The dawn had just enveloped Plum Blossom Marketplace when Lin Le awoke.
He carefully climbed off his crooked wooden bed, trying not to wake his mother sleeping in the inner room.
Holding a pile of dirty clothes and a bloodstained sheet, Lin Le left the room and went out to the courtyard to wash them.
This was a small brick-and-wood house with a broken window frame and a roof covered in thick thatch. There were three such houses in the courtyard, their wooden doors tightly shut, indicating that the residents were still asleep.
Carrying two empty buckets, Lin Le walked out of the courtyard and along a narrow alley littered with debris. The alley twisted behind him, with houses on either side shrouded in layers of shadow.
In this tiny alley, there were over four hundred mortal households. This chaotic slum was crisscrossed with alleys like this, spreading like a web to unknown destinations. Even though Lin Le had grown up here, he couldn't confidently claim to know every road.
