Chapter 128 (Patreon)

Reservoir Town was in many ways even busier than Daqing. The streets were packed with carriages and people from local laborers to merchants from far afield. Warehouses, depots, and markets were hives of activities. Trains of carts strained under heavy loads of cereals, fruits, and exotic goods native to Zumulu. Cattle drivers herded ten-foot-tall cows into pens to be allotted and prepared for shipping up the Peachwine. Patrols of red-clothed soldiers stood at what seemed like every other corner. They stood and casually conversed, but vigilant eyes and senses regularly swept over the crowds.

Outnumbering everyone were the Peachbloods. Like the rest of Zumulu, they decorated themselves in bones. Peaches were a predominant motif, either carved into medallions or small charms that dangled from bracelets and earrings. Some even thread small chains of peach blossoms around their bones. To Chen Haoran’s sense, their qi was incredibly uniform. Oh, there were differences, of course. Some larger, some smaller. Some firm. Some shaky. No two cultivators qi could be exactly alike. Their shared roots were obvious, however, all around him was peach-colored qi as far as his sense could stretch.

Bao Si had Xie Jin bring the carriage around to an inn a bit away from the main roads and business districts. It was a place not frequented by foreign visitors to the city and was much closer to local housing. They didn’t speak until the horses were put up in the inn’s stable, and they closed the door of their room. Chen Haoran swept the room with his sense as Xie Jin and Bao Si did the same with their Gu. Only after making sure it was all clear did they finally relax.

“I hate this place,” Xie Jin muttered, collapsing onto the bed. “All these people and not a speck of life.”

Chen Haoran let go of Phelps, who flew to claim the other end of Xie Jin’s bed while he wandered over to the window and peered outside. In front of the inn was a fountain guarded by several soldiers. A long line of people had formed, all holding the same canteens and quietly waiting. Suddenly the fountain began spouting with peach-colored water. The line stirred and, following the soldiers’ sharp command, began to step up one by one to present papers to the soldiers. The soldiers carefully scanned the documents before stamping them and allowing the people to fill their canteens.

“The Peachwine is both a blessing and a curse to the Peachbloods,” Bao Si said, joining him at the window. “For them, there is no better cultivation supplement. At the same time, it is their only one.”

“It’s the reason the Peach River Kingdoms never expanded very far,” Xie Jin said, not bothering to get up from the bed. “They had the biggest and most organized armies of cultivators to conquer whatever they wanted but could never actually secure them. The price to convince an army of Peachbloods to stay away from the Peachwine and hinder their cultivation for longer than a year was just too expensive.”

Down below, the soldiers evidently weren’t satisfied with whatever they saw in the document an older man had given them. The leader ripped the document before the man’s horrified eyes and, heedless of his pleading, motioned his subordinates to beat the man back to the line with the butts of their spears. Being among his fellows didn’t prove any better for the man, though, as the next people in line quickly seized him by his collar and tossed him away, shouting and cursing as they ran the man out of the square. One of them picked up the man’s fallen canteen and, after receiving a nod from the leader, filled both under the envious eyes of the others.

Bao Si watched the drama without pity. “No price but their cultivation itself. It’s not as if it’s a new idea. Some of the bloodiest wars in Zumulu’s history were fought between the Orchard cities trying to control the flow of the Peachwine. The Empire just successfully put to practice what the warlords could only dream of. There are more watchtowers and formations all along the Upper Peachwine. No Peachblood is allowed to come near the river and can only receive a water quota.”

“I take it some people get a bigger quota than others,” Chen Haoran said.

“Yes,” Bao Si said. “Effective, isn’t it? Putting Peachblood against Peachblood, then putting both against Zumulu. Say what you will about the Empire. They don’t do things by halves.”

Xie Jin made a disgusted sound. “So when are we meeting these people.”

Bao Si removed her veil and sat on the other bed. “They said they would find us.”

“Great, and how long is that going to take? I don’t want to stay here any longer than we have to.”

Chen Haoran leaned against the window. “Probably until they decide their point has sunk in.”

Xie Jin looked at him with confusion. “What?”

Chen Haoran hooked a thumb over his shoulder at the water line. “Even if this inn isn’t associated with Jiang Lei’s group, which I doubt, it was chosen for a reason.”

“You think they want us to pity the Peachbloods?” Xie Jin asked.

Chen Haoran shrugged. “Maybe. But this whole situation reeks of being a display of power. The resources are being controlled, and the whole city and being monitored by the Empire, and yet here we are. Having a meeting with a group whose members should have been totally dependent on the Empire’s subsidies right under its nose. The longer we stay here, the more we’re going to think about that.”

Bao Si looked at him approvingly. “Well said, Chen Haoran. It’s nice to know there’s someone else here who can use their head.”

“Are you going to be alright?” Chen Haoran asked her. “Whatever they ask you will probably be pretty heavy.”

Bao Si smiled. “Do not worry. Behind me is my master and the whole of the Basin. No matter what happens, there are taller shoulders to hold up the sky.” She leaned back onto the bed and held her hands out invitingly. “What you should be more concerned with is which bed you’ll be sleeping in tonight.”

