Both the father and the eldest son were astonished—how could the youngest son possibly have money? After all, when he returned a year ago, both of them knew he’d once again lost everything in a failed business venture.
The youngest son had tried his hand at the fur business, but in this watery region, the climate was so mild that no one needed fur to keep warm. The little bit of savings he’d scraped together from his previous work was lost in the fur trade. So where did he get all that money? The father and eldest son looked at the youngest now—his clothes and demeanor were just like the wealthy officials and dignitaries on the riverboats, as if he’d become rich overnight. They worried he might have gotten himself into something illicit.
The youngest son just smiled and reassured them, saying there was no need to worry about money—he had it now. There was still a large outstanding balance from the batch of fur he’d sold, and once things settled down, that payment would come through.
In recent years, the winters had grown colder. Because of the changing climate, the youngest son thought he could make money selling fur. He bought cheap, ordinary furs from frigid northern regions and tried to sell them here. But in this place, winter only meant wearing an extra layer—fur was too bulky and hot, and no one wanted to buy it. He couldn’t find a single customer.
But the youngest son had heard something from many of the merchants traveling on the boats: there’s no such thing as unsellable goods, only buyers you haven’t found yet. So over the course of a year, he used his fur as collateral and traveled to many nearby places. In the end, he found his buyer.
That’s how the youngest son managed to sell off his stockpile of fur. The buyer even placed more orders with him. The youngest son returned to his previous suppliers, bought another large batch of goods at low prices, and shipped them over. In just a few days, he’d be making a fortune.
The father and eldest son were amazed—how had the youngest son’s luck turned around so completely? Later, the youngest son admitted that ever since he was little, he’d watched those officials and dignitaries on the riverboats, admired their confident manner and fine clothes, and wished he could live like that. But if he spent his whole life as a boatman, he’d never taste that life. He’d end up like his grandfather—waking up in the night from pain, unable to sleep or eat.
That wasn’t the life the youngest son wanted. So whenever he met a passenger who was a merchant, he’d strike up a conversation, and they’d share some of their business experience. That’s why the youngest son was often distracted, disliked hard labor, and was criticized by the other boatmen.
Just as the youngest son predicted, he made a lot of money, paid off the family’s debts, and even set aside enough for his brother to get married. The father and eldest son went back to their old boat business, but the youngest son warned them not to just wait for customers to come—they needed to seek out opportunities. He bought them a bigger boat and told them to travel more, so the two of them finally shed the burden of being boatmen and started following his advice.
"The story is over."
I let out a surprised sound and asked.
"And then?"
The Wraithlord laughed.
"After that, of course, the family lived a good life. Only, the youngest son died young—but he lived the life he wanted, without regrets. He spent his last days in brothels and eventually died in the bed of a courtesan."
I blinked, and the Wraithlord laughed.
"People have a hard time controlling their desires. I saw this story in the inner world of that eldest son here—though I don’t know how he ended up in this place. There are many stories like this. Knowing what you want and not knowing what you want—that’s a huge difference. Desire is the driving force. If the eldest son knew what he wanted, even if he took over his father’s business, he could’ve started working on it while things were still good, instead of waiting until the family business was in decline, standing there lost and clueless. The father was the same. Maybe neither of them ever truly liked their work—every day was exhausting, never easy. Many people are like this. By the time they realize what they really want, it’s too late. Everything has slipped away."
I smiled and asked.
"Everyone is different. Some people know, some people don’t..."
"There were some other parts of the story I didn’t mention," the Wraithlord said.
The Wraithlord began again: When the boat captain was young, he grew up following his father. But in his teens, he fell in love with a woman who often sold umbrellas by the river, especially on rainy days.