"The society I founded, the Jingzhao Society, holds sixty-four thousand ordinary members and over seven thousand core members. It is one of the three dominant powers of Lanzhou Province, with its headquarters established in Jiayuan City. Its branch chapters are located..."
"Throughout my life I have married five wives and fathered two daughters, and taken on disciples..."
"My first wife, of the Jin clan, was gentle-natured. She was the only daughter of Jin Can, the chief escort of the Golden Lion Escort Bureau. She was unfortunately murdered, leaving behind a daughter, Mo Yuzhu."
"My second wife, of the Li clan, was an educated woman and the daughter of a prominent family. She bore no children."
"My third wife, of the Liu clan, was sharp-tongued and ambitious. She is the younger sister of Liu Feng, the gate master of Changfeng Gate in Quling City. She bore no children and bears watching."
"My fourth wife, Madam Yan, is my cousin. She is composed of temperament, exceptionally shrewd, and carries herself with the grace of a great lady. She bore a daughter, Mo Caihuan. Before I departed, I entrusted most of the society's authority to her. She can be trusted."
"My fifth wife, of the Wang clan, is a woman of few words who was utterly devoted to me. She was originally the personal maid of my first wife. She bore no children but secretly commands a hidden network of agents. She can be trusted absolutely."
"My adopted daughter, Mo Fengwu, was the child of a former trusted subordinate. Both her parents died, and I adopted her. She was seven years old at my departure—precocious and intelligent."
"Yan Ge, my eldest disciple, has mediocre aptitude. I have taught him the supreme art of the Demon Silver Hand. He was twelve at my departure, his disposition still unformed."
"Zhao Kun, my second disciple, has exceptional aptitude. I have taught him the supreme art of the Dragon-Entrapping Technique. He was ten at my departure, his disposition still unformed."
"Ma Kongtian, my sworn brother, serves as the Society's Chief Protector. His temperament..."
...
Han Li stood holding the letter filled edge to edge with cursive script—the letter of dying wishes left by Doctor Mo. He paced back and forth in the finest room of an inn called the Huiyuan Inn, turning over possibilities in his mind.
The letter was exceptionally detailed. Not only did it lay out in meticulous detail the foundation Doctor Mo had built—the Jingzhao Society—but it also sketched out the natures of all his wives, giving Han Li a solid grasp of the situation.
Still, everything described in the letter was nearly a decade old. The circumstances now were undoubtedly changed beyond recognition.
What exactly should he do? Should he contact Doctor Mo's wives, or simply steal the jade and flee? That decision would have to wait until Han Li had a clearer picture of the current state of affairs.
Which brought to mind the local operator he had subjugated yesterday—Sun Ergou. The man would prove remarkably useful. Surely he could extract a great deal of valuable information from him.
Han Li studied the letter one final time and tucked it into his robe. He tilted his head back in thought for a moment, then walked to the bed and sat down.
He spread his legs apart, placed both palms face-up on his knees, and closed his eyes to begin examining the state of his own body.
That trace of dark, chilling poison in his dantian had been slowly spreading outward for the past month. What had once been a barely-perceptible shadow had now condensed into a pitch-black mass the size of a pea—and it was growing steadily larger.
By Han Li's own estimate, the poison would fully erupt within two months. When that happened, he judged he would have little hope of surviving.
Han Li was gravely concerned, quietly resolving that he must obtain that Warm-Sun Jade no matter the cost, when a knock sounded at his door.
"Enter." Han Li opened his eyes and said coldly.
The door swung open softly, and Sun Ergou entered, head bowed. He immediately offered a deep bow to Han Li, then spoke with respectful formality.
"Young Master, Sun Ergou has come to await your commands."
"Not bad—found me this quickly. You've got some skill." Han Li nodded in approval. He rose from the bed, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked over to stand before Sun Ergou.
"Many thanks for your praise, Young Master. If I couldn't even manage a small task like this, then what use would keeping my life be?" Sun Ergou declared his loyalty with a broad grin plastered across his face.
That night after leaving, Sun Ergou had indeed considered reporting Han Li to his superiors and bringing in a contingent of experts to exact revenge. But every time he recalled the Heart-Rotting Pill he had swallowed, his courage evaporated.
After agonizing over the matter all night, he could find no solution. In the end he had no choice but to present himself obediently before Han Li, hoping that by proving useful he might eventually earn the antidote and be freed from that deadly pill.
"First, tell me about your position. From the way you carried yourself the other day, you seem to be some kind of minor leader." Han Li asked in a casual, unhurried tone.
"Young Master, I am the manager of the Four Peace Gang at the dock in the West District. I command some forty or fifty men, so you could call me a head of sorts." Sun Ergou replied respectfully.
"The Four Peace Gang?" Han Li asked mildly.
"Yes. The Four Peace Gang is one of the thirty-three minor gangs of Jiayuan City's West District. We have nearly a thousand members, mostly porters and laborers from the docks. Our gang leader is Shen Chongshan, known as 'Monkey Arms,' and under him are three protectors." Sun Ergou dutifully spilled everything without the slightest trace of shame at leaking his own gang's intelligence.
"The big black fellow who made a move on me yesterday—was he also from the Four Peace Gang?"
"No, he wasn't. That man is called Black Bear. He's the leader of the Iron Fist Society, one of the thirty-three gangs. He and I have never gotten along." Sun Ergou answered with an obsequious smile.
"If the West District alone has this many minor gangs, then Jiayuan City as a whole must be absolutely crawling with them." Han Li paced slowly back toward the bed, hands clasped behind his back.
"That's right. Across Jiayuan City, there are forty-odd minor gangs with fewer than a thousand members, seven or eight mid-sized gangs of two to three thousand, and three major gangs with more than ten thousand each." Sun Ergou stood obediently in place, his answer crisp.
"Then tell me about the major and mid-sized gangs. Skip the small ones." Han Li ruffled the hem of his robe and sat down on the edge of the bed, settling in to listen.