As we walked deeper into the docks, the buildings and environs notably deteriorated. The pristine warships and merchant vessels gave way to weathered fishing boats, while the scent of spices turned to the stench of fish guts. Honestly I preferred the latter.

  I wasn't perturbed by this. In my centuries ruling the Tidebound Seas, I had commanded armadas that could shadow entire coastlines, yet also captained vessels as humble as driftwood skiffs, on occasion on the same day. The ebb and flow of grandeur to squalor was familiar. Now I was just curious as to where Sarei was leading me.

  We turned down a row of warehouses, each one nearly identical with weathered wood, red tiled roofs, and doors flung open to reveal workers processing the morning's catch. But the one Sarei led me toward stood out, and not in a good way. Panels were missing from its walls, stains bled down from clogged gutters and a crooked sign announced that we had arrived at "Qin's Fresh Catch." Only the sounds were the same as from inside I could hear the echo of the sounds of knives on cutting boards and workers calling to each other

  From the smell of things, 'fresh' was doing an awful lot of heavy lifting.

  "This is it," Sarei said. "It's not much, but Laoxu pays reliably and keeps his hands to himself. That'll do for me."

  "Master Qin!" Sarei called, waving toward a hunched figure at the far end.

  The man turned and spat on the ground before splashing towards us through the water and fish scales. He stopped a little too close for comfort and swayed as he tugged up the dirty blue sash across his protruding belly.

  "This him?" He squinted at me through bloodshot eyes and the smell of rice wine wafted over me.

  I forced the tension in my jaw not to show. Once, kings would grovel in my presence before requesting permission to speak. Now this reeking fishmonger addressed me with less respect than I would show to cabin boys. Yet I was not in a position to demand deference. Not this day anyway.

  "Yes it is. Qin Laoxu can I introduce my brother, Shen Taros? He's ready to work, and work hard."

  Laoxu snorted. "Heard that before. Listen boy. I've heard the stories about you. You mess up, you're out. No second chances. I'm doing your sister a favor." He jabbed a finger at me, missing my chest by inches. "Lian! Get over here!"

  A tall woman approached, wiping her hands on a cloth. Her movements were fluid and precise, a welcome contrast to the shambling wreck of a man who had summoned her.

  "Show him what to do," Laoxu waved vaguely in my direction before staggering up some stairs toward what I assumed was his office.

  The woman looked me up and down. "My name is Huo Lian. So, you're Sarei's brother. Hope you're not afraid to get your hands dirty."

  Sarei pulled me aside, lowering her voice. "I need to get to my own shift now. I'm due at the sorting tables in five minutes."

  I shrugged. Go. I'll be fine here."

  "Listen to me, Taros." Her fingers dug into my arm before I could turn away. "You can't lose this job. You just can't. We need the money and you're running out of options. No one else will hire you after what happened at the granary."

  I frowned. "The granary? Oh yeah, the granary." I had no idea what she was talking about.

  She ignored my reply and turned to Huo Lian. "If my brother gives you any trouble or doesn't listen, feel free to give him a clip around the ear. Sometimes it's the only way to get through to him."

  "Hold on. I don't need to be treated like some…"

  Sarei's hand connected with the side of my head before I could finish. The blow wasn't particularly hard, but the indignity stung worse than my ear.

  "Like that." Sarei gave a satisfied nod. "Don't be afraid to put some force behind it."

  Lian's laughter rang out, bright and unexpected in the dank warehouse. "Don't worry, I've got experience handling difficult men."

  "Perfect." Sarei gave me a last warning look before turning on her heel. "I'll see you at home with your pay intact. All of it."

  I watched her weave through the workers, stopping briefly to exchange words with several before disappearing into the gloom of the warehouse.

  "Your sister's quite something," Lian said, still smiling. "Follow me. We've got a shipment of yellowfin that needs getting out before noon."

  I rubbed my ear, wondering what other humiliations this body's past had earned me. "Lead on."

  I followed Lian through the warehouse, trying not to slip in the slime. I could not wait to improve this body. From standing motionless on the quarterdeck during a storm to almost falling from sliding on fish scales. Almost inconceivable. I stopped feeling sorry for myself and focused on what Lian was saying.

