"How much for this hairpin?" Lu Chen asked, picking up a shell hairpin.
The stall was run by a gaunt old man. He glanced up. "Three hundred copper coins. This is a fine piece I brought in from Nanyang Province. Just look at the craftsmanship. You won't find another like it anywhere else."
Lu Chen didn't haggle. He counted three hundred copper coins from his purse and handed them over.
The old man took the money, carefully wrapped the hairpin in a piece of coarse straw paper, and passed it to him.
Lu Chen tucked it away in his robe.
Night fell.
Lu Chen didn't go sleep in the crowded communal dormitory. People were packed shoulder to shoulder, and the stench of sweat, feet, and mildew was enough to make his head ache. He planned to make do for the night in the hall.
Many of the road-hardened veterans in the caravan did the same. Steward Ma had already spread his bedding by the wall not far away.
Lu Chen found a long bench against the wall and lay down fully clothed, resting his head on his arm with his saber beneath it.
At dawn the next day, they set out. By mid-afternoon, they arrived at Jiaoguo Trading Port.
The Northern Lands were a place of rolling mountains and dense river networks, with waterways running in all directions. The region's trade flourished thanks to these natural advantages.
Jiaoguo Trading Port was enormous. Merchant ships plied its waters like shuttling looms, warehouses stood in rows, and the docks teemed with noise. Shops stretched one after another, making it even livelier and busier than Wen'an County.
Jin Ming settled everyone into an inn and told them to rest properly and keep out of trouble. Then he hurried off with Steward Ma, heading toward the district where the large warehouses and brokers were clustered.
Buying grain was their main task, and he would have to negotiate the price and quality himself.
Lu Chen stood in the inn's second-floor corridor, gazing down at the street. The cries of vendors, the haggling, the rumble of cart wheels, and the porters' chants all rolled toward him in a cacophony.
After watching for a while, he turned and went downstairs. With nothing else to do, he decided to wander around the unfamiliar port.
The streets of Jiaoguo were lined with shops displaying all sorts of strange treasures and curiosities he had never even heard of.
For Lu Chen, who had never once left his county seat, it was a feast for the eyes.
He strolled along, looking but not buying. Before he knew it, he had wandered into a quiet alley, where several children were chasing one another and laughing.
A boy of seven or eight came running at full tilt. Looking back to grin at his playmates, he failed to watch where he was going and crashed straight into Lu Chen's arms.
"Ow!" The boy clutched his head and steadied himself, his little face full of alarm. "Sorry, big brother. I didn't see you."
Lu Chen looked down at him and waved it off. "It's fine. Go play."
The boy grinned, turned, and called out to his playmates as he raced away like the wind.
After the boy and his companions furtively slipped into a narrow alley, he pulled a dusty-looking purse from his robe and smugly weighed it in his hand, bragging to the other children.
"Got it! It's heavy. There must be seven or eight taels in here!"
"Hurry up and open it!" the children urged, crowding around him.
The boy snickered, untied the drawstring, and tipped the contents into his palm. A few pebbles rolled out.
The alley fell silent.
"Why's there nothing but stones in the purse?"
One of the children asked, stunned.
The smug look froze on the boy's face, which slowly flushed red. Furious, he hurled the purse and stones to the ground and stamped his feet.
"Damn it! Dressed like a fine gentleman, but he's just a penniless tightwad! He's carrying a few worthless rocks to put on airs!"
The children looked like eggplants struck by frost as they sulked and began plotting how to find another "customer."
But the boy leading them suddenly paled. He hurriedly reached into his robe. Empty!
"Damn it! Where's my purse?"
He frantically searched for it. It held all his takings from the day—two whole taels of silver.
"Waaah—"
The boy couldn't hold back any longer. He dropped onto his backside and let out a loud wail.
The other children panicked too. They crowded around him, helplessly scratching their heads in distress.
Meanwhile, Lu Chen hadn't gone far. He held a purse embroidered with a crooked lotus in his hand. He loosened its mouth and peeked inside: a few bits of silver and a handful of copper coins, two taels at most.
Jiaoguo was full of all sorts of people, and swindlers and rogues were everywhere.
