Autumn's Final Dynasty

Bon Bao's cell wasn't bad. The floor was clean and there was ventilation. His cellmate was named Pin Fun. "Little Pin" wasn't as small or cute as the Insouciant Scholar, but he was small and cute enough for Bon Bao to avoid hitting even once during the brawl. Pin Fun had been the young hero who rolled a three and lost all his clothes. The young heroes had found cheap replacements somewhere. They were several sizes too large, however, like pajamas. That was appropriate, because Pin Fun was curled up asleep in Bon Bao's lap. It was gratifying to be considered safe enough for a twink to fall asleep on – but also inconvenient.

Like whenever a kitten or puppy fell asleep in his lap.

Bon Bao didn't want to wake the poor thing up.

The Gargogryeon muscle hunk rubbed his own magnificent pecs. They were sore. Everything was sore. It had been a good fight. The aches and pains would have been worse, but Pin Fun gave great deep tissue massages. A supernatural mastery of leverage allowed the twink to drive his sharp elbows and knees in deep despite being weightless.

The golden retriever puppy made cute snoring noises.

Bon Bao poked at his lips.

People in other cells stared at Bon Bao and whispered enviously. Why was Bon Bao the one who got Little Pin? Why were only two of them in that big cell? Why was that big cell cleaner than the other cells? The other cells were crammed – not just with people from the brawl, but also with random drunks and hooligans.

It wasn't fair.

Bon Bao ran a moistened fingertip up and down Pin Fun's throat. The Gargogryeon muscle hunk was not physically compatible with a twink. Nothing was fit for purpose in either direction. Bon Bao curled over Pin Fun and sniffed inconspicuously. Was it possible to tell if someone was a virgin by smell? Jail smells were too overwhelming. But the princeling was otherwise reliable. His outrageous claim that Snowblind Tigress would rescue him proved plausible. If claiming an Empyrean would come to his rescue was plausible, why wouldn't a claim he could identify virgins by smell also be plausible?

Great Yao's Fourth Prince had no reputation in the Floating World.

Why?

Not out of respect for status. The Second and Third Princes were ranked as formidable fighters. The Crown Prince was considered a gifted strategist. Crown Princess Esmaralde consistently made "Top Twenty" lists as the Goddess of Glaives.

Being Top Twenty out of one or two hundred million people wasn't half bad.

Bon Bao could claim Top One Hundred status. Hero Lang was in the low triple digits. Pin Fun never made any lists, but clearly possessed subtle force projections techniques. Disembodied fingers helped him a great deal with both deep tissue massages and cheating. Pin Fun could have fixed a single die roll in his sleep. With fifty-fifty odds, no one would have accused him one way or the other.

What was up with that?

Bon Bao rubbed pouty twink lips again. He looked happy. He was probably dreaming about fixing dice rolls. But all this meant Bon Bao knew something the Floating World did not.

The Fourth Prince possessed hidden talents.

Little Pin twisted. His lips fluttered. He opened his eyes.

"Senior…?" he mumbled and stretched.

A down morning was starting to look up. Then an authority figure strode purposefully into the holding area. Magistrate Berge, Tianming River District, Right Bank, was a dapper, round man with perfect facial hair. He marched up and down the corridor several times before throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"Heroes!" he cried. "What were you thinking?"

Nobody said anything. The magistrate told his men to open the cells and put everyone on the street – except for Bon Bao and the four young heroes. Together, they followed the dapper man to his office. After waving his hands around again, Magistrate Berge served tea.

"Heroes!" he yelled. "The Emperor lives on that rock!"

Little Pin cuddled fearfully. Bon Bao wrapped an arm around his slender shoulders.

"Magistrate," said Bon Bao. "It wasn't that big of a fight."

"Hero!" replied Magistrate Berge. "Think of the times!"

"The times are prosperous," said Bon Bao.

"Twenty years of unprecedented prosperity!" cried Berge. "If there were problems – even big ones – in the first or the second year of prosperity nobody would care. Problems are expected after a third of the population dies in strife. But after twenty years of strife-less prosperity, problems are unexpected. Any little problem therefore becomes big."

"I see," said Bon Bao.

"Do you have any idea how important those docks are?" asked Berge. "Clearly not! If a clay barge isn't unloaded on time, five thousand potters don't start their wheels on time. If iron ingots aren't unloaded on time, five thousand blacksmiths don't start hammering on time. If grain isn't unloaded on time, a million people go without breakfast buns!"

Magistrate Berge offered everyone breakfast buns. They were delicious.

"A lone foreigner," said Berge, pointing at Bon Bao, "just gets himself executed. As for you four, if this brawl gets characterized as an attempt to disrupt the capital, your sect becomes targeted by an imperial edict!"

Young Hero Lang saluted earnestly.

"Magistrate Berge," he said, "please teach us."

"Jian Peak Abbey must apologize, pay for damages to the docks, and send you on a quest of self-reflection. Clear? Now out! You. Stay."

The magistrate pointed at Bon Bao.

Bon Bao stayed, but only reluctantly let Pin Fun go. Even when Bon Bao had been a twink, he never got any twinks. It wasn't fair. Bon Bao's twink period lasted from puberty into about the second week of his thirteenth year. From that point on, he was a muscle hunk. Bon Bao wasn't actually sure how old he was. Complications forced him to leave Gargogryeo a few months after becoming a muscle hunk. He lost track of things like birthdays while boxing in underground clubs along Great Yao's eastern coast.

"Hero," said Berge. "You're strong. What are you doing here?"

Bon Bao explained his plan to beat up bad customers for good money.

Magistrate Berge leaned forward.

"Hero," he said. "Your style is not unknown to me. In fact, it is one of the most conspicuous styles in the known world. Is Dragon Turtle Society looking to expand into Tianming Town's docks? For reasons discussed, that's a bad plan."

"Gargogryeo is isolated," said Bon Bao, "so the world only knows us through those smugglers. But everyone in Gargogryeo worships dragon turtles. Your Crown Princess is Gargogryeon – and as strong as the Great Turtle. You wouldn't say she was a member of Dragon Turtle Society, would you?"

Magistrate Berge poured more tea, leaned even closer – and smiled.

"Hero," he whispered, "there are people who say exactly that."