The Green Bone Saga, #1
Jade City
by Fonda Lee
Contents
CHAPTER 35: An Unexpected Reception
Overview
Bero survives the pier shooting and, hearing that Kaul Lan is dead, wrongly believes he personally killed the Pillar of No Peak. Instead of receiving the jade and status he expected, Bero learns from Mudt that the Mountain only intended a frightening attack, not Lan’s death.
Mudt hides Bero in a smuggling tunnel and urges him to flee Janloon before the Mountain or No Peak can find him. The chapter turns Bero’s apparent triumph into danger, showing that his reckless luck has made him both valuable and disposable.
Summary
After the shooting at the pier, Bero uses his cash to get treatment at a no-questions-asked clinic in the Forge. A dubious doctor removes two shallow bullets from Bero’s arm while Bero, exhausted from hiding under a freeway overpass, waits impatiently.
When Bero leaves the clinic, news of Kaul Lan’s death has spread through Janloon. Bero hears that the Pillar of No Peak is dead and suspected to have been assassinated by the Mountain. Misunderstanding what happened, Bero concludes that his gunfire must have killed Lan, and he is thrilled by the idea that he has accomplished what no Green Bone could claim.
Bero changes clothes, discards his old ones, and walks back to the Goody Too because Bero fears witnesses, drivers, or No Peak supporters might identify him. Along the way, Bero sees public grief in loyal No Peak territory, which only feeds his pride because Bero imagines the city mourning the man he believes he killed.
At the Goody Too, Mudt is shocked to see Bero alive and horrified when Bero says Cheeky is dead and claims to have killed Kaul. Instead of rewarding Bero, Mudt explains that Bero and Cheeky were only supposed to shoot up the Lilac Divine, frighten Kaul, damage his property, and cause panic. Killing Kaul was never the plan, and Mudt fears the Mountain will either kill Bero for ruining the scheme or hand Bero to No Peak to appease them.
Mudt opens a hidden trapdoor leading to a smuggling tunnel beneath Summer Park and tells Bero to flee Janloon. Mudt admits he is helping only because Bero has made him money, avoided capture, and seems touched by strange luck. Bero feels cheated of the reward and jade he expected, but fear and instinct persuade Bero to enter the tunnel.
Once Mudt closes the trapdoor above him, Bero panics and wonders whether Mudt has trapped him. Bero finds contraband stored below but then sees the tunnel stretching ahead, confirming that there is an escape route. Relieved but still bitter, Bero hurries into the darkness, running from both clans and from the consequences of Lan’s death.
Who Appears
- BeroWounded survivor of the pier attack who believes he killed Kaul and expects reward.
- MudtGoody Too operator who reveals Bero exceeded the plan and sends him into hiding.
- Kaul LanDead Pillar of No Peak whose reported assassination sends Bero and Mudt into panic.
- CheekyBero’s dead accomplice in the attack, mentioned as proof the mission went disastrously wrong.
- Mudt’s sonBriefly appears at the Goody Too and is ordered to keep watch.