Chapter 663: The Flavor of the Jianghu

At a military fort bordering the Tianduan Mountains, A’Ming rode in wearing a black formal suit, every so often taking out a handkerchief to gently dab at beads of sweat that could not possibly exist on his forehead.

Behind him, a team of laborers pushed several small carts piled with all kinds of flowers, all gathered from the Tianduan Mountains.

Outside the fort stood a man built like an iron tower, with a young girl sitting on his shoulders.

The man wore a white jacket, long black trousers, and an enormous pair of thick-soled cloth shoes. He had taken rusticity and expressed it to perfection.

The girl wore a long purple dress and held a sword in her hand.

Seeing the large and small figures stacked one atop the other ahead of him, A’Ming shook his head. He waved for the laborers behind him to enter the fort, then rode over to the pair.

"Waiting for me?" A’Ming asked.

Fan Li nodded.

The Sword Maid said, "We were looking for runaway bandits nearby. The fort sent word that you entered the mountains from here a few days ago, so we figured you'd probably be coming back soon. We planned to wait two days. It's only been one, and here you are."

A’Ming looked at her.

"No respect for your elders."

The Sword Maid leaned sideways until her entire body was almost horizontal across Fan Li's shoulder, an impressively difficult maneuver, and reached into the large basket on his back to pull out a waterskin. Sitting upright again, she tossed it to A’Ming.

A’Ming caught it and pulled the stopper. A refreshing fragrance of fruit wine drifted out.

He loved blood, and he loved wine.

Ordinarily, he did not eat.

The Sword Maid said, "Fruit wine brewed by a troop of monkeys in the forest."

Now that was treasure.

A’Ming took a sip and nodded. To describe it with a rather clichéd phrase, it carried the fragrant aroma of nature itself.

But it really was delicious.

"I forgive your disrespect."

He put the waterskin away and asked, "What is it?"

The expansion of Fengxin City and construction of the new Marquis Residence had both been completed, so Fan Li, head of the construction crews, had finally gotten some free time. The Sword Maid had also finally reached the age when she ought to begin properly training with a sword, so he had simply taken her out for some experience.

And by "experience," he meant opening the blade.

The dancing girls in the Red Tents could make sword dances pleasing to the eye, but a real sword's edge had to be opened with human blood.

Put simply, Fan Li had taken the Sword Maid out to kill people.

Targets were not hard to find.

The Marquis Residence's many enterprises urgently needed labor for land reclamation, construction, and fortification work. Previously, because the potato reserves had to be watched carefully, population growth had been deliberately restrained. Now the autumn harvest was approaching and the hardest hurdle had been crossed. The labor shortage had surfaced again and was already severely constraining eastern Jin's development.

Unfortunately, after Xu Wenzu finished knocking his chosen targets into line, he had shifted his focus toward local governance: returning commoners to their native lands, helping them settle and work in peace, and healing the wounds inflicted by war and taxation.

That meant the Marquis Residence could no longer absorb refugees from east of the Wang River the way it had before.

First, people were attached to their native soil. Unless they truly had no alternative, few would choose to uproot their entire households and move away.

Second, given the relationship between the Marquis Residence and Xu Wenzu, forcibly digging people out of his territory and damaging that relationship would cost more than it gained.

Fortunately, eastern Jin had one impoverished neighbor.

The snowfields.

Under the manipulations of the Blind Man and Gou Moli, those two old scheming bastards, a model disturbingly similar to the evil transatlantic slave trade of another world descended upon eastern Jin.

What the Marquis Residence had to do was provoke conflicts between tribes on the snowfields.

In simple terms, make them fight.

With Gou Moli handling that side of things, it was easy.

Then silk, tea, jewelry, and all manner of goods other than ironware were traded for prisoners of war.

It had to be said that after the failure of Gou Moli's generation to "revive" the snowfields, the Savages had lost the finest members of an entire generation, perhaps even two.

The chiefs and nobles who remained were either timid as mice or hopelessly short-sighted.

And so, batch after batch of Savage slaves began being sold through Snow Sea Pass and distributed among the Marquis Residence's various enterprises.

