People sometimes talk about a fair fight, but I’m not one of them. In my experience, people who fight fair tend to lose a lot. The fact is, no matter how good you are, how much training you have, every second that a fight lasts is a chance for you to be hurt or even killed. Everyone makes mistakes, even the best fighters, and in a real fight, mistakes are dangerous. That’s why a smart fighter doesn’t fight fair. They take every advantage they can get. They use every weapon at hand, and they don’t fight to win, they fight to make sure the other person loses.

With that being said, I didn’t tear into them in a maelstrom of blood and brass knuckles. I could have, but I didn’t. I didn’t know what the laws were in this city, who enforced them, or who these mugging jackasses were affiliated with, after all. Killing them would be a bell I couldn’t unring, and it could bring all kinds of trouble down on me. Even more importantly, if I attacked these people from hiding and didn’t kill them, they’d just come looking for me again. The woman didn’t strike me as the type to just let things go. She seemed desperate, and desperate people do stupid things.

Of course, sometimes, so do I.

I stepped out into the deepening gloom of the rising twilight. The group of five people had passed me, as I’d hoped, and they didn’t see me as I walked out. A moment later, Jing joined me, giving me an approving look that I had to work really hard not to roll my eyes at. She probably thought I waws being honorable, but I was just being practical. If I knew that I could get away with it, I would have killed half of these people already. As it was, I held my Lightness of Being technique ready to go and kept my qi flowing through my body. As I looked at the five, I asked Sara to scan them for me, then examined the results.

Shufen

Level 2 Cultivator (Rarity Unknown)

Wood Rank

Estimated Physical Stats:

Prowess: 14 Vigor: 13 Celerity: 11 Skill: 12

Unknown

Level 3 Cultivator (Rarity Unknown)

Wood Rank

Estimated Physical Stats:

Prowess: 12 Vigor: 12 Celerity: 13 Skill: 14

Unknown

Level 1 Cultivator (Rarity Unknown)

Wood Rank

Estimated Physical Stats:

Prowess: 11 Vigor: 10 Celerity: 11 Skill: 9

Unknown

Level 1 Cultivator (Rarity Unknown)

Wood Rank

Estimated Physical Stats:

Prowess: 10 Vigor: 11 Celerity: 9 Skill: 10

Unknown

Level 4 Cultivator (Rarity Unknown)

Metal Rank

Estimated Physical Stats:

Prowess: 16 Vigor: 15 Celerity: 14 Skill: 16

“That’s new, Sara. I don’t remember seeing their cultivation rank before.”

“Watching the magistrate scan all those monster trophies gave me a much better idea of how to judge power rankings. Honestly, it doesn’t feel all that different from wood to metal, but water is a big jump, and sky is an even bigger one. It’s an exponential increase, basically.”

“Well, it’s useful, so thank you.” As I’d guessed, the bored guy was the dangerous one, the only metal-ranked member of the group and the highest level. Why he hung around with these four, I couldn’t guess. Maybe he was getting some from the woman, or maybe she paid him to stick around…or maybe he was just bored, and they were the most fun group to hang with. I had no way of knowing short of asking, and I doubted they would be all that willing to engage in small talk. Still, the whole point me revealing myself was to chat with them first, so I supposed I needed to say something to get the show started.

“Looking for us?” I called out. The five spun around and stared at us. Two of the men looked scared, one looked thoughtful, and the last seemed bored. He was the one to watch unless I missed my guess. The scared ones I didn’t even need to bother with, and the thoughtful one wouldn’t attack if he didn’t see a percentage in it. The bored one, though – he struck me as dangerous.

The woman pushed to the front. I could see now that she was younger than me, probably in her early twenties, with all the brashness and sense of invincibility that age brings.

“Yes, we were looking for the two of you,” she said, her chin held proudly high. “I believe you have something that belongs to us.”

“Oh?” I asked naively. “And what might that be?”

“A bag of qi stones,” she grinned evilly. “I believe I dropped it in the Mountain Square earlier, and you picked it up. Return it to me at once, and I will refrain from beating you to teach you a lesson.”

“And if we instead say that the bag is ours, and that you’re a bunch of pathetic, sad little thieves who couldn’t kill a beast if it walked up to them half-dead and laid there, waiting to be beaten?” I asked carelessly.

