I took a deep breath, fighting to keep my face neutral. Lord Shuilin was responsible for this. He had employed the drunk captain whose carelessness had started the tsunami that had engulfed this family. Then his agent, this Ren Yun, had sent a desperate family to a predatory money lender after his own negligence caused their suffering.

  A cold rage settled in my chest, more dangerous than any hot-blooded fury. This was my family now. The money lender, the agent, and the Lord himself would all pay.

  Sarei wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, straightening her shoulders with quiet dignity.

  "I'm sorry for dumping all of that on you," she said, her voice steadying. "There's a reason why I don't talk about it. At least you know now. It is what it is. Plenty of families in the Haven have it worse than we do. We'll manage." She gestured around at our new surroundings. "Though I wish you wouldn't waste money on things like this. With you working now, we might actually get ahead on the payments if we're careful."

  I held up a hand, cutting her off. "How much do we owe? The total amount."

  Sarei's eyes dropped to the table, shame coloring her features. "One gold tear and seventy-six silver fangs," she said. "What we pay each month barely covers the interest. The principal never goes down, but at least it's not going up any more."

  I stared at her, calculating. The amount was substantial but not insurmountable with my plans.

  "After work tomorrow, we're going to visit this Yin Chi." My voice left no room for argument. "Its long past time to sort out this debt."

  Sarei looked up, skepticism written across her face, but she remained silent. I recognized that look. She had heard grandiose empty promises before from the original owner of this body.

  The door burst open as Kaelen entered, his arms loaded with parcels. He paused, looking between us, instantly reading the tension in the room.

  "What did I miss?" he asked, setting down his burdens.

  "Nothing." I forced a smile and stood up. "I don't know about everyone else but I'm starving and the food's getting cold. Let's eat."

  We all soon served ourselves and I dug into the steaming dish of spiced fish, watching as Sarei's eyes darted between the food and me with thinly veiled suspicion. With what she had just told me I understood why she was uncomfortable with me spending money on food like this. The tension from our earlier conversation still hung in the air, but I wasn't going to let it ruin our first meal together in our new house.

  "So, Yanzi," I said, deliberately changing the subject, "what have you been up to lately? Aside from helping us move, of course."

  The boy shrugged, his mouth full of rice. He was shoveling it in like he hadn't eaten in days. I suppose that might actually be the case. "This and that. Running messages for Old Man Wei sometimes. Helping the fishwives carry their baskets when they'll pay me."

  He grinned. "But with what you just gave me I'm going to treat myself to a week of nights in the doss house. Don't normally earn enough to do that."

  "Why? Where do you normally sleep?" I asked.

  Yanzi's eyes dropped to his bowl. "Wherever's dry, mostly. I know that Sarei's always told me that I could sleep on the floor of your old place, but there's not even space for the three of you. I don't need it. Got a good spot under the eaves at the abandoned tea warehouse when it rains."

  I exchanged glances with Sarei and Kaelen. My brother's face softened first.

  "You know," I said turning back to Yanzi, "in this new place we've got a lot more room, and we've also got Kaelen's old hammock that we can sling up in here. It's not much, but it's better than an old warehouse."

  Kaelen cleared his throat. "Actually, I'll be shipping out again in a day or so. While I'm at sea, you can have my bed if you want, kid."

  "And we can feed you too," Sarei added, her earlier frustration momentarily forgotten. "With the extra Taros is bringing in, we've got a little breathing room now. At least until he gets fired."

  Yanzi looked between us, suspicion and hope warring on his face. "You serious?"

  "Of course," I said. "You're our favorite cousin."

  Yanzi grinned up at me as he scraped up the last grains of rice from his second helping. "Only cousin."

  "Details." I rose from the table. "Now that's settled, I need to head out."

  "Again?" Sarei's voice sharpened. "Are you going to come back with bruises this time too?"

  I gave her an innocent look. "What bruises?"Mistress Cao's ointment meant that the injuries I had taken from my fights yesterday had disappeared.

  "Anyway," I said quickly before she could retort, "I promise I won't be late for work tomorrow."

