The question earns, briefly, the attention of a tall, well-dressed woman who happens to be passing by. Fire is where she lives, after all, and while she turns heads wherever she goes it's a little more subtle here.

China doesn't recognize the Foreigner, and with the advent of that alarmingly powerful and paranoid newcomer, she's doubled down on making sure she does know who lives in Keeliai. Pausing serves dual purposes, then: to establish what sort of person asks questions of passersby with no preamble, and to add this Foreigner and whatever data she can gather on him to her list.

"Tu Vishan's problems generally appear to be much more extraordinary. Are you well-versed in the problems of average-sized turtles, then?"