The visitors who arrived were two tall young men, clad in long coats, appearing to be of approximately the same age. One of them possessed skin that was slightly dark, with a head of hair as brilliantly red as a blazing fire; his face was scattered with freckles, and his eyes were sharp and keen. His entire body exuded an aura that was both wild and dangerous.
The other person possessed eyes of a deep, profound blue, with blonde hair combed neatly back and fixed in place with glossy wax. His clothes were crisp and wrinkle-free, giving him the appearance of a polite and courteous aristocratic young master.
"I am James Wood." The blonde young man opened the conversation, his voice gentle but carrying a subtle, underlying authority: "He is Brand Hughes. We are public servants of the Luminous Church, and we have come here to investigate a number of matters."
Alex narrowed his eyes; he looked straight into the eyes of the blonde young man, Wood, showing absolutely no sign of fear: "The Luminous Church? Then where are your documents? I cannot simply arbitrarily allow strangers to enter my house."
Hughes, standing beside him, glanced at Alex with a look full of scrutiny, saying nothing; his hand unconsciously placed itself upon the handle of the weapon at his waist.
Wood smiled, taking the documents out from the pocket of his coat, presenting them respectfully with both hands.
"These are my papers, sir."
Alex did not accept them; he only glanced briefly at the exquisite gold-plated pattern engraved with the image of the sun on the dark cowhide cover, then shifted his eyes away, his expression showing not a shred of interest or concern.
"My name is Alex." He said curtly.
"So, it turns out you guys are the very same two people from last night." Alex opened the door a little wider, his tone filled with resentment, his gaze sweeping over the opponent's crisp and pristine uniform: "You almost smashed my door to pieces. This rotten wooden door cannot withstand a few punches from you guys."
Wood looked at Hughes, his gaze carrying a gentle reminder: "I apologize to you for the rudeness last night."
"No need." Alex stepped aside, reluctantly inviting Hughes and Wood into the house: "You guys come in; for people of the Luminous Church to seek me out all the way here, surely there is nothing good about it. I am just a commoner; I dare not offend you."
Hughes and Wood looked at each other; they both could sense the obvious unfriendliness and wariness coming from Alex.
"Sorry to bother you." Wood bowed slightly, maintaining the polite attitude of a noble, and stepped into Alex's small house; Hughes followed behind him with a cold and indifferent expression.
The house was built leaning against the mountainside, with half of it lying within the belly of the mountain itself; it was a style of house dug inwards to avoid the cold winds. The space inside could not be considered small, yet it carried the dampness characteristic of earth, rock, and moss.
A few old, worn-out pieces of furniture lay scattered in the corners; the rickety wooden table and several stools made the room appear even more empty and desolate. The light filtering in from the small, narrow window was not enough to illuminate the deep, dark corners inside.
After looking over the entire room, Hughes's pupils contracted; his gaze, sharp as a knife, locked tightly onto the corpse wrapped in a coarse cloth placed on the cold, empty ground.
"That is my job; I am a Corpse Collector in the city. Surely you also saw the signboard hanging crookedly outside." Alex noticed the change in his gaze; he stepped quickly to block the view of the corpse, his tone not very happy.
He instinctively hated those related to the Luminous Church; their glitz and glamour always stood in stark contrast to his poverty, except for Elias.
Having said this sentence, the young man slammed the door shut; the sound of wood impacting rang out dryly. He kept the minimum etiquette of a host, taking out a few chipped cups and pouring cold tea for the two guests.
"What did you come here for?" Alex handed the tea to the guests, not beating around the bush but asking directly: "I know you are Arbiters. The silver badges on your chest pockets are too prominent."
Hughes was startled; his fingers habitually touched the sword hilt at his waist, almost drawing the long sword because of this attitude.
Wood, on the other hand, was much calmer; he lifted the tea cup but did not drink. Last night he had carefully researched the archives; this place near the desolate graveyard used to be the residence of a former Arbiter of the Luminous Church. That old priest had once adopted an abandoned child, and they had lived relying on each other.
The skinny Alex in front of him, with deep black eyes, was clearly that child.
"In that case, I will get straight to the point." Wood put the tea cup down, withdrawing the social smile on his face: "Mr. Alex, may I ask if during the entire day yesterday you discovered anything unusual compared to every other day? Any strange sound, image, or sensation."
Alex looked up, his hand clutching the hem of his shirt tightly. He was just about to utter the lie already compiled in his head when a familiar, icy voice rang out directly in his mind.
"Alex, Arbiters are innately extremely sensitive to lies; their souls are forged to recognize deceit. Do not lie."
It was Elias.
Alex opened his mouth but emitted no sound; the timely reminder from Elias caused the lies he had prepared beforehand to choke in his throat, losing their effect.
And this hesitant, confused expression of his, in the eyes of Hughes and Wood, was exactly the significance of knowing something but being afraid.
"Mr. Alex? Is it true that you know something?" Wood took a leather-bound notebook from his breast pocket, uncapping a fountain pen; the silver nib glinted under the dim light: "We really need this information of yours; it concerns the safety of the entire Dune City."
Alex exhaled sharply, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.
"Yesterday was the night of the full moon, Mr. Wood." He said, his voice lowering: "Every full moon night, for me, is not a normal day at all. You surely must have investigated me before coming here."
The hand of Wood that was writing words paused for a moment, the ink spreading slightly onto the paper; he raised his head, looking intently at Alex: "What do you mean?"
Hughes standing behind, leaning his back against the wall, also shifted his gaze; the initial absentmindedness disappeared.
Alex looked at him, assessing the expression of this blonde young man who seemed hot-tempered.
"You are people of the Luminous Church, holding information of the entire city; could it be you have never heard about Alex the Executioner?" When speaking the word "Executioner", Alex almost gritted his teeth; a flash of anger mixed with humiliation appeared in his eyes.
Wood was stunned, the pen in his hand halting; he instinctively turned his head to look towards Hughes.
He was a ninth-rank Arbiter who had just passed the ritual this year; his practical combat experience was not much, and he completely lacked the qualifications to contact deep-level knowledge or confidential files. Even the matter that this house used to be where a retired Arbiter senior lived was something overheard by chance at the drinking table with drunk seniors.
As for Hughes, he was one year older than him, and his family background was also better; this year he already had the qualifications to be promoted to an eighth-rank Arbiter.