Chapter 484.1: The Entrance to the Inner Provinces (1)

Luo Zhengnan had sent men to investigate Dick Chen's movements outside the Border Control Office, but they had come up empty-handed.

"Master Qi, I have had my men keeping watch on the Border Control Office for the past two days, but they haven't seen the merchant you mentioned."

Ma Wu had been investigating from the inside, but he hadn't had any better luck. "Old Qi, I have spoken to our informants inside the Border Control Office, and I made sure to ask several of them. Not one has ever heard of anyone named Dick Chen."

Lightbulb had also sent a message. "Tangyuan's been investigating you, and she's putting quite a bit of effort into it. She's even planning to visit the Ridges of Bottomless Stomachs tomorrow to take a look at your ancestral home. Commissioner Liao was so impressed by her dedication that he personally came to our office to praise her."

Lightbulb had been working hard to gather intelligence. He had even managed to dig up some information on Liao Zihui, yet somehow, he couldn't find a single lead on Dick Chen.

Li Banfeng turned to Ma Wu. "Who on earth is this guy? Why is he so hard to track down?"

***

Dick Chen studied Lu Xiaolan's file and shook his head. "Finding the right person is indeed not easy. I don't think she's a suitable candidate."

Daboinsky explained, "I know her quite well. Her mother and I also had a long-standing working relationship."

Dick Chen smiled. "I have told you this before. Knowing someone and being able to trust them are two very different things. You are so familiar with Lu Xiaolan that you have placed far more trust in her than she deserves.

"Just look at her track record. Whether it was her attempt to seize the Crimson Lotus, her efforts to take revenge on Ma Wu, or her dealings involving Iron Goat Mountain and the Jiangxiang Gang, I can't think of a single thing she has handled well.

"She has had plenty of opportunities, yet she has absolutely nothing to show for them. One or two failures can be blamed on bad luck, but when someone fails this consistently, it's a question of competence."

"At least she managed to become the leader of Iron Goat Mountain," Daboinsky argued, still trying to defend Lu Xiaolan.

Dick Chen wasn't impressed by that achievement either. "I have looked into that matter before. There were far too many coincidences, and I could see clear signs that someone had arranged things behind the scenes. I suspect that the Ling brothers, Ling Miaowen and Ling Miaoying, played a significant role in her rise to power.

"Dabo, you are a smart man. There's no way you could have missed those signs. You seem to have a particular soft spot for Lu Xiaolan, and it's clouding your judgment."

Daboinsky shook his head. "I have no personal feelings for her. I simply believe that people with determination and perseverance are valuable talents worth holding on to."

Dick Chen sighed. "Remember this, Dabo. Talented people aren't meant to be cherished. They are meant to be used. Determination and perseverance can easily turn into stubbornness and obsession. People like that will sacrifice everything they have to achieve a goal that might not even be worth pursuing."

Daboinsky couldn't deny it. Lu Xiaolan indeed had that flaw. "It seems that every talented person has a stubborn streak."

Dick Chen nodded. "That's true, but we can't allow their obsessions to interfere with our plans. Instead, we need to learn how to turn those obsessions to our advantage.

"And which talented people are the easiest to exploit? Those who have fallen on hard times, especially those who have lost all hope. Just as a starving person will eventually stop being picky about what they eat, someone driven to desperation will eventually abandon their stubbornness."

"Where are we supposed to find talented people like that?"

"I have arranged to meet someone today. Come with me and see for yourself."

Dick Chen took Daboinsky to a factory that had been abandoned for years. When they reached the entrance, Dick Chen suddenly asked, "Do you know why this place is called Soda Kiln?"

"Because the soda here is delicious."

Daboinsky gave the answer that most people in Puluo Province would have considered correct. After all, Soda Kiln was too famous for its soda.

Dick Chen looked slightly disappointed. "Dabo, I have told you before. Although Puluo Province's culture is riddled with decay and backward traditions, there are still things about it that you need to learn.

"Soda Kiln wasn't named after the drink. Steam and water are the lifeblood of a steam engine, and this place was once one of Puluo Province's earliest major industrial centers. If you had paid even a little attention to what the locals say, you would know about Soda Kiln's glorious past. Even today, plenty of people here are still living in the memories of those glory days."

In a corner of the factory workshop, Dick Chen found a mechanic modifying the reheating circuit of a steam engine. If the modifications succeeded, they would improve the engine's overall efficiency by two percentage points.

"Mr. Shi Gongxing, still as hardworking as ever, I see." Dick Chen took the initiative to greet the guy.

With his face smeared with grease, Shi Gongxing crawled out from beneath the machine. He looked at Dick Chen. "Why are you here again? What do you want this time?"

Dick Chen smiled. "I don't think I need to explain. I am sure you already know why I am here."

"Just leave. There's nothing to discuss." Shi Gongxing crawled back beneath the boiler.

Dick Chen responded, "Old Mister, if there really were no room for negotiation, you would have killed me long ago. I keep coming here to bother you, which is bound to arouse suspicion and could expose the secrets of this place."

"I should kill you."

A hook-shaped wrench came flying out from beneath the boiler, straight toward Dick Chen's head.

Dick Chen dodged it and smiled. "If you really wanted me dead, you wouldn't resort to something so halfhearted."

