The Cold Door Hero

Summary

Zhang Shun, feeling uncertain despite having signed a guarantee, searches for a homing pigeon in the city. After two days of investigation, he receives a lead about cooing sounds near Wulin Alley. He dispatches soldiers to monitor the area and discovers a merchant from Western Xia, Li Gui Yuan, who claims the pigeon is for business communication. Zhang Shun interrogates him, finding no evidence of espionage, but learns about a snow disaster affecting sheepskin prices. The soldiers report finding a large stock of old sheepskins in the merchant's possession. Seeing a potential opportunity, Zhang Shun arranges to purchase the sheepskins for the military. Li Yan Qing arrives to negotiate the deal, settling on a price based on market rates. The merchant, realizing he must sell to avoid losing everything to Jin soldiers, reluctantly agrees. After concluding the business, Li Yan Qing instructs the merchant to gather more information about the situation in Liaodong, suspecting the snow disaster could impact the ongoing war.

Full content