The interior of City Hall is not directly accessible to the public.
If citizens have matters requiring an audience with the Magistrate, they must follow a specific application process. Only after approval, during a designated time slot and under the guidance of specialized staff, can they be granted an audience.
This was also the reason Yangyang had left earlier to apply for visitation rights for the two of them.
Passing through the vast front hall, they entered a long corridor.
The footsteps of Lucian and Rover echoed through the space.
The specially designed sound-absorbing walls on either side rendered the corridor solemn and silent, a reminder to visitors to mind their etiquette.
Beyond this corridor lay their destination: the inner chamber.
At the entrance to the inner chamber stood an attendant.
She nodded at the two. "Please follow me."
Guided by the attendant, they entered the inner chamber and took their seats.
"Please wait a moment," the attendant said before departing.
Now, the room was quiet. Neither Magistrate Jinhsi nor Sanhua was present.
This was the origin of everything in Jinzhou the hall where the Magistrate handled affairs of state, as well as the reception room for important guests. The grand chamber had witnessed countless pivotal moments.
With no one arriving, Lucian, bored, used the Pangu Terminal's camera function to snap a photo of the tea set beside him, then posted it to the Jinya Forum.
[Title: The Legendary Lucian Already Waiting in City Hall's Inner Chamber!]
[Content: To all those with ulterior motives trying to meet the Magistrate stop wasting your efforts! The legendary Lucian has already been granted an audience! Unrelated individuals should abandon their delusions! [Image]]
[—Editor: Jinhsi-sama's Dog]
...
[Eternal Blaze: Oh? So this 'legendary figure' actually exists?]
[—Master Jinhsi's Dog replies: Of course! Dramatization isn't fabrication, adaptation isn't random fabrication! Yours truly always reports the truth. Everyone, hit that follow button!]
...
[Unknown User: Never heard of this person.]
[—Master Jinhsi's Dog replies: Read more books.]
[—Unknown User replies: ?]
...
[Peachy Turtle: Heard there were tons of people trying to get an audience at City Hall today. The Magistrate must be exhausted…]
[—Master Jinhsi's Dog replies: All those people working so hard to see Jinhsi-sama, only for Lucian to pluck the peach in the end. Truly a bitter pill to swallow!]
At the borders of Jinzhou, a pink-haired girl read this reply.
"Lucian plucked the peach…"
For some reason, her face flushed as she quickly stowed her terminal and threw herself back into patrol duties.
...
[Autumn Water Without Ripples: I don't believe it. How'd you get this photo?]
[—Master Jinhsi's Dog replies: First believe, then question. Respect, kid.]
...
After replying to each comment, Lucian smiled in satisfaction at his rising notoriety.
Once I reveal that I'm the real Lucian, my fame's gonna skyrocket.
Heh heh heh!
Rover also saw Lucian's post and shook her head slightly. There was just no helping him.
At that moment, footsteps sounded at the entrance. The two turned to look.
"Apologies for the wait. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Sanhua, the Magistrate's personal guard."
The newcomer had a cold expression, with white hair and red eyes. She wore a black leather outfit with a chunky Buddhist rosary around her neck, her long legs clad in black stockings.
Lucian noticed a small mole at the corner of her lips, adding a unique charm to her appearance.
'Truly a cold beauty.'
He couldn't help but marvel the masses' judgment was never wrong.
"Rover," Rover nodded.
"Hello, I'm Lucian."
Sanhua glanced at him. "You're Lucian?"
"What about it?"
"Hmph…" Sanhua said nothing further.
She had seen that boastful post earlier but didn't believe Lucian was the person the Magistrate was looking for.
Then, she turned to Rover, the Tacet Mark in her pupils glowing faintly.
A few seconds later, Sanhua smiled faintly, understanding dawning.
"The Magistrate is not currently in City Hall. However, before her departure, she prepared a gift for you, as well as a token she wished to entrust to you."
"The Magistrate asked me to relay that during her absence, you may seek out the object indicated by the token. It will provide you with the information you seek in advance."
"Within three days, the Magistrate will formally meet with you."
Lucian: "Wait, wait, wait what about me?"
Sanhua remained impassive. "While that post claimed you were formidable, no such figure exists in Jinzhou's history. It must be another fabrication by someone desperate to meet the Magistrate."
"Then how did you confirm she's the one the Magistrate wants to see?" Lucian pointed at Rover.
"If you're asking how I singled her out among the many 'visitors'…"
"My eyes can perceive the innate frequency of living beings."
"Or rather, I can only see 'frequencies.'"
"Her frequency… is identical to the Magistrate's."
"Uncorrupted. Authentic. The original form."
Lucian frowned. "Really? Then what's my frequency like?"
"You?"
"Likely no different from most people."
As Sanhua spoke, the Tacet Mark in her pupils glowed again as she fixed her gaze on Lucian.
Yet the moment their eyes met, a sharp pain stabbed through Sanhua's right eye.
She hunched over, clutching her eye in agony.
Lucian panicked. "Wh-what's wrong?"
Could her eye see that I'm a transmigrator?!
After a moment, Sanhua exhaled heavily.
"You…" Her brows furrowed. "I can't see your frequency clearly."
Years ago, Sanhua's hometown had been ravaged by a sudden anomalous blizzard.
As an infant, she had miraculously survived.
This was both a blessing and a curse.
The child snatched back from death first opened her striking, otherworldly crimson eyes.
The Tacet Discord had not taken her life instead, it had corroded her right eye. The frequency of the Reverberation miraculously restructured into a new eye, granting her, born blind, the ability to perceive the fundamental frequencies of all things in the world.
Unbeknownst to her, this was also the "Curse from The Lament."
The curse twisted all things into grotesque, horrifying specters, their cacophony assaulting her senses, shattering her perception of reality.
No lies but no light, either.
This was the first time she had failed to see a person's frequency.
As if something was actively blocking her.
"Can't see it?"
Lucian smacked his forehead in sudden realization. "I knew I was the Chosen One!"
Rover: "…"
Sanhua: "…"