Advancing to Qi Gathering Realm had a qualitative effect on my ability to process and retain information. My newfound ability allowed me to process the information in the jade tokens that I had bought from the library and retain that information perfectly. The improvement in how I consumed information allowed me to gain a real understanding of Arrays without the hours of study that Alchemy had required.

Their function, how to create them, and how to repair them was almost intuitive. The way I was able to understand concepts and techniques now, helped me to understand why a cultivator would and could master so many professions. My intelligence and ability to process information was simply more advanced and would only increase with my cultivation level.

I was far from reaching the same level of skill as I held in Alchemy, but my fumbling efforts at creating an array the night before as well as my dogged determination to master the techniques I found within the jade tokens made it possible for me to gain a real understanding of the eight trigram formation that had been created to protect the town of Xiwang.

Understanding how something was supposed to work made the tour I took of the town much more informative. Gwyn and the others were able to point out where problems existed, where discrepancies between those with money and power and those without were most egregious, and what needed to be fixed now and what could wait.

It changed what would have been a perfunctory and boring tour of the town with a bit of finger-pointing showcasing points of interest into a real understanding of the town and its needs. Each councilor made a point of taking responsibility and showing me the area, they were tasked with representing, what they had done to improve that area of the town, and what was needed.

I regretted banishing Lyle so quickly as the tour continued, too much of what I found in disrepair or lacking could be laid as his feet. Even if Chon was the titular ruler, Lyle had had a real talent for pilfering the town's coffers. Without him here to push back against the accusations the other counselors were levying, the recriminations flew easily. Gwen was the only one willing to call out a blatant lie and force those councilors to accept some responsibility for the disrepair and neglect that pervaded their boroughs.

We had finally arrived at the Harbor and my understanding of Arrays allowed me to identify a real problem. I had been forced to limit my perception the closer we came to the docks, the smell so repellent it was either limit my senses or spew my breakfast and last night's dinner as we walked.

It was easy to see why as we walked near the array that should have been filtering the town's wastewater and sewage. The array was in perfect working order, at least as far as I could tell, but the beast core or spirit stone required to fuel the array was missing.

"Why wouldn't you replace the beast core to keep the sanitation array working?" I demanded.

The smell we had encountered once we approached had become unbearable, even for my tightly restricted perception. I had begun releasing a constant stream of wind affinity Qi to circulate around our group, redirecting and concentrating the ocean breeze away to offset the stench of offal, decay, and sewage that had mixed with the briny smell of fresh ocean water.

"Lord Chon refused our requests for beast cores. As the trigram degraded and repairs were ignored or unable to be facilitated, he would need more and more of the cores that were collected to power up what was left of the trigram that did work," Elis explained.

"What about the beast cores you collected from the reef or the fishing fleet?" Gwen asked. Her question enlightening, a subtle way of informing me about certain aspects of the Dock Manager's responsibilities. Tasks he oversaw that I wouldn't have known about without that question.

"Confiscated," Elis informed her.

"You have been running a smuggling ring the rest of us had no idea existed, and you couldn't find a way to skim a few beast cores to maintain upkeep for the docks?" Mauve, the quietest of the Council member asked.

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"How does that make any sense," I added, "if the docks fail because of disrepair then there is no way to ship any goods, let alone anything that was being smuggled.

"Look around," I said, talking to the group at large, "the docks themselves are well maintained. I don't see anything that looks like it is going to fall down when the next storm passes, not like most of the buildings in Xiwang.

"I notice the beast cores needed to keep the storage facilities and warehouses cooled are in place and functioning," I pointed out.

I had been forced to extend my perception, unpleasant as it was to get a complete picture of the docks and the buildings that lined the wharf. Gesturing towards a row of buildings, I had each person noticing what I had just discovered.

One of the perks of my expanded Qi perception was the ability to identify the smallest fluctuations of energy, either from Qi, cores, or spirit stones as they were used to power appliances. The warehouses along the wharf had powerful refrigeration facilities, each employed to keep products fresh, except in those cases when fish had been flash-frozen and needed to remain in that state.

I used my expanded perception to really examine the dock once I noticed the meticulous maintenance that had been performed in this area. It was only a matter of seconds to see a pattern arise. Any of the facilities or infrastructure that was required to maintain the flow of smuggled goods was in pristine condition. It was only those secondary areas that dealt with improving or maintaining the function of the town that had been neglected and allowed to fall into disrepair.

"I find it interesting the areas you have invested manpower and beast cores," I drawled once I understood what he had done. The sewage treatment. The desalination building. The boats for the fishing fleet. Each of these areas was as badly neglected as the town. And the only reason this was happening was that Elis was making selective decisions on what should and could be maintained.

"Faun," I said, gaining the attention of the Guard Commander, "have a detail go and search Elis' home and his work office. I believe you will find a stockpile of beast cores and spirit stones that belong to the city.

"While you are at it, have another detail begin searching Lord Chon's rooms and offices. I'm sure he didn't waste every core he had in that bastardized formation he was trying to maintain.

"Gwen, Fester, Mauve, each of you send a representative you trust with the guard details. Let's make it difficult and unwise for anyone who thinks they might enrich their own pockets from doing so because each of you will have people watching and serving as over-sight," I said explaining why I wanted so many people involved in the search, and putting them on notice that I was willing to play them against each other if needs be.

It was certain that one of them would be willing to stab the rest in the back to curry favor, and the best way to do something like that would be to report theft under the auspices of my commands.

"Gwen," I continued, keeping her from speaking with the few attendants of hers that were following us, "I need whoever passes for experts in the city. People who understand how to clean up the contaminants that have allowed to accumulate from dumping raw sewage into the ocean. People versed in arrays and formations. People talented with construction and repairs. And whoever is in charge of maintaining the city's infrastructure, roads, walls, sewage lines, and energy sharing conduits."

I knew I was relying on Gwen more than I should, but I had admired her frankness when we first met. I hoped that she remained as honest as she seemed. My impression of her was of a woman who had stood up and pushed back every time Chon crafted edicts that further diminished the ability of the town to flourish and survive.

I didn't want people that agreed with everything I said. Not for this. I needed people that had fresh ideas, had worked in the trenches and knew how to get things done. I would save the sycophants for staff and students because two of the obvious deficits I'd noticed in the tour of this town were the lack of businesses, and the complete dearth of apprentice opportunities for young men and women to learn any productive skill.

Farming, fishing, and hunting seemed to be the only focus Chon had cared about, and it had left his town bereft of tradesman and businesses that offered potions, arrays, clinics, schools, and inns. Most people might not think a place to sit and have a beer as important as facilities to train children, but they would be wrong. It was these places that served to relieve pressure, to allow people to vent or cry. To create ties of friendship.

Friendships that served to build a community that would better the town in ancillary ways. People were less prone to fight or rebel when friendships existed. They were more willing to stay, to work to make their home and their neighbor's home a place of sanctuary when friendships existed. It became easier to put down roots and improve the town they lived in when those ties of friendship existed.

There was much wrong in Xiwang. Corruption so insidious that the spilling of raw sewage had been an obvious symbol of that corruption.

None of the things I had found were so far gone that they couldn't be repaired. But it would take time, spirit stones, and faith for that to happen.

Faith and hope that these people were sorely lacking.