“Or that your actions dishonor you and your school, and that we will be certain they are made aware of them,” Jing said from beside me. I gave her an odd look, but she returned it with a proud expression. It was a pretty crappy attempt to trash-talk the idiots, but then, she’d probably never done it before. I had to give her credit for trying.

Surprisingly enough, it seemed to be effective – at least, one of the things we’d said was. The woman took a step forward, then hesitated. Instead, she stepped back and waved to the others. “Punish them for their insolence, then bring them to me, so I may punish them more.”

Of course, she wasn’t going to attack us herself. After all, we’d shown ourselves to them, even outnumbered five to two, and we hadn’t given her the appropriate fear response she’d been expecting. She wanted to hedge her bets, to test us with the guys, first. The tall, thoughtful one shook his head, then pushed the two shorter, fearful looking ones forward.

“There are four of us,” the man said firmly. “And my attack will likely weaken them badly, as you well know. Once I strike, use your lesser techniques to subdue them.”

“Y-yes, Jiahao,” the one on the left stammered.

The tall Jiahao stepped forward, his red and black silk shirt and pants blending into the falling night. “It would be better for you if you simply gave us the bag we seek, strangers,” he said. “If you force me to use my attack on you, you will greatly regret it.”

“Sounds scary,” I said, trying not to laugh at the man’s drama. Even though I held in my chuckle, apparently, my amusement must have shown on my face, because Jiahao’s expression darkened immediately, and he raised his hands before him.

“Very well,” he said ominously. “Do not say you were not warned.” He held his hands out to the side, his fingers splayed, and his head tilted back. “Fiery Blades of Whirling…OOF!”

I don’t know why he called out his attack’s name like that, but I was fairly certain the ‘oof’ wasn’t part of it. That came from Jing’s foot slamming into his stomach as the woman fairly flew across the intervening space and crashed into him. He doubled over and folded like a sheet as she withdrew her foot, looking down on him with what I was sure was an expression of contempt. The scared men beside her backed away from her, but the bored-looking guy’s eyes suddenly lit up with interest. He flexed his hands and stepped toward her…

That was as far as he got as I activated Lightness of Being and raced down the alley. The man’s head turned toward me, and I saw his hands rising, either preparing his attack or readying a block. I didn’t give him the chance to do either. I slammed my knee into his stomach, feeling the hard muscle there collapse beneath my blow, grabbed his right wrist, and twisted. He bent forward as the joint lock pressed him toward the ground, then started to rise, fighting the lock. I didn’t give him the chance; I slammed my free elbow down on his arm, and his locked joint shattered with a loud crack.

The world sped back up to its normal pace as I fell out of Lightness of Being, and the low-pitched cry rumbling from the man’s mouth turned into a scream of pain. I shoved him backwards and turned to face the woman, who rushed at me with her hands clenched into fists.

“You dare attack the prized pupils of the Crimson Night Sect?” she screamed. “You will pay for this insult! Fists of Crystal Fire!”

I didn’t wait for her to finish activating whatever technique that was. Instead, I grabbed her extended fist and pulled, yanking her toward me while twisting and crouching. She cried out as she flipped over my shoulder and slammed into the hard-packed dirt, but she rolled to her feet and banged her fists together. Instantly, they took on an eerie, red glow that bathed the alley in its flickering light. Her grinning face looked particularly macabre in the evil glare, and if I had been a more superstitious person, I might have been a bit weirded out by that.

“Now, you will feel the fury of my assault!” she said, raising her clenched fists into a classic guarding stance. She moved forward, lashing out at me with a glowing punch. I swept my forearm across, being careful to strike her wrist, not her hand as I deflected the blow, then kicked low at the side of her knee. She cried out as her knee collapsed sideways, and the glow in her hands flickered and died. I cracked my elbow into her chin, snapping her head back, and she fell to the ground, her eyes rolling back in her head and her limbs boneless.

I turned back and surveyed the alley. The two scared guys were both down, apparently victims of Jing’s feet. The bored guy still howled and clutched his shattered arm, and the woman was unconscious. That left only the tall man, who staggered slowly to his feet, one hand wrapped around his stomach.

“Enough,” he wheezed, coughing as he fought to regain his breath. “You…you are victorious. I will no longer attack you.”

“That’s pretty smart, considering you’re outnumbered now,” I grunted, looking down at the woman. She had a ring like mine on her finger, and I reached down and slipped it off.

“What are you doing?” the tall man protested.

