Who? As a Constable, Xio had a keen intuition for surveillance and being watched. She immediately tensed up, her thoughts racing as she considered what exactly was happening.
Over the past two or three weeks, nothing had happened that required her special attention. The few criminals she had caught weren't Beyonders; at most, they had some connection to a gang. No one would risk offending a bounty hunter with some reputation in the East Borough over them. So, she quickly narrowed down the list of suspects, vaguely guessing which faction the person watching her belonged to.
Members of the
Regarding Mr. X's death, on the one hand, she was glad that Fors had pulled her away, letting her avoid the accident by not attending the gathering. On the other hand, she believed she was completely clean and could withstand any investigation, from anyone, in any way. So, when she met that masked man from MI9 last week, she was calm and confident, and took on the task of investigating the truth of the case. Unfortunately, she didn't know exactly which Beyonders had attended that gathering, so she had no starting point.
Hmm, that gentleman from MI9 told me that the people of the Aurora Order are either fully-fledged lunatics or hidden lunatics. You can't predict their actions using the logic of normal people. Even if they confirm I have nothing to do with it, they might just kill me to vent their anger and warn the real killer… Xio walked forward, highly tense, re-planning her route through the East Borough.
On this route, she could get help from her friends at any time. If she was attacked, she had a decent chance of escaping or even turning the tables.
As she walked, Xio suddenly fell into a daze, and found she had somehow already returned to her residence in Cherwood Borough.
Xio walked in blankly, drank a glass of water, when Fors patted her on the shoulder and said: "Come with me to the East Borough."
Xio was stunned for two seconds, then said words that felt strangely familiar to her: "You… want to go out for material?"
Fors immediately denied this, saying she had previously accepted a task to help someone find the dust left behind after a ghost dissipated. Since the souls of the dead in the cemetery had long been purified and sent to the kingdoms of their respective gods, they could only search the East Borough.
Xio hesitated and said: "I was just about to attend the gathering Mr. X convened. Can't your matter be delayed for a day?"
Fors immediately put on a long face, saying she had procrastinated too much and the deadline for the task was almost up.
Xio sighed and agreed to accompany her friend to the East Borough to find those who had just died, or those who had died some time ago but hadn't been discovered yet.
Just as the two were about to leave, Xio was hit in the face by the wind from outside. She shivered, suddenly snapped awake, and saw a bard sitting on a street corner, playing a harp and singing ballads popular in the southern countryside.
Xio frowned slightly, raised her hand to rub her temple. She felt she had just been spacing out, but couldn't remember what she had been thinking about.
She continued to maintain high vigilance, following the predetermined route, and entered a bar that sold lunch. There, she ran into an East Borough resident who occasionally provided her with information.
This was a young man of about twenty-three or twenty-four, with very finely shaped eyebrows and brown hair falling to his shoulders. His features weren't rough, and he wore cheap makeup, giving him a very jarring feeling.
"Sherman, has anything happened these past few days?" Xio greeted him.
As far as she knew, this young man named Sherman always believed he should have been a woman, but fate had played a cruel joke on him, making him a man. This had caused him to suffer very severe discrimination over the past many years.
Sherman showed his teeth in a slight smile: "Very peaceful. No gentlemen have even invited me for a drink."
"Drinking is bad." Xio admonished him seriously, passed him by, and walked towards the bar counter.
Sherman spat, swayed his hips out the door, and made his way to the apartment he rented.
He stopped at the door for a few dozen seconds, took two steps to the side, and knocked on the door of the next room.
The wooden door creaked open, and a low female voice, hard to hide its sweetness, came through: "Have you made your decision?"
Sherman stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and looked at the girl in a black dress sitting by the bed: "I still find it a bit hard to believe. I can't believe such a miraculous thing can happen."
In his eyes, the girl had a slightly round face, a gentle temperament, and was not just sweet in appearance but had a unique flavor. She was very charming and attractive.
Of course, for Sherman, it was more envy than infatuation.
The girl in the black dress replied without much expression: "Haven't you already seen my old photos?"
When her gaze shifted, it always carried a trace of melancholy.
"But that could be your twin brother or younger brother… It's hard for me to believe there's really a way to make me a woman again…" Sherman said, unconvinced.
The girl in the black dress smiled without any humor: "Then you can treat this as a lie and go back."
Sherman's hands slowly clenched, and after a long silence, he said: "I… I'm willing to give it a try. Even though I know you're probably lying to me, I still want to give it a try.
"So, what price will I have to pay?"
"Obey my orders, help me with some things. Don't worry, it's definitely something you can handle." The girl in the black dress said, "To truly change your gender, you need to drink three doses of potion and complete some ritualistic matters. I will teach you."
Having said that, she let out a self-mocking laugh: