Chapter Summaries

At an auction, a wealthy bidder outspent Archie, while Li infiltrated Archie’s guarded Saint Palace room and uncovered a hidden chamber. She found a strange emblem there, but footsteps outside interrupted her search.

• A bidder offered seventeen thousand two hundred Golden Kern for the artwork, and Archie stopped bidding after the notary confirmed the man could pay.
• Li entered Archie’s room through the chimney and searched among his lavish furnishings and collection of unusual objects.
• Li discovered that twisting a porcelain bottle opened a secret door behind the glass display cabinet.
• Li searched the hidden chamber’s desk, found auction ledgers and a strange emblem depicting a tower topped by an eye, and memorized its design for Olina.
• Li heard footsteps outside the chamber as she examined the emblem.

Li hid beneath the bed in Archie Lumen’s room and overheard him plan to punish a rival bidder before receiving secret instructions from Lord Shadow. Archie noticed that the letters had been disturbed and the other man attacked the bed, leaving Li’s concealment in danger.

• Li restored the secret chamber, hid beneath the bed, and heard Archie Lumen complain about losing a bidding contest to a masked rival.
• Archie asked his companion to help keep the rival in Azure Fort, and the man agreed to assist him.
• Archie and the man entered the secret chamber and used a Dimensional Mirror to speak with Lord Shadow.
• Lord Shadow ordered Archie to assist a guest arriving the next day, and Archie raised concerns about the Church’s Inquisition in the city.
• Archie noticed that the envelopes had been rearranged, and the other man summoned sword phantoms that pierced the bed.

After Archie discovered that an intruder had entered his room, the Saint Palace activated the Maze Lock and suspended the auction. Xia Fan realized Li had been exposed and planned to use what he learned about the Maze Lock to find a way to reach her.

• Archie found no thief beneath the bed, and he ordered the Saint Palace to seal the Villa and activate the Maze Lock.
• Xia Fan sensed the qi change as the twelfth auction item appeared, and Qian Yan confirmed that a spell had been triggered.
• The host suspended the auction and announced that an intruder had been discovered in the Villa's upper-room district.
• Xia Fan and Qian Yan realized Li's whereabouts had likely been exposed, while the Saint Palace prepared to send guests through the Maze Lock's Gate.
• Olina explained that the Maze Lock resembled Qi State's array arts and could be broken, so Xia Fan agreed to follow the Saint Palace's instructions for now.

Li escaped Archie’s room but became trapped inside the Villa Maze Lock, which exposed her movements and drained her qi. She followed Xia Fan’s instructions to reach a window, where Archie arrived to claim the intruder as his prey.

• Li slipped out of Archie’s room and evaded the guards by crawling along the ceiling beams.
• An invisible barrier blocked Li at the stairwell, and guards began tracking her through the building as the Villa Maze Lock drained her qi.
• Li contacted Xia Fan through the Sound Transmission Device, and he told her to enter an outer room on the west side and stand by its window.
• Archie insisted that the intruder belonged to him and went with the attendant to the room where Master Carmen confronted her.
• Archie saw a female Demi-human backed against the windowsill in the moonlit room.

A Demi-human Illusionist was trapped inside Saint Blaney Palace until thunderous attacks breached the Villa Maze Lock and blasted open the building. A Black Dragon rescued her, but two Dragonborn pursuers took flight and were met by electric arrows.

• Archie learned that the Demi-human was an Illusionist, and Master Carmen waited for the Maze Lock to drain her magic.
• A distant blast destroyed the Maze Lock, and Master Carmen raised a barrier before warning everyone to flee.
• A second explosion shattered the barrier and wrecked the hall, leaving Master Carmen and the guards down.
• Archie fired a Disintegration Technique at the fleeing Demi-human, but a Black Dragon blocked the ray with its wing.
• The Black Dragon seized the Demi-human and flew away, while two Dragonborn pursued them and faced electric arrows.

Xia Fan used his Zhen Technique to break through the Maze Lock and help Olina escape with Li, while Qian Yan supplied him with streetlamp poles to shoot down pursuing Dragonborn. Fumi Lieya investigated the scorched grove and concluded the damage came from heat generated inside objects, not Necromancy or an ordinary fire.

