The Muddy River's waters began to calm here, forming a dammed lake within the cavern.
Relying on this lake, a huge harbor and wharf had been built for ships coming and going to dock.
Jing Qian looked out and saw nearly five hundred ships of all sizes moored in the great lake.
The little boat beneath him was merely the most inconspicuous of them all.
He steered forward, entered an unused berth, moored the boat, and stepped ashore.
Feeling the solid earth beneath his feet, he was momentarily dazed!
His days drifting at sea had been novel and exhilarating, and he had immersed himself in them completely.
Yet the reassuring feeling of having his feet firmly on the ground was something he could never refuse!
There were quite a few porters on the wharf serving the ships that came and went.
Jing Qian casually called one over and said:
"Go to the Xu Family Shipyard and get someone to take this boat away. Make it clear to them that the repair costs are to come out of my deposit."
With that, he casually tossed a Red Copper Knife Coin to the porter.
The other man accepted it with profuse thanks, then jogged toward the other end of the wharf.
In this world, mortal labor was practically worthless. This one coin was worth nearly half a year of his income.
After arranging for the battered boat, Jing Qian headed deeper into the wharf without looking back.
The Jing Clan was a mighty dragon-elephant lineage, and he was the descendant of the Maritime Affairs Office's fleet commander. Yet he had actually ended up in such a sorry state!
After going out to sea, he could not even produce a boat of his own and had to rent one. Even Jing Qian had not expected that.
He strolled along as though he had a carriage beneath him, surveying his surroundings as he went.
Although this was his first time on HunZhou Island, he put on the air of a local.
He had confirmed the wharf's layout and the route he needed to take with A Bao more than ten times.
Now, the descriptions in his memory gradually matched reality, helping him find his destination without a hitch.
At the exit of the wharf stood a checkpoint forged from black stone, separating the wharf from the outside world.
Within the checkpoint were four gazebos where passage formalities for entering and leaving HunZhou Island were handled.
Jing Qian picked a gazebo at random, walked up, and took out a bronze token engraved with the character "Jing." He flashed it at the person seated inside, then walked straight through the gazebo and out of the cavern wharf.
The bronze token in his hand had come from Jing Ran's storage hairpin!
No matter how badly the Jing Clan had fallen, it was still a naval family, the direct kin of a former fleet commander.
To the mortals serving at the wharf, they were formidable figures not to be provoked!
Thus, no one came forward to stop Jing Qian.
However, after Jing Qian left, the person in the gazebo called over a porter and said:
"Hurry and inform the Qian Family. The masked boy from the Jing Family has returned to the island!"
The porter nodded and left at once.
Jing Qian continued forward. Just as A Bao had said, the wharf was connected to the surface by only one tunnel.
Everyone who came to HunZhou Island had to pass through this thirty-li tunnel before seeing daylight again.
For Jing Qian, the first time he saw this tunnel, he was utterly shocked!
A Bao had not explained it clearly, merely calling it a tunnel.
But what appeared before Jing Qian could hardly be described as a tunnel.
It was plainly an incomparably vast sinkhole!
A gigantic passageway a full five li in diameter bored diagonally upward.
Because it was so broad, even thirty li away, daylight could still pass through the passageway and spill into the cavern.
Jing Qian walked slowly along the enormous passageway. Its inner walls were made of hard black stone, yet had been polished until they were smooth as glass, appearing extraordinarily sturdy. Here and there, a few faint points of phosphorescence flickered across the walls.
He walked along a neatly carved staircase of black stone, surrounded by a constant stream of hurried pedestrians.
Jing Qian merged into the flow of people and climbed toward the outside of the sinkhole.
Thirty li was not very far in this world where everyone cultivated their vital essence.
The various pedestrians on the stairs all moved with long, brisk strides, covering five steps in the time it took to take three.
Jing Qian controlled his pace and kept up with the crowd. Even so, it took him only a little over half an hour to climb out of the tunnel.
And another marvelous sight appeared before him!
This underground passageway had actually bored straight through the ten-thousand-meter mountain Jing Qian had seen when he arrived on the island.
When he emerged from the passage, he found himself on the mountain's far side.
Before him lay a dry riverbed as wide as the underground passageway, stretching into the main island of HunZhou Island until its far end vanished from sight.
Looking along the riverbed, Jing Qian saw the boundless Hun Zhou Plain and luxuriant rainforest vegetation covering the main island.
At the junction of the tunnel and the riverbed stood a small village.
This small village was the first stop for everyone who came ashore on HunZhou Island—and the foremost destination of Jing Qian's journey!
According to A Bao, the islands of Hun Zhou were scattered like stars, but only fifteen islands where life stoves had been lit truly supported human habitation.
The various Destiny Islands lay far apart, each standing alone and owing allegiance to none.
With communication between the islands difficult, the exchange of supplies and personnel depended entirely on this small village.
As Jing Qian understood it, the black-stone checkpoint from earlier was HunZhou Island's customs house.
The village before him was HunZhou Island's bonded zone—or duty-free shop.
Under the isolation imposed by the Hun Zhou Government Office, this small village existed independently of HunZhou Island proper.
Ordinary people from the island could not reside permanently in the village without permission.
After people from the other Destiny Islands arrived on HunZhou Island, most of their activities would likewise be restricted to this small village.
This small village, known as the Hun Zhou Sea Market, monopolized all trade between the fifteen Destiny Islands and was renowned throughout the Hun Zhou archipelago.
Several tens of millions of humans lived across the fifteen Destiny Islands.
A simple calculation was enough to show just how vast the wealth hidden in the Hun Zhou Sea Market was, with its trade serving the needs of tens of millions.
And all of this had been designed by human hands.
Within HunZhou Island, only the twenty-four most powerful lineages were qualified to participate in the distribution of wealth in the Hun Zhou Sea Market.
This was reflected in the fact that the entire Sea Market contained only twenty-four isolated buildings.
Each building was a shop with a single, fixed scope of business, monopolizing one specialized industry. Together, they were known as the "Twenty-Four Main Stores."
These Main Stores covered twenty-four industries, including daily necessities, industry, cultivation, and commercial services.
Each Main Store was a major establishment handling an immense volume of trade, with at least one grand cultivator above the dragon-elephant realm standing behind it.
Moreover, that grand cultivator was very likely an important figure among the Three Houses and Two Directorates of the Hun Zhou Government Office!
Powerful foundations, profound reserves, and converging wealth were the image every Main Store presented to the outside world.
Among them, only the Jing Clan Main Store was struggling to operate.
Not only was it because the lineage supporting the Jing Clan Main Store had utterly declined.
It was also because it monopolized the high-risk, high-return niche of "Ocean Shipping," yet could not even produce a single ship!
Thus, throughout the Hun Zhou Sea Market, the other twenty-three Main Stores were brightly lit and thronged with visitors.
Only the Jing Clan Main Store looked dilapidated and decrepit.
Jing Qian made his way through the Sea Market and arrived before the Jing Clan Main Store. He looked up at its somewhat faded signboard, gave a cold laugh, and strode inside.
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