I let the silence stretch between us and watched Jiru's face in the lamplight. Time to drop the pleasantries.

  "I've been looking at the accounts, Master Jiru." My voice carried none of the earlier warmth. "Quite thoroughly, as it happens."

  His shoulders stiffened, but he said nothing.

  "It's fascinating reading. Qin's Fresh Catch has been significantly overpaying for the fish from a number of fishermen. In some cases, we've also been paying for fish that was never actually delivered." I leaned back in the chair, studying his weathered features. "Bizarrely, in many cases those two sets of fishermen were one and the same. What are the chances of that?"

  Jiru's jaw worked silently for a moment before he found his voice. "I don't know who you're referring to but there are a number of fishermen who provide a premium product so…"

  "Master Jiru." I held up a hand, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

  He blinked at me, mouth still half-open, but no words came.

  "Qin Laoxu may have bought your stories about premium fish and whatever other bilge you were going to come out with, but Old Xu is no longer in charge." I stood slowly. "It's clear you've been taking backhanders from fishermen. Looking at the accounts, this has been going on for at least a decade."

  The color drained from Jiru's face, and his hands trembled slightly at his sides.

  "The question now is what we are going to do about it."

  Jiru's mouth opened, protest forming on his lips, but I raised my hand again.

  "I said 'we,' my apologies. You have no say. This is what's going to happen." My voice stayed level, matter-of-fact. "First, the backhanders stop immediately. Qin's Fresh Catch will no longer buy fish from any of those fishermen you've been working with. Second, you'll find new fishermen to fill the supply gap that's been left. Third, your pay gets cut by three quarters until you pay back the losses Qin's Fresh Catch has suffered as as result of your actions."

  I paused, letting that sink in before continuing.

  "For the avoidance of doubt, that's not just the backhanders you've taken. It's the entirety of the losses. Every copper petal of inflated prices, every phantom delivery you signed off on." I tilted my head slightly. "Any questions?"

  Jiru's face had grown progressively redder as I spoke. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, and a sneer twisted his features.

  "I'm not going to take that from a pup like you. What do you know about the business? Without me that place would have gone under years ago." He jabbed a finger toward the door. "In fact I look forward to you finding out quite how much I do. I quit. Now get out of my house."

  I didn't move from the chair.

  "Quitting isn't an option unless you want to pay what you owe back in one go. Right now." I let the silence stretch, watching his face. "No? What a surprise."

  His chest heaved with angry breaths.

  "If you don't come into work tomorrow, I'll come round to this lovely house and take what I'm owed. One way or another. Test me, please. I beg you."

  "This is slavery!" Jiru's voice cracked with fury. "Theft and extortion!"

  "You can call it whatever you like, but you're the only thief here." I stood slowly and brushed lint from my sleeve. "You stole from Qin's Fresh Catch. All I want is my money back. I'm not even going to charge you interest."

  The lamplight flickered across his weathered features, casting deep shadows under his eyes. His jaw worked soundlessly, rage and fear warring across his expression.

  "So." I stepped toward the door, then paused. "Will I be seeing you tomorrow morning?"

  The door creaked open, and Jiru's wife stepped inside, clutching a ceramic bottle. Her smile faded as her eyes took in Jiru's rigid posture and flushed face.

  I raised my eyebrows and looked directly at Jiru.

  His throat worked as he swallowed hard. When he spoke, his voice came through gritted teeth.

  "I'll be at work."

  "Excellent." I smiled. "Well, I really must be going."

  Jiru's wife pressed herself against the doorframe as I swept past her.

  "Much as I would love to I can't stay, but I hope you both enjoy the wine." I gestured toward the bottle in her hands. "It's important to appreciate the finer things in life, don't you think?"

  At the threshold, I paused and let my gaze sweep across the room one final time.

  "This really is a lovely house, Master Jiru. A lovely house, full of lovely, valuable, things."

  I stepped into the cool evening air, leaving them standing in their lamplit doorway. Behind me, I heard the soft sound of a door closing with deliberate care.

  Outside, the children were still playing their game of tag under the flickering light of a street lamp. Good. I recognized the girl. When I had spoken to Yanzi earlier I had asked him to have some of his urchins watch Jiru. He had clearly come through.

  I walked past without acknowledging them, hands tucked into my pockets as if lost in thought. The girl's eyes tracked me briefly before returning to her supposed play, while the boy launched himself at another child with theatrical enthusiasm.

