Three days.
Ren had three days to figure out how to save Liu from Knife Huang, and he'd spent the first of them doing exactly what the Ledger recommended: gathering information.
The problem was, gathering information required moving through the city, and moving through the city required energy, and energy required water. Which should have been simple. There was a well in the slums. Ren had drunk from it before.
But when he arrived at the well that morning, something had changed.
---
The well was in a small square, as always. The stone circle was there, the bucket and rope, the worn cobblestones. But surrounding it now were four men-hard-faced, armed with clubs, wearing matching strips of red cloth tied around their arms. They stood between the well and the people waiting to use it, and they weren't letting anyone through without payment.
Ren joined the back of the line, observing.
A woman approached with two empty pots. One of the red-arm men stopped her, held up his hand. She spoke, pleaded, gestured at her children waiting in the street. The man was unmoved. Finally, she reached into her robe and produced a single copper coin. The man took it, stepped aside, and she filled her pots.
Another approached. A laborer, this time, with a leather water bag. He had no coin. The red-arm men offered him a deal: one hour of work for one cup of water. The laborer hesitated, then nodded. One of the men led him away, presumably to whatever labor they had in mind.
Water now costs money or labor. When did this happen?
Ren scanned his borrowed memories. The boy Ren Gen had used this well many times. It had always been free-public property, maintained by the city, open to all. Sometime in the past few days, someone had decided to change that.
Someone with enough power to seize a public well and enough men to hold it.
The red armbands marked them as members of something. A gang, probably. Minor, given the low quality of their weapons and the fact that they were only controlling one well in the poorest part of the city. But still dangerous.
Ren needed water. He had four copper coins-his entire wealth-but spending one on water would leave him with three, and three days of work ahead of him. He needed to conserve resources.
Wait. Observe. Learn.
He found a spot against a wall, shaded from the morning sun, and watched.
---
The gang operated with simple efficiency. Four men on rotation: two guarding the well, two collecting payments or escorting laborers. The leader was easy to identify-a thick-necked man with a scar across his cheek, who gave orders and handled the money pouch. The others deferred to him.
Ren watched for two hours, cataloging details. The leader's name was Gou-he heard the others use it. He had a temper, snapping at one of his men for letting a laborer leave without being searched. He was greedy, pocketing coins when he thought no one was looking. And he was nervous, constantly glancing toward the eastern entrance to the square, as if expecting someone.
Nervous about what?
Ren considered his options. He could pay the copper, get his water, and leave. That was the safe choice. But safe choices didn't build leverage, and leverage was the only thing keeping him alive.
Assess.
The Ledger flickered, hungry.
ASSESS TARGET: GOU (GANG LEADER)
COST: 2 HOURS LIFE EXPECTANCY
Two hours. Steep. But information about the man controlling the water could be worth more than two hours.
CONFIRM.
The drain hit him-that familiar tick of the internal clock, speeding up. Then the text appeared.
TARGET: GOU, "SLASHER"
AGE: 32
CULTIVATION: NONE (MORTAL)
STATUS: MINOR GANG LEADER, RECENTLY USURPED CONTROL OF WELL FROM PREVIOUS GANG
CURRENT PROBLEM: TERRIFIED OF RIVAL GANG LEADER "IRON HAMMER GENG." GENG CONTROLS MOST OF THE SLUM'S UNDERWORLD AND HAS NOT YET RESPONDED TO GOU'S TAKEOVER. GOU EXPECTS RETALIATION ANY DAY.
DEBTS OWNED: 7 (HIS MEN, ALL SMALL)
DEBTS OWED: 1 (TO GENG'S LIEUTENANT—A BRIBE TO DELAY RESPONSE, NOW EXPIRED)
WEAKNESSES: PARANOIA, GREED, ISOLATION (NO ALLIES)
ASSESSMENT COST: 2 HOURS LIFE EXPECTANCY
Ren felt the hours drain away, leaving him lighter, more fragile. But the information...
Iron Hammer Geng. The name surfaces.
He'd heard whispers about Geng in the past few days. The undisputed ruler of the slums' underworld, a former cultivator who'd failed to advance and now controlled everything from protection rackets to stolen goods to information networks. Even Liu paid tribute to Geng, indirectly, through layers of intermediaries.
Gou had seized a well in Geng's territory without permission. And his bribe had expired.
He's a dead man walking. He just doesn't know it yet.
Ren looked at the gang leader with new eyes. The nervous glances toward the eastern entrance-that was where Geng's people would come from. The constant pocketing of coins-preparing for flight, or bribes, or both. The harsh treatment of his men-fear disguised as anger.
This is leverage.
---
Ren left the well and made his way through the slums, following the whispers in his head. He needed to find Geng's people, or at least someone connected to them. The Ledger had given him the what; now he needed the how.
He found it in a wine shop-the same one where Liu had dissolved his demonic pill. A different corner, a different crowd, but the same principle: information flowed where alcohol loosened tongues.
