Hu Li II

Yueyang, Xiao Empire

a Dying Town

Hu Li arrived in Yueyang late in the afternoon following his departure from Guo Xue’s estate. It was another hot and humid summer day. Li’s headache from the wine the night before was worse than usual, but he drank plenty of water to combat it. Li drank more rice wine once the sun reached the top of the sky. After a few sips, he started to feel better. It burned his throat going down in the hot sun, but his headache subsided.

Nothing stops a headache like starting all over again.

Rou was in better shape. The men working Guo Xue’s stables treated the valley colt well. He was well-rested, and his brown coat shimmered in the sun.

Hu Li rubbed Rou’s back, “You’re in a good mood, huh.”

Rou flared and blew air from his nostrils.

“Off on another adventure, my friend. We have someone to find again.”

Yueyang was smaller than Shaozou and similar in size to Hu Li’s hometown of Janlin. The Xiao Emperor called for a census only two years prior and which estimated Yueyang held around four thousand inhabitants. Geographically it sat only twenty kilometers from the northern border with the Heguri, which made it one of the critical trading towns in the spring and autumn. Despite being on the smaller side, the trade made Yueyang a prized possession of an administrator like Guo Xue.

Yueyang lay on a small river that fed into the much larger Red River that marked the informal boundary between the Heguri and Xiao Empires. The Red River had many small rivers and tributaries branching off its main trunk, which sat at a massive five kilometers across its widest crossing. It was named for the red clay that lined the river’s banks and bottom. The current was so strong that the clay mixed with the water giving the river a dark brown color. Despite its color, the river was teeming with wildlife and was a critical economic resource. Over the years, the Heguri and Daming people fought to control the river. At present, the Heguri Empire and the Xiao Empire held an uneasy truce regarding the extraction of resources.

Li had never crossed the Red River into Heguri territory, and if he was honest, the giant river humbled him. At the end of a small river branch like the one next to Yueyang, the river water was more transparent. The current was slow, and there were fishing and recreation. It had just enough current to spin a watermill that powered mill hammers, which pounded grains into more delicate pieces.

Yueyang reminded Li of his home of Janlin. While Janlin was a country farming town and Yueyang a trading crossroads, the two towns had many of the same amenities. Li’s travels took him to Yueyang sparingly, but he always enjoyed his time there. There were ironworkers and blacksmiths, small food stands, tailors, a few good taverns, and even a brothel. Like Janlin, there was not an overbearing religious population. Hu Li liked that. Most importantly, at the moment, there was a stable where Li knew he could leave Rou in good hands.

Hu Li and Rou rode into the clean stables of the husband and wife team Mo Da and Fan Liuxian. The stable was the only commercial stable in Yueyang, but its service did not suffer from a lack of competition. Li boarded horses at the stable during each visit to Yueyang but did not expect them to remember him.

I’m sure they see hundreds of travelers like me every year.

“Hello,” the old man greeted the inspector as he rode up, “What brings you to the stables today, friend?”

“I need a place to board. Do you board overnight?”

Mo Da nodded, “Of course, what kind of stable would we be if we didn’t. That’s a fine-looking mount you have there. A valley colt? Where do you hail from?”

Hu Li nodded, “Janlin.”

Mo Da walked with a slight limp, and his back hunched over just so. His face was red and leathery from many years of work and probably just as many years of drink. The color in his hair had long gone and what was left was short white, well-trimmed hair.

“Ah, I can’t say I’ve been, but I hear good things. Janlin. Must be good.”

Fan Liuxian cut in with a smile on her face, “You haven’t heard anything, old man,” she looked at Li, “He’s just polite. We’ve lived in Yueyang our whole lives. We don’t know much about the rest of the empire.”

Mo Da kept up his ruse, “I heard about Janlin. I know it. It’s a great place. We should visit someday, in fact.”

Fan Liuxian shouldered the old man, “What have you heard? Tell me something of Janlin.”

Mo Da tried to stifle his smile, “Don’t worry about what I have or haven’t heard; we have a customer. Now’s not the time for my many interesting stories. Isn’t that right…”

“Hu Li.”

