Qin Geng walked out through the Su Family's peeling vermilion side gate, his steps light. The weight on his mind had finally lifted.
He had no idea that, the moment he left, House Guard Zhou was already discussing him with his female apprentice in the training yard.
For now, Qin Geng's thoughts were fixed on the bone examination Zhou Yonghe had just given him.
"House Guard Zhou looks aloof, but beneath that cold face, he has a warm heart. He's a man who does things properly."
Qin Geng rubbed his still-aching shoulder. "After all that prodding, he said I had no hidden ailments or deficiencies and told me to train step by step. That's a load off my mind."
When it came to martial arts, nothing was worse than training blindly until something went wrong. Damage your foundation, and you shortened your life.
Now that House Guard Zhou had said he had "no hidden ailments, no deficiencies," Qin Geng felt he could train each day with a steadier heart.
"A good appetite is a blessing."
Qin Geng rubbed his slightly hollow belly. A fire seemed to be burning inside it, urging him to find something to eat. "But I'll have to earn money faster. The stronger I get, the worse it'll be if I miss a meal or can't afford medicine. The vitality I've only just built up might turn around and bite me."
Still turning over ways to make money, Qin Geng found himself back at the dilapidated alley where Xu Jin's Shanty stood.
The sun had just passed noon. Ordinarily, the early-shift carriage drivers would have finished work by now, while the late shift had yet to head out.
Most drivers propped up their carriage shafts and napped in roadside shade or under a tree. Others haggled with tea-stall owners to save two coppers on tea. Few went all the way back to the shanty for a midday rest.
The round trip wasted time, and the shanty was hot and damp. The stink of feet and sweat was enough to make a man's head ache. Outside was better.
But before Qin Geng even entered the alley, he sensed something was off.
The shanties, usually as lifeless as a graveyard, were boiling over with voices today.
He quickened his pace and stepped inside. Well, would you look at that!
The small open space was packed black with people.
Uncle Xu and Uncle Jin were there, along with the drivers from the neighboring Ma Village Shack.
Li Gou was squatting on the millstone like a monkey, spraying spittle as he gestured and talked.
Even the usually taciturn Ma Laifu had stripped to the waist and was letting someone rub dark liniment onto his back.
They all bore marks of a fight. One had a bruised cheek, another an arm wrapped in bloodstained cloth. Yet every face shone with excitement and delight, as though they had eaten meat for New Year's.
"Xiao Wu's back!"
Sharp-eyed Li Gou spotted Qin Geng first and shouted across the yard.
That cry pulled everyone's gaze toward him.
Xu Chun sat on a broken stool with a pipe in his mouth, talking to Ma Laifu. At the sight of Qin Geng, his wrinkled old face lit up. He beckoned. "Xiao Wu, come here! We were just talking about you. We're discussing something big."
Curious, Qin Geng went over. His eyes swept across their injuries, and he frowned. "Uncle Xu, Uncle Jin, who did you fight? Why is everyone hurt?"
"Fight? We went to take territory!"
Uncle Jin burst out laughing, tugged the cut at the corner of his mouth, and winced. Still, he could not stop grinning. "Those bastards from Yi He Shantytown have been a heap of loose sand since Lai Tou died. Over the past few days, we joined forces with the Ma Village Shack brothers and gave them several good thrashings."
"This morning, the two of us together pushed them right off that fat slice of territory at Xun River Wharf in South City!"
"Boss Lin gave his nod, too. From now on, Xu Jin's Shanty and Ma Village Shack will split that patch between us!"
Qin Geng's eyes brightened.
Xun River Wharf!
What carriage driver making a living in Tianjin did not know that Xun River Wharf was a piece of land dripping with profit?
Ping'an County Town was not large, but its waterways gave it seven or eight wharves of various sizes.
Xun River Wharf had the most passengers and the richest pickings of them all.
Merchants traveling north and south, officials on business, wealthy families fleeing disaster, and students passing through mostly came ashore there.
Passengers there had money to spare. A casual tip could equal half a day's fares in town.
That patch had once been the lifeblood of Yi He Shantytown.
While Lai Tou was alive, he had used his connection to Boss Lin to keep his teeth sunk deep into that fat prize.
If a driver from another shanty dared pick up a fare there, he would have his carriage smashed at best and his legs broken at worst.
Who would have thought that, once Lai Tou died, their own people would actually get a bite of it?
"That old fox Boss Lin agreed? And the other shanties agreed?"
Qin Geng kept his voice low.
Boss Lin cared only about profit. Lai Tou had paid him plenty of tribute. Without a hefty enough offer from the newcomers, would he really have yielded?
And what about the other shanties?
Everyone knew Xun River Wharf was a fat prize.
