[Warning] Minor sexual imagery.

Chapter 7 - The Price of Freedom

Three days later, at noon, the junk arrived at a fork in the river.

The northern branch of the river seemed to stretch far beyond the horizon, no bends in it that are worth mentioning. The southern branch of the river curved behind a steep cliff side. “Finally,” said Jia-long cheerfully.

Yi Cheng heard what Jia-long had said and asked, “We have reached our destination?”

“Another thirty minutes or so,” responded the captain, “You should be able to see it soon enough.”

The helmsman steered the junk towards the southern branch of the river. Once the ship passed the bend in the river their destination became visible.

Three li ahead of them was a humungous stone dam, carved into the dam were the heads of four dragons, their mouths serving as spillways. The dam itself was not enough to shock Yi Cheng, he had seen ancient dams like this one before, what truly amazed Cheng was that right beneath the dam there was a city build on stilts.

“That’s one of the many dragon dams,” said Jia-long, “As for the village. We like to call it Dragon Spit.”

Yi Cheng wondered why anyone would nickname their town in such a way. Before he could ask about it he remembered something far more urgent. “Once we arrive. What will happen?”

Jia-long laughed as he answered, “That oaf over there will be returned to his gang after they pay for our expenses. I will speak to the Deputy Mountain Master* on your behalf. No need to worry, all should be fine.”

With Jia-long’s assurance Yi Cheng felt some of his worries disappear.

At the edges of the city there were countless places to moor, but one dock stood out from the others. It was at least thirty bu (pace) wide and at the end of it there was a four tier pagoda.

The crew of the junk moored the vessel at the dock. After a gangway was placed Jia-long led Zhuang Guo and Yi Cheng towards the pagoda. Fan Yu and the Blue Lanterns remained behind to help the crew with unloading.

As they entered the pagoda they ran into a bony old man, who wore his regalia like a weapon. Hatred and spite for the world and everyone in it flickering in his distrusting eyes.

“Incense Master? How… What-what happened to senior Snoring Ox?” asked Jia-long in obvious surprise after noticing that Dong Wen was wearing the insignia of an Incense Master*.

“He went to meet Qin-Guang-Wang* three weeks ago,” said Dong Wen in obvious delight.

“Senior is dead?” asked Jia-long. He already knew the answer, but his heart refused to believe it.

“As dead as it gets,” answered the old man. Dong Wen then looked at Zhuang Guo and Yi Cheng standing behind Jia-long. He had no particular opinion of Zhuang Guo, but he instantly disliked Yi Cheng. The old man hated many things, but he hated young beautiful things more than anything. “Who are they?” he asked demandingly.

“I am taking them to see the Deputy Mountain Master,” answered Jia-long. He knew that it would be a disaster for Yi Cheng if the old man got involved. That was an outcome that he wanted to avoid by any means.

Dong Wen immediately caught wind of Jia-long’s eagerness to leave. If the fat youth wished to escape it was highly likely that he had enough seniority to decide in the matter.

“Why are you taking them to meet the Deputy Mountain Master?”

“……”

“Stop wasting my time and answer me,” said Dong Wen, “And don’t you dare lie to me. It won’t matter one bit that your father is the treasurer if you do.”

“We are going to meet the venerable Deputy Mountain Master to discuss payment for the freedom we are currently enjoying,” said Yi Cheng clearly.

The nasty old man finally understood the situation completely. “With my authority as Incense Master I will determine the price of your freedom,” said Dong Wen.

Jia-long no longer had any right to interfere in the matter. Dong Wen was his superior and Jia-long had to respect his decisions. He could only hope that Dong Wen would be magnanimous.

“You will both work for our Five Rivers Gang until you have earned your full weight in gold,” said Dong Wen, realizing that his demand was simply unreasonable. It was not a fair deal, it was a king’s ransom.

“Yes honorable Incense Master,” said Jia-long in defeat.