“Right. Hu Li. We have a customer, Hu Li from Janlin. A fine man from an even finer city. A city I’ve heard many fine things about.”

Fan Liuxian shook her head as she walked back to her work, “If he gives you any trouble, call me over. I’ll take care of this one.”

“Thank you, something tells me I may need you,” Li winked at Mo Da.

Mo Da approached Li as he dismounted, “Hu Li. A good name. My name is Mo Da. Welcome to Yueyang. It may not be much, but we’re honest, and the stable will treat a colt like this well.”

“Thank you, Mo Da; I’m sure that’s true.”

“Have you visited the town before?”

“I have.”

“Ah, very good. This way.”

Mo Da showed Li over to an open stall and began to break down Rou’s tack.

“We’ll take good care of this one. We’ll give your mount a wash and some food. The horse will have shelter here, and we’ll take him out for a walk once a day for as long as he’s here.”

“And what do I owe you?”

Mo Da shook him off, “We settle at the end; that should be no problem.”

Li would ask for the rate upfront with most men, but even if Mo Da and Fan Liuxian did not remember him, he remembered them. They were fair and nothing to fear. The man must have been over fifty years now, while Fan Liuxian looked somewhere in her early to mid-forties. Like Mo Da, Fan Liuxian was weathered too. Her face was soft and worn, and grey streaked through her long black hair. Both of them were in good shape for their age, besides Mo Da’s noticeable limp. Li watched for a moment at the old couple working hard in the stable. The place was immaculate.

What would it be like to own a place like this? Maybe one day I’ll be too old to ride around this land, going on hunts. Then what? I can’t open a stable in Janlin, too much competition. Maybe another tavern? There are always more customers that need a drink. And I’m already good at talking to drunks.

Li waved goodbye as he left the stable, “Farewell Mo Da, farewell Fan Liuxian, I’ll see you tomorrow. Take care of my boy.”

“Of course,” Fan Liuxian replied, “Enjoy your stay!”

Back to work.

Yueyang was the first town due north of Guo Xue’s estate. If you drew a line directly due north to the border with the Heguri at the Red River from the estate, you’d cross through Yueyang. If Chen Feiyan stopped anywhere on her way to Heguri territory, it would be at Yueyang.

Ok, where would you go in a small town in the dead of night, little Fei.

Li had entered Yueyang by crossing the small branch of the Red River from the south side. One long main street ran north until it hit town center, and then it veered northeast until it hit the town limits. At that point, it reverted to north-south, heading for the Red River. The stables were off the main street on the northwest side of the town. Hu Li was now heading back to the town center and the main road.

Where to go? Why would you stop? Did you stop? Did you sleep? Did you need something to eat?

These were questions he had been asking himself over and over in his head since leaving Guo Xue’s estate.

Li paused when he reached town center and looked around. The afternoon was turning to evening, and the food stands in the street were busy selling produce and cooked food. It was active for a small town, but Li noticed the population was older.

Well, if you stopped to rest, there’s only one inn. I’ll be staying there tonight anyhow.

Li evaded the smells of the hot food and turned the corner towards the small inn on the main street. Like the stables, he stayed at the inn before. The inn was flat and wide, with plenty of courtyard space for its guests. Another older man, Xia Shun, ran the inn. Xia Shun was grumpier than Mo Da and Fan Liuxian, but Hu Li liked him just the same. When he walked into the entrance building, he was surprised to see an older woman behind the counter instead of the old man.

The woman stood up from her seat behind the counter, “Hello, need somewhere to stay tonight? We’re the only one, so no need to shop around, eh.”

“I do need a room to stay in tonight,” Hu Li looked around the room, “Is Xia Shun around?”

The woman frowned at Hu Li, “Are you… Are you a friend to Xia Shun?”

“You might say that. I’ve stayed here before, and I was hoping I would see him.”

“Not many people said that about Xia Shun... I am his widow, Yi Fen.”

Hu Li was embarrassed he had not put it together already.