"Heh, we have you to thank for that, boy!"
Uncle Xu knocked the ashes from his pipe against his shoe. "Who around South City hasn't heard the name Qin Xiao Wu by now?"
Ma Laifu smiled too. "Xiao Wu, everyone in South City knows you beat Lai Tou to death with your bare hands."
"We just went along with it."
"Xiao Wu, you're the one who made this possible. A person's name casts a long shadow. Your reputation kept several shanties from fighting us for it."
At first, no one had believed Qin Geng had killed Lai Tou. Even Boss Lin had not believed it; he had merely pinned the blame on Qin Geng.
But Tianjin was only so big, and Master Xins with connections were everywhere. Anyone determined to investigate what Qin Geng got up to would find it hard for him to keep secrets.
The shanty folk had not spread word of the day Qin Geng lifted a rock weighing over four hundred jin, but some passersby had seen it.
Those passersby passed the story on, and people began to believe.
At first, no one in South City had bought it. They had thought it was nonsense.
Later, people noticed that Qin Geng ate enormous amounts of braised offal every day and could make seventeen or eighteen carriage trips without breaking a sweat. The South City Carriage House drivers gradually came to believe he really had killed Lai Tou.
"How am I the one who made it possible? Everyone got hurt, and I wasn't even there."
Qin Geng waved a hand. Looking at the battered older men around him, he said earnestly, "You won that territory with your fists and feet, putting your flesh and blood on the line. You're all hurt, and I haven't lost so much as a scrap of skin. I don't deserve the credit."
"Hahaha, still as modest as ever, boy."
Everyone laughed good-naturedly, and the yard rang with warmth and excitement.
Uncle Xu stood, looked around at them, and grew serious. "All right, that's enough laughing. Let's talk business."
"Now that we've taken the wharf, we need to set some rules."
"From now on, our shanty's carriages will run mainly to Xun River Wharf. We can't touch the carrying jobs that belong to the porters and carriage drivers, but passengers are fair game. Whoever gets the fare gets it."
"This afternoon, we'll head over, show our faces, and stake out our spots!"
"You got it!"
The men answered as one, rubbing their hands in anticipation.
Qin Geng nodded along. "Uncle Xu, when everyone fights over the wharf in future, can you bring me? I always miss out on things like this. I've got strength to spare. It isn't right to keep letting you older men stand in front."
At that, the lively mood faltered a little.
Uncle Xu looked at Qin Geng, then at Li Gou, who was watching expectantly. His smile faded, and his expression turned stern.
"Xiao Wu, Li Gou, listen to me."
Uncle Xu pointed first at Qin Geng, then at Li Gou. "Anyone else in this shanty can go out and risk his life. You half-grown boys cannot."
"How old are you? Your bodies haven't finished growing. You're still laying your foundations."
"These filthy fights are won by throwing lives into them. One club to the back of the head, one injury to your bones or tendons, and you could be left with hidden ailments for life. That would ruin you!"
"Xiao Wu, you may be strong now, but those bastards fight dirty. Lime powder, boning knives... No matter how strong you are, a kitchen knife can still cut you."
"Let us old bones shoulder this dirty work first. When we can't carry it anymore, your turn will come."
Li Gou opened his mouth, then swallowed whatever he meant to say. He only nodded in silence.
Qin Geng did not argue either.
This was the older men's way of protecting them.
In a world where lives were worth less than weeds, these humble carriage drivers guarded the hope of their shanty in their own rough way.
Warmth stirred in Qin Geng's chest, and he quietly clenched his fists.
If the older men did not want him risking himself, he would do it his own way: grow stronger, earn more money, and make something of himself in this world. One day, he would hold up a sturdier sky over all of them.
Li Gou crouched nearby, his gaze dimming.
He looked at Qin Geng, so full of spirit, then down at his own thin arms. Doubt crept into his heart.
Xiao Wu can do it. But can I?
Am I fated to pull a carriage all my life? Could I even make a decent life of that?
"All right, stop standing there!"
Uncle Xu waved a broad hand, cutting off both boys' thoughts. "Bring the carriages! We're going to open for business at Xun River Wharf!"
A procession of more than a dozen rickshaws rolled through South City's streets and alleys, heading straight for Xun River Wharf.
Before they reached it, they could hear the clamor surging in the distance like a tide.
Xun River Wharf was bustling indeed.
Across the broad river, a thousand sails raced, and a hundred boats vied for the current.
Huge steamships belched black smoke and sounded deafening whistles as they eased toward shore.
More numerous still were the deep-drafted wooden cargo boats, packed tight along the piers.
The wharf teemed with people, shoulder to shoulder.