• Xia Fan launched a red-hot streetlamp pole at a Dragonborn pursuing Olina and brought it down before it could leave the Villa grounds.
• After two Dragonborn were shot down, the Villa's defenders stopped pursuing Olina, who escaped with Li into the night.
• Xia Fan and Qian Yan withdrew into the forest before the pursuers could reach them.
• Fumi Lieya led guards to the scorched grove and examined the withered trees and soil.
• Fumi Lieya determined that the grove's destruction came from intense heat generated inside objects, rather than Necromancy or a wildfire.

Fumi Lieya concluded that a Legendary Mage and two allies had attacked Saint Blaney Palace, while Count Cleveland questioned whether they were behind the Son of the Holy Spirit kidnapping. Lasein Lieya argued that the attackers were not the kidnappers because the two groups had operated differently, but had not yet explained his reasoning.

• Fumi investigated the scene and found six missing kerosene streetlamp posts, with no footprints or dragging marks leading from the road.
• Fumi deduced that the attackers had hurled four lamp posts at Saint Blaney Palace and identified the caster as a Legendary Mage.
• Fumi reported to Count Cleveland that a Legendary Mage, a half-beast, and a Dragonborn had attacked the Palace and fled west after entering Archie Lumen's private room.
• Count Cleveland wondered whether the attackers were responsible for the Son of the Holy Spirit kidnapping, but Lasein Lieya rejected the idea and said the groups had acted differently.

Fumi and the Count considered the attacks on Saint Palace and The Church, while Xia Fan and Li questioned the recovering Olina about their investigation. Olina identified the emblem Li found as belonging to the Star Tower Society.

• Lasein argued that the attackers who damaged Saint Palace had deliberately limited casualties, and Fumi agreed they might be less of a threat to Azure Fort.
• The Count ordered Fumi to help The Church resolve the Son of the Holy Spirit incident and investigate the Legendary Mages without risking a confrontation.
• Fumi asked Lasein to check port-entry records for suspicious arrivals, and Lasein concealed his unease.
• Li told Xia Fan that Olina had awakened, and Xia Fan offered Olina five hundred Golden Kern for protecting Li.
• Li shared her findings about Archie Lumen and showed Olina the copied emblem, which Olina identified as the Star Tower Society's mark.

Xia Fan and his companions connected Archie to the Star Tower Society and planned to watch his residence for the guest mentioned by the Man in the Mirror. Their investigation was interrupted when the Inquisition’s leaders arrived to meet Xia Fan.

• Xia Fan reasoned that Archie’s Star Tower Society insignia pointed toward a powerful organization but did not prove who was behind the case.
• Xia Fan proposed watching Archie’s residence on the appointed day to identify his expected guest, and Li said Archie had no way to change the meeting time.
• An attendant announced that two Inquisition members had come to see Xia Fan, and Olina warned him not to oppose The Church.
• Xia Fan met Priest Hera, Taxisis Eternal Wing, and her Guardian Knight, Des Moines Fleeting Shadow, and recognized them as leaders of the Inquisition.

Taxisis visited Xia Fan to investigate his involvement in the attack on the Son of the Holy Spirit’s convoy, then invited him to work with the Inquisition. She left him a badge to contact her, revealing that the Saint Palace attack could also connect Xia Fan to the case.

• Xia Fan explained time differences to Taxisis, who accepted his drawing as a possible explanation for the phenomenon of eternal night.
• Taxisis and Des Moines questioned Xia Fan about his interest in the Son of the Holy Spirit and his connection to Lasein’s investigation.
• Taxisis concluded that Xia Fan was not the convoy’s true attacker, but inferred that he wanted to go to Hila to see the Son of the Holy Spirit.
• Taxisis offered Xia Fan a chance to cooperate with the Inquisition in exchange for access to the Son of the Holy Spirit and help concealing information about the Saint Palace attack.
• Taxisis gave Xia Fan a ruby-inlaid badge and left him to decide whether to cooperate.