You fool.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

Yi Fen waved him down, “Not a problem, how would you know. I’m glad you remember him,” she walked out from behind the counter and waved him into the courtyard, “Come this way, I’ll show you a room.”

It was a simple room with stone walls; not too spacious. There were windows and no lock on the door. Hu Li would keep his valuables nearby. All he needed was a bed to sleep in anyways. The woman showed him around the small room before heading for the door.

“Were you working here at night, early morning actually, maybe two weeks ago?”

Yi Fen turned and frowned again, “Why do you ask.”

“I’m looking for someone, and I think they stayed with you.”

She shook her head, “My nephew works nights. I’m too old. Too many strange characters come in at night for an old woman like me.”

“I see. Can I speak with your nephew? What was his name?”

Yi Fen looked at him for a moment before responding, “Who are you looking for?”

“I don’t think you would know them,” Li said confidently.

“I know that, but who: man, woman, old, young, rich, poor?”

“She’s a young woman. Less than twenty years.”

“And traveling alone at night?” Yi Fen laughed, “If a young woman was traveling alone at night, I imagine she doesn’t want anyone following her. Now look, I know you seem like a nice man, but I wouldn’t tell you about her even if I knew anything.”

Fair point.

“I understand, of course. The girl is my niece. I am worried about her safety. I promise I do not track her with ill intentions. Perhaps if I could speak with your nephew, you said his name was...”

Yi Fen shook her head, “No. No. No. Please don’t ask again. I need to head back to the front. It was nice meeting you, Hu Li. Thank you for remembering Xia Shun.”

Li smiled as she turned and walked back to the front desk. She moved slowly. You could see the years of wear on her.

How will these towns survive when all the youth fly for the cities? What happens when Yi Fen, Mo Da, and Fan Liuxian follow Xia Shun?

Li sighed and took out his wine. He took a swig and wiped his mouth and brow. The day was becoming night, which meant it was time to head to a tavern or two for town gossip. One of Li’s favorite parts of his work was drinking with locals to gather information.

Don’t speak too much, listen, and process.

He often wondered if what he actually enjoyed was the drink itself, and he convinced himself the rest was for his work.

Who knows, perhaps a town drunk was out late and saw little Fei in the night.

Li knew all three taverns by now and preferred Bai Qiang’s. Bai Qiang was yet another elder business owner in Yueyang, selling different types of grain-based wines and brewed beer. The three taverns in Yueyang, like in other small towns within traveling distance of the mountains, shared an ice cellar. Most of the cellar sat below ground, and the thick insulated walls kept large blocks of ice cold even during the hot summer days. Cellars allowed taverns like Bai Qiang’s to serve cold beer and cold fruit on hot days. To eat, Bai Qiang cooked the small sweet sausages so popular in the north of the empire, along with steamed buns filled with pork or vegetable filling. There were always pan-fried salted peanuts or dried tofu set out in bowls for patrons to snack on as they drank their beer and wine.

On the way to Bai Qiang’s, Li stopped by some of the hot food carts. He was hungry from the day’s journey and wanted to line his stomach before drinking any more wine or beer. There was plenty on offer, but Li settled for some simple cold sesame noodles from a cart with a long line.

Better to trust the locals on where to eat.

Li devoured the bowl. The noodles’ texture was just right, and the sesame flavor and spice were not too strong. Li paid respect to the cart owner by trying to hand him extra coin, and as customary, the cart owner refused it.

“Ok, but I’m coming back here after the tavern for more of those noodles my friend.”

The cart owner laughed, “If you’re drunk, I’ll charge you double; I hope you don’t remember the price!”

Li laughed politely.

I miss home.

The sun showed mercy and set on the long summer day. The cicadas were loud, like back at Guo Xue’s estate. Men descended on the town center for one tavern or another for a drink. Bai Qiang’s tavern was already crowded by the time Hu Li walked in the front door. Each spent a long day working at their various trades or in the farm fields outside the town. Bai Qiang’s establishment was a good size and easily sat almost seventy patrons. The room was a square hall filled with circular tables with a partition on the right side. The partition created a walkway to the bar at the back of the room. Two servers moved between the bar in the back and tables, bussing and bringing drinks from Bai Qiang behind the bar to the patrons. They were very busy.

