Xue Chou first encountered Wang Shisan at the banknote exchange in Kaifeng. He had been curious. What kind of …
Xue Chou first encountered Wang Shisan at the banknote exchange in Kaifeng. He had been curious. What kind of story lay behind the wolf-like gleam in this young girl's eyes? The shopkeeper told him she'd been taken in off the streets, her background a blank slate, but she had an uncanny head for business. Intrigued, Xue Chou returned a few more times under the guise of work. On his final visit, he asked her if she would leave with him. Wang Shisan turned to glance at the humble exchange house behind her. She had always known this place was merely a stepping stone; she couldn't get what she wanted here. And behind Xue Chou lay the unknown and the possibility of everything. So she went with him, stepping into the Nine Mortal Ways. Recognizing her shrewdness, Xue Chou keeps her close, seeking her counsel on many matters within the sect. They are not bound by trust in each other, only by a shared trust in mutual interest. He needs her insight; she needs the information network that comes with the sect. It might not be her final destination, but at that moment, it is the right place to be. And when two people want something from each other, their alliance is ironclad. After the sect found its footing, Xue Chou opened a public Fortune Beyond Parlor in the Ghostlight Market, while Wang Shisan established her own pawnshop in the market, Eleven Pawn, which operated under its own strict set of rules, quickly stirring a buzz across the jianghu. Wang Shisan weaved her way through the schemes of others, setting up her own trick at every turn. Behind the rise of the Nine Mortal Ways, she was the sharpest mind. But the peace didn't last. A murder took place inside the public Fortune Beyond Parlor, forcing it to shut down, and Eleven Pawn soon suffered from the fallout. Wang Shisan wandered Ghost Street with nothing to do, but idleness didn't suit her. So she set up a chess stall at the far edge of the street. With her mind as sharp as ever, she read her visitors move by move—whether they came as men or as monsters, one game of chess was all it took for her to see them for what they truly were.