In earlier years, before the Marquis Residence had been established, the political situation had been tense and ethnic tensions in the region had been sharp. Savage prisoners of war were treated mainly as expendable labor. The fortifications along Snow Sea Pass had been repaired with the bones of Savages piled thick beneath those walls.

Now, however, the Marquis Residence absorbed them through household registration. Among the young and strong who were skilled at riding and archery, a portion were selected into Standard households to serve as examples for the other Savage slaves.

Most of the Savages sold into eastern Jin discovered that although the labor was tiring, life here somehow seemed better than it had been back home on the snowfields. As a result, their overall mood remained remarkably stable.

And whenever they saw the Savage soldiers who had joined the Marquis Residence long before them, hopes inevitably began to stir in their hearts.

But nothing was absolute. There were always some people who loved their homeland too deeply, or defeated tribal nobles who had been captured and refused to live this kind of "ordinary person's" life. They chose to escape.

They could not go through Snow Sea Pass. There was no chance of making it that way.

Their only option was to enter the Tianduan Mountains. As long as they kept heading north, crossing mountain after mountain, and did not starve or get eaten by beasts along the way, eventually they could return to the snowfields.

The Marquis Residence called such people "runaway bandits."

They were targets for hunting and extermination.

And Fan Li had brought the Sword Maid to find these runaway bandits and open her blade.

In answer to A’Ming's question, the Sword Maid said, "We were already planning to head back, but then we happened to find traces of one group. There are quite a few of them, twenty or thirty. Two or three are Savage experts who deliberately concealed their strength when they were first captured. They killed two soldiers guarding the workshop and escaped while they were working there."

Generally speaking, any slave with a useful specialty would rush to report it during the initial screening in hopes of receiving better treatment.

Gou Moli's garrison did not have many slots for regular troops, but with Marquis Zheng's tacit approval, he was allowed first pick from among the Savage slaves brought in through trade.

The fact that this particular group had deliberately concealed their strength meant they had been planning to escape from the moment they were captured and sold.

Escaping from a workshop was obviously easier than escaping from a military camp.

"If you're going to kill them, then go kill them. Why wait for me?" A’Ming asked.

The Sword Maid smiled. "I didn't think it was safe enough. Since you were nearby, I figured we'd wait and go together."

"I don't have time."

A’Ming pointed toward the carts the laborers had been pushing.

"I have to go back and develop a new kind of perfume."

Then he looked at Fan Li.

"Just requisition some soldiers from a nearby fort and wipe them out together."

Fan Li shook his head.

"This is training."

If he brought soldiers along, how could it count as training?

A’Ming nearly laughed from exasperation.

"You take a little girl holding a sword to kill twenty runaway bandits, a few of whom are pretty capable, with one leader thrown in for good measure.

"What does that sound like?

"A’Li.

"Are you so bored you're doing a starter-village quest?

"Once you kill the targets, are they going to drop gold coins, or do you go back to Fengxin City and turn in the quest to the Sword Saint?"

The Sword Maid did not understand any of that.

Fan Li remained as concise as ever.

"Coming or not?"

A’Ming smiled.

"Only an idiot would go."

"There's more fruit wine."

"Heh."

"A whole vat."

"I'm worried about your safety."

...

A trade route ran along this side of the Tianduan Mountains. Many merchants came through here, made a trip to the market at Snow Sea Pass, then continued to Zhennan Pass, passing through Fengxin City again on the way back.

Different cargo meant different routes.

Relatively speaking, this region was currently a blank spot under the Marquis Residence's rule.

At present, the Marquis Residence's actual control and development covered the triangle formed by Fengxin City, Zhennan Pass, and Snow Sea Pass.

It had no attention to spare for developing and restoring the other areas yet. It merely established a few military forts and occasionally sent scout cavalry through to sweep the region and remind everyone whose sphere of influence it belonged to.

A place beyond the government's reach might appear freer, but in practice, it simply became another world where the strong preyed on the weak.

A number of jianghu forces had settled here. Some people's hands were inevitably less than clean. Petty theft was one thing; there were even murders and robberies of passing merchants. But the Marquis Residence's deterrent power remained, so no one had yet dared go too far.

Most jianghu people here worked as hired guards for merchant caravans.