  Smart kids. Yanzi had briefed them well.

  As I headed home, I thought about Jiru. The man would try to run. If the choice was between fight or flight, men like him always fled when cornered. He would probably wait a few days, hoping to find a way to weather this storm then, inevitably he would panic and bolt. But, when he ran he would take the years of stolen coin he had hidden away.

  As as he scurried away like the thief in the night he was, Yanzi's children would follow, noting every detail. And those details would find their way back to me. And I would find my way back to my money.

  I smiled slightly as I turned the corner. Sometimes the simplest nets caught the biggest fish.

  * * *

  The next morning, after training in the cellar, I made my way to Qin's Fresh Catch through the bustling harbor streets.

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  Jiru stood at his usual post near the dock entrance, clipboard in hand as he weighed barrels and recorded transactions. His shoulders remained rigid, and even from twenty paces away I could see the tension coiled in his frame.

  "A very good morning to you, Master Jiru."

  He grunted without looking up, scratching figures onto his ledger with unnecessary force. The quill's tip scored deep grooves into the parchment.

  "Any progress on finding new suppliers?"

  "Two fishermen from the outer islands are interested." The words came through clenched teeth. "They'll be here tomorrow to discuss terms."

  "Excellent work. Well done."

  Fear might make him unpleasant company, but it certainly made him productive.

  I climbed the stairs to Laoxu's old office, now mine. Papers still lay scattered across every surface, and I spent the better part of an hour sorting invoices from receipts, and contracts from correspondence. Laoxu's organizational system had apparently involved throwing everything into whatever pile seemed convenient at the moment.

  While shifting a particularly massive stack of ledgers, I noticed something odd. The bookcase against the far wall didn't quite sit flush. I ran my fingers along its edge and felt the subtle outline of a door frame.

  I dragged the bookcase to one side away to see that it covered an old door that opened to reveal a generous room. It was perhaps three times the size of the office itself and dust motes danced in the light that filtered through the grimy windows. Empty shelves lined the walls, and a heavy wooden table occupied the center.

  I stepped inside my mind already churning with the possibilities. While my conversation with Mistress Cao had given me confidence that I could get the equipment I would need for an alchemy laboratory, I needed a space to put it.

  My current thinking was that I would make space in the basement of our home. But, with a bit of cleaning, this space would be perfect. Exactly what I needed to craft the pills and potions that would accelerate my cultivation. Possibly also a place where I would craft cultivation resources to help others.

  However that was for later. The sun was fully up so, having checked that everything was going smoothly at the fishworks, it was time for the main order of business for the day. Debt collection.

  A ledger tucked under my arm, I made my rounds through Shuilin Haven's restaurant district as the afternoon sun cast long shadows between the buildings.

  My first stop was The Pearl's Rest, where Manager Chen greeted me with polite bows and, as soon as I mentioned why I was here, she went to the back and came back with a leather pouch.

  "Master Shen, I'm glad you came, here's what we owe. We've been waiting for an invoice for months."

  I marked her account settled then assured her that we would be more prompt in sending them invoices, and that I looked forward to continuing to work together.

  The Red Lantern's proprietor proved equally cooperative, though he negotiated two weeks to gather the full amount. I agreed, noting his establishment's steady traffic and clean kitchen. Good customers deserved reasonable terms.

  At The Salty Sailor however, the owner, Fai, crossed his arms and sneered.

  "You think because you bought that sinking wreck you can squeeze honest folk? I've cooked here longer than you've been breathing, boy."

  "Your debt has accumulated for eight months."

  "Let it accumulate eight more. What're you going to do about it?"

  I closed the ledger with deliberate care. "Qin's Fresh Catch will no longer supply The Salty Sailor. Your debt remains, and I'll collect it in due time."

  His laughter followed me out the door.

  While most of the other customers paid after a little negotiation of terms, similar scenes played out at three other establishments. The Fat Crab's cook actually spat at my feet, while The Drunken Fisherman's owner claimed poverty despite the gold rings adorning his fingers.

  I expected such resistance. Fear and respect weren't built in a single afternoon.

  It took me the rest of the day to visit everyone that I intended to. I had quickly realized that this was going to take me longer than I thought. I had made the decision to skip my weapons training for the day, while promising myself that I would do double duty the next day.

  Around a third of the debt I had planned to collect was jingling in my purse, and I had secured promises for maybe another third. The remaining debts would require more persuasive methods than just polite requests.

