— The Emperor’s Imperial Record, Entry No. 7 —

  I tossed a copper coin up in the air. Each time it flashed or glistened in the moonlight, it looked like it was batting the moon's rays away.

  For the nth time since coming here, I couldn’t sleep. Only think.

  Huo Qianlei and his daughters were busy gorging themselves on the leftover deer meat from earlier. I sat outside, next to Old Bai. I had taken the first steps towards establishing my business.

  I’d earned some money, but I needed more.

  Much more.

  I flicked the coin again. It landed with a dull thud on Old Bai’s leathery skin. If that was what was needed to net me only ten copper, how much more would I have to do to gain one silver? Or five? What about one gold coin?

  I had to do more. The only thing I could think of was selling my beast carcasses. Hopefully, they’d be much more lucrative.

  I got up to do the training technique Huo Feng taught me before heading back inside to sleep.

  Huo Qianlei woke up earlier than usual. He had promised, yesterday, that he would introduce me to some people I could sell the carcasses to.

  First, he had to prepare the girls to stay with Yao Po before taking me out to meet them.

  When he came back, I was already up and about. I’d done all my chores, and the only thing left for me to do was milk Old Bai. Everything was moving slower than I’d hoped, but I didn’t let it affect me. After failing to pass the sect test, I had determined to find another way to become a cultivator.

  To me, each task was another step on a long, uphill climb toward my future.

  When he came out to the back to see me with a bucket of cow’s milk, he called me over. “You’ve been doing well with the hunting,” he said, taking the bucket of milk from me, “But I promised you that I’d help you out with getting to meet the right buyers for your wares.”

  He raised his chin and used it as a pointer to angle towards all the dead animals I had kept at the back of the house. I felt bad about keeping them there, so I was in even more of a hurry to get them sold.

  “Really? When do we meet them?” I asked, even if things were slow, they were moving in the right direction.

  “Give me a moment,” he said, adjusting his stance.

  The marketplace hit me with the sounds and voices of a thousand strangers, each yelling and hollering for new customers. I couldn’t stop looking all over the place, wondering who he would introduce me to.

  The stalls spilled over with wares, the scent of sizzling scallion oil, and the bread it was used to make danced with the meat’s more gamey bite in the air.

  I matched Huo Qianlei’s stride, my eyes continuing to sift through the crowd, every new colour, or cloth I hadn’t seen before in my village striking me with more and more anticipation.

  What would it be like when I was a cultivator, and able to see such things at the snap of a finger?

  With his ever-friendly smile, Huo Qianlei led me toward a butcher.

  He was large, with the build of someone who’d spent years in the trade—broad shoulders and thick arms, and arms so hairy I almost mistook him for some sort of crossbreed.

  He looked up and broke into a grin of his own when he saw us coming, then wiped his hands on his apron and stepped out of the wooden stall to greet us.

  The man and Huo Qianlei clashed with each other in a large hug that sounded like rocks colliding.

  Huo Qianlei only reached up to his chest, so he had to bring his hands up to the butcher’s face and playfully shove him off to break the hug, then turned to me, a big, proud smile on his face

  "This is Tarig,” he clapped the man on the shoulder, “this large bear of a man is one of the best in the whole district. He’s a good man too. Won’t overcharge you or nothin’," he smacked his chest twice, like he was beating a drum, “I can put that on my own family name.”

  ‘Huo Qianlei, you old dog! Have you been avoiding me? Haven’t seen you in years.”’ Tarig called out, his gruff voice warm.

  Huo Qianlei chuckled. “Avoid you? You’d probably sniff me out with that hound’s nose you’ve got.” They both broke out into laughter, but it fit right in among the crowd’s noise.

  “I had to bring this one to meet you,” he said, nodding at me. “Good kid, hardworking, and ambitious. Has a couple of animals he’d like to sell you.”

  “Are they good quality?”

  Huo Qianlei made a fake offended face, “You think I’d do that to you, Tarig? Come now, just check out his wares.”

  Tarig looked at me for a long moment before deciding to trust what Huo Qianlei had said. “Alright, kid, show me what you’ve got.”

  Huo Qianlei helped me carry all my catch onto his tabletop, and he went through every animal, checking for every fault he could. “Well, he’s definitely got some good stuff. You hunt, kid?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He turned a carcass away from me, then threw me a question, “Which body part was shot through on this beast?”

  Aghast, Huo Qianlei almost launched into a tirade at Tarig, but I answered quickly, “The lung.”

  Tarig nodded. “You’re a good shot.” Then he addressed the still fuming Huo Qianlei, “Sorry, Randy, I had to check. More and more foolish boys have started to hunt on sect grounds.”