  "Not much to show you to be honest" she said, gesturing broadly. "Boats come in there, fish goes out there. Everything in between is just cutting, gutting, and packing."

  "Nice line."

  "Thanks."

  At the entrance facing the docks, fishermen hauled barrels sloshing with their morning catch. A sour-faced man weighed each load on a rusty scale before counting out coins from a leather pouch.

  "That's Old Man Jiru. Don't talk to him unless you want your ears burned off with complaints about his gout."

  Workers shuttled the barrels inside where the real work began. The main floor stretched before us in organized chaos. Tens of men and women hunched over wooden tables as they sorted, gutted, and packed fish. The stench was familiar from my own operations, a mixture of brine and blood. Although this place appeared to have an additional something rancid that clung to the back of my throat.

  "You get used to the smell," Lian said, noticing my expression. "Eventually."

  I spotted Sarei at one of the gutting benches, her hands moving with surprising speed as she sliced open fish bellies and scooped their innards into a barrel beside her. Her hair was tied back with a simple cloth, and despite the grime of her work, she maintained a certain dignity. She caught me looking and gave a quick nod before returning to her task.

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  "Your sister's one of the fastest workers here," Lian said. "Makes the rest of us look bad."

  We continued to the front of the warehouse where wicker baskets lined up in neat rows, each filled with cleaned and packed fish. An old man sat at a small desk, carefully marking entries in a thick ledger. Around him stood a line of young people waiting their turn.

  "That's Delivery Master Wei," Lian explained as we joined the queue. "He'll assign your deliveries and pay you at the end of the day. Don't worry, he's fair."

  When we reached the front, Lian nudged me forward. "Master Wei, this is Shen Taros, Sarei's brother. New porter."

  Master Wei looked up, his eyes sharp despite his age. He studied me for a long moment before nodding. "Another Shen, eh? Hope you work as hard as your sister."

  "I'll do my best, sir."

  "You'll deliver fish to shops and restaurants throughout the city," he explained. "One copper petal per delivery. Make them quick and keep the customers happy." He tapped his ledger. "I mark everything down. No cheating."

  He pointed to two baskets and tapped on a map pinned to the wall behind him. "Show him the eastern route. Tomorrow he's on his own."

  Lian hefted one of baskets with practiced ease and gestured at the other. "Come on new blood. Time to earn your petals"

  * * *

  I drank greedily from the barrel of water outside the warehouse. In all honesty I had forgotten what it was to be hot, thirsty, or tired, and now I was all three. The sun suggested it was the middle of the afternoon by the time we were done with the day's deliveries and I was frustrated. Not at the work itself, hard work was my bread and butter, rather the extreme inefficiency with which everything was done in this place.

  Wiping sweat from my brow, I stared at the empty wicker basket. "This is madness," I muttered to Lian. "We could have delivered all these orders in half the time if we had plotted a course to do multiple deliveries at once."

  "That's not how it's done around here." Lian was passing the time making her belt knife appear and disappear between her fingers. "One delivery, one trip, one payment. Simple."

  "Simple and wasteful. Even a third-rate deckhand would have us chart a route. Hit the harbor shops first, then sweep through the market district, finish at the north end." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the copper coins that Master Wei had just handed me. "Ah well. Six petals. Better than nothing."

  Lian cocked her head. "For someone who's never held down a job for more than a few days before, you've got some interesting ideas about the best way to work."

  I caught myself and shrugged. This body's previous owner was a wastrel and it wouldn't do to show my experience. "Just seems obvious."

  Well it was true, this wasn't some great insight from my past, any fool should have been able to work it out. But apparently Master Qin wasn't any fool.

  As we walked back round to the front of the warehouse, I reflected that the day's endless deliveries hadn't been a total waste. In addition to the money, I now had a mental map of this city, Shuilin Haven as it was called. The layout of the port city was beginning to make sense: the naval docks to the south, the merchant quarter with its colorful awnings, the warren of slums we had passed through, and the looming mansions on the northern hills.

  Fragments of knowledge had continued to surface in my mind throughout the day. Names of streets I had never walked and customs I had never practiced. The memories of the previous owner of this body were still integrating with mine and I was finding my bearings. Useful. It would help stop me standing out as the interloper that I was.

