The Measure of What Remains

About this book

Clear Dust Pavilion has become a home. Its people are fed, its jars of poison are counted, and its Pavilion Master, Shen Qingchen, has a newly formed Golden Core that he barely understands and a right arm that still will not take his full weight. For the first time, cultivation has to come first. A wandering ward-keeper agrees to teach him fundamentals that years of clever cleaning let him skip. It is a modest arrangement, three lessons every ten days, if she is in the district. Meanwhile, cheap reclaimed copper from the pavilion is turning up on the counters of Cinder Crossing. Down the street, a wire-drawer with four apprentices watches his orders thin. Shen can sense more than ever. Understanding what he senses is another matter. Can he grow stronger without becoming the thing everyone depends on, and without ruining the people next door?