One of the servers, Ping, Hu Li recognized from the last time he was in Yueyang. Ping was of average height and very round, with dark hair and dark tanned skin. She wore a white cotton wrap shirt and a long black skirt. She kept her hair up in a bun, held together with clips, and wore no paint on her face.

“No, not welcome,” Ping jested towards Hu Li, “No rascals, no scoundrels. Get out of here, boy.”

Li played along, “Fetch me a drink. My feet are tired.”

Ping shook her head and waved him off before smiling and returning to her work. Hu Li enjoyed Ping; he had hoped she would still be there.

Li surveyed the room.

From the looks of it, those few are the ironworkers. Some farmers there at the two tables pulled together. And a group of clean-cut gentlemen, perhaps the town scholars.

Li opted for an empty seat at the bar to start. Bai Qiang was busy, but once he noticed Li he came right over.

“Inspector Hu Li, good to see you again.”

“Hello friend. Good to see you too, Bai Qiang.”

“What are you having to start?”

“I’d love a cold glass of your homemade beer if you have it.”

“Of course, of course,” Bai Qiang nodded.

Bai Qiang wheeled around to pour Li a glass of his beer.

Why is it that wherever I go, it’s always the bartenders and tavern servers that remember me?

When he returned with the cold mug of beer, he brought back one of the small sweet pork sausages and a bowl of pan-fried nuts.

Bai Qiang placed them down in front of Li, “On the house Inspector.”

Hu Li took out enough coin for the beer and the food, “No, no, please; I must pay.”

“I will not have it,” Bai Qiang protested, “The first round is free for an old friend.”

Li got up from his chair and forced the money into the hands of Bai Qiang, “Please, I must pay. It’s been so long.”

Bai Qiang laughed, “As you wish if you insist. I owe you now, though.”

Li raised his glass to Bai Qiang and took a sip. The beer was very cold and tasted fresh. The barkeep kept his beer light in the summer. It was wheat-based and very hazy in color. Li enjoyed the cold buzz after his long day in the heat.

“So, how’s business?”

Bai Qiang frowned, “Eh, not great. We have plenty of customers, that’s not the problem. Money moves fast. What I could buy with a coin today is less than last year. And the taxes are too much. Each year they find something new to tax me on. I can’t keep track,” he gestured, “And if I miss something, it’s my fault.”

The old man let out a “tsk” sound.

Li took another swig of the beer, “Do you fall under the collection of Governor Guo?”

Bai Qiang shook his head; his face looked pained, “Despicable old rat. He rises through life on the back of our hard work. All he has to do is think of a new way to wet his beak on our labor, and the emperor praises him for it.”

Hu Li sat back in his chair a bit.

Better not let him know who pays me to be here right now.

“But what about the trade with the Heguri? That must bring in some wealth to the town.”

“True, but the Governor is slowly sinking his talons into that, too. More and more, one needs a license, or a document, or whatever to do whatever. Always another way to bring in more income for the empire. Do you know I need a document to sell alcohol now? It’s not cheap. And they taxed us on the ice cellar. That needs to be registered, too. And what services come back to us? Where does all the money go?”

Li nodded in agreement. He sympathized with the older man. People like Bai Qiang were more his people than Guo Xue.

“Here,” Bai Qiang held out a circular copper coin with a strange seal, “have you seen these coins, inspector?”

The seal looked like the head of a monkey.

That’s not Xiao currency.

“What is it?”

“On the streets, they’re calling it the people’s coin. No one knows who prints it. We think it comes from the east. So far, it’s only really found in towns and small villages in the east and increasingly here in the north.”

Hu Li was curious, “Do you use it? Is there an exchange?”

“Informally, yes. It’s becoming more popular. People say it’s more stable, holds more value than the official coins,” Bai Qiang shrugged, “The way I see it, there’s not a law against it. If I’m told not to use it, I’ll stop.”

Li nodded, “Is it taxed?”

Bai Qiang shook his head.

