The first complaint arrived folded carefully inside a Chronicle.
No signature.
No accusation.
Just a correction.
The market price listed for spirit salt was off by half a stone.
Gu Qing frowned when he saw it. "That's minor."
Gu Hao shook his head. "That's fatal."
He circled the number in red.
On Earth, Gu Hao had learned this lesson painfully.
People forgave opinions.
They forgave delays.
They did not forgive quiet errors.
Especially not from something claiming to be factual.
The correction was verified within an hour.
Gu Hao issued no explanation.
No defense.
No justification.
He printed a single slip and inserted it into every remaining copy.
Correction Notice
Issue 1, Page 6
Spirit salt average price misstated
Corrected value enclosed
— Flying Crane Chronicle
No excuses.
No blame.
Gu Jian read it once.
"That makes us look weak," he said.
Gu Hao nodded. "Only to people who confuse pride with strength."
The next issue went out on schedule.
Same size.
Same layout.
Same tone.
One new section appeared.
At the bottom.
Corrections & Clarifications
Small font.
Visible placement.
Something unexpected happened.
People started sending more corrections.
Not angrily.
Helpfully.
A caravan leader clarified a route closure date
An alchemist corrected a pill batch quantity
A sect clerk adjusted a recruitment deadline
None demanded credit.
They wanted accuracy.
Gu Hao watched this carefully.
The Chronicle was no longer just being read.
It was being maintained by its readers.
Gu Qing was uneasy.
"They're changing our content."
Gu Hao smiled faintly.
"No," he said. "They're protecting it."
A rival notice appeared in a different handbill.
Mocking.
Calling the Chronicle "overly cautious" and "boring."
Gu Hao ignored it.
Two weeks later, that handbill misreported a sect dispute.
The sect issued a denial.
The Chronicle did not comment.
It did not need to.
By the end of the month:
Paid notices increased steadily
Corrections stabilized
No retractions required
No disputes escalated
The Chronicle had gained something rare.
Moral authority without enforcement.
Gu Hao wrote that night.
Trust grows fastest where no one feels trapped by pride.
He closed the notebook.
The Flying Crane Chronicle had chosen its character.
Quiet.
Correctable.
Unafraid of being small.
Which meant, inevitably, it would not remain so.
No one asked for rankings.
Not out loud.
But people began adjusting themselves as if they might one day be measured.
Gu Hao noticed it first in the notices.
Breakthrough announcements became precise.
No exaggerated language.
No vague claims.
People wanted to look credible.
Because credibility now had a place to exist.
A forge master rewrote his advertisement.
Removed three boasts.
Added delivery times.
A sect revised a recruitment notice.
Removed flowery promises.
Added requirements and limits.
Gu Hao read each change carefully.
They were self-editing.
That was the sign.
The Chronicle had become a mirror.
And people cared how they looked inside it.
Opening the Channel
Until now, the Chronicle traveled only with Steady Ration Grain.
Gu Hao ended that quietly.
Not with a proclamation.
With access.
A simple notice appeared on the back page:
Flying Crane Chronicle
Available at designated trade posts
One low-grade spirit stone per ten issues
Submissions accepted through listed scribes
No exclusivity.
No scarcity.
Just availability.
Gu Qing frowned. "Won't that dilute it?"
Gu Hao shook his head.
"Scarcity makes noise," he said. "Habit makes institutions."
Distribution expanded to:
Trade hubs
Caravan rest points
Sect-adjacent markets
Still capped.
Still tracked.
But no longer dependent on grain.
The Chronicle could now stand on its own.
A Quiet Advertisement
The first official advertisement for Steady Ration Grain appeared in Issue 4.
It was small.
Two columns.
No praise.
Just information.
Steady Ration Grain
For sustained cultivation and duty
Not a meal replacement
Usage guidelines enclosed
Available through existing trade partners
No prices.
No claims.
Gu Hao insisted on that.
"People trust what doesn't beg," he said.
The response was immediate.
Not explosive.
Focused.
Buyers who had hesitated returned.
New buyers arrived already informed.
They had read.
They had watched.
Gu Jian observed the changes quietly.
"They're behaving better," he said.
"Yes," Gu Hao replied. "Because they're being observed by peers, not authorities."
One thing did not happen.
No one demanded rankings.
Not yet.
But Gu Hao noticed how often people compared notices.
Who appeared more often.
Who wrote more carefully.
Who never issued corrections.
The groundwork was being laid.
That night, Gu Hao wrote calmly.
You don't need to rank people.
People rank themselves once they believe they're visible.
He closed the notebook.
The Chronicle was no longer just read.
It was watched.