Who Should I Kill?

Yan Luo said:

"I got this from the Constabulary.

It was one of the pieces of beeswax that had wrapped the corpse.

A little of the beeswax killer's spiritual energy remained in it.

You've become a Sniffer now, so you should be able to use this to find him."

Yan Luo handed him the beeswax.

Xu Yi felt a little uneasy when he saw it, but he still took it.

After a moment's hesitation, he said:

"I haven't finished dealing with the factory business tonight. I'll have to handle this tomorrow."

Yan Luo and Jing Tao were both pleased by his words.

Anyone would appreciate someone who took the factory matter to heart and honored a commitment made to another.

Yan Luo didn't say much—he hadn't promised to help.

He could help for a while, but not forever. If Xu Yi couldn't solve even the smallest problem on his own, he might as well go back to being an ordinary person and forget about climbing the Ascension Staircase.

Xu Yi clearly understood this too.

Yan Luo said to Xu Yi and Jing Tao:

"There's one more thing. It's about Ji Xiao.

The waters around this matter run deep.

For now, you need to keep Ji Xiao stable in the cellar. Feed her, make sure she doesn't get sick, and don't upset her. Just let her live in peace."

Yan Luo was serious.

"Even among the monsters afflicted by the Hundred Night Miasma, cases as strange as hers are extremely rare.

I'll investigate thoroughly.

If I find any leads, I'll tell you at once."

Having said his piece, Yan Luo turned into a gust of sinister wind and left.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Xu Yi asked Jing Tao for an advance on this month's wages.

Fifty silver dollars—a fortune he had never handled before.

He had two important things to do today—

First, he needed to sort out security for Lingtong Hall's factory to keep the other gangs from causing trouble.

Second, he needed to get some weapons for protection, so he could track down the source of the beeswax that very night—and find his own Ascension Staircase!

Xu Yi ate a bowl of lamb paomo at an old, well-known restaurant, which cost five copper coins, then headed to the Peacekeeping Hall.

Duan Hu wasn't there. Only a clerk remained at the Peacekeeping Hall, and he told Xu Yi that last night's "trouble" had already been dealt with. There was nothing left to worry about.

Xu Yi had known Duan Hu was dependable. Now that he knew everything was settled, he felt relieved.

Following his plan, he headed east along 38th Shop District Street. He turned into the alley beside No. 78 and entered a woodshop called Taifeng Woodworks.

The shopkeeper saw his black uniform and jumped. He racked his brains, unable to think of how he might have offended this scourge, then forced a smile and hurried over.

"Sir! Looking for furniture?"

Xu Yi said:

"You got an apprentice at the end of last month named Jin Baogen. Where is he?"

Xu Yi hadn't come to Puxi City alone.

The boy named Jin Baogen was a fellow townsman who had sailed to Puxi City with him, and a good friend of the original owner.

Now, he was Xu Yi's friend too.

At the name, the shopkeeper's heart gave a jump. He didn't dare to lie, and immediately led Xu Yi to the back courtyard.

The carpenters were hard at work, and the sounds of sawing, chopping, planing, and hammering rang without pause.

The courtyard was small. A pile of fresh lumber lay against the western wall, and beside it stood a skinny young man about Xu Yi's age. He was struggling to drag a log that weighed more than he did, his youthful face flushed red with effort.

This was the Jin Baogen Xu Yi had asked about.

The moment Jin Baogen saw Xu Yi, his eyes reddened.

Xu Yi pointed at the log on his shoulder.

"Put that down."

Jin Baogen lowered it and clutched his badly bruised shoulder, grimacing in pain.

Xu Yi turned to the shopkeeper.

"You're making one person do a job that should take several. What's that about?

Is an apprentice not a person?"

The burly men working in the courtyard stopped and looked at Xu Yi.

They put down their tools, and the courtyard fell silent.

Some of them were in gangs.

But none of them had made it into the Green Gang.

Now, facing the Green Gang's "black-skinned attack dogs," they weighed their chances and decided to keep quiet for the time being.

The shopkeeper looked at Jin Baogen, putting on a fierce face even as he forced a smile.

"Baogen! Tell him. Didn't you say you could handle it yourself? Weren't you the one who said you didn't need anyone's help?"

Jin Baogen lowered the log with trembling hands. He looked at the shopkeeper, angry and frightened, but couldn't find the words.

He'd said he could manage because he'd been forced into it. He had no choice but to say he could.

Even if he couldn't, no one would help him. They'd only laugh at him and isolate him.

He wasn't being pushed around because he didn't know how to get along with people, or because he couldn't speak well.

It was because of the rules at the woodshop.

New apprentices had to spend their first three years as errand boys. They did all the dirty, exhausting jobs, and had to wait on their masters, their masters' wives, their senior apprentices, and the long-serving workers at the shop.

They were called woodworking apprentices, but they weren't allowed to touch the tools at all. Their main jobs were to assist, carry heavy loads, sweep, fetch water, tend the fire, cook, and look after the children...

Jin Baogen had done all those things by himself. Though he'd felt wronged, he'd thought about his prospects and how he'd learn the trade after three years. No matter how tiring or difficult it was, he'd endured it and accepted his fate.

But seeing Xu Yi today brought back everything he'd been through during his month in Puxi City. He couldn't hold back his grievances. He stood there, tears welling in his reddened eyes.

In the end, he was just a naive boy with no one to rely on.

Xu Yi asked the shopkeeper:

"Where's his contract?"

The shopkeeper was still smiling, but the forced friendliness was gone.

"Sir, Jin Baogen signed a five-year apprenticeship contract with me. He kowtowed to the ancestral master, Lu Ban, offered him tea, and registered the contract with the authorities! Everyone knows he's an apprentice here!"

The country had been in turmoil for years, with wars raging outside, and Puxi City had tightened its control over outsiders.

Under the city's regulations, any business with a physical storefront, such as a woodshop, had to register new hires with the municipal personnel department. Failing to do so meant a fine.

As for outsiders hiding among the common folk without proper jobs, the authorities couldn't do much about them.

Beside them, Jin Baogen turned as pale as paper.

Before coming here, he hadn't known that life as an apprentice at a woodshop could be so miserable.

Xu Yi asked:

"How much?"

The shopkeeper didn't try to hide it. He held out his hand.

"Ten silver dollars."

Ten silver dollars as a "freedom fee" was a deal that couldn't possibly lose money.

Xu Yi took out ten silver dollars without hesitation.

"Where's the contract?"

The shopkeeper went up to the second floor of the woodshop. Before long, he returned with a sheet of yellow paper covered in black writing and pressed with red fingerprints.

Xu Yi gave him the ten silver dollars, took the contract, and pulled out a lighter. He set the paper alight in front of everyone, then beckoned to Jin Baogen.

"Let's go."

Jin Baogen hurried after Xu Yi out the door, as if he'd be left behind if he moved even a little slower.