TWWDS - Chapter 29
Chapter 29
The recipe had failed to spread chiefly because Xuanzhen Jiangxia Powder was exceedingly rare. Even a major sect with deep reserves might never have the chance to obtain it, while those in the martial world whose martial arts were no match seldom managed to gather the three rarer ingredients that came after it.
Fortunately, she was starting out as the leader of a gang, and medicines such as Baihua Lingling Herb were more common than Xuanzhen Jiangxia Powder. So long as she worked hard to develop her own enterprise, she should eventually have a chance to gather everything she needed.
Taking stock of the present and looking toward the future, Chao Qingxiu had reason to believe that she should presently devote herself to training her martial arts, while accumulating as many contacts in the medical and pharmaceutical trades as she could.
With her mind made up, she took out the list Yan Kaixian had given her. It contained a great variety of escort jobs, though most involved guarding such things as cloth, jewelry, and mounts. Guarding people came next, while escort contracts for medicinal shipments were comparatively scarce. Chao Qingxiu scanned it, suddenly finding every choice difficult, then decided to leave her future to fate. She rummaged through the purse in her sleeve, produced a copper coin, and flicked it upward with one finger.
The coin rose into the air, fell, and rolled a couple of times before finally stopping on a pharmacy's name: "Zhou's Pharmacy."
Chao Qingxiu stared at the paper. Aside from the proprietor's surname, there was nothing in the name from which she could infer any useful information. It was truly a name designed with remarkable effectiveness to keep its secrets.
After letting fate choose her next job, Chao Qingxiu put out the lamp and went to sleep.
The Detective System did not intrude greatly on daily life, and Chao Qingxiu did not open it every day to inspect it. As a result, she never noticed the unusual condition of one of its items. The Case Trigger did not count cases large or small that its user encountered through her own ability, so even now, the three-character status indicator meaning "active" would flicker faintly from time to time.
The next day.
After breakfast with her subordinates, Chao Qingxiu handed a sheet of paper back to Yan Kaixian.
That morning, she had drawn a circle around "Zhou's Pharmacy" with a brush.
Zhou's Pharmacy was in Huashui County, not far from Gaofang Prefecture, roughly two days away on horseback.
The pharmacy was managed by Dr. Zhou, who now seemed to intend to move to Shouzhou. Before closing its doors, he had specially contacted an escort agency he knew to deliver a batch of medicine that others had entrusted him to prepare to Chongzhou.
Yan Kaixian explained carefully, "Another agency, Far-Reaching Escort Agency, originally accepted this contract, but they were short-staffed, so they subcontracted it to us."
She got along well in the greenwood not only because her martial arts were strong but also because she made a point of building goodwill and kept in regular contact with many friends in the martial world.
Yan Kaixian asked, "Does the Gang Leader mean to escort this shipment personally?"
Chao Qingxiu had a very clear understanding of her own abilities. "I am young and inexperienced, and I seldom leave home. A business that is too large would be difficult for me to take on for the time being, so I have no choice but to start with something small."
In truth, the profit from the shipment for Zhou's Pharmacy was not great. The goods were worth three hundred taels, but because the recipient was a figure from the martial world, there was slightly more risk. Under the usual one-tenth commission, they would charge thirty taels.
Yan Kaixian had originally intended to send a trusted retainer to support the escort, along with seven or eight gang members who had learned some boxing and footwork. That would have been more than enough to see them through the journey. Now, seeing how rarely the Gang Leader had shown any interest in leaving home, Yan Kaixian discarded all her earlier plans and saluted with clasped hands. "If you will have me, I will accompany you on this run."
Chao Qingxiu replied with equal formality, "With Hall Master Yan accompanying me, naturally nothing can go wrong."
Huashui City and Gaofang Prefecture were both in Shizhou, and Chongzhou bordered that prefecture. A horseback round trip would take roughly half a month. Yan Kaixian made simple arrangements for the gang's affairs, packed clean clothes for the road, took some travel money, slipped the escort contract signed by Far-Reaching Escort Agency into her bosom, and then left with Chao Qingxiu.
This time, Yan Kaixian brought no one else. Only she and Chao Qingxiu made the journey.
Yan Kaixian's martial arts were more than adequate, and she could usually deal with trouble calmly. The young Gang Leader was plainly a martial artist as well. Although Yan Kaixian rarely saw Chao Qingxiu fight, her breathing and footsteps suggested that she belonged to a Daoist tradition. Her shortcomings were her youth, her shallow cultivation, and her lack of experience in actual combat. She needed to temper herself in the world beyond home.
Yan Kaixian said quietly, "Gang Leader, you are the Gang Leader of Zizhuo Gang. Once you reveal your identity, people may be taken aback, and it will be easy for them to realize that no one else is in the gang. We should keep a low profile on this journey."
Chao Qingxiu gave a slight smile. "Sister Yan, I understand."
She understood Yan Kaixian perfectly well. There was nothing unusual about Zhou's Pharmacy. If people learned that the Gang Leader of Zizhuo Gang was personally escorting goods with her Guardian and Senior Hall Master, they would think it strange. As for the warning that someone might discover the gang had no one left in it, Yan Kaixian was not concerned that anyone would discover the Gang Leader was absent, only that they might discover Yan Kaixian herself was gone. In reporting to a superior, she had merely maintained the particular humility and caution common among those who worked within an organization.
When Yan Kaixian heard that the Gang Leader did not address her by her position within the gang, she knew the other woman had understood her meaning. She felt deeply comforted.