“You came here trying to rob us,” I said bluntly. “As I see it, that means your own possessions are forfeit. Fortunately, I know that she was the mastermind behind all this, so I’m only taking her stuff. The rest of you can keep yours.”

“That…” The man sighed. “That is fair.”

“I thought you’d agree.” I walked over to him and stared up into his eyes. “However, if we meet again, I’ll take a lot more than your possessions, you understand me?”

“Y-yes, I understand,” he stammered.

“Good.” I stepped back and pocketed the ring. I looked around but saw no sign of Shi Lo. “It’s safe, now.” The woman emerged from behind a third stack of crates that honestly looked too small to have concealed her so well and stood, brushing off her tattered robe. I shook my head. I supposed that she might have just been very, very good at hiding, but…I had my suspicions. That wasn’t the time or place to air them, though. Finding one was the next logical step, though.

I led the pair of women back out of the alley and turned to walk the way we’d come. Once we were out of easy earshot, I looked at Shi. “We need a place to stay the night, Shi Lo. Is there anything like a mot…I mean, an inn nearby?” I was pretty sure they weren’t going to know what a motel was, and I never knew just how far Sara’s automatic translation of my words went.

“There are many travel houses in the Outer City, master,” she replied. “Some have…less savory reputations than others, however.”

“I think we need one with no reputation at all,” I smiled at her. “Someplace that isn’t so nice that our being there will make people notice but isn’t so bad that we’ll have to worry about being attacked or robbed.”

“I believe I know a travel house that meets those conditions, master. Please, follow me.”

As we walked, I pulled up my waiting notification, which was just about the XP I’d earned.

Unassigned XP: 115

Unassigned XP can be divided between the following Professions:

Pugilist, Celestial Guardian

You have 24 hours to assign unused XP, or they will be randomly assigned.

I went ahead and added all the XP to celestial guardian, bringing it to a whopping 625 out of 1,100 XP. I frowned. That had only been seventy XP; what happened to the rest?

“Remember, celestial guardian is a much rarer profession than pugilist, John, so it’s harder to level. Those cultivators didn’t give you as much XP for that profession.”

“Right, I hadn’t considered that.” I hesitated as a thought occurred to me. “Sara, which do you think is better: leveling up my professions, or ranking up my cultivation?”

“Honestly? Both. I know that doesn’t sound helpful, but they’re apples and oranges in some ways. Increasing your profession level, especially in your rarer professions, will boost your stats and grant you new abilities. However, ranking up your cultivation will make your qi more effective, so it takes less of it to power your techniques and they’ll have greater effectiveness. Plus, some advanced techniques will require you to use higher-ranked qi.”

I sighed. That wasn’t particularly helpful. “Okay, short-term and long-term. Which is better for which?”

“Well…I suppose that in the long run, leveling up professions is better. After all, when you leave this world and go to a new one, there’s a decent chance that your cultivation won’t work anymore. You’ll still have your stat points and any abilities that aren’t qi-powered, though. In the short term, ranking up your cultivation is probably more important since it will make you much more powerful in this world.”

“Perfect. That’s what I needed to know, thank you.”

“I literally exist to help you, John. It’s not a problem.”

“I am wondering,” Jing said softly, interrupting my silent conversation. “Why…why did you choose to show yourself to those practitioners? Had you attacked them immediately, you could have defeated them in seconds, possibly before they could have responded. Speaking to them did not seem – practical.”

“It was, though,” I smiled at her. “I don’t know this city, Jing. I don’t know its laws, politics, and customs. I don’t know the school those five said they came from…”

“Crimson Night was the name they claimed.”

“Right, I don’t know anything about the Crimson Night school. I don’t know who those five were, or why the men were so subservient to the woman. She might just be a bully, but she might also be the daughter of someone important and powerful. If I killed them, I might bring down the wrath of the local law enforcement, her school, or someone powerful.”

“Yet, you could have defeated them without killing them, and they would have stood little chance.”

“True, but then they would have said that I only won because I cheated, and they might have come looking for us again. By giving them every chance to attack us first, we showed them that we can beat them even when they’re prepared. Hopefully, after that fight, they won’t be eager to face us again anytime soon.”

She nodded, and I half turned away before remembering that I had a question for her, as well. “Hey, maybe you can explain something to me. Why were they shouting out the names of their techniques?”

Jing made a disgusted noise. “Father told me of this practice. Many foolish practitioners believe that the very name of their technique will inspire fear and awe in their enemies. They will call these names out, hoping to panic their opponents or make them act rashly in battle. Others are simply so impressed with their techniques that they feel the need to display them like a sigil, hoping others will be equally impressed.”