“Good. An oath will be required.”

“Is that really necessary senior?”

“Yes,” said Dong Wen smugly.

“Do we get any say in this at all?” asked Zhuang Guo angrily.

“If you wish to test the quality of our nooses, do tell,” answered Dong Wen, his eyes twinkling with self-importance, “I do enjoy a good hanging.”

After Zhuang Guo and Yi Cheng took their oaths, with the heavens as their witness, Dong Wen took his leave. After condemning the two men to a lifetime of service he was momentarily satisfied. Now he had ample time to make Yi Cheng’s life more miserable.

“I am sorry guys,” said Jia-long dejectedly, “I had no clue that self-righteous bastard would be here today. If only Snoring Ox was still alive…”

“Don’t worry brother. It is only our weight in gold,” responded Yi Cheng, “How long could it possibly take?” After the words left his lips a bitter laugh followed, Cheng knew perfectly well what an insurmountable task this would be.

“Normally recruits have to sleep together in that house over there,” said Jia-long as he pointed at a large house in the distance, “but I will make sure that you sleep elsewhere tonight.”

A few hours later the three men were seated inside a private room in the Red Pearl Teahouse. Each of them was served by three attractive young women dressed in fine clothing. In the corner of the room there was a slightly older woman playing a zither.

The girls were extremely interested in Yi Cheng. This was the first time in their lives that they could entertain such a talented and devilishly handsome young man. If they were honest, his beauty would easily outshine their own.

Yi Cheng had understood the meaning of Jia-long’s previous words long before they entered the what he was correctly assuming to be a brothel. He wasn’t planning to sleep with any of the girls here, assuming that Izel would most likely be angered by it. Yet he couldn’t simply refuse coming here, it would be discourteous to Jia-long who had invited them.

Wine and conversation flowed like water as the hours flew by. Even Yi Cheng who was used to drinking started to get drunker and drunker. At some point Jia-long decided to retire, taking two of the girls with him. Zhuang Guo followed him shortly after, taking only one girl with him. Leaving Yi Cheng behind in the room with six inebriated girls and the woman playing the zither.

At some point the woman playing the zither left the room quietly, Yi Cheng failed to notice it. His stomach and bloodstream were full of alcohol, his attention focused on the six girls in various states of undress. His plans of sleeping by himself were quickly discarded.

Eventually the six girls dragged the young actor with them, leading him towards a room with a sufficiently large enough bed. Before the group had even reached the room Yi Cheng was already naked. The girls were somewhat jealous of his flawless skin, but the thought of getting paid to sleep with this gorgeous creature was comforting enough.

After Yi Cheng was thrown onto the bed, one of the girls took his slumbering dragon into her mouth. It was to no avail. The moment the handsome youth came to rest on the bed he instantly fell asleep, leaving behind six sorely disappointed girls.

Cheng woke up during the hour of the rabbit (05-07am). His head was pounding, his mouth was dry and he fiercely hated the bright light that was entering his eyes. After his brain caught up with his eyes, he realized that the bright light wasn’t coming from outside. Izel was floating in front of him, holding the regularly sized manual of the Quintessential Spear Arts.

“You lost this,” said Izel coldly, “again.”

She dropped the book, it fell between his legs, missing his little brother by a few cun. Yi Cheng scanned his surroundings, realizing that he was still in the brothel, trapped between the bodies of six naked girls.

Yi Cheng wanted to say that he was planning to sleep by himself, that he didn’t have sex with any of these girls, but realized that would just add insult to injury. He looked Izel directly in the eyes and said, “Sorry. It seems I only succeed in disappointing you.”

The little fairy ignored his apology, indifferently saying. “I came here to tell you that Martial Qi training is starting in thirty minutes.”

* Deputy Mountain Master - Second-in-Command of a Triad.

* Incense Master – Ceremonies Officer of a Triad.

* Qin-Guang-Wang - Ruler of the First Court of Hell.