Feleton Stitch used the Resonator, part of the Key of the Zodiac, to search for the sleeping Matriarch Stitch. Its first signal pointed to somewhere in Azure Fort, so he decided to investigate the city’s southern region in secret.

• Feleton ordered his Attendants to seal the courtyard and kill anyone who tried to force entry, while Archie’s people watched outside.
• Feleton revealed the Resonator and used a drop of the Matriarch Stitch’s preserved blood to activate it.
• The Resonator glowed brightly and pointed south, indicating that the Matriarch’s tomb was somewhere in the Azure Fort region.
• Feleton checked that the Resonator was working, then chose to search southern Azure Fort discreetly without using another drop of blood.

Momola and the Relief Association waited for Ambassador’s promised support before launching a general strike against Hundred Fruit Garden Factory. Li arrived with a convoy carrying enough sweet bread to feed the workers, and Xia Fan’s aid was set to continue daily until they won their struggle.

• Morier worried that the strike could not win enough workers without outside help, while Las and others insisted they would resist the Factory regardless.
• Jijiao warned that confining workers without securing food would leave them desperate and could turn them against the Relief Association.
• Li arrived late with a convoy, explaining that a Black Street gang had attacked them but been defeated by her Kan Technique.
• Li revealed boxes of sweet bread bought through Xia Fan’s arrangements, with supplies calculated for all the Factory’s workers.
• Li told Momola that Xia Fan would send food every day until the workers won their struggle.

Momola told Li about the Relief Association and planned to demand higher wages, while Li urged her to seek a Sweet Bread Wage. The next morning, Gao'er found the Hundred Fruit Garden factory nearly empty on a crucial production day, and First Mate Pola confronted him about the missing loaders.

• Momola told Li she intended to use wage increases to repay the cost of the workers' food and explained how the Relief Association would organize their struggle.
• Li encouraged Momola to demand wages high enough for workers to afford sweet bread every day, and Momola agreed to try.
• Li told Momola that Xia Fan had suggestions for her, then led her back to the waiting workers to celebrate.
• Gao'er arrived at the Hundred Fruit Garden factory and discovered that fewer than thirty workers had shown up and the Hammer Press was silent.
• First Mate Pola confronted Gao'er because the ship had docked half an hour earlier and no workers had come to unload its cargo.

After hundreds of laborers at the Shantytown refused to work until Hundred Fruit Garden apologized, Gao'er tried to break the strike by force. Momola and Jijiao led the workers in fighting back against the overseers, and the confrontation began with the laborers’ resistance gaining momentum.

• Gao'er learned that the harbor workers had disappeared and promised First Mate Pola that Hundred Fruit Garden would pay the ship’s extra docking fees.
• Gao'er led the overseers to the Shantytown, where hundreds of laborers demanded an apology and refused to return to work.
• Gao'er offered rewards for capturing workers and charged the crowd, but the laborers parted to reveal armed fighters prepared for a clash.
• Jijiao struck down an overseer with a tree trunk, while Momola fought the others after training with Li.
• Momola realized that the workers’ fear had begun to loosen, even though their strike might still fail.

The workers at Hundred Fruit Garden drove Gao'er and his overseers away after demanding that the factory admit its wrongdoing and change its rules. Gao'er reported the strike to his elder brother, Steward Philip Lao, who asked him for a solution but left the next step unresolved.

• Momola’s workers defeated more than half the overseers, seized their weapons, and demanded that Hundred Fruit Garden change its practices before they returned to work.
• Gao'er withdrew with the overseers and rejected their suggestion to report the workers to the Police Bureau, recognizing that the factory could not quickly replace them.
• Philip Lao arrived and demanded to know why production had not resumed, so Gao'er explained the strike and the workers’ demand to speak with him.
• Philip took Gao'er into the office and asked what solution he proposed, while Gao'er urged him to gather outside fighters and crush the organizers.

Philip and Gao'er planned to split the Shantytown workers and pressure them into returning to the Factory, while Li and the workers prepared for a counterattack. The chapter ended with Gao'er bringing a much larger force and offering porridge and forgiveness to anyone who abandoned the resistance.