  Huo Qianlei reluctantly cooled down.

  “So, kid, how much do you want for it?”

  I froze. I didn’t know how much these things were worth. Of course, we had money back in my village, but even then, we preferred to barter and give out favors instead of using actual coins. And I didn’t want to sound like I didn’t know the price of my goods. Even if Huo Qianlei had vouched for him.

  I wasn’t that naive.

  Huo Qianlei noticed and came up with a price. But then Tarig countered.

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  "It's a pretty nice catch, my friend. I'll offer you one copper per bird, a half-copper for each rodent, and 15 coppers for each swine. Additionally, I'll let you in on a hot tip: you can sell the fox skin to the tanner for 50 copper. How does that sound?"

  “You can’t take the foxes?”

  “No. Kid, skin’s too valuable. I’d shave at least twenty percent of whatever you were going to make. Best to see the tanner.”

  I kept on going back and forth with him, but it wasn’t going anywhere, mostly because I was trying to bargain without knowing what I was talking about.

  However, Huo Qianlei stepped in, "Nice try, Tarig. The birds are worth at least 4 copper each, and the swine should fetch you 20 if you're not being stingy."

  Tarig raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “Four copper for a bird? You’re dreaming, Huo Qianlei. Two coppers, take it or leave it.”

  My gaze darted back and forth between them, trying to soak in as much of the interaction as possible. If I really wanted to be a wandering merchant, I’d have to learn all of this for myself.

  Huo Qianlei wasn’t about to let it go. “Three coppers per bird, and 18 for the swine,” he said, his voice steady but insistent. “You can’t undercut this kid like that, and let’s not forget the rodents. Half a copper each is a fair price, don’t you think?”

  Tarig squinted at the rodents, his lips twitching as he considered. “Fine, three coppers for the birds, and 16 for the swine,” he replied. “Rodents, though… they aren’t worth much. One copper for all of them.”

  They haggled back and forth for a bit longer before a deal was finally struck: 17 coppers per swine, three coppers per bird, and half a copper for each rodent. The deer carcasses would also be going to the tanner. I’d get more for the skin that way, and I could still sell the meat back to Tarig.

  It was fairly easy to haggle over as they both could see the value. The exchange ended with a firm handshake, followed by a little good-natured banter as they wrapped things up.

  Once we had settled on the terms, Tarig slapped me on the back with a grin. “Let’s get your meat processed and ready for sale by the end of this week. You can leave the foxes with me, and we’ll visit the tanner together to get the skin. Consider it a gift from me, something to start you off right.”

  I looked up at the butcher, “Thank you, Tarig.”

  Tarig waved a hand dismissively, his eyes already on the next customer. “Yeah, yeah. Just make sure you come to me first when you’ve got stuff like this, alright?”

  “That’s a deal.”

  He handed me my money, “Now, get out of here, kid. I’ve got work to do.”

  With the deal done, Huo Qianlei and I went back to the fields. I was glad, today I had taken an even bigger step toward becoming the man who could talk on equal footing with cultivators. ‘Hopefully, all of this would lead to more and more, and soon I’ll be a world-renowned merchant.’

  –break–

  By the time the day came to a close, I had bagged two deer and 2 dire boars. Those things could even gore the workers in the field.

  It was a good haul, and I couldn’t expect to catch as many deer as I did last time every time I hunted. I didn’t catch any foxes this time, but my job was just to make sure these types of animals stayed off the fields.

  The supervisor arrived shortly after to claim his share. He took one deer and one dire boar, and left me the remaining animals and two coppers. If it had been before I had sold my carcasses to Tarig, it would have bothered me more, but with access to the forest and being allowed to keep half my hunt, the work given by the overseer wasn’t as important anymore.

  I looked down at my catch, since it was far less than yesterday’s. I didn’t want to roast any for the farmers, but I remembered Huo Qianlei’s advice about not having more enemies than I should and got to roasting the dire boar.

  It was less expensive than the deer, so I was willing to sacrifice that. When I was done, I sliced the best portions of the boar and took them to the field overseer’s hilltop house.

  When I brought the cuts, his eyes flickered with surprise, then he accepted the meal with glee. The only thing I had missed was to bring the guards some as well. It wouldn’t do to have the field hands enjoy a feast every time I hunted and not bring them any.

  I put it down in my mind that next hunt, I would also bring them some food.

  But now wasn’t the time for that. We had to go back to Tarig’s butchery so he could introduce me to the tanner. Not to mention that I had to sell the new deer meat I had just gotten.

