"This..."
Takatsuki walked with Seele to the girl's side, thought for a moment, not knowing how to address her, and finally said, "How is your mechanical body now?"
"The motion mechanism is broken, I can't move."
The girl lay on the ground, covered in injuries left by Blade's attack before he escaped.
"I am Xueyi, a Judge of the Ten-Lords Commission. Many thanks for your assistance. Had it not been for you, my lifespan might have been cut short."
"Both of you, could you please take me to the Realm-Keeping Commission?"
"What kind of place is the Realm-Keeping Commission?" Takatsuki approached Xueyi and examined the damaged parts of her body, which were still flickering with blue electric arcs. Could it convert power into electricity even though it wasn't powered by electricity?
"It's just taking someone somewhere, no big deal. But I'm quite interested in the structure of your body. Can I take a look?"
Hearing Takatsuki's words, Xueyi looked at Takatsuki expressionlessly: "My body is a creation of the Artisanship Commission, not human. Though it has a human form, it lacks human sensation."
"?"
"I'm talking about your mechanical body. I'm very curious how your body operates, and as an inanimate object, your intelligence is a bit too high. How did you achieve that?"
Takatsuki probably guessed what Xueyi had misunderstood. Although Xueyi had the appearance of a pretty girl, Takatsuki couldn't possibly take advantage of a stranger, especially a robot. Seele was still watching.
"I see. But I also don't understand my own body. This place is the Artisanship Commission; you can ask the artisans of the Artisanship Commission."
"No need, I'll know after a simple look, and I can help you fix it too."
Takatsuki thought for a moment. Although Xueyi had sufficient intelligence, she was just a mechanical puppet, a robot. And since she couldn't move, Takatsuki could simply study her directly.
He placed his hand over the damaged parts of Xueyi's body and activated Hatori Nozomu's spiritual ability.
This spiritual ability was very unscientific; Hatori Nozomu himself couldn't explain its principle. He could even control machines without understanding their principles, relying purely on knowing what it did, not why it did it.
However, Hatori Nozomu, like other spiritual ability users, focused only on increasing the quantity of his spiritual power, rather than trying to understand the techniques of this power. He had never used this power to understand the mechanisms of the machines he manipulated.
At this moment, Takatsuki used his spiritual ability to envelop Xueyi's body, delving into her core, and then discovered a verdant green object within Xueyi's body.
He expressed this doubt to Xueyi.
"That is a Jade Abacus, a specialty of the Xianzhou. It can substitute for lost communication and also perform calculations. The Divination Commission also uses large Jade Abacuses for complex computational divination."
"Isn't that just a computer?"
This thing called Jade Abacus is a bit magical. It's both a computer and an energy core, or rather, different Jade Abacuses have different functions, but they are collectively called Jade Abacuses.
And there were multiple Jade Abacuses inside Xueyi's body.
Furthermore, Takatsuki also discovered something magical, an existence unaffected by his spiritual ability.
"Xueyi... are you truly a pure mechanical puppet?"
Takatsuki looked at Xueyi lying on the ground. While monitoring, he had slowly repaired the damaged parts of Xueyi's body with Hatori Nozomu's ability, but the process was somewhat slow.
"My body is a creation of the Artisanship Commission; haven't you already seen it?"
Takatsuki shook his head: "That's not what I mean. I'm referring to your consciousness. You shouldn't be a naturally born machine, right?"
"How do you know?"
"Because I sensed... a soul inside your body."
Takatsuki's expression was a bit solemn. If it weren't for the power of the Sheep Talisman, he wouldn't have been able to detect this power: "Could it be that your Xianzhou... extracts the souls of living people to create mechanical puppets?"
Seele, hearing Takatsuki's words, covered her mouth in fright: "How could that be..."
"No, my lifespan was already... The Ten-Lords Commission placed my soul into this mechanical body."
Although surprised that Takatsuki could perceive this, Xueyi did not conceal it and spoke directly.
"I was originally a Judge of the Ten-Lords Commission, and I have a younger sister. After my death, my sister resurrected me and placed me in this body."
Looking at Xueyi, Takatsuki activated his spiritual ability: "Is that so?"
"Yes." Xueyi suddenly answered uncontrollably, then she realized something and looked at Takatsuki: "You did that?"
Without hiding, Takatsuki directly admitted it.
"I was worried you might be saying one thing but meaning another due to your body's settings."
As he spoke, Takatsuki had already repaired Xueyi's body.
Feeling her body's functions restored, Xueyi stood up and moved around.
"Very good. No need to return. Mission continues."
"Although I am a Judge and do not involve myself in external affairs, since both of you helped me escape, I will repay you in the future."
Seeing Xueyi about to continue her pursuit, Takatsuki quickly stopped her.
"Are you just going to chase Blade like that?"
Takatsuki looked Xueyi up and down and said, "I'm not trying to be a wet blanket, but from the recent battle, it's clear you're not his match anymore. Are you still going?"
"This is my duty. To set things right, I must apprehend the important criminal. Moreover, the important criminal is also heavily wounded."
"Oh, well, forget about that. Didn't you see? His fighting method is to trade injuries, and I noticed during the battle that his injuries healed very quickly. The last sword strike didn't hit a vital point, so he's probably recovered by now. But why? His recovery speed is too strange."
Xueyi explained: "This person is a most wanted criminal of the Xianzhou, a beibg with immeasurable lifespan, immortal and indestructible. Even if I am not his match, I must apprehend him."
"Well, since you've made your own decision, I won't say anything more. But could you please give us directions?"
Since Xueyi had made her own decision, Takatsuki didn't say anything more. After all, the two were merely passing acquaintances.
"You don't know where this is?"
Takatsuki shrugged: "Actually, we got lost while riding the Starskiff and came over when we saw a ferry terminal here."
Xueyi did not question Takatsuki's explanation.
"It seems the Starskiff was also affected. In that case, follow me. I will take you to the Starskiff Sea; consider it repayment for your kindness."
"Alright, thank you then."
Takatsuki held Seele's hand and followed Xueyi's footsteps. Seele still asked with some concern: "Takatsuki, is it really okay for Sister Xueyi to go after that person named Blade by herself?"
"You heard what she said. It's her own choice, and we can't follow her forever, can we? Besides..."
Takatsuki leaned into Seele's ear and whispered, "That Blade is very skilled; Xueyi might not be able to find him."