Chao Qingxiu's horsemanship was mediocre. Fortunately, training in martial arts had improved her control of her body, so she could imitate Yan Kaixian and settle herself securely into the saddle. Travel was still bumpy, but it was far better than riding in a carriage.
Yan Kaixian's eye was as sharp as ever. At a glance, she could tell that the Gang Leader was no habitual rider. Since Zhou's Pharmacy was in no particular hurry, she deliberately slowed their pace on the road so that Chao Qingxiu would not fall behind.
They had left in the morning, and by noon they had found a shop beside the road where they could stop for a meal.
Yan Kaixian was the first to dismount. She handed her mount to the waiter, then said to Chao Qingxiu, "Miss, even if we are not hungry, we should let the horses rest."
Chao Qingxiu looked around, then dismounted. They had followed the main road all morning and had passed no shortage of shops along the way. Great Xia's trade was far more developed than she had imagined.
No wonder the cities of Great Xia had no curfew.
Before entering, she surreptitiously studied the people inside. Their clothing varied, as did their accents, and they appeared to be ordinary travelers, so she relaxed somewhat.
Yan Kaixian had been watching Chao Qingxiu's actions. Seeing that she remained vigilant, Yan Kaixian secretly nodded in approval. Though the young Gang Leader rarely went out, she was not someone who knew nothing about the world. Presumably, she would not be left helpless even if she traveled alone.
After all, it was only a roadside tavern. Its food could hardly compare with that of the city, and the wild vegetable soup looked more like a thick vegetable porridge.
Chao Qingxiu thought that the shop had probably managed to remain in business only because it had little competition.
After finishing the soup, Chao Qingxiu asked, "Sister Yan, shall we take the main road again this afternoon?"
Yan Kaixian understood what the Gang Leader meant. "There is a shortcut nearby. Once we have eaten, we will take that route together."
Since the purpose of the journey was to gain experience, Chao Qingxiu naturally sought to accumulate as much as she could. She would never choose only the easy main roads for travel. After setting out again, the two women turned their horses onto a branching road and neatly passed the place where they had intended to stop for the night.
During the journey, Chao Qingxiu was taught the common knowledge every traveler in the martial world needed, including how to find a relatively safe place to sleep in the wild, make a fire, locate a water source, catch small game for food, protect one's belongings, and scatter powder to repel snakes and insects around one's sleeping place before bed.
At dusk, Chao Qingxiu washed herself beside a stream and dusted off her clothes. She felt that she should not have chosen a white outer robe for the journey, but white cloth was simply cheaper.
In fact, Yan Kaixian had noticed from the beginning that the Gang Leader had left dressed as a scholar, but she had said nothing.
For an expert, a long robe presented no difficulty when traveling and provided excellent cover for one's status. Moreover, the Gang Leader was clever enough to have her reasons for choosing it.
Because Chao Qingxiu was unfamiliar with the route, Yan Kaixian had originally estimated that it would take two days. Even by taking the shortcut, however, they traveled for two full days and a half before finally entering Huashui City.
Huashui City was much smaller than Gaofang Prefecture. Its walls looked poorly maintained and were not especially high, perhaps only twenty feet. Chao Qingxiu estimated that although she had not practiced lightness technique for long, she was confident she could use the wall as a path and vault up and down it.
When Far-Reaching Escort Agency handed over the contract, it had provided basic information on Zhou's Pharmacy. Yan Kaixian already knew that the commissioning party's residence stood near the northern part of the city. Huashui was a small city, and not all its gates were open in normal circumstances. Outsiders could enter only through the southern gate.
Dr. Zhou made his living by preparing medicine and generally did not treat patients. When choosing a location for his pharmacy, he had selected the northern part of the city because property was cheap, the population was sparse, the area suited the refining of pills, and the location was secluded.
Yan Kaixian said, "Miss, there has been a great deal of rain lately, and many sections north of Huashui City are still in disrepair. We should probably go by way of the long street in the northwest."
Chao Qingxiu had no objections. "Everything is for Sister Yan to decide."
Seated on horseback, she surveyed the city before her. The condition of the local finances was already evident from the city's appearance, so it was no wonder that some streets remained in disrepair.
No one was permitted to gallop through the city without good cause, especially in the busy market district. The two women therefore intended to leave their mounts at a shop first.
Yan Kaixian explained, "When people from the martial world travel and have no familiar shop, they usually stay at an establishment bearing the mark of Buer House. In truth, Buer House is a merchant gang. Its headquarters was originally in the north, but because it had many skilled fighters and kept large numbers of fine horses, it gradually came to focus on business and rarely involved itself in affairs of the martial world. Though it is wealthy, in order to show that it will not compete with local gangs for business, it opens only one establishment of each kind in any given city. The organization conducts its business fairly and understands the affairs of the martial world, so it is safer to stay with them."
Since Yan Kaixian had put it that way, Chao Qingxiu naturally chose an inn bearing the mark of Buer House to leave their horses, then took a room, washed and changed, and afterward put on clothes that made her look less travel-worn.
Once changed, Chao Qingxiu hung Yingchen at her waist. Yingchen was a short sword, and her outer robe could conceal it during ordinary movement so that it would not attract undue attention. In the concealed pocket within her sleeve, she carried several long needles and copper coins to serve as hidden weapons.
Her eyes were clear, her manner exceedingly gentle, and she carried a distinct air of scholarship. At first glance, she appeared remarkably unassuming, which indeed made her well suited to quietly escorting a shipment.
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