Ren arrived at the eastern market an hour before noon.
He'd spent the morning preparing-such as it was. A handful of water from the well, another scraping of moss that he'd eaten raw despite his stomach's protests, and a careful route through the slums that avoided the territories of beggars more powerful than him. Which was most of them.
The eastern market was a different world from the slums. Still poor, still rough, but alive with commerce. Stalls lined the streets, selling everything from second-hand clothes to questionable meat to cheap talismans that probably didn't work. The crowd was thicker here, more varied-laborers on break, servants running errands, the occasional low-level cultivator in faded robes.
And beggars. Dozens of them, working the crowd with practiced efficiency. Some begged outright, cups extended, faces pathetic. Others offered small services-carrying packages, running messages, watching carts. A few just watched, eyes sharp, marking opportunities.
Ren found a spot against a wall near the market's entrance, where he could observe without being too obvious. Liu hadn't specified where in the market to meet. Just "noon." Which meant Ren needed to find Liu before Liu found him-or risk seeming useless.
Scan. Identify patterns. Locate target.
The Ledger flickered at the edge of his vision, tempting him. One quick assessment could pinpoint Liu's location instantly. But the cost-another hour, maybe more-was too high. He'd already burned through nearly a day's worth of life expectancy in the past twenty-four hours. He needed to conserve.
Observe. Think. Find him the old-fashioned way.
Liu was a failed cultivator, which meant he'd stand out among the common beggars. Better posture, probably. More confidence. A certain awareness that came from having once been able to crush mortals with spiritual energy. And he'd mentioned the eastern market specifically, which meant he had business here-probably related to his debt problem.
Ren scanned the crowd, looking for someone who moved like they owned the place, even if they didn't.
He found him near a food stall, twenty minutes later.
Liu was arguing with the stall owner-not violently, just forcefully, the way someone does when they're demanding their cut of protection money. The owner was protesting, gesturing at his meager selection of day-old buns. Liu wasn't impressed.
Ren approached slowly, keeping his head down, making himself small. When he was close enough to hear, he stopped and waited.
"—don't care if business is slow," Liu was saying. "You pay what you pay, or you find out what happens to people who don't pay."
"Please, Liu, I have nothing—"
"You have this stall. You have these buns. You have two arms and two legs. All valuable. All things I can take if you don't—"
He stopped, noticing Ren. The one good eye narrowed.
"You're early."
Ren shrugged. "You said noon. I'm here."
Liu studied him for a moment, then turned back to the stall owner. "Tomorrow. Double, to make up for today. Or else."
He walked away without waiting for a response, jerking his head for Ren to follow.
They moved through the market, Liu clearing a path through sheer presence, Ren trailing behind like a shadow. No one challenged them. No one even made eye contact.
This is what power looks like at this level. Not cultivation. Just... intimidation. Territory. Reputation.
Liu led them to a relatively quiet corner near the back of the market, where a few crates provided makeshift seating. He sat on one, gesturing for Ren to stand.
"You want to work for me. Prove it."
"Prove what?"
"That you see things. You talked a good game last night-patterns, desperation, hidden pills. But talk is cheap. Show me something useful, or get out of my territory and stay out."
Ren's mind raced. He'd expected a test, but not this soon. He had no prepared information, no secret knowledge to offer. Just his eyes and his memory.
Think. What did I see this morning? What does Liu need to know?
He replayed the morning's observations. The market layout. The flow of people. The stall owners, the beggars, the guards. The fat merchant who'd passed within arm's reach, his purse bulging-
Wait.
"I saw a merchant drop a pouch near your usual spot," Ren said.
Liu's eye narrowed. "What spot?"
"The place you collect protection money. The corner by the well, where you sit in the afternoons. I saw a merchant pass through this morning, about an hour after dawn. Heavy man, blue robe, carrying a basket of vegetables. His purse slipped from his belt when he bent to adjust his load. He didn't notice."
Liu stared at him. "And you didn't take it?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm here. Talking to you. If I'd taken it, I'd be hiding somewhere, hoping you didn't find out. And you would find out. Someone always sees."
A long pause. Then Liu laughed-that same rusty sound from the night before.
"You let it sit there. So you could tell me about it."
"I let it sit there so I could use it. Information is currency. I'm investing."
Liu stood abruptly. "Show me."
They walked back through the market, Liu moving faster now, Ren struggling to keep up. The corner by the well was a small open space where three alleys met, marked by a stone well that looked as old as the city itself. A few beggars lounged nearby, scattering when Liu appeared.
Liu scanned the ground. Ren held his breath.
Please still be there. Please-
"There."
Liu bent and picked up a small leather pouch from where it had fallen between two cobblestones, nearly invisible in the shadow. He weighed it in his hand, then opened it.
Copper coins. Maybe twenty of them. Not a fortune, but more than Ren had seen in days.
