𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜'𝙨 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙬 // scaramouche x oc

Chapter 23 - The City of Contracts (2)

"Go down the third alley, take a left, and . . ."

I looked up from the note Childe had given me, facing a small shop that appeared suspiciously abandoned.

Pulling my hood over my head, I tapped the bell on the counter.

"I suggest you come out ow, Jiahao," I spoke calmly.

From the back of the shop came a surly, middle-aged man dressed in a moth-eaten tweed coat and brown loafers that were frayed at the ends.

He eyed me warily. "And who might you be, little lass?"

I showed him my Snezhnayan identification card. "That's 'Your Grace' to you. The High Priestess, No. 10 of the Fatui Harbingers. Delighted to make your acquaintance, Mister Jiahao."

"Looks legit to me," he groaned, guiding me to the back.

Slouching in his armchair, he put on a pair of spectacles and smoothed out his mousy hair.

"So, what do you want from me?"

I cleared my throat. "I would like you to tell me about some of the influential figures in the Feiyun Commerce Guild, Mr. Jiahao."

"Ah, so you're looking for someone to seduce, hmm?" the informant asked.

"Most precisely," I responded, beaming.

"The leader of the Feiyun Commerce Guild, the Guild Manager, is a married man with two sons. His eldest son, the first young master, is currently engaged, while the second young master, Xingqiu, isn't quite interested in romance."

"Who would you suggest then, Mister Jiahao?"

"Nianzu, the advisor of the Guild Manager," he said, showing me a photograph. "He grew up with the first young master, so he inevitably holds a lot of power within the Feiyun Commerce Guild."

Nodding, I stashed the picture in my pocket.

"I don't think Nianzu will be easy prey, however," Jiahao warned, lighting a cigarette. "He's known for having crazy high standards. I mean, you'd expect a hotshot like him to be married already, but all he does is spend his days on the Pearl Galley, doing business and gambling off his inheritance."

I perked up at the mention of the Pearl Galley.

"The Pearl Galley?"

"Bingo," he affirmed. "There'll be a party on the Pearl Galley tonight, and I'd be shocked if Nianzu didn't show up. I reckon it won't be too hard to get his attention. Speaking of which, you're starting to look kind of familiar . . . ?"

Dropping a pouch of Mora on the ground, I turned my back to him. "I'll be taking my leave now, sir."

"Wait a moment! I know you! You're the Celestial Pearl!"

Darting back down the street, I winded through the alleyways, vanishing into the crowd.

Now then--

All of a sudden, a surge of elemental energy brushed right past me, and, for a single fraction of a second, I felt as if I had been whisked away to paradise.

What was this . . . feeling?

Snapping out of my daze, I whirled around, catching sight of a tall young man, with flowing amber locks and an elaborate tailcoat woven in black and mahogany. Almost effortlessly, he seemed to exude an aura of majesty, commanding respect with each step he took, radiating a certain nostalgia, a sense of antiquity.

Without a doubt, he was the Geo Archon, the almighty Rex Lapis, the target of the Fatui.

I hesitated, sighing.