The shop was dim, smoky, filled with men who looked like they'd rather not be noticed. Ren slipped inside, found a dark corner, and listened.
"—heard Gou took the well by the old tannery."
"Stupid. That's Geng's territory."
"Gou's always been stupid. Remember when he tried to tax the sect couriers?"
"Thought he could get rich quick. Got his face rearranged instead."
Laughter. Ren filed the information away.
"—Geng's lieutenant was seen meeting with someone from the docks. Might be making a move."
"About time. Gou's been skimming for weeks."
"Weeks? It's been four days."
"Feels like weeks. Water prices are killing me."
More laughter, but nervous this time. Everyone in the slums depended on water.
Ren waited, listening, until he heard what he needed.
"—if you wanted to find Geng's people, where would you go?"
"The warehouse district. South side. Big red building, used to store grain. Geng runs it now."
That was all he needed.
---
The warehouse district was a maze of abandoned and semi-abandoned structures, remnants of better times when trade flowed through Cloudcradle. Now it was gang territory, marked by symbols Ren was only beginning to understand.
The red building was easy to find-three stories of weathered brick, loading docks along one side, a few hard-eyed men lounging near the entrance. Ren approached slowly, hands visible, making himself as small and unthreatening as possible.
One of the men straightened as he approached. "What do you want, rat?"
"I need to speak to someone about Gou. The man who took the well."
The men exchanged glances. "Gou? That idiot's still alive?"
"For now. I have information that might interest your boss."
A long pause. Then one of them shrugged. "Wait here."
He disappeared inside. Ren waited, heart pounding, acutely aware of how vulnerable he was. If this went wrong, if Geng's people decided he was a spy or a threat, he'd never leave this district.
The man returned. "Follow. Hands where I can see them."
---
Geng's office was in the back of the warehouse, a space carved out of the main floor with wooden walls and a heavy door. Inside, a man sat behind a desk made of stacked crates, studying Ren with cold, calculating eyes.
Iron Hammer Geng was not what Ren expected.
He'd imagined a brute-big, scarred, intimidating. Geng was all of those things, but he was also intelligent. The eyes that studied Ren missed nothing. The hands resting on the desk were still, controlled. This was a man who'd survived in the underworld for decades by being smarter than his enemies, not just stronger.
"You're the one who's been asking questions," Geng said. His voice was quiet, measured. "Liu's new boy."
Ren's heart skipped. He hadn't expected to be known.
"I'm... I'm just someone who listens," Ren said carefully.
"Liu speaks highly of you. Says you see things others miss." Geng leaned back. "So. You have information about Gou?"
Ren nodded. "He's terrified of you. Knows you're going to move against him. He's been skimming coins, preparing to run. His men don't know—he's told them you've been paid off, but the bribe expired days ago."
Geng's eyebrow rose slightly. "And how do you know this?"
"I watch. I listen. Gou looks toward the eastern entrance every few minutes, expecting your people. He pockets coins when his men aren't looking. He snaps at them for no reason. He's a man waiting for the axe to fall."
A long pause. Then Geng smiled-a thin, dangerous expression.
"You're not wrong." He reached into his desk and produced a leather pouch, heavier than anything Ren had seen. "Gou took my well without permission. I've been busy, so I hadn't dealt with it yet. But I was planning to. Tonight, in fact."
Ren swallowed. "Then my information is useless."
"Not useless. Useful for confirming what I already suspected." Geng tossed the pouch back into the desk. "But confirmation has value. What do you want?"
Water. Access. Protection. Leverage.
"Gou's men won't be guarding the well much longer," Ren said. "When they're gone, I'd like to be able to use it. For free. Just for me."
Geng studied him. "That's a small request. You could have asked for money."
"Money gets spent. Water keeps me alive. And being able to drink without paying reminds me who to thank."
Another pause. Then Geng laughed-a real laugh, warm and surprised.
"You're a clever one. Liu's lucky to have you." He nodded. "Done. The well will be mine by morning. Use it whenever you want. Tell anyone who asks that Geng said you could."
Ren bowed-an awkward movement, his body still unaccustomed to formal gestures. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. If you're as useful as you seem, I'll find work for you eventually. Be ready."
Ren left the warehouse with his heart pounding and a new understanding of how power worked in this world.
Geng didn't need my information. He already knew about Gou. But he valued the confirmation-and the fact that I brought it to him instead of using it myself. He's testing me. Seeing if I'm useful, or dangerous, or both.
He returned to his shelter as the sun set, exhausted but alive. The next morning, he would test Geng's promise.
---
Dawn came grey and cold. Ren made his way to the well, heart pounding.
The square was empty.
No red-arm men. No guards. No Gou. Just the well, standing quietly in the morning light, bucket and rope waiting.
Ren approached slowly, half-expecting an ambush. Nothing. He lowered the bucket, hauled it up, and drank.
The water was cold, clean, and absolutely free.