“That seems…well, stupid,” I laughed. “It tells people what to expect from your attack, plus it gives an enemy time to hit you while you’re standing there, shouting.”

“Father says much the same thing. He taught me that silence and focus serve better than bluster and display, and today’s battle demonstrated that amply.”

“You’re right, it did.” I wasn’t surprised, of course. I’d seen that sort of behavior before, usually from people who didn’t really want to fight but also didn’t want to back down, either. They would bluster, threaten, and bully, but when it came to actual fighting, they weren’t much of a threat. The quiet ones were always the ones to watch out for, because they usually didn’t feel like they had anything to prove.

Shi led us to a plain, two-story building with a simple sign on the front that Sara quickly translated to read, “Travel House”. I walked in, expecting to see something like the inns and taverns in role-playing games. Instead, we walked into a simple hallway that looked like it could have belonged in any house. Well, except for the large, burly man standing beside a white, translucent door that looked to be made of oiled paper. The man stood a foot taller than I did and was much wider. He was dressed in a shirt that had squares of hardened leather sewn onto in in a diamond scale pattern and matching pants, and a long, heavy-looking club with bronze studs sticking out of it hung at his belt.

The man looked us up and down, grunted, and took out what looked like a slim, hollow metal cylinder from his belt. He smacked it against the doorframe beside him, and it gave out a loud chime that rang through the room. A few seconds later, the door beside the man slid open, and an older woman dressed in a plain, orange robe stepped into the room.

“My thanks, Guardian-at-the-Door,” she nodded to the large man, who bowed his head to her silently. She turned back to us. “Worthy travelers, welcome to the House of the Resting Cloud,” she said with a slight bow. “Do you seek lodgings for the night?”

“My master and his companion are seeking rooms for an extended stay, honored elder of the house,” Shi Lo bowed low to the woman. “They seek quiet quarters where they can meditate and remain undisturbed by the chaos of the city.”

“Of course,” the woman smiled. “How many rooms will you need?”

“Two, honored elder.” I blinked at that – I’d figured three, but maybe Shi Lo assumed she and Jing would be rooming together. That seemed like a disaster in the making, to me, but it would save money.”

“Two rooms will cost five wood slivers per night,” the old woman said. “That will include baths, should they be needed, and meals with tea. Wine will cost extra, of course, as will special services.”

“We would prefer to pay in whole stones, rather than slivers, honored elder. Might that warrant a different rate?”

“Hmm,” the old woman touched her chin. “Very well, I can accept a whole stone per week, but I must request payment in advance.”

She held out her hand, and Shi Lo looked at me. I stood still for a moment before I remembered that I was holding our money. I’d gotten so used to Shi Lo dealing with everyone already that I was only half-listening; most of my focus was on the large man who served as some sort of guard or bouncer.

Guardian-at-the-Door

Level 7 Cultivator (Rarity Unknown)

Water Rank

Estimated Physical Stats:

Prowess: 19 Vigor: 17 Celerity: 18 Skill: 20

The bouncer not only looked tough, he could probably hand both Jing and I our asses without working up a sweat if things came down to a fight. Fortunately, I had no intention of bringing trouble into the house. I lived by the saying, “Don’t shit where you eat”. I was going to need a safe base of operations in the city, and while I didn’t know if this place was it, it would do for the time being.

I accessed my inventory and produced a single dark brown wood qi stone, holding it out to the old lady. She took it from me, held it up, and produced a small, metal hammer. She tapped the hammer on the stone, and it rang with a low, clear thrum that I felt in my chest. She pocketed both the hammer and the stone, then bowed to us.

“Please, follow me, practitioners. I will show you around and guide you to your rooms.” The woman slid the door back open, and we followed her through into a hallway made of similar paper screens. She reached out and pulled one of them open, then held out a hand for us to look inside. The space looked like a dining room, with a single long, low table only a foot or two off the floor, with thick cushions ringing it.

“This is our dining hall,” she said. “Meals are served at first, fourth, and seventh bells, as is customary. Should you plan to dine elsewhere, or if you do not require food due to your cultivation, it would please me greatly to receive notice so that I can plan meals accordingly.”

“Of course, honored elder,” Shi Lo bowed.