Hu Li stowed away the new information for later. It would come in handy should he find himself in a bind with Guo Xue.

“I see Ping still works here. What happened to the other server?”

“Hai? The tall one?”

Li nodded again.

“Too pretty. It didn’t last long before some old lord snapped her up,” Bai Qiang snapped his fingers, “Good help too. She was a hard worker. We miss her around here.”

“Would I be wrong if I said there aren’t many young women in Yueyang at the moment,” Hu Li observed.

Bai Qiang frowned again, “No, you would not be wrong. If they’re smart, they head to the city. More opportunity.”

“Shaozou?”

Bai Qiang nodded, “More across the Red River to Fuhua. You might even find yourself a Heguri man.”

Fuhua indeed was a border town. Although the Red River served as the informal border between the two Empires, Fuhua was across the river and the northernmost city in the Duyun province of the Xiao Empire.

“Some girls like Hai hang around too long and are taken away to be married to an old man, or the empire gives them to some rich man as an official concubine. If they’re drunks or smoke too much poppy flower, they might end up in the town brothel, or worse.”

“So who do the young men marry?”

“Slim pickings. Some go out into the countryside or the small forest villages and find a bride. Many follow the women and move into the cities. But there are already men there, usually better off than our boys.”

Li took another sip of the cold beer and leaned into the barkeep, “Speaking of young women, have you been working nights recently?”

The barkeep gave him a knowing look, “Here we go; I was wondering when your work would start. Ok then, let’s have it. Yes, I always work until close. Who are you looking for this time?”

“When is closing?”

“As late as people want to stay. The servers go home after midnight, but I keep it open even to serve just one last customer. My labor is free. I think you were my final customer on more than one occasion.”

Li couldn’t hold back a smile, “Guilty, I’m sure. Listen, a couple of weeks ago, did a young woman come through late at night? I don’t know much about what she looks like, but she’s from the east and very pretty. Rich girl, she would look it.”

Bai Qiang raised an eyebrow, “Did some rich lord lose their daughter inspector Hu? Forgive me that I don’t feel for them.”

Li took another sip from his glass, “Something like that.”

“No, I can’t say that there was. I would have remembered that. Usually, my late-night customers are the blacksmiths and ironworkers, those types of folk. And occasionally drunk inspectors,” Bai Qiang winked, “She would have stood out.”

Li sat back in his chair again, “Of course. Thank you anyway.”

Bai Qiang pointed casually around the room, “Ask around, though. Lots of these rascals have a habit of staying out late, just like you.”

“Thanks, friend,” Li finished his first beer, “Another round?”

After a second beer with Bai Qiang, Li slowly made his way around the tavern, getting to know the locals. First, it was Fan Bo, the tailor. He was a measured man of fifty years and slowly drank his rice wine. Fan Bo also had complaints about the official coin, and unlike Bai Qiang, business was slow for Fan Bo. When Hu Li pressed him on the girl, he said he did not stay out late enough and had not seen or heard of Fei. It was a good conversation at least, and Li finished a glass of warm rice wine with the old tailor.

Next was the group of farmers. They were the most unruly group in the tavern. They had pulled two circular tables together, so they were able to seat seven. After some small talk, they invited Hu Li to play a few rounds of liar’s dice. Li made conversation and ordered a round of cold beers for all of them.

Men’s lips are always the loosest with a bit of liquid courage.

Unfortunately, it was more of the same. The farming was getting harder in the north. The competition was tough from the abundant grasslands in central Duyun, and the taxes were burdensome on the men’s profits. Governor Guo even instituted a subsidy to a few large-scale operations in the Duyun grasslands, which allowed them to undercut smaller independent farmers.

A middle-aged farmer with a bald head and muscular torso named Kang Guo complained to Hu Li, “When my son heard about the subsidy, that was the last straw. He left for Wuzhou the following week. Occasionally I get a letter. It’s not going well. Here we worked our own land, but in the grasslands, a blessed few own most of the arable land, and the rest work. He’s not well. He was hoping to find more women down there, but no luck.”

There were nods of agreement from the other weathered men at the table.

