《Beyond the Mists (Shuli Go Vol. 1)》Part 11
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When she rejoined Jiang in the small town where she’d first met Ida, he was understandably floored by the amount of gold she showed him.
“One of the chests is yours,” she told Jiang. His mouth fell so hard and fast Lian could swear there was permanent damage.
“From almost getting you killed to a chest full of gold. You’re a pretty forgiving woman Zhao.”
“I wouldn’t have any gold if it weren’t for you. A quarter is more than a fair finders fee.”
“I’ll say.”
They departed then, their horses and carts girded for the long trek into the trio of mountain ranges as winter had come in. The snow came down so thick and high that the soldiers who maintained the road worked around the clock to keep it clear. It was cold, but they stopped often at roadside fires and were dressed in the warmest clothes Wamai could offer.
When they reached the border, Ida said his goodbye in the traditional Wamaian fashion – a bow, and a grasping of forearms. Lian instinctively pulled on his arm and hugged him, and whispered in Wamaian in his ear. He was crying when they parted.
“What did you say to him?” Jiang asked.
“I told him it’s not too late to start a new family.”
They managed to convince the border guards that the half-chest of gold Ida had helped with was more than enough of a tax, by offering those same guards a few of the Wamaian coins. Those border guards were going to be the richest men in that corner of the Empire. Well, almost the richest.
They returned to the Three Paths Inn and found Zu, the keeper, drunk. Winter had driven out the travelling customers, and the locals that came around during the day didn’t care if Zu could stand or not. Lian walked in, grabbed Zu by the neck, took him outside, and tossed him into the horse trough full of freezing cold water.
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Sufficiently awake, she proceeded to lay out her terms.
“I have here half a chest worth of gold with our name on it.”
“Our name?” He asked, still quite drunk but trying very hard to not be.
“That’s right. You see Zu, you, me, and Jiang are going into business together.”
“We are?”
“That’s right. I’m buying you out of this inn, because frankly you’re terrible at running it. And then I’m going to walk over to the magistrate’s office in Forest Meadow and incorporate a new company with three partners. And this half-chest of gold is going to be our capital. And then you’re going to stop drinking, learn some customer service skills, and fix this place up better than it’s ever been.”
It took Zu’s alcohol-soaked brain a few seconds to understand and refute. “But this place is a shit hole. No one comes here. You’d be throwing your money away buying an inn like this.”
“I have a feeling trade with the Wamaians is going to be picking up in the next little while. All sorts of merchants and treasure-seekers are going to be winding up in Three Paths. And they’re going to need a place to sleep and it’s got to be more decent than what you’re offering right now. So fix this place up or I’ll kick you out of the partnership and you really will have nothing to do but drink.”
Something – whether it was the abruptness or the fact that she was Shuli Go, or just a woman – worked, and Zu the innkeeper never drank again. Jiang, as a merchant who worked in that part of the Empire, would collect Lian’s share of the profits, and keep an eye on Zu to ensure he wouldn’t pour all the money down a wine bottle.
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The business permit itself cost another half-chest – the magistrate came out the richest of any of them, when the amount of work invested was put into consideration. Lian and Jiang decided to travel together back towards the more populated centers in the Empire, his standard merchant carts and paperwork acting as good enough cover for the remaining gold. They just hoped they would remain ahead of the magistrate’s gossip of a Shuli Go and merchant with thousands of gold coins in their carts.
“You’ve only got one and a half chests left Zhao. What are you going to do with it?”
“Half a chest, once we get to a proper city.”
“Where is the other chest going?”
“I have a debt to pay with that one.”
“Must be some debt.”
“You have no idea.”
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The Complete Alchemyst book 1
You've heard of superheroes, seen them flying across the sky, destroying great swaths of cities and ending countless innocent lives in order to defeat great evils and world-spanning threats and sell lots of sponsorships and merchandising opportunities. This is a story about the guy that is not those heroes. A supervillain in a world where making the right friends and political contacts is what separates the good guys from the bad. The Alchemyst is a story about a normal guy in a crazy world that spends his time trying to follow his dreams and conscience, working on new potions, thinking about girls, and lifting heavy shit, while trying to stay under the radar of the superheroes, supervillains, and governments that want what he can do. And occasionally turning them into makeshift melee weapons. If you enjoy The Boys, the Aberrant roleplaying game, Mystery Men, Trashy romances, Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, or SAW you may enjoy this book. Please note that this book has extremely graphic and sometimes gross fight scenes, heroes as villains, villains as heroes, opinionated and often politically incorrect characters, some graphic sex scenes, dad jokes, dirty jokes, realistic depictions of romance and flirting, bondage and dominance themes, and more than a few cuss words when they are really appropriate. This is NOT a superhero genre deconstruction. Many heroes truly are heroes, and they don't all need to be destroyed to make a good story, but it does look into the dark side of superpowers and the unreasonable and often contradictory demands placed on exceptional people.
8 205Seraphim
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8 233Hearm Jan's Short Stories
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8 181Re-Write
As someone very familiar with the Otaku-culture, Amanokawa Makoto finds himself reincarnated in the extremely popular VRMMORPG—titled Grand Saga— as the penultimate last boss character, the dystopian ruler Emperor Wilthelm VII, several years before the game's lore had started. Naturally wanting to avoid his terrible fate and knowing the truth that he was a mere puppet of the real antagonist, he utilized his in-game knowledge of the lore, changed the fate of others, and trained like a maniac...and succeeded! He has defeated the true villain and changed his reincarnation fate. All before the game even began. Now he can finally relax, right? Well, it turns out that he still has to deal with the aftermath of changing the lore of the game. Not to mention his character is the monarch of a massive nation that needs rebuilding. However, Will is not perturbed nor daunted. He utilizes his knowledge of both his past life and in-game lore to guide the nation to a brighter future. Though what Will wants is to finally enjoy the game world that has become his reality. But Will soon realizes that this world isn't limited to the game of Grand Saga. What's more...he's not the only one.
8 216Murder of Crow
An American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos, wakes up one day to find itself in a plastic maze inside a strange, abandoned lab. With nowhere to go but forward, the bird will have to make its way through numerous puzzles in order to escape, if what lies ahead even is an escape. The crow has no idea what awaits it, why it’s here, or even what its life was prior to waking up.
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