Chapter 7: The Lost Magnet
The trio gazed at the heap of coins before them, their eyes reflecting the golden glint like three particularly greedy magpies.
"So how do we split it?" Fat Kui asked, rubbing his hands together.
"Three ways, like always, of course," Dan Hu replied, already reaching for a handful.
"No way! I bet my life this time! I nearly died! I should get a bigger share!" Han Yu rejected immediately, snatching the coins away from Dan Hu's grasp.
"We can't do that. That would be unfair," Fat Kui argued. "Besides, you got away safe, didn't you? No harm, no foul."
"No harm!?" Han Yu gawked at him. "I jumped off a tall and steep hill right into the river, tore my sleeve, scraped my knee, and landed on a fish! Do you have any idea how much a slimy fish can stink up clothes? My robes are still reeking!"
Dan Hu scoffed. "Big deal. All we did was act as customers, but don't think we were totally safe either. If they had gotten suspicious, it would have been problematic for us too."
"Yeah! If my dad found out, he'd kill me on the spot! Then I'd come back to haunt you both as a ghost!" Fat Kui declared, his chubby frame trembling at the mere thought.
One could see the sheer, raw terror in his eyes—clearly, his father's wrath was far scarier than any of their schemes.
Han Yu sighed in frustration. "Fine, fine. How do we split it then?"
They stared at the pile of coins. The coins in the kingdom were divided into four types: iron, copper, silver, and gold.
10 iron coins equaled 1 copper coin. 100 copper coins equaled 1 silver coin. 100 silver coins equaled 1 gold coin.
Iron coin values fluctuated due to war-driven demand for iron ore. Some rumors claimed the price of iron might even surpass copper soon. Of course, there were also rumors that the emperor was actually three cats stacked on top of each other, so Han Yu wasn't putting too much stock in them.
For an average worker, a day's wage was around ten to twenty copper coins, which meant their monthly income was about three silver coins at best. The fact that Peng Gu had a whole twenty silver coins on him was absurd! But then again, as a blacksmith's apprentice with some cultivation under his belt, his pay was bound to be higher.
After much heated discussion (and some light wrestling), the boys decided to split the loot three ways, with Han Yu getting the leftover change as compensation for "nearly dying."
"Six silvers, seventy-six coppers, and thirty-one iron coins each!" Fat Kui cheered. "This will last me a whole month's worth of snacks!"
"Haha, I can finally pay off my debt!" Dan Hu grinned, stuffing his share into his pockets.
"Wait... You still have debt?" Han Yu blinked in surprise. "Hasn't it been six months?"
Dan Hu sighed dramatically. "Those goons keep increasing the interest! I'd love to punch them through a wall, but, well... I'd rather keep my bones unbroken."
"They're scamming you," Han Yu said, shaking his head.
"Tell me something I don't know!" Dan Hu scoffed. "But hey, this should be enough to clear it up and still have some left over."
Meanwhile, Han Yu was already making mental calculations. "This should be enough for three portions of beast meat. I can finally eat something decent!"
CREAK!
Fat Kui abruptly stood up, his chair groaning under his weight.
"I'm gonna go buy some Plum Wine! I haven't had it in a week! I need it—I DESERVE it!"
"HEY! WAIT!" Han Yu lunged, grabbing onto the fatty's robe. However, the sheer momentum of Fat Kui's massive frame yanked him along like an unfortunate kite.
"What?" Fat Kui blinked.
"We need to get the magnet first!" Han Yu reminded him. "We can't make more money without it!"
"Oh, right!" Fat Kui scratched his head. "Okay, okay, let's go."
"Are you coming?" Han Yu asked Dan Hu.
"Nah, I need to pay off those thugs before they jack up the interest again. Who knows, they might claim I owe them my firstborn next!"
"Alright, good luck with that," Han Yu said as they split up.
Fat Kui led Han Yu to his family's junk shop—a chaotic labyrinth of broken furniture, rusted weapons, scrap metal, and mysterious objects of questionable origin.
"Where is it?" Han Yu asked, arms crossed impatiently.
