On the fifth day, as he meditated, Abdin suddenly snapped his eyes open. His hands, which were resting on his lap, began to shake. He stood up instantly and vanished.

When he appeared next, he was at an intersection near a major road. Juwaira stood at the end of the intersection, rummaging through her bag of holding. A beggar sat a few paces away from her with his hands up awaiting alms.

The princess brought out ten ayrids and made to give them, while the beggar held out his hands to take them.

Two paces before their hands could meet, Abdin appeared between them and pushed away her hand. The ayrids fell and scattered on the ground. Juwaira abruptly stepped back, a hand on her sword. The sight of Abdin made her frown confusedly. It was now four days since they met last, and she wasn't expecting to see him there.

The beggar didn't speak at all or attempt to pick up the money scattered before him. He simply went on with his usual begging chants as if nothing happened.

Abdin stared intently at him, but the beggar didn't look up or show any indications that he had seen him.

Seeing the way he looked so troubled made Juwaira turn and face the beggar again. She wanted to see if anything was threatening about him. She launched her cultivation and searched for the man, but he didn't seem to possess any pol.

Overpopulation, coupled with food scarcity and higher prices, had given rise to the surge of beggars around the castle. The beggar before her was handicapped, lame on the left leg. That was why she felt the need to give him alms. But Abdin appeared and smacked the money out of her hand. She wondered why he would do that.

They stood without speaking for some time before Abdin grabbed her hand and led her away. He turned to look at the beggar again when they reached the end of the block, but the man still didn't look up.

He led Juwaira away. The longer the loop stayed, the more chaotic everything seemed. It was as if someone was deliberately messing around with things to get at Abdin.

They stumbled upon another beggar even before Juwaira could find the chance to ask her question. This one had only one eye but seemed healthy otherwise.

Abdin led her away without stopping. But a few steps ahead, they met another beggar. Juwaira herself couldn't help but feel baffled this time.

The number of beggars around the castle wasn't as many as the day before. She had given alms three days ago and had an estimate of the number of beggars around. They certainly weren't as many as this.

The two of them flew up and covered the distance to Abdin's house.

They counted more than fifty beggars on their way. Their number no longer baffled the princess anymore. She had already decided to discuss with Abdin a new law banning panhandling.

They entered the sitting room of the new palace. It was a three-story building, with thirty golems assigned to guard the place. No one was allowed to come near it except with the permission of Abdin. Therein was Abdin's parliament, even though it lacked any symbols to show that a king lives there.

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As they sat, the princess stared at him, waiting for an explanation. But Abdin kept on frowning.

"Arch Bishop Beggar, AKA Arch Bishop Almajiri in Old Juyad," he said after a long time.

It was Juwaira's turn to frown this time. This was her first time hearing such a name. Who was Arch-Bishop Almajiri? Did he have anything to do with the beggars they saw just now? Days back, Abdin had killed the clerical emissary, but he had made sure that the man didn't send any messages before killing him. It would have taken time for them to arrive anyway, even if he had alerted them.

The Arch Bishops were the highest in rank among the clerics, and Abdin had marked them the same way they had marked him. He could recognize them wherever he saw them, even if they were in disguise. If any of them had sneaked into the castle, Abdin would have been able to tell.

But the skill he had witnessed moments ago was that of Arch-Bishop Almajiri. What was happening?

"There are five Archbishops," he said. "Arch-bishop Almajiri is among them. He enslaves men through almsgiving. Taking alms from him or one of his followers automatically makes someone his follower," he paused.

"The same thing happens to anyone who gives him alms. No one among the clerics has as many followers as Archbishop Almajiri. Being his follower gives one the chance to acquire almost limitless cultivation, but it is not without a cost. A body part must be sacrificed before that is achieved. I believe that the beggars we saw on our way are Almajiri's followers."

Juwaira stared at him with her mouth agape. Every story about religion was new to her.

There were no religious followers anywhere in the continent, and Juwaira found this piece of news strange.

But she knew that since they were not yet done with Yunus and Munniq, their chances with the so-called Almajiri were very slim.

"But I don't feel his pol," said Abdin. "We have marked each other, and I could feel it if he is near." He paused, thinking before he said, "I am suspecting Yunus to have something to do with it."

"Do you mean that Yunus is impersonating the cleric?" Juwaira asked in confusion.

"No, not really. I don't know for sure if they have a special relationship with each other, but I believe Yunus is the one setting them on my trails."

Abdin was assured that Yunus had a hand in the clerics' appearance, considering how he had deliberately journeyed to keep them off his tracks. There was no way that they could have so easily tracked him down without being informed. And Yunus seemed the most likely candidate since he wanted him dead at all costs.

Yunus probably knew that he couldn't control Munniq, so he invited the Arch-bishop.

He laughed bitterly as something occurred to him. Commander Ela's army was sent to distract him from knowing when the Arch-bishop approached. That, and also compelling him to show himself.

But there was something he still couldn't understand. If it were the Arch-bishop Almajiri that Abdin knew, he would have already attacked him on sight - Almajiri never waited. He readily jumped his target the moment he saw them.

Something must have kept him from attacking. Or it could be the unusual scent coming from Abdin that made him doubt.

Abdin's scent was at the moment transferred to Juwaira. But the Arch-bishop already knew that he was a man and not a woman. That could confuse him and make him hesitate, especially since Abdin wasn't wearing the same looks as he knew him.

As he thought about it, Kilod's voice cut short his reverie. The man ran inside panting. He seemed to be bearing another awful news.

"Your Majesty, a hundred-thousand-man army from Biyakis is on their way to the castle. They will arrive in about twenty-five days," he said.

Abdin felt a grinding sensation inside his skull. Too many things were happening at the same time. Yunus and Munniq had no intention of giving him breathing space.

"Kilod, Juwaira, arm everyone who's old enough to hold a knife. And arrest and lock up any person you catch panhandling. Begging is henceforth forbidden around the castle. Kill anyone who resists."

Kilod could understand the logic behind getting armed, but not the killing of beggars. He waited for elaboration from Abdin but eventually left when he realized that it wasn't forthcoming.

Juwaira glanced at Abdin and in a voice full of worry said, "Who are we going to face first?"

Abdin laughed bitterly. "They will come at us together. There's a high chance that Yunus, Munniq, the Arch-bishop, and Biyakis are all working together."