Chen Yi had to struggle not to show his nervousness as Genghis strolled around the inside of his house, examining items. The khan seemed tense and Chen Yi was unsure how to begin the conversation. His guards and servants had been sent away for the meeting, and the house felt oddly empty.

"I am glad my mason could be of use to you, my lord," Chen Yi said to break to silence. Genghis was inspecting a black lacquered pot and didn't look up as he placed it back on its stand. He seemed too large for the room, as if at any moment he could take hold of the beams and bring the whole place crashing down. Chen Yi told himself it was just his reputation that made him seem powerful, but then Genghis turned pale yellow eyes on him and his thoughts froze.

Genghis ran a finger over the pot's decoration of figures in a garden, then turned to his host.

"Do not fear me, Chen Yi. Ho Sa says you are a man who has made much of little, a man who has been given nothing but yet survived and become wealthy in this place." Chen Yi glanced at Ho Sa at hearing the words, but the Xi Xia soldier showed him nothing. For once in his life, Chen Yi felt at a loss. Baotou had been promised to him, but he did not know if the khan would keep his word. He did know that when a great wind destroys a man's home, he can only shrug and know it was fate and could not be resisted. Meeting Genghis was like that for him. The rules he had known all his life had been thrown away. At a single command from the Mongol khan, Baotou would be razed to the ground.

"I am a wealthy man," Chen Yi agreed. Before he could continue, he felt Genghis's eyes on him, suddenly interested. The khan picked up the lacquered pot once more and gestured with it. In his hands, it looked incredibly fragile.

"What is wealth, Chen Yi? You are a man of cities, of streets and houses. What do you value? This?"

He spoke quickly and Ho Sa bought Chen Yi time to reply by translating it. ChenYi flashed a grateful glance at the soldier.

"That pot took a thousand hours of labor to make, lord. When I look at it, it gives me pleasure."

Genghis turned the pot in his hands. He seemed obscurely disappointed and Chen Yi glanced at Ho Sa again. The soldier raised his eyebrows, urging more.

"But it is not wealth, lord," Chen Yi went on. "I have starved, so I know the value of food. I have been cold, so I know the value of warmth."

Genghis shrugged. "A sheep knows as much. Do you have sons?" He knew the answer, but still he wanted to understand this man who came from a world so different from his own.

"I have three daughters, lord. My son was taken from me."

"Then what is wealth, Chen Yi?"

Under the questions, Chen Yi became very calm. He did not know what the khan wanted, so he answered honestly.

"Revenge is wealth, lord, for me. The ability to reach out and strike down my enemies. That is wealth. Having men who will kill and die for me is wealth. My daughters and my wife are my wealth." With great gentleness, he took the pot from Genghis's hands, then dropped it on the wooden floor. It shattered into tiny pieces, exploding across the polished wood.

"Anything else is worthless, lord."

Genghis grinned briefly. Khasar had spoken the truth when he said Chen Yi would not be cowed.

"I think if I had been born in a city, I might have led your life, Chen Yi. Though I would not have trusted my brothers, knowing them as I do."

Chen Yi did not reply that he had trusted only Khasar, but Genghis seemed to guess his thoughts.

"Khasar speaks well of you. I will not go back on his word, given in my name. Baotou is yours. It is just a step on the path to Yenking for me."

"I am glad, lord," Chen Yi replied, almost shuddering with relief. "Will you share a cup of wine?"

Genghis nodded and a vast pressure left the room. Ho Sa relaxed visibly as Chen Yi looked around automatically for a servant and found none. Stiffly he gathered the cups himself, his sandals crunching on shards of priceless pottery that had once adorned the home of an emperor. His hand shook slightly as he poured three cups, and only then did Genghis sit down. Ho Sa took another seat, his armor creaking as he settled. He dipped his head a fraction to Chen Yi when their eyes met again, as if he had passed some sort of test.

Chen Yi knew the khan would not be taking the time to sit unless there was something he wanted. He watched the dark, flat face as Genghis accepted the cup from his hand. Chen Yi realized the khan too was ill at ease and searching for words.

"Baotou must seem small to you, lord," Chen Yi ventured as Genghis sipped at the rice wine, pausing at a taste he had not known before.

"I have never been inside a city, except to burn it down," Genghis replied. "Seeing one so quiet is a strange thing for me." He emptied the cup and refilled it himself, offering the bottle to Chen Yi and then Ho Sa.

"One more, but it is potent and I want a clear head," Chen Yi replied.

"It is horse piss," Genghis replied with a snort, "though I like the way it warms."

"I will have a hundred bottles sent to your camp, lord," Chen Yi said quickly.

The Mongol leader watched him over the edge of his cup and nodded. "You are generous."

"It is not much in return for the city of my birth," Chen Yi said.

Genghis seemed to relax at that, leaning back on the couch. "You are a clever man, Chen Yi. Khasar told me that you ruled the city even when the soldiers were here."

"He may have exaggerated a little, lord. My authority is strongest among the lowest castes-the dockworkers and tradesmen. The nobles live a different life and it was only rarely that I could find some way to sling reins on their power."

Genghis grunted. He could not express the discomfort he felt sitting in such a house, surrounded by a thousand others. He could almost feel the press of humanity all around him; Khasar had been right: for one raised in the clean winds of the plains, the city smelled terrible.

"You hate them, then, these nobles?" Genghis asked. It was not a casual question and Chen Yi considered his answer carefully. The language of the tribes lacked the words he needed, so he spoke in his own tongue and let Ho Sa translate.

"Most of them live lives so distant that I do not think of them, lord. Their judges make much of enforcing the emperor's laws, but they do not touch the nobles. If I steal, I can have my hands cut off or be whipped to death. If a noble steals from me, there will be no justice. Even if he takes a daughter or a son from me, I can do nothing." He waited patiently for Ho Sa to finish speaking, knowing his feelings had become obvious as Genghis stared at him. "Yes, I hate them," he said.

"There were bodies hanging from the barracks gates as I came in," Genghis said. "Two or three dozen. Was that your work?"

"I settled old debts, lord, before you arrived."

Genghis nodded, refilling both cups. "A man must always settle his debts. Are there many who feel as you do?"

Chen Yi smiled bitterly. "More than I can count, lord. The Chin nobles are an elite who rule many times their number. Without their army they would have nothing."

"If you have the numbers, why do you not rise up against them?" Genghis asked in genuine curiosity.

Chen Yi sighed, once more using the Chin tongue, the words pouring out at great speed. "Bakers, masons, and boatmen do not make an army, lord. The noble families are ruthless at the first sign of rebellion. There have been attempts in the past, but they have spies among the people and even a collection of weapons would have their soldiers descend upon us. If a rebellion ever took root, they would call on the emperor and his army would march. Whole towns can be put to the sword or burned. I have heard of it, in my own lifetime." He hesitated, aware as Ho Sa spoke after him that the khan would think nothing of such acts. Chen Yi almost held up a hand to stop the Xi Xia soldier, but held still. Baotou had been spared, after all.