding through the streets.
• Xia Fan and Olina watched the Inquisition’s grand arrival and discussed the Church’s influence over Azure Fort’s citizens and nobles.
• Olina flew to the harbor to question Lasein after learning that he and the Inquisition had searched ships and sealed shops.
• Olina returned with the ship list and explained that Lasein had revealed the Eastern Talismans and sea merchants clue to the Inquisition.
• A commotion broke out downstairs, and an attendant told Xia Fan that they had caught a Demi-human who had come to find him.

Momola sought Xia Fan’s help after the Hundred Fruit Garden dismissed injured workers and threatened those who supported them. Xia Fan refused to intervene directly and taught her to organize the workers; she returned to the Shantytown and urged them to unite for a factory shutdown.

• Momola told Xia Fan that the Hundred Fruit Garden had fired Las and Morier and threatened workers who supported them, hoping he would use his influence to reverse the dismissals and secure their wages.
• Olina pointed out that Xia Fan was not a major customer, and Xia Fan explained that he would not negotiate with the factory directly.
• Xia Fan offered to teach Momola how to confront the injustice herself, warning that doing so would change her life; Momola agreed to learn.
• Momola returned to the Shantytown, where workers told her Gao'er had whipped two more people and asked whether Xia Fan would help them.
• Momola told the workers that Xia Fan would not intervene, then urged them to win over nearly eighty percent of the factory workforce and organize a shutdown to pressure the Hundred Fruit Garden.

Momola persuaded the Hundred Fruit Garden workers to organize a strike, with Xia Fan offering food money to support them. After the group vowed to act when the next shipment arrived, Xia Fan revealed that the factory’s cargo records showed long-distance voyages to the East.

• Momola told the workers Xia Fan would provide money so they could afford food during a strike, and urged them to fight for fairer treatment.
• The workers agreed to recruit loaders, production workers, and packers, then strike together when the next shipment reached port in two days.
• Olina Okan questioned Xia Fan’s decision to get involved, while Li defended helping the workers and reminded Olina of the help she had received.
• Xia Fan explained that he supported Momola because he believed a small spark could eventually grow into a larger movement.
• Xia Fan showed Li and the others the cargo records and pointed out that the Hundred Fruit Garden had registered long-distance voyages to the East.

Xia Fan’s group began investigating Hundred Fruit Garden after learning that one of its ships had secretly sailed east, while Momola tried to recruit porter Jijiao into a factory-wide strike. Jijiao refused because he feared retaliation and had people to support, but Momola invited him to a strike-planning meeting that night.

• Xia Fan proposed that he and Olina investigate merchant groups while Li and Qian Yan questioned hired workers, and Qian Yan warned that the workers’ mistreatment was not evidence of The Church robbery.
• At the Hundred Fruit Garden factory, Jijiao left the work area to meet Momola after asking a porter to keep watch over Gao'er.
• Momola asked Jijiao to help organize a strike for Las, Morier, and the other fired workers, hoping to involve every hired worker at the factory.
• Momola argued that low pay, wage deductions, and arbitrary firings trapped the workers, and said Ambassador Dongfang would provide food during the strike.
• Jijiao refused to join because he had people to care for, while Momola urged him to attend a strike-planning meeting at the North Shed at eight that night.

Xia Fan and Olina questioned Lasein about Azure Fort’s merchant groups and arranged an introduction to Archie Lumen. Meanwhile, Gao’er confronted Jijiao over a suspected meeting between the transport and production teams, leaving Jijiao under suspicion.

• Xia Fan asked Lasein for information about the merchant groups and their investors, and Lasein shared their public records.
• Xia Fan noticed Archie Lumen’s name throughout the ledger and learned that he controlled several merchant groups and attended private auctions.
• Xia Fan paid Lasein to introduce him and Olina to Archie at an auction the following night.
• Gao’er summoned Jijiao to the Steward’s office and questioned why he had been in the storage yard near the production team during lunch.
• Gao’er accused Jijiao of keeping watch on the production team, and Jijiao’s heart jolted at the suspicion.

Jijiao endured Gao’er’s interrogation and thirty lashes rather than reveal that he had spoken with Momola. Back at the shack, his worry over supporting Muli and the workers’ shared hardship pushed him to leave again to take care of something.

• Gao’er offered Jijiao a reward for naming the person he had spoken with, then threatened him with thirty lashes and docked pay if he refused.
• Jijiao denied speaking with anyone and was dragged to the punishment room, while Gao’er suspected Momola would eventually give him a chance to catch her.
• Jijiao returned to the shack and found his younger sister, Muli, preparing their meager food.
• Jijiao stopped Muli from seeking factory work and reassured her that she was not a burden.
• Remembering Momola’s call for workers to fight together, Jijiao told Muli to save him dinner and left to take care of something.

