Now that we were in a negotiation, I didn't actually care very much what the outcome was. Lian and I were going to be walking out of The Broken Mast rather than being carried out in a bag, and that was the actual prize.

  However, many a scam falls apart when the players get overconfident, so I needed to keep my end up.

  "Two percent isn't worth the risk to my body," I countered, gesturing to my bruised face. "Eight percent would be fair, considering what I'm offering."

  Rui's eyes flickered between Moutai and me, calculating. I could almost see the numbers running behind those dark irises.

  Moutai snorted, the metal half of his jaw catching the lamplight. "Eight? You think highly of yourself for someone who just took a beating from Wen before getting lucky with Ghost Fist.

  "Three percent," he growled.

  I leaned back, affecting nonchalance despite my aching ribs. "Seven. I'm not just another drunk looking for silver. I'm offering you controlled outcomes and predictable profits."

  Ironjaw's eyes narrowed. "Four. Final offer. I know what this is worth. Don't push it."

  I paused, pretending to consider while watching Rui's expression. Her face remained impassive, but her jade rings clicked softly against her glass, she was interested. If I pushed it I could get five percent, but I wanted to make sure that Ironjaw and Rui felt that they had won this exchange.

  "Four percent," I agreed. "But starting tonight."

  Ironjaw extended his hand, and we sealed the deal with a firm shake. His grip was like a vice, reminding me he hadn't always been just the admin guy.

  I reached for the pouch of silver fangs on the table and slid it back toward Ironjaw.

  "Lian," I said, "put our winnings on the table. We made a deal."

  She hesitated, fingers tightening around her own pouch. Before she could move, Ironjaw raised his hand.

  "Keep it," he said, pushing my pouch back. "Both of you. It's far more than your cut would have been tonight but you earned it, even if it was all part of a hustle."

  He leaned forward, his scarred face inches from mine. "Consider it an investment in our arrangement. If you can deliver what you promise, this," he flicked the pouch with his finger, "will seem trivial compared to what we'll all make."

  Rui's rings clinked as she set down her glass. "Don't make us regret our generosity."

  "You won't," I said, pocketing the silver. The weight felt good.

  Moutai nodded toward the exit. "Now get out before the professional bouts start. And Shen," his voice dropped, "I'll be watching your next performance very carefully."

  Lian tugged my sleeve, and we made our way through the crowd toward the stairs, leaving the pit behind us.

  The cool night air hit my face as we stepped out of The Broken Mast, a welcome relief after the smoky pit. My muscles ached from the strain of Raging Tide, which had left my meridians feeling like they had been scraped raw.

  "That went better than I expected," Lian said The smile was back on her face but it disappeared as we both heard a voice from behind us.

  "Shen Taros!" The deep voice boomed out from the doorway that we had just left.

  I turned slowly to see Ghost Fist's massive frame silhouetted against the tavern's dim light. His face was unreadable as he approached with deliberate steps.

  I glanced around the street. A few drunks stumbled past, but no one who would intervene if Ghost Fist decided to finish our fight outside the ring. If he attacked then I had nothing left to give. Lian tensed beside me, her hand sliding toward a hidden knife.

  Ghost Fist stopped directly in front of me, his shadow swallowing mine. Up close, the bruise forming on his jaw looked even more painful.

  "How did you do it?" His voice was low and controlled.

  "Do what?" I kept my tone neutral, even though I knew I couldn't survive another round.

  "Beat me." No anger in his voice as far as I could tell, but for someone like him it would only take less than a breath for him to explode into violence.

  I considered my options and decided to play it straight. Honesty, partial honesty at least, might be enough to get me through this. I replayed our fight in my mind.

  "You telegraph your left hook with your right shoulder," I said. "It drops a fraction before you strike. And when you set up for that spinning kick, your weight shifts too early."

  I demonstrated the subtle tell with my own shoulders. "Here. See how I'm leaning before the strike even begins? That's what you did."

  Ghost Fist's eyes narrowed, focusing intently on my movements. I still couldn't tell if this was making him angry, or giving him what he wanted.

  "And your guard drops slightly when you shift your weight as you move back forward after you retreat. It's barely noticeable, but it's there."

  What I didn't mention was how centuries of combat experience let me spot these minor flaws, or how Raging Tide had temporarily pushed my body beyond its natural limits to be able to even begin to approach his levels.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Ghost Fist stood in silent thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. "You're right." A hint of respect crept into his voice. "That's how you got past my guard and beat me. It's been years since anyone found flaws in my technique."

  He gave me the smallest of nods and rolled his massive shoulders. "I appreciate the pointers."

  Without another word, he turned away then immediately turned back. "Oh, and if you and your girl want to join me at my table, you'd be welcome anytime. He gave me a long look then walked back toward the tavern.

  Beside me, Lian released a long, shuddering breath. "Ancestors preserve us, I thought he was going to kill you."

  We turned the corner, leaving The Broken Mast behind. I was calculating how much coin I had secured and planning my next steps when Lian stopped dead in the street. I turned to see what was going on.

  Crack!

  Her palm connected with my cheek, not hard enough to do damage but certainly enough to sting.

  "What was that for?"

  "Sarei gave me permission to slap you if you gave me any trouble, remember?" Lian's eyes flashed. "And by the ancestors, you've given me nothing but trouble tonight. Fighting Ghost Fist? Making deals with Ironjaw? I thought we were going to end up floating face-down in the harbor."