  Tarig was waiting for us when we reached his shop. It was already turning dark when we got there, so he was closing up.

  “Alright,” he looked at the deer, I had dragged on a drag sled, “are you selling that as well?”

  *Mmhmm*

  “Alright, then let’s get going.”

  We walked all the way across the city of Lunis; the tanner’s workshop was near the Silverscale district. Not too far outside the city gate, that was there, next to a long, clear river.

  Before Tarig could knock on the door, it creaked open, a tall, wiry man with intense eyes and long, frazzled hair.

  It was the tanner-Azul. He had far darker skin than I did, and he looked at us with darkly coloured eyes from years over tanning vats, “What do you want?” He scoffed.

  Tarig resisted the urge to strangle the man. He was one of them–a peasant. But, since he worked with nobles from time to time, he treated everyone else like they were beneath him. “I’ve got some skins for you,” he pointed to his side, “this boy here is a good hunter. Got some high-quality merchandise.”

  Azul looked from Tarig to me, then to Huo Qianlei and back again, “Well,” he waved his hands in a beckoning motion, “show me.”

  Tarig and I took the carcasses of our shoulders; we had been using two poles and some large, hard cloth to transport all of them.

  Azul watched us do it and spread his arms wide, leaning back and raising his chin, “You know, I don’t take just any hides? Merchants, the city lord, and even nobles ask for my work. I cannot take anything but perfection. Hmm?”

  Huo Qianlei removed the covering from the beasts right after we put them down.

  The man went silent after that, then quickly adjusted his bearings. “How much do you want for them?”

  I spoke up, this was my chance, “These animals are in peak condit—”

  “Those things aren’t worth the mud on my boots,” blurted the tanner, yet his big, greedy eyes never left the skins of the carcasses.

  Tarig and Huo Qianlei immediately burst into disagreement, quarreling with the tanner. “Shameless.”

  Azul leaned back again, suddenly aware of Tarig’s frame. “I’ll give you this, they're decent quality. 15 coppers for each fox and 25 for each deer.”

  “15 coppers?’ Tarig barked. “Azul, you’ve been sniffing too much tanning acid. These hides are worth at least 30 for the fox and 40 each for the deer.”

  Azul’s yellow eyes glinted, and his voice sharpened. A high-pitched squealing sound. “You forget who you’re talking to, butcher. I don’t just sell to farmers; my clients have gold to spend,” he turned his nose up and puffed up his chest, “and I have the standards to match them. These hides need work before they’re anywhere near your numbers.”

  Though I liked the help, these were my kills, and I was young enough that I didn’t want anybody treating me more like a child. “You say you’re good at your work, right?”

  “The best.”

  “How can you be the best without the best material?” My pride was getting the better of me, but I couldn’t sit back and have someone else fulfill my dreams for me. I doubled the numbers that Tarig had barked. “60 for each fox skin and 80 for the deer.”

  The tanner laughed, but I didn’t mind. What kind of merchant didn’t haggle for his own goods? The worst he could do was make a counteroffer. I may not have known how valuable the carcasses were in terms of coins, but that didn’t mean I didn’t know they were valuable.

  Azul studied me for a moment before countering. “55 for the fox, 65 for the deer. Final offer.”

  “Done,” I said before Tarig could protest.

  This was good. At least I had learnt a bit more about the values of the goods here, and even if I didn’t, I had still made money. Not to mention, I had learned a few choice words during the process.

  Tarig also agreed to buy the fox and deer meat from me once Azul had completed the skinning process. Though I suspected I might have undersold the meat, Tarig had helped me enough that I didn’t care.

  As we left, my coin pouch sang little melodies of joy. I had been here less than a few weeks, and I’d already made almost 700 copper.

  A cultivator’s qi made sure every door was unlocked for him. I didn’t have that. That was why I needed coin.

  The strongest thing after qi was gold, and I’d just started my journey to gaining it.

  Just as we were leaving, Tarig held me by the hand, out of earshot of the tanner, “Be careful, kid, I hear you are working with the overseer.” He paused and took one sweeping glance over his shoulder, “The man doesn’t like upstarts. Especially not when they earn their gold off of him.”

  His grip grew tighter, “I heard–saw he’s been sending his goons around. You haven’t been here long, but you’re starting to make too much.”

  My stomach twisted into knots, “If he gets too suspicious, he’ll come ‘asking’ for his cut.”

  “I already pay—”

  Tarig cupped a hand over my mouth, “Hush, kid. Make sure you don’t go wearing fine silk and linen around him. You understand?”

  I nodded.

  “Good, because he doesn’t ask with words.”