Lu Chen had once been mixed up with the underworld, so he had been on his guard against this trick. Steal from him? Dream on!
He slipped the purse into his sleeve and thought, Quick hands, but poor eyes and a short fuse. Those little thieves still have a lot to learn.
Coming into two taels of silver for nothing put Lu Chen in a fine mood.
He wandered through the market before heading back to the inn. As soon as he entered, Steward Ma came charging out from inside, looking frantic. "Lu Chen, where have you been wandering off to? Didn't I tell you to stay put at the inn?"
Lu Chen paused. "I only walked around nearby. What happened?"
"Don't ask yet. Come with me!"
Steward Ma grabbed him and hurried off at a jog. They reached the courtyard of a rather large shop.
The courtyard gate stood open. Two or three dozen people had gathered inside, some well-dressed shopkeepers, others armed martial artists. They stood in small groups, and the atmosphere was tense.
When Jin Ming saw Lu Chen, his eyes lit up. "Brother Lu, you're finally here. I've been waiting ages."
Lu Chen glanced at the people in the courtyard, each with a different expression. "What happened?"
Jin Ming looked anxious. "We were a step too late. The major grain shops in several nearby counties all got wind of this and sent people to compete for the grain. None of them will back down, and they've been arguing for ages without reaching a result."
Lu Chen asked, "So what do we do?"
"The owner of Taifeng Firm in Blackwater County proposed settling it the old way: a martial contest. Each shop sends one fighter, and they settle it in the ring. Whoever wins gets the grain. It's fair, and it saves us from arguing in circles," Jin Ming said.
Lu Chen understood. "You want me to enter the ring?"
"Exactly!" Jin Ming said urgently. "You're the only person I brought who can fight and whom I trust. I have to get this grain. If you win, I'll add another twenty taels to your payment!"
Jin Ming had already promised to double Lu Chen's pay for this trip. With another twenty taels added, the total would be forty.
The sum was enough to make anyone's heart race, but Lu Chen didn't rush to agree.
"Who are we up against?" he asked cautiously. "If they have an expert who's mastered External Force, I'd be walking into a beating."
"Don't worry, Brother Lu." A peculiar smile appeared on Jin Ming's face. "The other side only has a little kid."
Lu Chen looked puzzled. "A little kid?"
"Exactly. Who knows where Guangyuan Firm found this young boy? He doesn't look very old, but his moves are vicious. He took down the fighters the other shops hired in just a few moves."
Jin Ming looked at Lu Chen with hopeful eyes. "Brother Lu, if you can beat that kid, the grain is ours."
Just then, a man in his early thirties, dressed in a sapphire-blue satin-lined leather coat, sauntered over with a familiar, teasing look on his face.
"Jin the Third, has your hired fighter arrived yet? Everyone's waiting."
This was Dai Xin, the young master of Guangyuan Rice Shop and a fellow native of Wen'an County.
He and Jin Ming had known each other since childhood and knew each other inside out, so they didn't bother with much polite talk.
Jin Ming snorted and puffed out his chest. "He's here. He can fight right now!"
"Great."
Dai Xin smiled and gave Lu Chen a once-over before turning back to Jin Ming. His voice was full of certainty. "But I'm afraid you've come all this way for nothing."
He didn't bother with Jin Ming any further. Turning away, he walked toward one side of the courtyard.
A grand armchair, topped with a thick brocade cushion, stood in the corner. A boy in red sat in it, looking no older than twelve or thirteen.
He had one leg crossed over the other, while both little hands wandered over the two pretty maids beside him.
The maids kept their heads bowed. One fed him candied fruit with a silver pick, while the other stood by with hot tea.
The square table beside them was piled high with all kinds of snacks: roast chicken, soy-braised duck, braised pork knuckles, pastries, sugar paintings, candied hawthorns, roasted nuts, and dried fruit. It was all laid out like a feast. This looked nothing like a martial contest; it was more like some spoiled young master from a wealthy household had come out to watch a show and pass the time.
Dai Xin stopped in front of him and bowed slightly, his manner obsequious.
"Young Master Jiang, I'll have to trouble you to do us the favor of fighting."
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