Shi Gongxing looked at Dick Chen from beneath the boiler and asked, "Do you really want to die, or were you just born with a mouth that wants to be smacked?"

Dick laid prone on the floor and said, "Old Mister, no matter how good of a machine you make, it can only be left to waste away here in Soda Kiln. The people of Soda Kiln long ago forgot their former glory. The old industrial powerhouse has become a topic of gossip at soda stalls: when there's nothing to do, they tell a story or two about it, just to entertain the customers. If you want to bring back Soda Kiln's glory, you have to send its people back to the factories. I can help you with that. As long as someone comes to do business, Soda Kiln's factories can run at full speed. When that day comes, the whole Puluo Province will be stunned. They will know that the finest steam engine is not in Blackstone Slope, nor in Greenwater City. They will know that it is here in its original birthplace."

The clang of hammering stopped. Shi Gongxing was staring blankly at his boiler.

Dick Chen struck while the iron was hot. " Old Mister, just let me take a look at it. I will definitely come back within the time you set and not a single soul will know about this. And when it's done, I will bring you orders for a whole army of machines, and the factories of Soda Kiln will be chuffing and clanking away soon."

Shi Gongxing said nothing for a long time, so Dick Chen began to walk. He went step by step and moved deeper and deeper into the factory. As long as Shi Gongxing did not stop him, he would be able to continue walking until the very end of the shop.

Daboinsky, who had been following behind Dick Chen, took exactly two steps when the floor tile beneath him split into a long seam, and suddenly there was a gap between him and Dick Chen.

This was a warning to them that only one person was allowed to reach the far end of the boiler shop.

Dick Chen told Daboinsky to stay put and wait where he was. Then he set off by himself, on and on, toward the far end of the shop.

At the end of the boiler shop, there was a ladder leading down to this pool so deep that the bottom was not visible. Dick Chen jumped into the pool and quickly dived down.

Now, this pool had been built inside the factory, and it was so much bigger than it looked. Dick Chen couldn't see the bottom and he couldn't see the sides. This was the representation of the ability of an Artificer Cultivator.

After Dick Chen had gone down more than a hundred metres underwater, he spotted something on the bottom. It was a crucian carp that was over three metres long with blackish grey scales.

Dick Chen bowed first. It was a deep, proper bow.

The carp waved its fins and gave Dick Chen a scrutinizing glance up and down. Then, Dick Chen took out a gold waist token and offered it up to the carp with both hands.

By the feeble little scrap of light down there, the carp squinted at the token. It stared at it for a while and finally determined that this thing was genuine. Then, it waved its fin and signaled that Dick Chen could continue speaking.

And Dick Chen, in the water, answered most respectfully: "Please pass on a message for me. I need an important letter. I have reported the relevant matter before. Whatever you do, please believe me. Everything I do is for the sake of our shared glory."

***

Daboinsky waited in the factory for three whole hours. At long last, he saw Dick Chen come strolling back from the far end of the boiler shop.

Shi Gongxing was still under the boiler, fiddling and tinkering and improving things in a thoroughly technical sort of way. Dick Chen greeted him before made his way out right away.

Once they were outside the factory, Dick Chen asked, "Aren't you just a little bit curious where I went?"

"I am very curious," said Daboinsky. "But I remember what you taught me: I must absolutely not ask about things I shouldn't be asking about."

"You are right that it is a place that you should never ask about. However, I want to tell you about it today," Dick Chen responded as he looked back at the factory.

He then continued, "It's a door. A doorway into the Inner Provinces."

Daboinsky's jaw dropped so hard you could have heard it hit the floor. "The entrance to the Inner Provinces is... in Soda Kiln?"

Dick Chen nodded. "There are plenty of entrances to the Inner Provinces," he said. "One of them just happens to be in Soda Kiln and very few people know about it."

"Then that old mister who repairs steam engines," he said slowly, "is he...?"

"He is the local land deity of Soda Kiln. His name is Shi Gongxing. He is one of the finest Artificer Cultivators in all Puluo Province and, as I was just telling you, a talent who has been disappointed. Disappointed until he went clean through disappointment and came out the far side in despair."

Daboinsky could imagine why a local land deity might feel a sense of despair. He looked around amd saw that the abandoned factory where they stood had plenty of abandoned factories around it.

"What on earth happened to Soda Kiln?" Daboinsky asked. "Why would a local land deity's own dwelling have an entrance to the Inner Provinces?"

"You have got it backwards," said Dick Chen. "It's because there's an entrance to the Inner Provinces here that Shi Gongxing lives here. Keeping watch over that entrance is one of his duties. But after being disappointed for so long, he no longer performs this duty faithfully."

Daboinsky remembered the little scene they had just left behind. Dick Chen had successfully bribed Shi Gongxing.

Daboinsky remarked, "From the look of it, this isn't the first time he has done this."

Dick Chen nodded. "No, not the first time. I have heard that he took bribes from the Inner Provinces before and let pure-blooded natives of the Inner Provinces slip into Puluo Province. When a man's in despair, you see, he goes rotten ever so easily."

Daboinsky asked, very cautiously: "Respectfully asking, why did you go to the entrance to the Inner Provinces?"

Dick Chen shook his head. "That's another question you shouldn't ask. But since you have asked it, there's no harm in telling you. I asked the Inner Provinces for a letter to the Border Control Office."