  At the door, I turned back to Yanzi. "Want to come with me? Might be a chance to make a few petals."

  The boy jumped to his feet. "Never going to say no to that."

  The streets were quieter now as Yanzi and I walked toward The Broken Mast.

  "How do you get by, really?" I asked him.

  Yanzi kicked a small stone. "Like I said, run errands mostly." He paused. "Although sometimes I might…borrow things that people aren't watching too close."

  "How's your reading and writing?"

  His laugh was bitter. "Who's got money for school when you're trying not to starve?"

  "How much would school cost?"

  He thought for a moment. "There's a poor school over by the eastern canal. Two coppers a day gets you two hours of teaching first thing in the morning and a bowl of rice porridge after. It means it's done so you can still get a day of work in after."

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  I nodded slowly. "What if I could get you a regular job and pay for school? Would you go?"

  His eyes widened. "Are you serious? Of course. But what job?"

  We stopped in front of The Broken Mast, and I gestured to it with a smile.

  "Can't promise anything, but there might be an opportunity here."

  * * *

  An early evening crowd of sailors and dockworkers had already started to gather in The Broken Mast as we stepped inside, and we navigated the sweat and ale to the pit entrance.

  Ironjaw spotted me from his booth as soon as we came down the stairs and gave a curt jerk of his head to call me over. I guided Yanzi through the press of bodies toward him.

  "Master Jiang." I gave Ironjaw a nod.

  "You kept your word," Ironjaw said, setting down the fight list he had been working on. "I owe Madam Rui a silver. I thought we would have to drag you back here."

  "I'm a man who honors his agreements." I placed a hand on Yanzi's shoulder and pushed him forward. "Seeing as how I've earned a grain of trust, I was wondering if you could use another runner in this place? I'll vouch for him."

  Look. I know that you'll be asking why I was doing this for an urchin that wasn't even really my cousin. If you must know there are two reasons. Firstly, I owed him. Yanzi saved my hide when he brought the marines during my little contretemps with Duyi and the pirate crew.

  Secondly, it was the right thing to do. The Lord of Shuilin Haven as well at the Emperor was doing a disgraceful job of protecting the citizens of this empire. I couldn't fix that yet. But if I could carve out a little light from the darkness then I would.

  Anyway, as I spoke, Ironjaw's eyes softened as they settled on Yanzi and took in the bare feet, and tatty but neatly mended clothes. The metal half of his jaw caught the lamplight as he gave a surprisingly gentle smile.

  "Always have room for a hard worker," he said, his gruff voice quieter than usual. "Two petals a night, hot meal included. Tips are split fifty-fifty with the house." He leaned down, bringing his scarred face level with Yanzi's. "But you'll earn your pay, boy. No slacking and don't even dream of trying to cheat me.."

  Yanzi's eyes grew wide. "Two petals? And food? Every day?" He looked from Ironjaw to me and back again, as if expecting one of us to laugh and reveal the joke.

  "Thank you, Master Jiang! Thank you, Taros!" His words tumbled out in an excited rush. "I won't let you down, I swear it!"

  Ironjaw whistled sharply and beckoned to a boy about Yanzi's age who was clearing tables. "Bo! Fresh meat. Take him and show him what to do."

  Yanzi darted off after Bo, nearly tripping over his own feet in his excitement.

  "Thank you," I said quietly after the boys disappeared into the crowd.

  Moutai shrugged, his metal jaw clicking softly as he watched the boys go. "Grew up on the streets myself. If I can help a young person get off them, I will." He turned back to me. "Now, enough of that. You have fights to lose."

  I spent the rest of the evening winning and losing fights exactly as Moutai directed. I was still only in the beginners' fights and each match was choreographed chaos. I let one opponent land a solid blow after dominating, then dismantled the second with precision strikes while making it look like a desperate struggle. The crowd never suspected, cheering and groaning as their bets won or lost.

  My rematch with Ghost Fist came last. We circled each other, trading blows that looked vicious but landed with calculated force. Ghost Fist's eyes narrowed when I left an obvious opening in the third minute that I would never have allowed the previous night. Sensing a ruse he hesitated for a fraction of a second before taking the opportunity, his fist driving into my ribs with restrained power.