There had once been a similar trade around Tiger Head City. Fan Li himself had joined a caravan there and crossed into the desert.

To further stimulate commerce, the Marquis Residence did not prohibit caravans from the snowfields or Chu from entering its territory, nor did it prohibit merchants on its own land from traveling into either region.

Naturally, taxes still had to be paid.

And for those who found the trouble excessive, goods could simply be sold at a lower price directly to the Marquis Residence. The Residence itself operated the largest merchant company conducting trade with both regions.

At the same time, the demon-beast trade in the Tianduan Mountains and the extraction of various local specialties had begun recovering now that the wars were over.

In short, this region lay beside the Tianduan Mountains, far from Fengxin City but fairly close to the Wang River. For the time being, it was a lawless no-man's-land beyond three jurisdictions.

The jianghu people taking jobs here had begun to resemble mercenaries.

Of course, they were not stupid enough to build a town or fortified settlement. That would make far too obvious a target, and however highly jianghu roughnecks might think of themselves, none were idiotic enough to kick sand in the territory of the fearsome Marquis of Pingxi.

So there were inns and buildings here, but they stood far apart.

It did not look like a town so much as a scattering of isolated relay stations.

At that moment, A’Ming, Fan Li, and the Sword Maid stood before one called the Leopard Gate Inn.

"At least it isn't called Dragon Gate Inn," A’Ming said with a laugh. "Otherwise we'd be writing back in a few days to call in troops and flatten the place."

If it were called Dragon Gate Inn, it would be infringing on a patent jointly owned by the Demon Kings and Master.

Whenever everyone had chatted in the old days, sooner or later someone would say that if all else failed, they could flip the table, go somewhere nobody knew them, and open a new Dragon Gate Inn.

"Oh, honored guests! Staying the night or having a meal?"

The waiter who came out to greet them was a hunchback with a face full of sycophantic smiles.

Fan Li reached into the basket on his back, pulled out his axe, and chopped straight at the waiter.

The waiter instantly twisted aside.

Whoom!

The axe cut through empty air.

"Brother, what is the meaning of this?"

A vicious light appeared in the hunchbacked waiter's eyes.

Fan Li looked at the Sword Maid sitting on his shoulders, then turned toward A’Ming.

"Knew he'd know martial arts."

In a place like this... a remote inn... a hunchbacked waiter... a flattering smile...

It was a classic setup.

So Fan Li had wanted to test his guess, and he had done so by swinging an axe.

Sure enough, the waiter knew martial arts and dodged.

Of course, if the waiter had not known martial arts and Fan Li's guess had been wrong, his head would currently have been split open like a melon.

But... who cared?

A’Ming rolled his eyes at Fan Li. This fellow always looked like the most honest, simple man among them, but no one actually dared treat him as one. An honest man would never have dragged out a dead Pillar of State's corpse and made it dance a yangge in front of the Chu people.

"We're staying."

A’Ming took out a silver ingot and tossed it to the waiter.

The waiter weighed the silver in his hand and instantly returned to his ingratiating smile as though nothing had happened. His already hunched back bent even farther.

"Three honored masters, please come inside."

The inn was large, but rough.

There were no carved beams or painted rafters. No fine details of any kind.

The first floor was a common hall. A saber-wielding traveler sat there drinking alone with a large saber beside him.

His clothes were ragged. His trousers were bound at the calves. The saber was wrapped in cloth, leaving only its hilt exposed.

He sat there looking thoroughly inconspicuous.

Fan Li silently began reaching toward the basket on his back again.

A’Ming kicked him in the shin.

Fan Li frowned slightly and withdrew his hand, though his failure to test the man clearly left him uncomfortable.

Behind the counter sat a woman around thirty years old with a mole on her face. She was not exactly a fading beauty, but she was still the sort who would never lack repeat customers if she worked in one of the Red Tents.

The weather was hot, and a good deal of white skin showed at her chest.

When A’Ming walked in, she did not call out a greeting.

Instead, she stuck out her tongue and licked the corner of her lips.

Fine.

That was something A’Ming often did too.

"Three honored masters, upstairs, please."

The hunchbacked waiter led the three of them up.

"How many rooms would you like?"