• Gao'er proposed turning workers against the troublemakers, and Philip agreed to send reinforcements while giving him until three in the afternoon to settle the situation.
• Philip warned Gao'er that negotiations would not be enough and hinted that Mr. Archie would make a drastic move to protect his standing.
• Momola celebrated the workers' victory over Gao'er's overseers, while Li warned her that their struggle had only begun.
• Li considered the merchants' advantages and concluded that the workers needed another force to deter their counterattack, with her remaining among them as a temporary trump card.
• Las spotted more than a hundred Factory men approaching with carts, and Li noticed a Mage accompanying Gao'er.
• Gao'er positioned carts of steaming wheat porridge around the Shantytown and offered forgiveness to workers who left the resistance.

Gao'er tried to persuade the workers in the shantytown to abandon their protest with promises of food, jobs, and higher wages, but Lady Kalan urged them to keep faith with their fellow workers. Momola's arrival with baskets of refined-flour bread undermined Gao'er's offer and left him furious, convinced someone was aiding the workers.

• Gao'er offered the workers free lunch, a chance to keep working at Hundred Fruit Garden, and a wage bonus for the first hundred to leave.
• Several workers urged Lady Kalan to let them leave, but she reminded them that the Steward had broken past promises to pay their wages.
• Lady Kalan argued that the workers' struggle had forced Gao'er to make his offer and that everyone could benefit if they held together.
• Momola called out that it was time to eat, and workers carried baskets of golden-brown bread through the crowd.
• Gao'er saw the workers receive bread and realized his wheat porridge and promises had been eclipsed; he suspected someone was helping them.

Momola used an Amplification Talisman to cast a sorcery art and learned that she could sense qi, while Li promised to teach her more after the standoff. As the workers’ resistance gained support through free bread, Jijiao promised Muli a better life, and newspaper staff gathered to watch the growing confrontation with Hundred Fruit Garden.

• Momola successfully cast a sorcery art with the Amplification Talisman, and Li discovered that she had never been taught about qi.
• Jijiao found that Muli had woven bandages from her hair, then refused her request to join the fighting and gave her sweet bread.
• Muli tasted the bread and asked whether they were really allowed to eat it, and Jijiao promised that they would have it every day.
• Free food steadied the hired workers, and Momola’s promise of daily bread won the Relief Association support from more than ninety percent of them.
• Passersby gathered to watch the standoff between Hundred Fruit Garden and the workers, and Gao'er spotted several newspaper staff in the crowd.

Philip Lao stopped Gao'er from renewing the attacks on the Shantytown and offered negotiations with the striking workers on behalf of Hundred Fruit Garden. Momola prepared to meet the Steward, while Li suspected the factory’s quick concession had another cause and secretly followed to listen.

• Gao'er ordered his men to remove the newspaper reporters and prepare another charge against the Shantytown.
• Philip Lao arrived, pointed out that more workers had joined the defense, and told Gao'er to offer negotiations.
• Las told Momola that the Steward was ready to meet, and she ordered the talks held in a shack without weapons or subordinates, with Jijiao and Lady Kalan attending.
• Li declined to join the meeting, then became suspicious of Hundred Fruit Garden’s swift response and followed Momola in Red Fox form.

Momola and the Relief Association negotiated with Philip and Gao'er over workers’ demands at Hundred Fruit Garden Factory. Philip accepted the demands for reinstatement, limits on overseer punishment, and higher wages, but required production to resume immediately and run through the night.

• Momola demanded that the Factory reinstate Las, Morier, and the other dismissed workers and pay their lost wages, and Philip agreed while offering food on credit if wages were delayed again.
• Momola demanded an end to workers being beaten by overseers, and Philip proposed a two-month trial in which overseers could not hit workers and workers could help manage production.
• Momola demanded that daily wages rise to thirty Copper Kebu, and Philip accepted the amount.
• Philip conditioned the agreement on the Factory resuming work by evening and running its workshops through the night to meet delivery schedules.