  I mean she was right, but there was no need to point it out. I opened my mouth to protest, but she wasn't finished.

  "I've never been so terrified in my life," she continued, her voice dropping. "Or so impressed. The way you handled Ironjaw and Madam Rui..." She shook her head in disbelief. "Who are you, Shen Taros? Because you're certainly not the drunk fish porter everyone thinks you are."

  "Well you were pretty impressive yourself." I offered a half-smile as I avoided the question. "You kept calm under all that pressure. Most people would have crumbled under Rui's stare alone."

  Lian snorted but seemed pleased by the compliment. She reached into her pocket and pulled out Jin Duyi's purse, now considerably heavier than when I had given it to her, and my dagger.

  "Here," she said, handing them over. "I don't know how you got away with it, but you did. I've never seen this much money in my life."

  The weight felt substantial in my palm. I opened it and quickly counted out twenty-five silver fangs, and pressed them into Lian's hand.

  She stared at the coins then looked up at me. "That's... that's more than I would make in a year at Qin's."

  "Consider it payment and a promise," I said, closing her fingers around the coins. "I wish I could give you more, but I need the rest for now. It's payment for your help tonight and your silence about where it came from."

  I held her gaze. "It's also a promise that if you keep faith with me, there'll be more coming your way in the weeks and months ahead. Both work and money."

  Lian looked down at the silver in her hand, then back at me. Her expression shifted from shock to calculation.

  "If you keep paying like this, I'm in," she said as she tucked the coins away. "And you don't need to worry about my mouth. I won't tell anyone." She tapped her pocket. "Not about this or about whatever game you're playing."

  * * *

  Lian and I parted ways at the crossroads, her silver safely tucked away. My own purse, well Jin Duyi's purse technically, was considerably heavier than when the day began. As I watched her disappear into the shadows, I couldn't help but marvel at how much had transpired in a single day.

  One day. Just one day since I had awakened in this unfamiliar body, in this unfamiliar world. In that time, I had reached Breakthrough stage, opened four meridians, picked an argument with pirates, battled imperial marines, competed in an underground fighting ring, and struck a deal with the local gambling establishment. All while holding down a new job. Not bad for a newly incarnated former emperor.

  In my former life days like this hadn't happened for centuries.

  At the same time it wasn't enough. I had just a year before a Vanguard was going to come for me. While I had opened my meridians, I didn't have a core that could make use of them. To succeed I would need a perfect foundation. That meant a perfect core and I had no plan for how I was going to get one yet. My original idea to be able to use the resources in my Silent Pagoda was dead before it even began, and I had no patron to provide more.

  Put like that, most people would see it as hopeless. Fortunately I wasn't most people. Talking of which, I slipped into a dark doorway, pulled out my Soul Mirror and looked at the effect that fight had on my status.

  Name: Shen Taros

  Stage: Breakthrough. Tidesworn Pillars open

  Path: None

  Attributes: Body: 6 (+1) / Mind: 10 / Spirit: 9 (+2)

  Dao: None

  Titles: None

  The increases weren't surprising given the intensity of the fight, I had been hoping for an increase in my Body attribute and Ghost Fist was far stronger and more skilled than Wen. He had made me earn that point. Equally, I had barely been able to hold onto the ki from Raging Tide and the increase to my Spirit reflected both that and, I guess, the improvement in my meridians.

  I slipped the Soul Mirror back into my pocket and headed off again. As I walked my muscles ached with every step despite the ki I was circulating to try to ease the pain. The exertion of opening meridians and fighting Ghost Fist had pushed this mortal frame to its limits. But there was one more thing I wanted, no needed, to do before allowing this body to rest.

  I changed course and headed toward the harbor. The main thoroughfares were quieter now, though light and raucous laughter still spilled from taverns and inns doing brisk evening business. The docks themselves stood nearly deserted, with only the occasional nightwatchman visible on the decks of larger vessels.

  The tide was going out as I staggered down the worn stone steps to the small strip of beach that bordered the harbor. The sand shifted beneath my feet as I made my way to the water's edge. Every joint protested as I knelt down, my knees sinking into the damp sand.

  I dipped my hand into the sea.

  The cold saltwater embraced my fingers, then rose up unnaturally, encasing my forearm in a perfect sleeve of seawater that defied gravity. It clung to my skin, pulsing slightly with the rhythm of the tide.

  A smile touched my lips. This same phenomenon had occurred when I was a child, centuries ago. For as long as I could remember I had an affinity for water. The fear I had ever since I found myself in Taros's body was that the affinity would have gone. Yet, even in this foreign realm, in this strange body, the sea recognized me.

  My dao was linked to the sea. However the nature of the sea was that she was forever changing. She wasn't ready to embrace me again yet, and that was as it should be. On this world I would have to unravel her mysteries anew.

  "Old friend," I whispered to the water. "We have much work ahead of us."

  The water receded with a last gentle caress of agreement and support, and returned to the gently lapping against shore. I rose reluctantly, my body screaming in protest, and began the trudge home.

  Tomorrow would bring its own challenges: work at the fish factory, continuing my cultivation, maintaining my cover, and navigating the web of relationships I had inherited from this body's previous owner. For the first time in several centuries, I actually needed a good night's sleep.

  The Emperor of the Tidebound Seas was mortal once more, and mortals, unfortunately, required rest.