  I crumpled to the ground and stayed there. Ghost Fist stood over me, his expression unreadable to the crowd, but clear to me. He knew. Still, he raised his arms in victory, reclaiming his title as Champion of the Ring while the spectators roared.

  He offered me a hand up, leaning close as he pulled me to my feet.

  "Good fight," was all he said, but his eyes spoke volumes.

  I nodded slightly. We understood each other. This was business.

  After the fights ended, Ironjaw summoned me to his booth. He pushed a small leather pouch across the table.

  "You did well. Your cut for tonight is twelve fangs. We have a deal then?"

  "We do." I pocketed the payment, glancing over at Madam Rui who stood in the shadows behind the bookmaker. She looked up and gave me a single, approving nod.

  Twelve fangs wasn't close to what I could have made from fixing the gambling, but it came without the risk of waking up with one of the enforcers' daggers between my ribs. Reliable income had its own value. As did not being dead.

  Yanzi was running around with a tray of beers and he favored me with a quick grin as I left. It looked like he was settling in just fine. The boy had spent years on the streets so I had no concerns about him getting safely home by himself.

  Walking back, enjoying the sea breeze, I realized I felt different than the previous night. No Raging Tide meant no meridian damage or trembling limbs. My body ached from the fights, but my ki flowed more smoothly through the opened channels.

  This was the real point of these fights. My meridians were widening, evening out, and joining up more smoothly. It would be a few more weeks before I would be ready for the core I wanted for this body, and I would need to find some harder challenges before then.

  But, for tonight, I had the time and energy for something more before bed. Instead of heading home, I changed course toward the harbor. The streets were quiet, most honest workers long asleep. Qin's Fresh Catch would be empty now which made it the perfect time to advance another piece of my plan.

  Recovery would require more than just fighting. It would require money, reputation and resources. Time to work on my next step in this new world.

  * * *

  I stuck to the shadows as I made my way through the harbor to avoid the night watchmen. Qin's Fresh Catch appeared out from the night mist drifting in from the sea. I didn't have any picks but the lock on the side door yielded to a few moments effort from a loose nail that I pried out from the walls. It was cheap, like everything else about Old Xu's operation.

  Oh please. Take the look off your face. Yes, I can pick locks, just like I can pick pockets. Well before I was the one writing the laws I had decided that, for the likes of me, laws were merely guidelines. I had my own code and I would stick to it. As for the rules that society imposes, I follow them only when it suits me.

  The warehouse floor spread before me with the smell of fish lying heavy in the air. I quickly crossed to the rickety stairs leading up to Old Xu's office and headed up. The office door wasn't even locked. Arrogance or negligence? Either way, it served my purpose.

  The office and the desk was a mess of ledgers, invoices, and half-empty bottles. I lit a small oil lamp, keeping the flame low, and began to read.

  Hours passed as I sifted through the chaos. Meiyu would have thrown a fit if she could see this place. Ledgers showed numbers scratched out and rewritten. Invoices were stuffed haphazardly between pages. Some appeared to be duplicates with different amounts.

  I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my temples as I tried to collect my thoughts. Even with my centuries of business experience, Xu's accounting defied easy comprehension. The man tracked his finances like a drunken sailor.

  What emerged from the mess was that Qin's Fresh Catch was sinking. Suppliers had gone unpaid for months. Customers late invoices were not chased up. Notes from moneylenders, at least three different ones, demanded payment with increasingly threatening language. From what I could gather, the only reason that he was paying the staff daily was that no one would work for him otherwise.

  But beyond the big picture, the detail still escaped me. The numbers didn't add up. Some ledgers showed profits that never appeared in others. Inventory counts varied wildly from week to week with no explanation.

  I picked up another file of letters then put it down as my mind rebelled against further financial archaeology. Deciphering this shambles was not the work of a single night.

  I extinguished the lamp, relocked the side door, and made my way back through the darkness. It would take more time and effort to understand if this business was salvageable. If it was then, sooner rather than later, Old Xu and I would be having a little talk.