Eventually, Rosa and Diana came to a halt in front of a two-story building. The foundation was riddled with cracks as the concrete was crumbling in places, while garbage bags and vegetation spread out randomly along the outer walls.
Diana looked at the house absentmindedly.
"It's no wonder Li Ming takes shift at the bar; people shouldn't have to live like this!"
"We could file a report to the Royal Council when we get to Emporio," Rosa said. "But do keep in mind. The baron's Manufacturer initiative ensures that any civilians who can't pay their taxes are taken and placed into government-owned factories. Workers there receive supplements for health conditions and livable wages in exchange for the rest of their lives. It's a deliberate system meant to get more civilians to slave away."
"Lady Morrigan would surely be dragged onto the political stage if we're to do something about it, and most aristocrats would rather someone of her capabilities not get involved in such affairs."
Diana gritted her teeth in frustration. "What about the people living here ?" she asked.
Rosa turned to look at Diana, sensing a hint of sorrow beneath her anger.
"We could still help them," her lips curved into a cheeky smile as she adjusted her glasses."We'll just have to be a bit more creative. For now, let's focus on the task at hand. I need you to listen for any sounds in the house."
"Why not use spiritual energy?"
"That's too risky; we might alert any specters hiding inside, and I'd rather avoid that."
After further discussion, Rosa pushed past the rusted metal gate. Walking up to the door, she gently knocked.
"Hello?.. Is anybody home?"
"We are from the F.C.F., we just want to ask you some questions."
The return of the silence followed as they waited for someone to respond.
Feeling the sounds around her from the creaking metal gate to the rustling of leaves, Diana closed her eyes, focusing only on the interior of the house.
-Snap! With a simple click of her fingers, she triggered her echolocation skill. Empowered by her spiritual energy, the sound quickly pulsed throughout the house, locking onto the rhymes of two heartbeats accompanied by subtle breathing.
One erratic and another calm.
Diana canceled her skill as she narrowed her eyes.
"I can hear them, but the one behind the door is shaking like crazy."
"This is your final warning, we're on here on urgent F.C.F business. Open the door now or we'll be forced to break--"
"W-wait, wait…I'm opening it!"
Creeeaaak!
The door creaked open, and a frightened Li Ming peered out from behind.
'He's definitely just a mundane civilian.' Staring at the Huaren youth dressed in Khaki colored pants and a white shirt, Rosa gave an appraising glance.
"Li Ming?"
"Y-yeah , I'm Li Ming."He said with trembling lips.
"We're from the special division of Foshan's Constabulary Force. My name is Rosa, and she's Diana. We're here to speak with you regarding an associate of yours, Mr Heng Sizhui."
The color drained from Li Ming's face as he stared at the gold badge that hung on her breast pocket. He recognized the turtle-shaped insignia etched into that polished metal surface. In District Four, that badge was well known to be a symbol of fear among the people. He had seen men and women wearing that same badge countless times as neighbors wept for their taken relatives. The pattern was always the same. Someone's brother, father, mother, or daughter would be taken away in a black-walled wagon. A few weeks later, the remaining family would receive a small allowance and occasional calls, often muffled voices of loved ones promising everything was fine.
But in truth, no one ever came back.
Now, seeing it gleam in the light on Rosa's chest, Li Ming's breath hitched.
Without so much as a word, his trembling hand rested on the door shifted as he tried to slam it shut
But Rosa was faster.
The black-haired, green-eyed beauty wedged her boot firmly into the gap before the door could close, and with a steady push of her arm, the door easily swung back under her strength.
"What!" Baffled, Li Ming staggered backward with a startled yelp, his heels slipping on the hard concrete floor. He crumpled onto the ground in the doorway. Staring up into her eyes, Li felt a soothing calm embrace his mind.
"Easy," she said, her voice portraying neither anger nor threats. "We're not here to take you anywhere. We just need to ask about Heng Sizhui. That's all."
Suddenly, another voice called out from deeper within the house.
["Li'er?"] "Little Li?"
Tap. Tap. Tap. Footsteps echoed as a woman walked out from the adjoining room, her long brown hair tied back hastily.
Instantly, her face paled at the sight of her son sprawled on the floor and Rosa and Diana in the doorway. She stumbled forward, dropping to her knees so quickly the hem of her pale green dress dragged in the dust.
"Please, don't hurt my boy!" Her hands trembled as she reached for Ming, then pressed flat against the floor. Her voice cracked. "He's done nothing wrong, I swear it. Please, please, take me if you must, just don't—"
Li Ming quickly scrambled to her side. Clutching her hand, he smiled, "Mother… it's alright, they're just here to ask some questions," he whispered, though his own voice still quaked.
Hearing Li Ming's words seemed to ease the storm clouding the woman's mind. Her trembling slowed as she let Li Ming guide her upright. With gentle hands, he steered her toward the nearby chair, lowering her down until she sank into the worn cushions.
Amid the commotion, the neighbors peered into the yard to see what was happening.
At that moment, Diana stepped inside, shutting the door with a firm click.
'We shouldn't be attracting too much attention. I'd rather not erase any more memories today. ' She leaned against the door for a moment in thought, studying the scene with gentle eyes.
Her gaze shifted to Rosa, and the faintest smile tugged at her lips. "That was quick thinking," she said."You used compulsion, didn't you? Just enough to steady his mind."
Rosa glanced back at Diana. "Only a touch," she admitted. "Anything heavier would've frightened him more."
Rosa's eyes shifted back to Li Ming and his mother."Tell me, how do you know Heng Sizhui?"
Li Ming's lips parted, his voice a shaky rush. "We… we don't really know him. He just came around a few times, but—"
"Enough, Li'er." Ms. Ming's voice carried the weight of something long buried. Her hand tightened around her son's. She drew in a long breath, eyes falling to the floor. "He was once… our benefactor."
The words seemed to taste bitter even as she forced them out.
"When Ming's father was murdered, I was still lost in grief. Ming was only five years old. We had no one, nothing. Then….. Sizhui appeared." She swallowed hard, her gaze unfocused, as she recalled a memory lodged deep behind her mind. "He said he could avenge my husband. I didn't question his motives. I didn't even ask the cost. I was too broken… too desperate. So I agreed."
Her fingers fidgeted in her lap, clenching at the fabric of her dress. "He did what he promised. The man who took my husband's life… was found butchered days later."
Rosa and Diana exchanged a glance but said nothing.
"Afterward," the woman continued, her voice dropping to a hoarse whisper, "Sizhui came to me again. I thought he'd want money. But he didn't. What he wanted was me."
Disgust rippled across her face, twisting her expression. "At first, I refused. I hated him for even suggesting it. But… I was alone. Vulnerable. And I thought… if I gave him what he wanted, maybe he would stay. Maybe Ming would have someone to protect him."Her voice faltered, the words quivering. "So I let him. Just once at first. And then again. Eventually, he was living here, in this house, like a shadow over us both."
A shiver ran through her as she reached the darkest part of the memory. "One day, I came home early… Ming was still at school. I opened the bedroom door and found him—" her breath hitched, "…found him torturing a man. He was smiling while the poor soul screamed. As if it was nothing but sport."
Her eyes glistened, tears threatening to fall. "I told him if he didn't leave, I'd go to the officials. I never saw him in this house again after that. I thought it was over." She turned to Li Ming, guilt lining every feature of her face. "I didn't know he had been seeing you in secret, Ming'er. I swear I didn't know."
The boy stared at the ground, jaw tight, shoulders stiff, as though trying to decide whether to despise Sizhui more… or his mother's choices.