“And what’s worse, when they pay him, he’s got to spend right away anyway. Otherwise, it won’t be worth much in a few moons.”

That brought about some smiles, and the men started tossing the strange copper coin on the table.

Hu Li prodded, “The people’s coin, right?”

No one said a thing.

Interesting. This coin had not made its way to Janlin yet.

Like Bai Qiang and Fan Bo, Kang Guo and the rest of the farmers had not seen the girl come through Yueyang. Early mornings were their alibis.

“We can’t stay out late, my friend. Farmers get up early. You’ll want the blacksmith and those ironworkers over there,” Kang Guo pointed to the burley group in the far corner, “Those boys stay out late and have an eye for women.”

Kang Guo played his move, “Three threes.”

The next player followed immediately, “Bullshit.”

Kang Guo pulled up his wooden cup to show the three threes sitting next to a two and a six. The rest of the men laughed as the player next to him threw his last die into the loser’s pot in the middle.

“Tough break, tough break.”

Li made his way over to the burley men in the corner. It was getting late.

How many have I had now? Two with Bai Qiang, the rice wine with Fan Bo, two more beers with the farmers, no three? Two?

He couldn’t remember; he didn’t care. Li knew he held his liquor well. It did not matter if it were two or three. He could keep his wits about him. He thought back on his priors.

Chen Feiyan grew up poor in the east. She is likely smart and can likely ride and track. She was probably unhappy at the estate. She may have ridden home, but it was more likely the tracks were authentic, and she rode north. The tracks went towards Yueyang, but did she stop here? If so, did anyone see her?

“Hu Li, I thought you would never join us!”

Li was confused. A large man with a massive head was sitting with his back to the wall at the table. There were four in total.

I don’t remember this man.

The farmers told Li one was a blacksmith, and the rest worked iron. All four were big men with varying states of facial hair. Hu Li met many new faces at many taverns across the empire during his travels. Perhaps he’d spoken to these men before and simply could not remember.

“It’s been a while, Inspector. The last time I saw you, you were bent over in an alley throwing up beer and noodles. Here, I’ll order some of those dumplings. Ping! Ping! Get over here!”

Ping walked over, rolling her eyes, “What are we having,” she looked at Li, “Oh, Gods no, please don’t tell me you all are friends. That makes too much sense.”

The man with the big head laughed; he seemed very drunk, and his face was flushed, “A big plate of steamed buns for our friend the inspector… Oh, and all pork. No vegetables tonight.”

“Good luck, you pick strange friends,” Ping said to Li as she walked away.

“Sit down Hu Li, sit down, old friend,” the man with the massive head beckoned. “Come on, let’s drink. The night is young.”

This man is the leader here. And we clearly drank too late at least once. I don’t remember his name or any of these other men.

Li sat, “I thought you’d never ask; good to see you again.”

The men raised their glasses of yellow wine. It looked millet-based, not wheat or rice.

The man with the giant head motioned to the man closest to Li, “Quick, pour Inspector Hu a glass.”

The man next to Li was another strong man with a bald head and a long mustache. He poured Li two fingers of the yellow wine to match the rest of the table.

“Thank you, friend,” Li responded. The bald man clasped his hand on his shoulder as if they had known each other for years.

“Anytime inspector, good to see you again.”

The men finished their glasses.

“So, what brings you back, Li?”

“More work, what else. Missing person.”

“Oh yeah? They came through here?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

“Ping, another round,” the man with the giant face ordered more drinks, “What have you found so far?”

“A little. Listen, how often do you boys stay out late?”

The men laughed before the bald man spoke, “Plenty. Too often.”

Li went on, “Exactly fourteen days ago; I think the woman I’m tracking came through here in the middle of the night. She’s still young and would have looked like a rich girl. Pale skin, maybe some nice clothes. Expensive-looking blue roan. I’m trying to find someone who might have seen her.”

The men looked around, but no one had an answer. Finally, the man with the giant face spoke, “Can’t say I saw anything. Apologies. Even if we did, there’s a chance we would have been too pissed to remember it. Keep looking around, inspector; it’s a small town. If she came through, someone saw her, I’m sure.”