  Walking home through the harbor district in the fading light, I calculated the day's success. I was walking back with just under four tears. Enough to cover this month's interest payments to all the moneylenders, plus funds for a few of the improvements Qin's Fresh Catch desperately needed. New baskets for the deliveries, a wheel to sharpen knifes, and proper scales for weighing out the catch. Small changes that would increase efficiency and worker satisfaction.

  The hidden room's potential occupied my thoughts as well. It would take several more days to do this first pass of the rest of the customers who owed us money. While getting the finances under control I had no one I could delegate this to. But, after a few more days like this I could start to chew into the debt and then with my first month's profits, I could begin purchasing alchemical equipment. Basic mortars, glass vials, a proper furnace for heating reagents. Nothing elaborate, but enough to begin crafting properly.

  * * *

  The next morning after my early morning training, I went to the fishworks to update the records with the debts I had collected the previous day and to deal with any issues that had cropped up. I also met with Sarei to agree on what we would spend to make the most urgent improvements before letting her get on with it. Jiru was still there and still miserable, but I took a look at the records and he was doing as he had promised and was finding suppliers to replace the ones who were defrauding us.

  None of it took very long, the core business at Qin's Fresh Catch was trivially easy and it was almost shocking that Laoxu had managed to get it so badly wrong. As for the previous owner himself he gave me a cheery wave as he trotted off to make a fish delivery with a happy hum on his lips. I gave a small smile, I was glad that it was working out for him.

  With my responsibilities for the day complete I headed back home to fulfill my promise to myself. Time for a long day of weapons training. In short order the familiar thud of steel against wood echoed through my cellar as I worked through sword forms, but after an hour of strikes I paused. Something felt off.

  I needed a real challenge. The temporary hiatus from fighting at The Broken Mast had left me restless. Practice dummies couldn't match a living opponent and they couldn't push back with genuine intent to harm. Particularly after the growth this body had experienced after the fight against the pirate wu Shengli, I craved the unpredictability of actual combat.

  I stepped back and wiped sweat from my brow. The cellar's stone walls seemed to be pressing in and the routine felt stifling. Since arriving in this body, I had just spent time in the outer parts of Shuilin Haven. My world had shrunk to fishworks, tavern fights, and moneylenders' offices.

  I made a decision. I had been stuck within the city walls for three weeks. For someone who was happiest in wide open spaces and the fresh air this was intolerable. While I would ideally head out to sea that wasn't an option. I wanted to explore though, and from the memories I had absorbed with this body, I knew just the place, Wanyuan Forest.

  I wrapped my weapons in rough sackcloth and gathered supplies: fish, bread, a water bottle, and several empty sacks for anything useful I might discover. The forgotten room's potential had accelerated my interest in alchemy, and these woods might hold ingredients I couldn't afford to buy.

  The straps of my makeshift pack settled comfortably across my shoulders as I stepped into the afternoon sun. No obligations at The Broken Mast tonight meant I could take my time.

  Once past the sprawl of the outer city, I broke into a steady jog. My muscles responded eagerly, and I let Waves Take Down a Cliff flow through my meridians as I moved.

  The farms beyond Shuilin Haven's walls surprised me. Alongside ordinary rice paddies and vegetable fields stood carefully tended plots with more esoteric crops that I recognized. Spirit herbs in variety and abundance grew in neat rows behind reinforced fences, their leaves shimmering with concentrated ki. Orchards bore fruits that glowed with inner light, their branches heavy with treasures that could take years to ripen but that then would advance a cultivator's foundation in moments.

  Guards with deceptively youthful faces and matching robes patrolled each of these specialized farms while the mortal farmhands toiled in the field. I approved. Outer sect disciples earning contribution points, no doubt. Each farm displayed different colors and symbols, marking territorial claims by various sects.

  Much as I would have loved to fill my pack with what I saw, I didn't slow my pace. Those resources were well-protected and clearly marked out as someone's property. Those guards may barely be worth being called cultivators, but even a couple of Initiates could overwhelm me as I was now. Besides, what I sought lay deeper in the wilderness where nature cultivated its own treasures without human intervention.

  Beyond the farms the road wound upward into forested hills, and after another hour of running I felt properly distant from civilization. My breathing remained steady despite the pace, a testament to my improving physical condition. The air grew cleaner, carrying scents of pine and something floral I couldn't identify.

  I veered into the forest proper, pushing through underbrush toward a ridge I had spotted from the road. This was my goal.

  Time to discover what secrets these woods held.