Momola gathered hired workers from Hundred Fruit Garden to organize a strike and demand fair wages, an end to delayed payments and punishments, and the abolition of overseers. After counting their supporters, the group fell short of a safe majority, and Lady Kalan proposed sealing off the Shantytown to keep hesitant workers from leaving.

• Momola convinced Morier that the workers needed to unite and press their demands, and Jijiao arrived to join the meeting.
• Momola outlined plans to unload the incoming Intoxicating Fruit shipment the next day and begin a strike the day after, listing the workers' three main demands.
• Jijiao reported that the Steward had spies among the workers and described how an old hired worker had died after an untreated injury.
• The workers counted 421 potential supporters, but Jijiao warned they needed closer to ninety percent to ensure the strike could withstand pressure.
• Lady Kalan proposed surrounding the Shantytown to prevent the remaining workers from leaving, calling it an extraordinary measure for their first action.

Momola led the workers in forming the Relief Association to organize their strike against the Factory. The chapter then followed Lasein, Xia Fan, and their companions as they arrived at Azure Fort for an auction, where Steward Bullor singled out the young girl among them as someone extraordinary.

• Momola argued that pressuring neutral workers could keep them from joining the Factory, and the workers accepted her reasoning.
• Jijiao called for leaders and rules, and the workers chose Momola as their leader.
• Momola proposed the name Relief Association, and the workers agreed to form it.
• Lasein brought Xia Fan and his companions to Saint Blaney Palace for an auction at Azure Fort.
• Steward Bullor initially judged Xia Fan and the Dragonborn woman unimportant, but changed his manner after seeing the young girl and welcomed the group warmly.

Xia Fan’s group arrived at Saint Blaney Palace for the auction, where Lasein explained the villa’s powerful, wealthy ownership and warned Xia Fan not to use magic while investigating Archie Lumen. Xia Fan shook Archie’s hand, then left the hall with Qian Yan, who released Li in a secluded corner.

• Lasein told Xia Fan that Saint Blaney Palace was backed by powerful investors, including Count Cleveland, and hosted both auctions and social events.
• The butler assigned the group one of the villa’s rare gold-key rooms, and Lasein explained that such rooms were reserved for important guests.
• Lasein pointed out Archie Lumen and warned Xia Fan that the Mage guards would detect any use of magic in the auction hall.
• Xia Fan met Archie and shook his hand while Lasein spoke with other guests.
• Xia Fan and Qian Yan left the hall for a secluded corner, where Qian Yan removed her hat and released Li.

Xia Fan sent Li to search Archie's room while he and Lasein returned to the auction, where Xia Fan accidentally became the first bidder on a Golden Cup. He was relieved when a masked attendee raised the price, leaving the cup no longer solely his responsibility.

• Xia Fan explained that Li could maintain her transformed form for one shichen and equipped her with a Sound Transmission Device before sending her to search for Archie’s room.
• Li memorized Archie’s scent, then vanished into the shadows among the beams while Xia Fan and Lasein returned to the auction hall.
• Xia Fan raised his placard for the Golden Cup’s opening bid of five hundred Golden Kern, expecting someone else to bid against him.
• Lasein explained that the cup was genuine but that bidders often saved their money for more desirable later items.
• A masked attendee raised the bid to seven hundred Golden Kern, relieving Xia Fan.

Xia Fan attended an auction where a masked bidder bought every lot, then bid on a metal bust bearing writing similar to the coin Qian Yan carried. Archie Lumen challenged his bid, leaving the bust’s fate unresolved.

• Xia Fan and Lasein watched the smiling-masked man win the Golden Cup for seven hundred Gold Kern.
• The smiling-masked man bought every auction lot, prompting a Mage to demand notarized verification; the Saint Palace confirmed his funds and protected his identity.
• Archie mocked the Mage, who left the hall, and Lasein explained that Archie had powerful Mage guards and hired Magic-Users.
• The host presented a metal bust from the Sand Boat’s royal legacy, and Xia Fan bid six hundred Gold Kern after spotting writing on its back like the writing on Qian Yan’s coin.
• Archie Lumen bid eight hundred Gold Kern for the bust.

Xia Fan and Archie competed for a statue at the Saint Palace Auction, but Smiling Mask abruptly entered the bidding and drove the price beyond what Xia Fan could afford. The auction continued with Archie furious after Smiling Mask’s latest bid of 17,200 Golden Kern.

• Xia Fan repeatedly raised his bid against Archie, pushing the statue’s price to 2,100 Golden Kern and worrying Lasein about whether he could pay.
• Archie mocked Xia Fan’s ability to afford the bids and used a Blue Card to double the price to 4,200 Golden Kern.
• Qian Yan urged Xia Fan not to spend more money on discovering her origins, but Xia Fan said the matter was important to him.
• Smiling Mask raised a Blue Card and doubled the price to 8,400 Golden Kern, openly challenging Archie’s bid.
• Archie switched to a red paddle and bid 8,600 Golden Kern, but Smiling Mask doubled it to 17,200 Golden Kern, leaving Archie livid.