Spilled sour wine, river silt, and cold copper poisoned the mud beneath Guild Master Cao’s knees.
Rain hammered against the iron plates of the overturned carriage. It splashed greasy mud across the scattered metal bars of royal gold.
Lu Chen stood three paces away, the twelve-pound Calamity Cleaver resting casually against his thigh.
Steam rolled continuously from his collar and shoulders. It drifted through the frozen downpour like the exhaust of an underground forge.
Cao huddled against the shattered carriage wheel, clutching his bleeding temple with both hands.
“Take it,” Cao sobbed, choking on thick spit and rain. “Four chests of gold, and bank drafts for three hundred thousand coins. Take everything and let me crawl into the under-road drain.”
Lu Chen walked forward, his straw sandals squelching against the wet dark rock.
He lifted a single gold metal bar from the mud. That turned the heavy metal over with his thumb to wipe away the dark river silt.