“My companion and I do not require food, elder,” Jing said quietly. “Our servant does, however.” I suppressed a frown as I realized that I couldn’t recall the last time I’d had to eat anything, and I hadn’t been hungry in days. Apparently, she was right; I didn’t need food anymore.

“My thanks, practitioner,” the old woman nodded, sliding the door shut. She walked us down the hall to another room. “Here is the bath,” she said, touching the door. I looked at it closely, and I could see the steam coming from under the door and the condensation pooling on the wood.

She slid it open, and I blinked in astonishment. The room was a large, open space, built of honey-colored wood, with a huge, steaming pool of water set in the center. Water poured constantly from bamboo spouts in one wall, splashing onto stones set below them and running down into the tub. The other two walls had padded, wooden tables set up along them that reminded me of massage tables, especially because two of them had people laying on them, with young women walking on their backs.

None of that was what took me aback, though. There were five people in the room, three men and two women, plus three young women who looked like attendants. None of them had a stitch of clothing on, and none of them seemed to care in the slightest. One of the men sitting in the pool had an attendant on his lap, bouncing up and down, while a woman sat beside him, chatting amiably with another man as if there wasn’t a couple going to town right next to her. Another attendant was helping the other woman take a shower beneath the spouts, and she was scrubbing a particular spot between the woman’s thighs a lot more vigorously than I would have expected. I glanced at Jing, but she simply observed the proceedings with a neutral expression, not the look of shock that I’d expected.

As I thought about it, though, I realized that I’d never once seen anyone in this world demonstrate more than the most basic modesty. Jing’s clothing left very little to the imagination, for example, and she never seemed bothered by the idea of displaying those bits and pieces to me. Her mother had been amused that I’d been embarrassed by the idea of seeing Jing naked; the old woman herself hadn’t shooed me away or even told me to turn around.

It seemed that nudity – and apparently sex – weren’t treated quite as, well, as prudishly as I was used to. There were definite benefits to that, of course. The two women who I guessed were guests in the travel house weren’t particularly attractive, but the attendants were, and I wasn’t exactly unhappy with the sight of them. There was a downside, as well, though, namely that I wasn’t anywhere near as blasé about naked people. I had to force myself to stop staring, and I realized that my body had reacted predictably to the display of female flesh. Even worse, I saw Shi Lo glancing down at that reaction, her expression unreadable.

“The bath is open to all,” the old woman was saying as she slid the door closed, thankfully cutting off the view of the room. “It is filled with seawater purified by water qi and heated through a fire qi accumulator, so it has clean, hot water at all hours. At least one attendant is present from the eleventh bell through the ninth bell, should you wish to be cleansed. As I said earlier, special services beyond cleaning are available but cost additional wood slivers. Simply speak to an attendant, and they will instruct you in the available services and costs.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t have a problem with the idea of paying for sex. In all honesty, in my former profession, it was one of the safer ways to be with someone. Prostitutes – or escorts, whichever – offered simple comfort and anonymity. They didn’t need to know anything about me, meaning I didn’t need to create an entire cover ID just to be with them. It was just a transaction as far as they were concerned, and while there were some dangers in meeting one, the threat of a woman’s boyfriend trying to mug me or an undercover sting operation was just, plain benign compared to the risks of trying to actually date someone, at least for someone in my line of work.

So, none of that bothered me on any sort of moral or ethical level. However, I was taken a bit aback by how open and aboveboard it was. In a way, it was kind of refreshing; if I wanted to partake of their services, all I had to do was ask. I didn’t think that I would, necessarily – at least, not right out in front of everyone – but it was good to know that the option was there.

Our rooms were located on the second floor. The door to mine was just another sliding screen, not a locking door at all, and when the old woman led me inside, it was totally dark. She reached up and touched what looked like a lantern hanging overhead, and the oiled paper tube began to glow with a soft, golden light, revealing the space around us. The room was a simple rectangle about ten feet wide and fifteen long, with two stuffed mattresses on the floor near the side walls. It didn’t have a window; instead, the upper third of the exterior wall swung upward and stood propped open to allow air to flow in. That also allowed the noises from the city to enter, but I could see how to swing it shut if the sounds were bothering me.

I thanked the woman for the tour and began to slide the screen shut, but Shi Lo stopped me and slipped into the room, shutting the door behind her. I stared at the woman as she moved into the space and began arranging the coarse blankets covering one of the mattresses.

“Shi Lo…what are you doing?” I asked her in surprise. “Your room is down the hall.”