"One room," the Sword Maid said.

After speaking, she deliberately glanced at A’Ming beside her and Fan Li beneath her.

"Children of the jianghu traveling the jianghu needn't fuss over trivial details like these."

A’Ming gave a soft, "Heh."

In her early years, the girl had traveled with Yuan Zhenxing. After Yuan Zhenxing was turned into a pincushion beside the Bian River on Master's orders, she had lived with all of them ever since.

What the hell did she know about the jianghu?

Once they entered the room, the hunchbacked waiter was just about to ask whether they wanted food prepared when A’Ming casually tossed out a gold ingot and nearly blinded him.

The Sword Maid was equally stunned.

A’Ming asked directly, "There's a group of Savages staying at this inn, isn't there?"

The hunchback picked up the gold ingot and bit it before nodding.

"Yes. They're here. But they're staying in the stable behind the inn. We provide their meals. They seem to be waiting for someone to receive them. Maybe they're waiting for a Savage caravan coming in from Snow Sea Pass."

A’Ming tossed out another gold ingot.

"How many?"

"Eighteen men. All armed."

A’Ming tossed out a third gold ingot.

"What services do you provide?"

The hunchback blinked.

A’Ming reached into his robes again.

The waiter hurriedly said, "Master, Master, don't take out any more. The more freely you toss it around, the more it proves one of two things. Either you're genuinely so wealthy you don't care about this filthy lucre, or you're absolutely confident that whatever I swallow today, you'll make me spit back out later. In that case, I'm only keeping it for you a few days anyway, so naturally you don't mind."

A’Ming smiled.

The hunchback returned two of the three gold ingots to the table and pointed at the remaining one.

"Master, this one is enough. Tonight I'll drug their food and knock every last one of them unconscious. After that, you can do whatever you please."

"..." The Sword Maid.

A’Ming pushed one of the two ingots on the table back toward the waiter.

"Take this one too. Call some people. Once they're drugged, tie them up so we don't have to bother."

"Master, you want them alive?"

A’Ming shook his head.

"Tie them up. Easier to kill."

"..." The Sword Maid.

"Master, you're too generous. Done. Leave it to me. Truth be told, I've disliked those Savages for a long time myself.

"You wait here. I'll have some food sent up for the three of you first. Tonight, just wait for me to come report once everything's done.

"Oh, right. What would the three of you like to eat?"

Fan Li answered, "Naan."

"Coming right up."

The hunchback left.

The Sword Maid said angrily, "What kind of traveling-the-jianghu is this? What a waste of all that fruit wine I finally managed to find!"

A’Ming glanced at her.

"This is what the jianghu really looks like."

"It is not! It is not! Back when I traveled the jianghu with my master..."

"Your master was a broke-ass."

"..." The Sword Maid.

A’Ming stretched.

"The jianghu has a great many rules. Ninety-nine percent of them exist because people are poor."

The Sword Maid gritted her teeth and pointed at the remaining gold ingot on the table.

"You don't even understand the rule that a traveler should never reveal his wealth? Do you believe that tonight, instead of moving against those Savages, that waiter might come for us?"

A’Ming smiled.

"Turn the ingot over."

The Sword Maid reached out and flipped it.

Four characters were stamped on the bottom:

Marquis of Pingxi Residence.

A’Ming yawned.

"This is from a new batch of gold ingots minted by the Marquis Residence. What I revealed wasn't wealth.

"It was power.

"Now let's see whether this inn's owner and waiter dare have designs on us."

The Sword Maid pouted.

So infuriating!

She stared at A’Ming resentfully.

"Money and power, money and power! You've ruined the flavor of my jianghu! Give me back my jianghu! Give it back! Do you know how long I've waited for this chance? How long I've waited?"

Fan Li reached up and patted her head.

"He's right."

"No, you're talking nonsense, Big Guy! Nonsense! This isn't it! The real jianghu is like my Sword Saint master, free and unfettered, unafraid of the powerful..."

Fan Li asked, "Where does your master live?"

"..." The Sword Maid.

Master lived... next door to the Marquis Residence.

Fan Li said again:

"That's the flavor of the jianghu."

[End of Chapter 663]