Liu looked at Ren with something approaching respect. "You saw this. You didn't take it. You saved it for me."
"I saved it to show you I'm useful."
"And if I just keep it and kill you anyway?"
Ren met his gaze. "Then you kill me and keep it. But you still have a debt to Knife Huang and a pill that's spoiling. Killing me doesn't solve those problems. Keeping me alive might."
The silence stretched. Ren felt his heart pounding, felt the weight of Liu's assessment pressing down on him.
Then Liu tossed him a single copper coin.
Ren caught it-barely-and stared at it in his palm. One copper. Worth almost nothing.
But worth something.
"That's your first payment," Liu said. "For the information and the balls to bring it to me instead of running." He tucked the pouch away. "Now tell me what else you saw this morning."
Ren's mind raced. The coin was warm in his hand. Real. His.
"I saw the guard Zhao lose at dice near the south entrance. He's in deeper than you'd think-owes money to three different bookies, all of them connected to Knife Huang's operation."
Liu's eyebrow rose. "Zhao's one of Huang's? I didn't know that."
"Not directly. But his bookies pay protection to Huang's people. Zhao's losses are feeding your creditor."
"Huh." Liu considered this. "Anything else?"
"The woman who runs the vegetable stall two rows over? She's skimming from her supplier. Hiding it in a hollow under her stall. If you need leverage on her, it's there."
"How do you know about the hollow?"
"I saw her check it this morning. Quick, nervous, looking around to make sure no one noticed. I noticed."
Liu smiled-a genuine smile, though it didn't make him look friendlier. "You notice a lot for a half-dead gutter rat."
"Starving makes you pay attention. You learn what matters."
"And what matters?"
"Who has what. Who needs what. Who's afraid of who." Ren met Liu's eye. "Same as any market. Same as any territory."
Liu nodded slowly. "You're right. And in my territory, information flows to me. You bring me information, you get paid. You hold out on me, you get dead. Understand?"
"Understood."
"Good." Liu stood, stretching. "There's a place near the south wall-abandoned warehouse, used to store grain before the owner went broke. The beggars there answer to a man called Ratface. He's been causing problems, moving into areas that aren't his. I want to know his schedule, his people, his weaknesses. Find out, report back in three days, and there's more copper in it for you."
Ren nodded. "Three days."
Liu turned to go, then paused. "One more thing, boy. What's your name?"
"Ren."
"Ren. Remember this: in the gutter, information is the only currency that matters. Money gets stolen. Food gets eaten. Favors get forgotten. But information-real information, the kind that gives you power over someone-that lasts. That's leverage. And leverage is how you survive when you're too weak to fight."
He walked away, leaving Ren standing by the well with a single copper coin in his hand and a new understanding of the world.
Information is leverage.
Ren looked at the coin. One copper. Enough to buy two stale buns, or a cup of rice, or-if he was careful-enough raw grain to make several meals.
He'd earned it by seeing something and keeping it, by knowing when to speak and when to stay silent. By turning observation into currency.
This is how it starts. One coin. One contact. One piece of leverage at a time.
He pocketed the copper and headed back toward the slums, already planning his approach to Ratface's territory. Three days wasn't long. He had work to do.
---
The sun was setting by the time Ren reached his shelter. He'd stopped at a grain merchant on the way, trading his copper for a small handful of uncooked rice-enough for two meals if he was careful. He'd also found a discarded clay pot, cracked but usable, that could serve as a cooking vessel.
Now he sat in the darkness, chewing raw rice grains because he didn't dare light a fire that might attract attention, and thought about Liu's lesson.
Information is leverage.
He'd known that in his first life, of course. Wall Street ran on information-who knew what, who knew it first, who could act on it before the market adjusted. But there, information was about money. Here, it was about survival. About power over people who could kill you with a thought.
The Ledger glowed softly at the edge of his vision.
NEW RELATIONSHIP: ONE-EYED LIU
STATUS: EMPLOYER (PROBATIONARY)
VALUE TO YOU: PROTECTION, ACCESS, INFORMATION
YOUR VALUE TO HIM: OBSERVATION, DISCRETION, POTENTIAL
DEBT OWED: 1 COPPER COIN (NEGLIGIBLE)
DEBT OWNED: 0
NOTE: LIU IS DANGEROUS BUT PREDICTABLE. HIS NEED IS GREATER THAN HIS GREED—FOR NOW.
LIFE EXPECTANCY: 3.6 DAYS
Three point six days. The rice would extend that slightly, but not enough. He needed more food, better food, and he needed to stop using the Ledger for anything non-essential.
But the Ledger had given him something else tonight. Not information about Liu or the market, but an understanding of how it worked. The system tracked relationships, debts, values. It quantified the invisible web that connected everyone in this city.
If he could learn to read that web-to see the connections without triggering expensive assessments-he'd have something more valuable than any single piece of information.
He'd have the map.