“No, master, that is practitioner Jing’s room,” she said, bowing low to me. “As I am your servant, it is only proper that I sleep in your room. How else can I attend to your needs?”

I wanted to protest, to tell her that it wasn’t really proper for a man and woman to sleep in the same room, but I stopped myself. The fact was, I was applying Earth morality to a totally different world, and that didn’t make any sense. I was supposed to be adapting to this place, not expecting it to change to suit me. Here, apparently, men and women could bathe together without undue fuss; why couldn’t they sleep in the same room?

“Very well,” I sighed, shaking my head and looking at the other mattress. “It’s probably for the best, anyway. I have some questions I’d like to ask you, about the city…and about you.”

She looked at me and fell still. “I will answer, of course, master,” she said, bowing her head. “However…” She glanced at the walls. “We should always be aware that others can hear our words in this place and conduct ourselves accordingly.”

I looked at the thin, wooden walls and understood. This wasn’t a place where we could speak privately. That meant that some questions would have to wait. Still, there were some things that I needed to know.

“Okay, that’s fine,” I said, sitting down on the mattress. It was soft, maybe a bit too soft, like it was stuffed with feathers or down. Of course, for all I knew, it really was; I wasn’t about to tear the thing open to find out. “I do have some questions for you, though.”

“Ask what you wish, master, and I will answer.”

“Okay. First question: qi stones. Where I come from, we don’t use them as currency, so I don’t know their value. How much are they worth?”

“A qi stone is worth whatever it will purchase you, master,” she shrugged.

I frowned. That wasn’t particularly helpful, but then, when I thought about it, I hadn’t asked a very good question. I was thinking in terms of good, old US dollars, which obviously didn’t exist here. “Okay, let me rephrase that. What sorts of things can I buy with a wood qi stone? And how do the values of the different ranked stones relate to one another?”

“Ah, I understand, master. A wood qi stone is the least valuable of qi stones. As you have seen, one can purchase a week’s lodging for two in an above-average-quality travel house. It might also buy a moon’s worth of fair quality meals, a well-made outfit of simple clothing, or something similar.”

“Okay,” I replied, mentally converting the idea of a wood qi stone into a few hundred bucks or so. “And a metal qi stone?”

“Each rank of stones worth one hundred of the rank below, master, so a metal qi stone is worth one hundred wood qi stones. A water qi stone is worth one hundred metal stones, and a sky stone is worth one hundred water stones.”

Sara whistled silently in my head. “That means that you have the equivalent of two million, ninety-two thousand…hold on, there’s an easier way. Let me update your inventory screen…there.”

The image of me popped up, and I noticed in the bottom left, it had a new entry.

Current Currency: 2,092,341 Wood Qi Stones

“That is also why the magistrate was so nervous, master,” Shi went on. “One would have to be brazen indeed to assault a magistrate of the Bright Ocean Sect here in the City of the Sunrise Moon, but for a pair of sky stones, they might risk the wrath of the city’s rulers. Thus, the magistrate would not be likely to carry such stones with him unless he had a formidable escort, as he likely will tomorrow.”

“I don’t get why that would make him nervous,” I admitted. “I’ll be honest, I’m also a little nervous about the idea of having to wait for tomorrow to get the stones. I mean, if they’re that valuable, couldn’t he just, you know, take them for himself and claim that he gave them to me? We’re trusting him with an awful lot of money, Shi Lo.”

She shook her head adamantly. “No, master. All know that the Bright Ocean Sect is exceedingly harsh with those who seek to abuse its bounties. The Sect does not patrol the regions about the city, so it relies upon practitioners and private forces like those we met upon the road to keep the area clear of beasts. If it became known that the Sect was not honoring its bounties or was allowing officials to pocket them, then none would claim them, and the number of beasts would rise until the entire city was threatened.”

She smiled at me gently. “You are correct to worry that the gate guards and officials might try to cheat you in most circumstances, but not with bounties. Those who violate the Bright Ocean Sect’s dictates regarding such die in exceptionally public and painful ways to let all others know not to attempt the same.”

I nodded. I supposed it made sense that the city’s rulers wouldn’t be okay with people who threatened its security. It sounded like they turned a blind eye to everything else, though.

“Okay, and what are slivers?”

“Any qi stone can be broken into twenty slivers, master, with each sliver being worth that part of a qi stone.”