Wasted night.

Li thought over what he learned, and it wasn’t much to do with his job.

The town is in poor straits economically. An underground currency has emerged because the Xiao coin is rising too fast, and people feel taxes are too high. No one likes my employer. The young men and women are fleeing for the cities. All this, but no one has seen the girl.

The man with the giant face must have seen the disappointed look on Hu Li, “Rough night, huh? Well, at least you’re with old friends. Let’s have a few more and catch up.”

I would love a few more as long as I can avoid asking for your name.

“Sounds good.”

Hu Li drank with the men for another couple of hours until they were all very drunk. Slowly throughout the night, he was able to get the names out of three of the men. The man with the giant face was the blacksmith, and his name was Peng Shun. It was no wonder they were friendly before; Peng Shun and Hu Li got along very well again this night. The bald man was an ironworker named Kang Lei, and the man to his left was Fu Zhou. Hu Li never got the fourth man’s name when the three ironworkers left, leaving only Peng Shun and Li at the table.

Shun called over Bai Qiang to pay out, as Ping and the other server had already left for the night.

“So is it that kind of night, Hu Li?”

Li gave him an unknowing look.

“The brothel is open till sunrise. What do you think? Head over there again?”

Li still did not remember his last encounter with Peng Shun, and he certainly did not recall a trip to a brothel. And yet, it would not be surprising. Back home in Janlin, or during the day as he worked, Li held his temptations at bay. But when he was on the road and spending nights in taverns meeting men like Peng Shun, Li often caved and spent nights with women too young, too old, or too poor, or too damaged. Regret was always the feeling in the morning. The mornings could be paralyzing. After a night out in Fuhua a year prior, Li was so discouraged he did not get out of bed until noon.

What am I doing to my body? What am I doing to my soul?

Shun paid the bill and let Li chip in for some, “Alright, inspector, what do you say?”

The brothel was down the main street a couple hundred meters. When the men arrived, it seemed quiet. The woman at the front of the house, Madame Lin, was old and overly done up in paints. Her body looked tired. She was far too old to be up at this hour of the night, helping two drunk fools satiate their lizard brains. Li was tired too and far too drunk. He took a seat on the nearby cushioned rest while Peng Shun spoke with Madame Lin. He could not hear the specifics of what they haggled over, and he did not care. His head hurt, and his stomach did not feel right.

“Inspector, come over here friend, I’ve lined up one of my favorites for you,” Shun said.

Li nodded and followed the orders.

Madame Lin pointed down the hall, “Last room on the left. You have thirty minutes.”

Li got up from his seat and walked down the narrow hallway. The building was dark and lit by only a handful of oil lamps. It was quiet. Li knocked on the door of the last room on the left. The woman behind the door was young, perhaps the same age as Chen Feiyan. Unlike how he imagined Fei looking in his head, this woman had dark tanned skin and tattoos. Her hair was very long and kept in a braid. At one point in her life, she must have been beautiful. But by tonight, her body was too frail, and she had burn marks on her shoulders and left wrist.

Poppy flower this one. She’s still young but already wasting away.

Like Madame Lin, she wore too much paint on her face to go along with her plain red cotton robe.

The young woman opened the door wider for him, “Come in.”

Li entered, “What do I call you?”

“What do you want to call me?”

“Your name. What is your name.”

The woman watched him and didn’t say anything for a moment, “Just call me Ai.”

Hu Li sat down on the edge of the bed, wondering if Ai was her real name. He looked at her standing before him in the red cotton robe. She was too young for him, barely twenty years. He remembered what Bai Qiang told him at the bar.

“If they’re drunks or smoke too much poppy flower, they might end up in the town brothel, or worse.”

What would you think of me now, Bai Qiang? First, the Governor you hate pays my bill, now this.

And yet, Li did not stop himself. Sometimes he wondered if he really made decisions or if, in moments like this, he was along for a ride beyond his understanding. Despite all the moral posturing in his head, he wanted to see Ai drop the red robe. He knew it was frail and damaged, but still, he wanted to see her body.

