The Faith and Salt

A small wooden boat moved slowly down a quiet water channel toward Huai'an.

On it stood a dark-skinned boatman at its back.

He pushed a long bamboo pole deep into soft river mud to drive this boat forward.

That skinny little girl sat quietly near the front.

She hugged her knees tight and stayed completely silent.

Looking at the boatman curiously, she soon realized something and looked very sad.

Silently.

She might be mute. Xiao Yan thought.

David was also on this small boat.

This tall foreigner had stuck close to Xiao Yan ever since they left that local inn.

He just kept repeating "Huai'an, Huai'an" over and over again, after he shouted some kind of Chinese name as a warning.

This man was actually quite smart, Xiao Yan thought.

That giant wall map left a very deep mark on his mind.

He could reconstruct Wei Yuan's private map simply after a short glance, truly astonishing.

As for the warning, he couldn't care less.

Xiao Yan paid him well as an apology, hoping he understood.

Spending a whole night inside an infected area's inn without speaking any Chinese was definitely not easy.

It was still a pity that he was a foreigner. Otherwise, he could be really useful for the empire.

Xiao Yan reached into his inner shirt.

He pulled out a thick paper book and took it from the dead water bandit leader days ago.

Government officials called it a "Fish Scale Book" because its small, square tables looked exactly like fish scales.

He stared at those written names and village locations, turning the pages one by one.

Wei Yuan's heavy warning surfaced in his mind: Digging deeper into this record book would only bring deadly trouble.

A strong feeling of worry and nervousness rose inside his chest.

Which powerful group was actually behind all this?

How big was this danger?

He did not know, and he really did not want to know.

But right now, he had to visit Huai'an to find an old schoolmate for backup.

He badly needed that.

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Walking alone deep into that infected zone to hunt down that so-called River Lord was simply way too risky.

Was asking for backup risky, too?

Xiao Yan thought it probably was.

He was not even sure he could actually get any help.

Xiao Yan kept checking this Fish Scale Book. He looked for tiny details.

Soon, his eyes stopped on a bright red ink stamp stuck in a corner.

It was a special official mark from the Huai'an Grain Transport Office.

Also, right below this red stamp, he saw a quick, messy signature belonging to a local tax supervisor.

However, nobody knew exactly who leaked this paper.

Xiao Yan felt too anxious to dig deeper and find out which powerful group stood behind this unknown person.

This could be a totally isolated case of local corruption. It could come from selling government assets, or maybe it was just a simple theft.

But what if his so-called backup in Huai’an was actually that River Lord itself?

He had to prepare for the absolute worst results, just like every single case before.

Xiao Yan knew this terrible trade chain very well. Local villagers drowned young girls.

The spirit witch then turned their dead bodies into ghosts.

Middlemen trapped these spirits and sold them to rich nobles inside the capital city walls for magical protection.

In his experience, this evil canal trade rarely needed real monsters.

Turning human bodies into ghosts was extremely dangerous and spontaneous.

Yet humans were always much easier to control than monsters.

They were also much easier to use up and replace.

He tried to piece the clues together using the information he had.

The owner of the River Inn had not heard any news yet. Since this case was given to a Lieren, it was most likely not just about breaking up an underground trade chain that everyone already knew.

Xiao Yan was still not sure exactly why that village drowned their girls.

Out of all the people he had questioned before, absolutely no one wanted to share either.

Worse, he had lost his only chance to find out.

He shot a glance at David.

He thought this tall foreigner might actually be a help. Foreign power was spreading fast from Guangzhou toward northern lands, backed tightly by some Princes and governors.

And it grew rapidly under their Emperor's special favor.

Xiao Yan hated seeing this happen. But as a totally new force, foreigners had no deep, rotten roots in local towns.

Maybe he can help a lot...?

Ah! So annoying.

This repeated over and over inside Xiao Yan's mind.

He looked out at the open water.

This wide river was extremely busy with heavy-armed boat traffic. Normal life went on exactly as if no disasters had ever happened anywhere.

Far ahead, the thick, dark city walls of Huai'an slowly appeared.

They stood tall like a giant, sleeping iron monster blocking the empty sky. As that huge shape moved closer, Xiao Yan felt his stomach twist with deep anxiety.

That small wooden boat finally bumped against a busy stone dock.

Heavy noise hit their ears immediately. Workers shouted, carrying wooden boxes and moving large grain bags.

Several strong men working nearby had ugly burn marks stamped directly on their bare arms.

Xiao Yan had personally caught these smugglers and dirty helpers just last year.

Yet, less than twelve months later, they were already back, completely free and full of energy.

Xiao Yan had to be very careful. These angry thugs could rush up and try to kill him for revenge at any second.

However, not all criminal groups active here were his enemies—at least not completely.

One huge man walked straight over to say hello.

He wore a simple black cloth, tying his long dark hair together.

Last year, this guy was just a random nobody. Now, he clearly led his own small criminal gang right here.

This big guy had many new scars on his body and face today. These ugly marks were clearly a heavy price for climbing up so fast.

His eyes looked very different, too. In a way, Xiao Yan actually missed that burning, pure wildness he saw inside him last year.

Now, those dark eyes showed much more hidden thinking and unsympathetic planning.

But this change was actually a good thing. It meant he could survive much longer inside this dark side of the city.

Instead of just acting thoughtlessly tough, he would avoid getting stabbed to death in some dirty water ditch by a random street kid.

"Long time no see, boss," this big guy said sarcastically.

"Do not make trouble, Wang," Xiao Yan replied.

Other rough men nearby stopped working. They stared at Xiao Yan, David, and that quiet little girl with open hate.

Xiao Yan was completely used to such hostility.

Still, he gently pulled that little girl's small hand, wanting to walk away with her just a little faster.