I took out a perfectly spherical wood qi stone and held it in my hand, frowning. The stone looked and felt perfectly solid to me. “So, how do I do it?”

“Simply hold it tightly in your fist until it cracks, master,” she shrugged. “If you then place twenty slivers into your fist and hold them long enough, they will reform into a whole stone, as well.”

I squeezed the stone and counted to five before I felt something snap in my palm. The stone shifted in my grip, suddenly feeling loose and crumbly. I opened my hand and saw that it had split into equal sections that looked like the slices of an orange. The slices were thin enough that they looked fragile, but when I took one and tried to snap it experimentally, it felt hard as steel.

“Slivers cannot be further broken, master,” Shi Lo told me.

“Got it.” I concentrated, and the slivers vanished into my ring. I figured that as valuable as whole stones were, the slivers were probably a more normal unit of currency. Having a handful of them easily available would make getting around in the city easier if nothing else.

“Is there anything else, master?”

“What do you know about the school of Earthly Fires?” I asked her.

“Very little, master, the same as I know for any school. They are a moderately powerful faction in the city, and I have seen their practitioners about at times.”

“Do you know where I can find their school?”

“The Outer School, yes, master. I can take you there whenever you wish. The Inner School, however, I have never seen.”

“Outer School? Inner School?”

“Most of the more powerful schools have a presence in both the Inner and Outer Cities, master. However, from the talk I have heard, those schools are often so separate as to be utterly disconnected from one another. That is simply a guess I make based on gossip and rumor, though, so I cannot speak to its truth.”

“Okay, well, tomorrow, I’ll ask you to take me there. For now, though, it’s been a long day, and I’m sure you could use some rest.”

“I am tired, master, but…” She hesitated, then stood and slipped off her tattered robe. In an instant, she stood utterly nude before me, her porcelain skin gleaming in the golden light.

“Wh-what are you doing, Shi Lo?” I asked nervously as my body once again started to respond against my will. I was able to ignore it – an assassin who can’t ignore the effect a beautiful woman has on him isn’t going to last long – but it still made me uncomfortable.

“I noticed your need earlier, master,” she said in a soft voice. “At the baths.” She took a step toward me. “There is no need for you to seek out such comfort there, however. I – I am willing to serve in that capacity.”

“Shi Lo, no, you don’t have to,” I said hastily. “It’s nothing, and I’m fine. I wasn’t planning on…doing that, trust me.”

Her face suddenly looked stricken, and she bowed her head, letting her long, dark hair spill over her face. “Do you find me ugly?” she asked softly. “Or is it that you know what those vermin did to me, and you wish to have nothing to do with me?”

“It’s neither of those, Shi Lo,” I assured her.

“Do you prefer the company of men? I will understand if that is the case. It is not uncommon.”

“No, I like women. It’s just that I…”

“I do not understand, master,” she said, looking up at me, her eyes bright and shiny. “I am your servant, and this is one of my duties. As well…it is something I wish to do. You have protected me and taken me as your servant when no other would, and I would like to fulfill my duties to you. Please.”

“Look, Shi Lo, I…” I stopped as I realized I didn’t know what to say next. Was this awkward for me? Yes, absolutely. Shi had decided that she was my servant, which gave me a certain amount of power over her. It felt like I would be taking advantage of her, forcing her to sleep with me. However, that was my Earth morality talking. On Earth, I would be right; this would be a terrible situation, and I’d probably be slapped with a harassment suit just for thinking it.

This wasn’t Earth, though. Here, it seemed that sex was considered a lot more natural and a lot less, well, scandalous. I’d just watched people screwing in front of one another without a care in the world. From that point of view, maybe Shi Lo was just doing what she thought was the right thing. She saw my obvious desire, and she felt it was her place to appease it. I didn’t really understand this world’s culture, but I knew that somehow Shi was worried that what had happened to her stained her indelibly. If I rejected her, would that just make it worse?

“Okay,” I said at last, my voice hoarse and dry. “I…I do have a need, Shi Lo, and I’d be honored if you’d help me with it.”

Her face creased with a shy smile, and she stepped up beside me, kneeling gently and slipping her hands to my shirt. I started to remove it, but she stopped me with a soft touch.

“Please relax, master,” she whispered. “I will take care of you, in every way I can.”

I took a deep, shuddering breath as she slipped my shirt off over my head. As her soft hands traced down my chest, I realized that maybe this world wasn’t such a terrible place, after all.