Xie Jin perked up with a far too serious look for the ridiculous topic. “We’re here for business, not pleasure. Obviously, Brother Chen should bunk with me.”

“You move too much in your sleep,” Bao Si said, with a teasing smile. “He’ll be much more comfortable with me.”

“Can’t we just get another room?” Chen Haoran asked

“Do you really want to be separated here?” Bao Si asked. “Even if only by a wall?”

Chen Haoran didn’t have an immediate response to that. She wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t want to say she was right either.

“Brother Chen, she’s lying to you about being comfortable,” righteously said. “I napped with her as a child. She wraps around you and practically suffocates you when she’s sleeping. I swear to you she hasn’t changed.”

“Is that a bad thing?”—is a thought Chen Haoran absolutely didn’t have. Instead, he was left torn and besides himself with having to choose between his two friends and—

“Bao Si, move over.”

“Brother Chen, you traitor.”

—————————

They were left waiting over the next three days with nothing to do but keep up the pretense of their being in Reservoir Town. Chen Haoran. The shops weren’t actually all that useful, being smaller and more directed at serving the residents of the city itself. The real interesting items were in the hands of agents who bought them directly from producers and gatherers across Zumulu on behalf of foreign merchants who then picked them up in Reservoir Town. That meant a lot of haggling with various agents and merchants just to get access to any excess they might have on hand.

Fortunately for Chen Haoran, he was quite flush with cash on hand, which proved once again that money was his greatest superpower. Through it, he filled his new storage bag with heaps of cultivation supplements. The good stuff, not the weak Qi realm herbs he’d been using before. The kind that required him to be led to a backroom before the dealer would bring out their product….

….when put like that, it sounded as if he was doing drugs. It wasn’t quite the same, though. He was taking plant-based substances in order to benefit from a specific effect that arose from imbibing them. That they happened to be in the form of pellets and pills was coincidental. Chen Haoran ran with that train of thought up until he was handing over a stack of golden banknotes to purchase a plant whose smoke would relax one’s meridians once breathed in.

“Is this world making me a drug addict?”

That aside, his shopping had more uses beyond satisfying his cultivation high. There would be no one that knew the state of the official road better than the people who traveled it regularly. Fortunately, for his odds of leaving Zumulu safely, none of the merchants he spoke to mentioned any increases in the security of the road. It was a bit of a risk of course to leave by the official road, but the Snake’s Mouth had few enough travelers that it would be easy for the Garrison to monitor. Likewise, trying to travel through the jungle and cross the border risked running into border guards who’d no doubt have some very pointed questions for him.

The market districts also illuminated the facets of Imperial rule in Zumulu. Peachbloods filled various labor roles, loading and unloading goods, moving crates, and herding cows. That wasn’t the only thing they did. Chen Haoran saw a surprising number serving as guards. Not only that, despite what he assumed, there were plenty of Liquid Meridian Realm Peachbloods, more even than he had seen in Daqing.

“Does the Empire have to fear Liquid Meridians?” Bao Si told him when he asked after they returned to the inn. “Not only Liquid Meridians, there a Crystal Transformation Realms as well. The higher realm cultivators are what make this operation worth it. The Empire would have to invest far more resources than they currently do to administrate Zumulu otherwise.”

“Without Peachblood enforcers and overseers, the Pacification Committee would be even more of a paper tiger than it already is,” Xie Jin muttered.

“When you say Pacification Committee…” Chen Haoran trailed off.

“Local allies of the Empire charged with fostering good relations with the various powers, creating policy to boost the economy following the war, and ensuring the smooth transition of Zumulu into the Empire.” Bao Si punctuated every point with a heavy sardonic tone that revealed her real thoughts on the matter. “Zumulu isn’t actually an official province. It’s a ‘Special Autonomous Zone’ administrated jointly between the Military and Pacification Commissioner.”

Xie Jin sneered. “In reality, Meng Huo would sooner let the Military Commissioner use his crown as a toothpick than actually stand up to him.”

“Crown? Is he a king?” Chen Haoran asked.

“He was a king,” Xie Jin said. “Before the Sunset Emperor broke his army and his pride, and had him bend the knee.”

Bao Si rolled her eyes. “He is a king still. The King of Southern Tranquility.”

“According to the Empire, maybe. He’s no real Southern king.”

Bao Si snorted but didn’t contest the point. “Regardless, he’s still a Star Core Realm. One of the two in the South.”

“The other being the Military Commissioner,” Chen Haoran said.

“Catching on quick, are we?” Xie Jin sarcastically asked.

Chen Haoran flipped him off and looked at Bao Si. “That being the case. How the hell do these people expect to stand a chance?”

Bao Si’s smile became sharp with politeness. “A very good question. Shall we ask them?”

All three of them turned to the door. A knock sounded once. Twice. Three times. Then the visitor opened the door. He was decked in a pure white robe with a sky-blue scabbard at his waist. He returned their gazes, expressionless.

Chen Haoran folded his arms across his chest.

“Hello, Jiang Lei.”