At Last

He only had to glance, and a golden-threaded jujube would be brought to his lips without him even needing to speak.

He stretched, then sighed inwardly. "What bliss."

He had been living in his predecessor's body for over a month now. Aside from the suffering he'd endured when he first woke up covered in bloody holes, life in Blackwater City could only be described as comfortable.

Jin Province lay in the far northwestern corner of the Yuan Kingdom, and Blackwater City was only ten li from the border, guarding the gates of Great Yuan. It sounded good in name, but Jin Province's geography meant it never got the sovereign's loving gaze. Besides, the region had been peaceful for the past few years, with no wars.

But there was one upside: it was far from the emperor's reach.

The He family was the unquestioned ruler of its own little patch of land. As the Prefect's eldest son, He Lingchuan could get whatever he wanted throughout Blackwater City and even all of Qiansong Prefecture.

The standard for food, clothing, housing, and travel could be summed up in three words:

The best.

The delicacies on the table, the amusements in his hands, the money he received on a daily basis—not that he could claim to have treasures from every corner of the world, but plenty of wealthy inland magnates couldn't enjoy such luxuries.

He Lingchuan's predecessor had grown up in such a carefree environment, and was now sixteen.

How to put it? He Lingchuan's assessment of his predecessor was that he had a bad temper and was somewhat arrogant by nature.

The fellow had always been full of swagger, fond of hunting with hawks and hounds. Otherwise, he wouldn't have met with such a terrible accident on Gourd Mountain.

Though this body had now recovered, its new owner had no intention of taking up his predecessor's hobby again.

Over the past month or so, He Lingchuan had often thought back to what happened on the cliff. The Leopard Demon that attacked him seemed to have been badly injured, too. Would whoever had wounded it come looking for him in Blackwater City? But as time passed, all remained peaceful in and around the city.

Beneath the surface of this good life, it felt as though undercurrents were always swirling. As a down-on-his-luck wage slave who had originally deserved nothing but hardship, he found it hard to feel at ease while savoring the sweetness of privilege.

He took a couple sips of warm wine, then suddenly felt a little stifled and gestured for Uncle Hao to open the window.

The moment it was opened, a rush of cold air swept in. The people on the second floor couldn't help shivering. Papers flew off a table in the neighboring private room and down to the floor below. Two of them were small silver notes, and their fall immediately sparked a scramble among the audience downstairs.

No one bothered with the commotion below. Liu Baobao tightened his collar.

He Lingchuan took a deep breath, chasing away his dark thoughts. Just then, the performance downstairs came to an end. He led the applause and said cheerfully, "Excellent! A reward!" Then he casually untied the jade pendant from his waist and had someone take it down to the performers.

With the top tipper leading the way, the atmosphere reached a fever pitch, and the audience downstairs opened their purses one after another.

The main street of Blackwater City lay just outside the window. When it opened, the bustling din drifted in on the wind. He Lingchuan glanced out and saw carriages and people flowing endlessly through the streets. The main road, widened three times over, was broad enough for eight standard carriages to travel abreast, yet at this moment, there wasn't even a two-foot-square patch of open space.

"It's gotten this lively?"

Uncle Hao stood beside He Lingchuan. At his question, he replied, "It's already August. The traveling merchants need to hurry through before the Red Cliff Trade Route closes, so they can transport the last batch of goods before winter."

He was the personal expert bodyguard the head of the He family had assigned to his beloved son after the accident on Gourd Mountain, to keep him from meeting with another mishap.

He Lingchuan nodded.

Blackwater City sat on the edge of the Coiling Dragon Desert. It looked desolate, but it was a vital thoroughfare linking the western kingdoms to Great Yuan, and a must-stop point on the famed Red Cliff Road.

Trade through the desert had always been perilous, with fickle weather and bandits everywhere, and the Coiling Dragon Desert was among the worst. Countless predecessors had spent blood, sweat, and their lives mapping out a relatively safe route through it: the Red Cliff Trade Route.

But the heart of the Coiling Dragon Desert underwent a dramatic transformation every September. At that time, even the Red Cliff Trade Route was no longer safe. Experienced merchants had to time their journeys carefully and pass through early, so they could jack up their prices and make a killing during the months the route was closed.

Elsewhere, the busiest time of year was New Year's. In Blackwater City, it was now.

The wealthy merchants had all arrived, and every trade was thriving. Hawkers' cries rose and fell along the streets, and there wasn't a free spot at the watering troughs in the post station. The taxes collected by Blackwater City over the past two months must have been considerable, right?

At that thought, He Lingchuan came back to himself and realized he'd been worrying about his old man's work. He couldn't help laughing.

Just then, someone downstairs asked to see the eldest young master of the He family.

The visitor was a messenger sent by a local gang called the Red and White Path. After coming up, he bowed but said nothing, merely looking around.

He Lingchuan waved his hand. The servants immediately retreated thirty feet. Liu Baobao was also quick-witted and made an excuse to stroll to another private room.

Only Uncle Hao remained where he was.

"Go on. What is it?"

The fellow had been sent by his gang's altar master with a message: two dusty travelers from out of town had just entered Zhuzhi Tavern and were asking about something.

In a transport hub like Blackwater City, travelers from north and south were as numerous as fish crossing a river. Naturally, the best places to inquire after news were the local taverns, teahouses, and brothels. Those two strangers hadn't made a mistake in that regard.

But they clearly didn't understand the peculiar local ecosystem.

Organizations like the Red and White Path were always going on about how "it's not easy for the brothers to earn a little money," yet they monopolized one of the most profitable local trades: liquor.

The two men had bad luck. They'd happened to walk into a tavern frequented by Red and White Path members.

"Tracking down an injured Sand Leopard?" Hearing that, He Lingchuan felt his heart clench hard. "And specifically around Blackwater City?"

Trouble had finally arrived.

"That's right." The gang member glanced at him, then hurriedly lowered his head. The young master's temples were throbbing with veins; he looked ready to explode with rage. "Both men had foreign accents. The gang members said they sounded like people from eastern Yuan. The tavern owner told them Sand Leopards lived in West Mountain, a long way from here. They didn't argue. They just told anyone with a lead to come find them, promising a hefty reward whether their target was dead or alive."