Bare-chested porters shouted work chants as they carried enormous sacks across the gangplanks as steadily as if they were on level ground. Sweat gleamed on their skin in the sun.
Hawkers with baskets wove through the gaps in the crowd, their cries as varied as their wares.
"Cigarettes! Hatamen! Old Knife!"
"Candied hawthorn! Big candied hawthorn!"
In an open space on the wharf, a makeshift troupe was even putting on an opera. Drums and gongs rang loud enough to shake the sky, drawing a crowd of idle men who cheered them on.
An old sugar-figure maker was surrounded by sniffling children, who drooled over his lifelike sugar monkeys and sugar Pigsy figures.
This was a Tianjin wharf.
Prosperous and chaotic.
The moment Qin Geng and the other unfamiliar faces appeared, they drew plenty of attention.
Drivers from the West City, North City, and East City carriage houses, already established around the wharf, stopped chatting and looked over.
They belonged to different carriage houses, but news traveled fast in their trade.
Following the unwritten rules of their world, no one went up to speak. They gathered in groups on their own patches of ground and murmured among themselves.
"See them? They're from Xu Jin's Shanty."
"Lai Tou's only been gone a few months, and they've already overturned everything. The grass must be growing on his grave by now."
"Hah, serves him right! Lai Tou pushed us around plenty when he was alive. Good riddance."
"But I hear the new lot from South City are no soft touch either. Old Slowpoke Xu and Ma Laifu may usually keep quiet, but they're ruthless when they strike."
"Hmph, it isn't just them."
A well-informed driver curled his lip and lowered his voice. "I heard that half-grown boy called Xiao Wu beat Lai Tou to death himself."
"Xiao Wu? Which one?"
"There."
The driver jerked his chin toward Qin Geng at the rear of the group. "He doesn't look tall, and he hasn't fully filled out yet, but take a closer look at his build."
Every eye swung toward Qin Geng.
Qin Geng stood quietly beside his carriage, his hands resting loosely on its shafts.
He wore a somewhat worn gray jacket. It was not tight, yet the firm contours of muscle beneath it still showed faintly through.
His exposed forearms drew the eye in particular. Their lines were smooth as cast iron, with veins faintly visible beneath the skin. One glance told you they held startling explosive strength.
His stance was even more striking.
Other drivers waiting for fares squatted or leaned against something to save their strength.
Qin Geng stood straight, feet slightly apart, as though two steel nails had pinned him to the ground. His spine rose as straight as a pine. Amid the slightly stooped drivers around him, he stood like a crane among chickens.
It was the unified strength that only a trained fighter would recognize.
"Hiss... that boy really does look like he knows a thing or two."
"He's built solid. Not a trace of the underfed look you see on poor folk."
"Seems the rumors aren't empty. Best be polite if we run into him."
Qin Geng paid no heed to the talk around him. He was watching the streams of people moving across the wharf with curiosity.
Uncle Xu and Ma Laifu, at the head of the carriage line, stood in front and called at the top of their lungs, "Rickshaws! New rickshaws! Steady and quick! Tell us where you're headed!"
Qin Geng, Li Gou, and the others lined up behind them to wait.
"Hey, Brother Wu, look."
Li Gou nudged Qin Geng with his elbow, staring at a group of young people who had just disembarked from a passenger boat.
Men and women alike carried wicker suitcases and walked with hurried expressions.
The men all wore crisp Zhongshan suits, their hair combed without a strand out of place;
the women wore short blue cotton jackets, black skirts, and hair cut level with their ears.
"Those clothes look sharp. So much grander than our short jackets."
Li Gou spoke with open envy.
"Zhongshan suits."
"They're the latest fashion down in the South."
"The South, huh..."
Li Gou smacked his lips. "I heard Master Zhu Xin mention the other day that things aren't peaceful down there. A group of students is making trouble and wants to overthrow Great Xin. He said they adapted those Zhongshan suits from Westerners' clothes to make them more practical for everyday wear."
"Mm."
Qin Geng nodded, his gaze lingering on the students. "They do look good. Respectable, and full of spirit."
As they spoke, a stir arose up ahead.
A rather luxurious passenger liner docked. Several men who looked like compradors stepped off in Western suits and brimmed hats, followed by attendants carrying their bags.
Drivers always fought over wealthy fares like these.
Uncle Xu and Ma Laifu reacted at once, pulling their carriages forward to meet them. After some bargaining, several carriages sped away with passengers aboard.
Once the front carriages left, those behind rolled forward to take their places.
Before long, another passenger boat came alongside.
The people coming down now were the very students in Zhongshan suits whom Li Gou had envied earlier.
"Rickshaw! Rickshaw!"
Qin Geng pushed his rickshaw forward and brought it to a steady stop at the pier entrance.