He drank until his stomach ached, then filled his cracked pot for later. As he straightened, he noticed something on the ground near the well-a strip of red cloth, torn and dirty, lying in the mud.
Gou's colors. Discarded.
What happened to him?
The question gnawed at him as he carried his water back to the shelter. He'd find out eventually, he knew. In the slums, news traveled faster than disease.
He didn't have to wait long.
---
By midday, the story was everywhere.
Geng's people had moved at midnight. They'd surrounded the well, caught Gou and his men sleeping, and given them a choice: leave the territory forever, or die. Gou had tried to fight-stupidly, desperately-and had been cut down in seconds. His men had scattered, fleeing into the night.
The well was now officially Geng's. And Geng had announced that water would be free again, as it had always been, because "a man who controls water controls life, but a man who shares water controls loyalty."
Ren heard the words from a dozen different mouths as he moved through the slums that day. Geng was a hero. Geng was a protector. Geng was the true king of the underworld.
No one mentioned the boy who'd provided the information that confirmed Geng's timing. No one knew.
That was how Ren wanted it.
---
He found Liu that afternoon, in his usual spot by the market.
The old beggar looked at him strangely when he approached. "I heard about the well. Gou's dead. Geng's people moved last night."
Ren nodded. "I heard."
"Rumors say Geng had information that made him act. Someone told him Gou's bribe had expired, that his men were ready to run." Liu's one eye narrowed. "That someone wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"
Ren met his gaze. "I might have heard something. Mentioned it to the right people."
Liu stared at him for a long moment. Then he laughed-that rusty, surprised sound.
"You're not just useful. You're dangerous." He shook his head. "Geng controls half the slums now. And you're on his radar. That's either the best thing that could happen to you, or the worst."
"I'm just a boy who listens," Ren said. "Nothing more."
Liu snorted. "Keep telling yourself that." He reached into his robe and produced something-a small leather pouch, similar to the one that had held the demonic pill. "Here. For the water you've been carrying. And for being smarter than anyone your age has a right to be."
Ren took the pouch. It was heavy-coins, maybe five or six of them.
"Liu, I—"
"Don't thank me. You earned it. And you'll earn more if you keep your eyes open." Liu leaned forward. "Knife Huang is still a problem. Two hundred credits, due in... two days now. You got any ideas?"
Ren hesitated. The water situation had been a small victory, a side quest. Liu's problem was the main mission, and he still didn't have a solution.
"Working on it," he said.
"Work faster." Liu stood, stretching. "I'd rather not die just when things are getting interesting."
He walked away, leaving Ren with a pouch of coins and a head full of calculations.
---
Back in his shelter, Ren counted his wealth: eleven copper coins. A fortune, by his recent standards. Enough for weeks of rice. Enough to stop worrying about starvation, at least for a while.
But not enough to save Liu. Not nearly enough.
He lay in the darkness, listening to the sounds of the slums, and thought about power.
Geng had it. He controlled territory, men, resources. He could make decisions that affected thousands. And he'd gotten there by being smarter than his enemies, by building networks, by knowing things others didn't.
Liu had a fraction of that power. A small territory, a handful of men, a reputation. And he was about to lose it all to a loan shark.
Knife Huang was the next level. Someone who didn't just control territory-he controlled debt. He owned people through what they owed him, turning their desperation into his profit.
That's the real power. Not violence. Not territory. Leverage.
Ren thought about the Ledger, about its locked functions. Debt Visualization. Karma Futures. Audit.
If he could unlock those, he wouldn't just see who owed what-he'd see the whole web. The connections that bound everyone together. The leverage points that could move mountains.
But unlocking them required use. And use cost life.
Catch-22. Always a catch-22.
He closed his eyes, the green glow of the interface flickering behind his lids.
LIFE EXPECTANCY: 4.8 DAYS
NET GAIN FROM WATER VICTORY: +0 (INFORMATION USE OFFSET BY ASSESSMENT COSTS)
NET GAIN FROM LIU'S PAYMENT: +2 DAYS (NUTRITION IMPROVED)
CURRENT BALANCE: 6.8 DAYS
NEW RELATIONSHIP: IRON HAMMER GENG
STATUS: AWARE OF YOUR EXISTENCE, MILDLY INTERESTED
POTENTIAL VALUE: HIGH
RISK LEVEL: ELEVATED
NOTE: YOU HAVE SURVIVED YOUR FIRST DIRECT INTERVENTION. THE NEXT WILL BE HARDER.
Ren smiled in the darkness.
The next will be harder. It always is.
But he'd won today. Not through violence, not through cultivation, not through anything the powerful of this world would recognize.
He'd won through information. Through seeing what others missed. Through using that knowledge at exactly the right moment.
Knowledge is power. Timely knowledge is profit.
He'd learned that lesson well.
Tomorrow, he'd start applying it to Liu's problem. Two days until the deadline. Two days to find a way to save a desperate man from a ruthless creditor.
The Beggar King had work to do.
---
END OF CHAPTER 5