Ren chewed another grain of raw rice, feeling it grind between his teeth, and began planning his approach to Ratface's territory.
Three days. Find his schedule, his people, his weaknesses. Report back. Earn another copper. Repeat until I have enough to buy real food, real security, real leverage.
It was a plan. A small plan, a humble plan, but a plan nonetheless.
In the gutter, that was enough.
---
The next morning, Ren woke before dawn and headed for the south wall.
Ratface's territory centered on an abandoned grain warehouse, just as Liu had said. It was a large structure, three stories tall, with loading docks and storage bays that now served as shelter for a dozen or more beggars. Ratface himself-named for his pointed features and small, dark eyes-ruled from a makeshift throne of stacked crates near the main entrance.
Ren found a observation spot in a collapsed building across the street, hidden behind fallen beams, with a clear view of the warehouse's activities.
Then he watched.
He watched the beggars emerge at dawn, scattering into the city to work their territories. He watched them return at midday, dropping coins into a common pot that Ratface's lieutenants guarded. He watched Ratface himself emerge rarely, always surrounded by his inner circle, always moving with the confidence of someone who'd never been challenged.
He watched for three days.
He noted the patterns: which beggars were trusted, which were watched, which were desperate enough to betray their leader for a better deal. He noted the timing of Ratface's movements, the routes he took, the guards he posted. He noted the weaknesses-a loose board at the warehouse's rear, a lieutenant who drank too much, a young beggar who looked at Ratface with hatred instead of fear.
On the third day, he returned to Liu.
---
Liu was in his usual spot by the well, collecting protection money from a nervous food seller. He dismissed the man with a wave when he saw Ren approaching.
"Well?"
Ren delivered his report. Calmly, methodically, leaving nothing out. The schedules, the patterns, the weaknesses. The loose board. The drunken lieutenant. The hating boy.
Liu listened without interrupting. When Ren finished, he was silent for a long moment.
Then he reached into his robe and tossed Ren three copper coins.
"Good work. Better than good." Liu's eye gleamed. "The loose board alone is worth this. I can use that."
Ren caught the coins, feeling their weight. Three coppers. More than he'd earned in his first three days combined.
"Ratface has been a problem for months," Liu continued. "Now he's a problem with a solution. You gave me that solution." He leaned forward. "You're useful, Ren. More useful than I expected. Which means you're either a gift or a threat. I haven't decided which."
Ren met his gaze. "I'm just a boy who sees things. Nothing more."
"Hmm." Liu studied him. "Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, you're working for me now. Officially. You'll have a spot in my territory, protection from other beggars, and a cut of whatever information you bring." He gestured at the coins. "That's your first official payment. Next time, bring me something bigger."
Ren nodded, pocketing the coins. "I will."
As he turned to leave, Liu's voice stopped him.
"One more thing, Ren. The pill-the one I'm hiding. You knew about it. You haven't mentioned it since that first night. Why?"
Ren considered his answer carefully. "Because you didn't ask."
Liu laughed-that rusty sound again. "Go. Eat something. You look like a stiff wind would break you."
Ren went.
---
Back in his shelter, Ren counted his wealth: four copper coins. Enough for a week's worth of grain, maybe more if he was careful. Enough to stop eating moss. Enough to start thinking beyond mere survival.
He lit a small fire-carefully, hidden behind his collapsed wall-and boiled a handful of rice in his cracked pot. The resulting porridge was bland, watery, and absolutely delicious.
As he ate, the Ledger flickered.
RELATIONSHIP UPGRADED: ONE-EYED LIU
NEW STATUS: EMPLOYER (OFFICIAL)
TERRITORY ACCESS: LIU'S SECTOR, CLOUDCRADLE SLUMS
PROTECTION STATUS: ACTIVE (OTHER BEGGARS WILL NOT HARASS)
DEBT OWED: 4 COPPER COINS (EARNED)
DEBT OWNED: 0
LIFE EXPECTANCY: 5.2 DAYS (NUTRITION IMPROVED)
NOTE: YOU HAVE PASSED THE FIRST TEST. THE NEXT WILL BE HARDER.
Ren smiled, spooning another mouthful of porridge.
The next will be harder. They always are.
But he'd learned something these past few days. Something more valuable than any single piece of information.
He'd learned that in this world, as in his last, the people with power weren't always the ones who could punch the hardest. Sometimes they were the ones who knew where the bodies were buried. Who owed what to whom. Who was afraid of who.
Sometimes they were the ones who saw the loose board before anyone else.
Ren finished his porridge, banked his fire, and lay back in his shelter.
Outside, Cloudcradle City hummed with the sounds of evening-merchants closing up, families eating dinner, cultivators soaring overhead without a glance at the filth below. The city didn't know he existed. Didn't care.
But that was changing.
One observation at a time. One copper at a time. One piece of leverage at a time.
The Beggar King was just beginning to build his throne.
---
END OF CHAPTER 3