The Blanc Gang

Fog City, Lambeth Route 707.

Xia Xiu stepped off the steam train in a white trench coat over a brown waistcoat, with a white Panama hat on his head. He adjusted his hat, glanced at the signpost on the central street, and set off toward his destination.

After learning that Deer College was recruiting new students and that its first stop would be Fog City, Xia Xiu had changed his plans. He now intended to pass its admissions process and become a student there.

Founded in the year 350 of the Terra Calendar, Deer College was a coeducational liberal arts college in southeastern Three Portlands. It was renowned not only for pioneering the integration of occult studies into a liberal arts curriculum, but also for its high standards of Thaumaturgy practice, creative thinking, and active multiversal citizenship.

Deer College students pursued Bachelor of Arts degrees in more than forty majors and concentrations. The curriculum included a yearlong occult studies course, broad distribution requirements, and a capstone project: each student designed their own study plan by combining a traditional major with an occult studies concentration, or chose from several established interdisciplinary majors.

Deer College was one of the few organizations willing to accept and educate holders of different Lineages, and it had always maintained a relatively neutral political stance. Many prominent figures on Terra had studied there, including four of the twelve seat holders of the Fog City Clock Tower.

Unlike the Clock Tower, Deer College did not place such importance on bloodlines and supernatural aptitude in its admissions. It was even willing to admit ordinary people, provided they possessed some distinctive talent, such as exceptional literary ability.

Xia Xiu's current objective was to secure eligibility for admission to Deer College, which had three admissions channels.

The first involved using a thaumaturgical creation, a [Spirit-Sensing Owl], to carry a magical envelope inscribed with a [Directional Cognition Command] to someone with thaumaturgical potential and deliver it to them. Once that person opened the envelope and read its contents, they would naturally know how to reach Deer College.

The second was the recommendation system. There was little need to explain that one-those who knew, knew. It was the favorite of people with connections.

The third was random selection. There were always a few lucky individuals chosen thanks to the mayor of Three Portlands fooling around.

If Xia Xiu wanted to become a student at Deer College, he could dismiss the first and third possibilities outright. Only the second method suited his needs. He happened to know that someone in Fog City had the authority to recommend applicants, and the purpose of this trip was to pay his respects to the local boss.

The Lambeth Slums.

Although it was noon, a thin mist still shrouded the streets. Farther east lay the industrial district. A glance upward was enough to reveal a pall of black smoke, and the people nearby eyed Xia Xiu strangely.

"You filthy bitch! You filthy bitch! How many times have I told you not to squash bugs on the wallpaper? Do you think you bought the whole inn? Why can't you throw them out the window like everyone else? Fucking whore!"

"You cow!"

As he passed a small inn, a torrent of exceptionally vulgar curses rang out. Idle men eager for a spectacle laughed with nearly empty liquor bottles in their hands. Alongside the arguing came the forlorn cries of street vendors and the playful shouts of children chasing orange peels along the cobblestones.

At night, loud singing would fill the street, while passing garbage carts left a foul stench in their wake. That was the character of the entire street.

The street was narrow-tall, filthy buildings crowded both sides, leaning every which way, as though they had been frozen in the act of collapsing. Every building had been converted into a small inn packed with lodgers, mostly laborers, sex workers, and thieves. Beneath the inns were little taverns where a single unit of Youyang Currency could buy enough drink to get thoroughly plastered.

On weekend nights, a third of the men in the district would get drunk and come to blows over women. The porters lodging in the cheapest inns were always fighting among themselves, battering one another with chairs and sometimes even resorting to guns.

Yet despite the filth and noise, some respectable Fog City residents still lived here, working as small shopkeepers, bakers, and washerwomen. They kept to their own circles and quietly saved what little money they could.

This was a typical Fog City slum.

Under the peculiar stares of passersby, Xia Xiu headed toward the darkest part of the slums, where the gangs congregated. Addictive drugs were sold there, corpses were a common sight, and the air reeked of wickedness.

The largest gang in Lambeth was the Blanc Gang. Rumor had it that its leaders all possessed supernatural powers. Others claimed that the Blanc Gang's members were not human at all, but monsters wearing human skin.

All Xia Xiu could say was that they had actually gotten it right. Most of its members really were not human.

The Blanc Gang had an extraordinarily mixed membership: unaffiliated Thaumaturgists, werewolves, and ghosts. It was a group of monsters who had banded together to survive in Fog City.

"Hey, kid over there. What do you think you're doing?" A rough-looking man blocked Xia Xiu's path. Beside him stood another man, bare-chested, with a blue scarf tied around his head.

"Lei Si, don't scare the kid. Boy, are you here looking for your mommy? Want Uncle to take you home? Uncle's house is very big." Kobei first laughingly "scolded" Lei Si, then turned to Xia Xiu with a kindly expression.

"Haah..."

Xia Xiu sighed helplessly. These cheap routines were always so tedious. Gangsters were still every bit as clichéd and dull as ever.

"Come on, boy. Uncle will take you to have some fun."

Kobei reached for Xia Xiu. A cold glint flashed through Xia Xiu's eyes, and he raised his right elbow and drove it hard into Kobei's waist. Kobei felt as though a massive log had slammed into his chest. His entire body lifted off the ground before flying sideways.

Clutching his abdomen, Kobei curled up like a mantis shrimp on the ground and foamed at the mouth.

"You motherfucker!"

At the sight, Lei Si drew the dagger tucked behind his waist and thrust it straight at Xia Xiu's head. To Xia Xiu, his movements were far too slow. To Thaumaturgists, even newly initiated ones, an ordinary person's movements looked as slow as footage playing at half speed.

Xia Xiu sidestepped Lei Si's thrust, then clamped both hands around his dagger-wielding right hand and wrenched it hard.

"Aaargh!" Lei Si howled in pain.

Xia Xiu caught the dagger that slipped from Lei Si's hand, then sent him crashing to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw. Pinning him down with one knee, he drove the dagger hard toward his head.

Crack-

Blood dripped down. Lei Si stared in terror at the dagger that had sliced past his cheek. He looked fearfully at the blond youth pinning him down. A radiant smile spread across that finely sculpted face, and the youth's eyes were narrowed just enough to conceal his true emotions.

Looking down at the terrified gangster, Xia Xiu placed his right hand against the man's bleeding cheek, then activated Flesh Sculpting, stitching the wound shut.

"Sir, would you be so kind as to take me to see Mr. Stephen? I have some business I would like to discuss with him."

Xia Xiu stood, removed his hat, and held it before his chest as he addressed Lei Si with impeccable courtesy.

Lei Si blankly touched his instantly healed wound, seeming to realize something. This youth possessed supernatural powers, just like his boss. He swallowed and hurriedly said:

"Gulp-I, I'll show you the way, sir."

(End of chapter)

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