  "You're quiet," Lian said, breaking my thoughts.

  "Just taking it all in." I gestured around us. "You know a lot about this place."

  She smiled, a quick flash of teeth. "I know who to talk to, who to avoid. Which guards take bribes, which pirates honor their word." Her eyes gleamed. "Speaking of which, did you mean it when you said you wanted to go to The Broken Mast?"

  I nodded. This was a place she had mentioned while we had been out making deliveries. If I could achieve what I hoped to this afternoon, then it was exactly what I needed.

  "Good. Entry is five petals. You're paying. Meet me outside the warehouse at eighth bell tonight?"

  I nodded once more. "I'll be there."

  We parted at the entrance to the warehouse and I saw Sarei inside alone, mopping fish guts from the floor.

  "Thought you'd be gone by now," she said without looking up.

  "Just finished. What are you doing here by yourself."

  She pursed her lips and took a deep breath before replying. "Of course you don't know. I take on a second shift cleaning. There's enough work for half a dozen people, but Old Xu's cheap so it's just me."

  "Here." I placed all six coppers on the sorting table next to us.

  She froze, staring at the coins. "What's this?"

  "It's not much, but it's my pay for this morning. All of it."

  Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "What's the catch?"

  "No catch. Just trying to do better."

  She scooped up the coins and tucked them away. "Just so we're clear, this doesn't mean you can skip work tomorrow."

  I smiled. "I'll be here. And I'll pick up dinner on my way home tonight. For all of us."

  Sarei's expression softened slightly, then hardened again. "With what money? Don't make promises you won't keep."

  I gave her a cheerful wave as I backed toward the door. "I'll keep it. See you at home at sixth bell."

  "With dinner?"

  "With dinner."

  As I stepped outside, I heard her murmur something that sounded suspiciously like, "Who are you and what have you done with my brother?"

  If only she knew.

  * * *

  I slipped away from the warehouse district, taking a circuitous route through the back alleys. During my deliveries, I had spotted an abandoned boathouse on the northeastern edge of the harbor. Three stories of weathered wood with broken windows and a partially collapsed roof. Perfect.

  After ensuring no one was watching I approached the building from the rear. A quick glance confirmed what I had noticed earlier, a broken window just within jumping reach. I leapt, caught the sill, and hauled myself inside, landing clumsily on rotting floorboards. Well that was uncomfortable. But I was here to start to process of fixing this ungainly body.

  Dust motes danced in the shafts of afternoon light that streamed in through holes in the roof. Pigeons fluttered in the rafters, and I heard the scurrying of rats in the corners.

  "This will do nicely." Even at a murmur my voice echoed in the empty space.

  I walked to the center of the room, testing the floorboards as I went. Finding a relatively stable spot, I settled on the floor and pulled the coin purse I had lifted from Jin Duyi's that morning out from my pocket. First things first. I hadn't wanted to risk checking it during the deliveries as Lian was far too observant for her own good, but my curiosity was burning.

  The silk of the purse felt expensive between my fingers. I frowned then shrugged. The thread count was far too high to be owned by a mere first mate. But that was for others to worry about. I was more interested in the contents of the purse than the purse itself. I loosened the drawstring and tipped it into my palm.

  Fourteen silver fangs and thirty-two copper petals clinked together, each stamped with the profile of an Emperor that I had never heard of. I smiled in satisfaction. This would have been less than pocket lint to me in my former glory, when entire kingdoms paid me tribute. Now? This represented months of work at the fish factory.

  "The first, if unwitting and unwilling, tribute to the reborn Emperor of the Tidebound Seas. Thank you First Mate Jin." I announced my triumph to a curious sparrow that looked down at me from the rafters. The sparrow did not reply.

  I returned the money to the purse and tucked it away. I already had plans for multiplying this sum by morning. The Broken Mast would provide the perfect opportunity.

  But money was merely a means to an end, though necessary in this weakened state. My true purpose required something far more valuable than silver or even gold.

  For seven centuries, I had been the master of the Twelve Currents of Cultivation. Now I was reduced to this mortal shell with no access to the power that had defined me.

  This morning had been a distraction. A useful distraction, but a distraction nonetheless. A full day with barely any ki was a day too long.

  It was time to restart my cultivation.