Two students, a young man and a young woman, walked straight toward him carrying heavy leather suitcases.
The young man adjusted his glasses. He glanced at Qin Geng's brand-new rickshaw, then at his neat appearance, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Take us to the Tianjin Hotel," the young man said in an authentic Tianjin accent, though his voice held a trace of weariness. "Fifty wen. Will you do it?"
The Tianjin Hotel was the finest hotel in the city. It was no short trip, but fifty wen was an excellent fare.
Ordinarily, a job like this would take a fair bit of haggling, and the fare might even be bargained down to a little over thirty wen.
This student clearly didn't want to waste time. He had named his price outright.
"Yes! Please, both of you, get in!"
Qin Geng answered without hesitation.
As he helped lift the heavy suitcases aboard, their weight dragged at his hands. He guessed they held more than books; there had to be quite a few belongings in there too.
"Hold on tight!"
Qin Geng called out, pressed down on the handles with both hands, and drove forward with his legs. The wheels rolled ahead.
Qin Geng kept the rickshaw remarkably steady the whole way.
With the strength he had in his legs now, hauling two people and their luggage was child's play.
But he made no effort to run at top speed. Instead, he held a smooth, even pace that spared his passengers the slightest jolt.
Behind him, the young man and woman began speaking in low voices.
The wind was loud, but Qin Geng's hearing had grown sharp. He still caught the gist.
"Senior brother, now that we've escaped back here, we're safe for the time being, aren't we?"
The young woman's voice still carried a trace of fear.
"For now, I suppose."
The young man sighed. "Shanghai's a pot of boiling chaos right now. Foreign warships are throwing their weight around on the river, and the two sides have started fighting again. It's not that I was too stingy to take the train. The railways aren't safe either, so we came by water instead."
"Ah. When will these troubled times ever end?"
"Don't think about it. Things will be better once we're in Tianjin. There are foreigners here too, but it's still right under the emperor's nose. And with the Nine-Nation Concessions keeping one another in check, things shouldn't descend into chaos here just yet."
Listening to them, Qin Geng sighed inwardly.
Master Zhu Xin had been right. The world was growing more chaotic by the day.
War raged across the south. Even students had to flee for their lives.
By comparison, Tianjin still counted as a haven under the emperor's nose. Undercurrents stirred here, and filthy things like zombies and Water Ghosts lurked about, but on the surface, it remained a refuge from the storm.
The rest of the journey passed in silence.
After a little over an hour, the grand, imposing Tianjin Hotel came into view.
Qin Geng brought the rickshaw to a steady stop and helped unload his passengers' luggage.
The young man wasted no words. He took out a handful of copper coins and, without counting them, pressed what felt like enough into Qin Geng's hand.
"Keep the change."
With that, the two picked up their suitcases and hurried through the hotel doors.
Qin Geng weighed the coins in his hand. There were more than sixty wen.
The tip alone had added over ten wen to the fare.
"Students sure are generous."
With that trip done, Qin Geng wasted no time. He pulled his empty rickshaw back toward the wharf.
He had no chance to rest all afternoon.
The crowds at Xun River Wharf were astonishing.
He had barely returned to the wharf, without even stopping for a drink of water, when another fare came along.
The passengers on his next few trips were not as free with their money as the two students, but they were all respectable people headed into the city on business.
Thirty wen for one trip, forty for another.
Even after a little bargaining, the fares were far higher than what he could get waiting for work on the streets.
Only when dusk fell and the crowds at the wharf began to thin did Qin Geng stop.
He found an open spot, took the heavy money pouch from inside his clothes, and counted its contents carefully.
"Five trips this afternoon."
"Fifty wen from the students, plus the tip. Another hundred and ten from the four trips after that."
"More than a hundred and sixty wen altogether!"
Looking at the heap of copper coins in his palm, still warm from his body, Qin Geng's breathing quickened.
Before, he could run the streets from dawn to dusk, tire himself out like a dead dog, and still make no more than a hundred and twenty-odd wen at best.
Yet today, in just one afternoon—half a day—he had earned more than a hundred and sixty wen!
If he spent the whole day here, couldn't he bring in close to three hundred wen?
Even after handing over the half he owed the rickshaw company without fail, he would have at least a hundred and fifty wen in his own pocket each day!
"More than double!"
Qin Geng gripped the money pouch tight, a tremendous rush of joy and reassurance welling up inside him.
He was earning more than twice what he used to!
With this income, on top of the windfall he had received from Shopkeeper Lu, he could afford his expensive daily meat and even begin saving for Bone-Strengthening Powder.
The path of martial arts was costly. But if he could make this way of earning money work, he was sure to make something of himself one day.
Before you continue