When Bibi Dong had Yue Guan open the Hall Gate, Bai Jin was outside asking a guard for a pot of hot water.
Seven days had passed since that sparring match with Qian Renxue. That morning, she had finished dealing with the trade-route seals and come to the Papal Hall to deliver a document for countersignature. Bai Jin had planned to meet her at the temple that afternoon to measure the gold patterns, so he was waiting by the side door. There had been no shout from inside, only the sharp clatter of a vermilion brush falling to the floor. Then Yue Guan hurried out.
"Her Holiness asks you both to come in."
He knew he had been told to admit two people, but not what had happened inside. Bai Jin handed him the kettle. "Guard the outer corridor. If anyone asks, say the Pope is in a closed-door meeting."
Yue Guan glanced at Qian Renxue. He asked nothing more and led the guards twenty paces away. Qian Renxue entered with the Wooden Plaque for the side door in her hand. Bibi Dong had already cleared the files from her desk, and every window was latched shut. Purple-black marks were spreading up her wrist, far darker than when they had last left medicine for her.
"This time, I opened the door first," Bibi Dong said.
Qian Renxue did not rush closer. She unfurled her Holy Light Wings close around herself, while Limitless kept the leaking Divine Power away from Bai Jin's feet. His Six Eyes saw the residual force spreading through the hall, though Bibi Dong was still holding the densest part inside her body.
"When did it start?" he asked.
"A quarter of an hour ago. I was reading an old account from the outskirts of Slaughter City. The