"I saw it last week! Let me find it!" Fat Kui dove into the mess, rummaging with great enthusiasm.
Minutes passed, but all he succeeded in doing was kicking up a dust storm.
"Ugh! Where is it!?" he grumbled, now sweating profusely.
"Describe it again," Han Yu said, deciding to help.
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"It was a small jewelry box with an automatic closing latch—the magnet was part of it."
"A jewelry box, huh..." Han Yu scanned the area, sharp eyes darting through the mess.
Another five minutes passed. No luck.
"Damn it!" Fat Kui was on the verge of tears.
"Did you lose it?" Han Yu dreaded the thought.
"Let me ask my dad," Fat Kui said, marching towards the back of the shop.
He entered the courtyard, where a middle-aged man hunched over a worktable, surrounded by tools and scrap metal.
"DAD!" Fat Kui hollered.
"What do you want, you little menace!?" his father barked back.
"Where's the jewelry box with the automatic latch?" Fat Kui asked urgently.
"That thing? I sold it yesterday."
THUD.
Fat Kui collapsed onto the ground, an impressive dust cloud rising around him. The imprint of his behind remained embedded in the dirt.
"You... You SOLD it!?" he gasped in horror.
"Yeah, a traveling merchant bought a whole bunch of junk. Got two silver coins for it!" His father looked pleased.
Fat Kui's expression fell like a cake dropped down the stairs.
Dragging himself back to Han Yu, he wore the face of a man who had just lost everything.
"Where is it?" Han Yu asked eagerly, but his stomach twisted at the sight of Fat Kui's defeated look.
"Dad... he sold it." Fat Kui muttered, voice hollow.
"To who? Maybe we can still get it back!" Han Yu refused to give up.
"It was a traveling merchant." Fat Kui sniffled. "He's probably long gone..."
"Damn it!" Han Yu clutched his head. Their best money-making method was gone!
Fat Kui shook him. "Han Yu! What do we do?! How will I get my Plum Wine next week!?"
"Let me THINK!" Han Yu pried himself free.
The merchant was gone. Chasing him was impossible. Buying it back would be outrageously expensive.
Han Yu first thought of looking for the magnet in a location he would surely find it at.
'Since it was part of the latching mechanism of a jewelry box, there should be other's like it. Maybe I can take a look at the Emporium.' Han Yu thought.
But after a second he threw away that thought.
'Forget taking a look, they won't even let me enter. They'll kick me out or hand me to the guards right away.' Han Yu knew a street urchin like him would never be allowed in a place like that.
He then thought of visiting other junk shops, but finding a tiny magnet like that was like finding a... Well a tiny magnet in a pile of scrap metal.
Not exactly the most ideal.
Plus even if he did end up finding one there, buying it from the sleazy junk dealers would be hard too. If it was upto them they would sell a rusted coin as if it were some divine treasure. In fact, Han Yu remembered one of them selling a chamber pot as the Divine Cauldron of the Alchemy Emperor.
He had no idea how the junk dealer had pulled it off, but he did wish to get some lessons from that man on doing business negotiations and sales.
Han Yu thought of several options but all of them turned out to be useless.
That left... one terrifying option.
Han Yu gulped. "I'll have to... get it back... from the ghost."
Fat Kui perked up. "You can do that! Ghosts aren't real, anyway!"
Han Yu shivered. "Oh, they're real. I've SEEN it."
SIGH.
He turned on his heel and marched toward the eastern gate.
Dread clawed up his spine.
This was the last thing he wanted to do. But desperate times called for terrifying measures.
As he walked away, Fat Kui called after him, "Hey! If you die, can I have your share of the money?"
Han Yu didn't even dignify that with a response.
He had bigger problems now.
Like ghosts.
And maybe also the fact that he was going to need new pants very soon.
Han Yu's steps were heavy but he tried to keep on going no matter how much he wanted to turn around and hide in his... Well hideout.
But he knew it needed to be done.
'Who knows if the ghost would leave? If he does I might not even be able to find it later if i tried.' Han Yu reckoned.