Li’s headache the next morning was terrible. The sunlight streamed through the windows in the inn’s room, and he was overheated. He had passed out in his clothes, and the summer heat was beating down into the room. He was sweating heavily.

“Inspector, Inspector!”

He realized someone was knocking at the door frame. A dark frame blotted out the sun in the doorway.

“Hi, hello,” he rubbed his eyes, “Yi Fen?”

She responded cooly, “Yes. It’s check-out time. Are you staying another night?”

Check-out time? Fuck. Midday.

Li scrambled through the previous night in his mind. Nothing. He hadn’t learned anything about Fei. Some interesting context about the northern trading towns, but nothing about the girl.

“Yes, I’ll stay one more night. I’m sorry you had to wake me, Yi Fen.”

“No problem,” she turned to go but paused, “Take it easy, Hu Li, you’re not a young man.”

He smiled, “Thank you, Auntie.”

Yi Fen scowled and laughed, “Auntie, huh? Get out of bed, drink some water, go for a walk. Look at you; you’re a mess. How can you find anything if you’re broken in bed.”

Hu Li crawled out of bed and wandered over the basin of water. The pool was still, and he looked into the surface to have a look at his face. He looked old and worn.

What are you doing?

Li felt the downward spiral coming on.

Get clean, and get out of the house. Get some fresh air.

He stripped naked and washed the grime and sweat from the previous day from his body. As he cleaned, the memory of the trip to the brothel and the woman in the red robe came flashing back.

Fuck.

He splashed more onto his torso and used a cloth to clean himself as best he could.

The air outside was hot and sticky. Hu Li’s first stop was the food carts for more cold sesame noodles. He finished his bowl and washed it down with a small glass of tea.

Did I stop here after the brothel for more noodles?

That sounded right, but Hu Li could not remember. He wanted to go back to sleep. His head was foggy. Li wandered back west to the stables. He would need to tell Mo Da and Fan Liuxian that he would be staying another night. The sharp sunlight was unbearable, and he shielded it with his eyes.

As he approached, Mo Da saw him and waved him in, “Come out of the heat, inspector. I was just talking with your horse; unfortunately he decided he would like to stay with us. I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.”

Hu Li smiled politely at the bad joke.

Fan Liuxian was nearby, “Can I get you some tea?”

“Cool tea sounds lovely, thank you, Liuxian.”

“No problem.”

Mo Da was washing down a beautiful blue roan. It looked quite old, but it was a big, strong, and elegant horse.

“I came by to let you know I’ll be staying in town another night. I assume it’s ok if I leave him with you for another day?”

Mo Da kept washing the roan as he spoke, “Of course, of course. More money for me. That’s a great horse you have there. We had a good little ride to stretch his legs yesterday.”

Li smiled, “I’m glad to hear it. Thanks for getting him outside.”

“No problem.”

Li looked at the blue roan, “And who do you have here? This old lady is beautiful.”

“No idea.”

Hu Li didn’t follow, “No idea?”

“No idea. Someone left it here.”

Li’s senses heightened.

“What do you mean?”

“Someone left this horse here. Maybe, two weeks ago. We went to bed with five horses boarded. We woke up with five horses boarded; however, one of the five we did not recognize. And the black stallion we were boarding for what I think was a traveling mercenary was nowhere to be found. I was terrified. The man was a tough son of a bitch. And we lost his horse!”

“Someone brought this horse here and stole another? In the middle of the night, two weeks ago?”

“That’s what I said.”

Mo Da kept washing the horse and paused once he realized Li wasn’t paying attention anymore.

“What of it, inspector? It’s ok; the man looked tougher than he was. He was quite understanding. We had to pay him for the stallion, but we reached a fair price. And I’ve upgraded our locks. Sure it set us back a couple of months, but it’s good to know our stables are more secure now. A small price in the long run, eh?”

Li wasn’t paying attention to Mo Da anymore.

Could that be you, little Fei? Liu mentioned the horse missing was a roan, but I didn’t think about the stables until now. Idiot.

“I think I know who owns this horse, Mo Da.”